ISC Daily News Summary

TES
The TES this week included an article on pupils at James Allen’s Girls’ School preparing teachers for grade 1 music exams as part of a scheme to raise money for a new community music centre at the school. 69 teachers have volunteered to take instrumental lessons from pupils; they will then be sponsored to take their grade 1 exam. A number of teachers and pupils are quoted.
Role reversal strikes a chord (TES not online)

Guardian
A new testing system to replace Sats in state schools has been hit by "substantial and fundamental" problems, according to secret reports. Pilot tests taken by 100,000 children in the last 18 months have faced severe problems, giving wildly unpredictable results and exposing children to even more high-pressure testing, the two reports conclude. The government is piloting the "single level tests" (SLTs) in response to criticisms that the current system of Sats is too stressful for schools and pupils and does not provide high-quality information about their talents.
Sats replacement system 'even more stressful for pupils' (Guardian)

Times
Top-performing state schools will be able to break a £120,000 cap on head- teachers’ pay if they agree to lead new not-for-profit groups running less successful institutions. In a new drive to improve standards and cut costs, weaker schools will be involved in mergers or given new leadership, Ed Balls said in an interview with The Times. The Schools Secretary said that he wanted to give a “strong push” to the spread of new brands of education providers.
Worst schools to be forced into mergers (Times)

Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph
Thousands of teachers will be trained to help children with dyslexia in a £10million initiative unveiled by ministers yesterday. The drive to train 4,000 specialist teachers follows research showing that intensive lessons from experts can dramatically boost attainment among children who struggle to read and write. All teachers will be encouraged to study up-to-date information on how to spot dyslexia and adjust lessons to help affected pupils.
Thousands of teachers to be trained as dyslexic specialists in £10m government initiative (Daily Mail)
Children to be monitored for dyslexia under £10m plan (Daily Telegraph)

Daily Telegraph
Primary school lessons are being reduced to "the trading of obsolete facts" simply to pass exams, according to Professor Robin Alexander, a leading academic.
'Victorian' primary curriculum ruining children's education, says academic (Daily Telegraph)

Daily Telegraph
Parents should be able to freely take photographs and video of their children at school sports days or plays, the Deputy Information Commissioner has concluded. Even photographs taken for official use or local newspapers do not breach the Data Protection Act so long as the subjects are aware of how the images will be used.
Parents should be free to photograph sports days (Daily Telegraph)

Guardian Education Supplement
A selection of articles in today's Guardian Education Supplement:-
How do you spark off an interest in maths when the curriculum seems dreary? (Guardian)
Nick Stuart, new chair of the specialist schools' trust, has an impressive, if unknown, record (Guardian)
Jackie Kemp at the 2009 Teaching Awards (Guardian)
Postgraduate and master's degree tables, including fees and job prospects (Guardian)
Cash-strapped Harvard undergraduates can now appeal to rich alumni for loans (Guardian)

Daily Mail
PE lessons provide the unhappiest memories of our school days, a survey has found. The poll was commissioned by the Cricket Foundation, which is hoping to encourage more children to take part in school cricket. It found that the most treasured school memories revolved around favourite teachers.
The best days of our lives (apart from PE and bullies (Daily Mail)