The essential guide for parents. What you need to know about education and what's being talked about at the school gate
Bullying is always an emotional issue, and one which I have often posted about on School Gate. However, there are many different types of bullying, and cyber-bullying is one sort which seems to becoming more and more common.
Today marks the beginning of National Bullying Week. It also sees the release of a new survey by the Anti-Bullying Alliance(ABA) which reveals that one in five primary school pupils have been cyber-bullied in the past year. How sad.
The survey also reports that almost a quarter of 10 and 11 year olds have no idea how to protect themselves against cyber-bullying, but that more than half of them use social networking sites.
Michael Castle, who's 18, is a member of the South East Young ABA. Here he explains what he does and how to try and prevent or stop cyber-bullying. I’ve also put some of his tips on the end of the piece.
Over to Michael:
Cyberbullying is a growing problem, especially as children and young people are getting mobile phones and computer access at an earlier age. Social networking sites have become popular with young people but bullying on them can be a problem too. It’s an area that young people may not be familiar with, which is why it’s such an important focus for Young ABA to help protect vulnerable young people. Children and young people who are being cyber-bullied need to know that there is support available.
Young ABA was set up in October 2007 by the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) in partnership with the Diana Anti-Bullying Award. Young ABA is a powerful group of young people, representing the nine regional government offices in England. Each of the current board members has received the prestigious Diana Anti-Bullying Award for work on peer support, mediation and mentoring. Our aim is to give a voice to young people and to help adults think about the best ways to address bullying. We work closely with the DCSF and policy makers in the UK as well as with other Diana Anti-Bullying Award holders across England to help spearhead anti-bullying campaigns.
I have been the South East representative for the Young Anti-Bullying Alliance for the past year. Being part of the board is a great experience and I am personally very proud to have been given this fantastic opportunity. My experience of the work we do as Young ABA is vast. We are a vital taskforce of young people who represent and act as spokespeople for young people in the UK. We attend meetings with the DCSF, visit schools to run workshops, run conferences, and use our expertise and own experiences to help and mentor other young people aiming to stop bullying.
For Anti-Bullying Week 2009, I attended a Young ABA residential where we received training on public speaking and the media. I also helped with the national launch of Anti-Bullying Week, which was held at the Science Museum on Thursday 12 November. I have meetings planned to discuss Young ABA’s role for the 20th Anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and am heading to the West Midlands to run cyberbullying workshops for primary and secondary schools.
Young people or parents who want advice about cyber-bullying can visit our website
Read on for tips....
Continue reading "As cyber-bullying continues to rise, here are some tips to prevent it...." »
This morning I have an interesting tale to share with you. It concerns a nine-year-old boy who, although lovely, clever and talented (he plays a mean game of table tennis) is rather on the small side. It doesn't bother him greatly, or at least he tries not to let it do so. He has lots of friends, is doing well at school and just lives with the fact that he's not going to be on a basketball team anytime soon.
So the boy in question was rather surprised by what happened to him yesterday at his school lunch-time. Firstly a teacher - whom he knows well - asked if she could go in front on him in the lunch queue. Because the boy (let's call him Sam, though that's not his real name) is a polite fellow, he replied positively. The lunch-time server then asked the teacher what she would like to eat. She looked up. "Oh don't serve me," she said. "Serve the midget first."
Yep, you heard right. A teacher publicly called a child in her school "a midget". Naturally the child was shocked.
I'm interested in your views on this, because Sam's mother asked me for mine. I asked her how her son had reacted and she said he was "really shocked." I told her to speak to the teacher and not only tell her of Sam's reaction, but also to explain why it was an inappropriate thing to say. She thought "inappropriate" sounded a bit of a serious word, but added that although Sam knows he is small, he always tries not to make a big thing of it. Perhaps, I added, she should tell the teacher that instead. Because my feeling is that the teacher needs to be told something.
Now I wonder if I am making too much of this? After all, the teacher was not being malicious; in my view, she was just being a bit stupid. However, I do also feel that teachers are in loco-parentis, and my friend wouldn't have called Sam a "midget" in public (or private I hope!). I feel that the teacher was wrong.
Sam's mum doesn't want to look as if she can't take a joke, and, rightly, hasn't made a big issue with it in front of her son. So, am I right that she should have a quiet word with the teacher so it doesn't happen again? Or should she simply let it go?
Read School Gate:
The boy told off for cross-dressing - he was wearing a kilt...
No chocolate bread sandwiches please! Are certain foods banned from your child's lunchbox?
The Susan Boyle lesson plan
Students are currently applying to university in their thousands, and that means filling in UCAS forms and writing personal statements.
 Ah yes, the personal statement. This is the source of much controversy, particularly about how useful it is when it comes to university offers. New graduate Stephen Eisenhammer (whom you can see in the picture on the right) explains more....
“We certainly don’t assign any marks to personal statements”, stated Geoff Parks, head of admissions at Cambridge University, to the shock and outrage of school pupils up and down the country, earlier this year. “Reading a very good personal statement doesn’t tell you anything about the student because you cannot be sure that it’s the work of the person concerned." However, if A levels are undervalued and universities do not pay attention to personal statements what exactly is their decision based upon?
The personal statement, in which prospective students provide universities with information about themselves, is one of the few parts of the application over which candidates have free reign. With only 4000 characters (about 600 words) to play with, the Section 10 is difficult to perfect. However, is all this effort in vain? How much notice do you universities take of the Section 10?
Bev Woodhams, Head of Admissions for the University of Greenwich explains that the importance of the personal statement depends on the subject. “In some areas the personal statement is paramount - for example in nursing, teaching, social work and pharmacy - where the personal characteristics of a student, as well as their academic achievements, are vitally important”. However, this is not to suggest that in other areas the personal statement is unimportant. “In other subjects”, says Woodhams, “the statement may make the difference between a student being made an offer or not”.
Julie Hudson at the Leeds Metropolitan University agrees that the personal statement “can help us to distinguish between applicants who are all presenting with the same grades on paper”.
In other words, the personal statement can play a pivotal role in a candidate’s application. However, how exactly do the universities decide between a good and a bad Section 10? Does following the substantial amount of on line help result in a “perfect personal statement”, as they claim, or does it rather stifle creative imagination resulting in conveyor-belt applications that universities ignore?
Angela Milln, from Bristol University, warns that it's incredibly obvious when students excessively turn to website advice or even get others to write their statement for them. Advising pupils to avoid clichéd sentencing she urges candidates “to write it yourself”. “Your personal statement provides a context for your academic achievements, it shows the personality behind the grades. If you don’t write it yourself it completely defies the point”.
Nottingham Trent University, in contrast, offer prospective students guidelines for writing personal statements. Their website goes so far as to suggest the specific vocabulary and structure that should be used.The aim here seems to be to encourage personal statements that follow a specific, university approved, format.
Continue reading "Applying for university: how important is your personal statement?" »
I write about education daily and the same issues come up - how to best educate our children, how to improve discipline in schools and how we ensure that our child gets into the school which is just right for them (and what we will do to achieve this). What often comes across is a palpable sense of worry - and that's a sad indictment of the system.
However, when you read Anna Van Der Post's new book, Children and Teenagers with Aspergers, you will soon realise that others have it far worse. The book is intended to be a riposte to all the articles and other information out there which suggest that you can "solve" the problems that come from having a child with such difficult needs as Aspergers.
It is not an easy read, and not a happy one. The author originally put out a request for others to contact her and share their experiences of having a child with Aspergers. She wanted to know - and wanted others to know - that they were not alone, that the difficulties they found in having a child with these kind of behavioural problems were not unique to them.
Van Der Post was overwhelmed by the responses she received. "Clearly, she writes, a book was needed which reflected what it is really like to raise a child with Aspergers. I wanted to discover what day-to-day lives were like for parents raising children with extreme behavioural problems and complex needs."
The book contains six in-depth stories, written by the parents. All are emotionally very honest, few have happy conclusions, lots are concerned with blame. Most have awful stories of the education system, both here and in the US (although the US tends to come out slightly better), with particular criticisms of the restrictive curriculum, difficult to get diagnoses, and unsympathetic teachers.
The stories are depressing, and often follow a similar pattern. The children find it difficult to settle in school or at an earlier age in playgroups. Although a number of the children are clearly of above average intelligence, the schools can't deal with their (often appalling) behaviour. Many of the teachers, bar a few who are highly respected by the parents involved, can't stimulate these children properly in big classes, don't have the time to answer their questions properly, or realise that they take things very literally (a request for one boy to read something results in silence. His mother realises he's reading to himself, having taken the request literally. The educational psychologist thinks he's being rude for not reading out loud).
Continue reading "The reality of life with a child who has Aspergers - and the educational issues it involves" »
Cathy Beck is a regular visitor to School Gate. As a teacher herself, she often finds it hard to deal with the vitriol regularly given to those in her profession.So, she asks (and it's a question on a grand scale), what’s to be done about education? I'd urge you to read her piece, as it raises, and attempts to answer, issues which regularly come up on this blog. All too often, we parents complain about education issues, but don't attempt to (think how to) solve them.
So, over to Cathy:
"I can’t think of a bigger question, nor one so commonly asked (and answered) on School Gate. In several months of posting here I’ve done my best to stand up for teachers, usually by pointing out that they’re up against almost impossible odds. Some will agree with that, some not, but the fact remains that, whether teachers are doing their best or not, something’s going wrong. Teachers are not always able to do what they are paid to do and knowing the reasons doesn’t make the problem go away.
I’ve given some thought to suggestions I’ve read here and they seem to fall into two main groups: we should (a) return to older methods of organising and teaching children and (b) we should emulate independent schools. There are plenty of things to be said in favour of both, and plenty against, too ... my main concern being that the genie (our collective obsession with our rights rather than responsibilities to all society) is now out of the bottle. Can it be put back in?
These are some of the recurring themes I’ve observed and my own initial reactions.
Many people want the return of grammar schools. Would they still want that if they knew their child would be one of those who didn’t get in? What alternative to grammar schools would people favour?
Teachers can’t spell and punctuate. Our children deserve the best. Well, the easy answer is that I certainly can. But I confess I’ve encountered Early Years and primary colleagues who can’t. Yes, of course our children deserve the best teachers possible. But how do we define that? Does that mean someone with excellent formal skills or an excellent communicator and disciplinarian? Ideally, of course, we want both. So how do we lure them into the classroom? Will gifted, clever graduates be willing to work for teachers’ pay in the circumstances that so often obtain in the state sector – badly-behaved pupils, unsupportive parents, public derision and endless government meddling? Are long holidays really enough of a draw?
Discipline in schools is poor. I’d agree that far too often behaviour is unacceptably poor. That’s really not the same thing. I’ve seen no evidence that teachers are routinely condoning bad behaviour, bullying and so on. They do their best to impose order on often determinedly unruly, even violent children but what can they actually do?
Continue reading "A teacher asks: what can we do about education? Is the solution more pay for teachers? More grammar schools? Corporal punishment? What do you think?" »
Present season is coming upon us and my daughter has become more than slightly obsessed (she's ringing what she wants in each catalogue that comes through the door). I too love presents, and have found that I'm often asked for suggestions for items with an educational bent. I may write more on this nearer to the festive season, but here are a few things that I've come across and been impressed by. I'm also very open to suggestions...
Construction toys. I still don't think you can beat Lego/Sticklebricks/Planx (a more modern construction toy which simply uses small planks of wood) and Meccano. These days kids often spend far too much time in front of the computer/TV. I love watching them actually build things and using their brains in a different way.
The same goes for art sets. My children love making and painting anything from dinosaurs to money boxes. A pack of felt tips often goes down a treat. We keep a lot of our junk (egg boxes etc) and the children work wonders with them, as long as they have some paints/felt tips and glue to help!
Books - one of my favourites (as you may have guessed). Annuals are a big hit in our house and my daughter has already requested the Horrid Henry one. I also like the Newsround Yearbook which is excellent for slightly older primary-school aged children. It gives a rundown of the year's major events and leaves the owner lots of space to write in their own thoughts too.
Obviously there are so many other books out there too, both fiction and non-fiction, and when it comes to presents, I often think it's lovely to give a set of books (see the Book People or Red House for some reasonably priced examples). There are also some gorgeous non-fiction options. I'm a big fan of Dorling Kindersley's Children's Book of Art, which is really beautiful and informative. and (something completely different) their Richard Hammond Blast Lab books which give children a very appealing array of scientific/experimental ideas to try out at home. I would also highly recommend the newly published The Comic Strip History of Space, by Sally Kindberg and Tracey Turner. It's such good fun.
If you're looking to spend a bit more money, then you could think about signing your child up for Puffin Post at the Puffin Club which I used to belong to when I was a child. Members get to choose books regularly after signing up and also get a magazine with contributions from top children's authors. It's a lovely present.
Another option is a subscription to First News, the children's newspaper. I think this is a fantastic publication, giving children information about the world we live in, plus quizzes. competitions and lots of lighter stories too (cars which run on vegetables for example). It also feels very grown-up - after all, it's a newspaper.
There are, of course, so many possibilities (as my children are discovering). There are Horrible Science kits (Jessica is hoping for the delightfully named Blood, Bones and Body Bits!), excellent, educational (but enjoyable) games (see Orchard Toys for some really good examples) and all sorts of other inspirational ideas of things to make, create and have fun with.
Enjoy!
Read School Gate:
Books for boys
The 20 best picture books
Random thoughts for educational Christmas presents!
Parents have different ways of encouraging their children to do better. Some use bribes, some use praise or flattery and some even use threats and anger. Few go public.
So perhaps we should pity Malia Obama, whose father (who just so happens to be President of the United States) admitted that he was unhappy when she got "only" 73 on a recent science test. Pity too Malia's teacher, who must feel the pressure to "buck up."
President Obama used the anniversary of his election by calling for improved education standards. He also called on parents to set the bar high for their own children (remember, the President's own mother used to wake him up early each morning to learn, so he may have an unusually high bar), saying:
"But even in our own household, with all the privileges and opportunities we have there are times when the kids slack off. There are times when they would rather be watching TV or playing a computer game than hitting the books.’’
After this attempt to suggest that his family was just like any other, the President went on to say that Malia recently came home with just a 73 on a science test. Apparently she was "depressed" with this, possibly because her parents had told her a few months back that she should be aiming for scores in the 90s.
"So she came home yesterday, she got a 95," he added. A happy, inspirational ending.
Or is it?
Should the president be talking about his daughter's grades in public? Should he make the world know that his daughter (who is just 11) will disappoint them if she gets lower than 90 percent? I wonder whether Malia feels that pressure. And I wonder what the school thinks too (I can't imagine they'll be giving Malia any C's anytime soon!)...
Read School Gate:
Should President Obama's daughters be going to a private school?
Yes we can! A school names itself after President Obama
School in the 21st century is very different to school back in the olden days of the 20th. That may sound obvious, but many people can't seem to accept that times have changed. Just read the visitors to this blog. They're always mentioning the (better) ways in which they were taught, the (much improved) discipline and the inspirational teachers. It seems to me that a good number of people are wearing rose-tinted spectacles.
Yet it can - and often does - still come as a shock when you are thrown back into the education system, this time as a parent instead of a pupil. To put it simply, our children learn differently these days, not just because of technology, but because times, and teaching methods, have changed (as has the vocabulary used). Schools have literacy and numeracy hours, do their maths by partitioning, using numberbonds and numberlines and these days teach children to read via synthetic phonics.
Phonics, of course, is not new, but it went out of favour sometime ago. Now it is back, recommended highly by Sir Jim Rose in his review of early reading.The Government even has its own programme, Letters and Sounds, which many schools follow (often because they feel obliged, and some say are pressurised, into doing so). However, schools are actually free to choose to follow any synthetics phonics programme they choose to.
I wonder if you are baffled by all this. When my daughter started Reception, I was. I had no idea how she was being taught to read and couldn't understand how it worked. Yes, I soon realised that she was saying letter sounds instead of the names of letters (eg sssss instead of S), but that was about as far as it went.
But actually, that, in a nutshell, is what synthetic phonics is all about. It's all to do with using the pure sounds created by each letter, and then blending them to create words. It's based on the 44 sounds (phonemes) which make up English (letters and small groups of letters such as "sh" or "oo"), and gives children small blocks of language to build on. This way they should be able to "decode" words in future.
It's taken me a while, and I've been helped by chatting to some great experts, but I now have more idea of what this all means, and find myself pretty much converted. Obviously, the system needs to be properly taught, and teachers need to be properly trained to teach it, but I think it makes sense. And it seems to have had some remarkable results (take a look at Jackie Long's Newsnight reports for one example).
There are various different forms of phonics taught in schools and it may be worth asking your school which programme it follows. Other than the government programme, some of the best known are Jolly Phonics, with its accompanying CD and songs, and Ruth Miskin's Read Write Inc.
Miskin, a former headmistress, is evangelical about phonics and about teaching children to read. "I see our writing system as a code," she says. "What I want the child to understand is that a letter is a speech sound written down. My big thing is that every child should learn to read, but you've got to have the sound knowledge before you can ask a child to read you a word."
This is all very different to "look and say", the older method, which seemed to think that we would learn to read by seeing a collection of letters and just remembering it. A major problem here was that it meant children were not really being given the tools to decode new words. When I now watch my son, who's in Reception, work words out via how the letters sound (yesterday it was j-u-m-p), I think it's incredible.
Miskin has trained thousands of teachers with her system and is unimpressed by the government's programme. This is not, she emphasises, because she just wants to promote hers (she's positive about Jolly Phonics too), but because she doesn't think it's been thought through properly, nor that teachers have been trained in it to the right extent. But she still thinks that we're on the right lines, and that teaching children something which isn't abstract can only help them in the future.
We still have thousands of children who find learning to read problematic. Can this, properly taught, be the answer?
Read the government's key guidance on phonics and early reading
More on the Miskin programme and Jolly Phonics
Oxford University Press publish some fantastic Read Write Inc phonics books. They tell parents exactly how to use them and are perfect for new readers. I'm not that impressed by the Oxford Treehouse books (at least the early ones) and have found these to be much better.
Read School Gate:
How to help your child to read
Do schools need libraries and librarians?
What's a numberline?
I like to be balanced on this blog, so, after criticising him recently, I have to say that I'm probably on the side of Ed Balls today. No, don't faint in horror. I make my decisions on issues based on the facts as I see them. When it comes to today's announcement on compulsory PHSE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education) I think a) it's right that children should learn about their bodies, relationships, careers and sex education, and b) that schools should be given some leeway in how these are taught.
In fact, the only thing that I find slightly scary about today's announcement is that although this is being made compulsory, in both primary and secondary schools, parent will still be able to opt-out (though "only" up to the age of 15). I just worry that it's the parents who would ask for an opt-out whose children really need the information (doesn't this seem like a little bit of a fudge?). At least they will receive a year of it (the opt-out ends at age 15).
Lack of knowledge can be dangerous, and gaps can be filled in from elsewhere. But if schools teach youngsters about the differences between boys and girls, healthy relationships and body image, and different kinds of relationships (hetero and homosexual) then I think they're providing a service. Yes, it's all very easy to say that parents should be given this job, and many of us will do it. So much the better - we'll probably be reinforcing what the school has already explained. But some parents won't have these conversations and the kids will never learn. Aren't schools supposed to be there to educate? This is surely a very valid form of education.
And let's be clear. We are not talking about teaching young children to "have sex". the idea is to give them an idea about relationships, and to develop that as they get older. What is wrong with learning about puberty, parts of the body, and the effects of drugs (though of course this is a different issue, which has been much in the news these past few days)? PHSE will also cover other issues such as dealing with cyber-bullying, managing bank accounts and dealing with gangs. All useful, wouldn’t you say?
My only real problem is whether there are enough good and qualified teachers to teach this subject (a question I have raised before). Let's hope there are - otherwise it will all be rather pointless.
You can see Ed Balls' notice on the announcement here.
Jennifer Howze explains why sex education is so important on Alphamummy
Read School Gate:
The joys of sex - sex education through the years
Why aren't students being told more about sex?
Sex education classes - let's hope there are teachers...
My guest blogger today is Jayne Howarth, who writes about her recent experience of the secondary school application process. Her post is particularly interesting because it's a rather frightening tale of what it's like when the process seems to be going wrong (before it's properly begun). What I find unsettling in all of this is how local authorities seem to be contracting out education services to companies which parents find very difficult to deal with. This also came up in a piece I posted on early this year (about a popular school threatened with closure which was eventually saved).
Over to Jayne:
"As every parent who has a child in Year 6 knows: there are some crucial decisions to be made right about now...It is time to send in those secondary preference forms.
It's possible that like me, you’ve spent the past year or two thinking about the next stage of your child’s education. You will have trawled data, visited school websites, spoken to parents, teachers and headteachers. You will have done the all-important, yet exhausting, open evenings at the secondary schools you think are the most suitable for your child.
Imagine, then, what the parents of Year 6 children in Walsall felt a few weeks ago when they opened an envelope from Serco – the organisation that runs education services in the borough – to tell them that a rather important change had been made to one school’s admission policy.
We had one week’s notice before our forms had to be handed in, but thanks to the Schools Adjudicator, the admission criteria for one secondary school – Shire Oak School– had been changed with immediate effect. The adjudicator, Dr Elizabeth Passmore, had agreed with objectors from a nearby primary school in neighbouring Staffordshire that the Shire Oak’s primary partner status did not pass muster.
Under the partnership, Shire Oak works with ten primary schools in the borough, helping with maths and science projects, getting youngsters from year 5 and up engaged in the subjects. It is a partnership – not a feeder arrangement. While there were never any guarantees that those children from the partner schools would gain a place there, they did have an advantage because primary partner school was part of the admissions criteria. It was criterion four – above the distance criterion that most schools impose.
But Dr Passmore – for a myriad reasons – made a determination that the criterion must not stand and must be removed this year. The decision advantages approximately 20 children at the school that appealed against the decision to the detriment of the 400+ children in the partnership.
Continue reading "Applying for secondary school: one parent's story of a threat to her child's transition from primary to secondary" »
Football can be an all consuming passion - for fans as well as players. And football clubs are beginning to realise the power of using that passion in other areas.
These days the big football clubs all have their own education and charity sections. They play a part in local communities, from encouraging kids to learn languages (the Arsenal Double Club) to encouraging children to eat healthily and pursue a healthy lifestyle (Manchester United's, Fitness, Food & Football programme). There are also a number of schemes based around literacy and encouraging reading, and particularly an aim to persuade more boys that reading, as well as kicking around a ball, is for them.
Last week I went to my own club, Spurs, for the launch of a fabulous book of football passion! Tottenham 'Til I Die is a book of fans' stories and feelings about the club they love. It includes tales from an Edinburgh-born fan (who smuggled in a Spurs kit to wear on school photograph day) and a 90 year old who had a heart attack after a game (he survived to tell the tale). He says that as he was lying on the concrete, he thought "This is it - but at least we won!".
True, the book won't really appeal to anyone except a Spurs fan, but it is one of a number of 'Til I Die books. Others include Portsmouth, Brentford, Bristol City and Ipswich.
The book is a love letter about being a football fan. But it is also more than that. Published in partnership with the National Literacy Trust, it has given young fans and old the opportunity to write and be published (the club ran writing workshops for those who wanted to take part). Around 600 copies of the book are also to be sent to local libraries and schools to be used for literacy purposes.
"It's producing a resource for schools, but it's also bringing kids and parents together around reading and writing," Steve Cowan from the Institute of Education (who originally came up with the idea) explained to me. Jim Sells, from the National Literacy Trust added, "Some think that books, reading and writing are not for them, but it''s what enables us to communicate. It's what makes us human."
And Anna Rimington, who works for the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation was also keen to point out the book's benefits.
"We want to encourage reading and challenge the stereotypes of who is a reader and who is a writer," she said. "Just because you like football doesn't mean you shouldn't read."
The launch was a great success, not only because it was attended by many of those whose stories are in the book. Four Tottenham "legends" - Les Ferdinand, Clive Allen (whom you can see in the clip), Pat Jennings and Cliff Jones - were also present, although I'm afraid that all the players lived up to the stereotype of only reading non-fiction (lots of mentions of autobiographies and newspapers when I asked them what they read!). However, Les Ferdinand (who added that he also reads "spiritual" books) was evangelical about the importance of education and how it's wrong that boys see reading as un-macho. Hopefully, he added, this book will help change that.
Other clubs are interested in putting together their own 'Til I Die books, so keep an eye out. Parents often tell me that they're worried that their children (often boys) don't read. I point out that they should try not to be too prescriptive about it. Reading about football, comics, magazines or superheroes is fine too...
Read School Gate:
What do Wayne Rooney and Harry Potter have in common?
Encouraging reading - more books for boys
The books which boys should read - even if they don't like reading.
 Today the chief School Adjudicator, Ian Craig, published his annual report. He had been asked by Ed Balls to look specifically at three areas - random allocation in admission arrangements (i.e. lotteries), what should happen to twins/children from multiple births when it comes to school allocations and what should be done to parents who make fraudulent or misleading school applications.
For many parents, applying for school is one of the most stressful times of their lives, and it seems to be getting worse and worse. Last week it was revealed that more and more parents are appealing against the school their child has been allocated to, and for many, the idea of "parental choice" is an absolute pipe-dream.
Mr. Craig got it right today when he recommended that twins shouldn't be sent to separate schools against their parents' wishes. He's also dismissed parental concerns about places awarded by lottery, saying they are used rarely (although personally, I think they are fairer than other ways of awarding places and can't be cheated).
He's also right when he says that the government must allow local authorities to crack down on parents who lie and cheat to get their kids into an oversubscribed school. Yet Ed Balls doesn't want to do this – the only suggestion he liked was that of an advertising campaign pointing out that if you lie to get your child in, you are depriving another child of that place. Does he honestly think that people who go to these lengths don't realise that, or haven't thought about it?
It is, of course, what to do about fraudulent or misleading applications which will interest most people. Many parents seem to think there is a magic formula to getting their child into a good school, and when they realise that there often isn't (except for living in the right place and filling in the forms properly), some don't give up. They falsify addresses, for example, or pretend they have split up with their partner and rent somewhere nearer the school short-term. Some of these attempts are more folklore than real, as it's pointed out in today's annual report, but examples do include short term rental, using a business address as the home address or using a friend's address.
Mr Craig reports that 57 local authorities considered fraudulent/misleading applications to be a problem in their area. But he found it more worrying that a number of authorities said they weren't aware of ANY of these type of applications!
As I know from writing this blog, a rather frightening number of parents consider that what's most important for them and their family is solely how their child does. They don't care if it is unfair to others and don't appear to consider society as a whole when they dismiss attempts to help those who are worse off than them (one argument, often used, is that if those "other" parents only cared as much as they did, then they would do the same). Mr Balls needs to realise this. What he's done today (and you can read his response to the report online) is to suggest that Mr Craig goes away and comes up with some more proposals for how to deal with parents who deceive (even though there are a number of proposals in the report). And Mr Balls makes it very clear that he doesn't want to "criminalise" parents.
But what these parents fail to understand, or more likely don't care about, is that fiddling the system denies another child the right to go there. "Every school place obtained by deception is unfair," says Mr Craig.
But local authorities are in a very difficult position, and so many of these parents go unpunished. Not only that, but younger siblings automatically get into the school at a later date! As the adjudicator says today, parents have nothing to lose by lying. Isn't that ridiculous?
Today's report points out that many LA's won't withdraw places from children who get in unfairly - they don't want to punish the children. Why not? They should know what their parents did. A sizeable number of local authorities want these parents to be prosecuted. I find this tempting. Surely there should be some disincentives.
I'm saddened by this entire situation, but also concerned that it keeps coming up, as I think we're missing a major point in education at the moment. Demographics is making a huge difference to the system and putting huge strains on schools and admissions. There are simply not enough places and that's getting worse. If it isn't addressed, then the number of children not getting a place at a school and the number of parents appealing and, unfortunately, the number of those trying to cheat the system will continue to rise. Who is going to address this?
Read School Gate:
Need help with school applications? Read this...
Panic: what it's really like to see your child apply for a selective school
School lotteries - the fairest way forward?
Many primary schools have libraries, but often these potentially fantastic sources of inspiration and imagination are not utilised properly. No one's really in charge of them and children receive little guidance on what they might enjoy reading. Some schools have no libraries at all - it's argued that they are a luxury which simply can't be budgeted for.
It's no surprise then that schools with libraries and librarians to run them are evangelical about the benefits. It's a lot more common in private schools than state, and in secondary schools rather than primary, even though we all know how important it is to start the reading bug while young. However, some state schools are determined to hang onto people whom they find inspirational.
Last month Lucy Bakewell, from Hill West Primary School in Sutton Coldfield was announced as the School Librarian of the Year. It was the first time a librarian from a primary school had won the award. You can see Lucy in the picture.
The Judges said of Lucy, who is actually a teaching assistant at the school: "Few primary schools can afford to have a librarian and many rely on dedicated individuals, such as Lucy to run their libraries. Lucy inspires her pupils to love books and reading and she inspires the adults around her. Hill West School is an example of a marvellous school where reading and books are central to learning, much of which is down to Lucy. We feel that it is really important to raise the profile of good primary school library practice, to demonstrate that with the right person in place wonderful things can be achieved."
Here Lucy explains why libraries are a necessity and not something we can cut out in these cash struck times.
"Today, when schools are striving to raise standards in reading and writing, we need champions to place themselves at the heart of school strategies. Their aim – to engage pupils in and enthuse them about books.
It is the most exciting time in history to be a school librarian. Never has there been a better point in time to create effective information centres for our children. Ones that play a crucial role in raising attainment, creating readers and developing skills for life.
With the advent of the internet, much funding for libraries has been reduced. Some have even suggested that libraries are no longer a viable facility in schools and are replacing them with ICT suites:
‘Why do we need a library when we can find all the information we want on the internet?’
Continue reading "Do schools need libraries and librarians? A teaching assistant and award-winning librarian explains why they do..." »
The Battle of Ideas is a weekend which tests your intellect. It's open to all, as long as you can make it to London (though there are some satellite events in New York and Frankfurt). Still the main event - which takes place this Saturday and Sunday - is a terrific idea-fest (not that such a word exists).
Experts (and me) will be discussing all sorts of issues. These include Frank Furedi on the "crisis of adult authority in the classroom" and Vince Cable on "the state and recession: solution or part of the problem." My appearance, on teachers as role models, is taking place on Sunday at 12.30, but there are lots of other education events too. There are also special deals for students and schools.
To find out more, log onto the battleofideas.org.uk and do your brain a favour...
We all have to learn to tell the time, and many of us probably can't remember how we ever managed to do so. What you might recall is how difficult it was, and this is something I've been reminded of in recent years as my children have started learning about clocks.
After all, it's hard to do things in 60s. It would all be so much easier if minutes were 100 seconds and hours were a hundred minutes. And all that big hand/little hand stuff is very complicated too. One minute we're saying that a hand on the one means one o'clock. The next we're saying it means five past the hour. How confusing....
Jamie Rugge-Price first thought about this when his children - who are now grown-up and have children of their own - were small. He also spoke to various teachers about it and realised that they found telling the time frustrating to teach. It took a while, but he finally decided to do something about it.
 "Telling the time is a basic life skill," he says. "It should be easy and fun, but it isn't. Then I had a Eureka moment. I thought 'what shape is an hour?' If it could be visualised, telling the time would be so much easier."
Jamie decided to come up with a concept for telling the time, and he called it a nonsense name (and acronym of his four daughters' names), Aramazu.
I shall briefly stop the story for a moment. I get sent a lot of things - books, teaching aids etc - and look at them all. Some impress me more than others. I have to admit that I was very impressed by Aramazu, and especially when my son, who's four, started to understand the concept of telling the time. He understood the hours and half pasts (seen in this method as time climbing a mountain) very quickly. The minutes were a bit more complicated, but he was still keen to learn more.
Jamie wrote about his method in a series of storybooks. The key to them is how visual they are - an hour is the shape of a mountain, and it takes 30 minutes to walk to the top of the hour or down to the half past. The hour hand is a finger, and the minute hand a foot.
Jamie tested the books and refined them. Then he tested them again. The results have been good; unsurprisingly he just wants more people to know about it.
Cheryl Hossle is a Year 1/2 teacher at a state school in the Forest of Dean. She has used the Aramazu method for teaching children to tell the time for the last two years and is very impressed. She also acts as an educational consultant to Jamie.
"Aramazu is not abstract," she says. "From the books the children can see why we need time, and how everything can go wrong if we don't have it. They can also work out how to use the feet and finger method. They make the connections."
Hossle says that this method works well for dyslexic children too, because it is so visual. "It addresses thinking skills and is humorous," she says. "I've been very pleased with the results we've had".
The Aramazu method (you can see a clock in the illustration) comes in different forms, for children of different ages. As I say, I am quite convinced by it, and would be interested to know what other people think. Or if anyone has any other brilliant ways to teach children how to tell the time.
Young people not in education, training or employment (Neets) are a priority for the government, but their situation seems to be getting worse and worse. Just what can be done?
Journalist Fran Abrams has been looking for answers to this very question. Her new book, Learning to Fail is a searing and intelligent look at a real problem for society. Here Fran explains why we can't just blame the recession, and how simple personal support could be crucial.
"Why are so many young people out of work? On one level, the answer seems obvious – Britain is mired in its longest recession since records began. When our gross domestic product went into freefall, the number of 16-24 year-olds outside the labour market began to rise towards the one million mark.
But look again – even before the recession, about ten per cent of young people were deemed ‘Neet,’ or Not in Education, Employment or Training. From the mid-nineties we had a decade of relative prosperity, yet the figure remained stubbornly static. Whatever is ailing our youth, it isn’t just the economy.
Two years ago I was awarded a fellowship by the Joseph Rowntree Foundationto investigate the problem. I was convinced there must be deep-rooted social issues, particularly in poorer neighbourhoods, which were creating a generation of disengaged, underqualified youngsters.
I sought out teenagers in inner-city Manchester, in post-industrial Barnsley and in the poor and ethnically-mixed East End of London, and spent a year following their fortunes, digging into their family backgrounds, their aspirations and their educational lives. What I found was a significant minority of children who seemed born to fail.
For many of these kids, the game was lost before they entered playgroup, let alone school. The sad truth was they were born into a world that had moved on, leaving them, their families and their communities floundering. When their parents were teenagers, they didn’t need qualifications, or even aspirations. They could walk out of school at 15 into a manual job.
“I never went to college, and it didn’t do me any harm,” parents would say. They knew the world had changed – their local pits, their mills and their docks had all closed. Yet they didn’t know what their kids had to do to survive in the modern market.
Continue reading "Learning to Fail - just what can be done about young people who are not in education, work or training? A new book aims to find out..." »
A few months ago, Joe Iles, then a GCSE student, wrote me a very interesting and well argued piece asking for less politics in GCSEs. Now Joe, who is 17, and studying Latin, German, History and Maths at A level has written me another article. This time it's about a trip he took with his school - and how much influence this has had on him.
Over to Joe:
"As a young person, I’ve noticed a definite increase in awareness of poverty in Africa. At school, many people sport “make poverty history” wristbands, Live Aid was very well received and Comic Relief is watched by a very large percentage of us. However, the media’s portrayal of relationships between developing and developed countries is invariably that it is a one-way transaction – the developed give to the developing.
This summer, our school was involved in the Global Schools’ Partnership Project, funded by the department for International Development, which links our school, King Edward’s in Bath, with Wagwer School in Western Kenya. The project promotes a programme of cultural exchange between the two schools, and in July, thirty-two English students and seven members of staff from were lucky enough to travel to Wagwer.
Unlike many trips to developing countries, although we did raise enough money for the construction of a laboratory, and we did take over a number of donated items, this was not the main focus of the trip. Throughout our ten day stay, we camped at the school itself, alongside 32 Kenyan students, and for all of us involved, much more satisfaction was gained from the relationships formed than the donation of material goods.
To start with, conversation was tentative, and a touch awkward, but as time went on, conversation progressed and we really got to know the Kenyans well. As friendships developed, we got talking about our differences. I remember, during a tour of the school, being shown a patch of ground with the beginnings of a crop and I was surprised when Steve, my friend, declared that this was his “agriculture exam – paper 2”. He was equally taken aback to hear that I only had one sibling, and when I told him I had a cat, he replied, “But why? Cats are useless.”
But we had as many similarities as differences. Although a cliché, it is true that sport is a universal language, and we spent most afternoons engaged in an international football match (we eventually took the series after borrowing some of their players).
Continue reading ""Cats are useless!" One student's trip to Africa, and what it taught him..." »
There are some myths which become firmly ensconced in people's minds, even though they are quite definitely wrong. I saw this on my blog recently, when those commenting on a post about nursery rhymes were keen to prove to others that Ring a Ring of Roses was not written about the plague.
These ten are are some of the best - though I'm not sure they can all be blamed on the school system. Thanks very much to Manolith, and a post written by a some-time teacher, Paul Jury, whose list they are. Please let me know if you can think of any more! (Be sure to check out Paul Jury's blog too, for more humorous lists and witticisms....)
1) Einstein got bad grades in school.
Generations of children have been heartened by the thought that this Nobel Prize winner did badly at school, but they're sadly mistaken. In fact, he did very well at school, especially in science and maths (unsurprisingly). Jury explains this as being down to Americans interpreting Einstein's 4's as D's. Karl Kruszelnicki, however, explains that it was all to do with changes to the system of marking at Einstein's school (back in1896). Either way, the myth is not true, and children do need to work to succeed. Sorry!
2) Mice like cheese
Dear oh dear. While any young child could tell you this, any mice would (if they could speak rather than squeak) explain otherwise. It appears that mice enjoy food rich in sugar, as explained in the Times, as well as peanut butter and breakfast cereals (things, as Paul Jury points out, that are rich in grains and seeds, which they are used to). So a Snickers bar would go down much better than a lump of cheddar.
3) Napoleon was short.
Ah, the aggressive short man (often called, ironically, the Napoleon) complex. Short men love a hero and Napoleon appears to fit the bill. In fact, it appears that a mistranslation explains why some said he was just 5ft 2. He was actually around 5ft 7, completely average for the 18th/19th century.
4) Thomas Edison invented the light bulb.
I don't know how many times I've heard this one and wanted to point out that it's just damn wrong! Edison invented a lot of things - in fact he's one of the most famous inventors of all time - but the light bulb wasn't one of them. What he did was develop a light bulb at the same time as the British man, Joseph Swan, who came up with it originally...
5) Lemmings throw themselves over cliffs to commit suicide
Why do we have such negative opinions of lemmings? The poor old things are sometimes so desperate for food that they do, according to the BBC "jump over high ground into water", but they aren't committing group suicide. Paul Jury blames Disney for showing the lemmings doing this in an early nature film. They've been tarnished ever since.
Continue reading "The 10 biggest misconceptions we learn in school" »
So, the applications are in, and all those students who applied for Oxford and Cambridge are nervously waiting to see if they get interviews. But is there anything they can do to prepare?
Well, according to Oxbridge Applications(who help students prepare for entrance to Oxford and Cambridge), there is. They have compiled a list of the top 30 subject specific books which they recommend bright would-be Oxbridge applicants to read as they prepare for their interview over the coming weeks. Read on to find out what they are (the explanations are in Oxbridge Applications own words...)
‘"Reading around your subject syllabus is fundamental," says James Uffindell, the graduate who founded the company in his final year at Oxford in 1999. "It gives applicants the chance to display their powers of lateral thinking, develop their own ideas about a subject and show how they can manage their own intelligence confidently. It can form the basis for stimulating intellectual discussion - the key to a good interview.
"Of course there are thousands of books we could have chosen," he adds. ‘This is just a shortlist of our top recommendations."
However, let me just sound a little note of caution. Don't pretend to have read these books if you haven't. I know of numerous students who have been caught out this way. Mind you, I also know one who was caught out having lied on his form (about reading Tom Jones). He's convinced that, because he then relaxed during his interview (he assumed he hadn't got in) the tutor got to see the "real him" and offered him a place!
Politics & Social Sciences
Machiavelli, The Prince- rarely seen on Personal Statements, a classic book that analyses the use of power. To quote one Oxford PPE graduate, ‘the book possibly has a permanent home on Lord Mandelson’s bedside table.’
David Marquand, Britain Since 1918 – a superb study of post 1918 British political history.
Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis – a graphic novel about an ordinary girl’s life in Tehran. Beautifully illustrated and an interesting insight into what life might be like under a religious dictatorship.
Sattareh Farman Farmaian and Dona Munker, Daughter of Persia: A Woman's Journey from Her Father's Harem Through the Islamic Revolution - an interesting personal account exploring life as a member of a dynasty important under the old Shah, but who was forced to flee during the Islamic Revolution as a result of her relations and connections.
Humanities & Arts
Ryszard Kapuscinski, Imperium- Pulling together his journalism from three visits to disparate parts of the Soviet Empire, in the 1960s, mid 1980s and just after the collapse of the USSR, critically acclaimed author and journalist Kapuscinski’s account is easy to read, yet full of terrible but captivating stories.
Nicholas Stargardt, Witnesses of War– an account of children’s experiences in Germany and the occupied territories of Eastern Europe, Stargardt uses a range of surprising sources such as children’s letters to their parents, diaries and pictures to explore how a whole generation of European children were shaped by the horrors of 1939 – 1945.
Richard Hillary, The Last Enemy – an evocative and highly readable account of Hillary’s own experiences as a fighter pilot in World War II, (he was studying at Trinity College Oxford when he joined up in 1939) in which he was shot down and spent months in hospital, undergoing plastic surgery (then in its infancy) to rebuild his face and hands.
Henri Barbusse, Le Feu (‘Under Fire,’ in English) – one of the first accounts of the First World War from the perspective of the French trenches.
W.G. Sebald, The Emigrants– four meandering and beautifully written stories of displaced characters. The use of words, the subtlety of the expression and feeling, and the evocation of mood, is Sebald at his best and a classic of our generation.
Andrew Bennett and Nicholas Royle, An Introduction to Literature, Criticism and Theory – broken down into easy to read chapters which make quite complex ideas manageable. They also have lots of suggestions for further reading. Definitely a saviour for lots of English students all the way through to finals.
Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Women – one of the earliest works of feminist philosophy, responding to traditional eighteenth century political and educational theory that believed women should not have an education.‘
Continue reading "The top 30 books you should read before your Oxbridge interview..." »
It's time to apply for schools and as always, I'm keen to help in any way I can.
I have various posts which will help you when it comes to applying for primary and secondary schools.
However, one of the most important things is to choose your school carefully and fill in the forms correctly! You would be surprised how many parents don't do this. Admissions policies/rules and regulations often change, so make sure you check them. If you are applying for a state school, you must use your Local Authority's application form. But beware, many schools, including faith schools, also require you to fill in a supplementary form which you hand back to the school. You should ask the school for this information.
Read my post on applying to primary school - what you need to know.
- as I say in that post, there are also various government publications to help. One of the most obvious starting points is the "Primary and Secondary Schools, admissions and appeals" booklet. There is also more information on applying for a school place on the Directgov website - you can find out about schools in your area by clicking on “find out about primary school places.” If you're interested in independent schools, try the Independent Schools Council which has a helpful Parents Zone.
Read School Gate on School Open Days: what you should be asking and see what Alexandra Frean thinks you should be asking a school - before you send your child there.
And for extra info, read my explanation of all the different kinds of secondary schools out there.
If you think you might need more help with admissions and appeals, read this post, and remember that you can always contact ACE (the advisory centre for education) if you need more advice. Your local authority should also be able to help, but as Francis Gilbert points out in his latest book, Working the System: how to get the very best education for your child, local authority Choice Advisers may not always be completely impartial (although they are very well informed).
Getting into the right school is a very stressful and touchy issue for many parents. We have all heard stories of those who rent a house near a good school to get in, and yes, this can work (I know some of these parents myself). However, you do have to live in the house in question, and local authorities are trying very hard to crack down on those who abuse this.
I would also say that you should never give a false address on an application form as there are moves to prosecute parents who do this. Basically, try to stop becoming obsessed! Many poor schools have been turned around by good headteachers in recent years. Before you fill in the applications, meet the heads at your local schools and ask them some searching questions. Don't give up on a local school because of hearsay. Do your own research. You might be surprised.
Finally, try to stay calm. Teachers and schools are important but so are parents. You need to make your child doesn't see how worried you might be, and also to realise that you are an incredibly strong influence on your child's education, whatever school he or she gets into.
Good luck!
Read School Gate on whether parents who submit fraudulent school applications should be prosecuted.
 As you may have seen from my earlier review, I very much enjoyed the film An Education. However, I did find one thing very disconcerting...
All the way through the film Peter Sarsgaard, who plays the love-interest, David, reminded me of somebody.
I couldn't put my finger on whom, and was a bit irritated. Was it a good-looking Ewan McGregor I wondered? Certainly there was a faint resemblance. But no, I decided it wasn't him.
Then, two thirds of the way through, I realised. Sarsgaard reminded me of a younger, bit thinner and certainly more charming Ed Balls! I can't seem to get away from the man, even on a trip to the cinema....
You can see the two of them in the picture, and hopefully you'll get what I mean. Has this ever happened to you (not necessarily with Ed Balls) but with any politician?
Read my review of An Education
Read School Gate:
Is Jack Black really the best teacher in the movies?
An Education has a stand-out performance from Carey Mulligan, and gives a lot of food for thought to anyone interested in education. Yes, much has changed since the early 60s, when it wasn't clear what women would actually do with their education ("You've got to tell us what it's for," begs Mulligan, as the main character Jenny, to her headteacher), but some of the issues are still the same.
The film is set in 1961, before the onset of the "swinging sixties". And when Jenny meets good-looking (though somewhat smarmy) David, he introduces her to a world full of the glamour that's noticeably missing from her life. She's desperate to go to Oxford to study English, but meeting David makes her question that dream. Who knows what's best for her? Is it Jenny, her parents (who are also swept off their feet by David) or her English teacher, Miss Stubbs (whom you can see in the picture).
 Olivia Williams does a great job as Miss Stubbs. It's her second marvellous performance as a teacher, following her turn as the delightful Rosemary Cross in Rushmore. In this film, however, she's a serious English teacher with her hair swept back in a tight bun. And Miss Stubbs lives for students like Jenny, who care deeply about her subject. "You can do anything you want," she tells Jenny, desperate for her star pupil not to turn her back on the intellectual opportunity of a life-time. "Go to Oxford, no matter what."
Miss Stubbs is not the star of the film and doesn't overshadow Mulligan. But her character is tender, passionate and complicated. She's a teacher who inspires and who wants to help, someone all school pupils could benefit from having. Don't we all need someone like this in our life, especially if things, as Jenny finds, doesn't always go as planned?
Read why the film reminded me of Ed Balls...
Read School Gate:
The 15 most inspiring teachers in films
The 15 worst teachers in films
If you didn't see Dead Poet's Society at the time, don't see it now.
As you may know, I'm all for education in a broad sense - not just in school, but out. So I love the idea of reading, music, visiting museums and taking the kids to art galleries too.
That may explain why I'm mentioning a fantastic Art Treasure Trail taking place during next week's half-term. Publishers Dorling Kindersley (who have recently published their very own new Children's Book of Art) have teamed up with four of London's leading art galleries for a free trail which sounds like great fun. The reward is a hands-on Art Masterclass Party where children will make a giant collage for display in The Dali Universe on London's Southbank.
The trail starts at the National Gallery where you (or more likely your child) will receive a goody bag. You will then visit the National Portrait Gallery, Hayward Gallery and The Dali Universe for a feast of art. This will culminate in activities including face painters, self-portraits, a giant collage and a short history of art by actors. Plus, anyone with a completed route map will be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes!
Take a look at the treasure trail map and registration details
and have fun.....
Let me know about any plans you have for great trips with the kids this half-term (especially if they're educational).
Read School Gate
Can magic help kids to learn?
Why we loved the Roald Dahl museum
Last week I posted a piece by Joanna Abyeie about how aspiring journalists from ethnic minority backgrounds can make it in the media.
I've now become aware of The Video College, which is offering one year of industry film training to 10 Londoners from black and ethnic minority communities. Move on Up is for 10 young men and women who are motivated, committed and serious about gaining the skills and knowledge that will help them make a career in film.
Industry professionals will deliver hands-on, production-based training. Participants will produce a short film, a 10-minute drama and at the end of the programme be invited to produce their own shorts. They will also have continuous mentoring and career advice.
It sounds like a remarkable opportunity, especially as it includes masterclasses with leading producers and directors including Mike Hodges (Get Carter), Menelik Shabazz (Burning an Illusion) and Don Boyd (Scum), along with specialist courses with the Production Guild of Great Britain among others. Move On Up is open to any young people aged 18 to 23 from black or ethnic minority communities in London. The closing date for applications is 4th December, with interviews taking place in the week of 14th December.
Contact The Video College on 020 8964 2641or online.
Read School Gate on wanting to become a journalist.
 Students across the country are currently applying to university. And many will be desperate to study at particular institutions. Back in 2007, Frances Perraudin (who was at a state school and predicted 3 As at A level) was one of those students. Applying to read English literature, she wanted to go to Edinburgh the following year. She was devastated to be rejected
But Frances, who is now studying English at UCL, decided to try to find out just why Edinburgh had said no. What she discovered may well be of use to other students too - especially if they come from down south (even if it's only as south as Sheffield!).....
Over to Frances:
"I really wanted to study at Edinburgh and by the time the result came through on my UCAS account, my prospects for the next academic year were not looking too good. I hadn't yet received offers from anywhere I wanted to go to (and hadn't heard from a few places, like UCL).
So, I emailed the application centre at Edinburgh asking them for a detailed explanation of their admissions system. This was in order to assess whether or not it would be worth taking a gap year and re-applying. Was there any way of adjusting my application to increase my chances of being made an offer? My logic was that they couldn’t have filled all their places with students who, like me, were from state schools and had better grades than I did. There had to be something I was missing.
After a few fob-off replies from the admissions office, I got what I was looking for. The email explained that the admissions were administered with a point system. As a student who was predicted AAA at A level I was awarded 4 points. I was given a further point for achieving more than 6A* grades at GCSE. They awarded 2 points to students who indicated on their personal statement that they were the first generation to apply to university. I am by no means in the first generation in my family to apply to university, but had I been so, I’m sure I would not have thought to mention it on my personal statement (and anyway, how can anybody verify such a claim?) They also explained that they sought to put ‘educational achievement into context’ by looking at A2 point scores from every school for the last three years. This seems fair to me. Although I went to a comprehensive, it was a high-achieving one and I deserved no extra credit for having gone there.
I was also denied a point because my school, which was in Sheffield, was outside Edinburgh’s ‘specified locality’, meaning Scotland, plus areas of England north of Yorkshire and Lancashire. I would also have been awarded a point if any special circumstances had been highlighted by me or by my school. My final score was therefore 5 points.
Continue reading "Applying to university - why getting into Edinburgh may be harder than you think (especially if you live down south)" »
Well, my new guest blogger Julia Richmond* certainly got people talking with her first post on trying to set up a PTA at her daughter's school. I think Julia herself was quite surprised by the reaction, but now she's back with episode 2 of a very unsupportive school. And she wants to point out that everything she writes below is true...
"There was good news and bad news at the start of the spring term, although the bad somewhat outweighed the good, which was that the headmistress - who had decided to stay until summer - had had the Inner London Education Authority sticker removed from one of the front windows. Ffor those not up to speed on protest culture, saving ILEA was a big cause circa 1990, so that sticker – not to mention the rest of the grime on that window which, incidentally, belonged to the kitchen – had quite a vintage. It was a triumph of cleaning only partially undermined by the dead mouse clearly visible in the crate where Y3 put their lunch boxes.
Over the holidays, by a series of coincidences and some low-level detective work, I had managed to get in touch with a woman who had taught at the school a few years before. I had half hoped that she would set me straight, defend the institution and its noble staff but she cheerfully agreed with my critique – “it was soul destroying” - and, most damningly of all, told me that staff at the local authority had warned her not to take a job there.
Oh dear.
Still, with some of the money we had raised from the Christmas tea, the PTA decided to plant some of the weed-strewn and withered beds at the front of the school. And my God, what a difference a few pansies and some clipped box can make: other parents stopped us at the school gate and told us how great it looked; the children who helped plant it were beside themselves with glee and, yes, we felt bathed in a certain smug glow. Just imagine what we could do if we raised a couple of thousand!
So we started planning an Easter tea – an egg hunt and bonnet parade to replace the carols of our winter effort – and that old staple, the school disco, with renewed vigour while we planned what to spend our theoretical haul on. They seemed, to us, innocent enough enterprises but the school viewed any form of enjoyment with suspicion.
“We want to get some more money together to provide equipment for the playground,” explained the chair of the PTA to the headteacher who wore an expression of deep foreboding throughout the meeting. “You know, it would be great if we could get something to go alongside that old climbing frame. My daughter loves that by the way.”
Keen to play up the positive in this sad excuse of a playground, we all agreed that the shabby but seemingly sturdy climbing frame was a marvellous attraction in the desert of fun that was the school’s outside space. Two days later, we dropped off our children to find it had been cordoned off, its ladders chopped to pieces. “The timber was rotten,” the caretaker told us with a smirk. “Health and safety.”
Continue reading "When you hate your child's school: the travails of Julia Richmond, part 2" »
There is a lot more to the Cambridge Primary Review than suggesting that children start school - and learning - later. Other issues which the 600 page report addresses include broadening the curriculum so that children can focus more on subjects other than literacy, numeracy and science. I think this is vital, and the only way to build up a love of subjects such as history or art, which can often be hard in the current set-up.
The Review recommends that schools look at staffing, and that they don't use cheaper and less highly trained teaching assistants as teacher substitutes. It also calls for more primary school funding, which makes a huge amount of sense. After all, if you stop the children from falling behind at primary school, then you don't have to play an expensive catch-up game later on.
But I think it's probably the starting age which has caught most people's attention, and, as the mother of a child who recently started in Reception, this obviously interests me too.
Continue reading "The Cambridge Primary Review - should children be starting school later and doing more play-based learning?" »
There's more depressing news on the education front today. In The Times, Joanna Sugden reports that children are struggling with language skills in schools and that it's vital for parents to speak to, and read to, their children. Meanwhile in the Daily Mail, it's reported that boys are falling ever behind, even at a really young age. Many can't write their name by the end of Reception year; they're falling behind girls in vital aspects of the curriculum - and life.
As regular readers of the blog will know, I am convinced that it's incredibly important to do something about boys and their under-achievement in schools. I am often asked to recommend books for boys (and there are loads), for my views on their disinterest in writing or how they won't settle at school. I've written about this a number of times (please see below) and am saddened not only that it's still an issue, but that not much seems to be taking place to address it.
There seems little point in my writing about the issues again, so I'm going to mention an initiative which hopes to get children reading again. Innocent and Francesca Simon (author of the Horrid Henry books, which are incredibly popular amongst girls and boys) have teamed up to inspire parents to tell stories.
The idea is that children will create a series of 26 stories, one for each letter of the alphabet. Simon has written the opening line (including such gems as "Electric bolts shot from the alien's nose"!), but it's up to you and/or your child to decide what happens next and add the next line.
A winning line will be chosen each day, from the start of the competition next Monday. You can have a sneak preview here.
I do feel that there are an awful lot of initiatives to encourage kids to read and write. There are poetry competitions, PR campaigns like this one, and all sorts of book tie-in, from our own Books for Schools, to Puffin's We Make Stories (which I've mentioned before).
The problem is that we need everyone to take advantage of these, not just the ( if I'm allowed to say it), educated and generally concerned people who read School Gate. Most of these, I guess, already talk and read to their children, and we need others to do the same. I'm not sure how we do that, but perhaps it is a case of just banging on and letting people know what's out there. Does anyone else have any suggestions?
Read my article on The Trouble with Boys
And read School Gate:
Do boys need boys' schools?
How to help your child to read
How secondary schools stop boys from being creative
Sarah Weidenmüller is a 17-year-old pupil at a local comprehensive school in London Having been able to achieve remarkable results at her state school - 13.5 A* at GCSE (the half is for a short course) and 5 As at AS-level - she feels strongly about Sir Terry Leahy's remarks on the current educational system. Here Sarah sets out her arguments...
"Sir Terry Leahy's furious attack on the UK’s educational system as failing to prepare students for the work place is unjustifiable. I strongly believe that he has quite clearly failed to consider other social flaws that impact students.
Sir Terry (whom you can see in the picture) claims that standards in schools are"woefully low", a strong remark when GCSE and A-level results have been improving (A and A* grades were 21.6% of the whole, up from 20.7% last year). Although many challenge the standards of the exams, I believe that they still stretch and challenge students.
While we obviously cannot deny that there are still schools where exam statistics are appalling, it is too simplistic to attribute the poor quality of recruited staff in the retail sector to a weak educational system. Furthermore, I find the comments of Andy Clarke, ASDA chief operating executive, to be outrageous: "No one can deny that Britain has spawned a generation of young people who struggle to read, write or do simple maths. That's why we're finding packs of nappies discarded in the booze aisle, as the last few pounds are spent on alcohol rather than childcare."
What Andy Clarke fails to realise is that nowhere in the British educational system is the consumption of alcohol ever encouraged, evidence that the arguments given against it are somewhat irrelevant. Rather, I am strongly convinced that we should be pointing fingers at the perpetual barrage of unhelpful advertising that lures youngsters away from educational aspirations and into a dangerous spiral of perpetually hounding the latest trends.
I'm also concerned about the revolting nature of the many TV programmes which encourage a passive and lucrative lifestyle - surely, it is the immorality and debauchery posited here which leads not only to little educational interest among the students themselves, but also low moral standards. Moreover, what about the motivation of parents? We should be examining how they are pushing forward their children morally and intellectually, instead of constantly tearing our education to pieces. These are the failures causing poorer quality among recruited trainees, given their impact on a youngster's attitude to education.
It is time we stop heaping criticism upon criticism on an educational system which has been striving to improve itself over the years; let us start an examination of society itself first. My experience has led me to be truly happy with the educational system – I have had numerous opportunities to go on trips, participate in workshops and debate against other schools. I am furious that we are still criticising it, despite the money pumped in (the UK government’s spending on education was £79.9 billion in the fiscal year 2009). It is time, I believe, that we start to praise its efforts instead…wouldn’t you agree?"
Read School Gate
Can we please have less politics in our GCSEs - a teenager asks
Why I'm not sending my daughter to secondary school
GCSE's: the view from the trenches
Guest blogger Cathy is a teacher and parent. She's concerned that today's children are being over-stimulated while at school, and it's an interesting argument.
It's also particularly relevant because of a post I put up yesterday concerning "fun". A couple of people who commented on the post were not impressed.
"I think that having too much fun is sometimes detrimental to the classroom," commented RDW. "I learned that last year when my students would make a huge stink because we didn't ALWAYS play a game to teach vocab, or we sometimes had to write *gasp* non-fictional research papers. It made it very difficult to do any kind of normal teaching."
Now, over to Cathy. I'd be interested to know your comments. Should there be more fun in the classroom or have we gone too far?
"I recently did a day’s supply teaching in a challenging inner-city primary. The staff were lovely and welcoming – as they usually are in such schools – and the children, while many had social or intellectual handicaps, were delightful. The day passed happily enough until assembly. Thank goodness it came at the end of the day.
It was a nice idea that got a bit out of hand; one of the teachers wanted to introduce a new piece of playground equipment by using it as a teaching tool. The children (aged five to eleven) were put into teams and encouraged to use ‘teamwork’ to play a game. The result was mayhem. Rather unfortunately, in my opinion, the same teacher then blew her whistle and gave the children a good telling-off for their silly and noisy behaviour.
I felt this was wrong on many levels, but the question that accompanied me home was: are our children being over-stimulated? I’d be the first to argue that they learn more quickly and more thoroughly when their interest is engaged – but does that mean that we teachers have to entertain them constantly? Does school have to be endless fun, and if so, at what point does that stop? Because there’s always going to be a crunch time, whether it be at age six or age sixteen.
I do see a rather desperate need on the part of many adults to entertain children and avoid the spectre of boredom. This sometimes manifests itself in parents over-scheduling their children’s spare time, but is also to be seen in the relentless pursuit of ‘fun’ in lesson planning ... to the extent that there’s sometimes far more fun than learning. And, at risk of sounding like Chris Woodhead, I think that is a result of a mis-application of ‘child-centred’ teaching and a failure to understand what it really meant.
Am I right in being worried?"
Read School Gate
Why drama is great for kids
Teaching to get the best out of a child: is setting or mixed ability the best way?
This topic has been on my mind of late because tonight I am giving a talk to my old school about becoming a journalist. I know it's a profession which many, many people want to enter, but, as I'll be saying later, it's not something you should think about doing unless you really want to. While being a journalist can be satisfying and stimulating, it's also stressful and full of ups and downs. It's also not very well paid.....
However, despite any negatives, loads of people still want to enter "the media" and they don't always find it easy. It can be even tougher if you don't have any contacts, or know anyone who is a journalist (I didn't, when I started out) or if you are from an ethnic minority background.
Joanna Abeyie, who's just started out on her journalism career (and whom you can see above), is keen to make the profession more accessible to aspiring journalist from minority backgrounds. Here she explains why:
"Being mixed race, my mother from England and my father Ghanian I’ve always felt as if I had the best of both worlds, as I’m sure do many people from mixed heritage backgrounds. Although I embrace both cultures I don’t particularly view myself as a ‘mixed race person’ in any professional or personal setting. I am who I am, as they say.
When I was 16 I realised that there was nothing I would love more than to become a journalist. I started to notice how much influence the media had, would read newspapers and magazines and see such negative representations of women and young people. I wanted to use this influence and power to make a positive contribution and have an uplifting influence on those who read my articles, and to this day I still dream of owning my own portfolio of magazines and one day being the proud owner of my own magazine company.
Continue reading "Wanting to become a journalist...." »
I guess that Beth Lewis, who has written this post for about.com, would include me in her group of people who simply don't understand how hard a teacher's life can be. She's keen to point out that nobody goes into teaching "for the vacations" and that it's about time people took note of how hard teachers work. She wants some respect.
I hope I do have some idea of how hard teachers work and how dedicated the best ones can be. They often get a hard time, but we probably should cut them some slack and appreciate them more. In the meantime, enjoy these eight reasons why they are unique....
1. Summers aren’t enough recovery time.
Lewis writes: "Similar to childbirth and moving houses, only time away can offer the necessary respite (and memory failure) that allows us to gather the strength and optimism required to attempt teaching anew in the fall. Besides, summers are shrinking and many teachers use this valuable time to earn advanced degrees and attend training courses."
2. In the primary grades, we deal with gross bathroom-related issues.
Lewis writes: "Potty accidents (and more instances too disgusting to reiterate here) are something that we can’t shy away from. I’ve had third grade students who still wear diapers and let me tell you – it’s stinky."
3. We’re not just teachers. – The word “teacher” just doesn’t cover it.
Lewis writes: "When you’re a teacher, you have to be ready for everything and anything to be thrown at you on a given day. And there’s no turning it down."
4. Everything’s always our fault.
Lewis writes (fairly, I think): "Parents, principals, and society in general blame teachers for every problem under the sun. We pour our hearts and souls into teaching and 99.99% of teachers are the most generous, ethical, and competent workers you can find. We have the best of intentions in a messed-up education system. But somehow we still get the blame."
5. Our job is really serious.
Lewis writes: "In education, the problems go much deeper: a child lost on a field trip, students lamenting parents in jail, a little girl sexually assaulted on the walk home from school, a boy being raised by his great-grandmother because everyone else in his life abandoned him. These are true stories that I’ve had to witness. The pure human pain gets to you after awhile, especially if you’re a teacher out to fix everything."
Continue reading "8 reasons why non-teachers can never understand teachers...." »
Not strictly educational, but I did enjoy this video clip which shows how you can encourage more people to walk up the stairs, rather than take the escalator. The key? Fun. And that's something which we can all learn from.....
Update: should there be less fun in the classroom (a teacher asks) ?
Read School Gate:
Why are they dancing to the Sound of Music in Antwerp?
The top ten student excuses for missing class
I raise this question because it is one which came up yesterday on The Big Questions, on BBC1. I was a guest on the show (yes, my new broadcast career is continuing!) and found it fascinating to hear from other teachers and parents on this topic.
My view is that teachers (and the rest of us, including parents) should perhaps aspire to the above, but that it can't be set as an objective. I also find it hard to see why we think that we should be able to tell teachers what to do when they are out of the classroom (as long as it's not illegal and doesn't harm anyone). Surely it's what happens in the classroom what matters.
I also think that one person's idea of what's "moral" can be very different from another's...
Watch the debate here on the BBC's IPlayer - but it's only online for a week. The question about teachers starts from around 20 minutes in.
Read School Gate:
Should teachers be role models?
Apparently, it's Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, at least according to new research for National Bookstart Day, which offers a list of the most popular (you can see it below). They wouldn't be my top choices, although that may be because I favour them more for their tunes (a beautifully sung Little Boy Blue is a joy!) than their words...
I've always enjoyed telling nursery rhymes to my children, and they've enjoyed joining in, getting into the rhythm and starting off their journey into the world of books.
But apparently many parents now feel that nursery rhymes are too old-fashioned for their youngsters. Just over a third of those surveyed said they used rhymes with their kids, and almost a quarter admitted they had neversung a nursery rhyme with their child (which I find rather sad). And there is an age-gap problem too - younger people are far less likely to know the words to the rhymes.
In addition - and rather oddly - more than a fifth of those asked said they didn't use them because they were not considered "educational". Well, they may not teach you lots of facts or figures, but they do teach you about language, and stimulate your brain by remembering the words (and songs). And if you don't believe me, read what Professor Roger Beard, Head of Primary Education, Institute of Education, has to say:
"Sharing rhymes with young children is as important today as it ever was. It helps them to enjoy playing with language and to learn about its patterns and rhythms. Some favourite rhymes date back 200 years or more. For instance, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star has an enduring simplicity, while also allowing children and grown-ups to share in their wonderment about the night-time sky. The appeal of other rhymes, like Incey Wincey Spider, is probably linked to the simple actions that accompany them and which are easily shared with small children.’
The top ten rhymes across the UK:
1) Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
2) Incey Wincey Spider
3) Round and Round the garden
4) Baa Baa Black Sheep
5) The Grand Old Duke of York
6) If you're happy and you know it
7) Humpty Dumpty
8) This Little Piggy
9) Ring a Ring a Roses
10) I'm a Little Teapot
(What no Mary had a LIttle Lamb or Hey Diddle Diddle?!)
Read School Gate:
Are fairy tales too scary for kids?
The top 20 picture books
Today's guest blogger (with the first of her three part series) is Julia Richmond*, a mother of three living in London. Her oldest child started reception class last year at the local primary - it is by no means a sink school but does not have the best reputation in the area. With shrinking catchment areas and a birth rate spike, this school was the only one in the area that was able to offer her daughter a place. Read this first post to find out what happened when a group of parents tried to get involved with the school. And thank the lord that your child is (hopefully) at a better place...
I was also attracted by this piece, because of the recent reports about dinner lady Carol Hill, who was suspended for telling the parents of a bullied girl what had happened to her daughter. It later emerged that the chairwoman of the PTA, had accused the school's headmistress, Deborah Crabb, and her staff of a “lack of co-operation and support” for the work of the PTA.
Mrs Crabb had apparently vetoed a Christmas carol evening, a cheese and wine party and craft clubs for Mothering Sunday proposed by the PTA. The headmistress is understood to have taken over the running of the PTA.
I wonder, do successful PTAs suggest healthy schools?
Over to Julia:
"There are lots of reasons why I hate my daughter’s school. It could be its lacklustre appearance – the broken windows, buddleia growing out of the pointing, stinking loos and peeling paint. It could be its non-existent after-school activities, its dismal failure to communicate with parents or its weirdly one-size fits-all attitude to teaching (“No, your daughter cannot have a reading book. That would be unfair as some of her classmates can’t read.”).
But most of all, I hate its negativity. This isn’t your typical British tutting and eye-rolling strain of negativity (although, of course, they’ve got that off pat too); it’s a spirit-sucking, energy-sapping refusal to accommodate anyone, a mulish suspicion of change, an all-embracing acceptance that things are the way things are and there’s nothing that can be done. I have never come across a place that takes such obvious relish in saying no.
So a group of other new mothers and I got together to try to raise a bit of money, try to inject a bit of a fizz. I know it sounds sanctimonious but to try to make things a bit better. We called ourselves the PTA although, right from the offset, the teachers seemed wary of us and reluctant to join in. We focused on raising money for the playground. Why? Partly because we thought it might be fun to make the playground more, well, fun.
Continue reading "When your child's at a school you don't like and the PTA is seen by teachers as the enemy..." »
It's National Poetry Day today, and that means a celebration of our finest poetry, from Chaucer to Wilfred Owen and beyond.
The theme of National Poetry Day this year is heroes and heroines (as I mentioned in a blog post about a children's poetry competition a few weeks ago), but I've been rather taken by a couple of poetry books about schools and teachers which I've received. Please Mrs Butler and Heard it in the Playground (a Signal Poetry Award winner), are both by Allan Ahlberg, and wonderful, funny and clever (appealing to my and my children).
Although many of us may not talk much about poetry, I think we often still have poems or poets we admire. I think nothing equals the magnificence of John Donne, from the beautiful Good Morrow ("I wonder, by my troth, what thou and I did, till we loved?") to that brilliant, tense line "and Satan hates me, but is loath to lose me." (you can see this here, in a list of Donne's sonnets).
I learnt my Donne at school, and I'm sure many of you learnt poetry there too, some by heart. But like me, you'll probably have forgotten some of it. Now, here to help, is a new anthology, IWandered Lonely as a Cloud..and other poems you half-remember from school, published by Michael O'Mara books. Put together by Ana Sampson, and published today, the anthology aims to help you with those half-remembered poems, covering a huge range and adding mini biographies. How many do you know? We'll start with an easy one, and warn you that not all are opening lines..
1) Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date.
2) When the stars threw down their spears.
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the lamb, make Thee?
3) O, my Luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O, my luve's like the melodie,
That's sweetly played in tune
4) Earth has not anything to show more fair:
Dull would he be of soul who could pass by
A sight so touching in its majesty
This City now doth, like a garment wear
The beauty of the morning; silent, bare.
5) Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.
6) Hail to thee, blithe spirit!
Bird thou never wert,
That from Heaven or near it,
Pourest thy full heart.
7) Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now
8) How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
9) That is no country for old men. The young
In one another's arms, birds in the trees
- Those dying generations - at their song,
10) Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
See the answers below.....
Continue reading "On National Poetry Day - can you name these poets or their poems?" »
Last week I posted a piece by John O'Leary asking if Oxbridge is now beginning to discriminate against private school pupils. Now new research suggests that privately educated pupils have not just retained their "stranglehold" on Britain's top universities, but actually increased it, despite serious government efforts to the contrary.
It may seem rather too soon to return to this subject, but I am. This is partly because of the new story, which raises all sorts of questions, but most of them about state education rather than universities, which are often blamed for issues not of their own making. However, I am also asking it again because of a fascinating post on the To Miss With Love blog. Miss Snuffleupagus asks the question I asked - if Oxbridge is now discriminating against private school pupils. And - as a teacher at a state school - her conclusion is that they are, that indeed they must be (right down to the fact, she says, that nearly every state applicant gets an interview). "Oxbridge does discriminate against private school students," she concludes. "Of course they do. If they didn't, only a handful of state school applicants would ever get in."
I recommend you to read her post. You may agree, or you may not, but it will certainly get you thinking.
Is Oxbridge now discriminating against private school pupils?
Do parents choose private schools because of small class sizes?
Teacher and Tutor Katie Krais runs ‘Surviving School Transfer’, a consultancy that assists parents with their child’s journey to secondary school. She's also the author of "Teach yourself getting your child into secondary school," which is a very detailed, if a little bit scary (all that information and opportunities for doing the wrong thing!) look at the whole secondary school process.
As we are now bang in the middle of the School Open Day season, Katie now has some very useful advice to offer. Here she gives us her tips for what to ask at school open days. Listen and learn...
"First impressions are very important. Just like buying a new house, you will get an immediate feel for a school. You will make judgements about the external architecture, the behaviour of the children and the pastoral care of the staff. Take time to weigh up all the different aspects of the school before making any important future decisions.
What to look for at school visits
• Do the children interact well with their teachers?
• How at ease is the head with the children – does he/she know their names?
• Are teachers shouting?
• Are pupils getting on with the task and busy working independently?
• Are the pupils proud of their school?
• Is the premise well maintained and safe – is there any graffiti?
• General cleanliness of furniture, desks, walls etc
• Are pupils’ books marked with constructive comments and suggestions for improvement?
• Are children given targets?
• Does the school offer a wide variety of extra curricular activities?
• Do classrooms look bright and cheery? Are the displays recent and are pieces of work displayed from all children, not just the most able with the neatest handwriting?
• Does the head teacher appear as a good leader, giving you a clear understanding of the schools aims and ethos?
Try to visit during a school day to get an accurate reflection of a typical day. Many schools offer visits after schools or during an open day but it is not the same as a normal school day. If you can, try to pop into one of the children’s toilets – it can tell you a lot about the school – and might tell you some school gossip as well! Find out where most students live and how they journey to school – at secondary school your child will want to be able to travel to school independently.
Continue reading "School Open Days - what to look for and what questions to ask...." »
Ruth Gledhill has a fascinating post on her blog, Articles of Faith. She recently interviewed Martin Stephen, head of St Paul's School in London, an institution founded by a Christian humanist. Ruth was surprised at Dr Stephen's antipathy to faith schools (as opposed to faith in general). He told her:
"I do not think that the faith school in my experience of them produces respect for other people's faith. I think it is basically divisive. I also worry about it because it seems to me that in talking to a number of people I know who have founded faith schools they are doing so on the basis of fear. Because they feel threatened they feel their belief is threatened. That seems to me a very bad basis on which to found anything because it seeps through into the ideology."
A few months ago, Ruth herself wrote me an excellent piece in defence of faith schools. In her current post she also defends them as being a really valuable asset to the education system in this country, and one which we would all be poorer without (as we are, she argues, with having only a few grammar schools).
"If the faith school system was destroyed, it would be impossible to put it back again, and perhaps the price would be too heavy," she says. "It would be another retrograde step towards the lowest common denominator that is witnessing too many children emerge from school unable to master the even the three 'r's."
Are faith schools really that helpful? Would education really be so much poorer without them, or do they offer something which unfairly excludes others on the basis of religious belief?
Read School Gate:
In defence of faith schools: Ruth Gledhill tells her own story.
Should faith schools admit children of a different religion?
Sarah Ebner
has been shortlisted four times at the British Press Awards, in 2008 for feature writer of the year. She was a
producer and occasional reporter for BBC Newsnight, and also edited Supernanny.co.uk. Sarah has two children and lives in London.
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