ISC Daily News Summary

ISC has been discussing the introduction of ContactPoint with DCSF. We will provide detailed advice for all schools, including those in Early Adopter areas, before the scheme goes live.

 

In the meantime you will wish to know that no independent schools will be required to disclose data for inclusion in ContactPoint before the end of January. However, in order to get ready to transfer data in due course (end of January for Early Adopters, early summer for others), schools will need to start working on the mechanics needed with their local authorities, who are responsible for implementing ContactPoint locally. Local authorities will do this with the help of regional implementation co-ordinators. Some schools are therefore already being approached by their local authority ContactPoint implementation teams, and we suggest you discuss your IT and other data transfer concerns with them. How you do the transfer is a matter for individual schools, although our ICT team has met with DCSF and will be offering advice in due course. What data you will need to give is still under discussion with DCSF. We have passed your concerns on and await clarification. Once we have this we will let you know.

TES

Further coverage of the Westminster Education Forum's seminar on state and independent school partnerships, which took place in London last week. ISC Chief Executive, David Lyscom, and Master of Wellington College, Dr Anthony Seldon, are quoted.

‘Federations to end state-private gulf' (TES)

TES

The TES reports that 33 new entrants to the 2009 edition of 'Who's Who' are from the teaching profession. The article lists the new names, which includes a large number of ISC Heads.

33 educators join Obama in 'Who's Who' (TES)

Evening Standard

The Evening Standard yesterday reported that Eton College has launched a Stockbroking Society.

Club that aims to give Eton's boys an edge (Evening Standard)

Daily Mail

The Daily Mail reports that film star Robert Pattinson - who is currently featuring in a large number of newspapers as a result of his role in the film 'Twilight' - is a former pupil of Tower House School.

Vampire star to sink his teeth into £10m a film (Daily Mail)

Guardian, Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express, BBC News Online

A two-year study by the Runnymede Trust - a race-relations think-tank - recommends that faith schools should no longer select children on the basis of their religion. The critical report concludes that faith schools educate a disproportionately small number of poor children, offer inadequate education about other religions and often display an 'insular and absolutist' approach to the rest of society. The Daily Telegraph and Daily Mail report that schools have been banned from examining children's birth certificates or photographs under new rules designed to stop middle-class pupils dominating places. Under the new DCSF admissions guidelines, priority for state boarding school places will be given to the children of those in the armed forces.

Faith schools should be open to all (Runnymede Trust)
Faith schools must end selection on basis of religion (Guardian)
Faith schools must give up religion as basis for selecting pupils, says report (Times)
Parental approval not needed by sixth-form hopefuls (Times)
Faith schools 'should face admissions curb' (Daily Telegraph)
Revised school admissions code published (DCSF)
School admissions rules tightened up (Daily Telegraph)
Schools banned from requesting photos and birth certificates of prospective pupils in crackdown on 'social selection' (Daily Mail)
New bid to stop pupil selection by religion (Daily Express)
Faith schools 'serve privileged' (BBC News Online)
School places loopholes targeted (BBC News Online)

Daily Telegraph, Guardian, BBC News Online, Herald, Scotsman

Research by Universities UK (UUK) suggests that English universities are admitting fewer students from poor homes than the rest of the UK. The report also warns that Universities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are losing ground to those in England, and that since devolution English universities have grown more quickly.

English universities failing poor students (Daily Telegraph)
Devolution 'creates university funding gap' (Guardian)
UK universities' fortunes diverge (BBC News Online)
Gap in funding means Scottish universities ‘lag behind' (Herald)
Universities in England beat Scots for funds (Scotsman)

Daily Mail

A report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts that women will make up 70% of university graduates by 2015.

70% of university graduates 'will be girls' in seven years (Daily Mail)

Times, TES

Further debate in the Times and TES surrounding the issue of ‘soft' A-levels.

Should universities accept 'soft' A-levels? (Times)
Universities not soft on A-levels (Times letters)
Schools reject notion of 'soft' A-levels (TES)

BBC News Online

Science Minister Lord Drayson has said he is calling in copies of GCSE and A-level science exam papers to check that they are not being 'dumbed down'.

Minister checks on science exams (BBC News Online)

BBC News Online, Daily Telegraph, Independent, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Mirror

A teacher at a sports college in Derby has been reinstated after he was suspended for making his pupils do press-ups for being late. The suspension was described as 'political correctness gone mad' by the National Union of Teachers (NUT).

Press-ups teacher is reinstated (BBC News Online)
Teacher's job in balance after late pupils are made to do press-ups (Daily Telegraph not online)
Press-ups teacher is suspended (Independent not online)
Teacher suspended for punishing pupils with press-ups - at a sports college (Daily Mail)
Teacher banned over sit-ups for late pupils (Daily Express not online)
Teacher suspended for punishing pupils with press-ups controversy (Daily Mirror)

Daily Mail

A 12-year-old girl has been banned from wearing a chastity ring at her school in Devon.

Teenager banned from wearing Christian chastity ring at school (Daily Mail)

Here is a selection of articles from this week's TES:

Pupil conduct deteriorates as recession hits (TES)
EU funds sought to prop up BSF plan (TES)
Subject bodies struggling to attract members (TES)
Academy head leaves after riot (TES)
We are staying put, say Mumbai expat teachers (TES)
Head takes discipline tips to Middle East schools (TES)
Sats: they're already hard at the prep (TES)
NASUWT stakes its claim to being the biggest union (TES)
Preschool learning holds the key to children's success in later life (TES)
Attitudes to maths fixed by the age of 9 (TES)
Danger of the bunny syndrome (TES)

BBC News Online, Independent, Sun

Sir Terry Wogan is stepping down as commentator on the Eurovision Song Contest after three decades. Fellow Irishman Graham Norton will take over for the 2009 contest, which will be hosted in Moscow.

Norton is Eurovision's new Wogan (BBC News Online)
Norton picks up Wogan's Eurovision reins (Independent)
Terry Wo-gone (Sun)