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Education in England: a brief history
Updates
The next revision of Education in England is planned for 2010. Until then, here are links to some relevant news items and websites.
The list is updated monthly and the stories are presented in chronological order.
March 2007
War over school boundaries divides Brighton
(Sandra Laville and Rebecca Smithers The Guardian 1 March 2007)
Middle class parents in Brighton were divided over the Labour council's decision to use a lottery system to allocate school places.
Education dropouts at 16 will face sanctions
(James Meikle The Guardian 23 March 2007)
Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced that teenagers who refused to stay in education or training after 16 would face fines or attendance orders under radical plans to raise the school leaving age in England.
Bullying: calls for national inquiry
(James Meikle The Guardian 27 March 2007)
The Commons Education Select Committee called for a national inquiry into the scale of bullying in schools, noting in particular that the Roman Catholic Church had refused to combat homophobic bullying in its schools.
April 2007
The Secondary Curriculum Review
The consultation period in the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority's review of the curriculum for 11-16 year olds (key stages 3 and 4) ended on 30 April 2007.
Freedom to learn
This Guardian page has links to many articles about the QCA's Secondary Curriculum Review.
Schools drop Holocaust lessons
(Jeevan Vasagar The Guardian 2 April 2007)
A report for the DfES, Teaching emotive and controversial history, said some schools were avoiding lessons on the Holocaust and the crusades.
The secrets of Saint Tim
(Peter Wilby The Guardian 24 April 2007)
One of Britain's best known educationists, Tim Brighouse, is to retire this summer after thirty years 'enchanting teachers and bamboozling critics'.
May 2007
Brown plans review to find out why 150,000 leave school each year still unable to count
(Patrick Wintour and James Meikle The Guardian 15 May 2007)
Gordon Brown announced a review of the government's numeracy strategy and promised that by 2010 more than 300,000 pupils a year would benefit from individual tuition in maths.
Cameron faces Tory revolt after retreat on grammar schools
(James Meikle The Guardian 17 May 2007)
Tory leader David Cameron and his shadow education secretary David Willetts came under fire from party members and MPs when they declared that creating more grammmar schools would no longer be Tory policy.
Church of England plans to open 100 new academy schools
(Matthew Taylor The Guardian 19 May 2007)
The Church of England is expected to open 100 academies over the next five years. A deal struck with education ministers will see church officials take direct control of a multimillion-pound expansion programme.
June 2007
Cameron faces elitism claims over grammar schools
(Tania Branigan The Guardian 2 June 2007)
Tory leader David Cameron returned from his holiday to discover that the row amongst members of his party about its grammar schools policy was still rumbling on.
End exams for children under 16, says watchdog
(Will Woodward The Guardian 11 June 2007)
The General Teaching Council for England (GTC) called for all national school tests before the age of 16 to be scrapped. The call was immediately dismissed by both the government and the Conservatives.
State curriculum urged for school RE lessons
(James Meikle The Guardian 18 June 2007)
In its report Making sense of religion Ofsted argued that a national curriculum for RE would guarantee standards and help improve community cohesion. Pupils should learn that religion is not always a force for good, it said.
Half school 'failures' are white working-class boys, says report
(James Meikle The Guardian 22 June 2007)
A report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation highlighted the poor educational achievement of white working-class British boys and challenged the view that African-Caribbean, black or Bangladeshi pupils do worse than white pupils.
July 2007
It takes two to educate
(The Guardian 3 July 2007)
New Prime Minister Gordon Brown abolished the DfES. Schools would now be run by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), while the Department of Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) would oversee science and innovation, higher education and some further education.
Minister moves to raise discipline, results and the leaving age
(Patrick Wintour The Guardian 11 July 2007)
In his first speech as the new Education Secretary, Ed Balls promised to improve school discipline, expand the academies programme and ensure that children of unmarried parents did not suffer discrimination.
Slimmed-down school curriculum aims to free quarter of timetable for pupils aged 11 to 14
(Will Woodward The Guardian 13 July 2007)
The QCA announced plans for a slimmed-down curriculum for 11 to 14 year olds in England. A quarter of the school timetable, it said, would be available for teachers to decide what was appropriate for their pupils.
August 2007
More private schools consider state links
(James Meikle The Guardian 4 August 2007)
Dozens of independent schools were said to be considering moving into the state sector by becoming part of the academies programme or acting as sponsors of new schools.
MPs question £45bn spending to bring schools up to scratch
(James Meikle The Guardian 9 August 2007)
The Commons Education Select Committee questioned the value of the government's £45bn Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme, which aims to replace or refurbish all 3,400 secondary schools in England by 2020.
Drilling pupils for exams wastes time, says watchdog
(James Meikle The Guardian 11 August 2007)
The QCA warned that schools were spending too much time coaching pupils to pass SATs rather than teaching the curriculum.
A third of 14-year-olds fail to reach target in key subjects
(James Meikle The Guardian 15 August 2007)
Key Stage 3 SATs results showed that a third of 14 year olds in England were still failing to reach government targets in English, maths and science.
Comprehensives falter as top grade gap widens
(James Meikle The Guardian 17 August 2007)
The A Level pass rate rose again and more than 25 per cent of passes were at grade A. But the media focused on the fact that state comprehensive schools were not improving as fast as private and grammar schools.
Heads call for exams to be slimmed down
(James Meikle The Guardian 24 August 2007)
John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, called for England's 'bloated exam system' to be slimmed down and greater trust placed in the professional judgement of teachers.
Primary pupils show lack of progress in basic skills
(James Meikle The Guardian 31 August 2007)
Teachers' assessments showed that the writing standards of seven year olds had fallen for the second year running. Standards in maths and science remained static.
September 2007
Government encourages faith schools to combine
Faith groups agree tolerance pact in return for state school funding
(James Meikle The Guardian 10 September 2007)
In Faith in the System, published jointly by the education department and religious groups, the government promised to remove 'unnecessary barriers' to the creation of more faith schools and said it would encourage the growth of new schools run by a combination of faiths.
Amnesty faces ban in Northern Ireland's Catholic schools
(Henry McDonald The Guardian 18 September 2007)
The Catholic Church in Northern Ireland instructed its schools to disband Amnesty International support groups because of the organisation's decision to campaign for abortion rights for victims of rape and incest.
New body to set up pay structure for teaching assistants
(Will Woodward The Guardian 27 September 2007)
Education Secretary Ed Balls promised a national body to decide pay and conditions for school support staff, a catch-up programme for writing skills in primary schools, and an independent exam standards body reporting directly to parliament.
October 2007
Schools told uniforms must be affordable
(Audrey Gillan The Guardian 5 October 2007)
After a three-month consultation period, the government issued advice on school uniforms. It said they must be affordable, non-discriminatory and sensitive to the needs of pupils.
Boost for primary school building programme
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 10 October 2007)
Every local authority will get a new or refurbished primary school under a £200m project announced by the chancellor. 75 schools would be built by 2011, doubling the planned building programme for the next three years.
Study reveals stressed out 7-11 year-olds
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 12 October 2007)
The first report from the Primary Review warned that national tests for 7 and 11 year olds were causing children stress and feeding into a 'pervasive anxiety' about their lives.
Ofsted: how family income affects success at school
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 18 October 2007)
The annual report of the government's chief inspector of schools, Christine Gilbert, warned that children were still divided along stark social, economic and racial lines which dictated how well they did at school.
Balls launches first diplomas to rival A-levels and GCSEs
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 24 October 2007)
Education Secretary Ed Balls announced that three new diplomas, in science, languages and humanities, would be introduced by 2011. A Levels would be reviewed in 2013 and might be scrapped if the diplomas had proved successful.
November 2007
PM gives failing schools five years to improve results
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 1 November 2007)
The Prime Minister warned 'failing schools' that they had five years to improve their pupils' GCSE results or they would face being taken over or closed.
Co-operative schools in Tory education revolution
(Patrick Wintour The Guardian 9 November 2007)
Speaking in Manchester, Tory leader David Cameron said that if parents, teachers or local residents wanted to establish their own school, they should be able to demand the money from their local authority.
Pupil mentors will be trained to beat bullying
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 15 November 2007)
Teenagers are to be trained to counsel their younger schoolmates and offer 'conflict resolution' to tackle bullying under a £3m scheme launched by Education Secretary Ed Balls.
A Level questions to become more difficult
(Karen McVeigh The Guardian 24 November 2007)
The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) proposed to take a more active role in the drafting of A Level exam papers to help ensure that questions are made more difficult.
December 2007
School books being dumbed down for exams, say authors
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 1 December 2007)
Writers of school textbooks say they are being told to write books which encourage 'parrot-learning' to get pupils through exams at the sacrifice of wider critical thinking and learning.
Official approval at last for school where almost anything goes
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 1 December 2007)
After years of criticism from inspectors and government ministers, Summerhill, Britain's most progressive school, received a glowing report from Ofsted.
Oxbridge snub to government on academies
(Polly Curtis and Patrick Wintour The Guardian 3 December 2007)
Oxford and Cambridge universities have turned down ministerial attempts to persuade them to adopt a city academy.
Britain slumps in world league table for maths and reading
(Will Woodward The Guardian 5 December 2007)
After testing 400,000 teenagers from 57 countries, the OECD announced that the UK had fallen from seventh to 17th in reading, and from eighth to 24th in maths.
Corruption row arms firm offers £400,000 to sponsor academy
(David Leigh The Guardian 11 December 2007)
The arms company BAE Systems - currently under criminal investigation in Britain, the US and Europe over corruption allegations - has offered £400,000 to sponsor an academy in Barrow-in-Furness, the Cumbrian town where the company builds nuclear submarines.
Fitter, happier and better educated: the hope for 2020
(Polly Curtis and Lucy Ward The Guardian 12 December 2007)
The government published its wide-ranging manifesto The Children's Plan setting out its vision for children for the next thirteen years.
Ofsted plan for surprise inspections at schools alarms headteachers
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 December 2007)
Schools will face unannounced snap visits from Ofsted inspectors from 2009 under plans to shake up the system for monitoring classroom standards.
School results still depend heavily on class
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 December 2007)
The advantages of being born in a privileged home have not changed in 30 years, according to research funded by the Sutton Trust, which showed that social class is still the biggest predictor of school achievement, the likelihood of getting a degree and even a child's behaviour.
Help for special needs children 'matter of class, race and gender'
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 14 December 2007)
Research for the Primary Review showed that a child's chances of receiving extra help for a special educational need is dictated by geography, class, race and gender, rather than the nature of the learning difficulty.
Schools criticise tests aimed at 'stressed' pupils
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 14 December 2007)
One in seven schools has withdrawn from the pilot of new 'lighter touch' school tests - part of the government's Children's Plan - complaining of excessive workload.
£53m to revive languages in schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 December 2007)
The government announced a £53m package to revive language teaching in schools - though at only £5m more than last year, it means an average of just £340 extra for each school.
Schools adviser ousted in academy trust shake-up
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 December 2007)
In a major overhaul of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), Sir Cyril Taylor has been replaced as chair by Sir James Hill. Taylor had held the post for twenty years.
MPs challenge 'doctrinaire' bishops
(Anushka Asthana The Observer 30 December 2007)
Barry Sheerman, chair of the Commons committee on children, schools and families, warned that Roman Catholic bishops were pushing a fundamentalist brand of their religion in schools.
January 2008
Do more for poorer children or lose your charitable status, private schools are told
(Polly Curtis and David Brindle The Guardian 16 January 2008)
The Charity Commission issued new guidance to private schools, telling them they must share facilities and teachers with state schools or offer bursaries if they wish to keep their charitable status which gives them £100m a year in tax exemption.
Schools offered cash to sponsor academies
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 16 January 2008)
The government announced it would give top state schools up to £300,000 if they agreed to sponsor an academy. Last year Education Secretary Ed Balls exempted successful universities, colleges or schools from raising the £2m fee to sponsor an academy.
Minister warns schools accused of breaking law on admissions
(Polly Curtis and James Meikle The Guardian 18 January 2008)
Schools minister Jim Knight warned schools to comply with the new admissions code after it emerged that nearly 80 schools had been accused of covertly selecting more able students.
Teachers to vote on first national strike in 21 years
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 25 January 2008)
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is to ballot its members for a one-day strike on 24 April to protest at a 2.45 per cent pay increase. The last national NUT strike was in 1987 when Margaret Thatcher was prime minister.
MP moves to improve special needs information
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 25 January 2008)
A bill proposed by backbench MP Sharon Hodgson, whose son has severe dyslexia, would oblige ministers to publish annual information on the services provided for children with special educational needs.
Your new timetable, kids: double maths, English and a spot of shooting
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 26 January 2008)
Britain gets more like the US by the day. Since Richard Caborn, then sports minister, backed shooting as a sport last May, there has been a 6 per cent rise in the number of schools joining the National Small-bore Rifle Association, one local authority is planning to introduce shooting at some of its schools, and an academy due to open in September is to have its own shooting range. Teachers and campaigners have condemned the trend.
Sad to be gay
(Anna Bawden The Guardian 29 January 2008)
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) published new guidance to help schools prevent homophobic bullying and tackle it when it occurs.
February 2008
17,000 teachers not up to the job says head of standards body
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 2 February 2008)
Around 17,000 'substandard' teachers are struggling in classrooms and failing to inspire their pupils, according to Keith Bartley, head of the General Teaching Council for England.
Brown backs the spirit of competition with £775m
(Paul Kelso The Guardian 2 February 2008)
Gordon Brown gave his backing to plans to restore competitive sport to state schools, proposing initiatives including the recruitment of sports stars.
Secular group attacks cathedral academies
(Rachel Williams The Guardian 4 February 2008)
Plans for Britain's cathedrals to create academy schools were criticised by the National Secular Society, which said they offered the church 'subsidies on a breathtaking scale' without helping young people from deprived areas.
Academies the new grammar schools: Adonis
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 February 2008)
Schools minister Andrew Adonis said academies (his brainchild) should become this generation's grammar schools, offering disadvantaged bright children a 'ladder' out of poverty.
Annual inspections on the way for half of schools, says Ofsted
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 February 2008)
Nearly half of schools could face annual visits from Ofsted under a shake-up of the inspection regime announced by chief inspector Christine Gilbert.
State schools shunned for home education
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 February 2008)
The Primary Review, based at Cambridge University, reported that parents are increasingly seeking alternative forms of education such as home schooling or Steiner schools to free their children from the state sector's regime of testing and targets.
Professor says education 'business driven'
(The Oxford Times 14 February 2008)
The Nuffield Review of 14-19 education said ministers were treating school pupils as if they were business products to be managed rather than children to be educated. Professor Richard Pring said 'The changes at 14-19 are too often driven by economic goals at the expense of broader educational aims'.
School rethinks halal menu plan
(George Hamilton The Oxford Times 20 February 2008)
Rose Hill primary school in Oxford abandoned its policy of using only halal meat in its school meals after protests from parents.
Balls plans to send elite teaching teams into failing schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 25 February 2008)
Education Secretary Ed Balls announced plans to send teams of expert leaders into hundreds of struggling state secondary schools as part of a concerted move to eliminate those considered to be 'failing'.
Academy chief: make it easier to sack and expel
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 25 February 2008)
Richard Tice, chair of Northampton academy and member of the United Learning Trust board, the largest academy sponsor, said the government should make it easier for academies to sack poorly performing teachers and exclude the worst-behaved pupils.
Close sink schools to encourage social diversity, admissions adjudicator urges
(Polly Curtis and Peter Wilby The Guardian 26 February 2008)
Chief schools adjudicator Philip Hunter, responsible for overseeing admissions, said secondary schools which had been abandoned by middle class families should be closed to guard against social segregation.
More city academies on the way
(Patrick Wintour The Guardian 29 February 2008)
Education Secretary Ed Balls announced plans for an extra five academies a year, bringing the annual total to 55.
UK schools worst in Europe for bullying
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 29 February 2008)
A survey by the British Council found that bullying in secondary schools is worse in the UK than anywhere else in Europe.
Teacher-pupil relationship eroded by national tests
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 29 February 2008)
A report for the Primary Review by academics at Cambridge and Manchester Metropolitan Universities said the government's focus on basic skills and testing had damaged children's overall education.
March 2008
Religious schools 'show bias for rich'
(Anushka Asthana The Observer 2 March 2008)
Research by Rebecca Allen at the Institute of Education produced damning new evidence that faith schools siphon off middle-class pupils and fail to take children from the poorest backgrounds.
Greater academic clout planned for diploma rival to A Levels
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 7 March 2008)
The government appealled to universities to back the diploma which it hopes will replace A Levels and GCSEs by announcing an extended option offering academic skills to prepare students for university.
Too many weak schools, says Balls
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 March 2008)
Education Secretary Ed Balls said parents would never have a truly fair choice of school while there were too many 'weak' secondary schools.
Schools caught charging parents to secure places
(Polly Curtis and Debbie Andalo The Guardian 11 March 2008)
Education Secretary Ed Balls said voluntary aided and foundation secondary schools in England (mostly faith schools) had been flouting the admissions system by charging parents to secure places.
Homophobic abuse endemic in schools, says teacher survey
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 11 March 2008)
A survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) showed that homophobic abuse was endemic in schools, with 'gay' now the most common insult used in the classroom.
Struggling schools given more money and less time to hit their targets
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 March 2008)
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling warned that more than 600 secondary schools which the government claims are under-performing would have to improve or face closure under a £200m plan to bring forward by a year targets to improve 'struggling' schools.
Religious state schools accused of fuelling social segregation
(Polly Curtis and Debbie Andalo The Guardian 13 March 2008)
Respected academic authorities on schools admissions told MPs that covert selection by religious state schools has fuelled social segregation in education.
Violence on the increase in schools, teachers warn
(Matthew Taylor The Guardian 17 March 2008)
An ATL survey revealed that one in ten teachers said they had been attacked and injured by violent pupils. Two thirds believed standards of behaviour were getting worse.
Schools minister heckled at teachers' conference for backing large class sizes
(Anthea Lipsett and Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 March 2008)
Schools minister Jim Knight was jeered at the ATL's annual conference in Torquay when he advocated classes of up to 38 and said he had seen successful maths classes of up to 70 children taught with the aid of classroom assistants.
Teachers threaten strike action over class sizes
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 22 March 2008)
At its annual conference, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) threatened a nationwide strike unless the government promised to reduce class sizes.
Child behaving badly? It's the permissive parents' fault
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 22 March 2008)
A Cambridge University study commissioned by the NUT said that bad behaviour in schools is being fuelled by 'overindulgent' parents who don't know how to say no to their children.
Teachers call for return to the liberal 1980s
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 24 March 2008)
The NUT conference called for a return to a 1980s style of liberal education with more time for play and less rigid methods of teaching children to read.
Self-evaluation 'distorting Ofsted reports'
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 24 March 2008)
Researchers at the London Institute of Education said schools were manipulating the system of 'lighter touch' Ofsted inspections to exaggerate their success.
Union calls for end to single-faith schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 25 March 2008)
The NUT conference proposed the abolition of faith schools. Instead, all schools would become multifaith institutions, with imams, rabbis and priests brought in to instruct religious pupils.
Teachers may strike to derail new academies
(Jessica Shepherd and Polly Curtis The Guardian 26 March 2008)
At its annual conference in Birmingham, the NASUWT voted to ballot members on strike action in every school earmarked to become an academy.
Boycott threat over military recruitment
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 26 March 2008)
The NUT conference condemned military recruitment campaigns which employed 'misleading propaganda' and promised to back any staff who chose to boycott such campaigns in schools.
Make pupils eat 'healthy' canteen food, says trust
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 28 March 2008)
The School Food Trust, set up by the government in 2005, said schools should consider keeping students in at lunchtime to prevent them from buying junk food. School leaders called the proposals unworkable.
Poorest white pupils worst at GCSEs - study
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 28 March 2008)
Government-backed research by Warwick University showed that white working-class teenagers perform worse than their black and Asian classmates in GCSEs.
April 2008
Ministers shelve £45bn plan to rebuild every state school by 2020
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 10 April 2008)
The government watered down its £45bn school rebuilding programme. It shelved plans to rebuild the entire school estate and said it would prioritise a handful of new schools in each local authority area.
Pioneer co-op among 115 new trust schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 10 April 2008)
The government announced 115 new trust schools - paired with businesses or charities - including the first cooperative trust school where pupils, parents and teachers will have a say in how it is run.
The ideological tug-of-war over our schools
(Johann Hari The Independent 10 April 2008)
Johann Hari argues that Ed Balls seems to have done something unusual for a Schools Secretary: he has looked at the rock-solid evidence of what makes schools succeed or fail.
Strike over teachers' pay closes thousands of schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 25 April 2008)
More than a million pupils at 8,000 schools missed school when NUT members held a one day strike over teachers' pay.
May 2008
Children being failed by progressive teaching, say Tories
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 9 May 2008)
Shadow education secretary Michael Gove declared that a Tory government would ban 'progressive' education policies and pupil-centred learning. He obviously hadn't noticed that the Tories effectively abolished both back in the 1980s.
Government to roll out reading programme in schools
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 9 May 2008)
A ULIE report said that the government's Every child a reader project enabled the lowest-achieving readers to outperform the national average within two years.
Poor results force government rethink on progress tests
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 9 May 2008)
Tests used by 400 schools in the government's Making good progress pilot project are having to be revised following unexpectedly low results from the first set of exams taken in December
MPs warn that national SATs tests distort education
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 May 2008)
The House of Commons Education Select Committee warned that the SATs regime was damaging children's education and should be radically reformed. Government ministers immediately rubbished the report and said the tests would stay.
Ofsted to keep closer watch on classrooms
(Polly Curtis and Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 15 May 2008)
Chief inspector of education Christine Gilbert announced that Ofsted would send more inspectors into lessons to observe teachers at work, following criticisms that its reports focused too much on test results.
Testing times as new exam watchdog orders system check
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 May 2008)
The new exams watchdog - the Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulator (Ofqual) - was launched. Its head, Kathleen Tattersall, promised to investigate the 'reliability' of exams.
Commerce in schools put under spotlight
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 19 May 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls has asked ULIE's David Buckingham to produce a report on the impact of the commercial world on children amid concerns that the government's policy of privatising schools is affecting children's education.
One in five 11-year-olds fail to make grade on the three Rs, warns Ofsted
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 20 May 2008)
Unveiling reforms to the inspection process, Ofsted head Christine Gilbert warned that a fifth of children were leaving primary school functionally illiterate.
Sin bins for pupils to be scrapped
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 21 May 2008)
Yet more privatisation of education was announced by the government. Pupil referral units for disruptive children are to be scrapped and replaced with specialist centres run by private companies, charities and academies.
Schools' summer break under threat
(Anushka Asthana The Observer 25 May 2008)
Thursday's Child, a study by the IPPR, argued that the school summer holiday should be reduced from six to four weeks, that there should be greater emphasis on play for five and six year olds, and called for an overhaul of the inspection regime, with more teacher assessment.
June 2008
Study links low income families to low achieving children
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 7 June 2008)
A study of 30,000 children conducted by New York's Columbia University in both the US and UK showed that children's vocabulary, cognitive abilities and behaviour are tightly linked to their family income.
Academies are creaming off best headteachers, research suggests
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 9 June 2008)
A study by Education Data Surveys revealed that academies are creaming off the best head teachers from neighbouring schools by outbidding them with six-figure salaries.
Minister's threats put schools in turmoil, say heads
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 11 June 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls gave local authorities 50 days to come up with individual plans to improve exam results. He threatened that 638 'failing' secondary schools would be closed and reopened as academies.
Controversial head of private schools quits
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 June 2008)
Private school head teacher Chris Parry, who caused a furore by describing some state school pupils as unteachable and their parents as ignorant, quit his job as head of the Independent Schools Council.
60,000 top pupils lost to universities
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 June 2008)
Research by Anna Vignoles at ULIE suggested that every year 60,000 of the highest achieving school leavers - mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds - fail to get to university.
Low-performing schools to get £1m each to lift standards
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 June 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls launched a stinging attack on selective education and the 164 remaining grammar schools. He promised £1m for every 'struggling' secondary modern school.
Schools listed as failing among best in the country, says NUT
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 21 June 2008)
The NUT pointed out that Ofsted reports on the 638 schools the government considers to be 'failing' show that a quarter are among the best in the country and about third are in the top 40 per cent.
Top private schools shun 'too complex' diploma programme
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 30 June 2008)
The government's plans for a new diploma qualification suffered two setbacks: leading private schools said they would not adopt it because it was too complex, and a report by academics at ULIE warned that the diploma would worsen the divide between vocational and academic education, making it even more difficult for state school pupils to get into the best universities.
July 2008
Top Jewish school cleared of discriminating against pupil
(Riazat Butt The Guardian 4 July 2008)
At the High Court Mr Justice Munby ruled that Britain's top Jewish state school did not racially discriminate against an 11 year old boy when it rejected his application on the grounds that his mother's conversion to Judaism was invalid.
SATs results delayed by newly-hired company's 'style of management'
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 5 July 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls was forced to delay the publication of SATs results for 11 and 14 year olds and set up an urgent inquiry to document the errors made by US-owned company ETS Europe, which is contracted to mark the papers.
Rising number of primary pupils unable to speak in sentences
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 July 2008)
According to a review for the government by Tory MP John Bercow, the number of children who arrive at primary school unable to speak in full sentences is rising, with seven per cent of five year olds now having serious communication problems.
Early-years writing lessons 'do no good'
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 14 July 2008)
The government said it was determined to impose a curriculum for under-fives which includes writing short sentences and using punctuation, despite evidence from ULIE that such teaching has little effect on their literacy skills later on.
School tests system under great stress, says exam chief
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 15 July 2008)
QCA chief Ken Boston said that the government's school testing regime was under 'very great stress' and that the failure of the private company ETS Europe to deliver this year's SATs results on time was partly a symptom of that stress.
Expand academy model into primary sector, says thinktank
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 July 2008)
In a book backed by all three major political parties, the liberal thinktank CentreForum argued that privately sponsored, state-funded academies should be expanded to take over 'failing' primary schools.
Appeals over SATs set to soar
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 18 July 2008)
In the wake of the marking fiasco caused by problems at ETS, the Association of School and College Leaders called for an overhaul of the entire Key Stage 3 testing system.
Watchdog warns 1m SATs results could be scrapped
(Polly Curtis and Aidan Jones The Guardian 19 July 2008)
Kathleen Tattersall, head of the exams watchdog Ofqual, warned that the government might have to scrap the results of this years SATs tests if they were shown to be as inaccurate as reports suggested.
£35bn revamp will produce generation of mediocre schools
(Robert Booth The Guardian 21 July 2008)
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment said the government's £35,000m Building Schools for the Future initiative was producing school buildings which were 'mediocre' or 'not yet good enough'.
August 2008
Jim'll fix it
(Peter Wilby The Guardian 5 August 2008)
Former director of inspection at Ofsted, Sir Jim Rose, is to lead the government's review of the primary curriculum. Peter Wilby wonders how much of a stir he is likely to create.
SATs results show fall in pupils with top grades amid fear that schools are teaching to the test
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 6 August 2008)
More than a third of the pupils starting at secondary school this month have failed to reach the level expected for their age in reading, writing and arithmetic according to the first results from this year's fraught round of national tests.
Ofsted: Fairer league tables 'no help to pupils'
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 6 August 2008)
The government's efforts to make school league tables fairer by taking into account pupils' socio-economic backgrounds can be misleading, a study by the schools inspectorate has found.
Rich-poor education gap wider under Labour, claim Tories
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 August 2008)
A failed generation, published by the Tory party, argued that the education gap between rich and poor has widened under New Labour.
Ofsted sends school critique to four year olds
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 August 2008)
Children as young as four have received letters from education watchdog Ofsted setting out complaints about their schools, in some cases warning them that their teachers are not preparing them properly for their 'future adult lives'.
Government damaging troubled schools, say unions
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 18 August 2008)
Unions and teachers' leaders say schools are being irreparably damaged by government rhetoric, and warn that some are being stripped of vital funding designed to improve their performance.
City academies to take over struggling primary schools
(Polly Curtis and Allegra Stratton The Guardian 25 August 2008)
The government is to expand the academies programme by announcing that it has given the go-ahead for the takeover of three 'struggling' primary schools.
Academies are a primary concern
(Letters The Guardian 27 August 2008)
The government's proposal to allow academies to run primary schools was condemned by correspondents to The Guardian.
As 51 academy schools prepare for first day, GCSEs show work still to be done
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 30 August 2008)
A quarter of the government's prized academies saw their GCSE results decline this summer. But Adonis still says he wants to see more of them.
Campaigners fight to stop schools recruiting staff based on religion
(Riazat Butt The Guardian 30 August 2008)
Leading academics, authors and scientists have launched a campaign to stop state-funded faith schools from discriminating against students and teachers on the grounds of religion.
Pupils face huge changes, warn heads
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 30 August 2008)
Pupils returning to school in England and Wales after the summer break face some of the biggest education reforms in twenty years, including a new secondary curriculum, revamped A Levels and a diploma qualification.
September 2008
Leaving age for new pupils will be 17
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 3 September 2008)
Pupils who started secondary school in England this week will almost certainly be the first cohort legally obliged to stay on in education or training until 17. Legislation is going through parliament to raise the school leaving age to 17 by 2013 and to 18 by 2015.
Private schools turn their back on academies
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 12 September 2008)
According to research by insurance company Zurich, private schools are rejecting government attempts to make them forge closer ties with academies, despite new Charity Commission rules designed to encourage greater links between them. Just six per cent of independent schools have considered sponsoring an academy.
Schools in crisis hunt for 1,000 new heads
(Liz Lightfoot and Anushka Asthana The Observer 14 September 2007)
Around a thousand schools in England started the new school year without a permanent head. Teachers' leaders are furious that the government has drawn up a secret list of heads and senior teachers it wants to run its academies when positions arise.
Europe's first state-funded Hindu school opens its doors
(Riazat Butt The Guardian 15 September 2008)
Krishna-Avanti primary school, Europe's first state-funded school for Hindus, opened in London amid continued concern about the divisive nature of faith schools.
Academy criticised for excluding 40 pupils in first two weeks
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 19 September 2008)
Paul Prest, 'chief executive' of a new academy in Sunderland, has defended his decision to suspend 40 pupils in the first two weeks of term, saying it was essential to show pupils they would not be allowed to 'subvert' the school's rules.
Ofsted criticises maths lessons
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 19 September 2008)
Ofsted reported that nearly half of all maths lessons were not good enough. Although more pupils were getting qualifications, much of the teaching was uninspiring and children were being drilled to pass exams rather than learn the mathematical skills or knowledge needed for their future.
Schools failing gifted pupils by not recording their talent, says minister
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 September 2008)
Schools minister Andrew Adonis said thousands of the brightest pupils were missing out on tailored teaching because their schools were failing to take part in a programme designed to target gifted children. He urged parents to demand more attention from teachers if they felt their children had a particular talent.
Catholic school defends ban on cervical cancer jab
(Debbie Andalo The Guardian 25 September 2008)
St Monica's Roman Catholic high school in Prestwich, Greater Manchester, has banned its girls from having the cervical cancer vaccination administered on its premises.
Pupils to be offered free school meals in effort to boost health
(Polly Curtis and John Carvel The Guardian 25 September 2008)
Health secretary Alan Johnson announced a £20m pilot scheme in which pupils would be offered free school meals. The scheme could be expanded nationwide if it is proved to make a marked difference to children's health and concentration.
October 2008
Schools to be rated on number of pupils at top universities
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 3 October 2008)
The National Council of Education Excellence, a body set up by Gordon Brown, announced that schools in England would be rated on the proportion of their pupils who went on to top universities. The plan aims to reduce the drop-out rate at 16 and promote university to students in disadvantaged areas.
Parents and employers do not see diplomas as credible, say MPs
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 7 October 2008)
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee warned that the £590m plan to introduce diplomas to replace A Levels and GCSEs in England was at risk because the new qualification was not seen as credible by parents, employers and universities.
Half of school admissions break the rules
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 9 October 2008)
An inquiry by schools adjudicator Philip Hunter revealed that half of all school authorities in England are breaking the new admissions code by continuing to ask discriminatory questions about parents' marital and employment status. Most of the problems relate to faith schools.
Failing Bristol academy plans to open African schools
(Mark Gould The Guardian 10 October 2008)
The City Academy Bristol, a poorly performing UK state school, is proposing to open fee-charging schools in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe.
Academy sponsor in bid to pull out
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 10 October 2008)
The sponsor of Unity City Academy in Middlesbrough, Amey plc, has told the government it no longer wishes to be involved with the school. If it withdraws, it will be the first academy backer to do so.
Labour U-turn scraps tests for 14 year olds
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 15 October 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls finally caved in and abolished Key Stage 3 SATs tests for 14 year olds. Despite mounting pressure, however, he vowed to keep the Key Stage 2 tests at 11.
Sex education to begin at five in all schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 24 October 2008)
Sex education is to be made a compulsory part of the National Curriculum in primary and secondary schools. Children will learn about sex in the context of relationships, including marriage and civil partnerships. Ministers said faith schools would not be allowed to opt out, though it seems likely that the right of parents to remove their children from the lessons will be maintained.
November 2008
Over half state schools breach admission laws
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 4 November 2008)
Schools Adjudicator Sir Philip Hunter reported that more than half of state schools were breaching admission laws and covertly selecting pupils. Many faith schools asked improper questions - about parents' jobs, for example.
Long division
(John Crace The Guardian 11 November 2008)
The Cabinet Office's Strategy Unit claimed that family background was now less important to children's academic success than it was in 1970. But a Manchester School of Education study showed that the cycle of underachievement among poor, white children was still endemic.
'Coasting' schools must be ambitious, says government
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 November 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls said some schools were 'coasting', sometimes because of 'complacent' head teachers. They would be given support to improve or might face intervention from their local authorities.
Academies accused of covert selection as number of poorer pupils falls
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 14 November 2008)
A five-year inquiry into academies supported claims by critics that more able students were being selected to improve results and that the proportion of pupils from the poorest homes had shrunk.
Quarter of 11 year olds missing maths target
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 19 November 2008)
The National Audit Office reported that 77 per cent of 11 year olds were now achieving Level 4 in mathematics, compared with the government's target of 85 per cent.
Shakespeare suffers slings and arrows of SATs fortune
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 26 November 2008)
The Royal Shakespeare Company reported a 50 per cent drop in the number of teachers applying for its courses since the government scrapped SATs tests for 14 year olds. Schools minister Jim Knight said teachers were not used to coping with curriculum flexibility. He didn't mention that this was the government's fault.
Government launches inquiry into academy funds allegations
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 28 November 2008)
The Education Department is investigating claims that academy sponsor Edutrust, a multi-faith charity chaired by businessman Lord Bhatia, has mismanaged contracts worth millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.
December 2008
Faith schools urged to end selection on basis of religion
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 4 December 2008)
A report by the Runnymede Trust, a charity which promotes good race relations, argued that faith schools should stop selecting pupils according to their religion and do more to serve the most disadvantaged children.
School admissions code tightened up
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 4 December 2008)
The government published a revised School Admissions Code under which schools could advise parents of their ethos but would not be allowed to hold interviews or ask parents for financial contributions.
'Independent' Primary Review publishes interim report
The government-commissioned review of the primary curriculum led by Sir Jim Rose (not to be confused with The Primary Review being conducted at Cambridge), published its interim report. It can be downloaded via the above link.
Scrap history lessons in primary, says study
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 December 2008)
Jim Rose said reform was urgently required because a 'bloated' curriculum was making children's knowledge and understanding shallow.
Balls outlines report cards plan for schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 December 2008)
Schools secretary Ed Balls published proposals to give schools an overall rating based on a range of information. He said the annual report cards would provide parents with a clear picture of how schools were performing.
White boys on free meals fall further behind in GCSEs
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 12 December 2008)
White working class boys fell further behind their classmates in GCSE results this year, according to figures which suggested that government efforts to close the social gap in exam results were failing.
Exams chief quits over SATs fiasco
(Toby Helm The Observer 14 December 2008)
QCA chief executive Ken Boston resigned, saying he was taking responsibility for the SATs tests fiasco. His decision came three days before the publication of an independent inquiry led by Lord Sutherland.
Million poor pupils denied free meals
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 December 2008)
Lib Dem education spokesman David Laws obtained government figures which showed that a million children living below the poverty line were not receiving free school meals as a result of flaws in the funding system.
SATs agency scrapped and bosses suspended after inquiry pinpoints blame for tests fiasco
(Polly Curtis and Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 17 December 2008)
The QCA disbanded the National Assessment Agency and suspended its two most senior executives after it was condemned for its 'massive failure' to prevent the collapse of this summer's tests.
Pupil mentors to help tackle school bullies
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 30 December 2008)
Secondary schools and colleges in England are to receive £720,000 over the next two years as part of a government scheme to train 'pupil mentors'.
Exam board wins contract to run SATs tests next year
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 31 December 2008)
The QCA announced that Edexcel had been awarded the contract to run SATs tests in England in 2009. Suspended QCA chief Ken Boston warned that there was 'no guarantee' results would be delivered on time.
January 2009
Grammar schools defy 11-plus axe
(Henry McDonald The Observer 4 January 2009)
Northern Ireland's grammar schools are to hold their own 11 plus exams in defiance of the education minister's aim to abolish academic selection.
Ofsted's new mission - to get rid of boring teachers
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 5 January 2009)
Ofsted is to launch a crackdown on 'boring' teaching in response to concerns that children's behaviour is deteriorating because they are not being stimulated enough in class.
£100,000 fails to attract secondary school heads
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 9 January 2009)
The annual survey of headship vacancies showed that state schools in England and Wales faced a chronic shortage of head teachers, despite some schools advertising salaries of £100,000.
Losers in school league tables face closure
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 15 January 2009)
According to the government 440 schools are failing to meet basic targets for GCSE results. 80 were told they must improve or face closure.
Government to nationalise failing private schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 31 January 2009)
Schools minister Jim Knight said the government would consider applications for academy status from private schools hit by the recession.
Top leaders at stricken academy quit
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 29 January 2009)
The chief executive and head teacher of the Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle have resigned after the school descended into chaos and was placed in special measures by Ofsted.
February 2009
Cambridge Primary Review publishes curriculum report
The Cambridge Primary Review, led by Professor Robin Alexander, has conducted three years of academic research, produced 29 research papers and held dozens of public meetings. Its interim report Towards a new primary curriculum was published on 20 February. It can be downloaded via the above link.
Tests blamed for blighting children's lives
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 February 2009)
The Primary Review concluded that children's lives were being impoverished by a lack of creative teaching as a result of the government's obsession with literacy and numeracy, tests and league tables.
March 2009
Balls orders Ofsted survey of faith schools' moral values
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 9 March 2009)
Schools secretary Ed Balls asked the education watchdog Ofsted to carry out a survey of the 'moral values' of independent faith schools after concerns were raised about Muslim schools.
Fear of upsetting parents and faith groups is deterring teachers from tackling homophobia
(Louise Tickle The Guardian 10 March 2009)
The Teachers' Report, a survey of 2,000 school staff commissioned by Stonewall, confirmed that homophobic language is in widespread use in schools. Ninety per cent of secondary school staff said pupils in their schools were bullied or called names for being - or being perceived to be - homosexual.
Slow education policy juggernaut, urges Lords report
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 13 March 2009)
Head teachers welcomed a House of Lords committee report which urged Ed Balls to stop deluging schools with new regulations. In 2008 schools in England received 79 policy consultations and more than 300 announcements from the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF)
Peer forced to quit board of academies charity
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 13 March 2009)
Academy sponsor Lord Bhatia has been forced to quit the board of his academies trust after evidence of financial and governance mismanagement at the charity.
Heads urged to rebel against 'Tesco model' for schools
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 15 March 2009)
John Dunford, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, urged heads to rebel against government attempts to create a 'Tesco model' of schools in England, with the company headquarters in Whitehall and heads and teachers seen as 'branch managers and shelf-fillers'.
Anti-gay US Christians theaten to picket London primary school
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 March 2009)
Christian fundamentalists from Westboro Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, whose slogan is 'God hates fags', threatened to picket George Tomlinson primary school in Waltham Forest, north-east London, because of its attempts to combat homophobia.
Caterers warn healthy menus will drive pupils to burger bars
(Denis Campbell The Guardian 23 March 2009)
The catering firms which supply England's school meals warned that the government's new nutritional standards, to be introduced in September, would lead to more pupils deserting school canteens for fast-food outlets.
Pupils to study Twitter and blogs in primary schools shake-up
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 25 March 2009)
Sir Jim Rose, the former Ofsted chief who was appointed by ministers to overhaul the primary school curriculum, is due to publish his report next month. According to The Guardian, he will recommend maintaining traditional areas of learning, including phonics, the chronology of history and mental arithmetic, but will urge that schools are given greater flexibility in deciding what they teach.
Equity and Excellence
The Liberal Democrat Party published its education manifesto. It can be downloaded via the alove link.
April 2009
CSFC Report on the National Curriculum
The House of Commons Children, Schools and Families Committee published its report on the National Curriculum on 2 April. It can be downloaded via the above link.
What is the primary curriculum for?
(Robin Alexander The Guardian 7 April 2009)
'Two cheers for the select committee's report on the national curriculum.' Robin Alexander's response to the Children, Schools and Families Committee report on the National Curriculum.
Learning behaviour
The Steer Committee (the Practitioners' Group on School Behaviour and Discipline) published its report. It can be downloaded via the above link.
It was a great moral victory. Then teachers lost the plot
(Jenni Russell The Guardian 16 April 2009)
At their annual conference NUT members voted for a boycott of the destructive SATs tests regime. Then they demanded a huge pay rise.
Now teachers threaten strike if SATs are scrapped
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 16 April 2009)
Meanwhile, members of the second biggest teacher union, the NASUWT, voted to keep the SATs tests, fearing a huge workload increase if they were abolished. You couldn't make it up ...
May 2009
The unofficial opposition
(Warwick Mansell The Guardian 5 May 2009)
Academies, once one of New Labour's most controversial ideas, have now been embraced by the Tories. But there is still massive resistance to them among parents.
When is a review not really a review?
(Mike Baker The Guardian 19 May 2009)
Mike Baker compares Sir Jim Rose's review of the primary curriculum with the Plowden Report of 1967 and asks whether governments still know how to conduct thorough inquiries into education.
The Apprenticeships, Children, Skills and Learning Bill
(Summary of provisions from the DCSF website)
The Bill was introduced into the House of Commons in February 2009 and received its third reading in May. It is now being debated in the Lords.
June 2009
Big brothers
(Warwick Mansell The Guardian 2 June 2009)
The Apprenticeships, Children, Skills and Learning Bill will give ministers 153 sweeping new powers. Warwick Mansell reports on the rise and rise of centralisation.
Balls' warning to schools: two years to improve
(Jessica Shepherd The Guardian 16 June 2009)
Schools secretary Ed Balls has issued yet another warning to comprehensive schools with poor exam results: you have two years to improve or you'll be closed down, merged, or turned into academies.
How long will this one last?
(Mike Baker The Guardian 16 June 2009)
There's quite a lot in a name
(Estelle Morris The Guardian 23 June 2009)
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) has been scrapped after just two years and its responsibilities subsumed into Peter Mandelson's vast new empire: the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
SATs replacement system 'even more stressful for pupils'
(Warwick Mansell and Polly Curtis The Guardian 22 June 2009)
A new testing system to replace SATs in state schools with 'single level tests' (SLTs) has been hit by 'substantial and fundamental' problems, according to secret reports.
Heads could receive £200,000 in return for running more than one school
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 23 June 2009)
Ed Balls announced that governing bodies of state schools will be free to decide what they pay headteachers who agree to run groups of struggling schools.
Ofsted finds schools failing on new secondary curriculum
(Anthea Lipsett The Guardian 25 June 2009)
A disgraceful piece of negative journalism: this piece purports to suggest that schools are failing to implement the new secondary curriculum, whereas what Ofsted actually said was that almost all of them are doing so satisfactorily or better.
As politicians bicker, too many pupils still lose out
(Editorial The Observer 28 June 2009)
With a new white paper looming, The Observer comments that 'Labour's policy on education amounts to fiddling around the margins of the status quo. By contrast, the Conservatives offer a bold but blind gamble on the free market.'
Parents face fines if pupils behave badly
(Gaby Hinsliff and Polly Curtis The Observer 28 June 2009)
Ed Balls and his Tory opposite number Michael Gove continue to compete to produce the most reactionary policies. This week, Balls announced that parents whose children misbehave will be prosecuted and fined.
July 2009
Missed opportunities and mad ideas: the government's legacy
(Peter Mortimore The Guardian 7 July 2009)
Peter Mortimore wishes teachers a good holiday but warns that the government has more daft ideas for education up its sleeve.
Quangos: ministers must not meddle with the curriculum
(Mike Baker The Guardian 21 July 2009)
Tory leader David Cameron says he'll abolish organisations like the QCA. Do we really want the body that develops the national curriculum right inside government? Definitely not, says Mike Baker.
August 2009
How target of 50% going to university foundered
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 20 August 2009)
The government's target of getting half of young people into university by 2010 is being hit by a funding black hole as more students apply for too few places.
Tories allege phasing out of 'core' GCSEs
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 24 August 2009)
According to figures obtained in parliament, fewer than one in four students leave school with at least a C grade in English, maths, science and a language, compared with more than 30 per cent in 2001.
Education becomes an election battleground
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 26 August 2009)
Schools are mired in uncertainty as Education Secretary Ed Balls seeks to develop diplomas to span the academic/vocational divide, while his Tory shadow Michael Gove wants all children to follow an academic course up to the age of 16.
One in five GCSEs passed at A or A*
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 27 August 2009)
One in five GCSEs taken this year scored an A or A*, according to record results published today for more 670,000 pupils in England and Wales.
Labour to slash spending on its academy programme
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 29 August 2009)
The government is preparing to cut spending on its flagship academy programme, with schools' sponsors told to expect a reduction in funding for each new academy school as early as next year.
September 2009
Academies: 200 and counting, but more doubts raised
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 7 September 2009)
67 new academies opened this week, taking the total to 200. Schools Secretary Ed Balls insisted that the government was on course to hit its target of 400 academies.
Labour scraps £2m fee for academy sponsors
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 7 September 2009)
In an attempt to counter accusations that Labour is privatising schools, Ed Balls announced that charities, businesses and individuals would no longer have to pay a £2m sponsorship fee to run academies.
Northern Ireland grammar schools fight to keep 11-plus
(Henry McDonald The Guardian 8 September 2009)
Catholic grammar schools are defying the Northern Ireland education minister - and their own bishops - by setting private selection tests for local primary school pupils.
Third academy fails Ofsted inspection
(Warwick Mansell and Polly Curtis The Guardian 13 September 2009)
In a fresh blow to the credibility of the government's academy programme, Sheffield Park Academy, which cost taxpayers £30m to set up, became the third academy to be placed in special measures by Ofsted.
October 2009
Must do better: Michael Gove delivers damning report on schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 7 October 2009)
At the Tory Party conference, shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove said a Conservative government would sideline local authorities, scrap the curriculum agency, sack the worst headteachers and return to traditional values in the classroom, with former soldiers imposing discipline and pupils expected to wear ties.
Parents to hire private firms to run schools under Tories
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 8 October 2009)
Tory leader David Cameron told the conference that 'discipline, setting by ability and regular sport' would flourish in state schools once they were freed from government controls by the Conservatives, forcing headteachers to respond to parental demands.
Headteachers rebel at Tory claims of dumbed down schools
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 12 October 2009)
In a letter to The Guardian 26 leading head teachers warned Gove that his accusation that a culture of 'defeatism and political correctness' had dumbed down education would cost him support across England's schools.
The Cambridge Primary Review's key findings
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 October 2009)
The Cambridge Primary Review published its final report. Polly Curtis summarises the main findings.
Start school at six, key schools report recommends
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 October 2009)
The Review criticised Labour ministers for intervening in England's classrooms on an unprecedented scale, controlling every detail of how teachers teach. It said they had exaggerated progress, narrowed the curriculum, and left children stressed-out by the testing and league table system.
Devastating criticism of primary education dismissed by ministers
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 16 October 2009)
Disgracefully - but predictably - government ministers sought to rubbish the findings of the Cambridge Review. Schools minister Vernon Coaker argued that the Review was out of date and did not take into account the government's primary school reforms.
All four-year-olds to be offered school or nursery place
(Polly Curtis The Guardian 19 October 2009)
Just days after the Cambridge Review argued that children might start school a year later than at present, Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced that from 2011 places would be found for four year olds whose parents want them to start school or nursery.
Chapter 6 | Bibliography
 
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