New education secretary Damien Hinds wants to push forward with his predecessor’s plan for baseline tests for 4 and 5 year-olds in the first few weeks of reception. Minerva takes a balanced, even-handed look at why this is clearly a terrible idea. The new baseline tests, it has been suggested, would begin in 2020 (after a trial in September … Read More
Education News Weekly – 18th January, 2018
Grade inflation at universities, double standards for inappropriate teachers and a blistering attack on the Department for Education, in our first education news roundup of 2018… Headteacher: ‘If the DfE were a school it’d be in special measures’ – TES Furious school leaders have attacked the Department for Education as not fit for purpose, providing no taxpayer value for … Read More
What can we expect from new Education ministers?
New year, new cabinet… Justine Greening’s out as education secretary, Jo Johnson’s been ‘demoted’ from his position as Universities minister, and there’s a new Office for Students (which, thankfully, will not include Toby Young). So what does it all mean for schools and universities? Well, Justine Greening quit her role in the government, refusing a job as work and pensions … Read More
Education News Weekly – 7th November, 2017
CCTV in school toilets, a comedian advocating teachers and some good ol’ fashioned Ofsted-bashing Time to put Ofsted in ‘special measures’? – TES Ofsted has come under attack this week, with a leading education academic claiming the regulatory board’s methods are “invalid, unreliable and unjust.” Frank Coffield, emeritus professor of education at the UCL Institute of Education, was scathing … Read More
How can we teach young people about sexual assault?
Weinstein, Spacey, Fallon… Amid so many public sexual assault claims, young people need to know what is and isn’t appropriate sexual behaviour. In light of the recent widespread sexual assault scandals in the worlds of entertainment and politics, we look at how bad the problem is in schools, and what we can do to address it. Awareness of sexual … Read More
Education News Weekly – November 2nd, 2017
Student loan reforms, Brexit tension and further Oxbridge admissions drama… MPs demand admissions reform after Oxbridge admissions scandal – Independent More than 100 MPs – many of whom represent parts of the country that are under-represented at Oxbridge – have written to the heads of Oxford and Cambridge University calling for urgent reforms after data revealed a “social apartheid” in … Read More
How unfair is the university admissions process?
Suffice to say, the answer goes far beyond just Oxbridge… We have probably by now seen all seen the recent – and damning – statistics about Oxbridge admissions, and how significant ethnic, class and geographical factors can be. If you haven’t, you can see them here. Such is the difference in chances of receiving a place at one of Britain’s … Read More
Education News Weekly – 24th October, 2017
Alarm clocks, term-time holidays and a shocking lack of diversity at Oxbridge… MP David Lammy criticises Oxbridge lack of diversity – BBC The former education secretary was dismayed at data released after a Freedom of Information request about admissions statistics for Britain’s top two universities, amid news that as many as 16 Oxbridge colleges failed to offer any places … Read More
Understanding the ISEB Common Pre-Test
What is the ISEB Common Pre-Test? The ISEB Common Pre-Tests are a standardised set of tests taken in Year 6 or Year 7, between the ages of 10 and 12, in maths, English, verbal and non-verbal reasoning. They are used by many independent schools to assess the suitability of a candidate, and in many cases to determine whether or not … Read More
Education News Weekly – 4th October, 2017
Wrong exams grades, frugal students and the cost of living near a top state school… Tories’ new funding formula for schools merely ‘papering over the cracks’ – Independent Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, said schools will be given a funding rise of 0.5 per cent per pupil next year and a 1 per cent increase in 2019-20. The most … Read More
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