IN THIS ISSUE:

Draft Education and Skills Bill

The government is introducing a second education bill which aims to ensure that, by 2011, no school will be underperforming. The legislation refers to England only.

Key points of the Education and Skills Bill include:

• establishing an independent regulator of examinations and tests ( Ofqual) and a development agency for curriculum, assessment and qualifications (QCDA);
• new powers for the Secretary of State to ensure that local authorities intervene early in seriously underperforming schools;
• reforming Pupil Referral Units and strengthening local partnerships to provide better support for vulnerable children and improve behavior and attendance;
• streamlining arrangements for 14-19 education and training including transferring funding and responsibility to local authorities for 16-18 education;
• strengthening the accountability of schools to parents, giving them a bigger say on how to raise standards and whether new schools are needed in an area;
• setting out how students who are falling behind will receive targeted support to help them keep up, including, where appropriate, one to one tuition.

For more details, read the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ press notice.

Narrowing the Gap for Vulnerable Groups

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has issued a review of research that looks at best evidence on how the gap in outcomes has been narrowed for vulnerable groups aged 3–13.

It assesses these across the government’s five Every Child Matters (ECM) outcomes: be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution and achieve economic well-being.

Key findings of the review include finding the right climate and culture for the school and looking at ways to promote this. The review also includes a list of strategies that appear to work such as individual support, out of classroom learning, and multi-professional approaches.

Programs with a long term focus and which involved parents were shown to work best.

Read Narrowing the gap in outcomes for vulnerable groups: a review of the research evidence.

Independent and State School Partnerships

Eton College, one of the oldest and most famous independent schools in England, will partner with local state-run schools in one of 23 projects announced by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Similar partnerships are not new: the Independent State School Partnerships, established a decade ago, already links 330 schools supported by £10m in government funding.

However, the partnerships are now required to focus on gifted students; improving standards in math, science and languages; and increasing participation in higher education.

Investing in Innovation

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) has issued its first innovation policy paper.

The paper, known as Innovation Nation, sets out the government's aim to make the UK the best place in the world to run an innovative business or public service. It argues that innovation is essential to the UK's future prosperity and the ability to tackle major challenges like climate change.

The paper considers how government and society respond to changes in innovation across the public, private and third (not-for-profit) sectors.

For more information read the Innovation Nation executive summary or the entire white paper.

Improving Skills and Training

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have issued a paper proposing an overhaul of welfare and systems to improve skills and training.

The paper outlines a number of measures including a pilot project which, from fall 2008, will entitle some 18-25 year-olds with limited qualifications to use an online skills account. The account will have around £7,000 in credits to be spent on gaining vocational qualifications.

Although the paper focuses on policies for England, the departments will work closely with the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which face similar challenges, while recognizing their varying responsibilities for employment and skills.

Read the press release, an interactive document of case studies and download the full Work Skills paper on the DIUS website.

Find out about:

• The skills strategy in Scotland
• Northern Ireland’s Success through Skills
• Education and Skills in Wales.

Widening participation in higher education: a value for money report

The National Audit Office (NAO) has issued a report on progress made on widening participation in higher education by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), the Office for Fair Access, and higher education institutions in England.

Key findings:

• There have been improvements in participation of some groups – but not all.  “White people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, both men and women, are the most under-represented group.”
• Low achievement by some students at secondary schools plays a critical role in gaining access to higher education – students with the necessary qualifications are equally likely to accept a higher education place, regardless of their socio-economic status.
• There is a variation across higher education institutions in recruiting students from under-represented groups – the “new” universities tend to do better.
• Incomplete data on student characteristics hinders an accurate assessment of participation.

For more information, read the press notice from DIUS (this includes links to the executive summary and full report).