CES Careers Newsletter: Issue 22
Gordon.ceslondon@gmail.com
www.ceslondon.com
THE END
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------POOR RETURN (so far)
The National Audit Office (NAO) has said that money allocated to schools under the pupil premium had "potential",
but was yet to make a significant impact. About £2.5bn was given to schools in 2014-15 as pupil-premium funding,
with 2m children aged 5-16 qualifying for extra funding, out of 7m school-aged children. The NAO report said that
although school leaders are focusing on improving outcomes for poorer children, the educational gap between poorer
and wealthier children has changed only marginally.
The NAO is calling for a review of the way money is calculated, because not all disadvantaged children are being
identified for extra funding. It said that the introduction of universal credit and free school meals for all infants makes
it more difficult to identify disadvantaged pupils, and that some schools in the poorest areas are actually worse off
because of cuts in other areas of the schools budget. The NAO report said, "We estimate that the per-pupil funding of
16% of the most disadvantaged secondary schools fell by more than 5% in real terms between 2010-11 and 201415." It also said that often the funding is not spent effectively. It highlights the extra £430m on teaching assistants
since the introduction of the fund, saying, “Research suggests that the typical deployment and use of teaching
assistants, under everyday conditions, is not leading to improvements in academic outcomes”. It also said that,
"Schools could waste money on ineffective activities for many years without challenge." Sir Amyas Morse, head of
the NAO, said: "The high degree of local discretion has benefits and costs. Some schools don't appropriately focus
funding on disadvantaged pupils, and some spend funds on activities which are not demonstrably effective."
TELL TALE SIGNS
Nicky Morgan said that homophobic views may be a sign that a pupil is at risk of becoming an extremist. She spoke as
part of the government’s campaign to publicise its new guidance on dealing with extremism in schools. The
government defined extremism as: "Vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy,
the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs." There is now an
obligation on all public bodies from Wednesday to identify and report individuals at risk.
Ms Morgan said that the new government advice, which will apply to all schools, including free and private, will
ensure teachers were better able to identify children who had become radicalised by changes in their behaviour, or
attitudes or remarks they made. It would also help teachers identify pupils who were being "groomed" on the internet.
Ms Morgan said it was "a safeguarding" issue comparable to protecting children at risk from gangs or sexual abuse.
Asked to come up with an example of behaviour that might be a cause for concern, she said: "Sadly, Isis are extremely
intolerant of homosexuality." She expanded her view, saying that if pupils were expressing extreme hostile views
towards homosexuality they teachers should see that as a potential indicator of radical views.
The General Secretary of the NUT, Christine Blower, called the guidance "counter-productive", saying, "The jury is
out as to whether extra statutory requirements are the most effective way to help young people stay safe, think
critically, or reject engagement with groups who advocate violence. Already, in many schools, ‘Prevent’ (the
government's existing anti-extremism programme) is causing significant nervousness and confusion among teachers.
The Prevent strategy is felt by many teachers to be counter-productive and wide of the mark, it risks closing down the
very opportunities where the classroom can be used to develop democracy and explore human rights. "
PUSHING YOUNG MEN TOWARDS LADDISH BEHAVIOUR AT UNIVERSITY
Jeremy Thomas, an ‘expert’ on young people’s behaviour, has said that pushy parents who are narrowly focused on
“breeding children for success” are creating young people who are clueless about anything else and this is fuelling a
laddish culture because they send their children to university unable to cope with the real world. Mr Thomas said that
this was a particular problem with independent school students because: “Parents hot house their kids at private
schools and very often these kids are like pedigree dogs because they are so bred to success that they don’t have any
idea of anything else. Then kids go to university and they want to fit in, they want to be one of the gang but they are
right at the bottom of the pecking order and therefore they go into the drinking and drug culture. These can be
particularly guys who want to pretend they are in the laddish culture to try to make themselves fit in. But often they
are not because they’ve got no real experience”.
Mr Thomas also said that many high achievers, “have not been exposed to any challenges other than academia, have
not failed at anything and are consequently not equipped to deal with the bumps and bruises life might throw at
them”. He added, “High performing pupils naturally have a desire to be liked, fit in, join in. When a couple of bumps
occur, such as ill-chosen romantic or sexual encounters, real problems can occur such as anxiety and depression,
serious misuse of alcohol and drugs, possibly leading to flunking out of university to come back and live at home.”
STARTING OUT BEHIND
Research body, Education Datalab, has analysed the National Pupil Database and data from a longitudinal study of
19,000 children to see the extent children in England are reaching the expected level in language at age five. They also
looked at last year's national results of the Early Years Foundation Stage, an assessment of children's ability carried out
at the end of Reception year. They used eligibility as a definition for the poorer children, as it compared their language
skills on starting school, and their subsequent attainment, with that of their classmates. The report said that 4:10 of the
poorest boys start school without the language skills needed to learn, and warned these children, who lag 15 months
behind their peers at the age of five, might never catch up. However, they found that only 27% of the poorest girls
were below the basic language level at that stage.
The average language skills for five-year-olds were defined as:
 Able to understand and talk with new people using well-formed sentences.
 Ask lots of "why" questions
 Able to understand longer and more complicated sentences
 Able to understand and use most everyday words that adults use
 Explain what has happened, and why, in an interesting way
THE PERNICIOUS EFFECT OF LEAGUE TABLES
An unpublished report from Ofqual, Assessment Practices in Schools, based on anonymous information provided by
more than 500 teachers, suggests that dubious behaviour among teachers seeking the best results is widespread. It said
that over two-thirds of teachers have considered the performance of their school in league tables when choosing which
subjects to offer pupils, whilst 4:5 have focused on borderline ‘C’ students because the numbers gaining grades A-C
are the key to success in league tables. Nearly two-thirds have sought out “easier” exam boards to achieve success.
The report said a host of techniques being used to gain an advantage; 25% of respondents said they had experience of
pupils being removed from the roll to boost results, whilst 21% cited experience of “schools finding ways to pick and
choose the pupils they take in”, and 49% said students were steered towards qualifications they will perform well in,
rather than those they enjoy or those that would aid future employment. Amongst teacher comments were:
 “Heads are scared into meeting targets so staff are bullied into going above and beyond and at times do
‘unacceptable’ things because of the pressure of no excuses. Children are bullied, bribed and humiliated to
meet targets, offered money, picked up out of their house on a Saturday to come to school”.
 “Schools only offer courses which score ‘points’ rather than what students need to make progress at the lower
end of the academic range.”
 “Qualifications are picked based solely on data and performance rather than the best interest of the student.”
 “I have been particularly appalled by the way our new academy sponsor has required every single student in
our school to take a BTec qualification during Key Stage 4, along with a GCSE in Religious Education (this,
explicitly because RE is considered to be an ‘easy’ GCSE).”
A recent report from the thinktank Demos said that teachers, “overwhelmingly recognise the importance of nonformal learning activities, such as sport, debating and volunteering, in improving students’ chances of success in
education and adult life”. But that pressure over league tables and Ofsted had led to these areas being neglected.
Jonathan Birdwell, of Demos, said; “The enormous benefits provided by ‘non-formal learning’ or extracurricular
activities are now well proven, and this report demonstrates just how highly they are valued by teachers and
students alike. Reforms to Ofsted and teacher training will help to embed non-formal learning, but ultimately it’s up
to school heads to forge partnerships with non-formal learning providers that can help to make education more
exciting, engaging and better suited to helping all children to succeed both in school and adult life.”
The Demos survey of 1,000 14-18yr olds also found that students on free school meals are less likely than their peers
to take part in sporting, outdoor or community activities. They are also almost twice as likely to think that school is a
waste of time and more likely to report not wanting to go to school most days. Students at state schools are much less
likely to feel their school provides enough opportunities for extracurricular activities than those at fee-paying schools.
Tristram Hunt said he feared that ministers’ narrow focus on exam results and league tables was corrupting the
system. He said: “Young people are being short-changed as a result of this government’s chaotic changes to the
system of qualifications, ever-narrowing options are limiting choices and chances. It seems that decisions about the
school curriculum are being based on the outcomes of certain accountability systems instead of what’s right for the
future of young people. This is a worrying revelation.”
LIMITED IMPROVEMENT WITH ACADEMY STATUS
A National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) study has said that there is no significant link between
academy status and improvements in a school’s overall GCSE results, with the differences in performance between
converter or sponsored academies and similar maintained schools “not statistically significant”. It also found that there
was “very little evidence” of pupils eligible for free school meals, or those with high or low prior ability, making
greater progress at academies than in similar maintained schools.
However, the report said that the proportion of students achieving five GCSEs at grade A*-C, including English and
mathematics, was 2.9% higher in sponsored academies than in similar maintained schools, which they said was
“statistically significant”. They also found “tentative evidence of an upward trend in the performance of sponsored
academies compared to similar maintained schools the longer they are open”. Although they warned that a
“competing explanation” for this was that academies set up in 2009-10 received more extra funding than those set up
more recently, and that this “might have influenced the extent of school improvement measures that were possible to
deliver”. It found evidence that the attainment gap between pupils eligible for free school meals and those that are not
was “slightly narrower in converter academies than in similar maintained schools”, which, “might show an increased
focus on disadvantaged pupils being taken by converter academies.”
The NFER’s report was based on 2014 GCSE performance at sponsored and converter academies that had been open
between two and four years, and a group of maintained schools that had similar characteristics at the time the schools
became academies. Nicky Morgan has said that a school would be defined as “coasting” if, among other factors, fewer
than 60% of its pupils achieved five A*-C GCSEs in 2014 and 2015, and that such schools will be converted into
academies unless they are deemed to have credible plans to improve.
Brian Lightman, general secretary of the ASCL, said that the report showed that structural change in itself was “not an
automatic key to raising standards”. He said, “The key is an appropriate curriculum, excellent teaching and excellent
leadership,” and that this, “can happen in all kinds of schools.”
TEACH BETTER IF YOU WANT MORE MONEY
Universities UK, representing university leaders, has called for the £9k limit on tuition fees to be lifted so that they
can rise with inflation and be "maintained in real terms". Janet Beer, vice-president of Universities UK, said their
value was "being eroded considerably by inflation". She said, "Allowing the value of the fee to be maintained in real
terms is essential to allow universities to continue to deliver a high-quality learning experience for students." She
also said that, "Financial support for students' living costs needs to be improved", saying that students were more
concerned about the lack of support when they were studying than the debt being built up to be repaid later. She said,
"These changes should be made now to ensure universities can continue to provide high quality education that
meets the needs of students."
The new Universities Minister, Jo Johnson, told university heads that they needed to put a much greater emphasis on
improving the quality of teaching in universities, saying it should have equal status to ensuring the quality of research.
He said that he will set out plans for a "teaching excellence framework" to compare the quality of teaching in a way
that parallels the "research excellence framework", which measures research and determines the allocation of funding.
He said, "There must be recognition of excellent teaching, and clear financial and reputational incentives to make
'good' teaching even better." The chancellor said in the budget that the government would consult on freezing the
student loan repayment threshold at £21,000 for five years, although institutions that can demonstrate excellent
teaching will be allowed to increase their tuition fees in line with inflation.
NOT JUST A DISTRACTION
A study by Dr Christine Greenhow, from Michigan State University, has concluded that Facebook helps students learn
complex subjects, like science, and should be used as a serious learning tool. She said that high school and university
students engaged in energetic and intelligent debate, about scientific issues, in a voluntary Facebook forum, and that
teachers have limited time to teach the subjects, “If students had these kinds of niche communities to be part of, in
addition to their formal curriculum, that could really provide a rich environment for them.”
Dr Greenhow analysed a group of students aged 16-25 who voluntarily joined a Facebook group which dealt with
climate-related science news and found their discussion on various science issues to be ‘largely on-topic, civil and
sophisticated’ and said the students flourished because social media is already a part of their everyday lives. She also
said the sites can be less hierarchal and forced than if such a forum were to be overseen by an instructor. She hit back
at the many critics of Facebook who say excessive use can distract young users from their studies, cause feelings of
isolation and depression, and makes cyber-bullying too common. She said that any social network site can be misused,
and that, “There’s also a significant and underexplored opportunity to develop these spaces as forums for learning,
healthy academic debate and career development.”
The cynic in me wonders why there is no detailed information on the group involved, how they were selected, or the
numbers, and it reads like a pet study sponsored by an organisation to get the results it wants, or perhaps a Facebook
enthusiast who wants to justify the time they spend on the site. There again I do not have a Facebook page and see
more negatives to the societal addiction to spending time on social media than positives. From my rather jaundiced
perspective, ‘Never has so much time been spent by so many people saying things that are not worth saying’.
WHEN A PROBLEM IS SIMPLY A CHALLENGE
DfE figures show that 20.2% of maths lessons were taught by a teacher without a relevant degree in 2014, up from
17.3% in 2013. In English, 17% were taught by a non-specialist, up from 15.2%. In science, 13.6% were taught by
someone without a relevant degree, an improvement from 14.8% in 2013. The figures also showed that 4.5% of
teachers do not have a teaching qualification, up from 3.7% the previous year, 15.4% of teachers in free schools do not
have QTS, compared to 5.8% in academies and 3.7% in local authority schools.
Brian Lightman, general secretary of the ASCL, said, “These figures confirm our fears, we are very concerned about
the situation. It is very serious and it is acting as a barrier to the Government achieving its ambitions. Much more
needs to be done to attract people into the teaching profession, particularly in these shortage subjects.” Chris
Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, said, “This confirms the annual survey the NASUWT has been conducting
on unqualified staff in schools which has shown a year-on-year increase since the coalition government removed the
requirement for schools to employ qualified teachers. The coalition government has taken away a fundamental
entitlement for children and young people to be taught by those with qualified teacher status and this can only be
detrimental to standards of education in the long term.”
Schools Minister Nick Gibb angered heads by saying that the number and quality of teachers was at an all-time high
with over 5,000 more staff working in England’s classrooms compared with the previous year. He said, “I don’t
believe there is a crisis, there’s a challenge and we’re managing the challenge.” He said the government was
“recruiting lots of people coming into teacher training and if you look at acceptances as of now they are higher than
they were this time last year”. He added, “Vacancies are very steady at about 1% of the total profession and that has
been consistent for about 15 years since the year 2000.” Mr Gibb insisted that the government was “not
complacent”. He said, “That’s why we have these bursaries for shortage subjects like maths and physics and foreign
languages. It’s why we continue the marketing activities and they are very successful.”
Teacher supply expert, Professor John Howson, dismissed Mr Gibbs comments as “rubbish”, saying that the teacher
vacancy rates no longer compare like with like because they are now collected at a different time of year and exclude
Christmas vacancies. Ros McMullen, executive principal of the David Young Community Academy in Leeds, branded
Mr Gibb’s comments as “complete and utter garbage”. She said, “It shows how out of touch ministers are, I have
been a head for 15 years and I have never known it so bad. The same is being said by my colleagues in schools in the
leafy suburbs, in inner-city schools, in the North, in the South. Where it has always been difficult to recruit, it has
become harder. Where it used to be easy to find staff, it is now difficult. Even heads in independent schools are
finding it tough. I am seriously alarmed if we have ministers saying it’s the same as it has been for 15 years. It
absolutely is not and it is very, very worrying if they believe it is.”
OLD IS GOOD
Nicky Morgan has said that she wants to encourage a culture of people from other professions joining teaching
following the end of their careers. She said she found the prospect "very exciting" and that she “was heartened that a
senior partner of a law firm emailed me to say, ‘I’m retiring and I’ve decided to go into teaching.’" She also said a
shortage of teachers could be tackled by targeting university and postgraduate students to take up teaching and by
hiring migrant workers. She said teachers themselves were best placed to recruit others and, “inspire the next
generation” to go into the profession.
MEASURING THE GRADUATE PREMIUM BY UNIVERSITY
Jo Johnson, the universities minister, has said that graduates will have their salaries tracked using data from HMRC
and the DWP to see which universities produce the highest earners. He said, “Information of this sort will be
incredibly useful for young people choosing courses or jobs that are most suitable for them. It will also enable
education providers to assess their effectiveness in delivering positive labour market outcomes for their students”.
He said the government would take into consideration the type of students at each institution. Mr Johnson also said
that, “Universities must get used to providing clearer information about how many hours students will spend in
lectures, seminars and tutorials, and who will deliver the teaching.” He said that he sympathised with students who
wanted more information about how their fees were spent, and said greater transparency would address concerns about
value for money. He said that informed choice and competition would be at the heart of driving up standards for
students and taxpayers in a time of austerity.
Mr Johnson accepted that the graduate premium has shrunk (from 55% to 45% in less than a decade) but said, “There
is still a considerable benefit [in going to university] but we cannot be complacent and must analyse why the
premium employers pay for graduates is falling at a time when graduate-level skills are in growing demand.” He
complained that universities were not ensuring all graduates were prepared for work, with almost half of employers
thinking this was a problem. He said, “Government, business and the university sector need to come together to
address this mismatch between supply and demand in the graduate labour market.”
BACKGROUND IS MOST IMPORTANT
Simon Marginson, professor of international higher education at UCL Institute of Education, has said the notion that
higher education builds a fairer society should be put aside, and that the wealth of parents is becoming more important
than a university education. He said: “We should set aside the hubris that higher education is the principal maker of
social relations. In aggregate, what happens to income of wealth, labour markets, taxation, government spending,
social programmes and urban development is much more important.”
He warned that today’s “super-managers’ salaries” are set to become inheritances in the future and this will put
inequality at the top with family wealth becoming more crucial than actual education to those at the bottom of society.
He added: “If, for the foreseeable future, we are doomed to educate a society lorded over by a new aristocracy of
money in a political economy becoming even more intelligent, more informed and more confident society in which
agency is more broadly distributed than now.”
FEELING ABANDONED
Sir Michael Wilshaw has said that white working-class families can feel "abandoned" and "forgotten" by the school
system, and that poor, white communities needed to be served by better schools and school leaders. However, he also
said that parents had a part to play, and that, "It's up to heads to be challenging to parents." He said, “I used to (when
he was a head) send very nasty letters to parents who didn't turn up to parents' evening, and say, 'You're not going to
get your son or daughter's report until you come and see me. 'You haven't turned up to a parents' evening three
times on the trot.' On a number of occasions, I would say, 'You are a bad parent. You're not supporting your child.'
And the reaction was not great sometimes. But it needs to be said. I would have loved to have had the legal backing
to fine parents who did not support the school."
Sir Michael said the gap between rich and poor could not be narrowed without improvements in the results of
disadvantaged white pupils, saying, "Two-thirds of pupils on free school meals come from white working-class, lowincome backgrounds. That's the greatest challenge. If we don't resolve that, we're not going to close the gap. They
feel forgotten, they have been abandoned and let down." He said that we needed to ensure these communities had
access to enough good and outstanding schools, saying that, "Even the most difficult, feckless parents, once they
know a school is good and has high expectations, will usually support that school and do their best."
He also said that there needed to be improvements in the supply of school leaders, saying; "The way we appoint head
teachers is shambolic. It needs to be much more professional." He rejected suggestions that Ofsted could have a
negative impact on schools, saying; "Anyone who thinks Ofsted should be abolished needs their head testing. As
soon as our influence declines, you'll see standards decline. Greater accountability has transformed the system, and
children are getting a better deal. In the 1970s and 1980s, standards in schools had been ‘dire”.
EXAMS ARE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH
A report, Exam Factories; The Impact of Accountability Measures on Children and Young People, by Prof Merryn
Hutchings of London Metropolitan University, says that pupils' emotional health and wellbeing is suffering because of
"high-stakes testing" and that exam stress affects both able and less able pupils. The report was based on a survey of
8,000 teachers and a review of research, it also said that drilling for tests has narrowed what children are learning.
Lucie Russell, director of campaigns at mental health charity Young Minds, said: "Both pupils and teachers are under
a lot of pressure to achieve results in a pressure cooker, exam factory environment. Many of the young people Young
Minds works with say that they feel completely defined by their grades and that this is very detrimental to their
wellbeing and self-esteem. The report also said that the focus on testing was harming pupil-teacher relationships, with
teachers less able to view pupils in the round.
Kevin Courtney, deputy general-secretary of the NUT, said: "Teachers at the sharp end are saying loud and clear, 'If it
isn't relevant to a test then it is not seen as a priority.' The whole culture of a school has become geared towards
meeting government targets and Ofsted expectations. As this report shows, schools are on the verge of becoming
'exam factories'." He said the accountability agenda was "damaging children's experience of education", which
should be joyful and leave them with "a thirst for knowledge for the rest of their lives".
MORE SEGREGATED THAN THE USA.
An analysis of school segregation in England, by the think tank Demos, has shown that some parts of the country are
more divided than areas of St Louis, the American city hit by the Ferguson race riots, with primary schools in
Blackburn having higher levels of segregation than the black-white divide in St Louis neighbourhoods. Trevor
Phillips, former head of the equality watchdog and chair of the Demos integration hub, said: “There is obviously a
difference between school segregation and residential segregation and in this country the schools tend to be more
segregated than the neighbourhoods they are in. But even if that is true, it still means children are spending more
than half their waking hours largely in the company of people like themselves, and that has to be unhealthy.”
In London, 90% of ethnic minority children go to primary schools where white pupils are the minority; across the
country the figure is 61%, whilst 94% of white British pupils are in schools with a white British majority. Mr Phillips,
who as chair of the CRE warned a decade ago that Britain risked “sleepwalking our way to segregation”, said, “We
have lost an entire decade trying to pretend that it would all come right and it clearly hasn’t. We cannot afford to
lose another decade, crossing our fingers and wishing that everything is going to get fixed by magic.”
The score, known as the dissimilarity index, is calculated by taking the ethnic composition of an area and seeing how
far the schools’ ethnic mix deviates from it. If it matches the ethnic mix of the area, it would be 0. The closer it is to 1,
the greater the segregation in the schools.
Eric Kaufmann, professor of politics at Birkbeck College, said a score of 0.6 and above typically signalled social
problems. Secondary schools are less segregated, partly because they have larger catchment areas. However,
Blackburn is the most segregated, with a score of 0.683 in year 7, followed by Bradford, Birmingham, Leicester,
Bolton, Kirklees, North Lincolnshire, Redbridge and Westminster. The least segregated is North Somerset, followed
by Bracknell and Richmond. More than half of ethnic minority pupils in year 11 would have to move school for them
to be spread proportionately across the school system.
A spokesman for Blackburn LEA defended its record, saying: “School admission is a matter of parental choice and
faith schools make and decide their own admissions policies. Schools within Blackburn have a good record of
supporting cohesion and ensuring the borough’s children understand a wide variety of different faiths and culture.
Our schools perform strongly in the light of the social challenges they face, close to the national average at the end of
secondary school in 2014.”
Mr Phillips said that segregation risked cutting some groups adrift, and could harm overall standards. He said, “When
you have a healthy mix of high-performing immigrants that improves performances for everybody.” He added, “I’d
hope leading political figures would now have the grace to swallow their words and realise what they dismissed 10
years ago has turned out to be true. Their inaction and scepticism has damaged a generation of children.”
A CHARGE TOO FAR
Camden School for Girls has told parents that it is to introduce a new “admission fee” of between £50 and £100 in
return for help with UCAS forms for gap-year students. The service, which has been free in the past, includes teachers
checking the pupils’ forms for “accuracy” and providing an official “confirmation of qualifications. One mother with a
child in the sixth form told the local newspaper: “I and other parents are outraged. I’ve never heard of any other state
school that says they will only provide a reference if paid a fee. The school says it’s for administration, but it’s a huge
disincentive to applying for university. The school should be bending over backwards to help children get to
university, not charging them to do so.”
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MEDICAL APPLICATIONS IN ONE PLACE
The Medic Portal, who work with thousands of students every year, have partnered with the Royal Society of
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Visit www.themedicportal.com for free information or to book a course for your school.
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available. It is also constantly updated and contains information on medical schools in other EU countries.
OPPORTUNITIES IN SCIENCE
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PARSIMONY
The government is to limit funds for teachers pay in line with other public sector workers. The budget report said,
“Overall, levels of pay in the public sector are now, on average, comparable to those in the private sector. However,
public sector workers continue to benefit from a significant premium once employer pension contributions are taken
into account. In light of this and continued low inflation, the government will therefore fund public sector workforces
for a pay award of 1% for 4 years from 2016-17 onwards. This will save approximately £5 billion by 2019-20.”
Mary Bousted, general secretary of the ATL, said: “The Chancellor cannot continue to hold teachers' pay behind
private sector pay and expect teaching to remain an attractive profession. It would be a recipe for disaster to have
fewer teachers when it’s expected that there will be thousands more pupils in schools." Chris Keates, General
Secretary of the NASUWT, said: “This will further exacerbate the teacher recruitment and retention crisis and widen
the already significant pay gap between teaching and other graduate professions. Teachers’ starting salaries are
already 20% below other graduate professions." Brian Lightman, general secretary of the ASCL, said, “We already
have a serious recruitment crisis in teaching. Further limiting pay to 1% will add to the problem and make
recruitment even more difficult.” He also said that the new living wage was a “laudable” aim but that, “Any increase
in costs will mean schools have to make savings in other areas. As budgets get squeezed more and more it becomes
very difficult and there’s a risk of jeopardising the quality of education.”
DO NOT BE YOUNG
Perhaps because of their propensity to not vote, and the fact that few of those who do, vote conservative, the young
have borne the brunt of the government budget, with housing benefit for people aged 18-21 scrapped, with exceptions
only for the most vulnerable. In addition, the new national living wage, which is being introduced next year at £7.20,
rising to £9 by 2020, will apply only to over-25s. For poorer young people at university the current maintenance grants
are to be switched to loans. Currently students from families with household incomes of £25,000 or less are entitled to
a grant of £3,387 a year, decreasing to zero for a household earning more than £42,620. The new loans have the same
terms as the tuition fee loans but their value will be increased to £8,200.
Megan Dunn, president of the NUS, said that students from poorer backgrounds were more likely to be deterred by
debt, she said, “It will mean staying at home instead of moving into halls or shared accommodation and applying for
shorter courses to reduce costs”.
HARD WORK IS THE KEY
Douglas Blackstock, head of the Quality Assurance Agency, has said that the reason that more students now get top
degrees than in the 1990s is because they work harder and schools prepare them better academically. Mr Blackstock
said, “Students work harder because of competition for graduate jobs. They need to get the highest grades possible.
They are coming out of school with better qualifications and schools are preparing them better for university.”
GO WEST
The University in the USA Advisor Training Conference is being held on the 25th September, followed by USA
College Day (25-26 September). The largest US University fair in the UK, with representatives from over 180
universities. Coaches to the college day and refreshments will be provided (20-minute journey), and attendees will
beat the crowds before it opens to the public at 4:30 pm. The conference will end at 3:30 pm just before the College
Day University fair. Location: Kensington Close Hotel: London, W8 5SP. Cost: Early: £85, regular: £120.
Register for the University in the USA Advisor Training Conference.
USA College Day: Date: Friday, 25 September 2015 (4:30 pm - 7:30 pm) & Saturday, 26 September 2015 (10:30 am 3:00 pm). Venue: ILEC Conference Centre: 47 Lillie Road, London, SW6 1UD. Cost: Free to attend if you register in
advance. Registration: Opens in August 2015. Fill in the online form, and they will email you once registration opens.
(https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LondonCD2015Reminder)
Any questions? Visit the USA College Day section of the Fulbright website: http://bit.ly/CDLondon2015 or
email collegeday@fulbright.org.uk.
MORE CADETS
Mr Osborne said that the government will pledge £50m to create cadet forces in 500 state schools and said these
would be prioritised in “less affluent areas”. Currently there are about 275 cadet units in the UK, but only a third are
in state schools. The MOD said that as of April 1st last year there were approximately 131,000 cadets in the UK. The
number is almost evenly divided between the Combined Cadet Force (42,950), a scheme run through schools, and the
Army Cadet Force (41,000). A Treasury spokesperson said the money would come from fines levied on banks.
AN EARLY START
UCAS has started clearing early to cater for IB students, with many major universities advertising spaces. Amongst
the institutions with spaces are; Birmingham, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool and Sheffield. Courses with availability
include English, law, maths, physics, business management and economics. The search window will stay open until
July 27, it will then reopen again for Scottish Clearing vacancies on August 3, and all other vacancies on August 12.
Overall, 279 universities and colleges are displaying vacancies in thousands of subjects.
Liz Hunt, admissions manager at Sheffield University, said A-level students "shouldn't worry", she said, "The early
start gives us a chance to process any applications that do come in. This means that when we get to A-level results,
we are in a much better position to help those students, whether they are looking for a place in Clearing or whether
they are looking to trade up through Adjustment." A spokesperson from Liverpool University said: "Due to the
removal of the student number controls, we anticipate having most of our degree programmes, with the exception of
Clinical (Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science) available in Clearing and Adjustment”.
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK, said: “Clearing is an excellent option for any student who has
been unable to secure a place at university. Clearing is not a ‘second best’ option but rather a process by which
thousands of students each year find a good course that is suitable for them”. A UCAS spokesperson said:
"Displaying the vacancies in July will help the applicants who already have their results. Contacting universities from
early July to discuss and secure places has always been possible for those with results, the difference this year is that
we’re displaying what’s available to make the process easier for applicants and universities and colleges."
FIGHTING FOR ATTENTION; BUT SOME VALID POINTS
Tristram Hunt has said that all school leavers should take a citizenship test because migrants currently have a better
understanding of British values and history. He also called for a “great debate” on how best to introduce a “proper
National baccalaureate qualification” within which pupils would take a “Life in the UK test”. He said the test could be
modelled on the civics exam required in some US states that new immigrants to the country have to take.
Mr Hunt said that we needed to, “Balance important specialist academic, technical and creative qualifications,
including traditional A levels, alongside a common core for all learners”. He also said, “Why not discuss whether we
should make all pupils take the ‘Life in the UK’ British Citizenship Test before leaving school? Surely it is only fair to
expect our young people finishing full-time education to possess the same grounding in our history and common
values as incoming migrants? Because if we are serious about nurturing a sense of national solidarity alongside
pluralism and diversity, then it would seem sensible to me to recognise that formally in an educational setting."
Mr Hunt also said that teachers in outstanding schools are focusing on the “easiest” subjects and targeting pupils “on
the cusp of passing” due the league table pressure. He said that the joy for learning among students has been “buried
beneath an avalanche of bureaucracy” and that he had met an ‘innumerable’ number of heads who told him
“something simply had to give”. He said that one head at an outstanding school had told him (ironically) how to get
the best grades, “Narrow your curriculum at Key Stage 4 to study the easiest/ most data valuable courses; Put your
intervention resources in Year 11 and on those students on the cusp of passing and show compassionate realism with
those who have no chance of passing.” He said that another head complained that when he interacts with his peers
“the chatter is always about this or that target, about how to raise standards in this subject by half a level”.
OPEN TO ALL
The first Ustinov Theatre School, based at the Playbox Theatre’s Dream Factory centre in Warwick, is to open to 15to 18yr olds from all backgrounds, free of charge. Toby Quash, director of the Ustinov Theatre School, said, “Our
selections are based on merit, not on background; there shouldn’t be any barriers for young people who have
genuine talent.” After completing the course, six students could be selected for advanced training at a drama school
financed by the late actor’s fund.
A report published by UCAS Conservatoires (the admissions service for the performing arts) said that young people
who live in advantaged areas of the UK are around six times more likely to enter courses at conservatoires. Amongst
those who have voiced concern that the acting profession has become “too middle class” are David Morrissey, Julie
Walters, Brian Cox, Judi Dench and EastEnders’ casting director, Julia Crampsie.
BETTER TEACHING NEEDED
Tony Little, the outgoing head of Eton, has castigated university teaching quality, saying that there is a ‘gulf’ in
standards between school teaching and what students experience at university. He said that the reason was that, “The
business of developing a career with a university is predicted on your ability to produce good research. The business
of being a teacher is way down on the list of priorities. It is not traditionally perceived to be important, people aren’t
trained in it, and no credit is given to teaching”. He said that lecturers who were responsible for first year teaching
should “spend some time in good schools, talking to departments, seeing what a teacher does. That would be
beneficial, and it would be beneficial for teachers to have a better sense of what a university lecturer does”.
NEED REAL INDEPENDENCE
A report commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) has called for independent examiners for
universities in order to end the “cosy” relationship that exists between universities and their examiners. Currently
universities appoint their own external examiners but the HEFC report calls for an external body to train and regulate
external examiners, with “calibration groups” to ensure common standards. The report says that there is “a perception
that examiners are largely checking processes rather than standards” and that there is “little evidence to support the
view that external examiners are an effective means to safeguard academic standards”.
A GOOD BASE NEEDED
Schools minister, Nick Gibb, has told the Education Reform summit that it is important for teenagers to focus on
"fundamental concepts and principles that haven't changed" in order to develop the foundation for reading academic
publications later in life. He said, "The core academic subjects at school are the primary colours of an educated
person’s palette, enabling them to read more, not just within those subjects but also the subjects that emanate from
them: history and maths underpin economics; the study of English links to drama; palaeontology combines chemistry
and biology." He said the purpose of education was to educate young people on specific subjects to allow them to
"indulge" in history, culture and science later in life.
Mr Gibb expanded on his functional view of education, saying: “Photosynthesis hasn't changed as far as I'm aware
and there are a lot of fundamental concepts and principles that underline subjects that have not changed. Of course,
if there is a brand new discovery of a grand unified theory then we'll have to re-write the GCSEs. But until those
changes happen, what we need to do is give those young people the skills so that they are able to read New Scientist,
are able to read around the subject, and are able to understand developments as they happen”. He said, “The
purpose of education, in every subject, is can you read a geography textbook after you leave school? Can you read
history books by famous historians after you leave school? The purpose of school is to provide that grounding to
enable you to indulge and read around those subjects. Unless you get that basic vocabulary and understand those
basic core principles it’s very difficult to read into those subjects in later life. Those principles don't in general change
that often but of course when they do we will have to revise them again."
SNIPPETS
 ONS figures show that the income for working households has dropped by an average of £1600 since the
financial crisis in 2008. However, income in retired households has risen by £1400 in the same period.
 Britain will be producing over 2m motor vehicles a year by 2017 according to the society of motor
manufacturers, as the demand for new cars grow. The industry employed 799,000 direct employees in 2014,
and many more jobs are created in other areas.
 Ofsted figures on state schools show that the number judged good or outstanding is at a record high of 82%.
 The Duke of York is to become chancellor of Huddersfield University, following on from Sir Patrick Stewart.
 Oxford and Cambridge are to lose the £7m from the HEFC that helps support their tutorial teaching.
 65.3% of US University students who spend time studying abroad are female.
 British teenagers are doing better than the average European pupil in the IB, with a 93.7% pass rate, compared
with 88.6% across Europe. The pass rate for the rest of the world was 80%. However, the qualification tends
to only be taken by elite schools in the UK, unlike in the rest of the world.
Gordon Collins: Gordon.ceslondon@gmail.com
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