EDUCATION-MAR10-PG10:Page 6 26/02/2010 16:09 Page 10
News
Barnfield Chief Executive Welcomes
Accreditation Status
T
he Chief Executive at a top Bedfordshire college has welcomed plans that way for further Federations like
could see it take over the operation of more underperforming schools. ours to ultimately drive up
Barnfield College, Luton, is the first Further Education College in the standards and results across the
country and one of only six providers to receive Accredited School Group whole country.
(ASG) status – a new scheme to ensure the best education leaders are able to “In addition to the new
form federations, in order to drive up standards at primary and secondary accreditation system, giving parents
levels throughout the country. a strong voice to determine who
Barnfield Chief Executive Pete Birkett welcomed the plans, which include should lead their local school is
the possibility of parents with children at struggling or failing schools being welcome.
allowed to vote on who controlled those schools. “Every parent wants the very
In September 2007 Barnfield broke new ground when it became the first best for their children and it is only
Further Education College in the country to sponsor two underperforming right that they have a say in how
secondary schools in Luton, create a federation and turn them around in just the schools are run. I believe that every education and training organisation in
two years. From a position of special measures, GCSE results at Barnfield the country should be excellent and this initiative can only help drive this
West and Barnfield South academies have tripled and Ofsted recently graded ambition.
Leadership & Management, Governance and the capacity to improve as “Our federation approach has demonstrated that sharing outstanding
“outstanding” in both academies. educational practice drives up standards at previously failing schools. The
Pete Birkett said: “Our two academies have made great progress over a forming of more federations throughout the country should therefore be
relatively short period of time and this new accreditation system will pave the welcomed and actively encouraged.”
Education as one of the biggest global growth
industries for Britain in the 21st century?
Phil Mullan, UK Managing Director
E
arlier this year Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced that “education It seems then that this proposal, if managed effectively, could provide
will be one of the biggest global growth industries for Britain in the 21st communities as a whole with unrivalled benefits. However the key to this
century”. Whether or not the term ‘industry’ is the appropriate way to policy’s success is in the implementation. The government needs to ensure
describe the role of enlightening and inspiring our children with knowledge, that infrastructure put in place to support this initiative is rigorous, thorough
we can safely assume that education will be an area that will feature heavily and consistent.
in each party’s campaigning before the imminent general election. A key One way to make real strides in this area is by sharing and reapplying
channel that can be utilised in order to achieve the necessary improvement in instances of public sector best practice. The UK is lucky enough to benefit
the quality of education is broadband provision for all schools and all families, from the Regional Broadband Consortia (RBC) model, in which RBCs combine
irrespective of income. Whether enabling parents to keep abreast of their their purchasing expertise for the procurement of Internet services. Their
child’s progress through online reporting or giving children a platform both at collective purchasing power ensures safe, accessible internet services at best
school and home to research, develop and cross-reference their work through value prices. This model is held in high regard across Europe: in fact, countries
high speed internet connections, the ways in which broadband access can have approached UK RBCs for examples of best practice, and advice on
facilitate and improve a child’s education are manifold. adopting the model.
Aiming to provide free laptops and broadband access for 270,000 low Over the last decade, RBCs - like the Northern Grid for Learning and E2BN
income families is being promoted as the cornerstone of the government’s which work in partnership with Easynet Global Services - have gone beyond
new drive on education. Furthermore the deadlines put in place in order to their original remit to deliver a much wider array of value-added benefits to
achieve this are stringent, further supporting the investment that has been their constituencies. From lower deployment and running costs to increased
proposed. In fact, the public should see a notable difference relatively quickly, efficiency and consistency of systems, RBCs in the UK deliver strong results
the self-imposed deadlines of broadband provision in 2010 for parents whose across the country, including driving down both deployment and running
children are in secondary schools and 2012 for those who have dependants costs, speeding project delivery time and helping to roll-out applications more
in primary education speak volumes. However this zeal and determination to quickly and effectively.
support the improvement of education through high speed internet In order to maintain their commitment to universal broadband-access in
accessibility is not simply an innovation that is restricted to the UK. the UK, the government needs to establish and encourage sustainable
This policy has been partially inspired by the education leadership instituted organisational systems like the RBCs that can support this new investment.
in Finland, where broadband accessibility has become a legal right. In order to Can education be one of the biggest global growth “industries” for Britain in
demonstrate the Finnish government has pledged that by July 2010 every the 21st century? Yes; though technology alone does not make a higher
Finn will have access to a 1 Megabit-per-second broadband connection. standard of education, one key contributor can be if the UK continues to
It is this model that is being earmarked as the shape of things to come. deliver accomplished work through partnerships like the RBCs. It’s through
During a virtual telepresence meeting between Easynet Global Services CEO this type of investment that political leaders can provide the tools that can
David Rowe and Belgian Minister Vincent van Quickenbourne, the politician help build and grow the education of the UK’s students for generations to
stated that he expected more countries to follow suit. come, ensuring that this new initiative institutes lasting change.
10 FILMCLUB takes your pupils on a journey of FILMCLUB takes your pupils on a journey of
MARCH 2010
discovery through the limitless world of film…discovery through the limitless world of film…
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48