isc logo  

Daily News Summary
3 December 2019

PISA results: UK climbs the international school rankings
Watchdog issues warning over school funding claims in election manifestos
Independent school introduces Hygge lessons
'The benefits of a four-day school week'

PISA results: UK climbs the international school rankings

 

The UK has made positive progress in international school rankings, with the 2018 PISA results reflecting "modest improvements" in reading, maths and science. By Sean Coughlan, BBC News.

The Times also reports on the findings, linking the improvements in maths results to radical curriculum reforms introduced in 2014. By Rosemary Bennett, The Times.

According to the PISA results, schoolchildren in the UK have reported the biggest declines in life satisfaction since the previous survey carried out in 2015. By Richard Adams and Caelainn Barr, The Guardian.

 

Watchdog issues warning over school funding claims in election manifestos

 

The UK Statistics Authority has criticised the Conservative and Labour parties over potentially misleading school funding figures included in their general election manifestos. By Dave Speck, Tes.

 
Tes

Independent school introduces Hygge lessons

 

Belmont Grosvenor School, an independent school in Yorkshire, has introduced Scandinavian-style Hygge lessons to help promote pupil learning. By Dave Speck, Tes. The article quotes Sophia Ashworth Jones, the school's headmistress.

 
Tes

'The benefits of a four-day school week'

 

Gordon Cairns, an English teacher in Scotland, writes in Tes in support of proposals to reduce school weeks to four days. He argues "it could actually improve productivity and the health of employees - while reducing our carbon footprint".

 
Tes

 

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) monitors the national and educational press in order to keep independent schools up-to-date with relevant education news. The DNS is a service primarily for schools in membership of ISC associations, although other interested parties can choose to sign-up. We endeavour to include relevant news and commentary and, wherever possible, notable public letters. Where capacity allows, we may include links to ISC blogs, press statements and information about school or association events. News stories are selected based on their relevance to the independent sector as a whole. Editorial control of the DNS remains solely with the ISC.

Sign-up to the email service is available on our website.

Members can contact the ISC if they know in advance of news, letters or opinions that are likely to feature in the media, or are aware of existing coverage which they would like to see featured in the DNS.

Headlines and first-line summaries are written by the ISC with the link directing to the source material. You should read and comply with the terms and conditions of the websites to which we link.