Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news:

Schools:

• MPs have described ministers’ response to their recommendations on science lessons as “hugely disappointing”.
• The teaching of computer science must become more relevant to modern needs, said the government.
• The Government is to set out plans for up to a dozen new specialist schools aimed at providing the “highest quality maths teaching in the world”.
• Funding for literacy and numeracy, which represents about a quarter of the skills budget, is to be reformed amid claims that colleges and training providers are failing to help adults with the greatest problems.
• In the week that hundreds of thousands of heads and teachers staged a national strike, chancellor George Osborne has poured petrol on the flames by indicating his intention to introduce regional pay deals for teachers.
• Ofsted’s next chief inspector set out a controversial raft of policies this week, including plans to condemn schools that give teachers automatic pay rises when not enough lessons are “good” and to assess staff standards of dress.
• Almost three-quarters of England’s councils are reviewing or making cuts to optional school transport services, data suggests.
• Calculators may be restricted in primary schools until children have mastered basic arithmetic including knowing times tables by heart, a minister has said. Read the official announcement by the Department for Education here.

• Nearly half of children who pass grammar school entrance exams are turned away because there are not enough places.
• Sixth-formers could be forced to sit three A-levels in one day under plans to radically overhaul university admissions, a senior examiner has warned.

• Iain Duncan Smith has said tackling child poverty by boosting family income through benefits is a narrow approach which “looks set to have failed”.
• More free places in nursery or childcare are being made available to two-year-olds in England, under plans set out by Chancellor George Osborne.
• A Carmarthenshire sixth-former is a school bus driver, taking 38 pupils to and from his school every day.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 1st to 10th December - Great British Tea Party
• 3rd December - International Day of Persons with Disabilities
• 3rd to 4th December - Tree Dressing Day
• 6th December - St. Nicholas Day
• 8th December - Bodhi Day
• 10th December - Human Rights Day

Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news:

Schools:

• The Coalition Government’s Education Bill has been granted Royal Assent. This completes the legislative framework for the Government’s key education reforms, and paves the way for important changes in schools in England. These changes have been reported in The Telegraph and on the BBC News site.
• Britain is facing a “hidden crisis” because schools in prosperous areas are failing to push middle-class children to reach their full potential, David Cameron has warned.
• Plans to alter education funding could boost the budgets of some schools, while others see theirs reduced, the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests.
• Wales’ largest teaching union has accused Education Minister Leighton Andrews of political interference which is having a detrimental impact on teachers’ ability to do their jobs.
• Thousands of private school teachers could shift to the state sector under Government plans to cut them out of a public pensions scheme, a study suggests.
• Children risk being left with a poor understanding of key subjects because of failures in the way teachers are trained, according to a leading headmistress.
• Hundreds of thousands of pupils in England could be missing out on extra cash for their schools according to the Department for Education.
• Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have made remarkable progress in attainment, behaviour and attendance under a Government-funded pilot, according to a new report published this week.
• Heads are “out of date” and their old-fashioned attitudes are preventing thousands of talented women from working at the chalkface, according to the chief executive of the Training and Development Agency for Schools.
• Ofsted have released a new report entitled ‘Good practice in primary mathematics: evidence from 20 successful schools’, which looks at how 20 schools successfully taught arithmetic, a key component of mathematics.

Universities:

• The new chairman of a group of leading research universities has warned against treating students as “consumers purchasing degree certificates”.
• The Business Secretary Vince Cable says he is hearing reports that some universities are blocking colleges’ attempts to offer cheaper degrees.
• More than 850 university students entered a competition to design mobile phone applications to pass on information on everything from education league tables to finding a school.

Other News:

• Education unions are urging the government to put the issue of youth unemployment at the centre of the political agenda.
• The government has confirmed that there are now 124 fewer Sure Start centres for children than there were when the coalition formed last year.
• A charity is calling on more local councils in England to send vulnerable children to boarding school rather than into care.
• One in three of the children around the world who do not have access to primary education have a disability, suggests research from the charity Sightsavers.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 14th to 25th November - Anti-Bullying Week
• 14th to 20th November - Global Entrepreneurship Week
• 19th November - World Toilet Day
• 19th November - International Men’s Day
• 20th November - Universal Children’s Day
• 21st November - World Television Day
• 21st November - World Hello Day
• 21st to 27th November - Road Safety Week

Here are links to five great new resources that I’ve found online this week:

1) Classdojo (shared by Lara Savory) – Classdojo is a wonderful online behaviour management system. When you set up your class you can give points for positive behaviour (and remove them for negative behaviour). You can also track the children’s scores over time which could be useful for reporting to parents. It’s even possible to use a mobile device to add rewards to the system. Watch this video to find out more:

Click here to view the embedded video.

2) Pictograph Generator – The amazing John McClear has created a simple online pictograph generator. It’s easy to use and customise and is a great resource for Maths (data handling / problem solving) and ICT work. Watch this video to see how it works:

Click here to view the embedded video.

3) The Water Cycle - This great animation (shared on the great The Kids Should See This blog) shows how the water cycle works. It is very visual and could be used as part of Science work. Could your pupils write some narration for the video? I’ve added this video to Teaching Videos, so don’t forget to look there for more educational video resources.

Click here to view the embedded video.

4) Your Paintings – This is a wonderful resource from the BBC, sharing 77,000 paintings online. You can find paintings by artist or features and you can also look at items within paintings that have been tagged. There are some ideas for teachers on the site’s blog.

5) Young Science Investigators Project Kit (shared by Sophie Bessemer) – This free resource is focused on science at work in the real world and scientific enquiry skills, based around three topics: electricity, forces and materials. It has lots of hands on activities for the children to do in or out of the classroom, with some accompanying animations, teachers notes, worksheets and curriculum links.

Which of these is your favourite resource?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been busy working on a new look for Teaching Ideas and I’m really pleased that the updated site is now online.

The site has a much clearer layout and I’ve reorganised the ideas and resources according to their relevant age ranges to make them easier to find. I’ve also gone through the code throughout the entire site which means that it should be quicker to load.

To celebrate the launch of the new site, I’ve also made a new set of my popular ‘Inspiration’ resources… this new set give ideas for inspiring Maths lessons. They can be used as lesson starters to stimulate discussion about Maths concepts. You could also put them on your classroom displays to get children thinking about Maths! I’m also working on a new set of ‘History Inspiration’ posters which should be online very soon!

I hope that you like the new site. The new layout is also much quicker for me to update, which means that I can spend more time making free resources for you!

Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news:

Pensions - The strike over pensions dominated education news this week. Here are some articles which cover what happened:

• At least 12,000 schools are known to have been closed or partly closed as part of the industrial action.
• This BBC report shares opinions from parents and teachers linked to a school in West London.
• Millions of parents had to take time off work or make other arrangements to look after children who could not go to school.
• Members of the NUT and ATL have said that ‘the government is not listening’ to their concerns. However, Michael Gove expressed his ‘disappointment’ about the strike. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said negotiations are the only way to resolve differences over changes to public sector pensions.
• An estimated 40,000 public sector workers in Wales joined the strike.
• This report from the Telegraph labels the strike ‘a respectable, but not sensational, success.’
• The Guardian asked for readers comments about the strike… here are some of them.

Schools:

• Education Secretary Michael Gove says he would like to see the “vast majority” of pupils in England studying maths to the age of 18 within a decade.
• Students will not be allowed to enter teacher training in England if they fail basic numeracy and literacy tests three times, under tougher rules to raise teaching standards.
• New teachers will be given back-to-basics training in dealing with unruly pupils under Government plans to crackdown on bad behaviour in the classroom.
• One-in-five schoolchildren are labelled as having special needs, following claims that problems are being over-diagnosed to disguise poor results.
• Five and six-year-olds are being taught in pupil referral units, normally used for teenagers, according to this report in the TES.

Exams:

• Exams regulator Ofqual has launched an inquiry into a string of errors in this summer’s exam papers.
• An ICT qualification with coursework tasks so difficult that even experienced teachers find them “impossible” is leading many schools to quit the subject altogether.
• Education Secretary Michael Gove says modular GCSEs are to be phased out, with students starting in 2012 taking all exams at the end of the course.

Universities:

• Two teenagers have been given the right to mount a High Court challenge to plans to increase tuition fees at England’s universities.
• Two universities are “actively considering” going private amid concerns over a loss of income in the wake of the Government’s higher education reforms, it has emerged.
• Scottish universities will be able to charge annual fees of up to £9,000 for students coming to study from other parts of the UK, under new plans.

Other News:

• Sir Terry Leahy, the former chief executive of Tesco, issued a warning about poor standards in Britain’s schools and universities which leave youngsters ill-prepared for work.
• This report in the Telegraph questions if texting and other ‘modern messaging’ can enhance children’s literacy skills.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 20th June to 3rd July - Wimbledon
• 27th June to 3rd July - My Money Week
• 2nd July - International Co-operative Day
• 2nd July to 24th July - Tour de France
• 4th July - Independence Day
• 4th to 10th July – Move It Week

Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news:

Schools:

• Pupils from a east Hampshire school have found a fun way to start the day which teachers say is also helping them in class.
• A primary school has been condemned by parents for disciplining two seven-year-old boys after teachers ruled playing army games amounted to “threatening behaviour”.
• Up to half of five-year-olds are not ready for school as working parents increasingly abandon traditional games, nursery rhymes, bedtime stories and lullabies, according to research.
• Some primary schools, particularly in London, are starting to voice their concerns about a possible shortfall of places around England.
• Young children in inner-city areas often have to face knife crime in their neighbourhood. This report highlights a primary school who are tackling the issue by discussing it in the classroom.
• Hundreds of private schools are to opt out of the National Curriculum amid claims it sets the bar “far too low” for bright pupils.

Exams:

• An “unfortunate error” meant maths students were set a question that was impossible to answer in an AS-level exam.

Universities:

• Cambridge University academics are joining their counterparts in Oxford by calling for a vote of no confidence against the government’s handling of higher education in England.
• A senior academic says she doubts the Welsh Government can continue to afford to help all students from Wales pay for their university fees.

Other News:

• Three in 10 children in the UK do not own a single book of their own, with alarming implications for their future prospects, according to new research.
• The Nottingham University Samworth academy has a room packed with curiosities and puzzles that stimulate pupils’ imaginations, and generate a sense of wonder.
• The UK could become “yesterday’s country equipped with yesterday’s skills” if education cuts continue, the UCU lecturers’ union leader has warned.
• Friends, family and teachers are much more likely to influence young children than celebrity role models like actors or footballers are, a study suggests.

Due to other commitments with my teaching and my many other Teaching Websites, I am struggling to keep Teaching Events updated at the moment. As I result, I am working on a new, much simpler system, so Teaching Events will be offline for a short time. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news:

Schools:

• Failure of British education system is ‘our greatest national crisis’ and can only be mended through discipline, a leading historian has claimed.
• Generations of schoolchildren have been failed by the “regrettable and damaging” drive towards comprehensive education, according to a leading headmaster.
• David Cameron is facing calls to revise exam league tables to ensure that religious education is at the heart of the secondary school curriculum.
• Head teachers will be able to inflate their salaries by as much as 25 per cent under Government plans to reward those taking on more work.
• Thousands of secondary head teachers are preparing to join an unprecedented national strike that threatens to close almost every school in England and Wales.
• New league table measures aimed at ensuring that teachers pay attention to high and low-attaining pupils are being introduced by ministers this year.
• A 12-year-old boy has worn a skirt to school in protest against ”discriminatory” rules which ban boys from wearing shorts.
• Parents at a Borders primary school are considering paying for a teacher out of their own pockets in the face of anticipated council cutbacks.
• Primary school children could be given Government-approved reading lists for the first time in a move designed to boost literacy standards, it has emerged.
• An ‘Excellence in English’ report has been produced by Ofsted, looking at best practice in English teaching in schools.
• Hundreds of thousands of students will be forced study English and maths up to the age of 18 under Government plans to improve basic skills. Read the official Department for Education announcement here.
• Hundreds of vocational courses will effectively be axed under a Government overhaul of qualifications for teenagers.
• The majority of the teaching profession is deeply dissatisfied with the performance of the coalition Government on educational policy, according to a survey by The TES.
• Teachers are concealing disabilities for fear of damaging their chances of getting jobs or promotions, new research suggests.
• This video from the BBC questions whether every child in Britain should be expected to learn chess while they are at primary school.

• Too many young people are leaving school without adequate basic skills, a survey of business leaders suggests.
• Figures released this week show that more than 1000 schools have now applied to become academies.
• Maths education in England is being damaged by schools entering pupils early for their mathematics GCSE, experts say.
• Parents across the country are protesting about letters from their children’s schools that help to market a DVD home tuition scheme.
• Canine teachers used by a school in Conwy county to help children with behavioural or learning difficulties have been nominated for an award.

Universities:

• Teenagers are starting university unable to cope with the demands of degree courses after being “spoonfed” through school, a study suggests.
• Wealthy parents could be able to buy places for their children at the best universities under government plans to free up subsidised degrees.
• Accepting poor students on to degree courses with lower A-level grades is “patronising” and risks damaging school standards, says the Government’s favourite head teacher.
• British universities are failing to provide students with enough lecture and tutorial time, according to David Willetts.

Other News:

• More than half of parents allow pre-school children to watch “adult” television programmes such as EastEnders, despite fears over unsuitable content.
• Proposals have been made for three ChildLine bases to close across the UK.
• The BBC reports on the the return to school for Japanese children after the earthquake and tsunami.
• People with fewer qualifications are prone to age more quickly, a study which looked at 400 men and women says.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 15th May to 12th June - National Smile Month
• 16th May to 20th May - Walk to School Week

Mangahigh  (featured on Teaching News previously) is becoming completely free to all UK and Irish schools. The site offers over 400 different games and challenges which cover the Maths curriculum for pupils in Years 3 to 11.

Teachers can set specific challenges for pupils at particular levels and assessment data is provided so that teachers can view the achievements and efforts of their students. Pupils are also able to compete with each other and interact with other schools online.

This is great news for schools, enabling them to access lots of high quality resources without any extra cost. Watch the Youtube video above, or visit www.mangahigh.com for more information.

Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news:

• Too many design and technology teachers in England are failing to keep pace with global technological advances, education inspectors have said.
• Thousands of children are being turned off maths and science at school because of “tedious” lessons, according to one of the world’s top physicists.
• Thousands of teenagers will learn a trade at a new generation of technical schools under Government plans unveiled in the Budget.
• A major two-year study found that student teachers in England had a weaker grasp of maths than trainees in nations such as China, Japan, Ireland, Finland and Russia.
• Teachers should receive bigger paypackets, according to one of Britain’s most influential businessmen, who argues that increasing their salaries would be good for the economy.
• The School Teachers’ Review Body’s (STRB’s) recommendations on pay for those unqualified teachers who earn a full-time equivalent salary of £21,000 or less have been published.
• Children at a comprehensive school are to become first in the country to be sent home early every Friday in an attempt to save money.
• More than 30,000 pupils from around the UK turned their classrooms into newsrooms as they made the news for real.

• A third of schoolchildren who took part in a UK-wide BBC survey say they do not believe in God, a majority help adults to use the internet and at least one in three is feeling the effects of the economic slowdown.
• Schools could be ranked by the number of pupils gaining university degrees under Coalition plans to drive up education standards.
• Students and academics at a world-leading London university want to build bridges between the Wikipedia website and formal research.
• A controversial “nappy curriculum” for under-fives will be radically overhauled after a Government review concluded almost half of children were starting school lacking basic social and language skills.
• Ministers are pressing ahead with a trial of a new-style phonics test designed to identify pupils lagging behind after a year of compulsory education.
• Children as young as 11 should be expected to read 50 books a year as part of a national drive to improve literacy standards, according to Michael Gove.
• Headteachers have accused the education secretary of being driven by an ideological agenda after it emerged that almost half the schools he has visited since taking power are – or have applied to become –academies.
• Plans to allow teachers in to search pupils for mobile phones and examine the phones’ content have been called “reckless” by a teaching union.
• Ofsted has launched a consultation on the inspection of maintained schools and academies in England. The changes aim to re-focus school inspection on what matters most: the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom, backed by excellent leadership and management, and good discipline and behaviour in schools.
• The process by which parents and other groups apply to set up so-called free schools is being tightened up.
• A walk around a Sheffield school has become a heroic quest to find weapons and magical items to defeat a monster.
• A third of 11 to 16-year-olds say their families have cut back on spending amid the economic downturn, according to a BBC survey about UK young people.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 1st to 31st March- Tenner 2011
• 14th to 27th March- Cambridge Science Festival
• 26th March - Earth Hour
• 27th March - World Theatre Day
• 27th March - Census Day 2011

Andy Green currently holds the current World land speed record of just over 763 mph and was the first person ever to break the sound barrier on land! All Primary, Secondary, Independent schools and Colleges in the UK can now enter a competition to bring Andy Green into their classrooms and interview him!

Give your students an insight into the Bloodhound 1000mph car project, whilst they learn about Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics! How to enter…

1. Schools must register with the Leaders Award by clicking here.
2. Students should write a joint letter about why Andy Green should come into their school.
3. A covering letter from the Head teacher/ teacher should also be included.
4. All letters should be sent electronically to editor@leadersaward.com

Andy will review the letters and visit the schools with the most persuasive argument! The closing date for the competition is 30th May 2011. For more information visit the Leaders Award site.

Image – Bloodhound SSC