EDUCATION
League table plan for all colleges
Guardian
22/10/2009
A review by the government-funded UK Commission for Employment and Skills (Ukces) says college and university courses should be subject to new league tables based on how many students drop out, their future earnings and how much they enjoyed their classes. The system would put consumer pressure on courses and would allow the government to cull up to 30 quangos currently involved in planning education provision in England.
EDUCATION - FURTHER EDUCATION
Bodies battle it out over maintenance grant value
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
Two conflicting reports on the £600 million educational maintenance allowances scheme reveal mixed reviews of the success of the scheme, with one report suggesting they should be scrapped.
Building plans boost
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
A deal between Barclays and the European Investment Bank has meant that 24 colleges have been able to borrow £200 million at a reduced rate towards restarting capital projects.
FE staff face IfL rap
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
The Institute for Learning's first disciplinary hearings for breaching the code of practice will be heard on 17 November.
Government ignores plea for capital repayment
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
The House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee's report into the LSC capital funding project debacle recommended compensating colleges who had spent money on abandoned plans. The Government's response to the report has been published and confirms that there will be no such compensation.
Guns, Gangs and Knives - Guidance
BIS
21/10/2009
Guidance for FE colleges on tackling and preventing problems relating to guns, gangs and knives. It includes the suggestion that colleges where appropriate have some or all of: passes, ID cards, turnstiles, “hoods down” policy, knife arches, metal detector wands, and random testing/searching.
Lords attack new local authority funding power
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
The House of Lords have criticised new Government proposals to give local authorities a veto over skills strategies, forcing the Regional Development Agencies to work with them to produce an agreed plan.
EDUCATION - HIGHER EDUCATION
Language courses are being 'dumbed down', report finds
Guardian
20/10/2009
A Hefce commissioned report entitled "Review of Modern Foreign Languages provision in higher education in England" concludes that a drop in student numbers and a fall in government funding for research has led to universities making courses easier to attract more students.
Mandelson calls on business to help shape the future of education
BIS
20/10/2009
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson, addressing the CBI conference on the future shape of higher education, will call on business to play a greater part in shaping the education system of the future as it responds to the changing needs of new industries and new jobs.
Postcode lottery exacerbates university participation rates
Times Higher Education
19/10/2009
Analysis by the University and College Union reveals that university participation rates are falling in the areas where they have traditionally been the lowest, and the number of people going to university is increasing fastest in areas with historically high participation rates.
Report reveals significant challenges ahead for equality in higher education
Equality Challenge Unit
20/10/2009
A report published by the Equality Challenge Unit reveals that the higher education sector still faces significant challenges in creating equality for all staff and students, despite making some progress over the last five years.
http://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/equality-in-he-stats-09
Students and Universities: Government Response to the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee's Eleventh Report of Session 2008-09
HC Paper No.991 (Session 2008/09)
20/10/2009
In its response to the House of Commons Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee's report on students and universities, the Government welcomes the report but expresses disappointment that the Committee has not reflected in it the very strong and positive evidence about the UK higher education sector which was given during the inquiry. The Government replies to the Committee's conclusions and recommendations on a framework for higher education; future scrutiny; demand for places; funding; a code of practice on admissions; fair access; widening participation; benchmarks; foundation degrees and foundation years; completion of courses; guidance and information; tuition fees and the review of fees; bursaries; part-time and mature students; teaching and research; the Higher Education Academy; teaching qualifications and training; standards; institutional accreditation; the Quality Assurance Agency; whistle-blowers; degree classification; assessment; records of achievement; and plagiarism.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/
cm200809/cmselect/cmsctech/991/991.pdf
The world is at the top of the agenda across the UK
Times Higher Education
22/10/2009
This article discusses with examples the current trend for creating senior management positions to ensure that internationalisation is a core part of a university's strategy.
Thin air and cocktail parties: Lammy and Willetts exchange blows
Times Higher Education
22/10/2009
This article discusses highlights from the House of Commons debate on higher education from 14 October.
University standards row deepens
Guardian
20/10/2009
Hefce defends universities against claims of dumbing down and plagiarism – but the critics remain outspoken.
University tuition fees may have to rise, says adviser
Guardian
20/10/2009
Professor John Holman, who advises ministers on science, suggested it was "difficult" to see how quality could be maintained without higher fees.
V-c: focus research cash or 'mediocrity' awaits
Times Higher Education
22/10/2009
The chair of the Russell Group of large research-intensive institutions has argued that the UK must abandon the idea that excellent research should be funded wherever it is found and recommends that just 25 to 30 universities receive 90 per cent of available funding.
EDUCATION - SCHOOLS
£20 million announced to drive new schools accreditation system
DCSF
21/10/2009
A consultation has been launched setting out proposals for leading education institutions and other successful organisations to gain a ‘kitemark’ to set up chains of schools. The new accreditation process will be used to select partners and sponsors for trust schools, federations and Academies. The Government will provide £20 million to enable the providers to drive improvement across the system. The previously announced proposals have already gained support and following the consultation the DCSF expects that 50 providers will apply for the first wave in 2011. Among those who have said they will apply are the Harris Federation, Outwood Grange Family, The Kemnal Trust and Barnfield College.
15 firms appointed to new £4 billion Contractors’ Framework
Partnerships for Schools
20/10/2009
Partnerships for Schools has announced the 15 companies which have secured a place on the £4 billion framework to procure the design and build of Academies and other educational facilities in local authorities from December 2009. The companies appointed to the Contractors’ Framework (alphabetically by geographical area) are:
North and Midlands
• Balfour Beatty Construction
• BAM Construction
• Bovis Lend Lease
• Carillion Construction
• Clugston Construction
• Interserve Projects Services
• Kier Regional
• Shepherd Construction
• Sir Robert McAlpine
• VINCI Construction
• Wates
• Willmott Dixon
London, South and South East
• Apollo Property Services
• Balfour Beatty Construction
• BAM Construction
• Bovis Lend Lease
• Carillion Construction
• Interserve Projects Services
• JB Leadbitter & Co
• Kier Regional
• Rydon Group
• Sir Robert McAlpine
• Wates
• Willmott Dixon
Convicted teachers back in classrooms
Guardian
19/10/2009
Figures requested by the Liberal Democrats under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that dozens of teachers convicted of crimes have been allowed to remain in the classroom by the General Teaching Council for England.
DCSF blocked key academy sponsor
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
It has come to light that the DCSF told a Dorset local council to find a different sponsor for a new school in Portland because they were worried about United Learning Trust's performance.
Ed Balls announces new network of co-operative schools as Trust School numbers boosted
DCSF
22/10/2009
Schools Secretary Ed Balls has announced a further 114 schools are given the green light to join the Trust Schools Programme. Organisations in discussion to partner the latest round of schools include Sainsbury’s, British Airways, Unilever, Marks & Spencer, The Holiday Inn, Northumbrian Water, the Woodlands Trust and the Co-operative Group.
Faith schools warned on RE texts
BBC
21/10/2009
Ofsted have published their report on 51 Independent faith schools. The schools were judged to be good at helping pupils understand the importance of being a good citizen, but inspectors said some materials were biased or had incorrect information about the beliefs of other religions.
More options for parents on when their children start primary school
DCSF
19/10/2009
The DCSF want to ensure that children have the option of starting reception class from the September after they turn four, in proposed changes to the mandatory School Admissions Code. The changes, published for consultation, will come into force in February 2010 and apply to admission arrangements from September 2011 once adopted.
National PFI schools framework is mooted
Building
23/10/2009
Colin Howell, Partnerships for Schools' academy director, has confirmed that PfS is in early stage discussions with lawyers about the possibility of launching a national PFI framework for school building.
New online recruitment service could save schools £30m a year
DCSF
20/10/2009
52 local authorities, representing over 8,000 schools, and 32 academies have already signed up to the new online Schools Recruitment Service. It aims to save up to £30 million in recruitment and administration costs annually if all schools in England sign up.
Rise of faith schools hit by funding freeze
Times Educational Supplement
23/10/2009
The Government has cut off crucial funding to private schools hoping to switch to the state sector. It has closed the targeted capital fund early after distributing less than half the £327 million promised.
