The education secretary Michael Gove described those opposed to schools becoming academies as “the same old ideologues pushing the same old ideology of failure and mediocrity” in a speech last week. But opponents say academies are not about improvement, but part of an ideologically driven agenda to dismantle our current system of local accountability for education. Who’s right? Read more and have your say .

Michael Gove, who the Guardian points out is often described by his adversaries as an ideologue, entitled his speech ‘Who are the ideologues now?’ and opened by suggesting that academy opponents are “blighting futures and limiting horizons”:

“Last month, a headline appeared in the Hornsey Journal – a headline that would have been funny had its subtext not been so dispiriting. Stamped across the top of the page in stark, Nimrod Bold lettering were the words:

Read more…

From Bristol schools where the ratio of pupils to CCTV cameras is 14:1, to a new Ofsted website encouraging parents to rate their child’s school and a teacher from West Sussex biting off more than he could chew in a fight with a crocodile, we delve in to the media to see what lessons are being learnt in the world of education. Join us and have your say.

Rate your school

A new website being launched in September by Ofsted will encourage parents to rate the performance of their child’s school. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8390740/Parents-asked-to-rate-schools.html

Exact details of how the website will operate have yet to be revealed, but it’s thought schools which receive poor feedback may be the subject of an inspection.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers’ union, is quoted voicing concerns that the system could be open to abuse and manipulation.

The website is part of a number of changes being considered, which will include a new focus on pupils, as well as the end of routine inspections for schools which are classed as outstanding. A pilot of the new style inspections is to take place in 10 schools before the Easter break, with a wider trial then planned for the summer.

Nearly half of schools going for academy status

A poll of 1,471 heads has found many schools are opting to become academies, with nearly half (46%) having converted to academy status, or saying they intend to.

The research, conducted by the Association of School and College Leaders, reveals nearly three-quarters of these schools believe that this will help them financially. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12712079

Big Brother goes to school

An investigation by the Bristol Evening Post has shown pupils in Bristol schools are being watched by at least 160 CCTV cameras every day. It found that some city schools have as many as 16 cameras in place, and in some cases figures even reach one camera for every 14 pupils.

In the article, http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Pupils-Bristol-schools-watched-160-CCTV-cameras-day/article-3330515-detail/article.html, the paper reveals that Orchard School, in Horfield, and West Town Lane Primary School in Brislington, have the most cameras of any state schools in the city. In contrast, Fairfield High School in Horfield has just one.

Campaign group Big Brother Watch has criticised the use of cameras in schools, saying UK schools use CCTV more than any other country in the world. They believe the money would be better spent educating the pupils than spying on them.

History lessons past it?

More news from Ofsted, with a warning that history lessons could become a thing of the past, as research among UK schools shows curriculum changes are having a negative impact on the subject, reports the Press Association: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hd6BeG6KG7sXKcPoxQc75RSCKycA?docId=N0441111299898946059A

The ‘History For All’ report looked at history lessons in 83 primary and 83 secondary schools between April 2007 and March 2010.

It found that curriculum changes were negatively impacting on history, with time spent on the subject being reduced.

In England, children can currently choose to stop studying history at the age of 13. The UK is the only country in Europe where this is an option.

Gove reveals new drive for teaching standards

Education Secretary Michael Gove has announced that new standards are to be introduced which will help schools weed out poor-performing teachers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12717061.

Speaking at the annual conference of the Association of School and College Leaders, Mr Gove said the new standards will help raise the bar for teaching and improve pupil performance and behaviour. He said that head teachers and teachers were concerned about current standards being ‘ineffective’ and ‘meaningless’.

Mr Gove has launched a review of the key skills a classroom teacher needs. The new standards will be in place by September 2012.

And finally….

A sick note with teeth

A teacher from West Sussex has been nicknamed ‘Mick Dundee’ after deciding to go crocodile wrestling while on holiday in his native Zimbabwe. http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/03/14/teacher-asks-for-day-off-for-a-crocodile-bite-115875-22988001/

Scott Brand, 21, a teacher at Cumnor House school in Haywards Heath, decided to go croc wrestling after having a ‘few beers’. But the animal bit his arm, which required treatment after becoming infected and swollen.

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From parents who spent a fortune on their child’s nativity play, to pupils in the capital who are topping tables for obesity, we head under the covers once again to see what lessons are being learned in the world of education.

London tops obese pupil list

The Evening Standard has reported that more than one in five pupils who leave primary school in London are obese. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23907092-more-than-fifth-of-london-primary-school-leavers-obese.do

Figures published by the NHS Information Centre have revealed that the number of overweight 10 to 11 year olds is on the increase. The statistics are based on the National Child Measurement Programme which assesses the weight of primary school children.

The story reports that the capital also tops the list for obese reception year children. In London, on average, 11.6% of reception year pupils are obese compared to 8.4% in the South East coast region.

Pupil photos in the picture

Parents should be free to photograph their children in nativity plays, says Information Commissioner Christopher Graham.

The guidance was apparently issued to schools after a number of them banned photography on their premises in order to protect pupils who were adopted or in foster care. In one case, a father even complained he was threatened with arrest.

As reported on BBC News Online http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11945081, the regulator confirmed photos for personal use are not covered by the Data Protection Act.

One in ten primary schools missing targets

Almost one in 10 primary schools are failing to meet the government’s minimum standards for English and maths, says a report in the Financial Times http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1d74b124-0791-11e0-8d80-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz18BYHPDgq

Recent primary school league tables have shown 962 schools are failing to meet new benchmarks for core skills, with around 73.5 per cent of 11-year-olds reaching the required standard.

Failing schools are faced with a number of options to turn around their performance. These include the options to become a semi-independent Academy under a new head teacher or merging with a good school nearby.

School budgets to suffer

The Daily Mail has reported that school budgets look set to suffer due to inflation running at a higher rate than expected. www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1338418/Michael-Gove-budget-freeze-Schools-cash-inflation-rises.html#ixzz18Bfkys9R

Education Secretary Michael Gove has frozen the level of per pupil funding for schools which is the money that pays for teachers and to keep schools. However, inflation levels now mean many schools could soon be left out of pocket.

Religious studies left out

The Catholic Education Service has expressed disappointment that religious studies is being omitted from a new style school league table and will not be included as one of the qualifying humanity subjects. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8194603/Religious-education-could-be-marginalised-in-schools.html

And finally…

Away in a five star manger

Proud parents spent as much as £150 on their child’s Christmas play, says an article on BBC News Online http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8393701.stm.

This ‘manger chic’ trend has been revealed by department store Debenhams as parents replaced traditional costumes made from old tea towels and stripy pyjamas, with luxury pashmina scarves and silk turbans.

Learning assistants are rapped for grammatical inaccuracies and using their local dialect in Havant; there’s news of a possible mass transformation of secondary schools in Surrey to academy status; and preparation for university life takes place in log cabins in Staffordshire… join us for our occasional skim-read through the press, to see what’s what in the world of education.

A consultant is apparently to be drafted in by a headteacher at a school in Havant to help two learning assistants “brush up on the way they speak” after the school was served with a “notice to improve”.

‘Grammatical inaccuracy’ in Hampshire

The Daily Telegraph reported that the assistants were singled out by inspectors, not just for their heavy Portsmouth accents, but also for their grammatical inaccuracy, which was apparently setting a bad example to pupils.

The head told the Telegraph that the move wasn’t denigrating the Pompey accent or dialect: “We are all proud of where we come from,” he said. “I accept however that bad grammar is not acceptable in the classroom which is why we have taken the inspectors’ criticisms constructively.” 

‘Ambitious thinking’ in Surrey

Meanwhile, just over the border in Surrey, there were media reports on a plan being hatched for all of the Conservative-controlled county council’s 53 secondary schools to become academies. The Department for Education reportedly welcomed this “ambitious thinking”.

Academies are directly funded schools outside of local authority control, and schools judged ‘outstanding’ are being encouraged to change to academy status. Education Secretary Michael Gove, who represents the Surrey Heath constituency (and who therefore wouldn’t have a say on this proposal), has been criticised by his political opponents for the paltry number of schools that have so far announced a desire to transform into academies.

The council’s strategic director for children, young people and families told the Surrey Mirror that one reason for the move is a concern that: “should a substantial number of schools become academies, the viability of some of the support services we provide to schools and their pupils may be compromised.”

The Daily Telegraph suggested that the move “represents the most enthusiastic endorsement of the Coalition’s plans to expand the number of academy schools, despite warnings from unions that academies could fracture the system of state education in England.”

Christine Blower, general secretary of National Union of Teachers, told Telegraph readers: “Given the decided lack of interest in the government’s academies proposals so far, I see no reason why Surrey schools would wish to go headlong down this route.”

‘Nowhere to hide’ in Staffordshire

And finally in this roundup, The Independent reported on a Staffordshire private school’s attempts to encourage a sense of independence in its sixth-form pupils before they head off to university, by installing groups of six in log cabins around the grounds of its 140-acre country estate.

As well as learning how to live with other people, students also acquire essential skills that aren’t part of the day-to-day curriculum, from how to boil an egg to how to operate a can opener or washing machine.

“Pupils learn how to get along with others and how to handle their idiosyncrasies,” Abbotsholme headmaster Steve Fairclough told the Indie, adding: “Life’s not always easy in the cabins. There’s nowhere to hide. They do fall out when the washing up isn’t done or when people haven’t cleared up after cooking. But each cabin finds its way of doing things.”

* Do some school staff need lessons in the Queen’s English? Should all of Surrey’s secondary schools transform themselves into academies? And do six form pupils need to learn life skills beyond the curriculum? Over to you…

Academies were the brainchild of Tony Blair and originally designed to replace failing schools. Now new Education Secretary Michael Gove has said that all schools should be given the opportunity to break away from local authority control and become an academy. But will this drive up standards, or create a two-tier system?

Originally called city academies, the Labour Government wanted them to replace failing schools in inner cities – and, latterly, in rural areas too.

Michael Gove, the new Lib-Con Government’s Education Secretary, hopes academies will become “the norm”, and, according to The Guardian, has even said that the Government has “no ideological objection” to businesses seeking profits from the new generation of academy schools and free schools.

Changing the face of education

Dan Moynihan from the Harris Foundation, which runs seven academies, told the BBC that academies would change the face of education in England. He said that getting academy status meant schools could be more flexible and therefore more able to meet the needs of all their pupils. He said the change would free schools from having to “implement endless local authority initiatives”.  And he added that teachers who worked in academies liked the pay and conditions.

Critics say the plan will hand over resource and power from the local authority. “The losers from the complete free-for-all he is proposing will be the majority of schools, those children and parents who deserve a better deal but will see their budgets cut,” former Education Secretary Ed Balls told the BBC.

Dogma

Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT said: “These proposals are not about providing high quality education for all. They are purely political ideology and dogma. They are about the break-up of state education, which was the stated aim of the Conservatives before the General Election.

“It is essential that those who care about social justice, fairness and equality, who value public services and care about the future of state education, do not allow this to happen.”

• What’s your view on academies? Over to you….