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Education Journal No.97 (2006-7) |
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The New Admissions Code Chris Waterman welcomes the new draft school admissions code that will stop schools cherry-picking pupils and prohibit any form of selection by stealth – at least in nominally comprehensive areas of England. Another Year Looms in Wales Our Wales editor, Professor Ken Reid, looks ahead at the coming year and sees a possible vacancy for First Minister after next year’s Welsh Assembly elections next May. Will Jane Davidson get the top job, or is she seen as too good and too English? And what of those education agencies that are fuelling criticism within Welsh education? The Law, Teachers and the War Against Weapons A spate of unfortunate incidents and media coverage over teachers’ powers has forced the issue of weapons in schools firmly into the media spotlight. Amelia Wallington, education lawyer at Browne Jacobson, explores the legal landscape for teachers. The Regulatory Framework for Children's Social Services The DfES has published a consultation document on modernising the regulatory framework for children’s social services. Letter from Scotia Our Scotland editor, John Dobie, observes that Scotland’s structure of local government was last reorganised ten years ago and wonders if another upheaval is planned. Decade 1996-2006 In the latest in our series of decade retrospectives marking our tenth anniversary and 100th issue, John Izbicki looks at further and higher education. Intelligence Testing in Education Professor John White explores the roots of intelligence testing in education in the eugenics movement. Children’s Health This month’s health column covers research and working parents and the time they have for their children; research that claims children from better-off families have a higher chance of major diseases; and research from Scotland that claims that sexually promiscuous teenagers are far more likely to become serious and violent offenders than other young people. Media Watch Blair targets trouble makers in the womb. Qatar or Finland, which has the best education service in the world? More teachers looking after fewer children in Wales. HE lecturers are demoralised. Alan Johnson for Prime Minister. Fast food fightback. General section Conferences Demitri Coryton reports from the National Children’s Bureau conference in Nottingham. The British Association for the Advancement of Science hold their annual Festival of Science in Norwich. Fun Page Reference section Document Reviews The documents reviewed this month are Local Authorities’ Perspectives on School Reorganisation from EMIE at NFER; The Good Practice Guidance for Counselling in Schools, from the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy; and the National Employers Skills Survey 2005: Key Findings from the LSC. A review of the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence report, Educating Service Children, is included in the parliamentary section. Reports Digest Reports from LEAs and CSAs, produced by EMIE at NFER, include children’s centres in Devon; anti-bullying strategy from Leicestershire; creating a positive climate for learning from Plymouth; information sharing and assessment from Shropshire; and community regeneration from Telford and Wrekin. Synopsis Digest - Federations Reports from LEAs and CSAs on the theme of federations, produced by EMIE at NFER, include 11 to 18 learner entitlement from Barnsley; school federations from Birmingham; networking between schools and the children agenda from Essex; a collegiate structure for 14 to 19 provision from Kirklees; the Manchester federation of EBSD schools; and proposals to extend confederations of schools across Surrey and link them with the development of extended schools and children’s centres. Document Digest With so many documents being released, this feature has been redesigned to include more publications. Research section Research Digest Research Notes Our research editor, Michael Marshall, looks at research on single sex classes in co-educational schools. The Rose Review Professor Margaret Clark looks at the Rose report on the teaching of early reading and some of the research around it. Short Research Reports Masculine stereotypes could be stopping some young men from going to university. Livelier, more positive teaching has a greater effect on improving pupils’ motivation to learn maths than grouping by sex or ability. Secondary schools are often getting it wrong when it comes to setting and could be stopping children from reaching their full potential. Teachers in England are only focussing on getting pupils to pass tests and are neglecting important study skills for independent learning. Parliament section Educating Service Children Parliament is in recess, but the Select Committee on Defence has just published a report on Educating Service Children, which we review. Scottish Education Policy While the Welsh Assembly has also been in recess, the Scottish Parliament returned in early September for a major debate on education policy, widely seen as the start of the long campaign for next May’s Scottish parliamentary elections. Adoption and Children Bill Arabella Hargreaves, editor of Education Parliamentary Monitor Scotland, reports on the stage 1 debate of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Bill. Parliamentary Questions Answers to written parliamentary questions include those covering further education funding, those entering higher education from different types of establishment, and literacy difficulties, from the House of Commons. Child care, free school meals and speech and language therapy from the Scottish Parliament. Children with communication difficulties from the Welsh Assembly. Phoenix ASCL and the OECD launch reports on the same day. Award winning Young Engineers. |