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Fiona Millar: Stephen Twigg’s speech .More detail needed but the direction is promising.

Stephen Twigg, the Shadow Education Secretary, made an important speech yesterday. Twigg has been on the receiving end of some criticism over the last year, not least from me, for failing to make a clear and robust argument against what the Coalition government is doing. But I have read the speech carefully and think it shows that he has been listening ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "Roger - you're right. I was just referring to Twigg's seeming change of heart about thinking the best way to motivate teachers is to send out letters haranguing them to raise test results. I like "enablers of promise" though. ......"

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Janet Downs: NAO to investigate Education Funding Agency

The National Audit Office (NAO) plans to investigate the Education Funding Agency (EFA). It intends to “examine the performance of the Agency to date, and consider whether it is prepared to meet future challenges.” The NAO says the EFA distributed more than £50 billion to local education providers in England in 2012/13. The EFA is also “responsible for the oversight of financial ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Tubby Isaacs: ""The NAO says the EFA distributed more than £50 billion to local education providers in England in 2012/13. The EFA is also “responsible for the oversight of financial management and governance in open academies, and for major capital programmes in ......"

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sarah: An end to religious discrimination in schools?

There has been coverage in the press this week about a new campaign to end religious discrimination in schools admissions in order to make it fairer and promote religious, social and cultural integration. Details can be found here. I think it's a really good piece of work and I hope it is successful. Their report makes many good points in favour of ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rosie Fergusson: "Let us hope the campaign is successful..however I am pessimistic.. After all what will the quasi-catholics of our government do if they can no longer leap-frog over their local 40 % FSM school straight into the London Oratory ( ......"

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Janet Downs: Academy brokers are not bound by Civil Service Code, FoI response reveals

As the Department for Education (DfE) touts around for new academy sponsors, the Academy brokers involved in sponsored academy projects are not bound by the Civil Service Code, a Freedom of Information (FoI) reponse reveals. MPs have received complaints about the heavy-handed approach of some academy brokers and one MP described tactics as being from the “Vito Corleone textbook”. So, what ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Janet Downs: "The Department for Education (DfE) made 35 payments to personal service companies to education advisers (aka brokers) for the academies programme according to the DfE response to a Government review intended to identify the number of off payroll engagements ......"

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Melissa Benn: Selective judgements

Today, the Sutton Trust publishes a report on the issue of ‘selective comprehensives’ which is getting a lot of publicity, including a spirited, but somewhat partial, debate on the Today programme, which led to the usual suggestion of increased ballotting and random allocation in order to enable more poor children access to 'good schools.' The report looks at ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Roger Titcombe: "Sorry Melissa and Helen Jarvis - It is not a minor point. I should have been more careful...."

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Janet Downs: Many schools have failed to publish their 2014/15 admissions criteria by the deadline. Can Schools Adjudicator do anything about it?

Schools have a statutory duty to publish their determined admissions criteria for 2014/15 by 15 April 2103. Many have not done so. This makes it impossible for people to read the criteria, which includes a school’s oversubscription policy, and complain to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator (OSA) by the deadline of 30 June. OSA has no remit to check on ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Roger Titcombe: "Perhaps the most important prospectus information requirement, the standard subject by subject table of numbers of entries and number of passes at each level, was removed in 2005, just as our TES sponsored research into the 100 most improved schools ......"

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Janet Downs: Closing the gap between disadvantaged and advantaged pupils – how far has the Government implemented OECD’s 2011 recommendations? Part 1

The difference in educational performance between disadvantaged and advantaged pupils in the UK is wide. In 2011, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) made recommendations (in bold) about how England might close the gap. According to the OECD, how has the Government responded? And how far does this response mesh with reality (author’s words in brackets)? Focus pre-schooling resources ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "Regarding value added indicators, Substantial progress could have been made had this government focused on harnessing the capacity of Web2.0 technology to overcome previously insurmountable problems. More here: http://mathseducationandallthat.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/assessing-students-up-to-age-14-much.html..."

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Stephen Evans: Why are children being forced into ‘faith’ schools?

When primary school places were allocated in England last week, around sixty thousand families missed out on their first choice of school. For some parents, this meant their children being placed in a 'faith' school – often against their wishes. In one of the more farcical cases, non-religious parents were unsuccessful at securing a place in any of the five community ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Tubby Isaacs: "I volunteered in a C of E school where virtually all students were Bangladeshi. It was a lovely school, but it seemed a bit funny...."

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Janet Downs: Soap’s cheating Mum reveals flaw in schools admissions. Should Adjudicator intervene?

Up in Emmerdale, Nicola King wants daughter Angelica to attend an oversubscribed church school. But there are two problems: Nicola lives outside the school’s catchment area and she doesn’t attend church. So, like many a cheating parent anxious to maximise a child’s chance of being admitting to a popular school, Nicola tells a couple of lies. First, she says she lives ... read more and comment →

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Fiona Millar: Time to shine a spotlight on the academy brokers

There has been a lot in the news this week about academies and their funding. As we suspected all along,   DFE  management of thousands of schools has proved inefficient. Money ear-marked for school improvement has been squandered and while the government sprays money around with abandon on its favoured projects, other schools are facing cuts. One particular story caught my ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by For the Benefit of the Conservative Party – “FOR SALE – Local Hospital and Schools “: "[...] The Coalition’s practice to ensure privatisation  is to force schools to become academies, either by bribery of head teachers, of unjustified OFSTED criticism, claiming schools are failing.  [...]..."

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