16 months, and what did we get...?
Chris Waterman maps the impact on children’s services and education of 16 months of the new administration.

Children First
Susan Young looks at the latest guidance on the role of the DCS and finds that the Government does value it and seeks to safeguard those who lead the safeguarding of children.

Building on shaky foundations
Ron Glatter on the false preconceptions and shaky foundations upon which the new schools system is being established.

Wales – The fight-back begins
Professor Ken Reid reports on Leighton Andrews’ plans for improving the performance of pupils in schools in Wales.

New fees regime is riddled with uncertainty
John O’Leary on the uncertainty facing next year’s university applicants when no one can be sure of the impact on student recruitment or the prospects for middle-ranking universities.

McCormac: a review too far or a step in the right direction?
Our Scotland Editor Brian Cooklin writes about the unease and disquiet in the Scottish teaching profession during a period of economic upheaval and radical changes to the Scottish education system.

Children’s Health
Tracy Coryton on the latest children’s health news stories, including Britain’s result, alongside Romania and Bulgaria, as one of the worst countries for families in Europe; children’s exposure to smoking in film; the link between anti-obesity campaigns and anorexia; and the misdiagnosis of mental health disorders.

The underclass and the riots
Professor Ken Reid offers some personal reflections on the early-August riots in London and other UK cities.

Research

Dyscalculia and neuro-science
Chris Husbands welcomes the development of new software resources designed specifically to help children with dyscalculia, based on brain research showing underlying neurological problems; he also presents the findings of a report on Every Child a Reader, and Education for All.

The negative effect of TV on children’s literacy
Researchers from Ohio State University found that watching television can damage young children’s literacy development because it lessens the interaction that ordinarily takes place between parent and child.

Prevention better than cure?
Professor John Howson takes a look at national trends in school exclusion and links to trends in criminal behaviour.

Research notes
Michael Marshall on the latest report from the British Chambers of Commerce which identifies a disturbing lack of faith in young people’s workplace skills among small businesses, and questions the success of recent attempts by the Government to address skills shortages in the economy.

 Education and library/information science: dovetailing and overlaps
Dr Andrew K Shenton considers the relationship between education and Library Information Science, with a view to demonstrating that the connection between them is stronger than generally assumed and to suggesting that deeper interaction between practitioners in the two camps would prove beneficial.

Research Digest

Reference

Document Digest

Consultations

Document Reviews
Reviews of Getting Value for Money from theEducation of 16– to 18– year–olds, House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, 42nd report of Session 2010–12; and Private Finance Initiative, House of Commons Treasury Select Committee, 17th report of the Session 2010/12.

Obituary
We record with regret the death of John Stuart Maclure, a leading figure in education journalism and former editor of Education and the TES.

General

Higher Ground
John Izbicki reports on the latest news from higher education institutions around the country including: a novel idea on tuition fees from the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter, and celebrations at the University of Sussex as it celebrates 50 years since it gained its Royal Charter.

Conferences
We report on the NUT’s National Education Conference at Stoke Rochford, and the ADCS conference in Manchester.

Parliament

House of Commons
We report on the publication of two Select Committee reports, the passage of the Education Billl through the House of Lords, the recall of Parliament due to the August riots, and a debate on special needs education.

Phoenix
The Prospects Group and a new teacher union alliance.