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Education Journal No.95 (2006-5) |
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All Change at the Top – New Ministers at the DfES Following the recent Cabinet reshuffle, we report on the appointment of Alan Johnson as the new education secretary and other changes in the ministerial team. Ambitious Programme to Combat Falling School Rolls and Decaying Infrastructure Cardiff’s controversial closure of a number of primary and secondary schools due to falling school rolls and the public reaction to it. Wales and Its Educational Future Our Wales Editor, Professor Ken Reid, reports on Phase two of the Welsh Assembly Government’s vision for the future for education. It has started with the formation of the new Department for Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills and the publication of The Learning Country 2. Health Arabella Hargreaves provides an overview of current news and research in the field of children’s health, covering such issues as obesity, childhood cancer, dyslexia therapy and child sex offenders. Letter from Scotia Our Scotland Editor, John Dobie OBE, writes about the findings of the HMIE report, Improving Scottish Education, which concludes that school with weak or unsatisfactory provision can achieve progress through a transformation in leadership. Local Government Elections Local government election results reported with analysis of the metropolitan district, unitary and London borough elections in May, where the Conservative Party was the clear winner. Media Report Press reports on “brat bullies”, children viewing inappropriate websites and schools separating twins. General section Obituary We record with regret the death of Alfred Yates CBE, former director of NFER. Geoff Gee, head of EMIE at NFER, recalls his career achievements at the Foundation. Opinion John Izbicki criticises Ofsted proposals to send reports of inspections of teachers to their pupils and condemns it to certain failure. Fun Page Mike Kivi’s anniversary poem. Behaviour Rules Demitri Coryton reports on a school behaviour conference, organised by the NUT at its London headquarters in May. Which Way Forward? A four-page comparative review of the Government’s education White Paper, the Education and Inspections Bill and the NUT’s education statement Bringing Down the Barriers, carried out for the NUT by Professor Peter Mortimore, former director of the Institute of Education at London University. Reference section Document Reviews The documents reviewed this month are Smarter Food Procurement in the Public Sector from the DfES; Families Getting On, a final report on Skills for Families and recommendations for the future development of family literacy, language and numeracy from the LSC; Annual Survey of Trends in Secondary Education, report for 2005 from NFER; and The New School Funding Arrangements 2006-07: the local authority perspective from the LGA. Reports Digest Reports from LEAs in this issue include those covering research into improving school meals in Southwark; professional dialogue with primary teachers in Glasgow; the Children and Young People’s Participation Strategy in Hounslow; language development programmes in Northern Ireland; research into the links between attendance and achievement in South Gloucestershire; and Surrey’s 14 to 19 strategy. Subject Digest In a new occasional feature, EMIE at NFER provide details of recent documents from LEAs on a particular area of children’s services. In this issue the reports concentrate on work relating to behaviour management. Document Digest Documents covered this month include Pandemic Influenza Checklist for Businesses from the Cabinet Office; The Early Years Foundation Stage: consultation on a single quality framework for services to children from birth to five, Learning Behaviour Principles and Practice: what works in schools, Provision for Children Under Five Years of Age in England: January 2006 (provisional), Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England: January 2006 (provisional), School Workforce in England (Including Pupil: Teacher Ratios and Pupil: Adult Ratios): January 2006 (provisional), and Working Together to Safeguard Children: a guide to interagency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children from the DfES; Measuring Childhood Obesity: guidance to primary care trusts on data handling from the DoH; ‘Bucking the Trend’: What enables those who are disadvantaged in childhood to succeed later in life? from the DfWP; How Good is our School: the Journey to Excellence from HMIE; Ofsted Strategic Plan; Independent School Census, and Teachers in Scotland 2005 from the Scottish Executive; and School Wellbeing Report from the Teacher Support Network. Research section Research Digest Research Notes Our Research Editor, Michael Marshall, asks whether conflict between education research and education policy-making is inevitable. Post-16 Education: Shining a Light on the Effects of Different Local Patterns of Provision Ian Schagen and Chris Savory of NFER evaluate the extent to which the local pattern of institutions that provide full-time post-16 education affects participation, retention and achievement. Parliament section The Education Bill in Standing Committee As the Education and Inspections Bill completes its consideration by Standing Committee E, our Parliamentary Editor, Nick Kent, reports on one of the least effective methods of legislative scrutiny in the democratic world. Scotland Arabella Hargreaves, editor of EPM Scotland, reports on the isolation of the Scottish Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament. Drugs and Hidden Harm We report on a children’s services debate on the protection of substance abusers’ children. Wales Helen Grimmett, Editor of EPM Wales, reports on a debate in the Welsh Assembly on the Safeguarding Vulnerable Children report. Estyn Chief Inspector’s Report We report on a debate in the Welsh Assembly on the annual report of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools and the work of Estyn. Parliamentary Questions Subjects covered include those on healthy school status, pupil exclusions, child protection checks, key worker funding, lecturers’ salaries and school fires in England, and music services in the Welsh Assembly. Phoenix Headteachers, Laurence Olivier and cover girls. |