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NEWS In brief Exam investigation


Government urged not to axe work experience


by Daniel White


Organisations have this week hit out at plans to remove the require- ment for work-related learning at key stage 4 and urged the govern- ment to rethink its decision. A consultation is running until


the end of this month on the plans to axe the statutory duty to deliver work-related learning for 14 to 16-year-olds. The proposal came after the government agreed to introduce the recommendations in Professor Alison Wolf’s review of vocational education. Currently all students aged


between 14 and 16 have to com- plete two weeks’ work experience – however Prof Wolf said the idea had “served its time” and, agreeing, the government said it would look to remove the requirement, possibly from September 2012. This week, education charity


Young Enterprise and the Forum of Private Business have both urged a rethink. In its response to the consul-


tation, Young Enterprise warned education secretary Michael Gove that he is “swinging the school curriculum towards an alarmingly narrow emphasis on the acquisition of academic facts and exams”.


Exam officers raise concerns about security


Examination officers have raised security concerns because the advent of online marking has led to an increase in the amount of stationery being sent to schools by awarding bodies. The annual survey of mem-


bers of the Examination Officers’ Association (EOA) warns of looming security issues because of variations to “awarding body stationery” – exam papers and answer booklets. SecEd understands that


because an increasing number of scripts are being marked online, awarding bodies have been required to develop new exami- nation stationery which incor- porates specific design details in order to facilitate the scanning process. This means the standard answer booklet will be used less and less and will eventually be withdrawn. The Joint Council for


Qualifications (JCQ), which rep- resents a number of awarding bodies, told SecEd that while its members have considered whether it is possible to mod- ernise the design of the com- mon answer booklets in light of online marking, “because they use different technologies and have different IT systems, it will not be possible to use common stationery in the future”. However, Andrew Harland,


chief executive of the EOA, said: “Not only does this cause extra work and confusion but (exami-


nation officers) have major stor- age problems ahead dealing with all the different exam stationery.” The JCQ says that awarding


body specific answer booklets must be stored securely at all times, but in the EOA report, 14 per cent of exam officers said they were concerned about secu- rity breaches because of a lack of private working conditions. Also, 26 per cent said they


did not have adequate storage space while 19 per cent said they may not have enough room to store all the awarding body papers and booklets. The report states: “The con-


sequences of more open spaced offices or inadequate office pro- vision for this sensitive role and a lack of appropriate secure stor- age does cause extreme anxiety for members trying to fulfil all the JCQ rules and regulations. “There is a security issue


looming as centres just cannot cope with all the variations in awarding body stationery being proposed.” Elsewhere, the EOA report


said that 37 per cent of examina- tion officers do not receive any additional administration support at busy times of the year, while the main three factors that pre- vent staff from doing their job properly were identified in the study as a shortage of exami- nation rooms, workload, and a lack of involvement in school decision-making.


The charity is calling for a strong


focus on entrepreneurship as well as the development of employability skills and attitudes, such as team- work, reliability and responsibility. Interim chief executive


Catharine Marchant said: “Even though unemployment among young people has climbed above the sensitive threshold of one mil- lion in recent weeks, he is preparing to scrap work-related education for 14 to 16-year-olds. “It means he is set to abolish a


key legal right that young people currently have. This is for a few hours of the curriculum to be devot- ed to helping develop knowledge,


skills and understanding that might be useful in work.” Meanwhile, the Forum of


Private Business said this week that more work experience is needed to help break down “immature mind- sets and attitudes”. Head of campaigns, Jane


Bennett, said: “Our training and skills panel research shows our members already believe young people in the UK are largely unpre- pared for the workplace. New start- ers frequently arrive with few or no basic skills, and need guidance on even simple things such as appro- priate dress code and punctuality – the very basics of a work ethic.”


A DfE spokesman said: “Prof


Wolf found that work experience for younger students is expensive and far too often doesn’t even involve being in a workplace. “Fewer and fewer employers are


willing to have under-16s on their premises and the paperwork associ- ated with placements has increased exponentially. She reported that the current statutory requirement is of limited value because almost no young people go into full-time employment at 16.” Prof Wolf’s report has highlight-


ed the need for work experience for students aged 16 to 18 who are in full-time education.


Schools will break the law if they fail to offer 27 A level subjects


Northern Ireland secondary schools will be breaking the law if they fail to offer pupils 27 different A level subjects in three years' time. All post-primary school pupils


will have a legal right to access a wider range of courses from as early as next September. The commencement of legisla-


tion on the Entitlement Framework will also require schools to provide students with access to a set number of both academic and vocational subjects. By September 2013, second-


ary schools must offer access to 18 courses at key stage 4 and 21 courses at post-16. This can be achieved alone or by collaborating with nearby schools. The number of courses will


rise to 24 and 27 respectively by September 2015.


At least one third of these must


be academic with one third voca- tional. It is up to each school to decide how to make up the final third. Education minister John


O’Dowd said that the Entitlement Framework is part of his vision to create an education system tailored to meet the needs of pupils, rather than the institutions themselves. He said: “I believe it is of criti-


cal importance that pupils have a wide choice of courses that meet their needs and aspirations if we are serious about providing that high quality education service we want. “That is why I moved to put


the Entitlement Framework on a statutory basis to take effect from September 2013.” The minister made his com- ments during a visit to the Foyle


Learning Community, a group of 16 schools collaborating to deliver a wide range of courses. “This community of 15 schools


together with the further education college, is an excellent example of how institutions, in collabora- tion across sectors, can widen the opportunities for their pupils,” he added. “Many of the members of the


learning community are already providing the requisite number of courses and their pupils are already benefiting from educational choices that were closed to their predeces- sors. “I appreciate that there can be


challenges for schools, particularly in a more constrained budgetary environment, in opening up such opportunities. That is why I am phasing in full implementation.”


Challenge to free meals-results link


Schools with similar levels of pupils on free meals are regularly achiev- ing widely different exam results, according to Scottish government figures. At St Luke’s High in Barrhead,


East Renfrewshire, for instance, 35 per cent of pupils gained three or more Highers last year although about a fifth of the school received free meals. By contrast, only three per cent


of pupils at Northfield Academy in Aberdeen, where uptake for free meals was similar, got three or more Highers. An average of 15 per cent of


school pupils in Scotland get free school meals but the figure is much higher at some inner city schools. David Cameron, an education


consultant and former head of edu- cation at Stirling Council, said an


SecEd • January 12 2012


assumption that pupils were des- tined to fail too often became true. He explained: “It may well be


a self-fulfilling prophecy in some situations. Often aspirations are not set particularly high if the child is from a more deprived or challeng- ing background. “I also don’t think all schools


and all teachers set the same level of expectation.” But he said many schools were


continuing to achieve good results, despite challenging social factors. He added: “There’s no doubt


some schools do extremely well supporting youngsters in very diffi- cult circumstances. We know there are variations between schools, par- ticularly where schools have a con- sistent approach internally. Tory education spokeswoman Liz Smith said deprivation was too


often used to explain the perform- ance of failing schools. Figures released by the Scottish


government last month showed the gap between the country’s best and worst-performing schools was as wide as ever, with parents and pupils facing a postcode lottery when it comes to securing good exam results. But Eileen Prior, executive


director of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, said: “Statistics of this kind are interesting and useful, but they don’t tell the whole story about a school or what young peo- ple at a given school should attain.” A Scottish government spokes-


man said: “This government recog- nises there can be a link between dep- rivation and educational attainment and we are making significant invest- ment in the early years to reduce the gap in outcomes across the country.”


Exams watchdog Ofqual has confirmed that no further exam papers scheduled for this month are to be withdrawn as a result of investigations into teacher seminars run by exam boards. WJEC had already been told to withdraw its ICT GCSE paper this month, but this week Ofqual confirmed that all other exams will take place as planned. However, chief executive Glenys Stacey promised a full investigation into the integrity and role of the awarding body seminars. She said: “We will review the role that these seminars play in the system and will make changes where necessary to protect the security and integrity of exams.”


Ofqual consultation


Ofqual has this week launched a consultation asking how it should use its new enforcement powers, including the ability to fine awarding bodies. The consultation follows the passing of the Education Act 2011 which has made three changes to the exam watchdog’s powers. As well as the power to fine exam boards, it removes limitations on the powers to direct exam boards and to withdraw recognition and gives a new power to recover the costs of enforcement action. The power to fine is in line with those granted to most regulators and is capped at a maximum of 10 per cent of the organisation’s turnover. Visit: http://comment. ofqual.gov.uk/taking-regulatory- action/


Inspiring teachers


The country’s most inspiring teachers of science, engineering, technology and maths are being sought for the Lloyds Register Educational Trust Teachers Award. The prize is intended to recognise and reward a teacher’s passion and commitment to STEM education and is part of the National Science and Engineering Competition. Finalists will be invited to attend interviews and the awards ceremony at the 2012 Big Bang Science Fair in Birmingham. Visit: www.thebigbangfair.co.uk/ nsec/teachers_prize.cfm


The Big Picture


The latest series of free educational resources from the Wellcome Trust are focused on the biological, social and psychological aspects of movement and exercise. Big Picture: Exercise, Energy and Movement explores the biological systems that keep us moving and considers some of the ethical aspects of sport. All past editions of the Big Picture resources are available online. Visit: www. wellcome.ac.uk/bigpicture


Olympics resource


Free key stage 4 maths and science resources are being sent to all state-funded secondary schools in the UK. Cisco, an official provider to London 2012, has launched Out of the Blocks, an initiative to give every school a copy of the Cisco Maths and Science Series 2012, a set of free activity books, including a welcome pack and resources inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The overall objective of the scheme is encouraging students to further their learning in maths and science. Visit: www. mathsandscience2012.co.uk


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