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Warning over labelling ME students as truants
by Dorothy Lepkowska
Thousands of pupils miss school every year because of undiagnosed Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), according to new research. Academics from Bristol
University found that far greater numbers of children suffer from the condition, which is also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), than originally thought. According to surveys carried out
of GP practices, about 0.06 per cent of five to 19-years-old have ME. However, it is now thought that the
actual proportion is closer to 0.5 per cent. Researchers at Bristol estimate
that about 33,000 secondary-aged children may be suffering from ME, missing several weeks of their total time at school every year, they said in the medical journal BMJ Open. Often this was recorded by schools as truanting because it was not clear why pupils were not turning up. Symptoms of CFS include
debilitating low energy levels, pain- ful muscles and joints, disordered sleep, gastric disturbances, poor memory and concentration, neuro- psychological complaints, painful
Personal Plans will support looked-after kids
Secondary pupils living in care in Northern Ireland are to be given personal education plans to help improve their school experience and exam results. The new initiative, which is
backed by the Northern Ireland Executive, is aiming to tackle the massive underachievement of looked-after children and young people. Almost half of those in care
leave secondary school with no qualifications. To address this, the North’s
education and health minis- ters are jointly launching new Personal Education Plans (PEPs). The plans are one of the key
proposals within the Executive- endorsed Care Matters strategy. Every looked-after child will
receive a PEP to help them work to improve both their educational and economic outcomes. Only 17 per cent of those
in care achieved five GCSEs at grades A* to C in 2010 com- pared with more than 70 per cent of general school leavers in Northern Ireland. Almost half – 43 per cent
– left care without a single quali- fication. Secondary schools, social
workers, carers and children will all contribute to each PEP. They will be tailored to the individual child and establish clear targets
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and actions to address their spe- cific needs. They will focus on the “whole
child” by ensuring that they are supported fully to take advantage of the best learning opportunities within education. At the same time they will rec-
ognise the relationship between the home environment, school and opportunities available to young people within communi- ties to become involved in youth work-based or alternative pro- grammes. It is also intended that the
PEPs will provide a continuous record of their educational his- tory and achievements, allowing a smoother transition if the child moves school. Northern Ireland’s health min-
ister Edwin Poots says looked- after children are among the most disadvantaged in society. He said: “Through no fault of
their own, they have historically tended to have lower educational achievements and be outper- formed by their peers. “Looked-after children and
young people deserve to receive exactly the same education and training opportunities as any child and the PEP will promote posi- tive educational outcomes for the young person, and help them to fulfil their potential and achieve their aspirations.”
Anger as per-pupil funding figures are to be scrapped
Teachers in Wales will no longer be able to compare the funding gap between their schools and those in England. Teaching unions have criticised
the decision by the Welsh gov- ernment to no longer publish the figures which compare funding per- pupil. According to the most recent
figures, from January 2011, coun- cils in Wales were spending an average £604 less on each pupil compared to councils in England. But that comparison will no
longer be available to teachers. A statement on the Welsh gov-
ernment’s website said the fig- ures would not be published this year “since changes in education policy in England mean it is not possible to produce comparable figures”. A spokesperson for the chief
statistician said the growth of acad- emy schools in England meant it was not possible to make consistent comparisons.
Dr Philip Dixon, director of
the Association of Teachers ahd Lecturers Cymru, called for the Statistics Unit to reconsider the decision. He said: “No-one looks forward to this annual account of under spending on our children but at least we’ve always admired the honesty it displays. “It would be far better to publish
the information with a health warn- ing about comparisons, pointing out the difficulties involved in doing so, than to be perceived as convenient- ly suppressing key information.” He added that the announce-
ment put the education minister Leighton Andrews in an “invidious position” as he has “pledged repeat- edly to reduce the funding gap, and we will now not be able to see how his hard work is paying off”. The National Union of Teachers
also called on the Welsh govern- ment to publish figures for Wales, even if comparisons with England could not be made. “The Welsh government could
have at least published details of pupil funding in Wales without comparison,” the union’s Wales secretary David Evans said. The Conservatives and Liberal
Democrats have also criticised the move. A spokesperson for Mr Andrews
said if it was true that the informa- tion relating to per-pupil and year- on-year spending in schools was no longer available in England, it was a “quite incredible admission” from the UK government that they have no way of tracking their spending on academies. “While accepting this is a matter
for the chief statistician to decide, the minister is profoundly disap- pointed with the decision and has made clear that he does not agree with it. “He is now actively exploring
other options to obtain the neces- sary data to make the comparisons between the two education systems public in a similar format to previ- ous years.”
A fifth of parents lie when children ask tough questions
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ISSN 1479-7704
More than a quarter of parents think their children know more about maths and science than they do, a survey has found. What is more, a fifth have admit-
ted to making up answers or pre- tending no-one knows when asked science or maths questions they can- not answer. Research carried out in the run-up
to the Big Bang UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair involved 2,000 parents of children aged five to 16 and found that more than a quarter of parents think that their children know more about maths and sci- ence than they do. According to the research, some
2
of the most common questions that children ask their parents include “why is the moon sometimes out in the day?” and “why is the sky blue?”. However, the research showed
that a fifth of parents make up answers or pretend nobody knows when asked maths or science- related questions. However 31 per cent say they actively research the answers. Elsewhere, one in six reckon
their children become interested in the subjects because of programmes like Frozen Planet or Wonders of the Universe. Professor Brian Cox, a spokes- man for The Big Bang Fair, said:
“With more youngsters getting stuck into science and maths both in and out of school, it’s no won- der they are constantly questioning the world around them. Inquisitive minds are fantastic, but clever ques- tions can often leave parents in a tricky situation if they don’t have the answers. The best they can do is work with their children to find the answers – not only can it be fun, but you’ll both learn something new along the way.” The Big Bang UK Young
Scientists and Engineers Fair takes place between March 15 and 17 at the NEC in Birmingham. Visit
www.thebigbangfair.co.uk
SecEd • January 26 2012
lymph nodes and prolonged fatigue after exercise. The study concluded: “Chronic
fatigue is an important cause of unexplained absence from school. Children diagnosed through school- based clinics are less severely affected than those referred to specialist services and appear to make rapid progress when they access treatment.” Sir Peter Spencer, chief execu-
tive of Action for ME, said: “The key findings of the report are that one per cent of school children are missing one day per week due to CFS/ME.”
“On average most have suffered
from the illness for more than 18 months, so there is a major impact on schooling. “Schools and school clinics
need to work closer with special- ist clinicians to identify and refer children, as part of the problem is that GPs may have problems in diagnosing the condition.” Sir Peter said the findings were
“a wake-up call for doctors” and said teachers and school clinics needed to do more to identify the illness and act upon it, including referring children promptly for spe- cialist medical help.
He added: “Delays of over 18
months before diagnosis are wholly unacceptable and the amount of schooling missed is damaging to a child’s development and long-term future. “Very few specialist ME/CFS
services are provided for children in the UK, yet no other illness has such a devastating impact on so many people but has so little money spent on scientific research or the provision of specialist healthcare.” For more information on ME,
visit
www.actionforme.org.uk and
www.a4me.org.uk
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