How to be a green school
It’s a worrying fact that around 400,000 British children are on behavioural drugs such as Ritalin. Some, no doubt, need the treatment, but the sheer number of children taking these drugs suggests that in our society, childhood itself has come to be seen as a disease.
Children spend an average of 13.9 hours a week in [...]
Teachers ‘are scared of numeracy’
Primary school teachers in England are often scared of basic numeracy and should be required to study English and maths at A-level, a report suggests.
The Politeia study says the BEd degree should be abolished and future primary teachers required to study two subjects - other than education - at university.
The report says teachers in other [...]
Why hasn’t e-assessment arrived more quickly?
Five years ago it was predicted that by now most GCSEs and A-levels would be available on screen. Photograph: OCR
Ken Boston was bullish about the power of technology to transform the educational experience of millions of pupils. “On-screen assessment will shortly touch the life of every learner in this country,” predicted Boston, at the time [...]
Students re-sitting A-levels denied revision classes
Thousands of teenagers wanting to re-sit failed A-levels this year will be forced to pay for lessons at private crammers or teach themselves, after schools cancelled revision classes, it has emerged.
A-level courses changed last September and most schools will refuse to teach the old syllabus to students returning for re-sits in the autumn, the Guardian [...]
Eleven million names on school vetting database
Parents who help out on school trips or accept foreign exchange students into their homes will have to register on a government database in order to prove they are not a danger to children.
Within five years, more than 11 million people will be stored by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) as part of the Vetting [...]
Balls spends £200m on new classrooms
The government today announced a £200m rescue package for local authorities to build new classrooms to avoid a looming crisis in the primary schools admission system.
In some parts of England hundreds of families face a furious, last-minute battle to get a place at a local primary school for this September, after a mini-baby boom and [...]
Exam changes ‘make it harder to maintain standards’
Continuing “rapid” changes to GCSEs and A-levels are making it harder to ensure standards are being maintained, the head of England’s exams regulator said yesterday.
The introduction of modular qualifications “obscure” the demands put on students, Kathleen Tattersall, chair of Ofqual said.
It comes just two months before [...]
Alternative maths A-level branded ‘mindless’
They claim the “Use of Mathematics” qualification, which shows students how to solve realistic problems, lacks academic rigour.
A group of 58 university professors said it was a poor preparation for degree courses and would only tempt pupils from weaker schools.
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, England’s exams agency, is currently consulting on the proposed A-level, which [...]
Independence of academies is being eroded, says head
The government is “ambiguous” about its commitment to academy schools, and is eroding their independence by handing over more control to local authorities, MPs were told today by an academy headteacher.
Academies, set up in 2000 to replace so-called “failing” schools, were given freedom from local authority control. But their autonomy is being eroded because ministers [...]
Balls plans five-year licensing system in attempt to rid schools of bad teachers
Teachers will need a new “licence to teach” to work in state schools, which will be reviewed every five years and revoked if they are not up to scratch, under plans to eradicate poorly performing staff from the English education system.
The government yesterday unveiled plans to roll out a licensing system, similar to that in [...]
About
Information, news and resources for everyone involved in 14-19 education in the UK.
Functional Skills
Guroo is the leading source for resources for Functional Skills in English, Maths and ICT. Click here for details.
Functional Skills Revision
MyGuroo helps learnes prepare for Functional Skills exams. Click here for details.
Functional Skills Diagnostics
Initial Assessment for Functional Skills - free!Click here for details.