The Diploma – entering year two
Lesley Longstone, Director General for Young People at the DCSF, writes about the challenges and successes of the 14-19 education reforms and the introduction of diplomas.

Rethink over barring and vetting scheme
We report on the Children’s Secretary’s decision to look again at how strict the Government’s new barring and vetting scheme will be in defining “frequent or intensive” contact with children.

You don’t have to be posh to be privileged
Diane Hofkins writes about research undertaken on behalf of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme into how top schools from the state and private sectors enhanced students’ wellbeing while achieving outstanding results.

Projecting forward
Our Wales editor, Professor Ken Reid, on five issues that have been dominating the headlines in Wales in recent weeks.

You can’t always keep it simple, stupid
John O’Leary casts a critical eye over the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Select Committee report on universities and the Conservative plans to reform school league tables.

Academies: quick fix a mirage
Warwick Mansell writes about the Conservative Party’s intention to continue and extend the Government’s academies programme.

Take it from the top
Frances Rafferty examines the Government’s White Paper, Your Child, Your Schools, Our Future, which proposes greater responsibility for headteachers and will require teachers to gain a ‘licence to teach’.

Employer and education partnerships essential in supplying correct skills
Paul Sanders, New Business Manager for Cskill Awards, emphasises the importance of effective dialogue between employers and education groups to develop the world class workforce envisioned in the 2006 Leitch review of skills.

Masters in Teaching and Learning
Sara Bubb of the London Institute of Education writes about the Training and Development Agency for Schools’ new Masters in Teaching and Learning.

Higher Ground
John Izbicki reports from around Britain’s universities.

A new two-cultures debate: information literacy and school practices
Many schools are now considering jettisoning traditional libraries and a number of academies are opening with no library. But Andrew K Shenton argues that school libraries play a key role in promoting “information literacy”.

Re-inventing Social Services: What will the future look like?
Our Children’s Services Editor, Chris Waterman, takes a critical look at how the social work profession might develop in the light of recent changes.

Clock ticking faster as 16-19 transfer approaches
Stephanie Mason, Director of Learning and Skills at Baker Tilly, flags up the key issues for the education sector as local authorities and colleges gear up for the new arrangements from April 2010.

Children’s Health
Fat ghettos, teen pregnancies, childhood infection, alcohol advertising and third-hand smoke.

Media Watch
The Schools Secretary’s announcement of cuts in education funding, the CBI’s report on higher education funding and exam results.

General

Opinion
John Izbicki on the controversy surrounding the Standard Assessment Tests.

Events
We report on the NUT’s national education conference, held at the union’s training college at Stoke Rochford Hall in Lincolnshire.

Conference round-up

Reference

Document Review
We review Doing Better for Children and Education at a Glance 2009 from the OECD; Stronger Together: Businesses and universities in turbulent times from the CBI; and HM Inspectorate of Education Annual Report and Accounts for 2008-09 from HMIE.

Document Digest

Reports Digest

Research

Research Notes
Our research editor, Michael Marshall, writes about the latest United Nations report on the state of global literacy, United Nations Literacy Decade: International strategic framework objectives.

Getting NEETs off the dole and back into learning
Sue Rossiter, Chief Executive, National Foundation for Educational Research, on the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training and what can be done to reduce their numbers.

NFER ongoing research

Co-construction and self-regulated learning – a pedagogical step too far
Professor Bill Boyle of Manchester University and Marie Charles, Assessment Consultant, argue that current teaching practice is often uninformed and lacks a focus on the learning needs of the individual child.

Pupil participation
Michelle Newman of Coventry University writes about the problems surrounding increased pupil participation in school decisions.

Research shorts

Research Digest

Parliament

From bogus colleges to swine flu, select committees were busy during the recess
We report on the various select committee reports published during the recess.

Consultation on school closures
Arabella Hargreaves, editor of Education Parliamentary Monitor, reports on the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Bill, which will change the law on the consultation necessary before a local authority closes a school and seeks to improve the process of all school consultations in Scotland.

Parliamentary Questions
Answers to written parliamentary questions on dedicated schools grant funding in the House of Commons; the Adopt an Apprentice scheme and child play safety in the Scottish Parliament; and the representation of disabled young people at a local level in the Welsh Assembly.

Phoenix
Ed Balls, Chris Keates, Doctor Who and an eagerly awaited book on policy-making from Cambridge professors John MacBeath and Maurice Galton and the NUT’s Assistant Secretary for education, John Bangs.