Union mergers
Ian Nash explains how recent union mergers are a response to the blurring of the boundaries between further and higher education caused by recent 14-19 reforms.

Yes, HE rankings are popular with students seeking a university
John O’Leary writes about how, unlike school league tables, university rankings are compiled using measures entirely at the discretion of publishers and often do not take account of the full range of university activities.

Academies and school diversity
Ron Glatter, Emeritus Professor of the Open University, argues that recent government policies designed to increase parental choice of school have in fact had the opposite effect.

Recruiting primary heads is becoming more difficult
Much of the country is finding it increasingly difficult to appoint primary heads. John Coe, General Secretary of the National Association of Primary Education, explains why increasing bureaucracy caused by the application of market forces to the profession could be at the root of the problem.

Improving behaviour and attendance
Our Wales editor, Professor Ken Reid, on the findings of the recent report from the National Behaviour and Attendance Review, which identifies a link between behaviour and attendance and low levels of literacy and numeracy.

An education in sharing
Sarah Erwin-Jones, of the Social Care and Education Team at Browne Jacobson, writes about the benefits of shared services initiatives, and details the barriers preventing public sector bodies from seeking to reap those benefits.

Higher Ground
John Izbicki looks at the risks of undertaking a BA in French and Economics, a writing course for young mothers, evidence of Neanderthal migration, English teachers from Poland, Ulster University’s Silver Jubilee, and a parrot with a prosthetic leg.

Letter from Scotia
Our Scotland editor, John Dobie, explains how schools in Scotland are to be given more support from HMIE, as part of a package of “new generation” reforms of the inspection system.

Inter-professional working
Julie Steer, research scholar at the University of Hertfordshire, writes about the success of a collaborative inter professional action research group organised by the University of Hertfordshire.

UCAS and Signposter
Jill Johnson, Director of Policy and Communications at UCAS, on how the UCAS Apply system can be used in conjunction with the Signposter Programme to facilitate the university admissions process.

General Section

Children’s Health

Media Watch
Media coverage of the recent SATs marking fiasco.

Opinion

With the number of report knife-related crimes still rising, John izbicki writes about a scheme that aimed to get youngsters in Kennington to swap knives for paintbrushes.

Reference Section

Events
The memorial event for Steve Sinnott held in London in June, the NUTs’ annual national education conference at Stoke Rochford, and NFER’s third annual Practical Research for Education conference.

Conference round-up

Document Reviews
Reviewed this month are The Bercow Report from the DCSF and Renewing the Physical Infrastructure of English FE Colleges from the National Audit Office.

Document Digest

Reports Digest
Reports from LEAs and CSAs, produced by EMIE at NFER, include those covering a Model of Staged Intervention in Cambridgeshire, a Children and Young People’s Partnership in Cornwall, and models of governance for collaborative educational provision and the Primary Building Schools for the Future programme in Knowsley.

Research Section

Research Notes

Children’s services
Sue Rossiter, NFER Chief Executive, writes about the results of the Local Authority Research Consortium’s research into the early impact of integrated children’s services.

Research findings should not be restricted to journals and understood only by academics
Andrew Pollard, Director of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme, explains how the TLRP has worked to engage teachers in its research and to disseminate its findings in an accessible way.

The role of UK local authorities to support school improvement
Danny Durrant, Former Adviser at Worcestershire Local Authority, writes about the challenges local authorities face as they become children’s services authorities.

NFER ongoing research

The impact of 14-16-year-old students on further education colleges
Pauline Wade of the National Foundation for Educational Research presents findings from research
investigating how colleges have responded to the challenges of providing courses for pre-16 students.

Research Abstracts

Research Digest

Parliament Section

What to do about NEETs
Our parliamentary editor, Nick Kent, reports on the Second Reading of the Education and Skills Bill in the House of Lords.

A game old bird – parliamentary knockabout in
Edinburgh Arabella Hargreaves reports on an exchange between the Conservative leader Annabel Goldie and First Minister Alex Salmond during First Minister’s Question Time.

The age of leaving care
A back bench debate on the age at which young people in Scotland leave the care system.

School funding for Wales
A debate on the Enterprise and Learning Committee’s report on arrangements for school funding.

Welsh-medium education An Opposition debate on Welsh-medium education.

Parliamentary Questions

Phoenix