Latest Educational News
E-books come top in school reading competition
by BBC, June 18, 2013
Nearly half the titles read by children in a new national schools reading competition were read online, says literacy charity Booktrust.
Read for My School 2013 aimed to boost the numbers of primary pupils in England reading for pleasure.
Almost 100,000 nine to 11-year-olds, from 3,600 schools signed up.
"Children were sitting in their rooms using their iPads and Xboxes to read rather than for games," said Alison Keeley of Booktrust.
Education authorities in Wales 'could be reduced'
by BBC, June 18, 2013
The number of council education services running schools in Wales could be reduced following a review into their structures.
There are currently 22 local education authorities (LEAs) but Education Minister Leighton Andrews has criticised the set-up.
He ordered the review and its findings will be published later.
Schools inspectorate Estyn says council education staff are spread too thinly and cannot offer specialist help.
Education in brief: Pupils will study new curriculum but be examined on the old one
by Guardian, June 17, 2013
English and maths Sats tests will not be changed in time for the launch of the new curriculum; more extreme marketing for teacher training in schools; and is Ofsted being uncommonly harsh?
Sats exam farce
More than half a million pupils in England are to start the new "national" curriculum in September 2014, only to be tested on the old one in 2015, the Department for Education has confirmed.
Schools that were promised new buildings are still crumbling, years later
by Guardian, June 17, 2013
The coalition's Priority Schools Building programme is not delivering results and some pupils are still being taught in buildings that were declared inadequate 10 years ago
There is a cartoon on one of the presentations currently being circulated by the government to schools that have been promised money under the current school building programme. It shows a headteacher figure, pointing a ruler at a blackboard, with a speech bubble that reads: "I really wanted an atrium".
Tell teachers what you want, Ofsted – what you really, really want
by Guardian, June 17, 2013
Teachers need a clearer idea of what is expected of them so Ofsted must do better, says Laura McInerney
Teachers know the drill. When the text arrives from a friend saying "Uh-oh, Ofsted inspectors on the way, save me now!" you reply saying "Stay calm, just do what you always do, and you'll be fine". Problem is, no one knows if that advice is true any more. After a decade of endless fiddling with the criteria for "outstanding" lessons, plus constant cries that teachers are "failing" some or other group – last week it was the highly able – it has become impossible for teachers to know if their daily practice is what inspectors, or even their own school senior managers, are looking for.
Signing should be classed as foreign language for GCSE
by BBC, June 17, 2013
Ministers are facing calls to make British Sign Language count as a modern foreign language at GCSE level.
A modern language is defined in England as one that can be spoken or written - so BSL cannot qualify at the moment.
But deaf awareness charity Signature points out that sign language is included on the education curriculum in Sweden, Norway and Finland.
Top universities 'have become less representative'
by BBC, June 17, 2013
The UK's top universities have become less socially representative in the past decade, a new report claims.
The proportion of students from state schools who started a full-time course in one of the top 24 universities fell slightly between 2002-3 and 2011-12.
A separate measure of how many students came from disadvantaged backgrounds also saw a fall, the Social Mobility Commission report said.
No extra free schools to open under Labour, says Twigg
by BBC, June 17, 2013
There would be no more free schools opened by a future Labour government, but existing free schools could stay open, says the party's education spokesman, Stephen Twigg.
The shadow education secretary also wants all state schools in England to have the rights given to academies.
Mr Twigg says he wants to end a "fragmented, divisive" school system.
Education Secretary Michael Gove says the proposals were still "free schools under a different name".
Comprehensive school pupils do better at university, two new studies confirm
by Guardian, June 15, 2013
Students from state schools outperform private ones admitted with same A-level grades, according to Cardiff and Oxford Brookes research
Two studies showing state school pupils do better at university than those from private schools will strengthen demands for admissions tutors to give priority to applicants from comprehensives. The findings, from two separate universities, reveal that students from state schools gained better degrees than independently educated candidates with the same A-level grades.
Teachers must get trained or face the sack, says Labour
by Guardian, June 15, 2013
Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg to issue challenge over free schools as party joins battle with Michael Gove
More than 5,000 untrained teachers who have been allowed to work in academies and free schools under Michael Gove's education reforms will be sacked if Labour wins the next election, unless they gain a formal qualification within two years.
The proposal is one of several to be announced by the shadow education secretary, Stephen Twigg, as the opposition joins battle with Gove.
Fathers 'cutting work hours while mothers do more'
by BBC, June 15, 2013
Hard-working fathers in the UK are cutting their long hours, while mothers are working more, researchers say.
Men with a partner and children at home work longer hours than other working men, but their hours have fallen in the past 10 years, they say.
Three in 10 men in this family set-up work 48 hours a week, research by NatCen Social Research and University of East Anglia suggests.
Free school pioneers advise wannabes
by BBC, June 15, 2013
Dozens of groups aiming to open free schools in England next year have met in London to get tips from those who have already set them up.
Members of some of the 102 groups approved to open schools met at the West London Free School.
Its founder Toby Young welcomed a Daily Mirror report that Labour is to announce a policy shift on the schools.
But the party dismissed this as "misleading, speculative and ill-informed".
Missing exam paper sparks re-sit row
by BBC, June 14, 2013
The loss of an A-level exam paper in Amsterdam has led to calls for a free re-sit from UK students who sat the replacement paper.
The exam board Edexcel sent out replacement papers after learning about the missing copies - but two schools in the UK and two overseas mistakenly gave students the original ones.
Students say the new paper was too hard and are calling for a re-sit for all.
Flexible school starts urged for summer-born children
by BBC, June 14, 2013
Ministers are being urged to ensure parents of summer-born children can exercise their right to a later school start without losing a chosen place.
Evidence suggests younger children in a class can do less well than their older peers, and some parents feel delaying the school start can help
But many parents find their children must start reception in September or go on a waiting list for Year 1.
Introduce basic algebra at seven, argues study
by BBC, June 14, 2013
At seven, pupils should know their tables up to 10 and be introduced to basic algebra, says a study.
The draft primary maths curriculum for England "should be more demanding", says Prof David Burghes in a pamphlet for right-leaning think tank Politeia.
Primary teachers need better maths skills and more should take maths AS- and A-levels, added Prof Burghes.
Weald of Kent grammar wants to open Sevenoaks annexe
by BBC, June 14, 2013
Classified as 11 Plus.
A second grammar school has said it wants to set up an annexe in Sevenoaks after a campaign by parents to expand selective provision in Kent.
Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge said it was consulting with local people about the feasibility of setting up a six-form entry annexe.
Kent County Council (KCC) has already named Maidstone's Invicta Grammar School as its choice to run an annexe.
Head teachers recognised in honours
by BBC, June 14, 2013
Five of England's head teachers have been knighted or made dames in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours.
Four are involved in the government's academy programme. The fifth has a role in its shake-up of teacher training.
Greg Martin, principal of Durand Academy, Lambeth, is best known for his plan to set up a non-fee-paying boarding school in West Sussex.
Kenneth Gibson leads two schools in Tyneside described as "beacons of hope" in a deprived area.
Universities face more complaints since rise in tuition fees
by Guardian, June 13, 2013
Appeals jumped by 20% between 2011 and 2012 – the first year of the new, higher fee level
Students have become more willing to issue formal complaints about their treatment at the hands of universities since the imposition of £9,000 annual tuition fees, the higher education watchdog has revealed in its annual report.
The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) – which reviews complaints from students in England and Wales – said that appeals jumped by 20% between 2011 and 2012, the first year of the new, higher fee level.
Schools fail to challenge the brightest, warns Ofsted
by BBC, June 13, 2013
Thousands of bright children are being "systematically failed" by England's non-selective secondaries, education inspectors warn.
A culture of low expectations means England's able pupils are failing to gain top GCSE grades, Ofsted says.
Two-thirds of pupils, some 65,000, who achieved Level 5 in primary school maths and English tests failed to get A* or an A in both subjects at GCSE.
MPs warn of repeat of GCSE English grading fiasco
by Telegraph, June 11, 2013
The GCSE grading fiasco that caused chaos for teenagers last summer risks being repeated under a major overhaul of the exams system, MPs warned today.
In a report, the Commons Education Select Committee said that blame for the 2012 “turmoil” largely lay with the last Labour administration which redesigned qualifications between 2007 and 2009 without properly acting on concerns raised by examiners.
It was claimed that the shift towards more coursework and a modular system – when courses are broken down into bite-sized chunks – created instability in the system but warnings from exam boards “were not acted upon” at the time.
