The Independent Schools Council is a politically independent, not-for-profit organisation representing 1,270 independent schools educating more than 500,000 children. It exists to promote choice, diversity and excellence in education, developing talent at all levels of ability and from all backgrounds.
Archive for 2009
At last some common sense on safeguarding from Ed Balls
Posted on December 15th, 2009 by David Lyscom, under NewsI appeared on the BBC News Channel on Sunday 13th December to welcome the announcement by Ed Balls on the Vetting and Barring of adults coming into contact with children. I said that Ed Balls’ interview on the Andrew Marr…
How much of the population actually went to independent schools: 7% or 14%?
Posted on December 11th, 2009 by Rudi Eliott Lockhart, under NewsReading the media on schools, you tend to hear a lot about how the independent sector in the UK only accounts for 7% of pupils, (see for example this article from The Telegraph last month). The figure is used as…
Choir Schools
Posted on December 8th, 2009 by Judith Fenn, under NewsIt is fair to say that a choir school can offer a truly unique opportunity, twinning first-class independent and musical education. As Christmas approaches, and the eyes and ears of the country turn to Cambridge, King’s College and the Festival…
How can schools think strategically to cope better with the rapidly changing digital landscape?
Posted on December 8th, 2009 by Rudi Eliott Lockhart, under NewsWhat can Heads learn about ICT from Music? Not so much I thought, or at least that was my opinion before last Wednesday’s ISC ICT Strategy Conference at Radley College. One of the presentations at the conference was a high-energy…
School Open Day Season
Posted on November 2nd, 2009 by Ian Summersgill, under News, Private SchoolsSchool Open Day season is the time of the year when schools will be throwing open their doors, giving you a chance to see what they have to offer. Most of the applications for entry next September will be made…
The Appropriate Relationship between staff and pupils in cyberspace
Posted on September 24th, 2009 by ICT Strategy Group, under Briefings from ISC's ICT Strategy Group, NewsTraditional, established and agreed boundaries between staff and pupils are being blurred by the way in which Social Networking Sites operate.
What do you need to know
- Social Networking Sites [e.g. www.Facebook.com facilitate the sharing of up-to-date personal
…
Why Schools are Charities
Posted on September 8th, 2009 by Matthew Burgess, under Politics, Private Schools, Private Schools and Charitable Status, Public AffairsMost of us will have opinions about independent schools. It’s also very likely that we think we know what charity means. Put together these two preconceptions, and it’s easy to see why there is such a spectrum of views about whether schools…
ISC pupils take the lead on so-called ‘harder subjects’
Posted on August 21st, 2009 by Rudi Eliott Lockhart, under NewsWith impeccable timing given the publication this week of A level results, Cambridge Assessment have released new research that seeks to explain why pupils choose the subjects they do. Their research highlights a whole range of factors, from gender to ethnicity,…
Public vs. Private Benefit: Possible attitudes towards independent education
Posted on August 6th, 2009 by Ian Summersgill, under NewsToday I came across a very interesting report1 while trawling the internet for articles on attitudes to independent education and public benefit.
The 2004 survey, by Sara Solnick (University of Vermont) and David Hemenway (Harvard School of Public Health), gives…
Special Educational Needs (SEN) and Independent Schools
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 by Ian Summersgill, under News, Private Schools, Special Educational Needs (SEN)It has been estimated that around 20% of children will need some form of extra support during their time at school. For many this will be relatively short-lived, for others it will affect their entire school – and home –…