www.sec-ed.com News
Balls commits
In brief
Delivering Diplomas
More than 200 educationalists
are gathering at the Lakeside
Conference Centre in
Birmingham today (Thursday,
to funding for
March 18) to attend the fifth
Delivering Diplomas conference,
which is run by SecEd and its
sister magazine, Delivering
Diplomas. Among the speakers
are Iain Wright, schools minister
with responsibility for the 14 to
disadvantaged
19 agenda, Teresa Bergin, the
QCDA’s Diploma chief, and
Diploma practitioners. See SecEd
next Thursday (March 25) for
full coverage of the event. Visit:
www.deliveringdiplomas.com
PC competition
by Chris Parr
premium will need to be carefully
modelled and managed. The gov- Pupils are being invited to
ernment has accepted that a rapid explain what having their own
All three main political parties introduction could financially computer means to them, as part
are now committed to increasing destabilise a number of schools. It of an e-Learning Foundation
funding for schools that take higher is essential to get the basic funding competition. The charity, which
numbers of disadvantaged pupils entitlement level right for all pupils campaigns to reduce Britain’s
after education secretary Ed Balls as a precursor to the introduction of digital divide, wants youngsters
announced government plans a premium for deprivation.” to highlight the benefits of
to introduce the so-called “pupil Elsewhere, Mr Balls has chal- having access to a PC as part
premium”. lenged schools to make around of the Me And My Computer
Both the Liberal Democrats £1 billion of savings by federating contest. Students can enter using
and the Conservatives have already with other schools, making “back any medium they wish, including
committed to similar schemes, office functions” more efficient, podcasts, videos, or traditional
which would see schools that take Pupil premium: Ed Balls and reducing their use of energy. pen and paper. Entries should be
poorer pupils given extra money. He said: “It is vital that all no more than 500 words, or five
However, the Labour Party’s David Laws, the Liberal schools make savings to enable minutes, in length.Visit: www.
pupil premium differs from the Democrat’s education spokesman, schools collectively to meet all cost e-learningfoundation.com/story-
other parties’, as it would allow said the announcement was a “des- pressures, ensure investment in our competition
local authorities to determine how perate attempt to repackage existing key priority areas, and allow prog-
deprivation in their area is meas- deprivation funding for schools”. ress to be made on delivering a
ured, rather than administering the “Since it would be politically fairer funding system without creat-
science forum
scheme centrally. impossible to cut the budgets of ing damaging instability.” Teachers are being encouraged to
Currently, around £4 billion is some schools to shift money to oth- The education secretary said join in an online forum to discuss
allocated to local authorities each ers, what Ed Balls is talking about he has also identified around the effective provision of science
year as additional “deprivation is political posturing not serious £300 million of savings that could at key stage 4. The forum has
funding”, however it is not always policy,” he added. be made by the Department for been set up by Pauline Hoyle,
passed on to schools on the basis Mr Balls also said he would Children, Schools and Families. programme director for science
of deprivation. Mr Balls claims the “protect schools” by maintaining Around £135 million of this will at the National Strategies,
new pupil premium will change the Minimum Funding Guarantee come from government quangos, and Edmund Walsh, its senior
this. (MFG), which guarantees schools with significant funding reductions advisor for science. Discussion
In his latest policy document, a per-pupil increase in their like- planned for Becta, the Training and topics include the role of triple
On your marks: Youngsters from across the North East Investing for the Future, Protecting for-like budget. The exact level of Development Agency for Schools, science and the growth of
of England were put through their paces by Jason the Front Line, Mr Balls said: “A this rise would be confirmed in the Ofqual, and the Qualifications and applied science. It is open until
Gardener, Olympic gold medallist sprinter, at the launch nationally set pupil premium would autumn. Curriculum Development Agency. Monday (March 22). Visit: http://
of the Youth Sport Trust’s UK School Games on Monday not take account of local need, The Association of School and Around £5 million will be saved nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.
(March 15). The event took place at Newcastle’s famous would prescribe a single amount College Leaders said that any pupil from the Department’s communi- gov.uk/node/327235
Millennium Bridge, which was turned into a running of funding across the whole coun- premium would have to be care- cation budgets, partly by moving
track for the day. More than 1,600 elite school-aged try, and would require severe and fully managed, to avoid destabilis- Teachers TV online, while some
athletes are set to descend on the area when the first immediate cuts to school budgets or ing school budgets. £8 million will be cut from the cost
science is ‘cool’
events take place on September 2. Mr Gardener said: other public services. Malcolm Trobe, the union’s of its back office functions. School science is “cool” again,
“As a young athlete trying to forge a career in elite “It is our intention to require policy director, said: “We have long Mr Balls said: “There is according to a survey carried out
sport, I would have loved to have been able to mix local authorities to use a local pupil supported the move to a fairer fund- no doubt that this is a tougher by the National Centre for Social
with hundreds of other athletes, learn from them and premium to distribute deprivation ing mechanism, but in a time of settlement than in the past, and Research. It found that 81 per
compete on a national stage against the best in my age funding, based on their own local tighter funding, this will be more tough choices have to be made by cent of young people find science
group.” Visit www.ukschoolgames.com for more decisions of how best to measure difficult to do. schools, by local authorities, and by lessons interesting, with nearly a
deprivation.” “The introduction of a pupil the government.” quarter describing them as very
interesting. This compares to
69 per cent of adults who said
BSF process to be streamlined
Politicians ‘failing
they had found science lessons
interesting when they were at
school. Some 1,200 adults and
from 75 weeks to one year
400 young people were canvassed
to communicate’
during the survey, which was
funded by the Wellcome Trust.
The organisation responsible for
carrying out the Building Schools
with young people
Theatre survey
for the Future (BSF) programme Almost all 13-year-olds (99.4 per
is aiming to reduce the overall cent) have been to the cinema,
procurement time for new building The two main political parties England’s virgin voters also but more than one in three
projects by more than five months. are failing to communicate their revealed that they are unable to have never been to the theatre,
Partnerships for Schools (PfS) education policies to young choose between the current gov- according to a survey of 1,200
says it wants to slash the time it voters, a survey has found. ernment and the Tories, with both year 9 students, carried out by
takes to develop designs for new According to Edge, the voca- parties claiming 16 per cent of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
projects from 75 weeks to around tional learning foundation, around their vote. The Liberal Democrats The organisation encourages
a year, in a bid to reduce the bur- half of the young people who will attracted 12 per cent. youngsters to attend the Bard’s
den on all who are involved in the vote in their first general election Around half said they did plays by giving away thousands
development process – including this year do not know the dif- not yet know which party they of free tickets each year.
headteachers. ference between Labour and the preferred, while the Green Party Visit: www.shakespeares-globe.
Tim Byles, chief executive of Conservatives’ education plans. and the UK Independence Party org
PfS, told SecEd: “We now have a logue” between potential designers, projects on which work started fell However, the youngsters did attracted one per cent each.
lot more experience of what goes in order to identify the two strong- by 30 per cent for the three months place education at the top of their National opinion polls for
into the procurement process, and est bidders as quickly as possible. to February, compared to the same list of priorities, ranking it ahead the whole adult population, pub-
Reducing emissions
we feel we can have just as effective This would mean that headteach- period last year. of employment, the economy, lished earlier this week, placed the Around 1,000 schools have
a procurement process, but without ers will not have to spend unneces- However, Ed Balls, the edu- and healthcare. Conservatives around eight points already registered to take part
the same amount of red tape. sary time and effort briefing differ- cation secretary, insisted the gov- In other findings, 44 per cent ahead of Labour on 40 per cent, in Schools Low Carbon Day,
“The key test now is not ‘can ent groups of designers. The overall ernment was “taking forward our of the first-time voters said they with the Liberal Democrats on 21 which will take place on June 24.
we do this’, as we have success- reduction in the procurement time- pledge to rebuild or refurbish all believed education was more per cent. On the day, teachers are being
fully delivered so many schools. table also means that schools will secondary schools (in England)”. important now than during the Lord Baker, chairman of urged to dedicate the morning
With that experience now secured, get built sooner. He also announced a further six last election, while three quarters Edge, said: “The time is right to tackling issues surrounding
we can take as read a number of the It comes as a report by Glenigan, BSF projects. say the government should ensure for the next government to make climate change, and inspiring
aspects that in the past would have the construction economists, sug- Around £418 million will be there are enough university places sure the current system helps all youngsters to do something to
taken up more time.” gested the school building pro- invested across Buckinghamshire, available to accommodate those young people realise their indi- reduce carbon emissions.
Mr Byles says he wants to gramme was slowing. Cornwall, Gateshead, Lincolnshire, who wish to go. vidual talents.” Visit: www.lowcarbonday.com
“streamline the competitive dia- It found that the number of Oxfordshire, and Sutton.
SecEd • March 18 2010 
02-03 newsa.indd 3 16/3/10 13:08:13
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