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Daily News Summary
21 June 2018

Support grows for restricting mobile phone use in schools
'Teachers do not really know what a grade 4 looks like'
'Introduce national assessments for uni courses to combat grade inflation'
The 'flawed science' of A-level grade predictions
'Economy damaged by gender segregation in apprenticeships'
New figures reveal number of young people missing from official education statistics
'Train school mental health specialists using scheme modelled on Teach First'

Support grows for restricting mobile phone use in schools

 

The debate as to whether mobile phone use should be restricted in schools continues in the press. The Express reports that Amanda Spielman, chief inspector of Ofsted, is expected to use a talk today at the Festival of Education at Wellington College to give her backing to headteachers who ban mobile phones to prevent bad behaviour. By Michael Knowles. The article quotes Helen Jeys, headmistress of Alderley Edge School for Girls.

The newspaper also features a commentary on the issue of mobile phone use in schools by Richard Cairns, headmaster of Brighton College.

Jane Prescott, headmistress of Portsmouth High School GDST, has written to The Telegraph on the topic, saying smartphones can aid classroom learning if used intelligently. Scroll down to read the letter.

 
Daily Express

'Teachers do not really know what a grade 4 looks like'

 

A head of history writes for Tes about the 'facade' of teaching the new GCSE, claiming teachers do not yet really know what a grade 4 looks like. By Laura Tilley.

 
Tes

'Introduce national assessments for uni courses to combat grade inflation'

 

Think tank Reform has said that grade inflation could be tackled by the introduction of national assessments for particular degree subjects. By Eleanor Busby, The Independent.

 
The Independent

The 'flawed science' of A-level grade predictions

 

The Guardian features an opinion piece claiming disadvantaged students are being failed by the university admissions process. By Grace Holliday.

 
The Guardian

'Economy damaged by gender segregation in apprenticeships'

 

Carole Easton, chief executive of Young Women’s Trust, writes for The Times about the need for women to be given greater access to IT, construction and engineering apprenticeships.

 
The Times

New figures reveal number of young people missing from official education statistics

 

According to FFT Education Datalab, statistics show that thousands of students failed to take their GCSEs after being taken out of state schools. By Richard Adams, The Guardian.

 
The Guardian

'Train school mental health specialists using scheme modelled on Teach First'

 

Minds Ahead, a social enterprise working to improve mental health in schools, and think-tank LKMCo, which aims to ensure all schoolchildren receive the support they need, have released a report calling for Teach First-style schemes to be introduced in order to train school mental health specialists. By Alix Robertson, Schools Week.

 
Schools Week

 

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