Latest Educational News
Call for better money skills
by BBC, September 30, 2006
The government should introduce personal finance as a stand-alone subject in secondary schools, according to a leading educational charity.
The Institute of Financial Services (IFS) said recent research which showed British people were the most indebted in Western Europe supports this view.
The government is due to introduce more personal finance into the curriculum in England in 2008 as part of a new subject called Functional Maths.
But the IFS said the new course will not be sufficient to teach pupils the rudiments of looking after their money.
Reading to close physics department
by Guardian, September 29, 2006
The University of Reading is planning to close its physics department following a review which found that the subject was no longer viable, it emerged today.
The university today confirmed that it was no longer feasible to retain a physics department. It will not recruit any new students after this year's intake in order to allow the department to close no later than July 2010.
A statement from the university said: "The university regrets having to make this recommendation. It follows an extensive process of review, which concluded that in order to maintain and build on our academic strength in the department of physics, we would need to invest in a way which is not feasible in the present climate. In the current funding context, Reading, like many institutions, has to direct its limited resources to academic areas of comparative strength.
Headteachers 'overworked'
by inthenews, September 29, 2006
Headteachers of primary, secondary and special schools in the UK are suffering under a burden of government-imposed red tape, according to new research into their mental health.
A study conducted by Keele University for the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) found that during the last 12 months 80 per cent of school leaders had seen their workload increase, compared to 54 per cent of equivalent management roles in other professions.
Time management and forward planning are creating problems for headteachers, the survey shows, causing them to spend more time working when they are ill than other professionals.
NAHT said it believes that if the current workloads continue, numbers and quality of teachers being promoted to senior management levels could create future recruitment problems.
Father fails in court challenge to son's expulsion
by Guardian, September 29, 2006
A father's campaign to challenge the expulsion of his son from one of Britain's most expensive public schools ended in costly failure yesterday.
Russell Gray faces legal bills of more than £250,000 after three appeal court judges dismissed his claim that his teenage son was expelled by Marlborough College to make room for a pupil who would score more highly in the exam league tables.
The ruling ended a three year saga which has cost Mr Gray, 50, the equivalent of 10 years' fees at the Wiltshire school. He had contended that his 17-year-old son Rhys was targeted because of learning difficulties, and said he wanted "to clear the boy's name". The school said he was kicked out for being rude and a bully.
Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Chadwick said Mr Gray's crusade was misguided and unnecessary, following the original case when the school was cleared but Rhys was described by the trial judge as "a likeable, intelligent lad who simply cannot cope with the system".
Science heads become targets
by Times Educational Supplement, September 29, 2006
Every secondary school in the UK has been targeted in a new campaign promoting the teaching of creationism in science lessons. Heads of science at 5,000 schools have been sent teaching materials casting doubt on Darwin’s theory of evolution and encouraging children to consider alternative interpretations of life on earth. A booklet and two DVDs, created by Truth In Science, an influential group of academics and clergymen advocating more “balance” in GCSE and A-level science, were mailed to private and state schools this week.
New staff teach best
by Times Educational Supplement, September 29, 2006
Pupils are more likely to get better results if their teacher is new to the profession. Research reveals that 80 per cent of staff in their first seven years in the classroom produced value-added results at or above the expected level. But this fell to 68 per cent for those with between eight and 23 years’ experience and to 59 per cent for those with 24 years or more.
The researchers suggested experienced teachers gave poorer added value because they have more complicated domestic lives, greater professional responsibilities, more health problems, plus the possibility that they are often overlooked for training.
Creative projects 'improve pupil behaviour' (29/09/06)
by Times Educational Supplement, September 29, 2006
Giving children the chance to be creative and work with actors, fashion designers and writers helps improve their school work and behaviour, inspectors said today.
Pupils who took part in the Government's "creative partnerships" scheme developed more maturity and better social skills, Ofsted said.
But many children did not know how to apply the creative skills they had learned, such as improvising and taking risks, to other aspects of their work outside the programme.
Anger over 200% rise in number of infant class sizes
by Independent, September 29, 2006
A row broke out last night as official figures showed the number of infant school aged children in classes of over 30 had more than trebled in the past five years.
One of Labour's five key pledges in the 1997 election was to declare that class sizes of more than 30 for five-to-seven-year-olds would become illegal by 2002
Immediately on taking office, ministers earmarked cash saved from ending the controversial Assisted Places Scheme - under which pupils were offered subsidised places in independent schools under the Conservatives - to fulfilling the pledge.
New challenge over school science
by BBC, September 29, 2006
Parents are being encouraged to challenge their children's science teachers over what they are explaining as the origins of life.
An organisation called Truth in Science has also sent resource packs to all UK secondary school science departments.
It promotes the idea of intelligent design - that there was an intelligence behind the creation of the universe.
Humanists and a Christian think tank want the government to tell teachers to keep "a wholly scientific perspective".
Bristol still bottom of GCSE pile
by BBC, September 29, 2006
Chris Woodhead visited secondary schools in Bristol
Fewer children in Bristol get five GCSEs graded A-star to C than anywhere else in England, the BBC has revealed.
About 43% of pupils in the city passed this standard in 2006 - putting Bristol at the bottom of the GCSE league table for the second year running.
The figures were collated for a BBC report into Bristol school standards.
The city council says if you base the calculation on five GCSEs, including maths and English, which is the new benchmark, Bristol is not bottom.
Cheating teachers help children at GCSE, finds probe
by This is London, September 29, 2006
The extent to which teachers are helping pupils 'cheat' in their GCSE coursework was yesterday exposed in a damning report by examiners.
The report comes after Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced that pupils will be banned from taking coursework home in future to stop them plagiarising from the Internet or being coached by parents.
GCSE maths coursework will be scrapped altogether and projects in all other subjects will have to be completed in school under supervision.
Research shows benefits of Montessori education
by Guardian, September 29, 2006
A method of schooling that focuses on personal development rather than exams produces more mature, creative and socially adept children, scientists have found.
Psychologists in the US found that across a range of abilities, children at Montessori schools out-performed those given a traditional education.
Five-year-old Montessori pupils were better prepared for reading and maths, and 12-year-olds wrote "significantly more creative" essays using more sophisticated sentence structures.
Some of the biggest differences were seen in social skills and behaviour.
Montessori children displayed a greater sense of "justice and fairness", interacted in an "emotionally positive" way, and were less likely to engage in "rough play" during break times.
Play Mozart to tackle poor behaviour, teachers urged
by Guardian, September 29, 2006
Teachers should play Mozart in the classroom to help calm unruly children and improve their work, according to a new book published today.
The soothing sounds of symphonies and string concertos and have been deployed as weapons in the fight against crime at train stations and other public spaces in recent years.
Today a new book from academics at the University of Derby suggests that the approach may also work with badly behaved three to seven-year-olds in primary schools.
Figures show no drop in primary class sizes
by Guardian, September 28, 2006
Class sizes have continued to grow at key stage 1, with some classrooms so overcrowded they are deemed illegal, new government figures have revealed.
Data published today by the Department for Education and Skills showed that in January this year, the average size of primary classes taught by one teacher was 26.3 - a slight increase from 26.2 last year.
The average size of key stage 1 classes (including reception) taught by one teacher remained the same as last year, however the proportion of key stage 1 classes with 31 or more pupils had increased, and 0.7% of all classes were classified as illegal, the figures show.
Johnson displays style by sticking to the substance
by Times, September 28, 2006
ALAN JOHNSON displayed his leadership credentials to the Labour Party conference yesterday when he announced plans to restore confidence in school exams and to help children in care.
The Education Secretary unveiled an overhaul of GCSE coursework to combat internet plagiarism by pupils. He said that all coursework for maths would be scrapped and that coursework for other subjects would be supervised in classroom-style conditions.
“Technology has changed the way we teach, but can also be used by some students to gain an unfair advantage,” Mr Johnson said. “We have one of the most rigorous exam systems in the world — we cannot have it devalued and undermined by the few who cheat by copying from the internet.”
A-level parity at last for the IB brigade
by Independent, September 28, 2006
Nick Jackson discovers how an international qualification is shooting up the league tables
As sixth-formers and parents turn their attention to university applications, totting up predicted UCAS points and getting some last-minute charity work in to put on that personal statement, there is one lot who have good reason to feel a little more confident: not the usual smug independent schools but International Baccalaureate students.
'Teach pupils to challenge authority'
by Independent, September 28, 2006
Pupils should be encouraged to challenge authority in new-style citizenship lessons, school inspectors will say today.
A report by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, rejects the notion that the lessons - made a compulsory part of the secondary school curriculum four years ago - should be about teaching "compliance, good behaviour and the acceptance of values". It says that much of the best practice it has seen in schools has focused instead onchallenging and promoting a "critical democracy".
What school citizenship involves
by BBC, September 28, 2006
One in four secondary schools in England is failing to offer pupils adequate lessons in citizenship, the education watchdog Ofsted has warned.
Citizenship as a school subject was born, as Ofsted puts it, out of "the political determination to confront key issues facing society": disengagement from public life and apathy on the part of young people, confusion of identity and a perceived breakdown in moral values.
It is optional during the primary school years.
Virtual school 'beats real thing'
by BBC, September 28, 2006
Good morning everyone," says the teacher.
"Right, settle down. Now, has everyone got their poems out?"
Nothing unusual there, you may think, but this apparently normal English lesson is in fact taking place in a virtual classroom in a virtual school.
Back in January, Shan Jayran and her husband John Davies opened First College, an online high school.
Among its 22 students is 12-year-old Zack from Grimsby.
He was home-educated from the age of seven after suffering panic attacks and bullying at school.
GCSE coursework faces axe to curb Internet cheats
by This is London, September 27, 2006
Schoolchildren are to be banned from taking coursework home in a radical bid to crack down on cribbing from the Internet and coaching by pushy parents.
Education Secretary Alan Johnson said GCSE maths coursework was being scrapped altogether and projects in all other subjects would now have to be completed in school under supervision.
The announcement, which reverses years of educational doctrine, comes ahead of a report from schools watchdogs which is understood to have found evidence of widespread cheating.
