NI school selection is a 'charade'

27 May 2011 Last updated at 05:27 GMT By Maggie Taggart Education Correspondent A group of principals has called on schools to stop academic selection.

A hard-hitting statement describes the testing of 10 and 11-year-olds as an "annual charade".

Grammar schools have now used their own exams in place of the eleven plus to select pupils two years running.

The Catholic Principals Association, which claims to represent the majority of Catholic primary and secondary schools, says grammar schools should not "pick and choose" their pupils.

Instead it urges them to embrace a fully inclusive system.

It has a particular message for Catholic grammar schools, which show little sign of moving towards the end of academic selection, against the wishes of the bishops.

It says the use of unregulated tests by those schools flies in the face of advice from the commission for Catholic education.

The statement is timed to coincide with letters to parents telling them which schools have accepted their children for the next academic year.

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Struggles with autism

26 May 2011 Last updated at 16:08 GMT Yvonne Freaney killed her autistic son Glen Life for autistic children can be isolating and full of confusion, and frustrating for the loving parents who care for them.

As Yvonne Freaney stood trial for the murder of her 11-year-old autistic son Glen, other parents will have wondered how she could have killed her own child.

She was cleared of murder after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

But as she awaits sentence on 10 June at Cardiff Crown Court, hers is not an isolated case.

Earlier this year, Satpal Kaur-Singh, 44, was jailed for seven years after killing her autistic son by making him drink bleach at their London home.

Continue reading the main story

The critical thing is that people get the right support at the right time”

End Quote Shirley Parsley National Autistic Society Cymru Ajit Singh-Mahal, 12, "was dependent on his mother for all his needs", could not speak and had difficulty getting around outdoors.

Kaur-Singh, who also drank bleach on the day of the murder, rang 999 to say: "I've just murdered my son and I've tried to kill myself," adding that she had been thinking about "doing this" for years.

Such tragedies shed some light on the struggles that parents of autistic children face every day and experts say they underline the importance of giving the right support.

Autism affects about 133,500 children in the UK, including 6,707 in Wales.

Yvonne Freaney denied having murdered her 11-year-old autistic son Glen

It is a lifelong developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with others and how they make sense of the world around them.

Autism is a spectrum condition, meaning that while some people with autism are able to live relatively independent lives but others may have accompanying learning disabilities and need a lifetime of specialist support.

The National Autistic Society Cymru's national co-ordinator Shirley Parsley said there was more to be done in helping parents.

"The critical thing is that people get the right support at the right time," she said.

"Families face a wide range of problems because autism is a spectrum disorder. Everybody's autism is unique to them so the impact is different for different families.

'Awareness is critical'

"In the home there might be issues with sleep or diet or behaviour. Problems can be verbal or non-verbal, an autistic person can have a learning disability or be highly intelligent."

NAS Cymru runs a helpline for parents and has a growing network of branches run by local volunteers. There is a range of activities available, including coffee mornings, peer support, family activities, befriending schemes and play sessions.

"Families can talk to people who have been through similar things and can tell them things like 'we've found this works or that works'," said Ms Parsley.

"And the children get an opportunity to interact with their peer group."

She added that children with autism "find social interaction difficult, finding it difficult to understand people's emotions and feelings... reading facial expressions and body movements".

"That makes it difficult to form friendships. People can be quite isolated and that makes them anxious which can come out through behaviours," she said.

Although support is available for parents, "everything can always be improved" and "awareness is critical", said Ms Parsley.

"Parents tell us they sometimes struggle to find the right support at the right time," she said.

"They always want people to understand what autism is and how it impacts on families. People are talking about autism more, but there is more to be done.

"It's about recognising and listening to their experiences. The child or young person may have been fine in school but their behaviour manifests at home. They are like a bottle of pop by the end of the day. So the parents are seeing somebody who is not sleeping or has eating issues and all the worries that come with that. What's being seen by the outside world might be very different.

"The earlier you can get the support the better," she said.

The National Autistic Society Cymru's parent-to-parent helpline is 0808 800 4106. Lines are open Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm.

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LSE will not charge maximum fees

26 May 2011 Last updated at 08:00 GMT Students at the LSE had mounted a campaign for lower fees The London School of Economics has become the first elite university to charge less than ?9,000 in fees.

From 2012/13, the annual tuition fee for UK and EU undergraduates at the university will be ?8,500.

The university said it was charging below the maximum to send "a clear message that LSE welcomes students from all backgrounds".

But the LSE students union said it was "disappointed" the fees were not lower.

Other English research-intensive universities in the Russell and 1994 Groups have opted for ?9,000.

Birkbeck, University of London, is the only other member of those groups to have said it may charge less than the maximum.

More than 90 universities in England have so far revealed their plans for undergraduate tuition fees for 2012 and the BBC has compiled a list of who is charging what.

Almost three quarters want to charge ?9,000 a year for some or all courses.

'Exceptional value'

Earlier this month, the LSE's Academic Board voted narrowly in favour of charging ?8,000.

The final decision rested with university's decision-making Council and it opted for the higher figure of ?8,500.

LSE director Professor Judith Rees said, "We are determined to preserve academic standards and ensure that all students with the ability to benefit are not deterred from applying to LSE.

"In recent years we have put a great deal of resource into widening participation activities and are delighted that we can now expand these. Our new fee package allows us to provide exceptional value for all students while continuing to target funding on the poorest."

However, the LSE students union said charging ?8,000 "would have made a more substantial impact in reducing the deterrent effect the increase in fees will cause".

Its general secretary, Charlotte Gerada, said the choice of ?8,500 looked "incredibly weak and tokenistic".

"LSE prides itself on independent thinking, but the arguments for ?9,000 fees in today's council were mere regurgitations of the rhetoric this coalition uses that has seen an end to our higher education as we know it," she said.

The fees increase will come into force in September 2012, with universities permitted to charge between ?6,000 and ?9,000 per year, an increase from just over ?3,000 at present.

Fees will be paid up-front in loans by the government, and then repaid after the student graduates and begins earning more than ?21,000.

The government says the system is fair and progressive and the lowest-earning graduates will be better off than at present.

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Girl footballer wins in mixed team campaign

25 May 2011 Last updated at 20:44 GMT Emily's team travelled from Newton Abbot to support her campaign A Devon girl is celebrating after her campaign to raise the age limit for mixed-sex teams from 11 to 13 was accepted by the Football Association (FA).

Emily Lewis-Clarke, 11, from Newton Abbot, was told she had to quit her team, in which she was the only girl.

The FA said the change was supported by its board, council and the shareholders and would come into place next season.

After the announcement Emily said: "I'm so happy I can continue playing."

Emily and her team, Newton Abbot 66 Football Club, presented a 6,000-signature petition to the FA shareholders meeting in London.

The FA made its decision at its AGM held at Wembley.

In a statement it said: "The resolution was fully supported by the FA Board, FA Executive and FA Council."

Emily plays as a defender and said: "I've been playing football for five years and all the boys treat me the same.

"Sometimes the teams we play think 'oh she's a girl, she'll be easy to beat' but then they soon learn."

Emily's mother Michelle said: "She can stand up for herself and can play equally as well as the boys.

"She earns her place in the team on merit."

'Huge victory'

Lisa Cohen runs Tarka Football Club in North Devon and was in London with her 10-year-old daughter Shannon.

"We had an awful lot of support from the shareholders and the members and we're really happy with the results.

"We've achieved a huge victory today," she added.

Emily Lewis-Clarke has been playing football for six years

Ms Cohen said she was elated her daughter could continue to play in mixed-sex teams.

Shannon Cohen said she was "really pleased" that the team could stay the same.

The limit for mixed-sex teams is 15 in Scotland, 12 in Wales and there is no limit in Northern Ireland.

On the continent girls often play in mixed-sex teams until the age of 18.

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Wheelchair protest police cleared

27 May 2011 Last updated at 18:43 GMT Jody McIntyre (centre) said he was hit with a baton and dragged across a road in central London Police were justified in removing a man from his wheelchair during a violent demonstration against tuition fees in central London, Scotland Yard has said.

Jody McIntyre said he was tipped out of his chair and dragged across a road on 9 December, and was hit with a baton.

A police probe found officers were right to remove him from the wheelchair based on the "perceived risk" to him, while the baton hit was "inadvertent".

The 20-year-old said the findings were "shockingly poor" and plans to appeal.

The Directorate of Professional Standards at the Metropolitan Police (Met) said violent disorder had been taking place and officers were "under sustained attack and were required to use force to protect themselves".

"Whilst there is evidence that Jody McIntyre was inadvertently struck with a police baton, the investigation found that the actions of officers were justifiable and lawful given the volatile and dangerous situation," the force added in a statement.

"His removal from his wheelchair was also justifiable given the officers' perceived risk to Jody McIntyre."

'Telling' findings

But Mr McIntyre said he found it "stunning that their justification for their violence towards me is that I was in the way of a violent attack on a crowd of protesters, which included children".

"Remarkably, the report even contains the suggestion that I threw myself from my wheelchair," he added.

"Throughout the report the police officers involved have stated that they were acting in my best interests, and this appears to have been accepted by those carrying out the investigation."

It was a "telling indication" of how the Met viewed disability, he said.

The force appeared to believe that "the fact someone has a disability renders them incapable of determining their own best interest or to act with autonomy", he said.

Following the investigation, internal guidelines will be drawn up on the most appropriate way to move a wheelchair user in such circumstances.

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Late hitch

26 May 2011 Last updated at 23:44 GMT By Denise Winterman BBC News Magazine The happy couple already have two children together Labour leader Ed Miliband and his long-term partner Justine Thornton are due to get married. They already have two children, so why get hitched?

For many people having a child is the ultimate commitment to a partner. A life you have created together and are responsible for raising.

It's a commitment many people make without getting married. But some then go on to tie the knot, like Ed Miliband and his partner of six years, Justine Thornton. Why?

There are the obvious financial and legal advantages to getting married. For older people issues surrounding pensions and inheritance are often the reason they decide to get hitched after years together. But Miliband and Thornton are still young.

And while the pressures on the leader of the Labour party will be slightly different to those of the average person, there is no mistaking that attitudes to marriage and family have changed. Getting married used to be about sex, living together and having children, but research shows this is no longer the case.

Continue reading the main story

I didn't feel I need a bit of paper to make my relationship secure. Having children is a far bigger sign of commitment to someone. There was no pressure from my partner, in fact we never talked about it. Our families weren't bothered either.

For me a big part of it was the children. I didn't want them to be asked at school why their parents weren't married. I suppose you could say that was me feeling a slight pressure to conform to social norms, but if I hadn't wanted to do it anyway I wouldn't have.

I proposed on Christmas Day and put the ring in a cracker. It was a surprise and I wanted it to be romantic.

After that we got married quickly. I don't understand people who are engaged for years and years. Then I think the ring is like a form of hush money, given to keep people quiet. I find that weirder than getting married after kids.

Chris, 41, from Northampton

According to the latest British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey, which was conducted in 2008, almost two-thirds of people now see little difference between marriage and living together. Fewer than a fifth of people took issue with it.

Just under half thought cohabitation showed just as much commitment as getting married. When it comes to children, where opinion can often be a bit more traditional, only 28% said they believe married couples make better parents.

So why do it? Psychologist Donna Dawson, who has specialised in sex and relationships, says it is often about making a public statement.

"Having the children take part is like a ceremonial creation of a family and a public statement that they are all in it together. It's very much a 21st Century ritual, which more and more people will be doing."

She says even when couples say there isn't a specific reason, there is "always something going on underneath".

"Sometimes it is about marking a different stage in a relationship, or they might have taken a long time because of the bad example they were set by their own parents. There is usually a reason, even if they are not fully aware of it."

Chris, 41, and his partner were together for nine years and had two children when they got married. He didn't feel any direct pressure from his partner or family, but says as his children got older he wanted them to have parents who were married.

"For me a big part of it was the children," he says. "I didn't want them to be asked at school why their parents weren't married. I suppose you could say that was me feeling a slight pressure to conform to social norms, but if I hadn't wanted to get married in the first place I definitely wouldn't have done it."

But people who get married after having children could actually be the traditionalists. Historically, the UK has a long tradition of informal "marriages" that were recognised by the community, says Penny Mansfield, director of the relationship research organisation One Plus One.

'Golden age'

"If you cohabited or had children together you were as good as married in everyone's eyes. It's only after the introduction of the Hardwicke Marriage Act in 1753 that marriage became a legal concept and unmarried couples became stigmatised."

She says the "golden age" of marriage was as recent as the 1960s and 70s, when more people got married than ever before. Marriage was seen as a passport to adulthood, when you were allowed to have sex and live together.

Continue reading the main story In 2009 231,490 marriages were registered in England and Wales It was the lowest number since 1895The long-term picture for UK weddings is of decline, from a peak of 480,285 marriages in 1972

Source: ONS

"Obviously, people wanted that freedom as soon as they could," says Mansfield. "The average age of people getting married was 21 for women and 23 for men. Now you can put a decade on those ages and that's because sex and cohabitation outside of marriage are largely accepted.

"Now I think people get married after the house and kids because it is very much a public celebration of what they have, rather than the passport to adulthood."

Guardian columnist Zoe Williams has been with her partner for six years and has two children - just like Miliband and Thornton - but says she thinks it is a "weird gesture" to get married at this stage.

"It's now socially acceptable to have sex, live together and have kids outside of marriage, so why spend ?10,000 or more on a wedding?" she says.

"Having kids is a much bigger deal than marriage, a much bigger statement of commitment. Personally, I just don't think about getting married. I simply have never felt a need to be married."

In the end it could all be about having a big party for Ed and Justine. According to BSA survey, 53% of people now think a wedding is more about a celebration than a life-long commitment.

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Many young offenders 'from care'

26 May 2011 Last updated at 11:45 GMT The Prison Reform Trust says the youth prison system is "simply not working" A quarter of the 1,600 children held in young offenders' institutions (YOIs) in England and Wales have been in care, a report by prison inspectors has found.

Chief inspector Nick Hardwick said the figures were of "real concern" and showed a lack of progress over care.

His report also found that of 10 random detainees interviewed on their release, seven reoffended within three months.

The Ministry of Justice said the government would outline its youth justice reform plans shortly.

The report found many youngsters were being released with inadequate support and, in some cases, without an address to go to.

Three of the 10 detainees interviewed as part of the inspectors' research were back in custody within a month, the report added.

'Abuse and neglect'

"Accommodation was often not confirmed until close to the young person's release or, occasionally, even the day of release," Mr Hardwick said.

"This affected young people's opportunity for early release and meant that some ended up in unsuitable accommodation.

"The most common reasons for children going into care are abuse, neglect or family dysfunction. It is perhaps unsurprising that in our survey, those who said they had spent time in care reported more vulnerability and greater need than those who had not.

"Our very limited follow-up information suggests that many looked-after young people leave custody with inadequate support."

Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust's Out of Trouble programme, said the findings showed the system was "simply not working".

"Children in care who end up in custody should be visited by their social worker. They should know where they will be living on release and should have a training or education place set up," she said.

The report polled young people and staff at seven institutions from May to October last year.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said the government recognised youngsters in custody were among the most vulnerable in society and that support was essential to break the "cycle of offending".

"There are already a range of statutory obligations on the part of local authorities to provide safe accommodation and related support, this includes young people who have been in care," the spokesman said.

"We recently announced new financial support for social workers in young offender institutions, which should ensure better links to support in the community."

Frances Done, who chairs the Youth Justice Board (YJB), said: "From April 2012 we shall be directly funding dedicated social workers in YOIs to help meet the needs of 'looked after' young people in custody and address many of the concerns in the report.

"The 22 social workers will act as the bridge between custody and the home local authority to ensure that young people receive all the help and support they need.

"The YJB is determined that these young people should go on to lead useful and productive lives and to become law abiding citizens."

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Autumn school truancy at new high

25 May 2011 Last updated at 13:59 GMT No clear reasons are given for the majority of unauthorised absences The autumn-term truancy rate in England's state schools in 2010 reached a five-year high, although overall absences continued to decrease.

Government statistics showed unauthorised absence rose from 0.93% of half-days missed in autumn 2009 to 1.04% in 2010.

Some of the rise, but not all, was due to an increase in the number of family holidays not agreed by schools.

But a fall in secondary-school absences means the overall figure has dropped.

The last government said schools were cracking down on "weak excuses", which meant more pupils were missing school without permission.

The unauthorised absences figure for autumn 2010 is the highest in the five years since the government began to collect termly data.

No clear reasons were given for the majority of cases, although about 17% were due to family holidays and 6% were classed as pupils arriving late.

The rise is mainly driven by primary school unauthorised absences, which have risen from 0.48% of half-days in autumn 2006 to 0.75% in 2010.

'Literacy link'

During that period, the proportion of unauthorised absences that were due to unagreed family holidays rose from 8% to 17%.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said absenteeism "is still too high".

"Truancy is often linked to poor literacy skills - that's why we are focusing on improving reading with synthetic phonics," he said.

"Our Education Bill puts teachers back in control of the classroom so pupils can be taught without disruption and teachers have more power to tackle truancy."

The main reason for authorised absence was illness (60%), followed by medical and dental appointments (5%) and agreed family holiday (7%).

Overall absence in autumn 2010 (6.1% of half-days) was higher than in autumn 2006 (5.9%), but is down from a peak in 2008 (6.4%).

There were also nearly 27,000 pupils classed as "persistent absentees", having missed more than 64 half days of school - although this figure has dropped from 48,000 in 2006.

'Easy-fix discipline'

Children's charity Barnardo's said the latest figures were a sign the school system was "failing somewhere".

Assistant director of policy and research Louise Bamfield said: "Throwing more robust discipline and punishment at absenteeism is misdirected.

"The root causes of a child's impulse to flee the classroom, which often lie outside school, also need to be addressed."

"The government needs to think beyond easy-fix discipline which treats the symptoms and not the cause."

The previous government also tried to clamp down on truancy, and parents have been prosecuted for letting their children miss school.

When Labour came to power in 1997, the annual rate of unauthorised absence was about 0.7% - a constant figure since 1994.

School absence figures for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are published separately.

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App 'to help children's reading'

25 May 2011 Last updated at 12:02 GMT Our Story has been designed to be used on mobile devices Open University (OU) researchers say they have created an app which can help parents teach their children to read.

Our Story has been developed by child psychologists and education specialists at the Buckinghamshire based university for use on mobile devices.

The free application allows parents to create personalised picture books, stories and games.

Professor David Messer from the OU says reading together helps children develop vital language and social skills.

Creative storytelling

"Reading, even in the digital age, is probably one of the most important skills that children can acquire," said Mr Messer, head of education in the Faculty of Education and Language Studies at the OU.

"Using familiar pictures and scenarios helps children relate to the content and become more engaged in learning.

"Not only does this provide a foundation in reading for children, but it also means parents can really take part in creative storytelling activities," he said.

The app, which was launched on Monday, is suitable for ages one year and upwards and can be adapted to various levels of a child's ability.

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Baby P boss wins sacking appeal

27 May 2011 Last updated at 16:52 GMT Sharon Shoesmith, "It can never be a moment of celebration."

Ex-children's services director Sharon Shoesmith says she is "thrilled" to have won a Court of Appeal battle over her sacking after Baby Peter's death.

Judges said then children's secretary Ed Balls and her employers, Haringey Council, had been "procedurally unfair" when they sacked her three years ago.

The education department and Haringey plan to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Baby Peter Connelly, who had been seen 60 times by social services, was found dead in 2007 with over 50 injuries.

Ms Shoesmith's appeal was challenging a High Court ruling that cleared Ed Balls, the north London borough of Haringey and watchdog Ofsted, of acting unlawfully.

The Court of Appeal judges dismissed her appeal against Ofsted.

Mr Balls said he "strongly disagreed" with the judgement and added that his decision had been based on a report from independent inspectors.

Ofsted said its report on Ms Shoesmith's department, which identified "insufficient strategic leadership and management oversight", had been vindicated.

A Haringey Council spokesman said it was "deeply disappointed" by the judgement and stood by everything it had done.

Sacked on TV

In December 2008, Ms Shoesmith - originally from Newtownabbey, County Antrim - was sacked, bringing her 35-year career to an abrupt end.

Continue reading the main story Alison Holt Social Affairs Correspondent, BBC News

Sharon Shoesmith was a Director of Haringey Children's Services, a statutory role set up after the murder of Victoria Climbie more than a decade ago.

It aimed to place a line of responsibility drawn directly from the social worker visiting the child to the senior manager making decisions about the service.

There were undoubtedly serious mistakes made in the handling of Peter Connelly's case, but those mistakes were made by many of the agencies involved.

In the white heat that the case created, Sharon Shoesmith has always said she became a convenient scapegoat.

When her head rolled, it is argued, it turned scrutiny away from others, including the then Secretary of State, Ed Balls.

Many senior managers who run children's services will be very relieved by this ruling.

They claim the way in which Sharon Shoesmith was sacked did nothing to ensure people learnt from this tragedy.

She said she first heard of her dismissal when Mr Balls announced she would be removed from her post with immediate effect in a live press conference on television.

After the hearing, she said: "I'm over the moon. Absolutely thrilled.

"I am very relieved to have won my appeal and for recognition I was treated unfairly and unlawfully."

She said the sorrow of Peter's death would "stay with me for the rest of my life".

"But as the judges have said, making a 'public sacrifice' of an individual will not prevent further tragedies," she added.

At a hearing in March, Ms Shoesmith had asked Lord Neuberger, Master of the Rolls, sitting with Lord Justice Maurice Kay and Lord Justice Stanley Burnton, to rule that her sacking without compensation was so legally flawed as to be null and void.

Her lawyers had argued that she was the victim of "a flagrant breach of natural justice" after she lost her ?133,000-a-year post amid a media storm.

Ms Shoesmith also argued she was entitled to her full salary and pension from Haringey up to the present day.

'Tainted by unfairness'

In court, James Eadie QC, appearing for the government, defended Mr Balls, saying urgent action had to be taken following the "ghastly findings" of the Ofsted report.

But the judges allowed Ms Shoesmith's appeal against the former children's secretary because "the secretary of state did not afford Ms Shoesmith the opportunity to put her case".

Continue reading the main story 3 August 2007: One-year-old Peter Connelly (Baby P) found dead in his cot11 November 2008: Peter's mother, Tracey Connelly, boyfriend Steven Barker and brother Jason Owen convicted of causing his death 13 November 2008: Ed Balls orders inquiry into role of the local authority, the health authority and the police8 December 2008: Ms Shoesmith is sacked with immediate effect22 May 2009: Connelly, Owen and Barker all get lengthy jail sentences15 September 2010: Ms Shoesmith asks a House of Commons committee why the police and health services had not also been made to take responsibility27 May 2011: The Court of Appeal rules in favour of Ms Shoesmith"In short, she was denied the elementary fairness which the law requires," they said.

They also rejected a submission that the situation had been too urgent to allow for a fairer procedure to be adopted.

In the case of Haringey, the judges said: "We were unanimously of the view that Haringey's procedures were tainted by unfairness."

Lawyers for Ms Shoesmith said the ruling meant she could now launch appeals against Mr Balls and Haringey Council.

The BBC's education correspondent Reeta Chakrabarti said the Court of Appeal had indicated there was no question of Ms Shoesmith returning to her position at Haringey Council.

The matter of compensation or lost earnings would need to be considered by another court, she added.

Earlier, the court heard Ms Shoesmith had not been able to find work since she was sacked, had experienced suicidal thoughts and continued to be vilified by the press.

Outside court, she said: "I would love to go back to work (in Haringey) but that's not possible. I hope to carry on with my career with children in some capacity."

In a later interview with BBC London, Ms Shoesmith said she had received death threats in the wake of the Baby Peter case that had "terrified" her.

"The police were advising me that I was probably at risk," she said. "And when people begin to take photographs of you on the trains and on the buses and point you out and start to shout, 'That's that woman,' you're fearful of where that can go."

'Robust inspection'

Mr Balls said he did not "rush to judgement" because the independent inspectors' report "catalogued catastrophic management failures on such a devastating scale" that the council leader and member for children services had resigned.

"I judged, on the basis of that independent report - and on the advice of departmental officials and lawyers - that the right and responsible course of action was for me to use my statutory powers to remove the director of children's services from her position with immediate effect," he said in a statement.

The judgement said "the secretary of state did not afford Ms Shoesmith the opportunity to put her case".

He said he had been doing "what was necessary to protect the interests of children in Haringey and protect wider public confidence in child protection".

In the case of Ofsted, the judges concluded its damning report "complied with the requirements of statute and common law".

Head of Ofsted, Christine Gilbert, said she was pleased with the appeal court ruling, and added: "Ofsted carried out a robust inspection and came to a sound conclusion based on evidence.

"On any view, our inspection report was extremely critical and there has been no challenge to the finding that services for children in Haringey were inadequate."

Seventeen-month-old Baby P, subsequently named as Peter Connelly, was found to have suffered fractured ribs and a broken back after months of abuse at home. His mother, her partner and a lodger were all jailed for causing or allowing his death in August 2007.

Peter had been seen by health and social services professionals from Haringey council 60 times in the eight months before he died.

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My self-doubts

25 May 2011 Last updated at 19:49 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Students 'inspired' by Michelle Obama

US First Lady Michelle Obama has told a group of British schoolgirls she knows of their fears for the future because she felt them herself when she was their age.

This was a different kind of transatlantic special relationship.

Michelle Obama was meeting a group of north London secondary schoolgirls, brought to Oxford University to raise their ambitions.

They were pupils from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson in Islington - a school which Mrs Obama visited two years ago on her first solo event as First Lady.

And this time round the venue was the historic hall of Christ Church. It was a kind of Hogwarts - with secret servicemen and TV cameras.

'Don't be afraid'

Under the oil-painted gazes of former collegians, all very dead, white males, Mrs Obama told the schoolgirls that they had to break through all the barriers of prejudice and self doubt.

She had faced the same doubts about "fitting in" when she went to college, she said. "Doubts don't go away, you just learn to deal with them."

It would be easy to be cynical about this type of motivational team-talk. But Mrs Obama really seemed to connect with these youngsters. It was a curiously intimate, relaxed, animated conversation, despite the cameras and the control-freakery of the security.

She told them "don't be afraid to fail, don't be afraid to take chances". She told them to take the message that they shouldn't be intimidated from applying to places such as Oxford.

These were girls from a secondary school where most pupils qualify for free school meals, where 59 different languages are spoken, one in five are refugees or asylum seekers, where 91% of pupils are from ethnic minorities.

Christ Church, this one single college, had produced 13 prime ministers, some of whom were looking down sombrely from their portraits on the walls.

These girls had come to visit Oxford University as part of the university's attempt to open doors and young minds to the idea that academic excellence isn't the same thing as social elitism.

Addressing the youngsters, Mrs Obama said "How are you doing? It's good to see you again"

The university spends a great deal of thought - and gets plenty of grief - over the question of how it selects the youngsters with the greatest potential.

But one of the girls wanted to know about Mrs Obama's talent spotting skills. Did Barack Obama look like presidential material when she met him?

What attracted her, she said, was the fact that he was different from the career-driven, money-hungry lawyers around them.

She liked that he was funny and smart, a "voracious reader", "not impressed with himself" and "low key". She also highlighted the strength of his relationship with his mother and that he got on well with women.

The schoolgirls wanted to know what life was like in the presidential family.

She told them about its surreal contrasts. Buckingham Palace one night, watching soccer and checking homework the next.

Maybe she'd already seen one motorcade too many, as she told the girls the whole point of the presidency was to help young people such as themselves.

"The dresses, the cars, the horses, the carriages... I can watch that on TV," she told them with a shrug.

It all seemed very genuine and unrehearsed as the girls queued for an individual First Lady hug. It had been a disarmingly warm show of support for these girls.

Then they waved her off, as she drove away in a convoy of seven heavily armoured cars, rumbling slowly across the ancient quadrangle.

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Oranges and Sunshine

24 May 2011 Last updated at 11:17 GMT Many of the children were told a life of adventure awaited them in Australia Of all the stories that I have covered in Australia, few have been as moving or enraging as the treatment of the British child migrants.

It was also the story where I probably came closest to crossing the line that separates journalism from advocacy. At the time, victims were pressing for an apology from the British government, which ultimately came to be delivered by the then prime minister, Gordon Brown, in February last year.

Yet how could one not be angered by the treatment of more than 150,000 children who were forcibly relocated from Britain to corners of its empire and commonwealth - a practice that continued until the late 1960s? More than 7,000 children were shipped to Australia, and many were tricked into thinking they were embarking on a life of adventure and abundance.

Many ended up in orphanages and institutions where they were treated harshly and in many instances physically and sexually abused. Some were told they were orphans, the cruellest of fictions, since often their parents were still alive.

Many parents were informed by officials that their children had been adopted by British families, when they had actually been shipped abroad - castaways of the empire.

I well remember writing this story, and thinking that I must have got things terribly wrong. It was simply too bad to be true. But the sin was of omission. The piece merely scratched at the surface, and told the stories of only a few child migrants and highlighted just a few instances of abuse.

Many child migrants were promised oranges and sunshine on arrival in Australia, which is the title of a new film chronicling their plight that goes on general release next month - it has been out for a few months in Britain already.

It follows the story of Margaret Humphreys, the Nottingham social worker who first became aware of the problem when a child migrant contacted her from Sydney in the hope of retracing her British parents.

Official denial

Disbelief at the treatment of the children quickly turns to outrage when she realises how many youngsters were affected and how little successive British and Australian governments had done to assist them - or even publicly acknowledge their existence. The policy in both hemispheres was one of official denial.

Many of the children were told a life of adventure awaited them in Australia

Margaret Humphreys, who is played by the actress Emily Watson in the film, has essentially ended up commuting between Nottingham and Australia for the past three decades.

Documenting the full extent of the problem - the most Herculean of tasks given the numbers involved - exposing criminal abuse, counselling the victims and reuniting separated families has become her life's work. Emily Watson captures her sensitivity, steeliness and bravery - for there were times when her safety was at risk.

Her husband, Merv, who played a key role in the investigation, also emerges as a hero. So, too, does Nottinghamshire County Council, which helped fund their early work.

Two of Australia's finest actors, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham, play child migrants struggling, in their very different ways, to make sense of the deception and mistreatment that scarred them so profoundly.

As an aside, Adelaide doubles as Perth in the 1980s, because the capital of Western Australia now looks so shiny and new.

I saw the movie at its Sydney premiere on Monday night, and it's a very affecting piece of cinema. Directing his first film, Jim Loach - the son of Ken - has done a fine job. I should have taken tissues, and would urge you to do so.

For those unaware of the story of the child migrants - it was little known until the Observer newspaper in Britain shone a spotlight on the Humphreys work in 1987 - the film will be deeply upsetting. For those who know the story, Oranges and Sunshine still has the capacity to shock.

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Sex abuse cases 'reach 64 a day'

26 May 2011 Last updated at 01:17 GMT Jon Brown, NSPCC: "Most child sexual abuse goes undetected, unreported and unprosecuted"

At least 64 children are sexually abused every day in England and Wales, figures obtained by the NSPCC suggest.

More than 23,000 offences - including rape, incest and gross indecency - were recorded by police in 2009-10, an 8% increase on 2008-9, the charity said.

For the first time, its research also looked at the age of abusers and found a quarter were aged under 18. One in four victims was aged 11 or under.

The Home Office said the figures were "appalling".

The figures for recorded sex crimes against children were obtained through a successful NSPCC freedom of information request to all 43 police forces in England and Wales.

The figures showed that more than half of the victims were aged between 12 and 15, one in four was aged five to 11, and more than 1,000 were aged four or younger.

Girls were more than six times more likely to be assaulted than boys, with 86% of attacks taking place against females, the figures showed.

The police force reporting the largest number of crimes was London's Metropolitan (3,672), followed by West Midlands (1,531) and West Yorkshire (1,205).

Jon Brown, who heads the NSPCC's work on child sex abuse, said the increase was a "real concern".

"Thousands of people come forward every year to report sex crimes against children. But many victims are too young to ask for help. Others are too scared to tell anyone about their suffering until years later," he said.

"More than 2,000 suspects in these cases were under 18. It's clear we need more services that address the harmful sexual behaviour of young people, as well as adult offenders."

'Dark places'

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) warned that recorded crime figures were "not a good indicator of the prevalence or trends of child sexual abuse" as much abuse went unreported and rises could be attributable to victims of historic abuse coming forward.

However, Assistant Chief Constable Peter Davies, the Acpo lead for child protection and child abuse investigation, said: "Understanding the crime though is central to success.

"We are starting to bring it out of the dark places where victims suffer in silence for fear of reporting while recent infiltration of intricate global paedophile networks is further testament to the work we have collectively done to understand how offenders think and operate."

A Home Office spokesman said the government would continue to work with groups like the NSPCC to protect the most vulnerable people in our society.

It pointed to the roll-out of the child sex offender disclosure scheme across police forces in England and Wales earlier this year.

This allows parents to check whether someone in contact with their child is a convicted sex offender.

Dubbed "Sarah's Law", it was proposed after the murder of eight-year-old Sarah Payne by a convicted sex offender, Roy Whiting, in West Sussex in 2000.

The Home Office said this was a "major step forward in our ability to protect children from sex offenders".

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New weapon against exam cheating

27 May 2011 Last updated at 01:06 GMT By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter Exam boards say cheating will not be tolerated A new hi-tech weapon against those who cheat their way to exam success has been unveiled.

The new computerised screening device flags up where candidates get the same scores in written answers.

Statistical analysis is already widely used in multiple-choice tests to catch out cheats.

Cambridge Assessment, which runs three English exam boards, said its new tool would send a message that cheating is not tolerated.

The screening works by analysing data gleaned from the exam boards' online marking system.

The system also allows assessors to manipulate and analyse the data produced from the papers.

'Malpractice investigation'

The programme then flags up any unusual patterns in answers question by question.

A Cambridge Assessment spokeswoman said: "If two or three candidates are getting exactly the same marks for questions, then possible cases of cheating can be investigated.

"If a lot of candidates are getting the same marks then an investigation for malpractice can be set up."

Exam board OCR's head of compliance, Stephen Hunt, said: "Another weapon in our armoury is always welcome.

"This new screening service fills a gap in our ability to detect malpractice and will be a handy addition to the resources used to maintain the integrity of an exam."

University of Cambridge International Examinations' compliance unit manager, Ben Sennitt, said: "Cambridge does not tolerate cheating. We use a wide range of methods to detect and prevent malpractice during examinations.

"Students who cheat or assist others to cheat risk having their examination entries voided and their grades withheld."

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Councils face Sure Start action

25 May 2011 Last updated at 16:45 GMT Sure Start Centres offer a range of services for families with young children Two councils could face legal action at the High Court over planned changes to Sure Start children's centres.

Hampshire County Council and the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham have been been served with an application for judicial review by two parents.

They say the councils did not hold a full consultation over the plans, which will see some centres merged for administrative purposes.

Both councils say they will be contesting the application "robustly".

In Hampshire, the council is proposing to streamline the management of its 81 children's centres to form 53 "management hubs".

Services to children and families would continue to be offered from the existing 81 centres.

The council says this will save costs on bureaucracy at a time of budget constraints.

Merging services

In Hammersmith and Fulham, the council plans to combine early-years and youth services into three "locality teams" which will provide a ranges of services, including for early years.

The council admits some centres will have reduced budgets, but says it is looking for other groups, such as businesses and charities, to work with these centres.

However, the two parents seeking judicial reviews say the consultation processes were flawed, because the councils decided to cut Sure Start budgets before the end of the consultation period.

A spokesman for Leigh Day and Co, the solicitors representing the parents, said: "Although the council [Hampshire] consulted on their proposals until 15 April, in fact the council appears to have decided to proceed with both proposals before the consultation finished.

"On 24 February 2011, the council decided to cut ?6m from the Sure Start Centre budget and to transfer the running of local authority managed centres to other providers."

The solicitors said similarly, in Hammersmith and Fulham, the council announced a ?1m reduction in funding for children's centres on 23 February, five days before the end of the consultation period.

The spokesman added: "Unfortunately, neither Hampshire nor Hammersmith and Fulham complied with their legal duties and we have been forced to bring these actions on behalf of our clients, despite our attempts to avoid litigation."

A spokeswoman for Hammersmith and Fulham Council said: "We are vigorously contesting all points raised but it will be some time before a decision is made as to whether there is a case for us to answer."

A spokeswoman for Hampshire County Council said: "We will be resisting this and we remain confident as to our position."

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Oldham schools 'divided by race'

25 May 2011 Last updated at 14:06 GMT The research was conducted 10 years after race riots in Oldham Schools in Oldham are largely polarised along racial lines, research has found.

More than 80% of primary school pupils of Pakistani or Bangladeshi origin attended schools, in 2009, in which no more than 20% of the pupils were white.

The study, by Bristol University, found more than 70% of white pupils were in "majority white" schools, in which at least 80% of pupils were white British.

Oldham Council said it did not dictate where parents should send children, but was trying to encourage mixing.

The report says the picture has changed little since 2002, when 74% of Pakistani and 85% of Bangladeshi primary pupils attended minority white schools and 92% of white British pupils attended majority white schools.

The research - by Simon Burgess and Rich Harris at Bristol University's centre for market and public organisation - was conducted 10 years after riots in Oldham that saw confrontations between white and Asian, largely Pakistani, gangs.

"While the precise triggers of the rioting remain controversial, there is general agreement that a key underlying factor was the polarised nature of schools and communities in the towns," the report says.

At secondary school level, the research found that 60% of Pakistani pupils and 65% of Bangladeshi ones were in the "minority white" schools.

The study suggests the lack of integration between children in the town could be explained partly by catchment areas, as well as by the fact that more than 30% of primary schools and 40% of secondary schools are Roman Catholic or Church of England, which ask for "demonstrable practice of faith" in their admissions criteria.

It could also be because parents wanting to choose integrated schools are unwilling to be among the only ones to do so.

"It is undoubtedly very hard to be the first mover and as a parent to lead a movement for integration by applying to a school numerically dominated by another ethnic group," the report says.

Academy hope

The 2010 opening of The Oldham Academy North, which aims to promote integration and social cohesion, could help, the study says.

Professor Burgess said: "Parents may prefer a mixed, integrated school, but the fact that the school system is so highly segregated means that they are forced to send their children to essentially mono-ethnic schools.

"More pessimistically, it could be that there are few mixed schools because no-one really wants a mixed school."

The study says about 60% of primary school pupils in Oldham are from a white British background, compared with 72% nationally.

And 17% of primary pupils are of Pakistani ethnicity and 14% of Bangladeshi ethnicity, compared with 4% and 2% respectively for England as a whole.

Responding to the research, Oldham Council said its primary schools "reflect the communities in which they are based and the choices that parents make when deciding where to send their children to school".

The council said it taught children about the history of Oldham's changing population and ran linking between schools to boost interaction between pupils of different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

The council also said research on Oldham sixth-form colleges had shown "high levels of quality relationships between students from different cultures and backgrounds".

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First lady reunited with UK girls

25 May 2011 Last updated at 16:12 GMT Mrs Obama had kept in touch with the London students after meeting them in 2009 US First Lady Michelle Obama has been reunited with a group of British schoolgirls she met during a previous visit to the UK.

On the second day of President Barack Obama's state visit Mrs Obama made a speech at Oxford University and took questions from the children.

She paid an emotional visit to their school in Islington, London, in 2009.

Mrs Obama had earlier co-hosted a barbecue at Downing Street with prime minister's wife Samantha Cameron.

During her visit to Oxford on Wednesday the First Lady told the schoolchildren she was "thrilled to be back" in the UK and spoke of her own experience of making it from a poor background to a top university.

"I remember back when I was your age, trying to decide which schools that I would apply to. And I remember how well-meaning, but misguided, people sometimes questioned whether someone with my background could succeed at an elite university," she told them.

Continue reading the main story Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent

This was a different kind of special relationship.

In fact, Michelle Obama said she was "beyond thrilled" to be with this group of north London schoolgirls.

With disarming warmth and some first lady hugs, Mrs Obama answered questions from pupils from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school in Islington, brought to Oxford University to raise their horizons.

She told them about her own lack of self-confidence growing up and how they mustn't "be afraid to fail".

What did she think about Barack Obama when they first met? He was funny, smart, a "voracious reader", "low key and not impressed with himself", she told the girls.

For a meeting taking place under the blazing lenses of the press and the stern gazes of security teams, it was remarkably relaxed and almost intimate conversation.

What's life like as first lady? It was a strange mix of waking up in Buckingham Palace one day and then checking out her daughters' homework the next day, she told them.

Or, as she put it: "It's kinda cool."

She added that even after being accepted to university she had "all kinds of worries and fears and doubts" that she would be less prepared than students who had come from more privileged families.

"But after a few months... I realised that I was just as capable.

"I realised that success is not about the background you are from, it is about the confidence that you have and the effort you are willing to invest."

Kept in touch

She had received a rapturous round of applause as she arrived at the university's Christ Church college.

She greeted the pupils from Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (EGA) secondary school as she entered the college's dining room, where the girls sat at two long tables to listen to Mrs Obama's remarks.

Addressing the youngsters she said: "How are you doing? It's good to see you again."

The 37 girls were picked for today's event because they were interested in science but not reaching their full potential.

Their meeting with the US president's wife came after a day of activities for the pupils, including campus tours, career discussions and mentoring sessions.

Gabrielle Watts says she was inspired by Michelle Obama on both her meetings with Elizabeth Garrett Anderson school pupils

The trip - arranged at Mrs Obama's suggestion - was designed to encourage the girls to think about studying for a degree.

Since visiting EGA in 2009, Mrs Obama has kept in touch with the school, writing letters and encouraging the girls in their studies.

During questions she said she had not changed her parenting philosophy towards the Obamas' two daughters since moving to the White House.

She said that, although she was proud and grateful for her education and career accomplishments, she believed her most important current role was to raise "strong women" and to teach her children not to be afraid to learn from failures and mistakes.

Taking tea

On Tuesday the White House released a photo of Samantha Cameron and Mrs Obama having a chat in the prime minister's home.

The photo was taken in the contemporary-style kitchen in the Camerons' four-bedroom flat above 11 Downing Street. Like the Blairs and Browns before them, the couple chose to live there rather than in the smaller apartment above Number 10.

Mrs Obama wore a vibrant purple wool-crepe dress which, when she arrived, was teamed with a blue coat by New York designer Narciso Rodriguez, while Mrs Cameron chose a British design - a Peter Pilotto embroidered floral silk dress.

The leaders' wives co-hosted a barbecue in the garden at Downing Street

The barbecue in the garden at Downing Street was held to honour the sacrifices of members of the UK and US militaries.

Meanwhile US president Barack Obama and UK prime minister David Cameron have been celebrating the US-UK relationship as "stronger than ever".

Questions about the international community's strategy in Libya featured heavily in a press conference on the second day of the state visit.

President Obama, who later made a key foreign policy speech to MPs and peers on the second day of his state visit, said the US-UK relationship was based on "shared ideals and shared values" not merely "warm sentiment and common history".

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Priority plan for poorest pupils

27 May 2011 Last updated at 12:01 GMT One in seven pupils failed to get a place at their first choice of secondary school this year Academies and free schools in England may be allowed to give priority to the poorest pupils when allocating places, under a new proposed admissions code.

The rules, published for consultation, also allow all schools to give priority to teachers' children.

The government said it wanted a simpler, fairer code and it would let good schools expand more easily.

But teaching unions warned the changes would "create another generation of haves and have-nots".

The admissions code covers entry to all state schools, most controversially, the basis on which places are allocated in popular, oversubscribed schools.

School admissions remain highly competitive in some areas, with one in seven pupils failing to get a place at their first choice of secondary school this year.

There are also concerns about a shortage of primary school places in the next few years in some areas, with London predicting a shortfall of about 70,000 over the next four years.

'Sharp-elbowed parents'

Education Secretary Michael Gove said the old code, which was 130 pages long, was "bureaucratic and unfair".

The new version is just 50 pages, and includes a range of changes he said would help "give all children the chance of world-class schools".

The proposals include:

Allow free schools set up by parents and community groups, and academies - state schools outside local authority control - to give priority to children eligible for free schools meals (those whose parents earn less than ?16,000 a year)Allow schools to give priority to the children of their own teachers and other staff, something which was stopped under LabourAllow popular schools to expand without permission from local authorities or the education secretaryAllow primary schools to increase infant class sizes beyond 30 pupils in order to take in twins and children whose parents are serving in the armed forcesRemove the explicit ban on admissions authorities drawing catchment areas and selecting feeder schools in such as way as to disadvantage children from deprived areasBan local authorities from using area-wide lotteriesAlter the appeals process to make it "cheaper and less burdensome"Improve the way places are allocated to children who move area in the middle of an academic year

Mr Gove says the existing system needed to change because it "rationed good schools" and with wealthier families able to go private or move house, "the poorest are often left with the worst schools".

"Good schools should be able to grow and we need more of them," he said, having argued earlier in the week that allowing popular schools to expand more easily would increase the amount of good school places.

Journalist Toby Young, who is setting up one of the first free schools, said he would want his governors to take advantage of the proposal to allow schools to set aside places for pupils on free school meals, if it is implemented.

He said the idea was welcome for free schools and academies that were "worried about places being monopolised by middle class children".

'Spiral of decline'

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) said the proposals would not improve social mobility and would have a "damaging effect" on pupils from the most deprived areas.

In April, the coalition's "pupil premium" came into effect, under which schools receive an extra ?430 per year for every pupil on free school meals that they teach.

ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman said this would "hardly be enough of an incentive or a supplement for schools to provide the additional support that these pupils so often need".

And allowing popular schools to expand would "create another generation of haves and have-nots".

"Those schools left with the most challenging pupils, who need the most intensive support, will suffer a slow spiral of decline and their pupils will lose out on life chances," he said.

And the NASUWT teaching union pointed out that the rules would allow grammar schools to expand without having to run local consultations.

"Forget about selection by the back door. This is selection by the front door," said general secretary Chris Keates.

Separately, the government said that it would, on a case by case basis, consider allowing free schools set up by parents to give priority to the children of those who founded them.

This is not included in the new code, but would be written into each school's funding agreement with the government.

'Reducing complexity'

Coalition ministers have long said they wanted to shorten and simplify the existing code.

Outgoing chief schools adjudicator, Ian Craig, said he was "pleased" at the publication of the new code.

"Reducing the complexity and making it easier for parents to understand without removing the safeguards for vulnerable groups is essential to our admissions system," he said.

He had warned in November that slimming down the code could risk "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" and reducing it to "a useless document".

The government is also altering the school admissions appeals process in the Education Bill currently before Parliament.

It wants to end the requirement for local panels to be set up to consider individual appeals.

The Bill would limit the Office of the Schools Adjudicator to investigating specific complaints, rather than wider issues where it suspects there may be a problem.

The body would, however, be able to accept complaints from a wider range of people and its remit would be expanded to cover academies.

The government says this will reduce bureaucracy without affecting fairness, but Labour has warned that such changes could result in reduced scrutiny and an increase in "selection by the back door".

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Government web internships unpaid

27 May 2011 Last updated at 01:04 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent The government's graduate website is offering unpaid full-time internships Almost one in three internships on a government website for graduate job-hunters this year has been unpaid, a Freedom of Information request shows.

In a political row earlier this year Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg called for interns to be paid.

But the Graduate Talent Pool website, set up by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), continues to offer many unpaid internships.

A BIS spokesman said businesses should be open and fair about what is offered.

University leavers face tough competition in the jobs market - and internships are seen as a way of getting a foot on the ladder.

But a Freedom of Information request, submitted by a graduate recruitment company called Give A Grad A Go, shows that 30% of the internships advertised so far this year on the government's official Graduate Talent Pool website have been unpaid.

Up to 6 May, more than 2,200 vacancies advertised on the website, out of a total of more than 7,600, were unpaid.

Full-time unpaid

The website itself shows that out of the 2,239 vacancies currently available, only 1,235 are paid vacancies.

Among the unpaid internships are full-time posts lasting for several months, with a number of agencies appearing to use the website to recruit such unpaid interns.

The Graduate Talent Pool website was set up by the government as a way of connecting graduates with internships being offered by businesses.

But there have been criticisms over how internships can be misused as unpaid labour by some employers - and warnings about the need for them to comply with the minimum-wage regulations.

Continue reading the main story

If an intern is effectively performing as a 'worker', then in most cases they will be entitled to the national minimum wage”

End Quote Graduate Talent Pool website There have been particular warnings about the impact of the intern system on social mobility - with claims that it gives an unfair advantage to the well-connected and those who can afford to work without being paid or only receiving minimal expenses.

Mr Clegg highlighted his concerns in his social-mobility strategy - sparking a political row about his own access to work experience and differences of opinion with the prime minister.

"We want to improve understanding of the application of national minimum-wage legislation to internships and ensure that employers comply with it," said Mr Clegg's social-mobility proposals.

"Where an individual is entitled to the minimum wage they should receive it and we take failure to do so very seriously."

Social mobility

The Graduate Talent Pool website also warns employers that: "If an intern is effectively performing as a 'worker', then in most cases they will be entitled to the national minimum wage."

Cary Curtis, managing director of Give A Grad A Go, said: "Recent social-mobility debate between the prime minister and his deputy has highlighted the lack of a coherent approach to internships and work placements.

"Nick Clegg's new Social Mobility Strategy is a step in the right direction, as we believe all graduates should be treated as employees and paid accordingly, regardless of the position's label or their social standing.

"The word 'internship' carries no legal definition and therefore often leads to graduate exploitation," said Mr Curtis.

He also criticised the finding that the government department did not keep a record of how many graduates found a job through its internship website.

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "We encourage businesses to offer internships openly and transparently and to provide financial support to ensure fair access.

"Some interns don't qualify for the national minimum wage and we encourage employers to pay reasonable out-of-pocket expenses in these cases."

A spokesman for the Deputy Prime Minister urged employers of interns to pay heed to minimum wage legislation, and to consider paying the minimum wage or out of pocket expenses to "ensure fair access".

"But this is as much about opportunity as it is about money," the spokesman said.

"Too often, such opportunities can only be taken by well off, well connected families," he said, adding that the deputy prime minister "welcomes schemes like the Graduate Talent Pool that provide an open and transparent means for people from any background to find the right opportunity for them".

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Teacher comments 'boost grades'

26 May 2011 Last updated at 11:10 GMT Teacher comments should focus on the positive, studies suggest Quality feedback from teachers is more effective in raising grades than homework, uniforms and smaller classes, a Durham University study says.

The summary of evidence on different strategies was published by the Sutton Trust, tasked with helping schools in deprived areas improve results.

It is intended to help schools decide how best to spend the pupil premium - additional funds for low-income pupils.

It looks at value for money, saying funding does not always raise grades.

Giving pupils clear and effective feedback was considered "very high impact for low cost" in the study.

Comments should be specific, related to challenging tasks, given sparingly so they are meaningful, and encourage self-esteem by focusing on the positive, the researchers said.

Using pupils to "tutor" each other and helping them understand their own learning processes and motivation also had "high impact for low cost".

The researchers said improvements came when learners took on responsibility for aspects of teaching.

Early intervention - focusing on development in a child's early years - was rated effective but very expensive.

However, one-to-one tutoring was considered to have only a moderate impact for a very high cost, though researchers said it could help children who had fallen behind to catch up with their peers.

Reducing class sizes had a "low impact for a very high cost", and the use of teaching assistants had a "very low impact for a high cost".

'Proven to work'

The study said there was little gain in cutting class sizes from 30 to 25 - but once they were down to 20, or 15, teachers often altered their approach, which helped pupils learn more effectively.

Teaching assistants work alongside teachers, giving additional support, often to students who are struggling or have special educational needs.

But researchers said evidence suggested "very small or no effects on attainment", although they could positively affect pupils' attitudes and raise teacher morale.

Other strategies, including homework, the use of information and communications technology, after-school programmes, performance pay for teachers and school uniforms, were all rated to have a low impact.

Previous research by the Sutton Trust indicated almost three-quarters (73%) of teachers saw reduced class sizes as a top priority in the use of the pupil premium, and nearly half (44%) wanted more teaching assistants.

Chairman, Sir Peter Lampl, said: "The key to improving the attainment of disadvantaged pupils is not necessarily how much money is spent in schools, but how much is spent on what is proven to work in the classroom."

The National Union of Head Teachers said the report drew some "thought-provoking and useful conclusions".

But it said the findings pointed to a need for smaller class sizes.

"Common sense would dictate that a teacher is better able to monitor progress and give that valuable, detailed feedback where pupil numbers are kept at a sensible level," said Russell Hobby, General Secretary.

"We would hope that the government would not use the trust's work... as an argument to support cutbacks in educational resources," he said.

Schools began receiving the pupil premium - ?430 per year extra for every child eligible for free school meals - in April this year.

However, a survey of 1,177 head teachers and deputies, by school support organisation the Key, suggested earlier this year that more than half the schools in England were facing cuts to their budgets.

When the pupil premium is included, ministers have protected per-pupil spending in cash terms until 2015 - but have admitted some schools will see their budgets drop.

Cuts to school capital spending and to the budgets of local authorities - which support some extra services such as after school clubs - have also affected schools' budgets.

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Cricket 'dream school' for a day

26 May 2011 Last updated at 12:14 GMT By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter Schools will see cricket-themed lessons A cricket "dream school", where luminaries of the sport take cricket-related lessons in a range of subjects, is being set up in London for a day.

Governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King and an England cricketer will teach pupils at Johanna Primary School, Waterloo.

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson will take a cricket-themed assembly.

Classes in 4,000 schools in England and Wales will also be given a cricketing twist, on a "national day of cricket".

Organised by the Cricket Foundation's Chance to Shine campaign, the day, on 23 June, will also feature coaching sessions in school playgrounds and competitions at local clubs.

'Lessons for life'

The charity has devised a range of cricket-based lessons in subjects ranging from geography to citizenship and numeracy.

A member of the England cricket team, still to be announced, will take pupils for a physical education class.

And Mr King, who is president and co-founder of the campaign, will give pupils cricket-themed lessons in maths.

He said: "It's a day on which we hope that the qualities engendered by cricket can extend beyond the cricket pitch and into the classroom."

England captain Andrew Strauss said: "There's so much about cricket that prepares you for life - working in a team, communicating with other people, getting out and being active and learning how to win and lose."

Events on the day, sponsored by Brit Insurance, will also feature at schools in other cricket-playing nations, including some in Mazar-i-sharif in Afghanistan and Victoria, Australia.

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Poor teachers 'sacked in a term'

24 May 2011 Last updated at 11:33 GMT By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter The education departments says research shows the difference made by good quality teachers Poor teachers could be ousted from England's schools within a term, under government plans to make it easier for heads to get rid of under-performing staff.

Currently it can take more than a year to remove struggling teachers, because of lengthy bureaucratic processes.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said schools had been "trapped in complex red tape" for far too long.

But a teachers' union labelled the plans "unfair, unjust and unworkable".

"The proposals turn performance management on its head. Instead of helping teachers become even better at teaching it will give heads an easy way to get rid of teachers that they dislike," said Mary Bousted, leader of the ATL teachers' union.

Continue reading the main story

Heads and teachers also want a simpler and faster system to deal with teachers who are struggling”

End Quote Michael Gove Education Secretary But the Department for Education argues that high quality teachers are key to pupils' performance.

It cites US research which suggests pupils taught for three consecutive years by a top-performing teacher can make more progress than those taught for the same period by a low-performing teacher.

Currently, the system for managing teachers' performance is set out in the Education (School Teachers Performance Management) Regulations 2006.

The DfE argues these regulations are complex and overlap with procedures looking at how good they are in the classroom.

It has therefore published plans to radically reduce these rules to make it easier for schools to deal effectively with what it says are a "small number of poorly performing teachers".

It also wants to make it easier for schools to manage teachers in the way they see fit.

Mr Gove said England's schools had a great generation of teachers.

He added: "Heads and teachers also want a simpler and faster system to deal with teachers who are struggling.

"For far too long schools have been trapped in complex red tape. We must deal with this problem in order to protect the interests of children who suffer when struggling teachers are neither helped nor removed.

"Schools must be given the responsibility to deal with this fairly and quickly."

'Without delay'

The proposals will go out to a 12-week consultation and are likely to be in place by September 2011.

Brian Lightman, Association of School and College Leaders, said: "In the relatively small number of cases where performance is unsatisfactory in spite of the formal and informal support that has been provided, it is essential for the benefit of the students that capability procedures can be implemented swiftly without the current constraints over time scales."

National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Russell Hobby said heads needed the ability to move on the relatively few weak teachers in schools.

"They want to be able to do this fairly and without delay, to the benefit of pupils and, ultimately, staff. Both bureaucracy and delays are unfair to all involved."

He added that managing performance was an essential part of development for school staff as it ensured training needs and areas of attention were identified.

"If, despite that support, the level of performance is still not satisfactory, then it is essential that this is dealt with quickly and fairly," he added.

The National Union of Teachers general secretary Christine Blower said: "Procedures to deal with any concerns about performance must be fair and not offer a bully's charter.

"Many teachers already feel overburdened and under-supported in school.

"These proposals are about removing protections, not about cutting down on unnecessary red tape."

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London primary to fund boarding

20 May 2011 Last updated at 14:53 GMT An old school building on the Sussex site is to be renovated as a new state boarding school The government has committed ?17m to help an inner London primary school to offer its pupils free places at a new state boarding school in Sussex.

Students from the Durand Academy in Lambeth would stay at the secondary school in Sussex from Monday to Friday.

The trust running the primary school bought the 20-acre Sussex school site for ?3.4m last year, using income from a gym and flats on its London site.

It comes as Lambeth council is struggling to provide primary places.

Durand Academy, which has a high proportion of pupils on free school meals, plans to open a new junior school on its site in Stockwell, south London, in 2012.

It also hopes to open a boarding school in Sussex, which students would attend from the age of 13, in 2014.

'Transform opportunities'

Under the plan, pupils would be driven out to the leafy Sussex site on Monday morning, and return on Friday afternoon.

A trust connected to the school manages the income from a gym and some flats on its London site, and says it will pay for the construction of the junior school and accommodation for sixth form boarders, as well as the boarding costs of pupils.

The Department for Education's ?17.34m, which will be spread over four years, will fund the construction of the boarding school's main teaching and accommodation building.

Durand Academy head teacher Greg Martin said the project would "transform life opportunities for children and families from Stockwell's estates".

"We will offer an extended school day combining academic rigour with music, drama and sports in a rural environment," he said.

The school says it also hopes to gain some income from use of the boarding school's sports facilities and grounds, and rentals of its premises during school holidays.

'Policy priorities'

The Department for Education said the money came from a portion of the schools capital budget dedicated to "policy priorities" such as free schools and academies.

Schools capital funding as a whole is being cut by 60% between 2010-11 and 2014-5.

"The poorest children are too often left behind because of weak schools and lack of opportunity. This unique and pioneering project, led by one of London's best primary schools, will give disadvantaged pupils the type of education previously reserved for the rich," a DfE spokesman said.

It comes days after Lambeth Council warned that it could not guarantee a primary school place for every child in the borough by 2015.

It is calling on parents to back its plea to the government for ?50m additional funding over the next two years, on top of ?56m it has received since 2006.

Without this extra funding, it warned it would have to cram more classes onto school sites "already full to the brim".

The Department for Education (DfE) has given ?800m to local authorities for additional places for 2011/12.

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Cardiff uni to charge £9,000 fees

24 May 2011 Last updated at 14:25 GMT University authorities say they have to raise fees to make up for reduced government support Cardiff University has become the second in Wales to set a maximum tuition fee of ?9,000 per year for students from the rest of the UK.

It follows a similar decision by Aberystwyth and will apply to new students starting in autumn 2012.

Students from Wales will continue to pay ?3,375 a year with the Welsh Government paying the balance.

Vice Chancellor Dr David Grant, said: "This has not been an easy decision for the University to reach."

Dr Grant added: "We are committed to maintaining access to our courses for all who have the potential to succeed.

"With rapidly reducing levels of government support we have to act responsibly and ensure that our future fee level is sufficient to maintain and develop provision across our wide portfolio of courses."

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Cardiff University's plans to charge ?9,000 fees come as no surprise.

It is a member of the elite Russell Group of universities in which every other member has elected to charge the maximum so far.

We must now wait and see whether other Welsh universities join Cardiff and Aberystwyth in opting for maximum fees.

The Welsh Government has costed its ?1.5bn tuition fee subsidy for students from Wales on the assumption that average fees both here and in England will be ?7,000.

The actual average fee level among English universities already far exceeds that.

As more universities declare their intentions, it is increasingly likely the Welsh Government may have to revisit its costings. That could mean further cuts to the university teaching budget.

He said these included the large number of high cost programmes they delivered in science, engineering and professional disciplines.

Dr Grant added that the university would be expanding its support for students, including an expansion of its bursary programme for applicants from low income families.

Cardiff Students' Union has given a qualified backing for the proposals, saying the university had consulted them and would continue to do so throughout the fee-setting process.

Union president Olly Birrell said: "While we are disappointed that the university has had to make the decision to raise fees to this level, we welcome the commitment Cardiff is making to further developing the student experience and to providing financial and skills support for students from non-traditional backgrounds throughout the lifetime of a student's course.

"We are confident that Cardiff will remain one of the best places in the UK to live and study."

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Wales: Revamp call over GCSE data

23 May 2011 Last updated at 18:55 GMT The Welsh Government has dismissed the performance tables as 'extremely simplistic' Calls have been made for a shake-up of how schools are run in Wales as variations are revealed in GCSE results between schools with similar backgrounds.

Conservatives and an experienced school inspector questioned the role of local education authorities (LEAs) in administering schools.

The Welsh Local Government Association called LEAs "cost effective".

Leighton Andrews called for a "school banding system".

The Welsh Government places schools in "families" - groups of about 10 - where pupils have similar levels of family income and special needs.

In one case a school's results are 42% better than another in the same family, a BBC Wales freedom of information request revealed.

The Welsh Government has dismissed the tables as "extremely simplistic".

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The BBC have chosen to use the data released to them to generate a simplistic league table, ranking schools based on a single performance indicator.

I remain absolutely committed to the belief that there is no role for league tables in the improvement agenda for Wales. They can be divisive and misleading and do not in themselves promote improvement. If league tables were the key to high performing schools then England would be at the top of the PISA scores. But it is not - by some distance.

In my statement on 2 February I emphasised the importance of using robust data to drive improvement within schools and across the system. Robust self-evaluation and target-setting using performance data plays a vital role in promoting continuous improvement. For this reason, we have provided all maintained primary and secondary schools with the all-Wales core data set. This provides key information about school performance in a consistent, transparent and accessible format.

To strengthen accountability of the system I am working with officials to introduce a national system for banding schools. This is not a return to league tables based on crude measures of pupil performance in public examinations. The school banding system will allow learners, their parents and carers, education professionals, governors and local authorities to understand a school's performance in context.

Extracts from statement by education minister Leighton Andrews

Kirsty Williams, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said parents should have "the right to access information about the performance of their child's school" to ensure they are reaching theit potential.

She added it was sometimes "difficult and unfair" to compare schools across the country.

"League tables have rightly been criticised in the past for not giving an accurate picture of the overall performance of the school and the standard of its teaching. What parents ultimately what to know is: 'is my child's school improving?'," she said.

Plaid Cymru AM Simon Thomas said the party "does not believe that it is inevitable or acceptable for some schools to be good and some schools to be bad," adding that the Welsh Government "must take action" to ensure that pupils do not leave school unable to read, write or count.

"Plaid has made the case for a radical overhaul of the education system in order to get education right for all children, in all areas of Wales," he said.

Mr Thomas added that Labour plans to reintroduce school league tables "could mask the reality of underperformance and further undermine underperforming schools".

"It is not for parents through competition to improve schools but government and LEAs through action and direction," said Mr Thomas.

Conservative AM Angela Burns said the performance figures were "no real surprise", although league tables had to be treated carefully.

She is calling for local education authorities (LEAs) which administer schools, to be removed from the funding process.

"We would directly fund the schools, we would cut out the middle man, we would cut out the LEAs," she said.

"I'm quite sure they're not wildly pleased about that but it's a fact.

"When I was chair of the finance committee in the last term of the assembly, we did a number of reports on foundation phase, we did one on school grants that go into schools throughout the whole of Wales.

"The amount of money that gets sucked in by all of these people taking slices of this money...

"If you were to directly fund them [schools] from the Welsh Government... and give them a very clear set of outcomes that they had to achieve with that money, you would actually have proper money going where it is needed."

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We've known about this - leaders in Wales, education ministers, the union leaders - we've all known it but there's been a failure to tackle it”

End Quote Gwynoro Jones School inspector School inspector Gwynoro Jones said schools in Wales should be administered by four education boards rather than LEAs.

"It [school performance data] tells us what we've all known for a long, long time, but unfortunately it has been brushed under the carpet for various reasons," he said.

"There are significant variances in performance of pupils in schools in Wales, a wide range of variation in relation to the performance of teachers, head teachers, local authorities.

"The system and everything within it needs an entirely new revamp.

"We've known about this - leaders in Wales, education ministers, the union leaders - we've all known it but there's been a failure to tackle it.

"But I have to say I'm quite encouraged by how [Education Minister] Leighton Andrews is starting his new role and I'm relying a great deal on his leadership on this."

'Systematic failure'

Mr Andrews hopes head teachers and governors will set ambitious targets for school improvement based on their performance against other similar schools.

He has said there is "systemic failure" in the school system and accused teachers of "complacency in the classroom".

In a speech in February, he suggested the Welsh government had its own plans to make some of this information public.

The body that represents councils in Wales, the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), said the best way to improve schools was to have better teachers and better support.

Steve Thomas, WLGA chief executive, said schools were a difficult service to run, but LEAs were cost effective and they worked.

"I find the Conservative proposals very interesting because what they are basically saying is that you can improve schools by cutting them by between 12% and 20% [in funding] and you can offset that by abolishing LEAs," he said.

"So making people redundant in LEAs costs nothing ,does it?

"And that would mean you have to run everything from Cardiff then."

He said abolishing LEAs would mean the assembly would have to carry out tasks such as consultations on school closures, running school transport and looking after special educational needs.

"We will be delegating 85% of our budgets down to schools. Some schools are complaining about that - they don't want to be purchasing these services," he added.

The Welsh Government has said it continues to oppose the publishing of league tables.

Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union, said: "The publication of these league tables is a reckless and irresponsible exercise.

"Schools which were 'top of the league' in the first list on Friday were languishing way down the second list by Monday morning.

"The information is not worth the paper its written on. However, it will have done untold damage to the morale and motivation of teachers and the confidence of parents in their child's school."

Following Friday's publication of schools' value added scores, it means BBC Wales has now made more information available on school performance than at any time since league tables were abolished in Wales in 2001.

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