ISC Daily News Summary

Comment piece in the Sunday Times regarding the charitable status of independent schools, written by Chairman of Cognita, Chris Woodhead.

Profit for all sits untapped in private schools (Sunday Times)

Principal of The Cheltenham Ladies' College and President of the Girls' Schools Association (GSA), Vicky Tuck, discusses whether bankers and other service industry graduates will try their hand at teaching next year in her online Daily Telegraph column.

Vicky Tuck: Will Britain's sacked bankers become teachers? (Daily Telegraph online only)

Feature in Saturday's Daily Telegraph magazine on traditional nativity plays, in which Sherborne Preparatory School's pre-prep nativity is profiled. Gill Smith, Dee Hockey, Becky Wells and Wendy Russell from the school are quoted.

Nativity plays: Stable companions (Daily Telegraph)
Their names were Caspar, Balthazar and, erm... (Times2)

Feature in the Sunday Times on how parents are increasingly being discouraged from accompanying their children on school trips. Reference is made to Bute House Preparatory School for Girls.

No parents, please (Sunday Times)

Letter in the Independent from ISC Chief Executive, David Lyscom.

Reasons to prefer private schools (Independent letters)
Answer the question: Chris Woodhead (Sunday Times)

An Institute of Education review of academies for the Sutton Trust has concluded that high exclusion levels at some new academies could be having a detrimental effect on neighbouring state schools. The report also recommends that academies' admissions procedures should face closer scrutiny, to ensure they do not harm the intakes of other schools.

Academies are 'damaging standards' in state schools (Independent)
Academies 'expelling pupils to boost results' (Daily Telegraph)
Academy expulsions may hit other schools (Guardian)
Academy exclusions 'may harm nearby schools' (Times)
Academies' effect on schools queried (Financial Times not online)
Academies 'not the whole answer' (BBC News Online)

The Sunday Telegraph reports that teachers have been flooded with more than 6,000 pages of government paperwork this year, more than the complete works of Shakespeare.

Teachers buried in 6,000 pages of Government bureaucracy (Sunday Telegraph)
How good teachers make schools excel (Sunday Express)

Children's Secretary Ed Balls has disclosed that league tables for school tests taken by 14-year-olds this summer will not be published, following an inquiry into the fiasco over the marking of the tests, which saw the late delivery of results to 1.2 million pupils.

League tables for final Sats for 14-year-olds will not be published (Daily Telegraph)
£600k for scrapped exam (Daily Express not online)

Sunday Times, Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sun

Ed Balls visited his old primary school in Norfolk last week, only to be told by the head teacher that 'the whole state of education is going downhill rapidly. The idea of education, education, education has totally slipped.'

Young Ed is well mannered, but he must try harder (Sunday Times)
The dangers of baubles, by Balls (Daily Mail)
Six of the best for Balls over crisis in schools (Daily Express not online)
Head raps Ed (Sun)

Plans put forward by families in Suffolk to set up their own secondary school have been thrown out by their local council. The Sunday Telegraph article points out that, despite legislation in 2006 to make it easier for groups of 'parent promoters' to have a bigger say in the provision of education, only one secondary school has been established by parents.

Parents school plan rejected (Sunday Telegraph)

Thousands of the most deprived teenagers in Britain could be forced to drop out of school or college because of the fiasco surrounding grants for 16 to 19-year-olds. Figures obtained by the Conservatives show that up to 16,000 students feel they have no choice but to quit if their education maintenance allowance (EMA) is further delayed.

Poorer pupils drop out after grants fiasco (Observer)

The actor Sir Ian McKellen has said he fears that a growing number of faith schools are preaching religious doctrines - such as teaching that homosexuality is a sin - inside the classroom, giving children a 'second-class' education. The actor has been touring UK schools this month to discuss homosexuality with pupils in the hope that it will reduce homophobia.

McKellen criticises faith schools for religious teaching (Guardian)
Faith school pupils 'outperforming others at every age' (Daily Telegraph)

Children as young as 11 are to be taught that 'no means no' in school sex education lessons under the Conservative Party's new 'Ending Violence Against Women' strategy.

Pupils must learn 'no means no', say Tories (Daily Telegraph)

A purple squirrel which has appeared at a school in Hampshire has baffled experts who are unable to explain its colour.

Purple squirrel baffles experts (Daily Telegraph)
Squirrel's brush with the colour purple (Daily Mail)
Purple squirrel? That's just nuts (Daily Express not online)
It's a nutty but nice squirrel (Sun)
Colour to dye fur (Daily Mirror)