IT IS NOT A SHIFT TO THE LEFT TO INSIST THAT ENTRY TO SCHOOLS SHOULD BE FAIR

4/9/2008 8:40:00 AM

Jonathan Freedland The Guardian 9 April

Critics of the admissions inquiry were largely the anxious affluent but, for those with a legitimate concern, a solution exists. For a long while, predating the day Gordon Brown became prime minister, those who want to support the Labour government have yearned for a clear dividing line with the Conservatives. Well, now they have one. Last week Ed Balls, the secretary of state for children, schools and families, published the results of his department's inquiry into violations of the school admissions code. It found that one in six schools under review was breaking the rules on how it picked its pupils, either by asking questions it shouldn't ask - inquiring into the marital status of parents, for example; giving priority to those who could show, say, that a grandparent once went to the school; or, most egregiously, demanding would-be parents hand over a "voluntary contribution" that sounded an awful lot like fees. Most of the offenders were faith schools. What was the response to this exposé of institutional unfairness, to this naming and shaming of public bodies that take taxpayers' money yet break rules enshrined in law? Was Balls applauded for insisting that the playing field should be level, with every child given a fair shot at entry, regardless of their parents' income or how many years their family had lived in the area? He was not. Instead he was subjected to a lacerating assault from the Conservatives, sustained by their allies in the right-leaning press. Balls has been branded a Stalinist engaged in class warfare, an old Labour zealot hellbent on dragging down the good to the level of the bad, so that all wallow in the same equality of misery. His motive could only be low politics, pandering to the Labour backbenchers who will choose the party's next leader - because Balls has clearly decided Brown is destined for defeat.Guardian

General

TASTE OF COUNTRY DENIED TO ONE IN FIVE CHILDREN

4/9/2008 8:37:00 AM

Daily Telegraph 9 April

One in five children in Britain has never visited the countryside, with parents increasingly turning to computer games and television to keep their offspring occupied, according to a study. Read the 'concrete children' report in full [pdf]  Clive Aslet: Your countryside needs you  Your view: What can children learn from the countryside? Even when children are taken on trips out, many are held back from activities such as playing conkers or touching livestock because of health and safety fears, the research for Country Life, by the Year of Food and Farming, disclosed. The poll also found that more than a third of children surveyed said they had only visited the countryside once or twice.The findings, based on interviews with eight to 13-year-olds, coincide with the magazine's launch of its Manifesto for 2008, which details 10 ways in which adults and children can increase their enjoyment of and support for the countryside.DT

General

THE LESSON WE CAN LEARN ABOUT SCHOOLS

4/9/2008 8:38:00 AM

Frances Gilbert : Daily Telegraph 9 AprilThe worst teacher I've ever come across - let's call him Mr Jones - would certainly have agreed with the Tories' new plans for improving behaviour in Britain's These include allowing teachers physically to restrain pupils who are out of control and scrapping a parents' right of appeal when their children are excluded for misbehaviour.While I can see why they are worried about current standards of discipline, my own experience on the education front-line leads me to believe the proposals are misguided.Mr Jones never actually obeyed the existing laws - which forbid most forms of physical contact with children - and would regularly grab, push and drag those who were misbehaving. As I witnessed, when I was called to his classroom one afternoon, these ''teaching techniques'' don't work. I watched in astonishment as I observed my normally well-behaved tutor group go wild in the science lesson Mr Jones was attempting to conduct. My bemusement turned to horror as I observed him grab two children who were fighting and push them apart; his legs were caught up in the mêlée and he was unintentionally kicked.When they saw that I was in the room, the children fell silent: I had a good rapport with the class, working hard to help and nurture them. I gave the children a lecture about behaving but I couldn't help feeling that Mr Jones's woefully inadequate teaching was actually to blame: his lessons largely consisted of him shouting or setting pointless tasks.Jones had been "responsible" for a number of children being excluded from the school because they had attacked him: a couple of these exclusions had been overturned on appeal because it was deemed that the children weren't entirely at fault. Eventually, investigations were made and Jones was quietly asked to leave the school. Worryingly, he is currently working as a supply teacher.DT

General

THOUSANDS OF SATS SENT BACK FOR RE-MARKING

4/9/2008 7:00:00 AM

Daily Telegraph 9 April

Tens of thousands of national school tests are being sent back for re-marking over fears that pupils have been awarded the wrong grades.Over the past three years, six per cent, or one in 16, of the English tests taken by 14-year-olds have been sent back.More than 900 schools have returned every exam paper, while some schools have claimed that they have lost all confidence in the tests, known as SATs.Figures released by the National Assessment Agency (NAA), which runs the tests for the Government, said 121,000 papers had been sent back since 2005.DT

Lead Story | Curriculum / Quality Assurance

STUDENTS WERE BEHIND RISE IN LOANS

4/9/2008 8:41:00 AM

FT 9 April

The jump in unsecured loans shown in Bank of England data last week partially reflects a payment of just under £800m ($1.6bn) in student tuition payments from the Student Loans Company, it emerged on Tuesday.Bank data on seasonally adjusted unsecured lending to households showed a sharp and unexpected rise in February.The £2.4bn increase left some economists speculating that demand for credit might be coming from homeowners who need to refinance mortgages but are faced with demands from lenders for larger down payments.However, even after stripping out the effect of student borrowing, consumer credit rose by £1.5bn in February, the biggest increase since October and far above the £746m rise of the previous February, when the student loans were roughly £400m.The SLC said that, because both first- and second-year students now borrow money, the loan volumes were twice what they were in 2007 and would rise still further in 2009 before levelling out. Although the payments from tuition loans go directly to universities, it is students who are responsible for repayments. Therefore the loans are characterised as consumer credit.FT

FE/HE/ Skills

TABLES 'AFFECT UNIVERSITY POLICY'

4/9/2008 6:32:00 AM

BBC 8 April

Universities in England are "strongly influenced" by league tables despite concerns about the way they are compiled, a study has found. Three newspaper tables and two world rankings were analysed for the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The researchers said efforts to move up the tables might clash with policy objectives and academic standards. University leaders say there is still insufficient transparency about the way the league tables are compiled. The study was undertaken by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Information at the Open University and Hobsons Research. They looked at the Sunday Times Good University Guide, the Times Good University Guide, the Guardian University Guide, the Academic Ranking of World Universities published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University Institute of Higher Education and the Times Higher Education Supplement (now THE)/Quacquarelli Symonds ranking.BBC

FE/HE/ Skills

‘INFLUENTIAL’ TIMES GUIDE TO BEST UNIVERSITIES PASSES WITH HONOURS

4/9/2008 7:31:00 AM

The Times 9 April

The Times produces the most highly regarded guide to universities, according to a report presented to vice-chancellors. University leaders said that The Times Good University Guide, edited by John O’Leary, was the most influential of its kind. It is also the oldest, having begun in 1992. The report, commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, said that such league table guides had a huge impact on universities. The authors questioned 91 universities and colleges. They concluded: “There was relatively high agreement that achieving good rankings [in the guides] was important . . . There was also agreement that rankings may affect institutional reputation and even damage these beyond repair.” The report, presented to a conference at the University of Warwick, said: “The survey respondents indicated that the most influential league table was The Times Good University Guide.” The research team was led by senior figures from the Open University Centre for Higher Education Research and Information. They criticised university guides for focusing on full-time undergraduate provision and institutional, rather than subject-based, rankings. This meant that those offering specialist, postgraduate or mostly part-time teaching were excluded. Times

FE/HE/ Skills

IT IS NOT A SHIFT TO THE LEFT TO INSIST THAT ENTRY TO SCHOOLS SHOULD BE FAIR

TASTE OF COUNTRY DENIED TO ONE IN FIVE CHILDREN

THE LESSON WE CAN LEARN ABOUT SCHOOLS

THOUSANDS OF SATS SENT BACK FOR RE-MARKING

STUDENTS WERE BEHIND RISE IN LOANS

TABLES 'AFFECT UNIVERSITY POLICY'

‘INFLUENTIAL’ TIMES GUIDE TO BEST UNIVERSITIES PASSES WITH HONOURS

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