News Review and Commentary
NEW HURDLE FOR ACADEMY SCHOOLS

NEW HURDLE FOR ACADEMY SCHOOLS

7/2/2008 8:20:00 AM

 

FT 2 July

 All schools in Sheffield that want to become an academy or trust school will have to ballot local parents, in a national first announced by the Liberal Democrat council. This suggests academies, which have been bitterly opposed by many education experts and weighed down by a long and bureaucratic process of approval, could face yet another hurdle.The first ballot - both for Sheffield and for the country, according to the Department for Children, Schools and Families - will be for parents at Parkwood High School and its feeder schools. It is due to become an academy in September 2009.Andrew Sangar, councillor and cabinet member for children's services, acknowledged that plans for the Parkwood academy were so far advanced that even a No vote was unlikely to make a difference. He acknowledged that a No vote by parents could never be legally binding, because of national academies legislation. But Mr Sangar said that "in a more typical case", where a ballot was held and ended in a No before academy or trust plans were so well-advanced, "we would talk to the school and governing body, and say, 'we don't think at this time you should have one'".FT

Lead Story | Secondary

E-mail a friend | del.icio.us| Bookmark| Permalink | Comments (0) | Post RSSRSS comment feed

E-MAIL LEAK OF 'DEGREE INFLATION'

7/2/2008 8:22:00 AM

 

BBC 1 July

 A leaked e-mail shows how university staff are being urged to increase the number of top degree grades to keep pace with competing universities. The internal e-mail from Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) tells staff to "bear this in mind" when they do their student assessments. The university told the BBC this was in no way related to university policy. Last week, the higher education exams watchdog warned that the university grading system was "rotten". BBC  

MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY STAFF TOLD: AWARD MORE TOP GRADES

 

Times 2 July

 Staff at one of Britain’s largest universities have been urged to increase the number of top-level degree grades that they award to help it to compete with rival institutions.An internal memo at Manchester Metropolitan University tells staff there is an “understandable desire” to increase the proportion of first-class and upper-second-class degrees, as it does not give out as many as other comparable universities.It asks staff to “bear this in mind” when doing their student assessments.The e-mail was sent by the university’s academic standards manager to maths and computing staff several months ago.Times 

FE/HE/ Skills

E-mail a friend | del.icio.us| Bookmark| Permalink | Comments (0) | Post RSSRSS comment feed

WITHOUT PASSION, TEACHING MISSES THE POINT

7/2/2008 8:23:00 AM

Bernice McCabe; Daily Telegraph 2 July

 "Subject teaching allows you to expand on any ideas you may have; teaching by themes is probably quite limiting and doesn't allow for a creative thought pattern in the way any subject-based teaching would."The speaker was a sixth former, one of four from large comprehensive schools who were addressing delegates at the opening session of the 2008 Education Summer School, run in Cambridge by the Prince's Teaching Institute."Teaching by themes" is a teaching style in which subjects are grouped together, so that, for example, pupils learn about geography, science, English and history through studying a topic such as the local environment. DT

General | Independent/ Private Sector

E-mail a friend | del.icio.us| Bookmark| Permalink | Comments (0) | Post RSSRSS comment feed

EDUCATION: PLAN FOR UNIVERSITY-PRIMARY LINKS

7/2/2008 8:21:00 AM

 

The Guardian 2 July

 Universities will be asked to partner primary schools to encourage children as young as five to set their sights on university, the Guardian has learned.A private report commissioned by the prime minister and delivered to ministers yesterday is recommending the move because of concerns that by the time pupils are in their teens, many have rejected the idea of going to university.The report, which is scheduled to be made public in September, is understood to put more responsibilities on schools to provide the right guidance to students, and to ensure pupils take the right GCSEs and A-levels to get into university. It comes amid mounting pressure on universities to widen their intake after government research revealed that private schools still secure a disproportionate number of places at the top universities.Ministers met yesterday to consider the report by the National Council for Educational Excellence, led by Steve Smith, vice-chancellor of Exeter University, which is making several recommendations on how universities should tackle elitism.Guardian 

 

Primary | FE/HE/ Skills

E-mail a friend | del.icio.us| Bookmark| Permalink | Comments (0) | Post RSSRSS comment feed

News Review and Commentary

Click on the links below for the latest, in-depth education news review and commentary.

RSS feed for Comment and Analysis Comment and Analysis
RSS feed for Whitehall / Westminster Whitehall / Westminster
RSS feed for Research / Think Tanks Research / Think Tanks
RSS feed for Conferences and Events Conferences and Events

Sign in / Register


Calendar
View news items in large calendar

Daily News
RSS feed for Lead Story Lead Story
RSS feed for General General
RSS feed for Curriculum / Quality Assurance Curriculum / Quality Assurance
RSS feed for Foundation Foundation
RSS feed for Primary Primary
RSS feed for Secondary Secondary
RSS feed for FE/HE/ Skills FE/HE/ Skills
RSS feed for Independent/ Private Sector  Independent/ Private Sector

Archive