23 May 2018

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

Committee chair questions grammar expansion

Schools Minister Nick Gibb has said that the £50m grammar school expansion policy will only benefit a few thousand disadvantaged students, noting that the total is low as “there are only 163 grammar schools”. This came as he was pushed on the matter by Education Select Committee chair Robert Halfon, who said expansion will “benefit more leafy areas that tend to have grammar schools than those disadvantaged areas around the country.” Mr Halfon suggested that the funding, part of a £200m pot, may have been better spent on means-tested vouchers for children from deprived backgrounds to get one-to-one tuition. Mr Gibb told MPs that expanding grammars must prove the need for more secondary places and demonstrate how they will increase the intake of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. He also said lower grade requirements could help existing grammars widen access. The Independent, Page: 11 Financial Times, Page: 2 Daily Mail, Page: 14

Report: No advantage from grammars

UCL researchers say that grammar schools do not help pupils achieve academic success, with those at such schools unlikely to achieve more academically by the age of 14 than those who do not attend the selective state schools. Researchers added that attending such schools has no positive impact on a youngster’s self-esteem, or their aspirations for the future. Professor John Jerrim, lead author of the study, said: "Our findings suggest that the money the Government is planning to spend on grammar-school expansion is unlikely to bring benefits for young people.” "It 'the 11+ exam' is probably not the make or break that parents and children think at the time - it actually doesn't make that much difference," he added. The Guardian, Page: 13 The Daily Telegraph, Page: 10 I, Page: 8 Yorkshire Post, Page: 1

FINANCE

Schools in Scotland to share attainment gap funding

Schools across Scotland are set to share £50m as the Scottish Government works to close the educational attainment gap, which Education Secretary John Swinney says is the “defining mission” of the administration. Nine local authority areas – as well as 74 schools in a further 12 councils – will share the money in 2018-19, including over £8m going to schools in the Glasgow City Council area, North Lanarkshire receiving around £7.5m and over £6m going to help pupils in Dundee. The Scotsman, Page: 3 Aberdeen Press and Journal, Page: 12 The Herald, Page: 10 Daily Mail

HIGHER EDUCATION

Oxford reports surge in state pupils

Oxford University has revealed that three in five students offered places this autumn are from state schools – with the 5% jump to 63% marking a record high. Almost one on five new students are from ethnic minorities, with this up 4% in the last five years. University vice-chancellor Louise Richardson said: “It is a picture of progress on a great many fronts, but with work remaining to be done.” Sir Peter Lampl, founder of the Sutton Trust, commented that universities like Oxford should “give poorer kids a break in admissions by taking account of their social background”. Analysing the data, the Guardian highlights that more than one in four of Oxford’s colleges failed to admit a single black British student every year between 2015 and 2017. Separately, the Times notes that Oxford’s figures show geography has replaced Classics as the favourite choice of the privileged. Of 204 students on the course, 192 are from the three higher social groups and more than half of those are from private schools. Daily Mail, Page: 31 The Independent, Page: 26 The Guardian, Page: 1 Financial Times, Page: 3 The Times, Page: 10 The Daily Telegraph, Page: 10

CURRICULUM

Wales reforms sex and relationship education

Sex education is to become statutory from the age of five in Wales, following a review by a panel led by Professor Emma Renold, professor of childhood studies at Cardiff University, which said sex education should be about more than biology and should be widened to reflect pupils’ day-to-day lives and experience. Under the new reforms, sex and relationships education (SRE) will be broadened to include issues such as gender identity, sexting, and online safety, the Welsh Government said. Wales Online

POLICY

Scores of NI schools lose breakfast clubs

More than 60 schools in Northern Ireland have lost funding to run schemes to run breakfast and homework clubs for disadvantaged children in 2018/19. The Department of Education said the 63 schools no longer met the extended schools programme's criteria. BBC News

EXAMS

Exam error ‘unacceptable’

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has blamed a "typographical error" for an error on the National 5 history paper. The paper said Mary Stuart had died in 1567, some 20 years before she was executed. Sir Tom Devine, emeritus professor of history at the University of Edinburgh, said the mistake was "unacceptable". The Scotsman, Page: 13

Stabbed student denied grades

The parents of a schoolboy who was stabbed a week before sitting his GCSEs have spoken out after exam boards denied his request for special consideration. His headteacher, MP and parents appealed to exam boards to use discretionary powers to grant him his certificates in "rare and exceptional circumstances" without sitting the final exams, but the Joint Council for Qualifications says it would offer only an honorary award that explained why he could not complete his course. The Times, Page: 15

EMPLOYMENT

Quarter of school nurses axed since 2010

The Government has confirmed that 694 school nurse positions have been lost since 2010, representing 23% of the total NHS workforce in English classrooms. School nurses are commissioned by local authorities, but numbers have dropped amid tightening budgets. Daily Mirror, Page: 12

SOCIAL

Less hostility in ethnically mixed schools

A study by LSE and the University of Bristol which gauged the attitudes of 4,000 state school pupils in England shows that pupils in ethnically diverse secondary schools are more positive about people from different backgrounds. The research found that where schools were more diverse, there was less hostility to other ethnic groups, with the views of white British pupils particularly likely to shift when they were in schools with a broader mix of ethnicities. Geoff Barton, leader of the ASCL, said: "When young people from different backgrounds mix, they find they have far more in common than any perceived differences between them." The Independent, Page: 26 BBC News

Shake makers urged to cut sugar

Public Health England guidelines have called on juice and milkshake manufacturers to reduce sugar by 20% by 2021 to help combat childhood obesity. The body has also urged firms to cap products at 300 calories, while smoothies and drinks "likely to be consumed in one go" should have a calorie cap of 150. Daily Express, Page: 22

Kids face gender pay gap

A study by Santander shows that the gender pay gap extends to children's household chores, with boys typically paid £6.99 for chores while girls can expect £4.67. For rewards for good behaviour at school, boys receive £8.28 compared to £4.18. Around 32% of parents polled pay children for household chores, while 18% reward good behaviour at school. The Daily Telegraph, Page: 10 The Sun, Page: 27

SCHOOL CLOSURES

Free school to close as funding withdrawn

St Anthony's School in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, is set to close with the withdrawal of government funding after inspectors found "poor performance and financial management". The free primary school was rated inadequate in its last two Ofsted reports and the DfE has now confirmed its funding agreement will end in August. BBC News

FURTHER EDUCATION

Strike cancelled

A strike by Bradford College staff has been called off after talks between bosses and the UCU saw the college say it would reopen a voluntary redundancy scheme. Yorkshire Post, Page: 9

TRANSPORT

Bus firm on board to help pupils

Transport operator Stagecoach has agreed to rethink a change to bus schedules as new services saw attendance to UHI Inverness College from Grantown Grammar pupils fall by 75%. Aberdeen Press and Journal, Page: 10

OTHER

Teachers in a class of their own

Professor Brigid Daniel of Queen Margaret University, writes in praise of teachers in the Scotsman, saying people remain interested in the profession despite reports of the pressures staff face as “it is one of the most influential and potentially rewarding jobs out there.” The Scotsman, Page: 30

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