Monthly Archives: February 2012

Tired children ‘forced to catch up on sleep at school’

Posted on February 29, 2012 by tburr

Teachers are being forced to allow pupils to catch up on their sleep during the school day amid fears rising numbers of young children staying up all night playing computer games. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Behaviour, Parents, Primary Schools, Teachers | Leave a comment

Government report says all students should sign up for internships

Posted on February 28, 2012 by tburr

Every student should go on an internship giving them up to 12 weeks of work experience while they study for their degree, a top-level government inquiry recommends today. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in University | Leave a comment

Art or dance ‘should be compulsory to 16′, review says

Posted on February 28, 2012 by tburr

All schoolchildren should study the arts up to the age of 16 amid claims that cultural education in England is still “patchy”, it is recommended today. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Creative Curriculum, Drama, GCSE, Media, Music, The Arts | Leave a comment

School with 700 pupils has only 26 native English speakers

Posted on February 28, 2012 by tburr

Byron Primary in Bradford school has fewer than one in 20 pupils speaking English as their first language, it has emerged. The primary has 26 out of 700 pupils who speak English as a mother tongue, with 96.3 per cent using … Continue reading →

Posted in EAL, English | Leave a comment

Labour proposals for new education body could prove revolutionary

Posted on February 28, 2012 by tburr

Stephen Twigg’s Office for Educational Improvement would, for the first time, require future education secretaries to justify the evidence behind their policies, says the Guardian. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Assessment / Exams, Government Policy | Leave a comment

Gove tells schools to think ‘local’ in history lessons

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

Education secretary gives English Heritage £2.7m in a programme to revamp the history curriculum. Schools in England will be told to adopt a home town approach to learning how their localities fit into “our rich island story.” {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Funding, History, Humanities | Leave a comment

Boys ‘close reading gap with girls’

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

Boys have caught up with girls on reading ability, according to a study into the book-reading habits of school children. What Kids are Reading 2012 found that the difficulty level of books read by boys is no longer generally lower than … Continue reading →

Posted in Boys, Girls, Literacy | Leave a comment

Ofsted: top heads drafted in to inspect poor schools

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

England’s best head teachers are to be parachuted into under-performing schools amid claims from Ofsted that standards of state education are failing to improve fast enough. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Head teachers, Ofsted | Leave a comment

Numeracy Campaign: ‘maths curriculum failing to meet the needs of the 21st century’

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

Children are being turned off mathematics at a young age and failing to match the standards attained in other countries because the subject is increasingly seen as meaningless to their lives, says Rod Bristow, head of Pearson UK. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in A-Level, GCSE, Maths | Leave a comment

Gove’s new free schools won’t be inspected for at least two years

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

The standards of the Government’s new flagship free schools will not be inspected for around two years after opening. Ofsted said yesterday that the schools will be visited earlier only if concerns are raised about their performance. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Government Policy, Ofsted | Leave a comment

Children with ‘negative’ parents twice as likely to misbehave

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

Children brought up by mothers and fathers with poor parenting skills are twice as likely to display serious anti-social behaviour, according to a Government study. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Behaviour, Parents | Leave a comment

More teachers ‘quitting the classroom over indiscipline’

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

Rising numbers of teachers are taking early retirement amid concerns over factory-style exam targets, pupil behaviour and changes to pensions, it emerged today. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Behaviour, Teachers, Teachers professional development / careers | Leave a comment

Academy schools attain fewer good GCSEs, study shows

Posted on February 27, 2012 by tburr

Academies are under-performing compared with other state schools, raising doubts over the reform programme being pursued by the education secretary, according to a new analysis of government figures. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Academies, State Schools | Leave a comment

Counter-terrorism degree launches

Posted on February 24, 2012 by tburr

A university is launching degrees in counter-terrorism and airport security – with the latter claimed as a first in the UK. The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) says it wants to train the next generation of security professionals. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in University | Leave a comment

Academics accused of expelling pupils to boost results

Posted on February 24, 2012 by tburr

The Government’s flagship academics are four times more likely to expel pupils than normal schools, data shows, prompting fresh claims they are abusing their powers to boost results. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in Academies, Government Policy, Independent Schools | Leave a comment

Numeracy Campaign: teenagers ‘struggle with GCSE maths’

Posted on February 24, 2012 by tburr

Teenagers are less likely to progress from GCSE to A-level in mathematics than almost any other subject amid fears exams are too hard. Research shows that just a fifth of pupils who gain A* to C grades in maths at the … Continue reading →

Posted in A-Level, GCSE, Maths | Leave a comment

SEN: MPs shocked by teens’ plight

Posted on February 24, 2012 by tburr

MPs have expressed shock that almost a third of 18-year-olds with special educational needs are not in any form of education, employment or training. Too many young people are falling through the gaps once they leave school, the Commons Public … Continue reading →

Posted in Government Policy, SEN | Leave a comment

Examiners ordered to toughen up GCSE test papers

Posted on February 24, 2012 by tburr

GCSEs in key subjects such as English literature and mathematics are to be toughened up amid fears pupils are being allowed to pass with a superficial knowledge of the curriculum, it is announced today. {lang: ‘en-GB’}

Posted in English, GCSE, Literacy, Maths | Leave a comment

One-in-four university degree courses axed ‘to save cash’

Posted on February 23, 2012 by tburr

More than a quarter of degree courses have been axed in just six years as universities increasingly abandon serious academic disciplines to save money, according to research. Growing numbers of universities are dropping standalone courses in subjects such as science, … Continue reading →

Posted in University | Leave a comment

University graduates just as likely to be unemployed as school leavers with one GCSE

Posted on February 23, 2012 by tburr

A 21-year-old university graduate is as likely to be unemployed as a 16-year-old who leaves school with one GCSE, official Government research show. In figures that is likely to raise questions over the value of higher education, the Office for … Continue reading →

Posted in GCSE, University | Leave a comment