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EIS boss calls for unity in ‘long, dark tunnel’


by Sam Phipps


The leader of Scotland’s biggest teaching union has appealed for unity and warned members that further attacks on the profession are looming after they backed industri- al action, short of a strike, to defend working conditions. Ronnie Smith, general secretary


of the EIS, told the union’s annual conference in Perth last week that Scottish education was in a “long, dark tunnel”. He used his keynote speech to try to repair a bitter split


over a deal backed by the union last month that will cut £45 million from teachers’ pay and conditions. Many delegates had protested on


the opening day of the conference against the leadership’s “breach of trust”, saying representatives on the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNTC) had sold out by recommending the deal. EIS members also voted to bal-


lot on a boycott of any further developments in the Curriculum for Excellence, in protests at cuts to education. The vote must be held by November.


More could be done to engage with employers


Inspectors have said that voca- tional business courses are failing to develop students’ understand- ing, despite the fact that econom- ics and business education is rated as at least good in more than three quarters of schools. A report from the inspectorate


this week shows that 78 per cent of secondary schools are either “good” or “outstanding” when it comes to the effectiveness of their economics and business educa- tion, but said more could be done to engage with employers and businesses. The report, Economics,


Business and Enterprise Education, is based on visits to 100 secondary schools between April 2007 and March 2010 and also 33 college inspections between September 2009 and August last year. Inspectors found that business


courses in particular were popular at key stage 4 and in post-16 edu- cation. However, in 30 of the 39 schools inspected for vocational business courses, Ofsted said that learning was limited by a focus on written work instead of develop- ing a broader understanding and skills. It also said that more than a third of the secondary schools did not provide “sufficient opportuni- ties” for students to engage with business. However, it added: “Inspectors


found outstanding examples of teaching and learning where schools engage students with eco- nomic and business ideas through good use of ICT and of real-world economics and business exam-


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Celebrate: Christine Blower


ples, such as the impact of factory closures on local communities and the extent to which govern- ment should intervene to correct market failure.” The inspectorate has called for


schools to ensure that teachers have access to relevant CPD and for more opportunities for stu- dents to engage with employers and businesses. However, general secretary of


the National Union of Teachers, Christine Blower, said the report was a cause for celebration with so many schools being rated good or outstanding. She also point- ed to the findings on enterprise education, which inspectors said was developing “good problem- solving and team-working skills, including negotiation, co-opera- tion, planning and organisation”. Ms Blower added: “These are


useful skills for work and adult life, and in an era of rising youth unemployment such a contribu- tion to a rounded education is important. Schools should be praised for this finding.”


In his address, Mr Smith slated


Cosla, the local authority umbrel- la group, saying its submission to the Scottish government-backed McCormac review of teachers’ pay and conditions was woefully flawed. “Cosla has made clear that


the only driver is crudely to save money. Educational considerations are cast aside. The education lights have gone out at Cosla. “Cosla’s miserable submission


to the McCormac review lays bare their true agenda. It is little more than an attempt to shred every meaningful aspect of the (McCrone)


agreement that has brought stability and improvement to Scottish educa- tion over the past decade. “Teachers are not even to be


seen primarily as teachers of pupils – but as some kind of generic local authority worker, open to being called upon to work wherever and whenever their managers decide and carrying out such tasks as their managers demand. “Instead of having a coherent


career structure, teachers will be offered the occasional tit-bit of a lit- tle envelope of money here in return for a little bit of extra work there.


All of this is presented as speaking on behalf of the children’s interest.” It was “politically illiterate”, he


said, not to understand that good teaching could only be built on a strong profession, with good work- ing conditions, good pay and high quality, professional leadership at all levels. “We are far from seeing the light


at the end of the tunnel. We face many more serious challenges ahead. Most immediately we face what may flow from the McCormac review.” The report is due to be published in September at the earliest.


Exam paper mistakes lead to Ofqual warning


Ofqual has told awarding bodies to carry out extra quality assurance checks after yet more mistakes have been discovered on exam papers. Four exam boards have now


apologised following errors leading to students being asked to answer impossible questions. AQA has seen three AS level


papers affected, with mistakes also being spotted in two other AS level papers from Edexcel and OCR. The CCEA in Northern Ireland has also seen a mistake on one of its GCSE papers. Ofqual chief executive, Glenys


Stacey, said the mistakes were “unacceptable” and that they will now be monitoring the awarding bodies to “make sure we are satis- fied with their response”. As a result, schools and students


have been warned this week that the extra checks could result in some correction notices at the start of exam papers and has said this should not raise concerns. Ms Stacey added: “We are


aware of six exam papers where errors have been found in individual questions. This is a small propor- tion of the 5,000 GCSE and A level papers that will be sat this summer, but all of us involved in these high- stakes exams agree that such errors are unacceptable.” It comes as the National Union


of Students (NUS) has written to education secretary Michael Gove calling for an urgent inquiry. Vice-president Shane Chowen


said: “Those students who have been confronted with unanswer- able questions may have had their confidence knocked and their per- formance in the rest of the exam affected. The only fair solution is to give those that want the option to re-sit the exam and compensate them fully if it delays them starting university.”


As the mistakes began to emerge


last week, Ms Stacey sent an open letter to the awarding bodies con- cerned. In it, she said: “I require your assurance that your organisa- tion has now implemented addi- tional checks on the question papers for these exams to ensure that there are no further errors that have failed to be identified in your previous quality assurance processes. “If any further errors are identi-


fied, I require details of the steps that you will take to ensure that students taking those examinations receive a question paper free from error and fit for purpose.”


Meanwhile, director of the Joint


Council for Qualifications, Jim Sinclair said that a thorough audit will take place. He added: “Students and par-


ents should be assured that no-one will be disadvantaged as a result of these mistakes. Examiners marking the papers are aware of the inci- dents and will make careful adjust- ments so that all students receive the marks they deserve.” Figures show that in 2010 and


2009 no paper errors were reported to Ofqual, while three were spotted in 2008 and one each in 2007 and 2006.


Welsh pupils need more help with money matters


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Pupils in Wales know about cash in theory but may not be so sure about money matters in the real world, according to school inspectors. In a new study, education


inspectorate Estyn found that overall pupils aged seven to 19 had opportunities in school to learn how to manage their financ- es and had acquired “adequate” financial knowledge, understand- ing and skills.


2 However, in the majority of


cases, inspectors concluded that les- sons were not sufficient to ensure learners would have the skills to make sound financial decisions when they are older. Ann Keane, chief inspector,


said: “Although pupils are taught about finance in PSE lessons, the majority of schools do not plan well enough to give pupils the chance to apply their financial


skills in different contexts across the curriculum. “In schools where this is a well


established practice, a senior leader has the overall responsibility to co- ordinate relevant training and sup- port for teachers so that they can plan, deliver and evaluate financial education across the curriculum. “As a result, pupils in these


schools have a good understand- ing of financial matters and can


apply their learning to real-life situations, such as family finances, or current financial issues in the media.” Setting out good practice, the


Money Matters report also high- lighted a lack of Welsh-language resources for financial education which has resulted in Welsh- medium learners using English- language resources, or teachers having to translate them. Estyn


recommends that the Welsh gov- ernment continues to support the development of Welsh-language resources. Among the other recommenda-


tions were advice about monitoring and evaluating learners’ progress in applying their financial knowledge, encouraging schools to share best practice, and offering enough train- ing for teachers to deliver financial education effectively.


SecEd • June 16 2011


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