Wednesday, May 28, 2008
News in brief. May 2008
National and International education news of the last month.
Launch of Ofqual
The new independent regulator of qualifications and tests, Ofqual, has been launched with Kathleen Tattersall, OBE, as the Chair. Initially The Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator will be part of the QCA but legislative plans are in place to make it a fully independent organisation.
Keep up to date with education news from across Europe
A free summary of international educational news is available from NFER, published monthly Education in the News gathers news stories from around Europe, using the information network on education in Europe, Eurydice. News in this month’s issue include a report on a new Primary curriculum launched in France and Spanish government’s decision to make it a requirement for all new secondary school teachers to have a Masters Qualification and to increase the length of Primary teacher training by one year to a minimum of four years. To read more or subscribe click here
UK Council for Child Internet Safety announced as response to Byron review.
Following the Byron review, "Safer Children in a Digital World", the government accepted all of her recomendations including the proposal to establish a UK Council on Child Internet Safety by 2009. The council will actually launch in September after inviting stakeholders from the sector to join and form an action plan by the end of June.
Once up and running the Council will be responsible for developing and leading a Child Internet Safety Strategy as well as advising the government on e-safety.
The first Child Internet Safety Summit will take place in Spring 2009, hosted by Gordon Brown.
Call for UK teachers to be tested.
The Institute for public policy research has called for the testing of teachers in the Uk to remove incompetent teachers from schools. The research revealed that although all teachers in UK state schools have to be qualified , only 1 in 100 students currently fail the PGCE teaching qualification in England and Wales. After qualification teachers are not at present required to pass tests in future years.
Ofsted to judge schools on well-being of students.
Alongside the existing criteria in the future schools will be inspected on the well-being of their students by OFSTED.
To bring inspections of schools in line with the role and expectations on schools detailed in the Children’s Plan, published by the government last year, OFSTED will in future judge how well schools promote and understand the well-being of their pupils.
Plans are to bring children’s services into schools to support integrated care and support.
Personalising space.
Are learners involved enough in designing their own learning spaces?
England is undergoing a major re-build of schools and many of the new buildings have won praise for their design and impact. It is often the look and the impact which attracts the attention. How good are they as learning spaces ? Are the pedagogical needs of the building at the forefront of the design?
Futurlab are hosting a debate on these issues, focusing on the link between the learning spaces being designed and personalised learning principles. In the context of a few new schools being built for several decades in the UK Headteachers and local authority education leaders need guidance to realise what is possible and think outside if the expected school structure. Are we making the most of a once in a forty year opportunity to harness not just the technology but the imagination and the cultural ideas of the present day to create the best learning spaces for the 21st century. Who best to ask in this task than the 21st century learners themselves? Read more here.