EDUCATION
Ofsted - big, bland and bureaucratic?
BBC
28/11/2009
An examination of Ofsted's responsibilities since its remit was greatly expanded two and a half years ago. Besides responsibility for schools, it inspects childcare, local authority children's services, colleges, teacher training, adult education, work-based learning, education in prisons, recruitment and training in the Armed Forces, and the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service.
'One in four people' in education
BBC
01/12/2009
Government figures reveal there are about 14.5 million people in nursery, school, post-16 courses, vocational training or university.
Passing the check point
Solicitor's Journal
24/11/2009
Considers the impact of the new enhanced CRB checks on educational institutions.
EDUCATION - FURTHER EDUCATION
Are academies just 'a ludicrously expensive con-trick'?
Guardian
01/12/2009
Data provided in a parliamentary written answer reveals academy sponsors have paid barely two-thirds of the £145m they are supposed to have paid towards capital costs in the seven years since the first of England's 200 academies opened.
Colleges fight visa abuse offensive
Times Educational Supplement
27/11/2009
Colleges are challenging proposed new rules that would mean an effective ban on international students obtaining visas to study at further education colleges.
FE fees hike is vital to boost sector power, says skills chief
Times Educational Supplement
27/11/2009
Chris Humphries, the chief executive of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, suggests that the FE sector needs a funding overhaul and they should be focusing on generating income.
Many colleges will fail to get their new buildings
Guardian
01/12/2009
Bournville College has recently started work on a new campus after the LSC capital funding delays, but 150 other college projects face an uncertain future.
Ofsted raises the bar after college irregularities uncovered
Guardian
01/12/2009
Ofsted and the LSC are tightening inspections and guidelines after it was discovered that seven colleges had manipulated student record data to boost success rates and funding.
Private providers could save colleges under Tories
Times Educational Supplement
27/11/2009
The Conservative Party's latest further education strategy document outlines plans for failing FE colleges to be closed and new public, private or voluntary providers to apply to take them over.
EDUCATION - HIGHER EDUCATION
Cash for Anglo-American links
Times Higher Education
26/11/2009
The British Council will contribute £300,000 towards an initiative to build relationships between UK and US higher education institutions. The UK-US Higher Education New Partnerships Fund is linked to research carried out in co-operation with the US Institute of International Education earlier in the year on higher education partnerships between the two countries.
For Our Future: The 21st Century Higher Education Strategy and Plan for Wales
Welsh Assembly Government
25/11/2009
A Welsh Assembly Government higher education strategy and plan for Wales sets out the strategic direction for higher education in Wales.
Government axemen on the lookout for targets
Times Higher Education
28/11/2009
Steve Smith, president of UUK, has confirmed that the Government has asked for advice about where in the HE sector cuts can be made.
Only one in five disabled students has received vital funding
Guardian
01/12/2009
More than 12,000 disabled students have been left without vital funding for specialist equipment and to pay fees for personal helpers.
Welcome to our consumers
Times Higher Education
26/11/2009
This article considers what the future holds in the UK for private provision of higher education. It suggests that student satisfaction will be the arena where private and public universities will have to compete.
Why private universities represent good value for money
Guardian
01/12/2009
Examines the private higher education sector in the UK, with particular reference to the London branches of India's Amity university and Malaysia's Limkokwing university.
EDUCATION - SCHOOLS
Day of the door handles dawns in Ofsted safety crackdown
Times Educational Supplement
27/11/2009
Ofsted has had to revise guidance to inspectors on the safeguarding aspect of its new inspection framework, after the previous interpretation lacked clarity. It is also understood that several schools have failed inspections because of pupil safeguarding issues, such as low door handles enabling young children to leave the school, and doors being left open.
First-aid training
Education Now
25/11/2009
Outlines the changes to first-aid training courses regime from 1 October 2009.
Nativity photos 'do not break law'
Daily Telegraph
27/11/2009
The Information Commissioner has published a "myth-busting'' guide to the Data Protection Act. Typical myths include that it is against the law to take private photographs of children at school sport days or nativity plays. The legislation would apply for photos taken for official use by schools and colleges only.
Securing the schools system for the future – Ed Balls
DCSF
26/11/2009
Children’s Secretary Ed Balls has been speaking at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust annual conference about the need for schools to manage resources responsibly in challenging financial times. He highlighted a new DCSF discussion document, Securing Our Future – Using Our Resources Well, which sets out four main areas to help finances be run more efficiently. These are better procurement such as collective buying, partnerships and shared services, stronger financial management, and more effective use of external advice available from the government.
Training amiss for teaching MOT, warns unions
Times Educational Supplement
27/11/2009
The NUT and NASUWT have attacked the new three-year training blueprint published by the Training and Development Agency for Schools, claiming there is no statutory right to support needed by teachers to pass the 'licence to teach'.
