Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announces the opening of ‘summer schools’ for ‘struggling children’

In an attempt to reduce the achievement gap between pupils from wealthy backgrounds and children from disadvantaged backgrounds, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has announced the opening of summer schools which will give the opportunity to struggling primary school children to catch up on learning with their peers.

The schools will focus on literacy and numeracy, as well as art, music and sport. There will also be sessions where the pupils will acquire the opportunity to meet their new teachers and familiarise themselves with timetables and the general atmosphere of secondary schools.

The schools will be funded through £50m which has been made available to schools through the ‘pupil premium’- extra funding for disadvantaged children to run the camps this year.

Mr Clegg said: "This is £50m worth of extra brain training giving tens of thousands of disadvantaged pupils a flying start at secondary school.

‘It's two weeks in the summer holidays where pupils can catch up on learning and get to grips with life in secondary school - in short, get in the starting blocks ready for the off in September. Those who struggle to make the transition are often among the poorest in society, but two weeks of activities can really help to bridge the gap’.

Many pupils find the move to secondary school daunting, which can lead to a dip in their performance that they never make up, according to the government. Its research shows students eligible for free school meals regularly under-perform. By the end of primary education, just under 58% of disadvantaged pupils have achieved the expected level of attainment, compared with almost 78% of other pupils.

Children's Minister Sarah Teather said: "Many pupils, often those from poorer families, suffer a dip when they join secondary school.

"These brilliant summer schools give those children that need it a head start and the extra help they need so that they are well prepared to succeed at this crucial stage of their education career."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18952579

The government will pay companies to wake teenagers up in an effort to get them back to work, under a new scheme

In a new move, the government has announced that it will pay companies which get teenagers back to work.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's £126m Youth Contract aims to cut the number of England's ‘NEETS’ - 16 and 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training. Mr Clegg, who unveiled the "pay-per-Neet" scheme in February, has announced more details about how it will work. The deputy prime minister said young people who had "fallen through the net" needed "tailored support".

However the scheme has come under immediate criticism by Labour who called the scheme ‘too small and much too late’, while Chris Keates, leader of the NASUWT teachers' Union, has accused Mr Clegg of being responsible for an increase in Neets by scrapping the Education Maintenance Allowance.

Charities and businesses selected to help the 55,000 NEETS return to college or find jobs will be paid by results.

They will get up to £2,200 for every young person helped, but the full amount will only be paid if the youngster is still in full-time education, training or work six months later.

One of the successful bidders, Pertemps People Development Group, in the north-east of England will offer "bite-sized" English and maths courses - and make wake-up telephone calls "to help young people develop a routine".

Another company, in Yorkshire, will use ex-soldiers to deliver motivational sessions to disaffected young people through the Heroes to Inspire campaign.

Almost one in five young people aged between 16 and 24 are classified as Neet - with the most recent figure standing at 1,163,000.

The three-year programme will focus on 16 to 17-year-old Neets with no A*-to-C GCSEs who are at the highest risk of long-term disengagement.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18916683

Education Secretary Michael Gove turns down group's bid for extra education funding

A group of England's lowest-funded local education authorities has had its bid for extra funding turned down by the Education Secretary Michael Gove.

Schools run by members of the group, known as f40, get up to £600 less in basic grant per pupil than the local council average.

The group of schools had asked for £99m to share between them until a new national funding formula is introduced in 2015.

Turning them down, Mr Gove blamed the economic situation and the group heard the decision just days before Mr Gove announced approval for about 100 new free schools.

He added that because of the "reality of the current economic situation" any extra funds would have had to have come from elsewhere in the funding system.

Group secretary Doug Allen said what made the news particularly difficult was coverage of grants to free schools.

"I read recently that Mr Gove is giving £2m to a school in Beccles for a small number of pupils. You have to question where is the sense in that, where is all that extra money coming from?"

The group was asked specifically by Mr Gove in March to produce some financial modelling to show how the issue could be addressed. He highlighted the disparities in funding using the example of schools close to each other in Leicester City and Leicestershire.

"You could be living in one street and go to a school in Leicestershire that gets £800 per pupil less than the one someone else in that street goes to because it is a Leicester city school."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18827591

Oftsed chief inspector opposes government’s GCSE reforms

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw has criticised the government plans for exam reforms. Sir Michael Wilshaw announced he is against radical reforms that would see less able pupils sit simpler qualifications or take papers later on. Instead he said the government should ensure that existing GCSEs are stretching for all students, said Sir Michael Wilshaw.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he indicated that he is in favour of a single exam system for all teenagers.

"The examination system that we have has got to be ruthless and stretching all pupils," he said.

He told the newspaper that it is possible to do this "within the existing system."

His comments are at odds with proposals being considered by the government to overhaul England's exams.

Under plans leaked last month, GCSEs would be scrapped with pupils sitting "explicitly harder" O-level style exams in traditional academic subjects such as English, maths, history, modern languages and science. It was suggested that less able pupils would take easier old-style CSE qualifications.

Education Secretary Michael Gove later said that he would like to see all students sit the O-level style exams at some point in their school career, with some taking them later than at age 16.

Asked directly by the Financial Times if he would support either of these proposals, Sir Michael said that he did not. He appeared to suggest that pupils should be able to take an exam again if they did not get a good grade the first time.

"If a youngster gets a D or an E, we say that youngster is going to be very closely tracked.

"Come back and do it again... a good school... tracks the youngster through until they do achieve," he said.

Proposals to bring back O-level and CSE style exams were met with a wave of protest from teaching unions and education experts, as well as exposing deep divisions within the coalition.

A Department for Education spokesman said:

"We will be announcing our plans for exam reform in due course. But the current system already means that a large proportion of pupils take a version of the GCSE which means they are barred from getting anything higher than a C grade. We urgently need to raise standards for all pupils. GCSE is simply not up to that job anymore - as this month's report from the Commons Education Select Committee proved."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/ofsted-chief-sir-michael-wilshaw-opposes-radical-reform-7946225.html

Creationist schools are given the go ahead to open free schools.

The Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has approved three free schools run by groupswith creationist views, including one with a document on its website declaringthat it teaches "creation as a scientific theory".


Oneof the schools in the list which was approved by Michael Gove, Grindon HallChristian school in Sunderland specifically states on its website that it willpresent ‘creationism as science and affirm the position that Christiansbelieved God’s creation of the world is ‘not just a theory by a fact’. Anotherschool on the list such as Sevenoaks, located in Kent, states on its websitethat it will teach RE classes that ‘God made the world’.

Secular groups have been concernedthat the free schools policy – which allows parents, charities or faith groupsto set up new schools – would allow the state-funded teaching of creationism.

Andrew Copson, chief executive ofthe British Humanist Association (BHA), said he was concerned that thegovernment's scrutiny of free schools was inadequate. "Grindon HallChristian school is a classic example of the so-called 'teach the controversy'approach, often used by American creationist groups to get creationism taughtin schools," Copson said.

"The issue with the 'teachthe controversy' approach is that there is no scientific controversy over evolutionand creationism. The scientific consensus is overwhelmingly in favour ofevolution."

GrindonHall says it teaches evolution as "an established scientific principle, asfar as it goes". However, the school's policy document adds: "We believe no scientifictheory provides – or ever will provide – a satisfactory explanation of origins,i.e. why the world appeared, and how nothing became something in the firstplace."

The school's principal says thisdocument is obsolete and the school would not teach creationism in science.

The Sevenoaks Christian school,due to open next year, says on its website: "The government has said thatfree schools cannot teach 'creationism' or 'intelligent design' in sciencelessons as an alternative to the theory of evolution and we are content toaccept this."

A third free school approved bythe government to open next year, the Exemplar-Newark Business academy, is afresh proposal from a group whose previous application was turned down becauseof concerns over its teaching of creationism. Backers of the school inNottinghamshire say creationism will be taught only in religious studies.

OnFriday, the DfE announced that102 free schools had been approved to open from next year, 33 of which describethemselves as religious. The department says creationism orintelligent design should not be taught as "valid scientifictheories" in any state-funded school. The government says it expects tosee evolution included in the science curriculum of all free schools.

A DfE spokeswoman said: "Itis absolutely not true that this free school will be able to teach creationismas scientific fact. No state school is permitted to do this. We have clearguidelines about what schools can and cannot teach. Any free school found to becontravening the guidelines will be in breach of their contract and will besubject to action by the department, including prohibiting them fromoperating."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jul/17/creationist-groups-approval-free-schools

School governors in England are being urged to keep a close eye on individual teachers' performance records.

School governors are being urged to scrutinise individual teachers’performance records. This comes as a response to a report by MPs which raisedthe concern of governors being denied access to performance data on grounds ofconfidentiality.

School governing bodies are entitled to information about the outcome ofappraisals so that they can scrutinise the performance of the school and itsstaff - but the amount of detail given to governors varies between schools.

In a report published in May the Commons Education Committee said schoolgovernors should be encouraged to be rigorous in their scrutiny of performancemanagement in schools.

The report, 'Great Teachers: Attracting, Training and Retaining the Best',recommended that the Department for Education "provide additionalinformation to governing bodies following inspections, aiding them better tohold head teachers to account for performance management arrangements."


In its response the government said: "We understand that under thecurrent performance management arrangements, governors have often been deniedaccess to information about the performance of individual teachers, on groundsof confidentiality."

Christine Blower of the National Union of Teachers said: "Whilstacknowledging the oversight role which falls to governors, it would however beinappropriate for governors to receive the full details of every teacher'sappraisal."

Gillian Allcroft of the National Governors' Association said governingbodies needed an overview of how staff were performing rather than details onindividuals - but she told BBC News that in some schools appraisal reports togovernors had lacked detail.

"There are cases where governors do not have all the informationthat they need. It's really important that governors have rigorous performancescrutiny."

University Clearing period can benefit top students.

The Government's decision to lift restrictions on universities taking the brightest candidates could benefit up to 85,000 high-achieving students during Clearing in August.For the UK’s highest achieving A-level students, 2012 stands to offer greater choice. Students with top grades will be able to switch to more competitive courses during the Clearing period following changes to limits on university admissions.Universities and colleges can now recruit as many students achieving AAB A-level grades or higher (or equivalent qualifications) as they wish for programmes starting in September. Previously, students who achieved these grades fell within the general caps on the number of students each institution is permitted to admit and from next year, the government is proposing to lower the threshold even further, removing the cap on the recruitment of all students gaining ABB+ A-levels (or equivalent qualifications)."We are rolling back the controls on places at individual universities that have been a barrier to competition,” says David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science.The Clearing period may therefore throw up opportunities for students who surpass their expected grades. In this case, they may benefit from Adjustment – a simultaneous but separate process whereby students who have met and exceeded their offer can reassess their options and perhaps gain a place on a more competitive course.Adjustment has existed for the last four years, but typically only around 500 students have been able to find improved places by this route in previous years.“This [change in policy] may mean that some universities can take more students through Adjustment than they have in the past,” said Andrea Robertson, Director of Customer Operations at Ucas.However it is also possible that not all top universities will be willing to take on additional undergraduate students even though the regulations now permit them to do so. “The university’s decision will be guided by whether it has sufficient facilities to take in greater numbers (first year accommodation halls, for example, or places in science labs),” said Andrea Robertson.Adjustment will begin alongside Clearing on A-level results day – August 16 – and run until August 31. Vacancies for Adjustment will not be listed, but candidates should go through the same process of contacting admissions offices directly by telephone. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/university-clearing/9393151/University-Clearing-period-to-benefit-top-students-this-year.html

More men training as primary school teachers, says report

According to a new report researched by the Teaching Agency (TA), which is responsible for intial teaching training, showed that the number of male trainee primary school teachers in England has increased by more than 50% in the last four years, which means that the number of men undertaking a career in primary teaching has grown at five times the rate of women.

The agency said there were 3,743 trainee male primary teachers in 2011/12, compared with 2,476 in 2008/09.

Lin Hinnigan, the interim chief executive of the TA, said: "Primary teaching is increasingly a career for the most able graduates. It offers the opportunity to earn a good salary and progress quickly."

According to the TA, teachers are twice as likely to be in management positions after three and a half years than graduates in comparable professions.

Hinnigan added: "Our aim in joining forces with talented male teachers from primary schools across England is to show the reality of life in a classroom and why there's never been a better time to join the profession."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/jul/16/men-trainee-primary-schoolteachers?CMP=twt_fd

England is neglecting its brightest children, says report

The government said it wanted to "restore academic rigour" to schools after the Sutton Trust study shows teenagers in England are half as likely as those in the average developed nation.

The report found that just 1.7% of England's 15-year-olds reached the highest level, Level 6, in maths, compared with an OECD average of 3.1%.

In Switzerland and Korea, 7.8% of pupils reached this level.

Overall, England ranked 26th out of 34 OECD countries for the proportion of pupils reaching the top level in maths, behind other nations like Slovenia (3.9%), the Slovak Republic (3.6%) France (3.3%) and the Czech Republic (3.2%), which were among those scoring around the OECD average.

The report adds that the situation looks worse for England when a wider global comparison is used.

Singapore, which is not part of the OECD table analysed, saw 15.6% of its students score the top level, while in Hong Kong and Shanghai, which were also not part of the OECD table, 10.8% and 26.6% respectively got the top level.

Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said: "This is a deeply troubling picture for any us who care about our brightest pupils from non-privileged backgrounds."

The study also suggests that comparing the maths results of 18-year-olds would be even more stark because 90% of English pupils drop the subject after GCSE.

Whereas in many other countries, maths is compulsory up to the age of 18.

The report argues that England is falling down international tables because of successive failures to help the most able pupils.

It calls for bright children to be identified at the end of primary school, with their achievements and progress tracked from then on.

Report author Prof Alan Smithers said recent education policy for the brightest had been a mess.

"The government should signal to schools the importance of educating the brightest through how it holds the schools to account.

Education Secretary Michael Gove added: "We already knew that under Labour we plummeted down the international league tables in maths.

"Now we see further evidence that they betrayed bright children from poor backgrounds and - worst of all - that their policies drove talented children from disadvantaged backgrounds away from the subjects that employers and universities value most."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18722137

A military school could be set up in every region of England under Labour to raise aspirations in poor areas

Under Labour a military school could be set up in every region in an attempt to raise aspirations in poor areas.

Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg wants to see the armed forces and service charities helping to run so-called "service schools". These schools would have a "distinct service ethos" and would employ qualified teachers, and even some who have a background in serving with the armed forces.

The government said it already used Armed Forces talent to raise standards.

Mr Twigg said creating a "service ethos" in schools would emphasise "the importance of character formation and high ethical standards and values, as well as greater focus on advanced vocational skills.

"Ex-service personnel can act as excellent role models for young people."

As part of its education policy review, Labour is looking at how it could establish a network of what it is calling "service schools" within existing or new schools around England. It says if it comes to power it will establish one of these schools in each region of the country with a particular focus on "communities with the greatest social and economic need".

The involvement could be as sponsors of academies or by working closely with more traditional models of state schools.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said it was "already working to bring ethos and talents from Armed Forces into our education system to help raise standards".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18770387

Disadvantaged children who fail to reach level 4 in English will be given extra lessons

Ministers have announced that disadvantaged pupils, who have fallen behind in reading and writing, will be offered extra lessons before starting secondary school.

Under the £10m scheme, poorer pupils in England who fail to reach Level 4 in English by the end of primary school will be given the chance to take part in a project which will give the children a chance to take extra lessons to improve their academic level.

This is specifically important as last year, some 100,000 11-year-olds did not reach this level - the standard expected of the age group.

Ministers said the move, which is being funded through the pupil premium - personal funding for disadvantaged children - is part of a bid to narrow the achievement gap with their richer classmates. It follows concerns that some children can fall behind or struggle to make the transition between primary and secondary school.

Organisations such as schools, councils and charities are being asked to bid for funding to run the literacy catch-up classes.

Pupils who are eligible for free school meals (FSM) and looked-after children (those whose birth parents are unable to provide continuing care) will have access to the classes, the Department for Education said.

Children's Minister Sarah Teather said: "Improving reading standards in schools is central to the coalition government's education reforms.

"Being able to read fluently by the end of primary school is essential. Without these skills children fall further behind in their education. This programme, funded by the pupil premium, will help struggling pupils catch up.

"It will also help close the gulf in achievement, where the poorest children are less likely to leave school with five good GCSEs than their less disadvantaged classmates."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18780527

OCR exam board finds mistakes in pupils grades

More than 250 pupils are to have their exam results changed by up to two grades - as an exam board says it has found mistakes in the adding up of the totals of papers and units of exams.

The OCR exam has recently found mistakes in the adding up of the totals of papers and units of exams. So far the examination board has been contacting 180 schools about grade changes at A-Level, As-level and GCSE. This means that more than 250 pupils could have their exams results changed by up to two grades. However it remains uncertain whether any university applications were affected by the incorrect grades.

Mistakes were made in adding up the sub-totals of marks in the exams taken in summer 2011. As a result the exam board says that four examiners have had their contracts terminated.

Another 78 examiners have been told to "improve their performance".

OCR's chief executive, Mark Dawe, said: "I am disappointed to have to confirm a number of grade changes as a result of the discovery of clerical errors made last year.

"Mistakes were made by examiners in the transcribing and totalling of marks," he said.

The exam board says that grades awarded in 15 A-levels, 28 AS-levels and 34 GCSE short courses will now be changed - mostly raising them by one grade.

But there are five candidates who are to have their exam results improved by two grades. In addition there are another 137 cases in which parts of exams taken last year are to have their grades increased - with this being taken into account for the final grades to be awarded for qualifications later this summer.

The exam board says the mistakes have emerged after a full investigation of last year's papers - and that measures are now in place to prevent such errors.

Exam boards came under scrutiny last summer after a series of errors were found in papers, such as multiple-choice questions where all the answers were incorrect.

But the exam season of summer 2012 seem so far to have passed without any major problems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18785044

Severe cuts leave schools in crisis

Severe cuts leave schools in crisis.

Thousands of school buildings are in an unfit condition to be used to teach  pupils, with many schools being forced to lay buckets out to catch the rain falling from leaks in the ceiling or teach their pupils in "temporary classrooms" dating from the 1950s.

A survey of nearly 700 head-teachers revealed that four out of 10 believe their buildings are not "fit for purpose" to cope with the demands of providing education in the 21st century. Its findings coincide with massive cuts in the capital spending budget for schools. This year nearly 500 fewer schools will be refurbished than under the previous Labour government's Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme – 252 instead of 735.

The axing of the £55bn BSF programme, which would have seen every secondary school either rebuilt or refurbished over time, was one of the first victims of the Coalition's cuts. The Education Secretary Michael Gove replaced it with the priority school building programme (PSBP), which will this year see a total of 261 schools either rebuilt or refurbished and the east of England has feared worst with a cut of nearly 80% in the number of schools being given a facelift following the removal of BSF programme.

At Forest Lodge primary school in Leicester, pupils are still being taught in temporary buildings put up in the 1950s. The school had been given top priority for rebuilding under the BSF programme - but have since been overtaken by another school overtook them and subsequently they were squeezed out of the repair programme.

"We have a flat roof over most of the school," said Karen Cane, its head. "There are constant leaks. We had an adviser come in to monitor classroom observation and it was raining and water was dropping onto one child's work." The school has been given the green light for rebuilding under the Coalition's priority programme – but it could take between two and five years to complete the work.

At St Andrew's Church of England school, a 196-pupil primary in Warrington, Cheshire, buckets still have to be put out to catch the falling drops every time it rains. "The roof was failing massively when it rained and we had water dropping through on to the floor," said Keith Cahillane, its head. "I didn't think it was a proper situation for children to be learning in or staff to be teaching in."

Of 687 head-teachers questioned in a survey for The Key, an independent advice service for schools, 270 said their buildings were not "fit for purpose". They added that they had suffered cuts of up to 75 per cent in their capital spending programmes for buildings and maintenance.

The head-teacher survey was done before the Government announced the PSBP – but the majority of schools who put in for funding through it were turned down. In a ministerial statement, Mr Gove acknowledged: "I recognise that many of the schools that applied to the PSBP and have been unsuccessful [there were 326] will also have significant condition needs.

"I know that many schools will be disappointed not to be included in the programme. We have had to take difficult decisions in order to target spending on those school s that are in the worst condition."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/overcrowded-and-crumbling-cutbacks-leave-schools-in-crisis-7923538.html

University applications fall by 8.9%

According to latest figures from the University admissions service, university applications from UK students for courses starting in the autumn are down by 8.9% from last year. This means that just over 50,000 fewer applicants have applied for university compared with the same point last year - a drop of 8.9%, according to new UCAS statistics.

The figures show that the biggest drop was in England, where applications were down by 10%. The drop corresponds with the dramatic increase in tuition fees which are due to be put in place this September.

Universities minister David Willetts insisted that 2012 will still be a "competitive year" for students hoping to gain places.

The report also reveals that young people in disadvantaged areas were still almost three times less likely to apply to university than their richer peers.

Overall the figures show:

* Overall applications, from home and abroad, were down 7.7%;

* The number of male applicants was down 8.6%, and for females 7.1%;

* Applications from EU students other than those from the UK fell by 12.9%, but outside the EU they rose 8.5%;

* The South West and the North East of England saw the biggest drops, down 12.1% and 11.7% respectively.

* The West Midlands saw the smallest fall in England, with applications down 7.4%.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18768857

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/new-student-numbers-fall-as-fees-rise-7924586.html

Somerset raises concern about academy status

Head-teachers in the area of Somerset have raised concerns about the government’s plans to force failing primary schools to become academies after seven primary schools in Somerset have been assessed as failing.

The chair of the Somerset Association of Primary Head teachers said that:

‘There are not enough benefits…but considerable risks are being involved. There are a lot of smaller schools in the country for whom academy status is not a viable financial option’ said MsWhitman.

Education Secretary Michael Gove on the other hand, has argued that the purpose of academies is to drive up standards by putting more power in the hands of head teachers.

Of the 206 primary schools in Somerset, only five have applied voluntarily to become academies while a further eight have already converted.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-18688429

Twilight School Intervention at Stuart Bathurst School

Exam Central has been very busyworking on a school intervention project named ‘Twilight School’. This intervention has been taking place at Stuart Bathurst High School in Birminghamand has been running for 8 weeks.

Exam Central has collaborated with the staff at Stuart Bathurst High School to identify key areas for student academic improvement. As a result, the ‘Twilight School’ intervention project focused lessons in English and Maths for years 8 & 9, equipping students with extraskills and preparing them up for SSAT and GCSE.

We are nearly at the end of the project, with many students taking their final assessments this week.  So far the results have been positive and we wish those that will be taking assessments this week the very best luck.

To find out more about Stuart BathurstSchool, visit:

www.stuart-bathurst.org.uk/

English and maths 'to be taught up to 18

Following concerns that too many teenagers leave education without adequate skills in literacy and numeracy needed by employers, the government has announced that pupils who fail to achieve at least a C grade at GCSE in English and Maths will have to carry on taking the subjects to the age of 18.

The reforms are due to be put into practice from September 2014, and it will see some pupils re-taking GCSE and others taking less demanding tests, aimed at improving basic skills.

More than 40,000 youngsters a year reach 19 without having had any further lessons in English, after failing the subject at 16, says the Department for Education. For maths, the figure is more than 60,000 each year.

The changes, linked to raising the leaving age for education and training, will mean youngsters in the education system beyond 16 will be expected to reach an adequate level in maths and English but those who have already achieved a grade C or above at these subjects will be unaffected.

The Department for Education said enforcement remained the responsibility of local authorities.

Under the proposals, the process of raising the compulsory age for education and training to 18 will be completed in 2015.

It will address the high drop-out rate at the age of 16 - a measure in which England's school system has lagged behind many other industrial countries.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18676638

Government plans of changes to the education system have been branded as ‘impoverishing’ teaching

In response to the recently publicised government’s plans to changes in Education, such as higher standards in English, The National Association for the Teaching of English states that he plans will ‘impoverish’ teaching

Its chairman, Dr Simon Gibbons, chairman of the association and expert in English education at King’s College, London, says the reforms are based on ministers' "diminishing memories of their own grammar-and public-school educations". He warns that such an approach will turn pupils off the subject.

He told the BBC News website: "Most English teachers try to teach grammar in context rather than through formal exercises. T here's very little evidence of a benefit to teaching grammar in that way.

He also criticised plans to introduce a new national grammar test, called the technical aspects of English, for all pupils in the top year of primary school.

The test, which will be sat for the first time by pupils next summer, measures children's ability to "demonstrate their knowledge of grammatical tests", he said.

The Department for Education said the draft programmes of study were subject to an informal consultation to invite debate.

It added: "The draft programme of study for English at primary school will be far more rigorous than before.

"It will demand higher standards from pupils aged five to 11, with a higher expectation of what children should know as they go through primary school.

"Its aim is that children in England will leave primary school with a strong command of written and spoken English, and high standards of literacy."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18632399

Boy’s reading skills must be tackled

The reading gap between boys and girls in England is widening but there is no official strategy to address it, a report says.

The Boys' Reading Commission took evidence from teachers, 226 schools and 21,000 young people in the UK . Last year, 80% of boys reached the expected level in reading at age 11compared with 88% of girls. In the early years of secondary school the gap widens further, with boys outstripped by girls in English by 12 percentage points at age 14. Last year, 59% of boys achieved an A*to C in English GCSE compared to 73% of girls. The findings also suggest girls are enjoying reading more than boys and that this difference has been intensifying in recent years

Commission Chairman, Gavin Barwell MP, said specific action to address the gender issue was required.

The commission also examined the influence of the home environment on reading ability. It cites earlier research which suggests parents do not support boys in their reading to the same extent as they support girls. This is supported up by National Literacy Trust research which found that boys are less likely to be given books as presents.

Schools Minister, Nick Gibb MP said: "Reading for pleasure is key to boosting a young person's life chances. As a government, improving reading standards in schools is central to all our education reforms.

The government said it was focusing on getting every child to read using phonics and reading for enjoyment.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18644811

Government plans of changes to the education system have been branded as ‘impoverishing’ teaching.

In response to the recently publicised government’s plans to changes in Education, such as higher standards in English, The National Association for the Teaching of English states that the plans will ‘impoverish’ teaching.

Its chairman, Dr Simon Gibbons, chairman of the association and expert in English education at King’s College, London, says the reforms are based on ministers' "diminishing memories of their own grammar- and public-school educations". He warns that such an approach will turn pupils off the subject.

He told the BBC News website: "Most English teachers try to teach grammar in context rather than through formal exercises. There's very little evidence of a benefit to teaching grammar in that way.

He also criticised plans to introduce a new national grammar test, called the technical aspects of English, for all pupils in the top year of primary school.

The test, which will be sat for the first time by pupils next summer, measures children's ability to "demonstrate their knowledge of grammatical tests", he said.

The Department for Education said the draft programmes of study were subject to an informal consultation to invite debate.

It added: "The draft programme of study for English at primary school will be far more rigorous than before.

"It will demand higher standards from pupils aged five to 11, with a higher expectation of what children should know as they go through primary school.

"Its aim is that children in England will leave primary school with a strong command of written and spoken English, and high standards of literacy."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-18632399