Archive for July, 2010

Research highlights economic advantage of strong early years education

In the ongoing debate about the long-term value of early years education programmes, research tends to focus on achievement effects as measured by test scores. A recent report from the ONS and NIESR found that children who learn to…

School children treated as economic migrants

I recently posed the following question: which country would you recommend as a destination for overseas pupils wishing to study and improve their English?  Those who responded “the UK, of course” were sadly unaware of the UK Border Agency’s March 2010…

Vince Cable and university admissions

Last week, when considering the thorny question of university admissions, Vince Cable offered up the provocative question “What would be the pros and cons of colleges reserving places for a certain number of pupils from each of a…

Fancy a career change?

Do you fancy a career change, one that gives you the opportunity to shape the young lives of children on a day to day basis and one that is as much about vocation as it is about career? Independent schools…

Looking for your first teaching job?

For many graduates who wish to pursue a teaching career, finishing a degree and trying to look for a job in the ‘right’ school can be an overwhelming experience. After completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Education a couple of years…

Paper Trail

Reading Tuesday’s Daily News Summary, I was struck by Fraser Nelson’s comment in the Telegraph that, “Had Blair been able to deliver his [schools] policy … Michael Gove would not have [one].” For all the talk of Gove…

Online safety – ClickCEOP application launched on Facebook

Young Facebook users can now report suspicious or inappropriate online behaviour directly to specially trained investigators with the launch on Monday of a new safety application.

An advert to download the ClickCEOP application will automatically appear on the homepage of…

Building Schools for the Future blog

Michael Gove didn’t hold back when he announced the freezing of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) in Parliament this week – describing it as ‘characterised by massive overspends, tragic delays, botched construction projects and needless bureaucracy’. All hallmarks of…

Building Teachers For The Future

With last week’s announcement of the ending of the ‘Building Schools for the Future’ programme, the backlash against the ‘taking milk from mouths of poor infants’ Secretary of State for Education is well and truly underway.

The MPs in whose…

Visitors spoiled for choice at first Festival of Education

Wellington College hosted the inaugural Sunday Times Festival of Education last weekend, an event the College’s master Anthony Seldon hopes will one day become as celebrated as the literary equivalents of Hay or Edinburgh. The College certainly did its utmost…