NEWS

In brief

Master’s deadline

More than a thousand NQTs in North West England have so far enrolled on the government- funded Master’s in Teaching and Learning (MTL) course, but time is running out for others in the area to do the same. NQTs who started working in the area’s schools this school year have until April 23 to enrol on the North West MTL programme. Visit: www.nwmtl.org.uk

Language project

Students from Bangladesh, Algeria and the UK came together this week to take part in a project designed to build understanding and develop language skills. Twenty students, aged 12 to 18, worked for two days at the Laban Centre in London, to create a piece of theatre using 100 words of each of three languages – English, French and Bengali. It was part of the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme. Visit: www.britishcouncil.org/ connectingclassrooms

Diploma support

Four top businesses have pledged their support to the Diploma in retail business, which begins in September. The supermarkets Tesco and SPAR, department store House of Fraser, and logistics firm DHL Supply Chain have all committed to offering Diploma students work experience. The qualification has already attracted support from companies including Microsoft, Severn Trent Water, British Gas and Wates Construction. Visit: www.diplomainretailbusiness.com

Library manifesto

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) has published its Manifesto, calling on the next government to make school libraries statutory. Biddy Fisher, CILIP president, said: “Quality library and information services make unique contributions to the success of our society; they underpin education, social mobility, and community development.” Visit: www.cilip. org.uk/manifesto

Head to the country

The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services is calling for more teachers to consider running schools in non-urban areas. The College’s research shows that although ambition among teachers in rural schools is higher than the national average, country schools still have more difficulty recruiting a head at the first attempt. It also shows a high level of job satisfaction among serving rural headteachers. Visit: www. nationalcollege.org.uk

Fight for justice

A modern languages and religious education resource focusing on the life of the El Salvador justice campaigner, Oscar Romero, was launched yesterday (Wednesday, March 24) to coincide with the 30th anniversary of his assassination. The free resource was developed by the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund and the Catholic Agency For Overseas Development, and is available online. Visit: www.sciafyouth. org.uk/youth/romero

Teachers still confident in A levels and GCSEs

by Chris Parr

More than 90 per cent of teachers are confident about the quality of GCSEs and A levels, while a majority also feel the 14 to 19 Diplomas are meeting their objectives, according to England’s exams watchdog. Ofqual’s annual exam percep-

tions survey, which was carried out after the 2009 examinations, found that 94 per cent of teachers and 93 per cent of students felt that A levels were “an important qualifica- tion”. The figures were unchanged from 2008.

Despite this, an increasing

number of teachers expressed con- cerns about the quality of A level marking, with 37 per cent claiming it had worsened over the last two years. In 2008, around a quarter expressed similar fears. Elsewhere in the survey, three

quarters of GCSE teachers (73 per cent) said they have confidence in the exams – a similar proportion to 2008. Overall, the vast majority of

GCSE teachers (82 per cent) said that most pupils get the right grade, while three quarters of students feel that their papers have been marked accurately.

Football stars get involved in literacy project

Scotland’s footballers have helped launch the second year of a literacy project aimed at children and adults in clubs’ local communities. Scottish Premier League (SPL)

Reading Stars, which is backed by all 12 clubs in the country’s top division, sends volunteer players to learning sessions in libraries. Each player has chosen their favourite adult and children’s book for their libraries to receive. Schools throughout Scotland

will have the opportunity to engage with the scheme, which involves 21 partner libraries. These will carry out targeted literacy work with chil- dren and adults from their local community. Of the 200 adults that took

part in last year’s programme, 91 per cent said they read more as a family after taking part and 100

per cent felt their child was read- ing more. Skills minister, Keith Brown,

said: “Last year’s SPL Reading Stars was a great success, which is why we have committed £70,000 to enable this year’s programme to go ahead. The support and dedication from both the programme tutors and foot- ball players are greatly appreciated.” Neil Doncaster, the SPL’s chief

executive, said: “This innovative partnership uses SPL footballers as positive role models to capture the imagination of families up and down the country, and get the message across that reading is an important and valuable skill.” The footballers chose a wide

range of titles. Aberdeen defender Richard Foster picked The Green Mile by Stephen King and Harry

Potter and the Half Blood Prince

In the book: The Reading Stars scheme was launched at The Bridge Library in Easterhouse by Tomas Cerny, Hamilton Academical goalkeeper, Liam McSorley from the town’s St Benedicts School, and Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster (pictured left to right)

by J K Rowling; Celtic forward Shaun Maloney went for It’s Not

About the Bike by Lance Armstrong and Catcher in the Rye by the late

J D Salinger. Lukas Jutkiewicz, the Motherwell

striker, opted for The Winter of

Discontent by John Steinbeck and The Giver by Lois Lowry, while Hamilton Academical goalkeeper

Over 80 per cent struggle to help their child with homework

More than four out of every five parents struggle to support their child with homework, which leaves them feeling frustrated and their child unsupported, it has been claimed. According to a survey by

Becta, the government’s educa- tion technology agency, more than half of children (58 per cent) say their parents often confuse them when they try to help with schoolwork because they explain things differently to the teacher. Maths and science top the list

as the most difficult subjects for parents, claiming 37 and 27 per cent of the votes respectively. There was also a gender

divide, with just under half of mothers claiming maths was the most difficult homework sub- ject, compared to one in five of fathers. In comparison, a third of dads

said English was the subject they find the toughest, compared to one in 10 mums. More than 80 per cent of par-

Tomas Cerny, who attended the launch (see picture), chose The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho) and

Dan Millman’sWay of the Peaceful Warrior.

Jonathan Douglas, director of the

National Literacy Trust, the char- ity that delivers the project, said: “Literacy is the foundation of a suc- cessful skills-based economy but in

the UK today one in six people strug- gle with it. Initiatives like this are an excellent way to address the issue.” Damien Yeates, chief executive

of Skills Development Scotland, said the key to the appeal of SPL Reading Stars for adults was that it was “not like going back to school” as it could be fun and relaxed, and take place in familiar surroundings.

Parents unaware of out-of-hours services

Around one in three parents feel “out of the loop” about the out- of-hours activities offered by their child’s school. The Training and Development

Agency for Schools (TDA) spoke to more than 1,000 parents, and found that many were unaware that schools offered services such as school holiday activities, study sup- port and breakfast clubs. More than a third of those asked

ents said they would welcome sup- port and guidance on how best to support their child’s learning at home. According to the research, the

difficulty that parents encounter is having a detrimental effect on youngsters’ learning, with more than one in three children admit- ting they were sometimes unable to complete their homework because there was no one to help them. More than a third said that this

lack of help meant they spent at least half an hour longer than they expected to on their homework,

while 36 per cent said they felt frustrated and wanted to give up completely. In the report, entitled I’m

Stuck – Can You Help Me?, Niel

McClean, executive director at Becta, said: “For children, being told how to do work one way in the classroom and a different way at home can cause them to feel confused, to say nothing of how frustrating it can be for teachers when pupils come back to school bemused.” The researchers spoke to 2,000 parents and 2,000 youngsters.

said they felt their views on addi- tional activities were not really taken into account, while more than half of pupils also claimed they wanted to know more about the services offered by their school. Graham Holley, chief executive

of the TDA, said: “The poll demon- strates the need for schools, clusters and local authorities to up the ante in terms of communicating the out- of-hours services and activities on offer to parents and pupils alike. “Put simply, the more parents

understand the suite of extended services on offer and feel included in the decisions regarding their design and delivery, the more pupils will get involved and the more

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chances we have to help them be successful and happy.” To raise awareness of the

extended services that thousands of schools currently offer, the TDA has launched an Extended Services Google Map “Mashup”, which allows schools to upload a full description of the extended services they offer onto an interactive map. Joseph Leckie Community

Technology College in Walsall, which offers a wide range of extend- ed services activities including study support sessions and song writing courses, took part in the map’s pilot. Dr Coral Gardiner, the school’s

extended services manager, said: “Extended services provision brings many benefits to our pupils; help- ing increase motivation, improve behaviour, increase attendance and improving levels of attainment. “However, we cannot be com-

placent. The map allows us to share lessons and ideas with other schools across the country.” To view the map, visit: www.

tda.gov.uk/remodelling/extended- schools/whatareextendedservices. aspx

SecEd • March 25 2010

Kathleen Tattersall, chair of

Ofqual, said: “I am pleased to see that people’s perceptions of A levels and GCSE remains positive. “The survey also shows us that

there is more work to do, and we are not complacent. We will con- tinue to work with the awarding organisations to ensure they have the systems in place to continue to deliver high quality qualifications and that the awarding process is as accurate as it can be.” There were also positive find-

ings for the 14 to 19 Diplomas, despite only 16 per cent of teachers saying they had confidence in the new qualifications.

The survey found that teach-

ers are “largely confident that the Diplomas will meet their key objec- tives”, while more than 60 per cent said they would aid students’ pro- gression into employment. The report said: “More than half

(of teachers) feel the Diploma will deliver the skills needed by industry and help raise the number of young people staying in education and training post-19. “Parents of students who are

currently studying or thinking about studying for the Diploma are much more positive – more than half claim the Diploma is an important qualification to obtain.”

Despite the findings, Christine

Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said she was “concerned about the future for Diplomas”. “Lack of public support from the

opposition parties, and the Russell Group of universities, threatens to undermine their credibility. This is a matter of very real concern, particularly for students but also for parents and teachers who have invested so much in this qualifica- tion,” she said. The survey canvassed 500 teach-

ers, 400 parents and children, and around 1,800 members of the public in November and December 2009. 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