Friday, September 25, 2009
News in brief, September 2009
A summary of recent education announcements and events.
The UK government has announced children and young people identified as Gifted and Talented from poorer backgrounds will be eligible for a Scholarship of £250 to fund educational activities. The scheme will start in 2010 with those identified as Gifted and Talented and also in receipt of free school meals being targeted to receive the scholarship for up to four years. A new online catalogue of learning opportunities for G&T students available at local, regional and national levels will be opened where students can "shop" for opportunities which they feel would benefit them most.
The National College for School Leadership and Children’s Services launched a new Futures website on 9th September 2009. The website is a resource for local authorities, schools and communities focusing on learning spaces to support the Building Schools for the Future (BSF)programme. The website will be edited by the educational journalist, Merlin John.
New Healthy food standards have become regulatory for all secondary schools in England from September 1st 2009. All secondary schools will be required to make their menus meet the nutritional requirements, which became mandatory for Primary schools a year ago. "An average school lunch must include at least one portion of vegetable or salad and one portion of fruit, and also restricted amounts of fat, sugar and salt and minimum levels of nutrients such as iron, zinc, calcium and vitamins." With nutritional standards in place for all school meals the Schools Food Trust has launched a campaign to encourage all those entitled to free school meals to take them up after a survey revealed that take up rates of free school meal entitlement were 82% and 72% in Primary and Secondary schools respectively.
Changes to the rules regarding the sponsorship of Academies have been announced in England. Sponsors will no longer be required to provide £2million at the beginning of the project. Sponsors will now be required to meet criteria focusing on their leadership and organisational skills and track record rather than a financial contribution. The proposals for how Academy sponsors will be accredited will be published for consultation this autumn - the first sponsors will be selected under the new criteria in spring 2010 in time for the first academies to open in 2011. 67 new Academies opened in September 2009.
Five new Diploma courses were launched across schools in England this September taking the number of Diploma courses on offer to young people aged 14 to 19 to 10 , with another 7 planned for September 2010. The new courses are in: Environmental and Land-based Studies, Manufacturing and Product Design, Hair and Beauty Studies, Business Administration and Finance and Hospitality.
The DCSF has funded a new social networking site for parents specifically designed around individual schools. The Parents’ Schools Network is described as a "virtual school gate", where parents can gain information and share views about the schools their children attend. The site, run by Mumsnet.com and DadTalk, hosts a forum for every school, Primary and Secondary and Special Schools. To find out more visit the following site.
The number of secondary schools in England where less than 30% of pupils achieve 5 GCSEs ( A* to C, including English and Maths) now stands at 270 after schools recorded their exam results for August 2009. The figure last year was 440. The National Challenge programme was launched by the DSCF in June 2008 to focus funding and support for each school below the 30% threshold.
The General Teaching Council for England has 11 new members starting this September. They are: Sheba Joseph, Mohammed Zubair Khan, Rebecca Kroese, Nasreen Majid, Stephanie Mason, Aamer Naeem, Susan Netherton, Adam Nichols, Carl Phillips, Sally Townsend and Jason Whyborn and have been appointed for four years. Claire Craig and Janet Draper have been reappointed. The remaining members of the GTCE are; 25 members who are elected by registered teachers; nine members chosen by teacher trade unions and associations; 17 members chosen by other organisations connected with teaching. For details of the new members click here.