Private tutors for state schools

26 July 2011 Last updated at 13:26 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Private tutors will operate from five secondary schools in East Anglia A private tutor company is going to set up learning centres within five state secondary schools in England, selling extra lessons to schools and parents.

The schools will pay the TLC Education Group ?22 per 80-minute additional lesson for their own pupils.

Parents of pupils from other schools will pay ?27 to attend lessons.

Andrew Hutchinson, head of the Parkside Federation, where tutors will be based, said it would provide one-to-one lessons for a wider range of pupils.

But the ATL teachers' union attacked the scheme as an "unethical use of public money".

'Pragmatic decision'

Head teacher Mr Hutchinson said the tutoring service was a flexible way of supporting pupils, such as those arriving from primary school who needed catch-up lessons or pupils preparing for GCSEs.

Private tutors were already being used by families who could afford it, he said.

"It's a pragmatic decision - trying to broaden the opportunity," said Mr Hutchinson, who runs two Cambridge secondary schools as part of a federation.

Continue reading the main story

For a state-funded school to allow a private firm to use its premises to make money... seems both unfair to those parents who can't afford the extra lessons and an unethical use of public money”

End Quote Martin Freedman ATL And he says that schools should not be "hung up on dogma", but should be finding ways to "provide a more bespoke package for individuals".

A head teachers' union said that "buying in" extra tuition in this way could "make sense".

"Clearly schools will target resources to best meet students' needs and there is good evidence of the benefits of one-on-one tutoring, especially for students who are starting to slip behind," said Sarah Gadzik, spokeswoman for the Association of School and College Leaders.

"Having a tutoring company based in schools is not something we have come across before but, assuming that robust quality assurance measures are in place, it could be a cost-effective way for schools to target support at individual students."

But Martin Freedman of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers criticised the arrangement.

"ATL knows that individual families can make a decision to buy private tuition for their children - but for a state-funded school to allow a private firm to use its premises to make money, and for the school to buy in cheap tuition from that firm instead of employing teachers, seems both unfair to those parents who can't afford the extra lessons and an unethical use of public money."

The private tutors will run "learning centres" in five schools in East Anglia, offering customised lessons in English and maths.

Unfair advantage?

Lessons will be taught in groups of up to five pupils, either in breaks during the day, after school, weekends or in school holidays.

In exchange for providing premises, the school receives a reduced rate for lessons bought by the school for its pupils.

But the tutors based in these schools will also teach pupils from other local schools, at the higher cost of ?27 per session.

And parents in the five schools who want extra lessons outside those offered through the school, can also pay private rates for private lessons.

The schools are Samuel Ward Academy and Wymondham High School in Norfolk, two schools in the Parkside Federation in Cambridge - Coleridge Community College and Parkside Community College - and the Open Academy in Norwich.

There have been longstanding questions about the impact of private tuition on exam results - and about the advantages gained by pupils whose parents can afford extra lessons.

Much of this extra tuition has been at home - or in after-school catch-up classes - so the extent of this additional coaching has remained uncertain.

A survey carried out for the Sutton Trust education charity two years ago found that about one in five secondary pupils in England was receiving lessons from private tutors.

But this was particularly concentrated in some areas - with the survey claiming that 43% of pupils in London were receiving extra lessons.

Another survey of parents of grammar-school pupils carried out three years ago suggested that almost half had paid for tuition for their children when they were preparing for the 11-plus test.

Simon Barnes, director of TLC Education, said: "Our partnerships mean that we can help improve examination grades and build confidence in students of all ages and abilities."

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Fewer school children expelled

29 July 2011 Last updated at 12:07 GMT By Angela Harrison Education correspondent, BBC News Children with special educational needs are more likely to be excluded There has been another fall in the number of pupils excluded from schools in England - but ministers say with the figures still in their thousands, behaviour is not good enough.

Expulsions fell by about 12% in 2009-10, compared with the previous year, while suspensions were down about 9%.

But a total of about 900 children were suspended every day for violence or verbal abuse.

Three quarters of those expelled had special educational needs.

And more than three-quarters were boys.

Boys were about four times as likely to be suspended as girls and pupils on free school meals were also more likely to be excluded.

In total, 5,740 pupils were expelled (permanently excluded) from primary, secondary and special schools in 2009-10, down from 6,550.

That total has been falling steadily since 1997 - when more than twice as many were expelled.

The number of suspensions also fell in 2009-10, when there were 331,380 "temporary exclusions".

That was a drop of nearly 32,000, a recent trend which has seen totals fall back to levels of nearly 10 years ago.

'Significant problem'

The most common reason for children to be excluded was "persistent disruptive behaviour".

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said discipline was a "significant problem" and the government was giving more powers "to put head teachers and teachers back in control of the classroom".

"With thousands of pupils being excluded for persistent disruption and violent or abusive behaviour we remain concerned that weak discipline remains a significant problem in too many of our schools and classrooms," he said.

"Tackling poor behaviour and raising academic standards are key priorities for the coalition government. We will back head teachers in excluding persistently disruptive pupils, which is why we are removing barriers which limit their authority."

Head teachers accused Mr Gibb of "finding a cloud around the silver lining".

Russell Hobby, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said there was no evidence of weak discipline in the statistics.

"Fewer and fewer schools now need to resort to the ultimate sanction of permanent exclusion, a fact that should be celebrated, " he said.

"Clearly the existing powers on behaviour have been good enough for major progress to be made.

"That said, there remain well-placed concerns about the apparent disparity in exclusion rates across school types and different demographic groups. Too many schools are still forced to exclude because they do not have the skills or resources to deal with children who suffer from mental illness, abuse or tragically turbulent lifestyles."

Special Educational Needs

Alison Ryan, from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) said: "It is testimony to the hard work by school leaders, teachers and support staff that the number of pupil exclusions fell in 2009-10.

"However, schools could not have achieved this reduction without the help of early intervention services, extended services and access to training and expertise on behaviour and Special Educational Needs.

"ATL is deeply concerned that the cuts to local authority funding will have an impact on the number of services they can provide, and without them schools will face increasing behavioural problems and increasing numbers of exclusions."

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More females in higher education

28 July 2011 Last updated at 12:57 GMT More women than men are entering higher education. The number of young women in higher education in Scotland remains higher than the number of young men.

Figures released by the Scottish Funding Council indicate that almost 50% of women under the age of 21 are students - 10% ahead of the male intake.

That gap has however narrowed slightly in the last year.

Overall, more young people are going into college or university for higher education.

However at 44% it remains below the peak of 50% at the turn of the millennium.

The proportion of higher education students from disadvantaged backgrounds remains low but is on an upward trend.

Most of them are recruited by further education colleges for courses such as Higher National Certificates.

Young people from East Ayrshire, Falkirk and Stirling are least likely to become students, while those in East Renfrewshire and East Dumbartonshire are most likely.

Scottish Funding Council chief executive Mark Batho said: "The improving trends shown in this report are welcome, but there is still more to do."

Learning and Skills Minister Alasdair Allan added: "These figures show both an increase in the overall number of young Scots participating in higher education and a rise in the number of entrants from the most deprived areas.

"Life chances are being improved across Scotland and these figures underline the importance of our decision to rule out tuition fees, ensuring access to education continues to be based on ability to learn, not ability to pay."

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Ladies in the lab

29 July 2011 Last updated at 11:54 GMT By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter Nasa scientist Dr Holly Goodhead in James Bond film Moonraker was a classic stereotype of a female scientist Women are being put off working in and studying science by "subtle" messages in the media and society, academics say.

Although girls make up more than half GCSE science students - by the time they reach university science departments they are outnumbered by men by a factor of two to one.

And higher up the academic food chain, for every female science professor, there are nine male ones. So what is putting women off?

"It's not that people actually think there are no women in science it's more subtle than that," says Rachel Tibbell, development consultant at the UK Resource Centre for women in science, engineering and technology (UKRC)

UKRC research suggests women scientists are stereotyped either as frumpy, glasses-wearing cartoon geeks or uber-sexy, Bond-film glamour pusses - who shake their hair out of their specs once they have split the atom.

Gender stereotypes seem to permeate all the way down to children. Mrs Tibbell describes an Open University research project which asked in 2006 a group of children to draw a picture of a scientist. "Overwhelmingly, the children drew a man."

But where does this stereotyping come from? It starts at birth, says Mrs Tibbell.

"I have girl-boy twins and what I found is people buy a car for the boy and a doll for the girl. So already the child is getting a message about the sort of thing they should be doing," she said.

She also highlights the lack of female scientists in the media. Further UKRC research suggests scientific experts interviewed on television are five times more likely to be male than female.

But are these media images, or lack of them, putting off the female scientists of the future?

Professor Susan Greenfield is one of the few female scientists to have made it into the media

Dr Patricia Brekke, a 32-year-old conservation geneticist who has a fellowship at the Institute of Zoology, says: "I wanted to be a female David Attenborough but there was never a female presenter on television.

"But I would never have let this stop me - then I was a little bit obsessed," she said at a recent women in science event at London's South Bank sponsored by L'Oreal and the Zoological Society London (ZSL).

However, some of today's current scientists suggest that even if women do opt for an academic career in science or technology that they can face sexism once they are at university.

'Girls can't do maths'

Dr Kate Jones, a senior research fellow at ZSL, recalls a very macho culture and unrepeatable sexist comments at the university where she studied, although she says it has improved now.

And Professor Charlotte Watts, a mathematics professor and an expert in HIV prevention in the developing world, says: "I remember when I was an undergraduate at Oxford, one of my peers saying; 'I didn't know girls could do maths'."

Dr Jones said she experienced a very macho atmosphere where she studied

She also remembers going to conferences where she was the only woman: "I was a nobody, but everybody knew my name, because I was a woman. I got bought a lot of drinks."

But how much has society moved on the issue? There has been a greater increase in the number of girls studying science technology and engineering subjects at A-level than for boys.

But progress is slow. Sean McWhinnie, independent research consultant with Oxford Research and Policy, said it would be many years before women are represented in equal numbers in the UK's university science departments.

If present rates of increase continue, he predicts men and women will reach parity in 2021 for biosciences, in 2042 for chemistry, in 2060 for physics and in 2109 for civil engineering.

'Short skirts'

And Prof Watts suggests cultural changes are needed. She adds: "I was talking to this older woman and she said that in her day she had not been allowed to study science. Obviously that has changed.

"But she went on to say how much she admired the neuroscientist and former director of the Royal Society, Professor Susan Greenfield. And then her husband piped up that no one respected her because she wore short skirts."

Dr Brekke suggests that even if women are determined to find their place at an academic institution, problems can arise if they decide to have children.

"The problem is you have to keep up with the latest research and when it comes to getting a grant you are judged by how many papers you have produced."

Dr Jones says when women go on maternity leave they are left with big holes in their academic record for the period of time they take out.

"I am not sure there is any way of showing you have had a break," she adds.

Mother-of-two and 37-year-old evolutionary biologist Seirian Sumner said: "I never really had maternity leave because I had lots of on-going projects and students to see.

"Also because I am a field biologist I had to take my family to Panama for two months. If I had 'logged out', so to speak, I think it would have been even harder coming back."

But eminent plant biologist Professor Ottoline Leyser, author of 'Mothers in Science 64 Ways to Have it All', says there is no reason for women scientists to choose between their career and a family.

Women scientists often feel they must choose between children and careers

"I appeared at a conference in 1993 with my son in my stomach and my daughter on my hip. I was told that my career was in ruins because I had decided to have children."

She argues that working in academia with a family should be easier than other jobs because it can be so much more flexible.

"Even if you are out for a few years for small children it is only a very small proportion of your overall career," she said.

And perhaps most crucially, she adds: "Children have two parents - and men have been happily having careers in science for a very long time."

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Pupils 'shoe-horned' into EBacc

28 July 2011 Last updated at 11:29 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent MPs have warned of "negative consequences" for subjects outside the EBacc The government should "think again" about the introduction of the English Baccalaureate to secondary schools in England, says a committee of MPs.

The so-called EBacc requires pupils to gain good GCSEs in English, maths, two sciences, a language and humanity.

But the Commons education select committee says it risks "shoe-horning" pupils into inappropriate subjects.

Schools minister Nick Gibb says "all children have the right to a broad and balanced education".

But the cross-party MPs' report says it should not be "up to a group of politicians" to decide which individual subjects should be given priority.

And it questions whether the EBacc should even be given that name, when "it is not a baccalaureate as generally understood".

'Negative consequences'

The report says that the good intentions of the EBacc - to ensure that pupils have access to a core of academic subjects - have been undermined by how it has been implemented.

The report highlights a failure to consult about the likely impact of the new measure - and says the government needs to examine the complaints from head teachers and professional groups.

There have been strong concerns raised on behalf of subjects which are not part of the EBacc, including religious education, art, music and ICT.

There have been warnings that schools will downgrade their support and staffing for these subjects, which will not count towards league table rankings for the EBacc.

There have also been concerns that schools will arrange their timetables to maximise their EBacc scores - which might then limit the subject options available to individual pupils.

The select committee report shares such concerns, arguing that "a fairly narrow range of subjects, demanding considerable curriculum time, is likely to have negative consequences on the uptake of other subjects".

The introduction of the EBacc, and decisions about its subjects, should have been left until a review of the national curriculum had been completed, says the report from MPs.

"For now, the EBacc is not part of a balanced score card," said committee chairman Graham Stuart.

Poorest pupils

The NASUWT teachers' union said that there were already signs of the EBacc leading to reductions in support for non-baccalaureate subjects.

"A recent NASUWT survey found almost 15% of schools had teachers of non-EBacc subjects who were facing the threat of redundancy with many, many more considering restructuring to give more curriculum time to E Bacc subjects, squeezing other subjects out," said the union's general secretary, Chris Keates.

Deborah Annetts, chief executive of the Incorporated Society of Musicians also said there was evidence of an impact on music in schools.

"Our own research - to be published in the near future - shows that 60% of those working in schools have already noticed a negative impact on music education since the introduction of the English Baccalaureate. Among these, 77% noticed a decline in the number of pupils picking music as an option," she said.

The ASCL head teachers' union welcomed the report saying that the EBacc would create a "perverse incentive for schools to concentrate on those subjects at the expense of others".

Continue reading the main story

Just 8% of children eligible for free school meals were entered for the EBacc subjects last year”

End Quote Nick Gibb Schools minister Kevin Stannard of the Girls' Day School Trust, representing independent girls' schools, said the EBacc "elevates the interests of some academic disciplines over others - for no obvious educational reason".

"The government's performance tables are supposed to be about transparency. The EBacc is certainly that - it is possible to see right through it."

Two Conservative MPs on the committee, Charlotte Leslie and Damian Hinds, voiced their support for the EBacc "as a means of leveling the playing field and giving our poorest children a fighting chance of taking the GCSEs that unlock our top universities and chances in life".

Schools Minister Nick Gibb argued that the EBacc would make sure that children had access to subjects that would be valuable for work or university.

"These academic subjects reflect the knowledge and skills young people need to progress to further study or to rewarding employment.

"It cannot be right that children from the poorest backgrounds are significantly less likely to have the opportunity to take GCSEs in these subjects than children from more advantaged areas.

"Just 8% of children eligible for free school meals were entered for the EBacc subjects last year compared to 22% overall."

Shadow education secretary Andy Burnham said: "This damning verdict leaves the secretary of state and his ministers isolated.

"There is now a clear professional consensus that, if left unchanged, the English Bacc will have a number of damaging effects on our school system.

"It limits student choice, narrowing the range of subjects on offer in schools. We are already hearing that RE, music and art teachers are being made redundant."

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Student visa plans rushed - MPs

26 July 2011 Last updated at 00:01 GMT Visa cuts: Ministers say there are too many bogus students who are working in the UK MPs have accused the government of rushing plans to curb student visas, saying they could harm the economy.

The Home Affairs Committee said that it was concerned that official figures indicated the restrictions could cost the economy ?3.4bn.

Officials estimate the measures will cut net migration by 230,000 by the end of the current parliament.

Immigration minister Damian Green said the changes were introduced after full and extensive consultation.

Ministers announced earlier this year they would cut the number of students visas as part of their target to bring net immigration down to tens of thousands by the end of the Parliament.

The plan involves tougher English language tests, greater scrutiny of private colleges and restrictions on when students and their dependents can work. Officials estimate that the plans will eventually reduce the number of students by 75,000 a year, down from roughly 250,000 a year at present.

Continue reading the main story Education: ?407m Health: ?339m Crime: ?92m UKBA investigations: ?44m Public services total: ?840m (Source: Home Office; Savings estimated over four years)The government's "impact assessment", an official document detailing the predicted financial effects of the changes, was published 12 weeks after the proposals were revealed.

That document said that the total costs of cutting student numbers could be ?3.5bn, but that would be partially offset by savings of ?1.1bn. MPs said they were concerned the policy was going ahead as planned, despite the potential economic costs.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the home affairs committee, said: "The Home Secretary's dismissal of the impact assessment is very disappointing. The government appears to be not only making policy without adequate immigration statistics, but also ignoring its own evidence. We reiterate the need for an immigration policy which is both evidence-based and does not adversely affect the British economy."

Immigration minister Damian Green said: "The changes were introduced after full and extensive consultation. The extent of the crisis which this government inherited in the immigration system meant that tough early action was necessary."

In a separate report, MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee said that the student visa changes would "adversely and unduly" affect Scotland.

The Scottish Affairs Committee said: "These proposals will have a disproportionate effect in Scotland, both because of the disproportionate size of the sector in Scotland and as they are primarily designed to address a problem which is largely insignificant in Scotland.

"In doing so, these proposals risk compromising and diminishing not only the high standard of education provided by higher education institutions in Scotland but also threaten the valuable contribution of the international students who study at these institutions, to Scottish society."

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Peer-review 'needs improvements'

28 July 2011 Last updated at 08:19 GMT By Daniel Boettcher BBC News The committee recommended peer-review training in particular for early-career researchers MPs have recommended improvements to the way scientific papers are checked before they are published.

The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee report said this "peer-review" process of science journals should be more transparent.

Their recommendations include making scientific data publicly available, and formal training for reviewers.

Their report also recommends the appointment of an oversight body to ensure integrity in science research.

"Peer-reviewed" has become a byword for "scientifically sound and approved", but complaints have arisen in recent years that the process can sometimes work to suppress radical new ideas, and can fail to catch fraudulent research.

The committee said ethical and scientific misconduct damages peer-review and science as a whole, referring to examples like the MMR controversy.

Dr Andrew Wakefield, who suggested a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, was struck off the medical register by the General Medical Council last year after it found him guilty of serious professional misconduct over the way he carried out his research.

'Broader impact'

MPs want to see more consistent training for those involved in the review process, particularly for researchers in the early stages of their careers. In addition, they say appropriate use of internet tools could allow broader scrutiny of new research.

"Innovative approaches - such as the use of pre-print servers, open peer-review, increased transparency and online repository-style journals - should be explored by publishers," their report said.

The chair of the committee, Andrew Miller MP told BBC News: "The vast majority of science undertaken in this country is done with a high degree of integrity and the peer-review process broadly speaking is working well but we feel that improvements can be made."

One of the report's findings was that the oversight of research integrity was unsatisfactory. The MPs recommend that there should be an external regulator to deal with suspected cases of ethical misconduct, though the committee accepts that these are rare.

Mr Miller said: "It's not a case of how many times mistakes get made and how many times things slip through the net.

"It's the potential seriousness of errors or fraudulent activity that should cause us concern, and principally we need to think not just about the individual incident but the broader impact on public confidence in science."

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Funding cuts for PhDs and Masters

27 July 2011 Last updated at 16:34 GMT By Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporter The research councils say tough financial decisions are necessary Hundreds of funded PhD and Masters places have been scrapped, figures obtained by Labour indicate.

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is cutting the number of PhDs it funds by 1,002 from 2,902 in 2010-11 to 1,900 in 2011-12.

Similarly, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) is cutting funded Masters courses from 607 to 490.

The figures were given in response to a parliamentary question by shadow universities minister Gareth Thomas.

The data shows the National Environmental Research Council (NERC) will no longer provide funding for the 285 Masters places it funded in 2010-11.

However, it will increase the number of funded PhD places by five from 325 in 2010-11 to 330 in 2011-12.

The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) is also reducing its PhD places, from 730 to 660 over the same period.

'Devastating'

The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is cutting PhD places from 555 in 2010-11 to 530 in 2011-12, but it is maintaining funded Masters places at 110.

Mr Thomas said: "These cuts in PhD and Masters places will have a devastating and profound impact on the range, depth and quality of advanced research, innovation and study taking place in Britain's universities.

"These cuts are a direct result of the government making the wrong choices on university and science funding and will mean the brightest and best will be tempted to go abroad just when we need their groundbreaking research to help foster innovation and fund new economic growth.

"These cuts come on top of university teaching funding having been axed by 80%, investment in world class research facilities set to drop by 40% and a 10% real terms drop in science funding all over the next three years."

A spokeswoman from the EPSRC said the council had stopped funding project studentships.

"We did this in order to prioritise the quality of the PhD experience in a broader environment, mainly through greater cohort-based training as they are particularly sought after by academia and business due to their employability, quality and potential impact.

"Tough financial choices means the current level of students supported is not sustainable."

Resources cut

A spokeswoman from the ESRC said the funding of 730 PhD places in 2010-11 was "an all-time high", with the council funding on average 600 students.

She added: "It is true that we are reducing the numbers, but 600 a year is a fairly substantial number and we have had to think hard about the number of studentships we are able to maintain when resources are being cut."

A spokesman for the BBSRC said the reduction in funded PhD places meant the council would be providing a "higher level of research support costs" for students.

The NERC said: "Masters training remains important for the UK - as a stepping stone into a research career, for discipline-hopping and in providing key skills for the economy.

"However it is increasingly funded by users, and by students themselves as an investment in their careers, and NERC plays only a small role in the wider masters training landscape.

"Future postgraduate support beyond 2010-11 will be dependent on a review of our postgraduate training mechanisms."

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Teachers' anger at pension cost

28 July 2011 Last updated at 16:07 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Teachers staged a strike in the summer term over pensions Teachers' unions have raised the prospect of further industrial action amid angry responses to proposals for higher pension contributions.

"Members have taken strike action before to defend their pensions and will do so again," said NUT leader Christine Blower.

The proposals mean that an experienced teacher earning ?35,000 per year would contribute an extra ?341 per year.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the plans are "fair and sustainable".

Along with other public sector workers, teachers are being given details of proposed changes to how much money they will have to pay into their pension scheme.

For teachers in the most typical pay band - ?32,000 to ?39,999 per year - contributions will rise from 6.4% to 7.6%.

'Last straw'

But the announcement has prompted an angry response from teachers' unions, who reject the government's plans for public sector pensions.

They have argued that teachers are being forced to pay for the banking crisis and deficit.

Continue reading the main story

It is right that we ask public sector employees to pay more towards their pension to ensure they are affordable for future generations of teachers”

End Quote Nick Gibb Schools Minister "It has nothing to do with the affordability or sustainability of teachers' pensions, it is a tax on teachers to pay for the mistakes of others," said Russell Hobby, general secretary of the NAHT head teachers' union.

"The proposed increase in pension contributions is about plugging the hole in the deficit created by the banking crisis, it's not about making the pension scheme affordable in the long term," added Malcolm Trobe of the ASCL head teachers' union.

"All indications are that the teachers' scheme is already self-sufficient with contributions at the current rate."

And he warned: "This may be the last straw for the education sector."

Teachers' unions staged a one-day strike over pensions in the summer term - and last week the ATL and NUT warned of further industrial action in the autumn, if no agreement had been reached with the government.

The strike disrupted 12,000 schools in England and Wales - with teachers protesting against changes which they said would mean higher contributions, longer years of working and lower payments.

'Cynical'

In response to the details of proposed increases in contributions, the NUT general secretary, Christine Blower set out her opposition.

"Beginning a formal consultation over the political recess when there will be little chance for scrutiny will be regarded, quite rightly by teachers as a cynical move," she said.

"We cannot allow this ruthless dismantling of our public sector pensions to go ahead."

ATL general secretary Mary Bousted said: "It's clear that the proposed contribution increases are simply a way of raising money from teachers and lecturers to go to the Treasury, not towards pensions. We don't think this tax on teachers is fair."

Chris Keates, leader of the NASUWT, said it was "grossly unjust" that teachers would be paying through their penions an "additional tax for a financial crisis they did not create".

'Fairer balance'

The Department for Education has set out how pension changes would affect contributions by a range of teaching staff.

It shows that a newly-qualified teacher, earning ?21,000 per year, would pay an extra ?126 per year.

But because pension contributions are taken before income tax is deducted, the department calculates that these entry-level teachers in effect would pay ?103 more per year.

A head teacher earning ?100,000 per year, on this calculation including income tax, would pay an extra ?1,206.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb promised that "the Teachers' Pension Scheme will remain one of the very best available in the public sector".

"However, people are living longer and this makes pensions more expensive. Lord Hutton made it clear that there needs to be a fairer balance between what employees and taxpayers contribute towards public service pensions," said Mr Gibb.

"It is right that we ask public sector employees to pay more towards their pension to ensure they are affordable for future generations of teachers."

Proposed changes for teachers' pensions, 2012-2013:

Increased contribution (net of tax relief)

Source: DFE

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Family 'well-being' to be measured

25 July 2011 Last updated at 13:56 GMT Connections with friends and family can contribute to an individual's well-being, the survey found People in the UK believe their well-being should be measured in terms of health, friends and family and job satisfaction, according to a report.

The Office for National Statistics launched a five-month debate on the question, what matters to you?

More than 34,000 people gave their views, which will help statisticians create the UK's first set of national well-being indicators by the autumn.

It is hoped the "happiness index" will complement other measures such as GDP.

Understanding society

The ONS said common themes to emerge from the debate were health, good connections with friends and family, job satisfaction and economic security, present and future conditions of the environment, and education and training.

The findings of the debate, which began last November and took in responses online and through 175 events across the country, should help inform the ONS as it develops national well-being indicators.

Continue reading the main story

We are working with international partners in developing measures of well-being that will paint a fuller picture of our societies”

End Quote Jil Matheson National statistician National statistician Jil Matheson said these would need to be "reliable and impartial and improve our understanding of the UK's society".

She said the response to the debate had been "huge and thoughtful".

"However, this is not just about holding a debate it is about finding robust ways to measure how society is doing, to complement GDP and other measures of economic growth.

"As we work up measures of national well-being and progress, we will continue to share our ideas."

She said the UK was not alone in wanting to develop better measures of national well-being.

"We are working with international partners in developing measures of well-being that will paint a fuller picture of our societies."

Aileen Simpkins, who is working on the ONS's national well-being programme, said people had told them health, relationships and job satisfaction mattered most to their well-being.

But other factors which played a part included how we connect up as part of a society, she told BBC Radio 4's The World At One.

"So our sense of national well-being, it's got to include equality, it's got to look at the distribution of good and bad experiences between different groups of people and it's got to look at sustainability... and there's also something about locality - things that you can find out about local areas, like access to green spaces and the sense of community cohesion."

Happiness and anxiety

Since April, the ONS has also been asking about 200,000 people to rate their life satisfaction on a scale of zero to 10.

Other questions are around their levels of happiness, anxiety, and how worthwhile things they do in life are.

The first annual results will be available in July 2012.

Ms Simpkins said these results would show how feelings of happiness and anxiety differed between groups such as the young and old, the employed and the unemployed.

"There's clearly an appetite in the government to have access to that kind of information and start using it in developing policies and testing policies to see what sort of impact things really have," she said.

Prime Minister David Cameron, launched the plan for a "happiness index" last year, insisting it was not "woolly".

He said economic growth remained the most "urgent priority" but he wanted a better measure of how the country was doing than GDP.

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Students 'should study overseas'

27 July 2011 Last updated at 10:44 GMT By Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporter David Willetts wants to see students being able to study at overseas campuses of English universities More students from England should be able to study abroad, says the Universities Minister David Willetts.

He said it should be easier for English students to gain credits towards their degree while studying overseas.

There should be "greater mutual recognition" of qualifications between countries, he suggested.

With many students in England facing tuition fees of ?9,000 a year from 2012, study at foreign universities could become more popular.

Speaking at a Westminster Education Forum event on higher education, Mr Willetts, minister for universities in England, said: "I would like to see British universities with more of a presence abroad.

"I would like to see them be able to raise enough funds to set up more operations abroad.

"I would like to see greater mutual recognition of qualifications so that a student born in Britain can build up credits for a British degree while studying abroad.

"And that may be a way in which we see rather more British students studying abroad."

Such a move could see more students working towards their degree while studying at a foreign university or an overseas campus of an English institution.

Martin Davidson, chief executive of the British Council, said the reality of globalisation was that education was borderless.

"Supporting outward mobility is as important an economic investment as investing the infrastructure of the UK," he said.

"Not only does this build cultural fluency, the ability to work in differing environments, but it also generates wide networks that form the basis of long term partnerships."

University fee waivers

The Westminster Education Forum was also addressed by the National Union of Students.

President Liam Burns expressed concern that fee waivers, which reduce tuition fees for students from low-income families, were "an elaborate con trick and a national disgrace".

Mr Burns said ministers had a vested interest in fee waivers to keep government borrowing down - the state pays the fees initially until students start repayments once they are earning ?21,000 or more.

He also said universities were turning to reduced fees for poorer students rather than "cash in their pockets", in the form of bursaries.

"The government has a vested interest in them because they help to subsidise the treasury, and institutions have a vested interest in them because they help to make the sticker price look higher than the real price and thus play as trumps in the games of prestige that so contaminate our system.

"I want to see solid evidence that waivers have an effect on the choices of those from the poorest background. Until we do, far from being encouraged, they should be banned."

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Watchdog condemns abuse response

18 July 2011 Last updated at 22:23 GMT Abuse of people living at the home was brought to light by BBC Panorama

A health watchdog has reported a "systemic failure to protect people" at a hospital where alleged abuse was secretly filmed by the BBC.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its findings after an inspection of Winterbourne View near Bristol.

The review was ordered after BBC Panorama filmed patients being pinned down, slapped and taunted.

Police said they had arrested a 12th person in connection with the inquiry.

The Panorama programme was contacted by whistleblower Terry Bryan who alerted the BBC with his concerns about some staff.

Mr Bryan, a senior nurse, acted after his concerns were not followed up by the home's management or the CQC.

'Appalling misconduct'

The CQC report on Winterbourne View found owners Castlebeck Care had failed to ensure residents living at the unit were adequately protected from risk, including the risks of unsafe practices by its own staff.

It said: "There was a systemic failure to protect people or to investigate allegations of abuse.

"The provider had failed in its legal duty to notify the Care Quality Commission of serious incidents including injuries to patients or occasions when they had gone missing."

Inspectors also noted staff did not appear to understand the needs of the people in their care and said "some staff were too ready to use methods of restraint without considering alternatives".

Winterbourne View was closed down in June.

The CQC's director of operations Amanda Sherlock said that, following the investigation, it was clear the abuse was far worse than they were warned of by Mr Bryan.

Winterbourne View, which had 24 patients, was closed down last month

She claimed that Castlebeck had "misled" the CQC, and if officials had known about what was taking place they "could have taken action earlier".

In response to the CQC report, Castlebeck's Chief Executive, Lee Reed, said: "We are truly sorry for the failures which led to the terrible mistreatment suffered by patients at Winterbourne View.

"As soon as the company was made aware of the appalling misconduct of staff at Winterbourne View, we alerted the police and other relevant authorities.

"We then took immediate remedial steps to safeguard the welfare of all our service users. This work is ongoing, and is our absolute priority."

The latest person to be arrested is a 27-year-old man from the South Gloucestershire area.

Police said he had been arrested under the Mental Capacity Act and had been released on police bail.

Eleven other people, eight men and three women, previously arrested remain on police bail pending further inquiries.

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Chilly response for school 'snow kits' plan

21 July 2011 Last updated at 05:45 GMT By Nick Dermody BBC Wales News Cardiff schools are being asked to buy snow kits so they can be 'resilient' when temperatures plummet Cardiff council is asking schools and community groups to buy ?1,600 "snow kits" so they can help themselves in freezing weather.

Head teachers have until Friday to put in orders for the kits - two gritting bins and a spreader machine.

A teaching union said schools do not have the spare cash while city GPs said "buckets and shovels" were cheaper.

The council said the kits would improve school and community "resilience" in bad weather "until assistance arrives".

Last winter's big freeze saw the coldest December temperatures in Cardiff for more than 100 years.

In December last year, Cardiff saw its worst snow fall since 1983 and the council's response was criticised.

The snow brought disruption to transport and services across the city and saw dozens of its 130 schools close their doors.

Continue reading the main story

Mini gritters sound like a good idea but at ?1,600 each it's unlikely that our schools will find any slack in their already stretched budgets”

End Quote Anna Brychan NAHT Cymru But the first week in January, it was gritting only principal roads in the city.

The council later held an independent review in to its response.

The review recommended the council draw up a Winter Maintenance Action Plan, including the design and costing of a "snow kit" for schools.

But the snow kits idea has received short shrift from the headteachers union NAHT Cymru.

Anna Brychan, director of the National Association of Head Teachers in Wales, said her members would have the headache of finding space for the equipment for the "360 days of the year when they would be standing idle".

She said: "Mini gritters sound like a good idea but at ?1,600 each it's unlikely that our schools will find any slack in their already stretched budgets to pay for them.

The heavy snowfall disrupted traffic across Cardiff last winter

"Most of our members spend an average of ?150 on grit to see them through the winter weather and, unless there are plans I'm unaware of to markedly boost the financial circumstances of Cardiff's schools by this Friday, then I suspect this arrangement will have to do as usual."

The snow kits ideas has also been floated to a number of community groups in the city, including GP surgeries.

BMA Cymru Wales spokesman John Jenkins said: "This proposal raises several issues. Where would these machines be housed within GP surgeries?

"Who would pay for them and would the ?1,600 be value for money? Buckets and shovels come to mind and are much cheaper."

'Safety and wellbeing'

Cardiff council said Friday's deadline was in place due to the summer holiday period.

A spokesperson said: "The action plan identifies a number of measures for improving the resilience of the council and communities to future snow events as the council want to deliver a service that robustly deals with any potential extreme weather.

"This policy is in line with the Local Government Group Civil Emergencies Strategy Document which recognised 'resilience at community level is crucial to maintaining safety and wellbeing, with communities and individuals harnessing local resources and expertise to help themselves.'"

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Wales school ratings 'not tables'

14 July 2011 Last updated at 11:30 GMT School league tables were scrapped in Wales in 2001 Comprehensive schools in Wales will be placed into performance bands from this autumn.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews said the grouping of schools is not about "naming and shaming or creating a divisive league table".

It will help ensure resources are directed to schools who need them most, he said.

Unions are opposed to school league tables being reintroduced in Wales, but have welcomed the banding alternative.

Unlike league tables ranking the best school down to the worst, banding is expected to group schools into just four or five bands, measured on the level of support needed.

Mr Andrews said the bands will be a tool for driving improvement.

"The national school banding system is a tool to help us be effective in driving improvement across the board," he said.

Promise

Continue reading the main story

The proof of the pudding will be in the extra support that schools will receive to improve their performance”

End Quote Philip Dixon Association of Teachers and Lecturers Cymru "The most important aspect of banding will be the support, challenge and sharing of best practice that follow."

"It is about grouping our schools according to a range of factors to establish priorities for differentiated support and identifying those from whom the sector can learn."

Anna Brychan, director of the National Association of Headteachers Cymru, said: "We welcome the fact that the minister is making clear that the purpose of the banding system is to identify the level of support and challenge required by individual schools to help them achieve what we all want.

"There is now a climate of expectation out there in our schools that this process will provide level of expert, accessible and specialist support for schools that many find hard to find now, and that this will be available consistently and to an equally high standard across the country.

"We very much hope that this promise can be realised."

Dr Philip Dixon, director of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Cymru, said they were prepared to give a cautious welcome to the banding proposals and to accept the minister's assurances.

"However, the proof of the pudding will be in the extra support that schools will receive to improve their performance," he said.

"The success or otherwise of the school banding proposals will be judged on that."

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Northern Ireland fee 'no increase'

14 July 2011 Last updated at 12:34 GMT There will be no large increases in university tuition fees for students starting courses in 2012, the first and deputy first ministers have confirmed.

They said the fees would only rise in line with inflation.

Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson said they had yet to work out how to take money from other departments to pay for the ?40m shortfall.

They said they would look for the mechanism which caused least pain to other government departments.

The ministers said they should have worked out a method of finding more money and protecting the universities by the time of the next executive meeting in September.

"We believe as an executive that we can deal with the implications of that vis-a-vis the funding," Mr McGuinness said.

Last week Employment and Learning Minister Stephen Farry tabled a paper for a Northern Ireland Executive meeting suggesting a number of options on fees, but it was not discussed.

Capping the fees at ?3,200 a year plus inflation was considered the most likely option to be adopted.

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Spelling mistakes 'cost millions'

14 July 2011 Last updated at 01:09 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Customer spending on a website can be cut in half by a spelling mistake, says an online businessman An online entrepreneur says that poor spelling is costing the UK millions of pounds in lost revenue for internet businesses.

Charles Duncombe says an analysis of website figures shows a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half.

Mr Duncombe says when recruiting staff he has been "shocked at the poor quality of written English".

Sales figures suggest misspellings put off consumers who could have concerns about a website's credibility, he says.

The concerns were echoed by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), whose head of education and skills warned that too many employers were having to invest in remedial literacy lessons for their staff.

Written word

Mr Duncombe, who runs travel, mobile phones and clothing websites, says that poor spelling is a serious problem for the online economy.

Charles Duncombe says poor spelling is costing the economy millions

"Often these cutting-edge companies depend upon old-fashioned skills," says Mr Duncombe.

And he says that the struggle to recruit enough staff who can spell means that this sector of the economy is not as efficient as it might be.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics published last month showed internet sales in the UK running at ?527m per week.

"I know that industry bemoaning the education system is nothing new but it is becoming more and more of a problem with more companies going online.

"This is because when you sell or communicate on the internet, 99% of the time it is done by the written word."

Mr Duncombe says that it is possible to identify the specific impact of a spelling mistake on sales.

He says he measured the revenue per visitor to the tightsplease.co.uk website and found that the revenue was twice as high after an error was corrected.

"If you project this across the whole of internet retail, then millions of pounds worth of business is probably being lost each week due to simple spelling mistakes," says Mr Duncombe, director of the Just Say Please group.

Spelling is important to the credibility of a website, he says. When there are underlying concerns about fraud and safety, then getting the basics right is essential.

Continue reading the main story

When a consumer might be wary of spam or phishing efforts, a misspelt word could be a killer issue”

End Quote William Dutton Oxford Internet Institute "You get about six seconds to capture the attention on a website."

When recruiting school and university leavers, Mr Duncombe says too many applications have contained spelling mistakes or poor grammar.

"Some people even used text speak in their cover letter," he says.

Even among those who appeared to be able to spell, he says that a written test, without access to a computer spellchecker, revealed further problems with spelling.

William Dutton, director of the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, says that in some informal parts of the internet, such as Facebook, there is greater tolerance towards spelling and grammar.

"However, there are other aspects, such as a home page or commercial offering that are not among friends and which raise concerns over trust and credibility," said Professor Dutton.

"In these instances, when a consumer might be wary of spam or phishing efforts, a misspelt word could be a killer issue."

James Fothergill, the CBI's head of education and skills, said: "Our recent research shows that 42% of employers are not satisfied with the basic reading and writing skills of school and college leavers and almost half have had to invest in remedial training to get their staff's skills up to scratch.

"This situation is a real concern and the government must make the improvement of basic literacy and numeracy skills of all school and college leavers a top priority."

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'Slips to blame' for exam errors

14 July 2011 Last updated at 00:28 GMT By Hannah Barnes Radio 4's The Report Ofqual head Glenys Stacey is looking at what went wrong with some exam papers this summer The exams watchdog claims that a lapse in due process was "an issue in more than one of the errors" in this year's public examinations.

Ofqual is investigating mistakes by the five exam boards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which led to 10 errors in exam papers.

Ofqual mandates that a scrutineer must work through each question paper first.

Referring to initial findings, Ofqual said: "It does look on the face of it as if someone hasn't done their job."

An exam paper is first written by a principal examiner. It is then revised and rewritten with any changes implemented.

The paper is then discussed by an examining team in detail, for one to two days, before being typeset and made available to the team for proofreading and checking.

A scrutineer is then meant to sit the paper, as if he or she was a candidate.

These appear to be rigorous procedures.

Failure of process

However, the nature and number of mistakes this summer has prompted many to ask whether there has been a fundamental break-down in the examinations system.

Continue reading the main story

We do expect to find examples here of where people simply haven't done their jobs properly, because it's an issue in more than one of the errors that we're talking about”

End Quote Glenys Stacey Chief executive, Ofqual The mistakes range from incorrectly labelled diagrams in geography to impossible to answer maths and physics questions, and a biology multiple choice question which contained only the wrong answers.

Exam board employees are contractually not allowed to give interviews to the media.

This stems from the necessity of not revealing the contents of exam papers, but in practice it stops examiners discussing any element of the workings of their organisations.

However, one principal examiner who has worked for two of England's three boards (OCR, AQA and Edexcel) for 20 years agreed to speak to the BBC anonymously:

"To give the example of the biology paper, the multiple choice question with the correct answer missing: I can see how the process could let that happen up to a certain point, because the focus is going to be on the so-called distracters, the wrong answers in the multiple choice, because these must be potentially feasible."

"But it should never have got past the scrutiny process," she added.

"If someone does the paper, then the fact that the right answer isn't there will immediately be apparent. And the only thing I can think happened there is that the scrutiny process wasn't done properly."

The BBC has spoken to a number of principal and chief examiners who say that scrutineers are not always adhering to the rules.

One Edexcel employee said "I know of those who have done a close proof read and that's it".

Mark Davies, director of studies at St Albans School and a former principal examiner, says this is also the case for the OCR awarding organisation.

Asked specifically whether a scrutineer was meant to sit the paper as a candidate would, he replied: "No, they look through the paper and they review it".

'Quality control'

Ofqual has confirmed to the BBC that it will look at what the examination boards expect of scrutineers in its ongoing inquiry.

Chief executive Glenys Stacey insisted that there is a clear requirement that they "work the paper", or carry out a dry run under controlled conditions to ensure that all questions are possible within the given time.

"Preliminary evidence would suggest that that hasn't worked, and it hasn't worked well in every case and we do want to have a look at that very closely indeed," she said.

The measurement mistake in this A-level physics exam is just one of many in this year's test papers

"We do expect to find examples here of where people simply haven't done their jobs properly because it's an issue in more than one of the errors that we're talking about."

OCR spokesperson Rebecca Birkett-Smith told the BBC that OCR "follows Ofqual's Code of Practice on the preparing of question papers".

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's The Report, Ms Stacey revealed that other weaknesses in the exam-setting process have also emerged, including the making of late changes to a paper before it is sent out to schools and colleges.

"Papers are honed up over a period of time. But if there are changes to papers we want to make sure that quality controls checks happen and that things come out right.

"A second area that we've identified is the arrangement for the printing of papers because we've seen a number of shortcomings there."

Ofqual hopes to publish interim findings in October, and a final report by December.

You can hear the full investigation on the The Report on Thursday 14 July at 2000 BST on BBC Radio 4. Listen again via the BBC iPlayer or download the podcast.

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Teachers are given new standards

14 July 2011 Last updated at 17:11 GMT There should be a single set of standards for all teachers, the review recommends New professional standards for teachers in England say they must show tolerance and respect for the rights of others and not undermine "fundamental British values".

They will come in from September next year, following an independent review of the skills teachers should have.

The government says they are a key part of continuing to raise standards in teaching.

Teachers say the standards are vague and another stick to beat them with.

But head teachers have welcomed them.

The new rules say teachers must "uphold public trust in the profession" and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour in and out of school.

They "must not undermine fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs".

It adds that teachers should make sure their personal beliefs "are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils' vulnerability or might lead them to break the law".

The government says it is replacing an "old, ambiguous and vague system" with new standards which are "practical and clear about the competencies that all teachers should have".

It says the standards will help head teachers assess teachers' performance; make it clear that teachers need to be able to tackle bad behaviour and "are able to teach the core basics of reading and writing, including understanding systematic synthetic phonics".

The Education Secretary Michael Gove had previously complained that it was too difficult for head teachers to get rid of poor teachers.

Classroom practice

Sally Coates, the principal of Burlington Danes School in west London, chaired the review on which the standards are based.

She said: "Nothing has more impact on a child's achievement than the quality of teaching they receive and in the new standards for teachers we have prioritised the importance of classroom practice and subject knowledge.

Continue reading the main story

The new standards are vague, poorly drafted, lack clarity, are open to wide interpretation... and will simply serve as a stick with which to beat teachers”

End Quote Chris Keates NASUWT "I hope the review's recommendations will ensure the benchmark for entry to the profession is rigorous and firmly based in teaching."

The new guidance lists eight standards for teaching and three for personal and professional conduct, replacing longer lists.

Those relating to teaching say teachers must set high expectations of pupils; show good subject knowledge; plan and teach well-structured lessons; promote good progress among pupils; adapt their teaching to meet the needs of all pupils; make good use of assessment; manage behaviour and fulfil their wider responsibilities to school life.

Those about conduct say teachers should maintain high levels of ethics and behaviour; have proper regard for the practices of their school, including good attendance and punctuality and be aware of and act within guidelines on their professional duties.

Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT teachers' union, said: "Professional standards for teachers are about defining appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding. However, the new standards conflate and confuse these with a code of conduct, demonstrating the punitive mindset this coalition has towards teachers.

"The new standards are vague, poorly drafted, lack clarity, are open to wide interpretation, will breed confusion and uncertainty and will simply serve as a stick with which to beat teachers."

Christine Blower, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said some of the recommendations covered essential skills and knowledge needed for teaching - but that standards on these already existed.

The Association of School and College Leaders - representing heads - said the new standards were "a welcome foundation on which to build better practice".

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No-warning school behaviour check

14 July 2011 Last updated at 16:23 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Inspectors are going to try out spot checks on schools from the autumn School inspectors in England are to carry out unannounced visits where there are concerns about behaviour.

Education watchdog Ofsted is to begin a pilot test of such "no notice" inspections in the autumn.

The government's adviser on behaviour, Charlie Taylor, says there have been claims of schools "covering up" behaviour problems during inspections.

Head teachers said the idea that schools might try to hide badly-behaved pupils was "ridiculous".

The inspections without warning would be for schools rated as "satisfactory" where behaviour had been identified as a weakness.

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, attacked the plans as being based on the assumption that "schools have something to hide".

"This pilot smacks of a culture which seeks to catch schools out, rather than make an informed judgement based on professional assessment.

"The suggestion that schools are somehow able to 'hide' badly behaved children from inspections with the current notice period of one or two days is ridiculous. Any inspection team worth its salt would uncover such an approach in minutes."

'Clearer picture'

But Mr Taylor, the government's expert adviser on behaviour, said: "We hear stories of schools covering up behaviour issues when Ofsted visits. I welcome this trial as it will help to see the extent of this practice."

Ofsted says that it will begin testing the value of spot checks where there are concerns that behaviour is a weakness.

"The trial will help determine whether unannounced visits are workable and give a clearer picture of behaviour in schools," says an Ofsted statement.

Ofsted's chief inspector, Miriam Rosen, said: "Where behaviour is poor, young people are being denied the quality of education they deserve.

"As we develop our new inspection plans we are determined to get the focus on this right.

"By testing out unannounced monitoring visits, we will see if there is even more we can do to help schools address behaviour problems."

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Heads say Sats marking 'erratic'

14 July 2011 Last updated at 13:51 GMT By Katherine Sellgren BBC News education reporter Teachers have described the marking of Sats test in English as "erratic" and "bizarre" More than 1,000 head teachers in England have raised concerns about problems in the marking of this year's primary school Sats tests.

A survey by the National Association of Head Teachers found 1,025 heads were unhappy with the marking of one of the English papers taken by 11-year-olds.

The association carried out the survey after angry complaints from schools about the quality of marking.

The Department for Education says test markers are fully trained.

The accuracy of the Sats results is important to both schools and pupils - as they are used to rank schools for league tables and can influence the ability bands for pupils beginning in secondary school.

The NAHT sent out the survey to 10,000 members last week and the full results will be collated on 15 July when the poll closes.

It said the response to the survey had been "unusually strong".

Before the closing date for the survey, 129 head teachers had reported "mild" problems, 384 "moderate" problems, 350 "severe" problems and 162 "outrageous" problems.

'Very upset'

One head teacher said: "The upper ability children have been marked down.

"We normally get circa 25% Level 5s. This year we have 2%. Our total Level 5s in English is now 5%."

Another school leader said: "The marking of the writing papers was erratic in the extreme.

"A vast number of papers have been under-marked according to the mark scheme, while a few have been over-marked."

Another said: "It is incomprehensible to us how five pupils, clearly working at Level 5 all year and demonstrating their skills well in the test, have been marked so harshly on the longer writing task.

"The application of the mark scheme seems erratic at best and bizarre in some places."

The BBC has also received dozens of e-mails from heads angry at "inconsistencies" in marking.

The concerns centre on a section of the English test, where pupils are asked to produce a piece of creative writing - an area which has attracted complaints in recent years.

A recent review called for this part of the test to be scrapped and replaced by teacher assessment.

NAHT general secretary Russell Hobby said although the survey did not include the experience of all schools, the association believed it was representative.

"Head teachers are very upset about the marking," he said.

"They and their students have put in an immense amount of work and it's not then rewarded with a level of quality at the other end.

"Students and schools depend on these results and we expect a high standard. They are finding a lot of inaccuracies: students that they would have expected to get high or low marks not getting them - and a lot of inconsistencies."

Head teachers have until Friday 15 July to request a formal review if they wish to question the marks given.

Schools pay ?9 per returned script and get the money back if their appeal is successful.

Quality checks

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: "Children have the right to have their papers fairly marked. Key Stage 2 test markers, who are practising or retired teachers, receive thorough training and undergo a number of quality checks through the marking process.

"Ofqual regulates Key Stage 2 tests and has said it they will continue to monitor and safeguard the quality of marking.

"We are currently considering Lord Bew's recommendations as to how we can improve our testing and assessment system."

He said details of the total number of requests for remarks would be published later in the year as official statistics.

Last year, the NAHT, along with the National Union of Teachers, was involved in a boycott of Sats - action which affected about a quarter of England's schools.

The unions said the tests did not give a true picture of pupils' attainment, encouraged teaching to the test and put pupils under pressure.

The English Sats paper has attracted criticism in the past - and generally accounts for most of the requests for re-marks.

Figures published in November on appeals against last year's Sats results showed there were requests for "reviews" of 23,438 test scripts - mostly for English.

In about one in 10 cases, a new grade was given.

In 2009, appeals covered more than 27,000 papers at 5,000 schools.

Again, a higher grade was eventually given in about one in 10 cases.

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Tougher truancy guidance launched

12 July 2011 Last updated at 16:25 GMT The number of "persistently absent" truants is recorded in a school’s performance The way in which pupils in England are judged to be "persistent truants" is being tightened from October.

The Department for Education is changing the definition of "persistent absence" from missing 20% of lessons to missing 15%.

Ministers say while 184,000 pupils miss 20% of lessons, more than 430,000 miss 15% of lessons a year - the equivalent of having a month off school a year.

Teachers' unions say the new threshold will not tackle the roots of truancy.

The Department said there was clear evidence of a link between poor attendance and low levels of achievement, with only 3% of pupils who miss more than 50% of school getting the benchmark of five GCSEs at grade A* to C, including English and maths.

Of those who missed between 10% and 20%, only 35% managed to achieve the benchmark.

The government said for pupils who missed less than 5% of school, 73% achieved five A* to Cs, including English and maths.

Anti-social behaviour

Government adviser on behaviour in schools Charlie Taylor said: "As a teacher, I know how the poor attendance of pupils can disrupt their own learning and that of other pupils.

Continue reading the main story

Publication of yet more raw figures will simply enable misleading conclusions to be drawn.”

End Quote Brian Lightman Association of School and College Leaders "Quickly these children begin to fall behind their friends and often fail to fill in gaps in their skills or knowledge - sometimes in basics like reading or writing.

"Over time these pupils can become bored and disillusioned with education. These pupils are lost to the system, and can fall into anti-social behaviour and crime. That is why it is vital schools tackle absenteeism."

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: "By changing the threshold on persistent absence, we are encouraging schools to crack down on persistent absenteeism.

"We will be setting out over the coming months stronger powers for schools to use if they wish to send a clear message to parents that persistent absence is unacceptable."

'Ineffective replacement'

The Association of School and College Leaders said arbitrary targets for persistent absence would not help to address the complex problem of truancy.

ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman said: "This is another example of using accountability targets as an ineffective replacement for effective strategies to address the issues. Publication of yet more raw figures will simply enable misleading conclusions to be drawn.

"Dealing with the very small core of pupils who persistently truant, and whose parents condone this, requires perseverance, investment and a real commitment to cross-agency collaboration."

He added: "One issue with the government's definition of persistent absence is that it includes young people with long-term health problems and disabilities who may well be in hospital or unable to attend for medical reasons.

"Setting arbitrary targets will only discourage schools from taking on additional pupils with serious medical issues, as those schools that do will be unjustly labelled and blamed."

Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said reducing the percentage at which persistent absence was identified would not make schools take action more effectively.

"In some areas intervention programmes, where education social workers, schools and the police work together to engage young people to ensure that their attitude to school is changed and that their parents are involved in supporting good attendance, have had very positive results.

"This kind of longer term intervention may be more expensive initially, but in the longer term is far more cost effective in ensuring that all children and young people attend school and achieve well."

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£9k fees at third of universities

12 July 2011 Last updated at 00:16 GMT By Hannah Richardson BBC News education reporter Protests against the fees rises ended in violence More than a third of England's universities have had their plans to charge ?9,000 for every course officially approved.

Some 58% will be allowed to charge ?9,000 for at least some courses in 2012, said the fees watchdog the Office for Fair Access.

But it also revealed that no university had been forced to cut its fees during negotiations.

Ministers said far more money would now be spent on attracting poorer students.

It comes after it was announced that eight out of 10 universities in Wales will charge maximum tuition fees of ?9,000 per year for some or all their courses.

Every university wanting to charge more than ?6,000 in fees has had to have its proposals to attract more students from disadvantaged backgrounds approved by Offa.

Known as access agreements, these include fee-waivers, bursaries and outreach activities like summer schools and targeted trips to primary and secondary schools to encourage students from disadvantaged backgrounds to apply.

Continue reading the main story

Vince Cable had stated that fees over ?6,000 would only be levied in exceptional circumstances ”

End Quote NUS President Liam Burns University fee levels are contingent on these being approved by the watchdog.

Director of Fair Access Sir Graeme Davies said the process of negotiating these agreements had been "rigorous and robust".

He added that 52 of the 141 institutions' original plans for widening access and raising fees were not challenging enough and were sent back to be re-worked.

"In some cases we were unhappy with the first draft we received but institutions responded positively," he added.

Offa said universities had improved their targets and promised to spend an extra ?21m on access measures overall, but no fee levels were reduced as a result of these negotiations.

Earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg declared that elite universities would not be given permission by Offa to charge higher fees unless they could prove more students from poorer backgrounds would get in.

Director of Fair Access Sir Graeme Davies says that financial support will be targeted to help students from poorer backgrounds

Higher fees

Offa also said that by 2015-16, universities planned to spend about ?600m on such widening participation measures. This represents about 26% of their fee income above ?6,000 in 2012 and compares to ?407m in 2011-12, Offa said.

However, it comes against the backdrop of individual students paying far more for their university education and many fear that those from lower income groups will be put off by the higher fees.

And Offa admitted that it was not yet clear how much of this would actually be spent because of uncertainty over the number and type of students who will apply to university.

Universities fees

Many vice-chancellors are already working on the assumption that demand for student places will go down.

David Barrett, Assistant Director of Fair Access, said: "The numbers are difficult because we are talking about the future and we don't exactly how students will react."

Offa added that it believed significantly fewer than half of students would be charged a net fee of ?9,000, once fee-waivers and other support were considered.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said the government was determined that no-one with the ambition and ability, whatever their background, should face barriers to accessing higher education.

"The government therefore tasked Offa with setting more demanding tests than in previous years. We are satisfied that universities and colleges are showing their determination to improve."

He pledged to monitor performance on fair access closely.

'Rubber stamping'

But the National Union of Students president Liam Burns said fee waivers were "being used in a cynical attempt to cover up the mess made when the government trebled the tuition fee cap, instead of properly supporting less-wealthy students".

He added: "Vince Cable had stated that fees over ?6,000 would only be levied in exceptional circumstances but his solemn promise has quite clearly now been left in tatters."

Gareth Thomas MP, Labour's Shadow Universities Minister said:"Not one university that increased fees to ?9,000 has been told to lower their fees and not one access agreement has been rejected, despite David Cameron and Nick Clegg's grand claims."

General secretary of the UCU lecturers' union Sally Hunt, said: "The rubber-stamping of higher fees will entrench our position as the most expensive place to study a public degree in the world.

"The new system is flawed both economically and morally and it is not right to ask the brightest brains in this country to be guinea pigs for an unfair system that has not been properly thought though."

Professor Les Ebdon, chair of university think-tank Million+ and vice-chancellor of the University of Bedfordshire, said: "The Offa figures reveal that the average fee is likely to be ?8,161 once fee waivers are taken into account.

"This is far higher than the ?7,500 predicted by ministers and reflects the impact of the coalition government's policy of cutting public investment in university teaching by 80%."

He also pointed out that universities that tended to attract lower income students were offering students help during the course of their studies rather than fee-waivers because they understood how important that was to them.

Name of university University group Min/Max fee

Central School of Speech and Drama

Conservatoire for Dance and Drama

Goldsmiths, University of London

Guildhall School of Music/Drama

Harper Adams University College

Liverpool Inst for Performing Arts

School of Oriental and African Studies

Royal Northern College of Music

Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music/Dance

University of the West of England

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Religious teaching 'under threat'

9 July 2011 Last updated at 15:52 GMT RE teachers say that religious education is being squeezed out of the school curriculum Religious education in schools is under threat, faith leaders have warned.

Leaders representing Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and Buddhists said they were "gravely concerned" about the "negative impact" that current government policies were having.

In a letter to the Daily Telegraph they called for RE to be included in the new English Baccalaureate.

The Department for Education (DfE) said the English Baccalaureate "does not stop any school offering RE GCSEs".

In the letter published in the Telegraph, faith leaders warned that a failure to act would be a "serious flaw" in David Cameron's Big Society project.

The signatories included the Rev Michael Heaney, president of Churches Together in England, and Farooq Murad, secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain.

Undermining RE

They write: "Changes to the role and capacity of local authorities, coupled with the extension of the academies programme, are in danger of undermining the nature and quality of RE."

"Also, recent policy initiatives in relation to GCSE examinations are already leading to a deterioration in the provision for RE in many secondary schools."

RE teachers recently warned that religious education could disappear from many secondary schools because of the new English Baccalaureate.

A DfE spokesman said it is compulsory for every student to study RE up to 16, adding that success in RE GCSE "continues to be recognised in the annual GCSE tables, as well as being a valuable qualification in its own right".

He said: "The English Baccalaureate does not stop any school offering RE GCSEs and we have been clear that pupils should take the GCSEs that are right for them.

Big society

"It is for teachers and parents to help pupils make the right choice. All academies and free schools must offer a broad and balanced curriculum."

The "Bacc", which was introduced last December, is a new league table measure which ranks schools according to how many pupils gain grades A*-C in GCSEs in five subject areas: English, maths, a language, science and either geography or history.

A recent survey by the National Association of Teachers of Religious Education (NATRE) found that a quarter of the state-funded schools featured in its research were not teaching RE to pupils aged from 14 to 16.

The faith leaders called on the prime minister to do more to develop "a clear strategy" for the subject.

"Failure to work with faith communities, along with their partner academic and professional associations, would represent a serious flaw in the Big Society project," they write.

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Poor 'lag' in struggling schools

10 July 2011 Last updated at 23:06 GMT Schools falling below government targets are considered to be 'underperforming' The gap between the poorest pupils and their better-off peers in struggling schools in England is wider than in other schools, research suggests.

A Sutton Trust study found pupils eligible for free school meals in schools below national standards were a third as likely to reach GCSE targets as better-off peers elsewhere.

White British pupils "seemed to pose the biggest challenge", the study said.

The government said it was targeting funds at the poorest pupils.

The trust studied 165,000 pupils in primary and secondary schools in England whose results fell below targets set by the government.

It found only 40% of these children reached expected standards at primary school, compared to 81% of children not eligible for free meals who attended schools which attained the government targets.

At secondary level, only 18% reached the target level - five A-C GCSE passes including English and maths - while 61% of their wealthier peers in schools that were not struggling reached the benchmark.

"These attainment gaps are significantly larger than the gaps between free school meals-eligible pupils in all schools and their peers who are not eligible for free school meals," the report said.

At secondary level, white British children in this category lagged behind most other major ethnic groups.

For example, they were only half as likely to reach the GCSE target as Bangladeshi children, and also lagged behind Pakistani, Black African, Caribbean and Asian pupils.

In the primary schools identified as underperforming in 2010, attainment had dropped 13% in the past three years, the study said.

'Stark reminder'

The trust is launching an Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) targeting this group of children, using ?125m of government money and income from other sources.

Continue reading the main story

It is a scandal that the results of the poorest children in the weakest primary schools have actually worsened over the last three years”

End Quote Education Secretary Michael Gove Charities, schools, local authorities and other organisations will be able to apply for funds for projects aimed at raising the attainment of the poorest children in the worst-performing schools.

The Sutton Trust says it will aim to focus support on "innovative projects and on scaling-up projects which are cost effective and have the potential to be replicated in other schools".

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the EEF and the Sutton Trust, said the research was "a stark reminder of the inequalities facing poor pupils in this country".

"Too little is known about what works in raising the achievement of the poorest pupils and it is incumbent on us... to help address this."

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "It is a scandal that the results of the poorest children in the weakest primary schools have actually worsened over the last three years."

He said the new fund, together with the pupil premium - money allocated to schools for every child they teach who is eligible for free school meals - would "ensure that more resources and expertise get to the children who need it most".

Raising standards

In June he announced that 200 of the worst-performing schools in England would be closed and reopened as academies, run independently of local authorities, in September 2012.

A further 500 schools would be targeted for conversion in the following years, he said.

He also said he planned to raise the targets for secondary schools.

At present a school is assessed as underperforming if fewer than 35% of pupils get five GCSEs at grades A* to C, including maths and English,

But the government plans to raise this to 50% by 2015.

For primary schools, the target is 60% of pupils achieving level four in English and maths in the national curriculum tests known as Sats.

Also, for either a primary or a secondary school to be considered underperforming, more pupils than the national average must be failing to make the expected amount of progress in maths and English.

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University fee increases for Wales

11 July 2011 Last updated at 15:54 GMT Universities say they are striving to ensure students from all backgrounds can still attend

Eight out of 10 universities in Wales will charge maximum tuition fees of ?9,000 per year for some or all their courses, it has been announced.

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales said every institution has had their plans to increase fees from September 2012 accepted.

Universities' initial proposals were all rejected last month.

The National Union of Students in Wales said the decision was a "sad day for higher education in Wales".

Students from Wales will have the increase in fees paid for them by the Welsh Government, which now faces a bill of around ?280m a year to finance the grants.

It is thought most Welsh students will pay roughly ?3,400 a year.

Continue reading the main story ?9,000: Cardiff, Bangor, Aberystwyth, Swansea, Glamorgan, Newport (some ?8,250), Uwic, Trinity Saint David (for undergraduate teacher training in Welsh and English)?8,500: Swansea Metropolitan (exc art & design courses, which are ?8,750)?5,850-?7,750: Glyndwr University (?6,643 average) Source: HEFCWFirst Minister Carwyn Jones said the government was confident it could pay for the tuition fees policy.

Applicants from European Union countries will also be eligible for the subsidy, though students from England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will pay the full rate.

The University and College Union (UCU) urged institutions to be cautious on how much they charge for courses.

It is concerned that charging ?9,000 a year would be off-putting for some students.

"These courses provide a lifeline to many people trying to move up the social ladder, and for them to be put off by higher fees would be disastrous," as spokesman said.

Continue reading the main story

Chad Collins is a lower sixth-former at Ysgol Gyfun Bryn Tawe, and is hoping to study physiotherapy at Cardiff University.

"I don't really mind about the fees. It's a case of whether I do well in my exams, whether I am willing to go for the degree in Cardiff. With fees. fair enough, that the Welsh Government will pay most of it, but again, it's quite daunting for most students who have a poorer background.

"At the end of the day, I'm really motivated to go to university no matter what the fees are. It's just a case of what my results are like on results day. I find that no matter what degree I do, I'll still have to pay anyway after graduation in university." He added: "The cheaper the fees, the better it is for students to be able to go from their A-Levels straight into their degree in whichever university and it will be better off for the students."

Ben Knight-Gregson is studying for a masters degree in physics at Swansea University.

"There's always going to be scholarships and bursaries and such and if you actually go out and look away from university there are many scholarships and bursaries from research institutes and different charities etc. I'm of the opinion that it's great trying to get everybody as equal an opportunity to come to university as they can, and obviously with the fees being risen that could cause an issue for some people, but I don't see what the problem is with regards trying to encourage more people from poorer backgrounds when everybody's given the opportunity to have the same financial assistance if needs be."

However, Higher Education Wales (HEW), the representative body for universities in Wales, welcomed the approval.

Director Amanda Wilkinson said: "This has been a very testing but worthwhile process.

"Universities have emerged with stronger plans to deliver for students and prospective learners from backgrounds with little tradition of going to university."

In rejecting all initial applications, HEFCW said it encouraged institutions to set more ambitious targets.

Universities were told they need to meet certain requirements, including on equal access and improving the student experience.

Professor Philip Gummett, chief executive of HEFCW said: "It is clear from the fee plans that institutions will use a high percentage of their additional income to benefit students, from bursaries for students from disadvantaged communities to investing in new technology."

The Office for Fair Access is due to announce on Tuesday whether universities in England have had their fee plans accepted.

Full amount

Based on the Welsh Government's calculations, this would see about ?50m a year of its budget going to universities in England, as students from Wales take their grants over the border.

The policy is costed on the basis of fees being ?7,000 on average.

The total cost of the policy over nine years would be ?1.5bn although this would be offset by a 35% cut to university budgets.

However, questions have been asked about its affordability if average fees are nearer ?9,000.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews said it had been a robust process but he expected the performance of universities to be monitored.

"The Welsh Government expects institutions to provide value for money, support access to higher education from under-represented groups and to deliver an excellent student experience," he said.

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