History > 2007 > UK > Education (I)
 

Classroom revolution

as curriculum embraces modern life

Published: 13 July 2007
The Independent
By Richard Garner, Education Editor

The Government has unveiled a new curriculum to bring schools into the 21st century - giving more space for pupils to tackle controversial issues such as global warming and nuclear power.

Teachers will also be given greater freedom to break free from the traditional subject-based national curriculum for pupils aged 11 to 16, facilitating the introduction of topics which help prepare youngsters for adult life, Ken Boston, chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum - the Government's exams watchdog, said yesterday.

They will range from lessons on Britain's place in the global economy to individual economic well-being - which could include how to avoid debt and buy a home, respect for other cultures and even cookery - to help instil healthy eating habits into tomorrow's adults.

Dr Boston said the changes were necessary because the rise in education standards throughout the Western world was "slowing down".

"In some countries, it has reached a glass ceiling through which it cannot break," he said.

"The traditional approach to covering the syllabus has been exhausted: it has delivered all it can: it will work no more."

Under the shake-up, pupils could learn at their own speed - with some youngsters in a class given more taxing books to read such as the novels of Thomas Hardy while others were working on George Orwell.

The alternative, he argued, was to carry on with a system "where learning is not differentiated according to the readiness of the individual to learn".

That caused many youngsters to become disaffected "because the task is utterly beyond their reach and for others to be bored because it is too easy".

The shake-up, however, did mix the new topic-based approach with the traditional subject-based approach. In particular, ministers have listened to complaints about history where teachers have claimed that too many youngsters are starting with the Tudors in secondary school - having neglected the subject at primary school.

Topics in the new curriculum include studying the development of power in Britain from the Middle Ages to the present day to overcome gaps in children's knowledge and give them more of an understanding of Britain's cultural identity.

There was consternation, though, that Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler's names had been omitted from the list of historical figures to be studied, a decision described by the Conservative MP Nicholas Soames as madness. But the QCA and the Government pointed out that study of the First and Second World Wars was compulsory and it would be impossible to teach those topics without studying Churchill and Hitler.

Andrew Adonis, the Schools minister, insisted yesterday that history would include studying developments from medieval times to the present day.

Lord Adonis lent his backing to the new curriculum at its launch at Lord's Cricket Ground yesterday. "There is a reduction in prescription from the centre and a modernisation of the curriculum to make it more relevant to the needs of young people in this world in the future," he added.

He argued that teachers could use the new time at their disposal to ensure extra catch-up lessons in the "three R's" for pupils who were struggling in English and maths - and also lessons to stretch the more able pupils.

Other measures in the curriculum include a reading list - including authors from different cultures for the first time such as Maya Angelou and Meera Syal, also known for her role as a comedian in the BBC TV series Goodness Gracious Me.

Andrew Motion, the Poet Laureate, sounded a note of caution about the reading list when he addressed yesterday's launch. "I've got nothing against the poets that are on the curriculum," he said, "but I think if it turned out that, for thousands of pupils each year, these are the only poets and no one has written poetry since Ted Hughes and Philip Larkin hung up their boots, that would convey the wrong message."

He welcomed the emphasis on creative writing in the document, arguing that secondary schooling had been "a bit like the sandwich in the middle" between primary schooling and university in which creativity had been stifled for a concentration on facts.

In languages, Mandarin, Japanese, Urdu and Arabic can be added to the list of those being studied as a result of a decision to relax the requirement that all youngsters should study a European language.

The package was given a cautious welcome by teachers' leaders yesterday - some expressing reservations as to whether there would be enough time to cover the topics without more relaxation of the demands of traditional subjects.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association for Schools and Colleges, said: "This is certainly a move in the right direction. We know that schools are excited about the opportunity to be more innovative in how and what they teach 11- to 14-year-olds."

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, added: "Teachers need time in the school day to teach subjects such as financial capability and cooking.

"The job of revising the curriculum is only half done. National curriculum testing has an undue and damaging influence on what is taught in schools. We now need an independent review of national curriculum testing in secondary schools."

History of the national curriculum

1988 The national curriculum introduced as part of Conservative Education Secretary Kenneth Baker's Education Reform Act. It consists of 10 compulsory subjects and 10 levels of attainment to be reached by the time pupils leave school or go on to A-levels at 16

1992 The first attempt is made to slim down the curriculum when Lord Dearing is appointed to hold an inquiry as it is too unwieldy. He recommends it should only take up 80 per cent of school time

2002 Ministers take the controversial decision to stop compulsory lessons in modern foreign languages from the age of 14 in a further attempt to free up time. Non-academically inclined youngsters who drop the subject can spend up to two days a week on work experience instead. However, it leads to a major reduction in take-up of French and German - forcing another government inquiry into how to offset the decline

2007 Ken Boston, chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority - the Government's exams watchdog - unveils the new secondary school curriculum for the 21st century with more emphasis on topics and issues relevant to the modern world. It will come into force in schools in September 2008

Classroom revolution as curriculum embraces modern life, I, 13.7.2007, http://education.independent.co.uk/news/article2765570.ece

School weapons searches in force

Thursday May 31, 2007 6:33 AM
Press Association
The Guardian


Teachers or security staff will be able to search pupils for knives and other offensive weapons without consent, under a new law which has come into force.

It follows powers allowing schools to use screening devices such as metal detecting arches and wands in a bid to protect students from knife crime.

Education Secretary Alan Johnson said: "Every child has the right to learn in a secure and safe environment. Fortunately knife incidents in schools are extremely rare and the majority of schools will not need to use these measures."

He continued: "The main way to keep knives out of our schools is to continue educating young people about the dangers associated with illegally carrying a knife. But one violent crime caused by a weapon is one too many."

Teachers' leaders have raised concerns about the England-wide reforms, saying the strategy could have "dangerous or fatal consequences".

Guidance says staff should call police if they are concerned about safety risks, and schools can use professionally trained security staff to conduct screening and searching as well as teachers.

The guidance says staff can only carry out searches with the authorisation of the headteacher. It includes advice on how to screen pupils and suggests that a randomly selected group of pupils, such as a class, could be screened in order to send out a strong deterrent message.

Two members of staff must be present at every search, and the guidance recommends that both should have received appropriate training. Searches must by conducted by a staff member who is the same sex as the pupil and, where possible, they should take place out of public view. Schools can refuse entry to pupils who refuse to be screened.

Home Office minister Tony McNulty said: "These new measures in the Violent Crime Reduction Act send out a clear message that violence and weapons will not be tolerated in our schools."

The National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said it was the job of police to search individuals for weapons. The NAHT said it would advise members to call for help from police, who were trained and had the appropriate body armour, if they suspected a pupil had a weapon.

School weapons searches in force, G, 31.5.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6672819,00.html

School stress hits new peak

as exams loom

Our children are the most tested in the world,
and schools are having to hire ever more counsellors
to help them, reports education correspondent
Anushka Asthana

Sunday May 20, 2007
The Observer


Thousands of pupils are suffering from unprecedented levels of 'exam stress' according to experts dealing with the fallout from the UK's testing culture.

Unprecedented numbers of psychologists are now having to help pupils deal with the emotional strain - which can lead to sleepless nights, eating disorders and other illnesses.

Nurses at hundreds of schools in south-east England are being trained to pinpoint the symptoms of stress that build to a peak during the exam period.

The scheme, being launched as more than a million teenagers embark on their GCSEs, AS and A-levels and primary schools complete their Standard Assessment Tests, will be rolled out nationally.

'There is now a constant process of revision and examination and lots of students do not cope,' said Vivian Hill, an educational psychologist at the Institute of Education. 'These are the most tested children in the world.'

Hill, who runs training sessions on how to reduce anxiety, has seen children with 'pushy parents' and those in failing schools fall physically ill from stress.

She blamed in part the two years following GCSEs that were once free of exams as students worked towards their A-levels. Now they are crammed full of AS levels and the extra revision they bring.

Meanwhile, Place2Be - a charity offering emotional support to primary school children - has seen a massive increase in the numbers of pupils approaching counsellors about exams.

The charity runs a project called Place2Talk in 113 schools where children can post requests to see a counsellor into postboxes placed in the school buildings. So far 70 per cent of the children in the schools have asked for support.

Sheridan Whitfield, a manager for the charity in London, said children from the age of five were able to place requests for a chat into postboxes placed in the school. 'Children are accessing it more for exam worries.'

The relentless pressure means psychologists are being called into schools at an increasing rate, according to Hill: 'We are doing this in a way that we were not doing it five years ago.'

She said 10 senior colleagues now visited schools on a weekly basis working with children, teachers and parents. 'In one case we had a father who wanted to send his child to a psychologist because they were at the bottom of the A band and not the top. What makes someone behave so unreasonably?'

Earlier this month teachers claimed that children as young as nine were becoming disillusioned with school because of the pressure to pass tests. A report by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers said that league tables were pushing schools to drop interesting lessons in favour of drilling pupils for exams with a 'spoon-feeding approach'.

Ken Boston, chief executive of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, has said children are over-tested while the powerful all-party education select committee is about to launch a major inquiry into the issue.

Experts at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) and the mental health charity Rethink are so concerned about rising levels of stress they have launched the south-east England pilot scheme to train nurses to help anxious pupils.

Starting with hundreds of schools in south London, the project is being funded by the Health Foundation.

'We ought to be thinking about stress at this time of year,' said Andre Tylee, professor of primary care mental health at the IoP. 'Constant assessment does cause stress in a significant minority and this will be a key part of what we do to help schools.'

Exam time must be treated as 'high risk' by headteachers, according to Tylee, whose work will help nurses recognise early signs of anxiety and pick up where a pupil may feel suicidal: 'They may know when someone is stressed but what about when that tips into depression or mental health problems?' he said.

The fact that psychologists are starting to take stress in schools seriously was welcomed by students. 'Exam stress always comes up as the top issue,' said Rajeeb Dey, founder of the English Secondary Students' Association. 'Schools bringing in educational psychologists is a wise move.'

Different types of sessions are running in schools up and down the country. Staff at the Institute of Education have helped set up a 'stress-busting' session at Burntwood school, a large comprehensive in south London that caters for pupils aged 11 to 19.

Mary Holden, head of learning support at the school, now runs sessions for individuals or small groups where she teaches them how to calm down through breathing techniques, among others.

'If someone becomes stressed we give them more attention,' said Holden. 'If someone is incredibly anxious and it is affecting their performance then we may put them somewhere separate [to take the exam].'

Last week Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist who focuses on stress issues, gave a talk to AS and A-level students about how to keep calm and do their best in exams.

As well as offering advice on how to manage their time she gave tips on how to eat, sleep and exercise. Students were advised to eat proteins when revising and carbohydrates when winding down. Caffeine was to be avoided.

For those suffering sleepless nights she advised power naps in the day, using an alarm clock out of reach to wake them up. 'A 15-minute power nap is worth one sleep cycle at night [or] one and a half hours,' she said. Where she was able to talk to students six weeks before exams she recommended regular aerobics.

Elsewhere headteachers have turned to alternative techniques such as massage to help pupils cope. At a school in Staffordshire holistic therapist and former teacher Frances Latham uses breathing and visualisations to help stop panic attacks.

There are also private options for parents who are particularly worried about their children. Tim Francis, a chartered educational psychologist, works with pupils in the most extreme cases where they completely freeze during the exams.

He also offers advice over the internet that suggests students tense and relax muscles up and down their entire body. Such techniques were once shunned by schools but headteachers are increasingly turning to them.

'It is becoming more common for young people and parents to report unpleasant effects at this time because they are concerned about examinations,' said Martin Ward, deputy general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders. 'It is not just GCSEs; the Key Stage two and three SATs are impacting on younger children who are less able to cope with the pressure.'

Graham Taylor, the former vicar who is now the bestselling author of the children's book Shadowmancer, said children were terrified by the number of exams they faced.

'My daughter is eight years old,' he said. 'She is year three at a school. She has taken two days off sick this week for the stress of two weeks of exams.'

Taylor, who visited 250 schools last year to give motivational talks, blamed an obsession with testing. 'The education system is in crisis,' he added. The answer was not better exams but 'happier children'.

For some parents, the pressures are far too high. Hazel Hallows, a mother-of-three from Manchester, said that children had enough additional worries about fitting in. 'They have got enough to worry about,' she said, 'and then on top of that is whether they get the grades for college.'

But while too much stress is without doubt a bad thing, a few nerves are exactly what children need. On The Parent Organisation, a parents' support website, a poll has been asking whether children responded badly to exam pressure. Yesterday, the answer was no for 62.5 per cent of parents.

School stress hits new peak as exams loom, O, 20.5.2007, https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2007/may/20/
sats.schools 

Church of England plans

to open 100 new academy schools

Saturday May 19, 2007
Guardian
Matthew Taylor


The Church of England is expected to open 100 academy schools as part of Tony Blair's attempt to cement controversial education reforms before he leaves office. A deal struck with education ministers this week will see church officials take direct control of a multimillion-pound expansion programme over the next five years.

The schools, which are state funded but privately run, have formed a central plank of education reforms. Ministers say they have brought a dynamism to struggling schools in deprived areas although critics, including many Labour MPs, claim they have handed religious groups and individuals too much influence.

Last night the church, which runs five academies and more than 200 other secondary schools, said there was growing demand from parents and pupils. Nick McKemey, its school improvement officer, said: "We have committed ourselves to providing good schools for the poorest. We're not looking for a short-term rise in exam results or for trophy schools, but for long-term improvement."

Under the plans individual dioceses will be free to open academies, which will be overseen by the newly formed Church of England Academies Services Ltd.

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "This sort of activity by sponsors demonstrates the added value sponsors can bring and the importance they place on improving educational opportunities for pupils."

The move drew criticism from the National Secular Society. "The Church of England cannot get children into church, so it is determined to bring church into school, where the children have no choice and no escape," said Terry Sanderson, its president. "It is Mr Blair's final, self-indulgent gift to the religious establishment."

Under the plans the church will put forward £1.5m per academy in return for a large degree of control. A spokesman said they would have a Christian ethos but would be open to children of all faiths or none.

There are 46 academies and Mr Blair wants to increase that number to 400. This week, David Cameron announced the Tories would expand the programme.

    Church of England plans to open 100 new academy schools, G, 19.5.2007, http://education.guardian.co.uk/newschools/story/0,,2083418,00.html

Mother blames

verbal bullying

for death of her son,

inquest hears

· Open verdict on boy, 11, found hanging in room
· School bus driver denies joining in name-calling

Friday April 20, 2007
Guardian
Matthew Taylor

An 11-year-old boy hanged himself from his bunk bed after being picked on by fellow pupils and the driver of his school bus, an inquest was told yesterday.

Ben Vodden was found unconscious by his father, Paul Vodden, with shoelaces wrapped round his neck and tied to his bunk, at the family home in Southwater, West Sussex, on December 12 last year.

The inquest heard that the driver, Brian McCullough, had been responsible for some of the abuse, allegedly labelling the schoolboy "Masterbate", "Billie No Mates", and "Dickhead" in front of fellow pupils.

Ben's mother, Caroline Vodden, broke down yesterday as she described seeing her son return from Tanbridge House school in Horsham, West Sussex. "Ben said 'I hate the bus and I hate school'," said Mrs Vodden. "He said 'It is Brian, the bus driver, he is horrible to me."

The inquest heard that on the morning of his death he left for school and sent his father a text message: "Please can you bring my gel. PS. They are doing it again."

Mrs Vodden said she and her husband interpreted the last comment to mean their son was being bullied again.

Later the boy returned home, appearing fine - until Mrs Vodden received a call from the school saying he had been taken off the bus on his way home, because he had been hitting the air vent and making a gesture at the driver.

Mrs Vodden said her son became frustrated when she asked him what had happened: "He said, 'I won't tell you, and I can't tell you'. I followed him and stopped him from leaving the room. I said, 'Sweetheart, you have got to tell me, because we can't help you unless you tell me what has happened'."

He retreated to his bedroom, before emerging and giving his mother a hug, telling her: "I'm sorry, mummy."

He went back into his bedroom and closed the door. Mrs Vodden said she heard him crying in a way he had not done before.

Her husband later returned and went to ask their son what had happened. Mr Vodden opened the bedroom door to find him hanging from the bunk bed.

The 11-year-old was pronounced dead at Worthing hospital.

Mrs Vodden said that their son had earlier confided the name-calling to his father, because he was concerned about using explicit language in front of her.

"Ben felt unable to tell me, as his mother, because of the language used," she said. "Ben told his father, 'Brian the bus driver has been calling me "Masterbate" because he says "I'm a little wanker",' and he said everyone on the bus was calling him 'Masterbate'." The inquest heard that Mr Vodden rang the bus company, and that Mr McCullough had subsequently denied the allegations. No further action was taken, because it was the driver's word against the boy's, the court heard.

Mrs Vodden said that she asked her son what else she could do to help. He replied: "I will try it for a little bit longer, Mummy, and see if it gets better."

Mr McCullough told the inquest that he was devastated by the boy's death. "Ben to me was always 'Jack the Lad', the aggressor on the coach. We always had banter between us." He denied calling him "Masterbate", adding: "If anyone had said to me at any time that I was picking on Ben, I would not have continued; but no one did."

Recording an open verdict, the deputy West Sussex coroner, David Skipp, said: "What was really in Ben's mind that Tuesday, I'm not sure. And I'm not going to speculate. The tragedy is that a life of great potential was cut short so terribly.

"I believe Ben's story highlights the vulnerability of some young people to outside influence, and our responsibility as adults to treat these youngsters with consideration and respect - however hard that may be at times."

In a statement outside the magistrates court at Horsham in West Sussex, the boy's parents said that, although there had been few physical attacks, it was the verbal abuse which had a devastating impact on their son.

"Bullying should not be classified by the number of bruises or broken bones suffered by the victim. The simple fact is that Ben would not be dead if he hadn't been bullied. We strongly believe that."

    Mother blames verbal bullying for death of her son, inquest hears, G, 20.4.2007, http://education.guardian.co.uk/pupilbehaviour/story/0,,2061853,00.html

Expel abuse lie pupils, says union

Wednesday April 11, 2007 8:13 AM
Press Association
The Guardian


Children who pretend they have been abused by teachers must be expelled from school, a union has demanded.

Parents of pupils found to have invented malicious allegations should be forced to pay the legal costs of investigations, members of the NASUWT union said.

Delegates at the union's annual conference in Belfast will debate a strongly worded motion expressing concern at the number of false accusations which school staff have to suffer.

Michael Wilson, a teacher from Nottingham who proposed the motion, said: "If there's a case to be answered and it is not malicious or vexatious then it should be dealt with properly.

"What is appalling is what happens after the allegation has been dismissed.

"The accuser will be back as if nothing has happened.

"Some sympathetic managers make arrangements for the accused not to teach the accuser, but he or she is still at liberty to make more allegations without fear as nothing happened to them last time."

The motion set out two key demands: "Any child making a malicious or vexatious accusation against any members of staff in a school shall be permanently excluded from that school without the right of appeal and without any penalty to that school.

"Any parent of a child making a malicious or vexatious accusation shall be responsible for any costs incurred by the school or 'public purse' whilst the accusation is investigated."

Education Secretary Alan Johnson said he would look at the union's proposals once the motion had been passed or voted down.

    Expel abuse lie pupils, says union, G, 11.4.2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6548427,00.html?gusrc=ticker-103704

New alarm at lack of vetting

for school staff

Post-Soham checks still not in place

Monday February 26, 2007
Guardian
Lucy Ward, social affairs correspondent

Hundreds of thousands of people working with children in schools are still not being put through criminal record checks promised by the government in the wake of the Soham murders, the Guardian has learned.

Guidance sent to schools and colleges last month explains that existing teachers and other members of staff who work closely with children do not have to be fully vetted, despite claims by ministers that the procedures would be tightened.

The government promised to close the loophole last year when Ruth Kelly, then education secretary, told parliament she was ordering schools carry out criminal record checks on all new appointments.

The move came after it emerged that 88 sex offenders had been cleared by her department to work in schools.

But the new advice, sent to schools and colleges across the country, shows that the powers are still not in place.

The 129-page guidance from the Department for Education and Skills says schools are not required to run criminal background checks on any staff already in post. New recruits are also exempt from investigation if they move directly from another school.

The DfES document, Safeguarding Children and Safer Recruitment in Education, says schools only have to run checks on staff who have not worked with children before, or not in the three months before taking up a new job.

Officials concede that the loopholes will not be closed for at least another year.

The government first promised a tightening of the rules following the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman by school caretaker Ian Huntley more than four years ago.

Local government leaders said yesterday the delay could expose children to harm, and called on the government to act immediately to give schools powers to perform Criminal Records Bureau checks on all their staff.

Les Lawrence, chairman of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said: "The LGA continues to fight long and hard to ensure checks are performed retrospectively in schools, and ministers must act now to give them the powers to ensure that children are never exposed to individuals who might be harmful to them."

In the wake of the Soham murders and the inquiry by Sir Michael Bichard that followed, the government has moved to overhaul the piecemeal and ineffective set of measures designed to protect children from adults in positions of responsibility who might harm them.

The Safeguarding and Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 will introduce a new vetting and barring system, including compulsory CRB checks on all existing school staff and all new recruits, as recommended by the Bichard report.

Information available through the checks will also be much more comprehensive - it will include so-called soft intelligence that may be less than a criminal conviction, such as the fact that Ian Huntley was accused of rape on four occasions, though never charged.

The problem, however, is that the tougher vetting procedures are being phased in from 2008, raising concerns that hundreds of thousands of staff will remain without criminal record checks in the meantime.

The DfES says the delay is needed to ensure the CRB, set up in 2002 and overloaded on previous occasions, is able to handle the volume of checks involved.

A DfES spokesman said: "We have always been clear that the protection of children is our unequivocal first priority."

New alarm at lack of vetting for school staff, G, 26.2.2007, G, http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2021400,00.html