Skills are still inadequate
In light of evidence from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills that 1.7m people in work have inadequate skills, Ian Nash writes about the three main parties’ plans for improving the nation’s skills, if they come to power.

Children First
Children’s services directors discuss with Susan Young the ways in which bureaucracy and a seemingly unstoppable tide of amendments and revisions to existing legislation enormously complicate their role.

The commercialisation of children
Our children’s services editor, Chris Waterman, looks at action, reaction and inaction on the increasing commercialisation and sexualisation of children and young people.

School leaders back Lib Dems in poll
The results of an opinion poll of secondary school senior management team members on the education policies of the main political parties.

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

Is education in Wales ‘mediocre’?
Our Wales editor, Professor Ken Reid, reports on the final annual report of Dr Bill Maxwell, Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales, who is leaving to take up a new post in Scotland.

Centre-left or Thatcherite?
Warwick Mansell argues that, while New Labour has bought into some traditionally right-of-centre thinking on school reform, Conservative thinking has remained broadly the same.

A framework for primary education
Professor Colin Richards revisits his original accountability framework for primary education and fleshes out what it might mean in practice.

What the Tories can learn from history
Diane Hofkins explains why Michael Gove should retain the new primary curriculum recommended by Jim Rose, if the Conservatives win the next General Election.

Children’s health
Avoidable ill-health, media literacy, social workers and healthy school dinners.

Media watch
School visits and the Jewish and Armenian holocausts.

Research

Research Notes
Our research editor, Michael Marshall, on the gulf between research and teaching in higher education.

News from the IOE
Professor Geoff Whitty, Director of the Institute of Education, University of London, writes about the continuing achievement gap between those from higher and lower socio-economic groups, as demonstrated by the marked difference in their academic achievement and higher education participation rates.

Research shorts

Primary schools and ICT
Neil Selwyn, of the Institute of Education, University of London, explains why the current generation of primary school pupils feel increasingly disappointed by their low-tech schools.

A research-engaged community college
Dr Voldis Kudliskis, research coordinator at South Dartmoor Community College, presents a review of some of the activities that led, in February 2010, to the college becoming one of the first schools in England to be nationally recognised for its commitment to educational research with an award from NFER.

Research Digest

General

Events
Ian Nash reports from the LSIS research conference, Frances Rafferty reports from John Dunford’s final conference as ASCL General Secretary, Chris Waterman reports from an Investors in Families seminar, and Demitri Coryton reports on the Strategic Forum for Research in Education conference in Edinburgh and the ATL, NASUWT and NUT annual conferences.

Conference round-up

Opinion
John Izbicki suggests some other ways for prospective students to get onto higher education courses, if they fail to secure a place through the normal channels.

Reference

Document reviews
In this issue we review Evaluation of Building Schools for the Future: Third annual report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sure Start Children’s Centres from the Children, Schools and Families Select Committee and The Role of the Third Sector from the Cabinet Office.

Document digest

Parliament

From Baker to Balls
Our children’s services editor, Chris Waterman, examines what five education ministers said about the education system in the last 13 years when they gave evidence to the Schools select committee.

Wash-up and select committee reports
Coverage of the parliamentary wash-up and the numerous select committee reports published at the end of the parliament.

School reform in Scotland
A debate on the structure of school management in the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Public Services Reform Bill
A debate at the end of March on the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill at Stage 3.

School funding debate in Wales
A debate in the Welsh Assembly in March on the School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010,

Asbestosis in Wales
An Assembly question illuminates the problem of asbestosis in Wales.

Northern Ireland
The struggle to end selection and the abolition of the five education and library boards in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Parliamentary questions
Answers to written parliamentary questions include average London primary school class sizes and childhood diabetes in the House of Commons; local authority social care and teacher supply lists in the Scottish Parliament; and local authority spending on schools, university attendance, homophobic bullying and dyscalculia in the Welsh Assembly.

Phoenix
Fred’s photos, the New Visions Group and, well, hello boys.