It started with the Spice Girls
Jill Craven interviews Dr John Dunford about the highs and lows of his tenure as general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, on the eve of his final conference as general secretary.

ASCL’s new general secretary-elect
Frances Rafferty talks to Brian Lightman, the incoming general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, about his plans for the organisation and how he plans to meet the challenges ahead.

Which schools are top dogs?
Ron Glatter, emeritus professor at the Open University, on the marked hierarchy and division within the secondary school system in England, where private school class sizes are around half those in state schools.

Off the radar and out of school
Emilie Smeaton, research and strategy manager for the Railway Children, reports on recent research identifying how children are living on the streets in the UK with no support from family or other institutions.

Which way for the secondary curriculum now?
Frances Rafferty reports on claims from the Conservative Party that they will bring about a radical shift in power from the educational establishment down to schools and parents.

Just how well qualified should teachers be?
Frances Rafferty on how a recent report on teacher training from the Children, Schools and Families select committee has reignited the debate over the appropriate qualifications for teaching.

The decline of sixth form colleges
Ian Nash asks why sixth form colleges are having to fight so hard for their survival.

The Blair and Brown generation: the first five years
Our children’s services editor Chris Waterman reports on Children of the 21st Century: The first five years, based on the fourth national cohort longitudinal study.

Children’s health

Media Watch

Higher Ground
John Izbicki reports on the latest news from higher education institutions around the country.

Fifty per cent HE participation target abandoned
John O’Leary reports on the Government’s change of policy from 50 per cent participation in higher education by the age of 30 to a 75 per cent aspiration for young people to have a higher or advanced qualification.

All change in Wales
Our Wales editor, Professor Ken Reid, writes about the new Welsh Minister for Children, Education and Lifelong Learning, and some of the emerging issues in Welsh education.

A decentralised schools system
John Chowcat, general secretary of Aspect, on the promise within the Children, Schools and Families Bill of a move away from top-down educational reform machinery towards a much more decentralised system.

Every English teacher will need the English Project
Beryl Pratley, former HMI and head of a University School of Teacher Training, writes about a project that aims to help young people understand the nature of English as a subject.

Times Were When

General

Events
George Low reports from the annual NIACE policy conference in London.

Conference round-up

Opinion
John Izbicki on the Government’s desire for teachers to provide the moral guidance to pupils that should be the responsibility of parents.

Obituary
We record with regret the death of Lawrence Norcross, former secondary school head teacher.

Book Review
George Low reviews School Change to Improve Effectiveness.

Recruitment
New research from the TDA and National College exposing public misconceptions about salary and career progression in the teaching profession.

People

Reference

Document reviews
In this issue we review School Accountability and Training of Teachers from the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee, Support for All from the DCSF and Giving Children a Healthy Start from the Audit Commission.

Document digest

Reports digest

Research

Research Notes

News from the IOE
In the second of his new regular columns for Education Journal, Professor Geoff Whitty, Director of the Institute of Education, University of London, writes about research into the attainment of low income children, climate change, and educating children about sustainable development.

Variety is the spice of ... research
Sue Rossiter, Chief Executive of the National Foundation for Educational Research, writes in her column about teachers opinions of the new school report card, sex and relationships education in other countries and NFER’s four-year study into getting schoolchildren to eat more fruit and vegetables.

Recognising practitioners engaged in research
Alison Lawson, of the National Foundation for Educational Research, reports on the research engaged schools and colleges awards.

Marking essays on screen and on paper
Martin Johnson, Rita Nadas and Sylvia Green of Cambridge Assessment report on the effects of changing from marking on paper to marking on-screen.

Research Digest

Parliament

Westminster round-up

Scottish Futures Trust and School Access
Reports on debates in the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish skills strategy
A debate on the Scottish government’s skills strategy.

Funding Education in Wales
The pupil funding gap between England and Wales.

CSSIW Annual Report
A debate on the Care and Social Services Inspectorate
Wales’ Annual Report.

Parliamentary questions
Children’s services funding per unitary local authority in England. Teachers and teaching assistants per local authority in the South West of England. Free school milk in Wales. Dedicated school librarians per local authority in Scotland.

Phoenix
NEETs so dumb? Chocks away!