Universities to fight for places

28 June 2011 Last updated at 17:02 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent University students are to be promised more information and consumer power Universities in England will have to compete against each other and private providers for a quarter of their student places.

Universities Minister David Willetts has published plans to increase market forces in higher education in England.

Promising to put "students in the driving seat", he also announced there would be 20,000 places reserved for degrees with fees less than ?7,500.

Labour's Gareth Thomas said that it was "expansion on the cheap".

He told MPs that this was a "desperate drive to cut fees, no matter what the cost to quality".

The controversial plan to create extra places for privately-funded individuals has also resurfaced - on the basis that it will be restricted to those sponsored by a business or a charity.

There are also proposals to allow students to make an early repayment on their loans - a politically sensitive suggestion which raises the prospect of better-off students not paying as much as those who pay back their loans over several decades.

Private providers

Mr Willetts said the reform package would "open up the system" and "put power where it belongs - in the hands of students".

The White Paper, called Students at the Heart of the System, brings forward plans to make universities bid for a proportion of their places - and a higher proportion than had been anticipated.

This raises the prospect that some universities will lose student places - and Mr Willetts said that no government could offer a guarantee that courses or even institutions might not close as a result.

Continue reading the main story Universities to compete for extra places for pupils with AAB grades at A-level20,000 places reserved for degrees with fees of ?7,500 or lessUniversities will have to publish information about students' employment chances and salariesInspections triggered if concerns raised about teaching standardsStudent charter setting out consumer rightsWider role for private sector colleges and partnershipsFewer restrictions on "university" titleConsidering options on early loan repaymentsThis proportion of universities bidding for places is "just the start", said Mr Willetts. "We want to extend the system so more places are contestable."

From 2012, universities will be able to compete against each other in bidding for 65,000 places for students achieving AAB grades at A-level or better - rather than simply being allocated quotas, as they are now.

This will mean that universities, if they want to expand, can offer an unlimited number of places to students getting these grades, drawing them away from what might have been a second choice institution.

But this is likely to have only a marginal impact on most universities. According to an analysis by the 1994 Group of universities, the majority of universities have fewer than 5% of students with these grades.

There will also be 20,000 places allocated on the basis of "good quality" and "value for money" at institutions charging an average of?7,500 or less per year.

Since a high proportion of university degree courses are above this level, these places could be taken by an expanded private sector or courses provided through further education colleges.

Sir Steve Smith, president of Universities UK, warned that only allowing universities charging these lower fees to bid for these places "must not undermine the quality of the higher education system".

University title

In terms of improving social mobility, there had been discussion of changing the admissions system to allow applications after students knew their exam results - which previous official reports had recommended as fairer.

But a decision on this - so-called "post qualification application" - will not be considered until a review reports back next year.

The Bridge Group, a think-tank promoting social mobility through higher education, warned the White Paper could have a "negative impact" on social mobility in the long-term.

The White Paper also promises to reduce barriers to private providers entering higher education.

This includes a review of the use of the term "university" as a title.

There will also be an emphasis on improving the information available to students.

Last week the Higher Education Funding Council for England announced that universities would have to publish key information about courses, such as the average salary of former students, the cost of accommodation, teaching hours and satisfaction ratings from previous students.

The funding council will itself have a new role as a "consumer champion" for students.

There will also be plans for inspections to be triggered if there are concerns about the quality of courses or teaching standards.

But students were unimpressed by the plans.

Aaron Porter, president of the National Union of Students said: "Fees have been tripled and students have been exposed to the potential chaos of the market and yet there are still no concrete proposals for how quality, accountability and access will be improved."

The president of Oxford University Student Union, David Barclay, had earlier said: "Dressing up the White Paper with the language of student choice is like putting lipstick on a pig... Education is not a commodity to be bought and sold."

John Denham, the shadow business secretary, earlier dismissed the government's plan, saying: "It's a shambles, they're making it up as they go along."

He argued that the White Paper was an attempt by the government to get itself "off the hook" after universities set tuition fees at a higher level than expected.

Lecturers also attacked the proposals as an attempt by the government to recover from having lost control of fee levels.

"Trying to force down the cost of a degree after the government got its sums wrong will not solve the funding crisis it created," said Sally Hunt, leader of the University and College Union.

Competition on price will not affect Scottish students in Scotland's universities where there are no tuition fees. In Wales there are plans for Welsh students at Welsh universities to receive a subsidy covering increased tuition fees.

A decision on tuition fees and support for students at Northern Ireland's universities is expected in the autumn.

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Web fight on child sexualisation

6 June 2011 Last updated at 09:57 GMT Padded bras and other adult clothing aimed at young girls is a concern for some parents Parents will be able to highlight examples of child sexualisation on a new website, the prime minister has said.

The measure is among the proposals in a review on the commercialisation and sexualisation of children, from Mothers' Union boss Reg Bailey.

David Cameron also backed Mr Bailey's calls to make blocking web and mobile-phone pornography easier.

And he plans to hold a summit on progress on the issues, in October.

Retailers, advertisers, broadcasters, magazine editors, video games and music industry chiefs and regulators will be summoned to the event.

Under the changes proposed by Mr Bailey's review, steamy pop videos would be restricted to older teenagers and later television slots and magazines featuring sexualised images covered up on shelves.

'Stricter code'

And all new home internet services, laptops or mobile phones would have the option to ban adult material.

Parents would also be given more say in the television watershed guidelines.

The review coincides with stricter "good practice" guidance for shops selling children's clothing.

Mr Cameron said the report was a "giant step forward for protecting childhood and making Britain more family friendly".

"As you say, we should not try and wrap children up in cotton wool or simply throw our hands up and accept the world as it is.

"Instead, we should look to put 'the brakes on an unthinking drift towards ever greater commercialisation and sexualisation'."

Mr Cameron said many of the recommendations were for business and regulators to follow up, which was "consistent" with his government's approach.

He added the plan for a single, user-friendly website that "sets out simply and clearly what parents can do if they feel a programme, advertisement, product or service is inappropriate for their children" would be easy to implement.

Mr Bailey describes the plethora of explicit adverts, videos and television programmes as a "wallpaper of sexual images that surround children".

He says parents are worried about "the increasingly sexualised culture we live in".

Lace lingerie

He says they need more support to protect their children and "help them deal with the pressure this brings".

Continue reading the main story

It is not government's role to interfere in family life, but parents often tell me that they would like more support”

End Quote Sarah Teather Children's Minister Mr Bailey said parents did not want more legislation, they just wanted their jobs as parents to be made slightly easier.

He told the BBC: "What they really feel is they want to have the responsibility of being parents left to them but also the barriers that sometimes make parenting difficult taken away from them."

Controversial TV such as the 2010 X Factor final, which raised eyebrows with its raunchy performances from Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, complied with the broadcasting code, he pointed out.

The problem therefore lay with the code itself, he suggested.

In response to demands for restrictions on inappropriate children's clothing - including lace lingerie and push-up bras - the British Retail Consortium launched stricter guidelines [PDF 2.9MB].

The British Retail Consortium's director of public affairs, Jane Bevis, said the guidelines provided "extra reassurance for parents that these companies are just as concerned as they are about what their children wear".

Nine stores - Asda, Debenhams, Argos, John Lewis, Next, Marks & Spencer, Peacocks, Sainsbury's and Tesco - have signed up, with others being urged to participate.

Children's Minister Sarah Teather said: "It is not government's role to interfere in family life, but parents often tell me that they would like more support so that they can navigate the rapidly-changing technological and commercial world.

"Reg's review shows the way for business and government to give them this support."

Parent responsibility

Culture minister Ed Vaizey said: "We know that many parents are concerned that their children could be exposed to content that seems too adult, be it online, on TV, through adverts or in music videos.

"I welcome the collaborative way that regulators and industry have engaged with Reg Bailey.

"For our part, we are committed to consulting on whether age ratings on music videos would provide effective protection for children."

England's children's commissioner Maggie Atkinson also welcomed the report.

She said children understood the influence of commercialisation and "recognised they were under pressure to own material goods".

Director of the children's charity Kidscape, Claude Knights, said that parents also needed to take some responsibility.

"Why are these items being produced? Why are parents buying? A lot of it, really, is about education," he said.

David Thorp, director of research and information, The Chartered Institute of Marketing said: "An increased industry-parental dialogue as recommended in the review will give parents a positive increase in control and, in turn, the industry an invaluable insight to listen and respond in a measured way."

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Private schools fight charity law

17 May 2011 Last updated at 16:52 GMT Independent schools say the law is difficult for trustees to assess what they can and cannot do The independent schools sector has accused the Charity Commission of introducing "vague, uncertain, legally flawed" new rules on charitable status.

The commission brought in a new public benefit guidance test to assess whether schools are sufficiently charitable and adequately help the less well-off.

The 2006 Charities Act means they no longer have automatic charitable status and must prove their benefit.

The Independent Schools Council (ISC) is challenging the law at a tribunal.

Charitable status brings tax benefits to independent schools believed to be worth more than ?100m a year.

But independent schools say that they are offering means-tested bursaries worth over ?200m a year.

'Vague and uncertain'

The ISC was successful in its bid for a judicial review last year and the Charities Tribunal hearing - taking place at the Upper Tribunal at London's High Court - is expected to last more than a week.

The organisation, representing 1,260 schools, says the guidance is too narrow, and does not take into account all the charitable work that schools are involved in.

Nigel Giffin QC, appearing for the ISC on Tuesday, said: "We say the test of whether you have done what is reasonable or appropriate in the circumstances is so vague and so uncertain that it leaves [school] trustees wholly unable to say with a reasonable degree of certainty what they must or must not do in order to avoid any breach of trust."

As a consequence, he said, the commission "gets pulled in to second-guessing and micro-managing trustees' decisions about how to carry out their duties and run the charity".

Mr Giffin continued: "The ISC has not brought these proceedings because it thinks that widening access to independent charitable schools is a bad thing or an unimportant thing.

"It is the position of my clients that widening access is an important and valuable thing.

"The [ISC] evidence sets out in some detail the very considerable lengths the sector, taken as a whole, already goes to to widen access and engage in partnership activities.

"The practical problem that concerns many of its members is that, because of the commission's approach to what is a strict legal requirement, it has become very difficult - impossible even - for the trustees to know what they can or cannot do."

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Private schools charity law fight

17 May 2011 Last updated at 02:01 GMT By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Independent schools warn that providing bursaries could mean pushing up fees for other parents Independent schools in England and Wales are to mount a legal challenge against tighter regulations over charitable status.

The Independent Schools Council claims the requirements to show how schools offer "public benefit" are unfair.

It says the cost of offering bursaries to poorer pupils could mean higher fees and pricing out hard-pressed families.

The Charity Commission says it looks at a wider range of public benefits when assessing cases - not just bursaries.

The Charity Tribunal will be asked to clarify the disputed rules under which independent schools can retain charitable status at a hearing which begins on Tuesday.

Flexible support

The 2006 Charities Act meant that independent schools could no longer automatically claim charitable status - instead they had to demonstrate that they offered benefits to a wider public, beyond their own fee-paying pupils.

But the Independent Schools Council, representing more than 1,200 schools, has argued that the Charity Commission guidelines interpret this in too narrow a way - with too much emphasis on bursaries.

The ISC says that its key concern is about whether private schools should be obliged to provide bursaries for poorer students as a condition of keeping charitable status.

The council says that many schools already offer bursaries - but it wants schools to be allowed flexibility over how they benefit the wider community, such as sharing facilities and developing partnerships with local state schools.

It warns that requiring schools to provide bursaries could mean pushing up fees, which it says will hurt those middle-income families who are already financially-stretched.

But the Charity Commission says that it takes a wider range of factors into account when assessing public benefit - including educational work with local communities and state schools, as well as bursaries.

The Charity Commission also says that it allows up to five years for charities to meet requirements.

Last year the ISC was successful in its bid for a judicial review - and the Charities Tribunal hearing is expected to last more than a week.

The proceedings will take place alongside questions from the Attorney General about charity law and public benefit, relating to fee-charging charities.

Charitable status brings tax benefits to independent schools believed to be worth more than ?100m a year.

But independent schools say that they are offering means-tested bursaries worth over ?200m a year.

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