Read a summary and the full text of Higher Standards, Better Schools for All.

(Sources: The Independent October 23, 2005; www.bbc.co.uk October 24 and 25, 2005)

Academies are publicly funded independent schools. They are not selective and must accept students of all abilities.

Established in 2002, academies are part of the government’s policy of raising standards by reforming the secondary school system. They either replace a failing school or are built where there is need for a new school. So far all established academies are in urban sites. Originally called “city academies” the name was shortened to reflect potential expansion into disadvantaged rural or suburban areas.

The model for academies grew out of City Technology Colleges (founded by the Conservative party in the 1980s) and US charter schools.

Funding
Academies require a partnership between a sponsor (or sponsors) and central government. Sponsors contribute £2 million (over $3.52 m*) which is used for capital costs while the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) pays for the running costs - estimated at £25 million ($44 m*) per school. The school operates outside of traditional local education authority (LEA) control. Types of potential sponsors include individuals, businesses, faith groups, private schools or charities.

Curriculum/Assessment
Students are expected to follow a broad and balanced curriculum but are not bound by the National Curriculum. An innovative and creative approach to curriculum content and delivery is encouraged. Academies can also choose one or more specialist subjects on which to focus (such as science; arts; business and enterprise; computing; engineering; math and computing; modern foreign languages; performing arts; sport; and technology.) The specialist area could be linked to the expertise of the sponsor.

Academies follow the same schedule of assessments as other schools, and they are also inspected by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED).

Statistics
There are currently 27 academies and the government has plans for 53 by 2007 and 200 by 2010 (just under a third of them will be in London as part of the London Challenge to transform its inner-city schools.)

Concerns
Areas of concern are similar to those raised about charter schools:

• Teachers’ rights: unions note that academies can opt out of national pay negotiations and the school day is longer than at traditional schools.
• Teacher quality: academies do not have to employ teachers registered with the General Teaching Council (GTC).
• Power of sponsors: particularly faith-based sponsors pushing a certain “ethos” and its effect on the curriculum, or commercial sponsors marketing products to students.
• Special needs students: under pressure to show results (due to high funding, high profile) will lower-ability students be catered for?

Reform Agenda
Academies are a significant part of the government’s education agenda relating to school choice. Prime Minister Tony Blair: “By the end of this third term I want every school that wants to be, to be able, to be an independent, non fee-paying state school with the freedom to innovate and develop in the way it wants and the way the parents at the school want…”

The Department for Education and Skills has information about academies on its standards site.  It gives more details on governance, sponsorship, current projects, and has a directory of academies.

* January 06 exchange rate 1GBP = $1.76

Launched in 2001 Sure Start, influenced by the USA’s Head Start, is a program for disadvantaged children from birth to age five and their families. Local programs work with preschoolers on development, language and behavior.

The first major evaluation of the program, carried out by the University of London’s Birkbeck College, shows patchy results. There were successes in some groups but improvement was not across the board. It is clear that some local programs are not working as well as others and some disadvantaged families are not being reached.

The government wanted an early evaluation of the program as it is set for expansion with a goal of opening 3,500 Sure Start children’s centers by 2010 (there are currently 524).

Academics involved in the early evaluation emphasized that the longer term effectiveness of the program has not yet been tested.

Download and read the national evaluation report: Early Impacts of Sure Start Local Programmes on Children and Families.

(Source: The Guardian September 13, 2005)

The Education Minister in Northern Ireland, Angela Smith, has issued a consultation paper which recommends replacing academic selection to secondary schools with a “menu of criteria”.

Around 15,000 students this year sat examinations in English, math, science and technology, known as the ‘11-plus’, to determine which secondary school they would attend. The proposed system would have schools select on factors such as siblings at the school, and community/geographical criteria.

The proposals follow on from recommendations of the Post-Primary Review Working Group and aim to improve educational opportunities for Northern Irish children by introducing more flexibility in the curriculum, allowing students to keep their options open for longer (by not streamlining at age 11), and improving collaboration with colleges in the Further Education sector.

The consultation is open until early March 2006.

Read more about the new arrangements for post-primary education.

(Source: www.bbc.co.uk December 6, 2005)

A government commissioned report has called for an overhaul of the way reading is taught in schools in England.

The report, carried out by a former senior inspector with the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED), recommends the use of synthetic phonics as the central method of learning to read.

Currently children have a daily literacy hour where analytic phonics is one of several methods used to teach reading.

The positive results of a study of a Scottish school district which uses synthetic phonics has been influential in challenging the current literacy methods (see a previous Update, Teaching Reading and Reaching Targets).

Learning and Teaching Scotland (LT Scotland) looks at the phonics debate and compares the two methods in its Special Focus.

BBC News provides an analysis, Phonics: Strategy but no consensus, which looks at the complex issue of using phonics and compares the two methods

Read the Independent Review of the Teaching of Early Reading.

(Source: www.bbc.co.uk December 1, 2005)

• The Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) has issued two citizenship education reports. The first examines a pilot scheme on the teaching of citizenship for students over 16; the second looks at training for teachers of citizenship. Both receive positive reviews although the chief inspector of schools continues to criticize the lack of commitment to citizenship education generally.
  
  Read an Evaluation of post-16 citizenship pilot and Initial teacher training for teachers of citizenship
  
  
• Young Scot, Scotland's national youth information service, is collaborating with the Scottish Executive Crime Prevention Unit, the Association of Chief Police Officers for Scotland and Dialogue Youth in a two-year 'Smart Citizenship' national pilot program. Groups including young people and teachers from eleven Scottish secondary schools and the police will be developing ideas and materials for the cross-curricular delivery of education for citizenship.
  
  
• In another initiative, ‘MSPs in Schools’, members of the Scottish Parliament engage with young people in classroom activities in which they learn about the Scottish Parliament and prepare in advance to lead discussions and debates on the issues that interest them.
  
  Each MSP is encouraged to follow-up the school visit, sometimes with a Parliament-based activity to encourage young people to better understand their potential influence on decision-making in the Parliament.
  
  
• Learning and Teaching Scotland has posted information on how to integrate philosophical inquiry into the curriculum with links to examples of good practice. For more information read the philosophy in schools section of education for citizenship.

(Sources: www.EducationGuardian.co.uk November 2, 2005; NGfL Scotland e-bulletin November 7, 2005)

A state-funded Hindu school is to open in north London. The government has announced funding for a school in the borough of Harrow, where 20 per cent of the population is Hindu - the highest such percentage of the population in the UK. The school is expected to open in 2010 and once fully operational, it is expected to have at least 240 pupils.

More information is available at I-Foundation.

(Source: www.bbc.co.uk, October 13 2005.)

The government is providing £15 million ($26.4 m*) over three years to set up the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCTM). It will operate from 2006 and be based at the University of Plymouth. It aims to stimulate learners and improve skills and teaching.

The center is part of the Department for Education and Skills' (DFES) response to the report Making Mathematics Count and will provide programs of professional development for teachers at school level as well the adult vocational sector.

Read the DfES press release for more details.

* January 06 exchange rate 1GBP = $1.76

A secondary school in south Wales is piloting technology that aims to tackle the problem of absenteeism without permission.

On arriving at school sixth formers (seniors) place a finger on a scanner which reads their fingerprint and records their attendance on a computer. If a student fails to register, their parents, or a welfare officer in some cases, are alerted via a text message on their mobile phone.

It is hoped that the early alert system will work as a deterrent to absenteeism or more easily track down students who are not in school.

For more information contact Bryntirion Comprehensive.

(Source: www.bbc.co.uk October 6, 2005)

A five year study backed by the government is looking into the validity of using a standardized test (SAT) for university admission. The study will be carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NfER).

About 50,000 students took the SAT in November and their progress will be followed through taking A-levels. Results will be compared to examine if the SAT is an accurate and objective way of measuring ability.

The study will examine whether a standardized test result would help universities sort through the growing number of applicants with high grades. It will also look at whether the test helps students from poorer backgrounds.

As reported in the Update last year a number of leading law schools in England designed a national test for admission to undergraduate law degrees.

The NfER study will be released in 2010. For more information, read their press release.

(Source: www.bbc.co.uk September 19, 2005)

A report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) describes school-college partnerships in Scotland.

It looks at current provision of vocational education in Scotland, the planning processes in which schools, education authorities and colleges engage, and factors for successful vocational learning.

The report includes recommendations and examples of good practice.

Read Working Together Cross-Sectoral Provision of Vocational Education for Scotland’s School Pupils.

• A review looking at the future role of Further Education (FE) colleges in England was published in the fall. It sets out a vision for FE colleges concluding that job-related learning should be the focus of their activities.
  
  More information on Realising the Potential - A review of the future role of further education colleges, also known as the Foster Review, is available from the Department for Education and Skills
  
  
• The Scottish Executive has published its annual report on the FE sector. It provides a full picture of the current situation in Scotland’s further education colleges.
  
  FE colleges enrolled just over 467,000 students in 2003-04. About 12 percent of enrolments were on higher education courses and 88 percent on non-advanced courses (both vocational and non-vocational).
  
  For more details, read Further Education in Scotland 2004.

The Higher Education Academy has been officially opened by Bill Rammell, Minster of State for Higher Education and Lifelong Learning. The Academy is based in York and is owned by Universities UK and the Standing Conference of Principals.

The academy's task is to help institutions and their staff to provide the best possible learning experience for all students. This not only means supporting improved teaching quality, but also helping to develop the IT support, library facilities and administrative support that today's students expect. The Academy aims to influence national policy towards these ends.

Gordon Brown (UK Chancellor of the Exchequer - the UK Finance Minister) has announced new measures designed to support the promotion of international student recruitment to the UK.

As part of his pre-budget report, the Chancellor announced the package of measures to help the Higher Education (HE) sector benefit from the opportunities of globalization, and ensure the UK retains its reputation as one of the most attractive places for students to study abroad. New measures in the package included:

• work with British Universities International Liaison Association and the Council for International Education (UKCOSA) to encourage best practice in meeting the needs of international students;
  
  
• increase by 50 per cent government support for marketing and promotion of UK higher education to non-EU students, with matched funding from the sector;
  
  
• allow all international students on completion of post-graduate degree, or an undergraduate degree in a shortage sector, to work in the UK for up to 12 months, benefiting up to 50,000 students (similar to the Fresh Talent initiative already in place in Scotland);
  
  
• under the new point-based system for managed migration, award bonus points to people who have previously studied in the UK; and
  
  
• improve the efficiency of the visa process.