HIGHER EDUCATION
Clawback begins: extra places will fall by half
THES - 24/05/2010
The coalition government is to cut £200 million from this year’s higher education budget, reducing by 10,000 the number of extra student places for this autumn
Equality Act 2010: Higher education sector needs to be ready
Equality Challenge Unit - 20/05/2010
Universities and higher education institutions need to prepare for new equality legislation, expected to come in to effect in October 2010.
Live long and prosper: we must work together to reform our pensions
THES - 27/05/2010
Change to the USS scheme is urgently needed to address greater life expectancy and a £17 billion shortfall
Report examines opportunities for fairer access
HEFCE - 19/05/2010
HEFCE today welcomes a report from Sir Martin Harris, Director of the Office for Fair Access (OFFA), to Government that seeks to establish what more can be done to widen access to highly selective universities
Sir Menzies Campbell to rebel over tuition fees
Telegraph - 28/05/2010
Sir Menzies Campbell, the former Liberal Democrat leader, has said he is ready to rebel against the coalition Government over university tuition fees.
Students face £40,000 debt over no limit tuition fees
Telegraph - 18/05/2010
Leading universities are calling for a rise in student tuition fees, despite claims that it would saddle graduates with debts of up to £40,000
FURTHER EDUCATION
Colleges must lead local skills planning, says 157 Group
TES FE Focus - 21/05/2010
Further education colleges should be given a formal role in leading local and regional planning on education and skills, a new paper argues
Merger a matter of survival, managers' union tells its members
TES FE Focus - 21/05/2010
College managers will vote next month on whether to join forces with the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), as the rising cost of representing members threatens their union’s survival
Schools, Sure Start and 16–19 protected in Government savings
Department for Education - 24/05/2010
Government today announced schools, Sure Start and 16-19 education spending will be protected in 2010-11 - with £670 million of in-year savings to help tackle the £156 billion deficit
Scores of colleges 'could merge' under cuts
BBC News - 27/05/2010
Up to a third of England's colleges may have to merge or work closely together in a federation in order to survive, principals are warning
Skills Funding Agency statement
Skills Funding Agency - 27/05/2010
The Government has announced that £200 million of the Train to Gain budget will be redirected to fund the delivery of 50,000 Apprenticeship places and establish a fund for college building programmes. The Skills Funding Agency will continue to administer these funds and the remaining Train to Gain budget
SCHOOLS
*Academies Bill paves the way for greater freedoms
TES - 28/05/2010
As announced in the Queen's Speech earlier this week, an Academies Bill will be the first piece of education legislation under the new Con-Lib coalition Government. The bill will enable hundreds of the country's top-performing state schools to become an academy by September
*For further information on the Academies Bill, please see: http://www.education.gov.uk/academies
Call for FoI to be extended to academies as research reveals wide use of 'pseudo' courses
TES - 21/05/2010
Think-tank wants end to secrecy after exam results are boosted by 'highly questionable' subjects
Department for Education statement on BSF
Partnerships for Schools - 17/05/2010
The Department for Education has not yet made a decision on Building Schools for the Future (BSF) funding or any other capital programmes
Education cuts to target quangos
The Guardian - 24/05/2010
Hundreds of millions of pounds will be saved in education by cutting quangos, ditching school initiatives and removing red tape, the Treasury said today
'Outstanding' schools exempted from inspection - for good
TES - 28/05/2010
Gove reveals that he will push ahead with pre-election plans for top performers to be spared ‘burden’ of Ofsted visits
Sats boycott schools won't face Ofsted cane
TES - 21/05/2010
Ofsted will not penalise schools that took part in last week’s Sats boycott as long as they can present inspectors with “robust data” on pupil progress and achievement, it has emerged
