It’s been a busy month, and with the media bursting with education news, we take our regular look at stories making the headlines around the world. From moves to increase the length of the school day, high-tech ways to stop smart phone exam cheats and a teacher who found he was a billionaire, see what’s got people talking. Join in and share your views.

Complaints over cougar mascots

Corner Canyon High School in Utah, USA, has ditched its ‘Cougar’ mascot name after receiving complaints from parents, says CNN. A vote by pupils had given the school mascot the name of Corner Canyon Cougars, but some parents thought this was ‘derogatory’ as the word is now used to refer to older women who date younger men.

Massage start to the day causes controversy

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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:

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Shocking new research has revealed that almost a third of teachers have had a false allegation made against them by a pupil that may have placed their career in jeopardy. Read more…

The research into false allegations in the classroom was conducted by the NASUWT and the Tonight programme, which teamed up to see how the government’s promises to assert the authority of teachers in the classroom are affecting those on the front line.

The findings were featured in an ITV programme ‘Taking Control of the Classroom’, aired last week.

The survey revealed that over two thirds of teachers say they would think twice about breaking up a fight between students because of the threat of pupils making false allegations against them.

Malicious allegations

In the programme, Chris Keates, General Secretary of the NASUWT, said:

“For years the NASUWT has been collecting data, tracking allegations and supporting members who have had their lives and careers destroyed by false and malicious allegations made against them

“Therefore, while the results of the survey come as no surprise, they do serve to highlight the continuing and significant risks facing teachers.

“Ninety-nine per cent of teachers surveyed said that they were concerned that a pupil may make a false allegation against them, yet more than four out of five do not feel that protections for teachers are adequate.

“The Coalition Government makes bold promises of handing power back to teachers, but the proposed new powers to search and restrain pupils will leave teachers even more vulnerable to allegations and litigation

“What is needed is a change in the law to offer real support and protection to teachers, who all too often, through no fault of their own, face personal and professional ruin as a result of being falsely accused by pupils.

Meanwhile, Dr Mary Bousted, General Secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said false allegations from pupils were “hugely damaging”:

“They can end the careers of school staff and blight their private lives as a result of the stress.  Good teachers, heads and support staff are lost from schools to the detriment of children’s education.

“Of course the protection of children should be paramount, but it should not be at the expense of natural justice. We hope that changes being introduced in the Education Bill will redress the balance, so that school staff are not presumed guilty until they are proven innocent and their anonymity is preserved.  However, many ATL members are worried that if the Bill encourages staff to search pupils it could backfire and lead to false allegations about improperly handling pupils and complaints from parents.

Post traumatic stress

Among various anonymous case studies identified by the ATL was that of a secondary teacher who said:  “Two work colleagues have been recently suspended; one was dismissed despite a police investigation proving innocence.”

The Daily Telegraph also reported on the case of a teacher who was finally cleared of sexually assaulting schoolchildren, during which he contemplated suicide and his family life was torn apart.

With Lancashire teachers taking the highly unusual move of striking over pupils’ bad behaviour and a ‘lack of backing from management’, we ask just how widespread these kinds of concerns are.

It’s an abnormal day when teachers strike over issues other than pay and conditions. It was widely reported in the media last week that around 70 staff at Darwen Vale High School in Darwen, Lancashire went on strike and formed picket lines to protest over what they described as threats, violence and ‘poor management.’

The Lancashire Telegraph reported that ‘members of the NUT and the NASUWT voted overwhelmingly to take strike action to protest against the management’s failure to support staff in dealing with challenging pupil behaviour.’

‘Children no better or worse than anywhere else’
A representative from the local NUT branch emphasised to the BBC that the school’s children were no better or worse than anywhere else: “This is not a strike against pupils. It is about management and management failure to support staff in dealing with challenging behaviour.”

The school is now said to be in discussion with the unions and staff to resolve the situation and to ensure “that staff feel well supported when they do need to deal with behaviour issues.”

‘Creating an allegations war zone’
The action came during a week when education secretary Michael Gove was accused of creating a “much more aggressive culture” and “creating an allegations war zone,” when he issued new guidance to schools on discipline, which reminds teachers that, where necessary, heads can bring criminal charges against pupils.

Darwen Vale has been rated as a good school, with pupils’ behaviour also given a good rating, by Ofsted (June 2010).

If you’re a teacher, do you feel supported by management over discipline issues? Do teaching staff need greater powers to deal with unruly behaviour? Why not share your views below?

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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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