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This article, especially written for the NUT is one of many on all subjects relating to education in England and Wales. Since 2002 we have been archiving these articles and you can visit the Newswire Archive here
Expert calls for first aid to be added to PSHE syllabus [26/03/2009]
First aid training should be incorporated onto the PSHE syllabus, it has been argued.
Equipping pupils with these skills could help to save lives in the future, stated Dr Jenny McWhirter, risk education adviser at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
For those schools where a qualified teacher is not available, external agencies can be brought in to deliver the training, she noted.
Dr McWhirter was speaking in the wake of a survey published last week by St John Ambulance.
Of the children polled, 69 per cent said they would not know how to help someone medically in an emergency.
"First aid teaching could be a useful add-on to the extended schools agenda," stated Dr McWhirter.
She noted that RoSPA believes that "everyone can be part of the solution to accidents", arguing that it is important to equip young people with the skills "to assess risks and make informed decisions about safety throughout their lives".
MP raises concerns about danger of school asbestos [26/03/2009]
Concerns about the potential danger caused by asbestos in schools are being raised in parliament today.
Schools minister Jim Knight is today being urged to take action to deal with the deadly material, exposure to which can cause the onset of cancer mesothelioma.
An average of 3,000 people die each year from this condition, which can only be triggered by asbestos.
MP Paul Rowen will today urge Mr Knight to take action against the "ticking-timebomb" of low-level asbestos in schools.
He told politics.co.uk that despite not necessarily having expertise about the subject, local authorities are given a lot of the responsibility for managing the problem.
One Dorset teacher contracted mesothelioma after working in schools for 28 years, Mr Rowen said.
And he noted that while he was a deputy headteacher no training about dealing with asbestos was provided to him.
Almost 90 per cent of Britain's schools could be contaminated with asbestos, according to freedom of informational requests issued by the Daily Mirror recently.
Outdoor training sessions help Foundation Phase introduction [26/03/2009]
The phasing in of the Foundation Phase is continuing with new training sessions dedicating to showing teachers how to lead outdoor lessons.
Woodlands in Bridgend and Wrexham are the location for these sessions, which have been designed to help teachers implement some of the learning through play elements of the new early years curriculum.
Introduced for three to four-year-olds last year, it is due to be rolled out over the next few years until it reaches seven-year-olds.
This was confirmed last year when education minister Jane Hutt stated that she had secured extra funding for this extended rollout.
Teachers, learning assistants and childcare workers are attending the outdoor sessions to help them make the most of outdoor learning to enhance a child's development.
"We hope that these events will motivate, enthuse and encourage teachers and all those who work in early years to use the outdoors creatively and as an environment where children can learn," stated Ms Hutt.
New standards 'could jeopardise' school lunch popularity [26/03/2009]
The introduction of new school meal rules could lead more pupils to turn to purchasing their lunch outside of school, it has been argued.
According to the Local Authority Caterer's Association, new healthy guidelines for school dinners could result in students shunning the canteen and heading for another food provider.
The body, which held its conference in London yesterday, made this comment in the wake of the publication of a survey of its members.
This found that only just over half of secondaries are currently on track to meet the new standards by September this year.
Additionally, of those surveyed, four-fifths said that the rules would contribute to school lunch uptake going down, partly due to a more restricted food choice.
Junior children's secretary Delyth Morgan argued that the move is necessary for the health of children and stated that caterers have had "plenty of notice" about the changes.
Improved results and lower rates of absenteeism were found among pupils who had eaten new Jamie Oliver school dinners by researchers at the Institute for Social & Economic Research at Exeter University recently.
NUT proposes boycott of Sats [25/03/2009]
The executive of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) has called for a boycott of the 2010 key stage 1 and 2 national curriculum tests.
Both NUT and the council of the National Association of Head Teachers have decided to put identical resolutions calling for this action at their 2009 annual conferences.
This move has been made after both organisations agreed that it would be "unacceptable" for any continuation for the Sats to be taken as a requirement beyond 2009.
Acting general secretary of the NUT Christine Blower stated that the government must understand that 2009's national curriculum tests "will be the last".
"Our deadline for the end of SATs of 2010 is reasonable and our alternative is one which will enhance teaching and learning," she added, arguing that the patience of primary schools has been "stretched to the limit and beyond".
Problems surrounding the delivery of Sats results last summer led to schools secretary Ed Balls scrapping key stage 3 exams, although he stated that key stage 2 assessments would be "here to stay".
New figures show extent of 'special consideration' in exams [25/03/2009]
The exams watchdog has produced new figures suggesting that a record number of people were given 'special consideration' during last year's A-levels and GCSEs.
According to Ofqual, 329,119 students were awarded extra marks due to extenuating circumstances, ranging from family bereavements to a headache.
This was a big rise on three years before, when just 255,200 students were given this special dispensation.
The number of extra marks awarded depended on the circumstances, with an additional five per cent of the maximum mark given in the most extreme cases.
"It is very important that all candidates have fair access qualifications to enable them to show their knowledge, skills and understanding," stated Ofqual chair Kathleen Tattersall.
She added that the growing awareness about the types of arrangements that are available among teachers and parents is one factor behind the increasing figures.
Head of exam board AQA Mike Creswell recently suggested that more pupils are likely to get high grades with the introduction of modular GCSEs this September.
Educational institutions set to feature in new inter-faith week [25/03/2009]
The government has announced the launch of England's first-ever inter-faith week.
And schools and colleges will be expected to participate in the festivities, which are set to take place between November 15th and 21st.
Communities and local government Hazel Blears announced the new initiative, in a bid to raise awareness of the UK's different faith communities.
It is also hoped that the week will see people around the country develop new partnerships within local communities.
"England's first-ever inter-faith week can provide a wonderful focus for increasing understanding between people and help to shape the new economy that we build together," she stated.
Activities that schools or colleges could hold during the week could include an inter-faith debate on the environment, or a football match involving people from different faiths, it was noted.
Calls for greater emphasis to be placed on tackling faith-based bullying in schools were made to the government by charity Beatbullying last year.
Nationwide campaign set to tackle cyberbulllying [25/03/2009]
Boxer Joe Calzaghe has backed a new advertising campaign to tackle cyberbullying.
Beatbullying has launched the nationwide initiative in a bid to provide awareness and support about this issue.
Research by the charity recently revealed that 56 per cent of youngsters admit to having been involved in online bullying at some point.
Its advertising campaign, which will hit more than 1,000 billboards and bus stops over the coming weeks, will promote its new website CyberMentors.co.uk.
Partly funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, this will give young people the chance to seek help and support from their peers if they are affected by online bullying.
"Bullying in any form is unacceptable but sadly it is an issue that has only been propagated by digital innovations," noted chief executive of Beatbullying Emma Jane Cross.
There has been a tripling in the number of suicidal calls received by ChildLine over the last five years, according to new figures from the NSPCC.
High-level SBMs 'save money and time' [24/03/2009]
A new study has highlighted the benefits that employing a high-level school business manager (SBM) can have on a school.
According to the research, which was conducted by the National College of School Leadership (NCSL) and the University of Manchester, the presence of these professionals can serve to free up about 30 per cent of a headteacher's time.
Furthermore, it was found that by using the roles to release funds by maximising existing resources, as well as engaging clusters of schools to work together strategically, participating schools have managed to make savings.
The report also identified a number of other benefits for schools that choose to employ these workers.
According to the NCSL, it has now awarded more than 6,000 professional qualifications in school business management, with schools employing record numbers.
The body also announced this week that an additional 12 demonstration projects are to be rolled out across England to boost the number of schools benefiting from this additional expertise.
School independence would boost standards, says thinktank [24/03/2009]
Standards in state schools would be boosted if they were given greater independence, Policy Exchange has argued.
The right wing thinktank has suggested that new schools should be developed that are overseen by charitable or for-profit federations, parent or teacher co-operatives or community charities.
It noted that similar initiatives have proved successful in both Sweden and the US, with better grades and greater parent satisfaction found in research.
Deputy director of Policy Exchange and co-author of the report Natalie Evans explained: "The international evidence is that school choice can dramatically raise pupils' achievement.
"It also appears that the longer countries stick with such reforms, the greater the improvement is."
The report urged the government to reflect on the success of academies as evidenced by a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers review and enhance the programme further by implementing these ideas.
Plans to develop academies with boarding facilities to combat the class divide in education were unveiled recently by the Conservative Party.
