During Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday and in briefings afterwards the Conservatives claimed there was no evidence that the schools had been registered or inspected by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog; they also said the schools had received money from an anti-terrorism fund. But yesterday the claims were beginning to unravel. The most obvious mistake was the allegation that they appeared not to have been registered or inspected.

In fact, one of the ( Read more... )
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He claimed in Prime Minister's Question Time that the Islamic Shakhsiyah Foundation (ISF), which runs them, was a "front organisation" for the hardline group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, retorted that the schools had been inspected and allegations of extremist links were found to have no substance. He said the cash they had received went on providing nursery places at the school in Tottenham. Farah Ahmed, the head of the Slough school, protested that ( Read more... )
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Lessons on equality and domestic violence will be included in personal, social and health education, which from 2011 will be a compulsory part of the curriculum.

Before they can qualify, trainee teachers will have to learn about gender awareness and domestic violence.

Officials will produce new rules for teachers on tackling "sexist, sexual and transphobic bullying" in the classroom and schools will be marked by inspectors on how well they are ( Read more... )
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Unveiling the annual Ofsted report yesterday, Christine Gilbert, the Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, said: "There can be no hiding place for poor practice. Weak regulation serves no one's real interest, not even vested interests."

Ms Gilbert's comments came as the barrage of criticism over tougher Ofsted inspections intensified. Shireen Ritchie, of the Local Government Association, said the watchdog had "to have the trust and respect of the people it works with" ( Read more... )
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There remained a "stubborn core" of inadequate and satisfactory teaching in England's schools which was failing to challenge and inspire pupils, Ofsted's annual report found.

Ofsted Chief Inspector Christine Gilbert said that, while she was encouraged by the improvements which had been made in schools and children's services this year, there was still much that was "mediocre or worse".

In her fourth annual report, she highlighted ( Read more... )
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A study of 500 teachers on the Teach First scheme, which recruits hundreds of the brightest graduates to learn how to teach on the job in urban schools, says there are "a range of benefits" in teaching in mixed ability classes.

"There is evidence that mixed ability classes have a positive effect on the attitudes and self-esteem of all pupils regardless of their ability level," it says.

By contrast, allocating them to classes according to their abilities "has been shown to reinforce ( Read more... )
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A letter seen by The Independent from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce) to the chairman of governors at London Metropolitan University calls on members of the governing body and senior staff to "consider their position".

It follows two damning reports which revealed that the university falsely claimed funding for thousands of students. As a result it has been ordered to repay an unprecedented £36m in funding ? which is expected to lead to hundreds of job losses among ( Read more... )
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The Schools Secretary paved the way for the test to be replaced by internal teacher classroom assessments ? thus softening his previous stance on SATs which are taken by 600,000 children in English, maths and science every year.

His move comes as ministers face the threat of a boycott of them by both heads and teachers next May.

In an announcement yesterday coinciding with a shake-up of the primary school curriculum, Mr Balls announced that ? from next year ? primary school league ( Read more... )
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One of the enduring problems of English schools is their practice of setting by ability, which means that many thousands of students languish in low sets on diets of low-level, uninteresting work. Most of these are capable of achieving infinitely more, but their experience of being told that they are incapable turns them against learning and against school.

England is more committed to setting than most countries, and this practice continues despite numerous reports pointing to its ineffectiveness. ( Read more... )
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Today's schoolchildren care little about politics and know even less about the subject, according to a poll out today.

Only one in four could identify Labour as the party of government, a survey of 14- to 16-year-olds for Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, revealed. And 4 per cent thought the Conservatives were in power, while 2 per cent thought the Liberal Democrats were the government of the day. Two-thirds admitted they had no idea.

Nearly half said they did not think ( Read more... )
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The move follows protests from scientists that there had been no mention of the topic in a previous consultation document published earlier. Some said the topic, to be introduced in science lessons, was necessary to combat growing attempts to bring creationism into the curriculum.

Announcing the move, Schools minister, Vernon Coaker, said: "Lots of teachers came forward and said it should be part of the compulsory programme of study."

Under the proposals, children would start to learn ( Read more... )
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Less than half (48 per cent) of male, white British 11-year-olds from disadvantaged backgrounds reached Level 4, the standard expected of the age group, in these subjects, according to statistics for 2008/09 published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF).

This is compared with a national average 71.8 per cent of all boys and girls that are reaching the expected standard - an attainment gap of 23.8 percentage points.

The attainment ( Read more... )
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In what will be seen as a bid to appease the two teaching unions threatening the boycott, the schools secretary said that in future, teacher assessment of pupils' achievement will be published alongside Sats data in achievement and attainment tables.

In May, the Government's expert group on testing recommended ministers look at investing and improving teacher assessment in order to judge whether it would be possible to "move away" from externally marked tests, ( Read more... )
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The two universities admit more students from independent schools than they should, according to the study by the Higher Education Policy Institute (Hepi). It says they should follow the example of leading universities in the US, which have vowed to try to recruit more students from urban backgrounds who excel in poorer performing schools.

Research has shown that these students often do better than their peers from more affluent backgrounds when it comes to degree passes. The move could ( Read more... )
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A further 15 students at the prestigious Fettes College in Edinburgh were suspended following an investigation by staff.

The expulsions were made after the students were discovered with cannabis on school grounds after concerned pupils alerted teachers.

All the pupils involved are understood to be aged 16 and 17.

Police were called but no arrests were made at the school.

Former pupils at the school include former prime minister Tony Blair, ex-Rangers ( Read more... )
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Liz Allen, headmistress of Newstead Wood Girls? School in Bromley, one of the top performing grammar schools in England, told a conference: ?I find there is a huge reluctance amongst my secondary head colleagues to focus any kind of real attention, activity or resources on the most able pupils.?

She criticised heads for spending too much time trying to convert D grades into C grades at GCSE, rather than helping the brightest pupils ?walk on water? and get A* grades. ( Read more... )
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Jill Berry, president of the Girls' School Association, which represents nearly 200 independent schools, told its annual conference in Harrogate: "Girls can be highly intelligent and interested in being seen to be attractive ? the two aren't mutually exclusive.

"Caring about physical appearance and fashion and wanting to feel good about how you look doesn't have to be a betrayal of some feminist ideal. I love new shoes but it doesn't make me shallow. Girls can have fun ( Read more... )
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The proposals ? set out seven weeks ago at Labour's annual conference ? have prompted protests from backbenchers worried that they will cost votes at the election.

The scheme, which is worth up to £2,390, is currently used by 340,000 parents who opt to receive £243 of their monthly pay in vouchers before income tax and National Insurance are deducted. Mr Brown said the tax break would be closed to new entrants in 2011 and then axed altogether in 2015.

But Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, ( Read more... )
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On average, they cited 22 as the age when they found their niche in life and were able to use their talents to gain a lucrative career.

Nearly half of those surveyed felt they were regarded as average or poor students while they were at school.

Of these, 15 per cent said they never got the chance to discover their talent in the classroom because their teachers had written them off as failures.

The adults in the survey are not alone, says the report from ( Read more... )
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The rector of Edinburgh University has warned students not to attend a lecture to be given by a New Age guru who says it is possible to live without eating and survive on air and light.

Robin Harper, who is also a Green member of the Scottish Parliament, calls Ellen Greve dangerous and has issued his warning after a number of student suicides at the university.

Ms Greve, an Australian also known as Jasmuheen, will lecture on her belief in "Breatharianism" on 5 April. She claims not ( Read more... )
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