TWO OUT OF ONE DOES NOT GO

5/1/2008 8:41:00 AM

Leader; The Independent 1 May

The motivation behind the splitting of the old Department for Education and Skills into two was to provide joined-up government. It was essential that all children's services should be housed under one roof, Gordon Brown argued. And so the new Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) came into being. The word "education" disappeared from both titles. Education, however, would gain from having at least two ministers round the Cabinet table in future, it was argued. In a report and in an evidence session earlier this week, the select committee shadowing the DCSF casts some doubt over whether this has been achieved. First, it points out that the DCSF has sole responsibility for children aged five to 13 while DIUS is responsible for those over 19. For young people between these two age bands there is a shared responsibility. This has been potentially devastating for the education of those aged 14 to 19 and the Government's flagship diploma. Similarly, the plans for raising the education participation age to 18 could fall between two stools. The DCSF has countered that it has the lead responsibility for delivering the 14 to 19 curriculum – but that answer neglects several issues such as who is responsible for persuading higher education that the new diplomas are a legitimate university entry requirement and should be embraced. Second, in an evidence session on the Government's plans to give priority to the needs of looked-after children, it emerged that – while schools and councils have a legal responsibility to liaise over provision – this does not extend to the health service. We heard health service professionals demand that performance indicators should apply to them as well as to others. So, it is all very well insisting that schools should give priority to children in care when deciding on admissions. But how useful is that if the emotional support has not been given to encourage vulnerable children into school in the first place? The Government needs to acknowledge that joined-up government is about more than producing a master plan and taking some action on the ground to eliminate overlap.Independent

General

SCHOOLS COULD MONITOR WELL-BEING

5/1/2008 7:17:00 AM

BBC 30 April

Schools in England could be made to keep records of pupils' drug use and obesity under plans being considered. A discussion document seen by The Guardian details how 18 aspects of pupils' lives, including the incidence of pregnancies, could be monitored. The idea was first set out in the Children's Plan published by the government last year. Head teachers, now being consulted over the plans, said it would be "absolutely wrong to dump this agenda on schools". Schools have had a duty to promote the broader well being of their pupils since 2006 - for instance by encouraging them to exercise and eat healthily. In the Children's Plan, ministers said England's schools' inspectorate Ofsted should judge schools on pupil well-being as well as exam results, exclusion rates and other existing factors. The discussion document gives more details, suggesting bullying, obesity, entrance to the youth justice system, and destinations on leaving schools could also be included, according to The Guardian.BBC

General

THE FACTS OF LIFE

5/1/2008 8:43:00 AM

Leader: The Independent 1 May

Schools and sixth-form colleges are doing students a grave disservice by not telling them which A-level subjects are taken seriously by the best universities and which not. Young people need to understand the consequences of opting for subjects like film studies and media studies. They may find these topics superficially more alluring than history or Latin but when they realise that the "soft" subjects may limit their choice of university, they are willing to change tack. Top universities may be wrong in discriminating against the soft subjects, but students have to negotiate the world as they find it – and schools need to recognise that.Independent

Curriculum / Quality Assurance

A QUARTER OF PUPILS TO BE DENIED THEIR PRIMARY SCHOOL OF CHOICE

5/1/2008 7:19:00 AM

The Times 1 May

Thousands of children are expected to miss out on their first choice of primary school this year. As more than 540,000 families in England await the results of applications, figures suggest that up to a quarter of parents in some areas may be disappointed. The problem appears to be worst in London and the South East. In the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, in southwest London, only three quarters of parents have been offered their first choice of school. The council also admits that it has been unable to find any places at all for 10 per cent of children. This has left 200, double the number last year, with no school place for September. The council said that it was in talks with schools to build emergency classrooms in playgrounds. Times

Lead Story | Primary

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT: APPLE APPEARS FROM NOWHERE

5/1/2008 8:48:00 AM

FT 1 May

What makes students choose one employer over another? A sometimes confused, sometimes rational mix of money, power, public service and sheer adventure - judging by the table of most popular employers compiled by Trendence, the research and consultancy business.The list is splendidly diverse. It includes prestigious public-sector organisations, led by the BBC, followed by MI5 and the National Health Service.But the majority of the most popular organisations are private-sector companies, led by second-placed Apple. The company has raced to a commanding position from virtually nowhere last year, helped by the hipness of its newly launched iPhone.The next two leading private-sector companies, Microsoft and Google, are also in the technology business - leaving PwC, the top financial services firm, in seventh place in the overall rankings.Is there any rational pattern in this hierarchy?Yes and no. Goldman Sachs, at ninth place, makes sense for those motivated by money - although this is clearly not its sole attraction. It is perhaps the most prestigious of the investment banks, which, together with law firms, are the top payers.FT

FE/HE/ Skills

ADULT EDUCATION FIGHTS FOR ITS LIFE

5/1/2008 8:49:00 AM

Neil Merrick: The Independent 1 May

Tutors and students are worried that a government consultation may be a fig-leaf for cuts, says Neil Merrick. During the next few weeks, staff and students at London's largest adult education college are being asked to undertake a little extra work and write a letter to Gordon Brown – for the sake of people who wish to study there in the future. Peter Davies, principal of City Lit, is concerned that the Government's desire to promote what it terms "informal adult learning" may herald the decline of traditional classes and leave many learners to study alone with little more than the support of the internet.A consultation paper published in January by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills appears to focus heavily on the use of IT as a study aid and says little about the role of qualified teachers. Davies sees this as a potential erosion of quality. "The risk for us is that people will say there is so much going on through the internet that it's no longer necessary to fund more expensive adult education classes," he says.More than 24,000 students enrol on part-time courses at City Lit each year. Like other adult colleges, it has been forced to raise fees as support from Learning and Skills Council has been reduced.Independent

FE/HE/ Skills

'THIS NEW POWER TO VALIDATE THEIR OWN DEGREES WILL GIVE COLLEGES MORE FLEXIBILITY'

5/1/2008 8:51:00 AM

The Independent 1 May

A message from Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges

Today is my first as the new chief executive of AoC. Though I have been involved in education and training for many years, latterly as the director of training and education across all three armed forces, I continue to be surprised by the sheer reach of further education. Around 200,000 people study higher education in a college and more than half of all foundation degree students are taught by a college. By a neat coincidence today is the first day in which colleges can apply to validate their own foundation degrees, independent from universities. Foundation degree courses usually take two years to complete, although part-time courses take longer. Most students sit the course while employed – the qualifications are designed in partnership with employers and are therefore popular with business. Tesco recently made headlines with the announcement that it will offer its retail managers a foundation degree validated by the University of the Arts, London and Manchester Metropolitan University. Independent

FE/HE/ Skills

OUR BEST, AND LAST, CHANCE

5/1/2008 8:44:00 AM

Estelle Morris; The Guardian 1 May

Diplomas could finally deliver a unified system, academic and vocational, tailored to pupils' needs. The nation's 14-year-olds are about to decide which subjects and exams they will take over the next two years. In the era of the national curriculum it's the first time they've had a real choice, and making the wrong decision can limit their future options. What makes this group different is that it is the first to have the choice of signing up for the government's new diplomas. A minister recently described diplomas as the biggest education innovation in the world. That may be a bit over the top, but the point is well made. When they are fully established, GCSEs and A-levels could be a thing of the past; as out of date to teenagers as the school certificate was to their parents. The talk will be of foundation learning tiers and higher diplomas, principal learning and special projects. It would be easy to dismiss diplomas as just one more attempt to solve age-old weaknesses of our secondary school curriculum: vocational subjects that have low status; qualifications that no one understands; an academic curriculum that specialises too early; poorly motivated teenagers; and our continuing failure to value anything that could be termed practical. In the past 30 years much money, time and effort have been wasted in this area. So what chance do diplomas have of bucking the trend? The government is investing huge amounts of our cash, schools' time and its political reputation in trying to make sure they do. The government is right to claim that the proposals have more chance of succeeding than any of their predecessors. The prime minister's emphasis on skills and creativity provides the political and economic context for diplomas; he "talks up" vocational skills in a way that hasn't always been done. And the support of groups who have already bought in to diplomas is unprecedented: employers are helping to develop the curriculum; universities are showing willing to accept them as entry qualifications; and the legal framework is in place so pupils can learn at college and the workplace as well as school. Guardian

Curriculum / Quality Assurance | Secondary

30 CONTRACT TB IN BIRMINGHAM GIRLS' SCHOOL

5/1/2008 7:24:00 AM

The Guardian 1 May

Thirty pupils at a Birmingham secondary school have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, health officials said last night. All 200 pupils at Birchfield Independent Girls' School in Aston were screened after three girls tested positive for the bacterial infection. A spokesman for Heart of Birmingham primary care trust said one girl contracted the disease last summer and was successfully treated. But in February, two more girls at the Muslim school developed the infectious form, leading it and health officials to test all pupils earlier this month. "Thirty children returned positive skin tests for the disease," he said. The girls have not returned to school but begun antibiotic treatment. They are awaiting x-ray screening to determine the extent of their infection and will be treated at Birmingham Chest Clinic and the Birmingham Children's Hospital.Guardian

General | Independent/ Private Sector

NEW QUALIFICATIONS 'CAUSING RISE IN PRIVATE PUPILS'

5/1/2008 8:45:00 AM

The Guardian 30 April

Confusion over the proliferation of qualifications in state schools is driving up the numbers of parents paying for their children to attend private schools, the Independent Schools Council has claimed. Dr Bernard Trafford, headteacher of Wolverhampton grammar school and chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, suggested that the introduction of the government's flagship 14-19 diploma qualification this September had in part prompted parents to opt for the more traditional education independent schools offer. "Parents are looking for dependable, sure quality. There's so much change with diplomas and so on that there's a lot of confusion. They know what we stand for and offer," he said. "The value of boarding is being seen again and is socially acceptable. It offers tremendous coherent pastoral care."Guardian

Curriculum / Quality Assurance | Independent/ Private Sector

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TWO OUT OF ONE DOES NOT GO

SCHOOLS COULD MONITOR WELL-BEING

THE FACTS OF LIFE

A QUARTER OF PUPILS TO BE DENIED THEIR PRIMARY SCHOOL OF CHOICE

GRADUATE RECRUITMENT: APPLE APPEARS FROM NOWHERE

ADULT EDUCATION FIGHTS FOR ITS LIFE

'THIS NEW POWER TO VALIDATE THEIR OWN DEGREES WILL GIVE COLLEGES MORE FLEXIBILITY'

OUR BEST, AND LAST, CHANCE

30 CONTRACT TB IN BIRMINGHAM GIRLS' SCHOOL

NEW QUALIFICATIONS 'CAUSING RISE IN PRIVATE PUPILS'

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