ISC Daily News Summary

Much press coverage appears today on the Maurice Smith review into racism in schools, which concluded that members of the British National Party should not be banned from teaching. However, a separate inquiry has been announced into whether measures to prevent racism being promoted in independent schools are adequate. The announcement of the second inquiry has provoked criticism from ISC, which argues that independent schools already work within a framework which stresses the importance of diversity and unacceptability of discrimination. The Guardian quotes ISC chief executive David Lyscom extensively, and a press release has been issued providing the full ISC response, which can be found here.   
Ministers rule out ban on BNP teachers (Guardian)
Teachers can keep BNP membership, Government review says (Telegraph)

An interview with ISC chairman Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas appears in this week’s TES, in which she states her belief that very few ISC schools would want to give up their independence to join the state sector, as the Conservatives have proposed. She said that only smaller, struggling schools would be likely to consider such a move, and that would only be to avoid closure, merger or takeover. Elsewhere, there is substantial coverage of the Swedish style “free schools” proposed by the Tories throughout the TES, with a comment piece from the party’s schools spokesman Michael Gove and a leading article on the issue, as well as an in-depth analysis of the current state of Swedish schools and an article on author Toby Young’s continuing efforts to set up his own school. Finally, the paper reviews last night’s Cutting Edge documentary Too Poor for Posh School?, which followed the progress of a group of boys competing for scholarships to Harrow.
Few independents would trade freedom for state funds, says private schools chief (TES)
Comment and opinion: Why not trust teachers to set up schools? (TES)  
Comment and opinion: Cover version of Swedish hit is out of tune (TES)
Swedish smiles turn sour as rift widens where equity once ruled (TES)
Now Young turns to for-profit partners (TES)
Time to ‘polish up’ rough diamonds (TES)

ISC chief executive David Lyscom has written to the Telegraph in response to an article which includes a claim from the Sutton Trust that independent pupils do not perform as well at university as their maintained sector counterparts. To read the letter in full, please click here. The original Telegraph article can be read here.

A feature in this week’s TES Magazine reports on the popularity of British schools abroad. Focus is given to a number of independent schools which have a presence overseas, including Haileybury, Harrow and Dulwich College. 
A little piece of England (TES Magazine)

A number of newspapers report that parents are to face random checks as part of a Government crackdown on school admissions fraud. Local councils are being told to investigate at least 120,000 families – one-in-10 – applying for school places every year as part of a campaign to catch suspected cheats. Authorities are also being told to set up “whistleblower” helplines to allow parents to shop other families suspected of lying to get children into the best schools. The recommendations are made in an official report ordered by Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, into allegations of school place “theft” in England. The announcement comes after new figures revealed that thousands of children are being forced to accept places at unpopular comprehensives after being rejected from as many as three schools. More than one-in-20 pupils in England failed to get into any of the top three secondaries named on application forms this year, it was disclosed. At the same time, one-in-six children were rejected from their first choice. The figures represent the first official breakdown of how this year's secondary school places in England were distributed.
Ed Balls orders crackdown on school admissions fraud (Telegraph)
School admissions: one-in-20 forced into 'unwanted' schools (Telegraph)

New figures suggest that around 200,000 children are effectively going backwards in the three-Rs at secondary school, it is reported. Many pupils across England gained worse results in the basic subjects aged 16 than in comparable exams taken at the end of primary school, it was disclosed. More than four-in-10 failed to make the progress expected of them in maths and a third slipped in English. However, the results – published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families – represented an improvement compared with previous years.
Thousands of pupils 'going backwards' in English and maths (Telegraph)

The Telegraph reports comments from Higher Education minister David Lammy that targets designed to increase the number of poor students at university are failing. Benchmarks set up to measure recruitment rates have “not been as instrumental at changing behaviours” as ministers hoped, he said. The newspaper says that Mr Lammy’s comments raise the prospect of an overhaul of policies designed to open up admissions to more students from deprived backgrounds and state schools. The Financial Times meanwhile focuses on Mr Lammy’s suggestion that in order to compensate for future funding cuts, UK universities should bid aggressively for the billions of dollars US President Barack Obama has pledged for research. 
University targets for poor students 'failing' (Telegraph)
Lammy tells universities to tap US research funding (FT – not online)

The Independent carries an article today on a struggling school in Manchester which turned around its fortunes by rejecting traditional teaching methods and adopting the Montessori model – the first state school in the country to do so.
The school that turned to Montessori to beat gangs (Independent)

The Scotsman reports that plans for Scotland to examine the Swedish model of running schools have been criticised by MSPs. Education minister Mike Russell is flying to Finland on Sunday to visit a secondary school and will then fly to Stockholm to examine how the country's education system works. He is making the trip after publicly declaring he would welcome suggestions from Scotland's local authorities on alternative ways to run schools. However, MSPs questioned the move in the Scottish Parliament, pointing to figures which suggest the performance of Swedish pupils has fallen since the 1990s, based on international comparisons.
Minister criticised for Swedish schools visit (Scotsman)

A comment piece in today’s Telegraph argues that a decision to allow the award of the equivalent of a GCSE for carrying out work experience in McDonalds raises serious questions.
Comment and opinion: Who wants a GCSE with fries on the side? (Telegraph)

Trainee teachers are being told to act like Clint Eastwood to gain the respect of pupils. Jim Wood, who trains teachers at the University of Southampton, champions an "intimidation through silence" approach similar to that of the Dirty Harry movie star. Mr Wood, who is a deputy head at Bay House School in Gosport, Hampshire, says this is more effective than shouting like Arnold Schwarzenegger, which he claims only "entertains" the children rather than control them.
‘Act like Clint,’ trainees told (Press Association)