ISC Daily News Summary

With a few days to go before booking for ISC's Symposium on Public Benefit officially closes, there are just 20 places remaining. The Symposium is a one-day conference for member schools on the charitable status issue, which will take place on Thursday 6th March at The Brewery in London. Speakers will include Dame Suzi Leather and Rosie Chapman from the Charity Commission, ISC Chief Executive Jonathan Shephard and Peter Luxton, Cardiff University's Professor of Law. Delegate places at the Symposium cost £199 + VAT, and the full agenda is available to view online at www.isc.co.uk/sym2008. Booking closes this Friday (29th February).

Independent, Guardian

Research by St George's, University of London reveals that students with lower A-level grades do just as well as students from the independent or selective sector in their degrees. The university's medical school introduced its 'adjusted criteria' admissions policy, which offers places to applicants with lower A-level grades than the standard offer if they are at least 60% better than their school average, in 2003. Saturday's Guardian reports on figures obtained by the Conservative Party, which indicate that 176, or just over half a percent, of the nearly 30,000 pupils who got three As at A-level last year were eligible for free meals.

Students from poorer backgrounds 'catch up' at university (Independent)
Success for medical school's access programme (Guardian)
Free school meals pupils lose out in race for top A-levels (Guardian)

Guardian

Letters in response to author David Kynaston's comment piece on independent schools in the Guardian last Friday.  

Why private schools are top of the form (Guardian)

Guardian, Independent, BBC News Online, Daily Telegraph

Children's Secretary Ed Balls has revealed that ministers are planning to send expert leaders to low-performing state secondary schools in an attempt to improve performance. He told the Guardian that options for these schools would include becoming an academy or trust school, working in partnership with a high-performing school or closing. The Guardian also reports on a study by Reform and written by Chairman of Northampton academy and member of the United Learning Trust board - the largest academy sponsor - Richard Tice. The report - 'Academies: A model education?' - concludes that the government should make it easier for academies to sack poorly performing teachers and exclude the worst-behaved pupils, and children should lose the right top appeal against expulsions for bad behaviour.

Academies: A model education? (Reform report)
Balls may send in elite teaching teams to turn around failing schools (Guardian)
Sack bad staff and expel worst pupils, says academy chairman (Guardian)
'Bad teaching' hampers academies (Independent)
Unions 'protecting poor teachers' (BBC News Online)
Scrap pupil appeals, says report (Daily Telegraph not online)

Times, Scotsman, Sun, Daily Mail, Independent

Deputy Director of the Institute of Education, Professor Dylan William, says that reducing class sizes to boost pupil achievement is a waste of money for all but the youngest children. At the annual Chartered London Teachers Conference today, Professor William is expected to call for more schools to adopt the formative assessment teaching method, in which teachers constantly monitor and respond to children's progress. The Daily Mail reports on research carried out by Manchester Metropolitan University, which reveals that rising numbers of schools and nurseries are banning staff from touching children for fear of allegations of assault.

Cutting class sizes 'is waste of money' (Times)
Monitoring pupils 'more cost effective than cutting class sizes' (Scotsman)
Classes size 'OK' (Sun not online)
Teachers ordered not to risk touching children (Daily Mail)
Media studies is no preparation for journalism (Independent)

Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Sunday Times

The Sunday Telegraph reports on figures obtained from local authorities, which show that some primary schools receive up to ten applications for every place, prompting some families to consider home schooling. The Observer reports that many German families are fleeing their country to escape a law introduced by Hitler that bans parents from educating their children at home.

Primary anxiety starts young (Sunday Telegraph)
Parents forced to consider home schooling (Sunday Telegraph)
Home-school Germans flee to UK (Observer)
Let's set state schools free (Sunday Times)

BBC News Online, Daily Mirror

In a survey of 3,000 secondary school pupils carried out by charity Beatbullying, 71.4% admitted to having been the perpetrator of a bullying incident.

71% of pupils admit being a bully (BBC News Online)
We bully say 70% of pupils (Daily Mirror)

Daily Express, Daily Telegraph

Articles on two teacher training schemes - one that has been scrapped and one that is growing in popularity.

£89m school leaders scheme is scrapped (Daily Express not online)
A fast-track First for knowledge (Daily Telegraph)

BBC News Online

The government is to excuse youngsters in difficult personal circumstances from the new requirement in England to be in education until the age of 18.

Thousands excused from training to 18 (BBC News Online)

Observer, Daily Telegraph

The Observer and Daily Telegraph report that parents with children at different schools are facing soaring childcare fees this Easter because local authorities have failed to adopt fixed national term times.

School holiday chaos hits families (Observer)
Child care bill soars as schools stagger Easter holidays (Daily Telegraph not online)
My son's reel education (Guardian)

Independent

The Children, Schools and Families Select Committee is to investigate evidence that the Roman Catholic Church is pursuing a more fundamentalist approach towards religion in its schools after Catholic schools in the North-west were instructed to stop 'safe sex' education and place crucifixes in every classroom.

MPs investigate Catholic influence on schools (Independent)

Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph

Features on university drop out figures and scholarships at American universities.

We don't need no higher education (Sunday Times)
Aim high and score in the US (Daily Telegraph not online)
Government toughens stance over non-payment of student loans (Daily Telegraph not online)

Herald

The Herald reports on reduced access to the Advanced Higher qualification in the Highlands and budget cuts at a special needs school.

Highlands budget threat to Advanced Highers (Herald)
Concern that special needs children could be forced into mainstream schools (Herald)

Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, Times, Daily Express, Guardian, Daily Mirror

Articles on child health issues including measles, alcohol and additives.

Fears for children as measles cases reach record high (Daily Telegraph)
1,000 under-14s a year in hospital through drink (Sunday Telegraph)
MMR catch-up needed to beat measles (Times)
Measles outbreaks reach a new high (Daily Express not online)
Additives linked to hyperactivity still used in medicines for young (Guardian)
Medicine E number shocker (Daily Mirror)

Speech is key to language lessons (Independent letters)
Dropping out does not always mean failure (Times letters)
School trips to Auschwitz (Daily Telegraph letters)
School bans running (Daily Telegraph letters)

TES, Times

A string of messages posted by teachers in an internet chat room run by The Times Educational Supplement (TES) refer to the increasing frequency of pupils who call their parents from lessons to complain about the teacher.

TES Staffroom (TES)
Hi mum, this lesson's rubbish (Times)