8th February 2008
Two reports today severely criticise the government's primary school strategy. Cambridge-based Primary Review have today described English primary school children as amongst the most tested in the western world. It described the English system as being 'pre-occupied with national standards and accountability. An NFER report challenges the notion that children should start school at the age of four, suggesting that this leads to stressed young children.
6th February 2008
According to Nick Clegg, LibDem leader, 5000 schools now routinely fingerprint children.
5th February 2008
In a move that may lead to increased difficulties for home educators, the government has today announced a new strategy encouraging people to report to authorities children that they feel are at risk.
3rd February 2008
Over the next few weeks, families in the Brighton area will discover whether or not they have won first prize in the Brighton's school place lottery. In the first scheme of its kind, secondary school places for over-subscribed schools are to be allocated at random.
31st January 2008
The government has approved the setting up of a new independent inspectorate. The Bridge will provide inspection services for 110 schools which are members of the Christian Schools Trust or the Association of Muslim Schools. Home Service's Ruth Slack is a member of the Bridge's inspection team.
31st January 2008
Secondary schools continue to fail white working class boys! According to figures published today, 85% of boys from white working class backgrounds failed to obtain five or more GCSE grades at C or above (including English and maths).
28th January 2008
Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, wants to see 1 in 5 young people on apprenticeships within ten years. Mr Brown wants to see employers play in part. However, He has only pledged to increase places on offer to 16-18 year olds by 90,000 by 2013.
25th January 2008
According to an Audit Commission survey 40% of schools in England feel that mental health services for young people are not satisfactory. Headteachers particularly fear that vulnerable school children are slipping through the net because nobody is taking responsibility for them.
24th January 2008
Cross-departmental guidelines published yesterday urge teachers and school catering staff to snoop on children's lunch boxes, rewarding children who have contents that meet new government guidelines. A sample school policy document contained within the the guidelines state, "If a child regularly brings a packed lunch that does not conform to the policy then the school will contact the parents to discuss this."
23rd January 2008
Almost four out of 10 universities are unlikely to accept students applying with the new Diploma qualifications, says a survey of admissions officers from the 1994 Group.
The Diploma is being promoted by the government as an alternative to the traditional A-level.
22nd January 2008
Cookery classes are to be made compulsory says the DCSF in a further attempt to stem overweight and obesity in young people.
9th January 2008
Ed Balls has today announced that summer-born children will be allowed to start school up to a year later.
18th January 2008
More than half of teachers in a survey conducted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, believe internet plagiarism is a serious problem among sixth-form students.
17th January 2008
An Ofsted report has criticised the use of non-specialist teachers in Key Stage 3 geography lessons, claiming that more needs to be done to make the subject relevant and more engaging for pupils.
17th January 2008
The number of students starting university courses topped the 400,000 mark for the first time in 2007. However, when compared with figures for 2005, few students came from lower socio-economic groups and there was a decline in the number of students over the age of 25.
8th January 2008
Children's Secretary, Ed Ball, today stated that children should spend less time watching TV and playing on computer games and spend more time reading with their parents!
3rd January 2008
According to the Conservatives, the number of children in very large schools (over 1800 pupils) has tripled since 1997. Almost 50,000 pupils now attend a very large school whilst almost half a million children attend a school of over 1500 pupils.
31st December 2007
According to the Conservatives, children from the poorest backgrounds continue to be disadvantaged in schools, with a raft of data showing that these children continue to be let down by the system.
21st December2007
The government's Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) has today published its revised GCSE qualification and subject criteria document. Potentially having enormous implications for home-educating families wishing to prepare children for GCSE examinations, the new criteria will see coursework replaced by controlled internal assessments. This is likely to mean that home educated students will be unable to sit GCSE exams unless their parents find a local exam centre where the controlled assessments can be undertaken. Click here to visit the QCA site. Also feel free to look at the links on the right which highlight the press reporting of this story.
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Editor's Choice -
This week's editor's choice focuses on the widespread fingerprinting of children that goes on in large numbers of British schools. Follow some of these links to find out more.
Is school fingerprinting out of bounds? as the Guardian.
Computer magazine PCPRO reports that as many as 75% of local authorities allow school children to be fingerprinted.
Children as young as five are fingerprinted in Yorkshire schools.
A suffolk school takes children's fingerprints before they can have dinner, in new cashless scheme.
A York headteacher defends the fingerprinting of children by saying that it is preparing them for adult life.
The government is to issue new guidelines for schools on fingerprinting and biometric data. |
