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

Schools:

• Education Secretary Michael Gove is investigating the possibility of regional pay for teachers. He has also labelled campaigners against turning a school into an academy as “Trots”.
• Poor teachers should be denied pay rises to stop underperformance being “rewarded”, the head of the schools watchdog has said.
• Professor Dylan Wiliam of London University’s Institute of Education is challenging Ofsted to show some “integrity” by subjecting its school inspections to an evaluation of their reliability and publishing the findings.
• Ofsted is to introduce no notice inspection for child protection services. The new child protection framework will come into effect in May.
• Urgent action is needed to protect children and teachers from exposure to deadly asbestos in schools, MPs have warned.
• While it may be frustrating for a teacher attempting to control a class, researchers say blurting out the answers can be good for pupils.
• Pupils expelled from school for dealing drugs, attacking other children and carrying weapons are being allowed back into lessons against teachers’ wishes.
• A for-profit company is setting up private schools that claim to offer the same quality education as top public schools but for half the price.
• A council in east London is drawing up plans to convert an empty Woolworths store into a classroom and teach children in two shifts, in emergency measures across Britain to cope with a dramatic increase in primary school age children.
• This article questions the current timetable of school holidays. Should schools run all year round?

Curriculum and Exams:

• The Telegraph has launched its ‘Make Britain Count’ numeracy campaign. Find out how you can get involved here.
• Courses in subjects such as horse care, customer service, nail technology and practical office skills will no longer be listed as “equivalent” to GCSEs under new plans.
• Estyn chief inspector’s report shows 40% of pupils start secondary school in Wales with a reading age of six months below their actual age.
• Pupils should be assessed using multiple choice questions, project work and oral tests as part of a shake-up of A-levels, the qualifications regulator has suggested.
• Ofsted has released new resources to support the improvement of teaching and learning in history in schools.

Other News:

• A £2bn a year programme to provide free childcare is failing to have a long-term impact on education standards, according to the spending watchdog.
• Members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers have voted to back the government’s revised pensions deal.
• A college is planning a new evening course entirely devoted to taking better photographs on an iPhone.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 1st to 29th February - National Heart Month
• 4th February - World Cancer Day
• 4th February - National Libraries Day
• 4th February - Unicef Day for Change
• 6th February - Go Green Week
• 7th February - Safer Internet Day
• 7th February - Charles Dickens’ Birthday

Happy New Year!

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

Schools:

• The education secretary is being urged to ditch regulations limiting infant class sizes to 30 pupils, in order to save money.
• Education Secretary Michael Gove has accused those who oppose his academies programme of being “happy with failure”.
• The Education Secretary loses the concentration of his young audience shortly after beginning his defence of academies.
• Dozens of teachers facing allegations of incompetence and misconduct will escape official hearings owing to the abolition of the General Teaching Council for England, new figures suggest.
• A third of parents are so unhappy with their child’s school they would advise other families not to send their children there, new figures from Ofsted have revealed.
• Schools are routinely cheating Ofsted inspections by bribing pupils, sending troublemakers home and rehearsing lessons, teachers have warned. Read the response from Ofsted here.
• The school day should be lengthened to prepare pupils for work, says Shadow Education Secretary Stephen Twigg.
• Too many exams are ruining children’s enjoyment of their time at school, a former schools adviser has said.
• How well children perform in the classroom could be linked to how physically active they are, suggests a Dutch review of previous studies.
• Children who grow up without a daily routine of set bedtimes and mealtimes do worse at school, a report suggests.
• The Commission on School Reform has urged Scottish schools to abandon what it called the “bog standard” model of comprehensive education.
• Schools are being encouraged by the UK’s top scientific body to bring cutting edge science into the classroom.

Universities:

• University application numbers could be making a sharp recovery – according to figures from a university.
• A new type of privately-funded science and technology university has been announced by the universities minister.

Other News:

• Children’s access to smartphones and computers should be limited to stop them becoming “addicted” to electronic gadgets, according to a schools’ leader.

So far this year, I’ve published 175 posts here on Teaching News. As the end of 2011 is approaching, I’ve added links to the most popular posts of the year. Did you miss any of them?

1) Royal Wedding Ideas and Resources
2) 10 Inspiring Youtube videos for Teachers
3) 10 Evernote Uses for Teachers
4) New iPod, iPhone and iPad Apps for Schools
5) Topmarks Education
6) Top Five Discoveries (17/6/11)
7) New Christmas Resources and Inspiration Posters
8 ) 11 Resource Sites for your Christmas Activities
9) 15 Remembrance Resources for Teachers
10) Favourite Resource Sites for the New School Year

This will probably be the last post of 2011, but I’m looking forward to sharing new ideas and resources with you in 2012!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Mark

2011 has been a very busy year and when I look back, I’m amazed at how much has changed on my Teaching Websites. Here are some of my highlights:

Teaching Ideas

Teaching Ideas celebrated its 13th year online in 2011 and the site has been receiving record numbers of visitors. Some updates to the site included:

• A new navigation system, which was introduced to help visitors find their way around the ever-expanding site! I also added a new commenting system, allowing visitors to give feedback on the teaching ideas available. Teaching Ideas was also completely redesigned in October, giving it a much clearer layout and making it quicker to load.
• One of my biggest targets this year was to expand the site and create lots of new resources and I’ve been able to devote lots more time to doing this. Some of these can be found in the Shape, Sketching, Fractions, Handwriting and Classroom Rewards sections, but there are many more! I’ve also started adding thumbnail images to the resources to give you a preview of what they look like!
• My wonderful wife continued to draw some fantastic cartoon images for Teaching Ideas which I have been able to use on different resources. These can be found in the Maths, Colour, Tudors, Romans and Victorians sections. Helen’s cartoons have also been used on this year’s new Teaching Themes sections… Staying Safe Online, Kings and Queens, Easter, Keeping Healthy and Lights, Camera, Action!
• I also subscribed to a stock photo site, which has allowed me to use lots of high quality photos on new educational resources (see the Music, Maths Inspirations, ICT Inspirations and Animals resources for a selection of examples).
• Lots of amazing teachers have also shared their own ideas and resources and I am incredibly grateful to everyone who continues to take the time to send their contributions.

I’ve written over 175 posts on Teaching News this year, sharing the latest educational news, links, events and resources. The site has continued to grow in popularity with higher visitor numbers and lots of new email and RSS subscribers. Some of the most popular posts include 10 Inspiring Youtube videos for Teachers, 10 Evernote Uses for Teacher, New iPod, iPhone and iPad Apps for Schools and my Discoveries series of posts. I must also thank the Teachers Building Society who sponsor Teaching News.

Teaching Videos

Every week, I explore the latest educational videos and add them to the directory on Teaching Videos. Over 1,000 new videos have been added this year, enabling teachers to find relevant video content quickly by looking in the different subject / topic areas.

Teaching Photos

At the start of 2011, I transferred Teaching Photos to a new management system, allowing teachers to view and share their own photos. The site is a popular source of inspiration for classroom displays.

Teaching Events

I also transferred Teaching Events to a new system, making it much easier for me to update. As a result, the site is now bursting with hundreds of educational events that you can use as the starting point for learning in your classroom. Visitors to the site can also easily submit their own events and professional development opportunities.

Teaching Library

Over the summer, I also spent some time building a new site… the Teaching Library. As you may know, this site offers free teaching ideas and resources linked to popular children’s books. After only a few months online, the site now has resources for 50 books and it has received lots of praise from teachers and authors. I’m looking forward to continuing to expand the site next year.

More updates!

In 2011, I also redesigned Ideas to Inspire and Teaching Websites. Have you seen them yet? I’ve continued to post regularly on my Twitter and Facebook accounts, which now have over 26,000 followers in total!

My wife also set up a new web site which is devoted to sharing her fantastic craft skills. Please take a look at Sew Surprising and leave her a comment!

The future…

As 2012 approaches, I’m looking forward to continuing to work on all of my sites… making and sharing free ideas and resources for teachers everywhere.

What did you achieve in 2012?

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

Schools:

• Ofsted have published their Annual Report 2011 which can be downloaded here. Various articles relating to the report have been published on the BBC, Guardian, TES and the Telegraph sites. The Schools Minister has also published his comments about the report.
• The TV chef Jamie Oliver has accused the Education Secretary Michael Gove of eroding healthy school food standards.
• Cities in England with high youth unemployment must do more to raise young people’s attainment in maths and English, a report says.
• History should be compulsory in England’s schools until the age of 16, argues historian Sir David Cannadine.
• The first ever national plan for music education has been launched by the Department for Education. It aims to ‘enable every child to have the chance to learn to play a musical instrument for at least a term and ideally for a year by transforming the way music is delivered to schools.’

Strike Action (30th November):

• Thousands of teachers in the UK have voted to strike over changes to their pensions and pay. However, Michael Gove warns unions that there’s no more money to fund an improved pension deal.
• Employers should allow staff to bring children to work where possible, during the public sector strike next week, David Cameron has said.
• A headteacher is preparing to draft in soldiers to keep her secondary school open during next week’s nationwide strikes.

Other News:

• The government has pledged to continue to provide free milk to all under-fives in the UK despite ordering a review of the scheme.
• Children are still at risk of “significant harm” in almost one in five council areas as social workers struggle to cope with mounting workloads, according to Ofsted.
• Thousands of teenagers are being consigned to the dole queue after leaving school with a poor grasp of the three-Rs, according to a report published today. However, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says a £1bn plan to provide subsidised work and training placements will “provide hope” to thousands of young people.
• Sports medicine specialists say governments across the UK have squandered the chance to create an Olympic legacy of fitness.
• Parents are dressing up their children in provocative clothes and allowing them to wear make-up and high heels because they lack traditional values, according to a leading headmistress.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 21st to 27th November - Road Safety Week
• 30th November - St. Andrew’s Day
• 30th November - Computer Security Day
• 1st December - World AIDS Day
• 1st to 10th December - Great British Tea Party
• 2nd December - NSPCC Number Day
• 3rd December - Tree Dressing Day
• 3rd December - International Day of Persons with Disabilities

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

Schools:

• Children born in the summer in England are at an academic disadvantage throughout school, says a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
• Primary schools in England are to have a single, co-ordinated day for offering places, under a revised admissions code published by the government.
• Growing numbers of “ordinary” children face being edged out in the race for school places under radical Government plans to allow thousands of pupils to jump the queue.
• Children in England are more fearful of attacks and intimidation on their way to and from school than pupils in other European countries, a study suggests.
• Schools across England are being invited to apply for grants to help other schools in their area make the most of Olympic opportunities.
• The incoming head of Ofsted has told MPs his “tough guy” image will not be a barrier to success in heading England’s schools inspection system. Sir Michael Wilshaw has said that staff should be granted sabbaticals during term time to keep them refreshed and address mounting concerns over high workload. He has also claimed that staff are forced to provide care “beyond the school day” amid concerns that many mothers and fathers lack basic parenting skills.
• School children are failing to get the amount of sleep they need to stay alert while in classes and are spending more time watching TV than doing homework, new research has suggested.
• Teacher training will be toughened up under plans by Ofsted to raise the standards of reading and behaviour in schools. Read the official information from Ofsted here.
• Public spending on education in the UK is falling at the fastest rate since the 1950s, says the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
• Babies are to be employed as ‘tiny teachers’ in classrooms to reduce levels of bullying and aggression in schools.
• Teachers from across Scotland have told the BBC they have spent hundreds of pounds of their money on basic resources for their classrooms.

Tests and Exams:

• More than 35,000 Sats papers taken by England’s 11-year-olds last May were sent back for re-marking.
• The government’s new reading test for six-year-olds is a waste of money that will not identify youngsters’ needs, experts have warned.
• The government is to crack down on school league table tricks by cutting the value of vocational qualifications in performance measures.

Other News:

• This post in The Telegraph explores some of Britain’s most unconventional degrees.
• Parents who joke and pretend with their children are giving them a head start in life, researchers at Stirling University have found.
• The number of people starting apprenticeships in England this year has risen by more than 50% on last year, official figures show.
• A 71-year-old who is still teaching has won one of the major awards at this year’s “Teachers’ Oscars”.

Next week’s Teaching Events include:

• 30th October to 6th November - Get Online Week
• 31st October to 6th November - Dyslexia Awareness Week
• 5th November - Bonfire Night
• 6th November - Eid-ul-Adha
• 11th November - Remembrance Day

I will now be taking a break from regular posts here on Teaching News. Although there will be occasional posts throughout the summer, I won’t be posting as regularly as I normally do.

I will continue to update my other Teaching Websites, as well as posting on Twitter and Facebook, so you can still keep updated there.

Have a fantastic break if you’re on holiday too!

Mark

Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete my recent survey about Teaching News. The responses were extremely interesting and they will certainly inform my planning and writing of posts on the site in the future.. I receive a considerable number of emails and press releases each week asking me to promote certain sites, resources, competitions, special offers and other things for teachers, so it is sometimes difficult to choose which ones to mention here. Your feedback will definitely help me with these choices in the future.

76% of those who completed the survey work in primary education and 24% in secondary… this is probably due to the types of posts that I feature here, as well as my own area of interest as I am a primary teacher myself. If you would like to see a greater emphasis on secondary education, please let me know.

The most popular types of posts were those which shared links to resources (e.g. my ‘Discoveries’ series) or posts with lists of resources linked to particular topics (e.g. the Royal Wedding). Information about competitions and special offers weren’t quite as popular although lots of teachers still valued their inclusion.

I was surprised to see so many responses from international visitors. My main focus for the posts here is to support UK teachers, but lots of the content seems to be of use to other teachers around the world too which is great. The UK news posts (e.g. the ‘Teaching News and Events’ series) won’t be as useful to those teachers, but hopefully the other types of posts will be.

Congratulations to the five winners of the £10 Amazon.co.uk gift certificates who were chosen at random from the responses provided. I hope that Gayle, Emma, Jennifer, Hayley and Linda have all enjoyed spending their vouchers!

Thanks again to everyone who completed the survey. If you have any further feedback about Teaching News, please do leave a comment here, or send me an email with your suggestions. Thanks!

Mark

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

Schools:

• A third of secondary pupils in England fail to reach their potential in maths and a quarter are making insufficient progress in English, figures show.
• Children from poorer homes could be denied the chance to go on school trips to outdoor education centres because of spending cuts.
• Union bosses are urging Scotland’s largest education authority to clarify its call for all probationer teachers to be put on half pay.
• The BBC has learnt that 314 teachers are being made redundant from schools in Northern Ireland this summer.
• Private schools have a “moral purpose” to help poor pupils whose parents cannot afford the fees, according to Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister.
• This report from the Guardian investigates the increasing use of video surveillance in schools.
• Half of parents are risking fines by taking their children on cheap holidays during term time, research suggests.

Exams:

• Up to a third of children are effectively going backwards in the three-Rs at secondary school, new figures suggest.
• Pupils are being awarded top grades on “weak” vocational courses that leave them with a poor grasp of business, according to Ofsted.
• England’s exams watchdog is investigating a total of six mistakes in exams taken by tens of thousands of students.

Universities and Colleges:

• David Cameron has been meeting university leaders in Whitehall to discuss the coalition’s blueprint for higher education.
• A private college in England aiming to rival Oxford and Cambridge is being launched by leading academics.
• Up to ten universities are in financial difficulty and risk failing as a result of the introduction of £9,000 tuition fees, the head of the Public Accounts Committee said.
• A bin that photographs rubbish is shaming Newcastle students into recycling.

Other News:

• Ofsted have launched a consultation on its proposals for inspection of adoption and fostering agencies.
• Businesses in London have been asked to donate £3m to improve child numeracy and literacy skills in the capital.
• Private services company Capita stands to make tens of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money from the Coalition’s expansion of the academy programme, it has been claimed.
• Ministers “misinterpreted” research they cited to justify axing education grants for low-income English 16-19 year olds, the study’s author has said.
• A report into the sexualisation of children is proposing a new cinema style system which would prevent young children having access to the most explicit music videos.
• Sukanya Roy, a 14-year-old girl from Pennsylvania, has won the 2011 US National Spelling Bee by spelling the word ‘cymotrichous’.
• The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson is Britain’s new Children’s Laureate, it has been announced.

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.

Over the past week, I have been redesigning Teaching News, so that the site matches the style and layout of my other Teaching Websites. The new site has much clearer design with text that is easier to read too. I hope that you like it!

I am also sorting through lots of the older posts (there are about 2,000 of them!) and other content to remove any broken images and links, many of which have arisen following the demise of Teachers.tv and the Standards sites. I’ve also been amazed at how many of the fantastic online resources that have been recommended here over the years have now simply disappeared.

UPDATE – The survey has now closed. Thanks to everyone who provided their feedback.