Involver
- My definition of an expert in any field is a person who knows enough about what’s really going on to be scared.
- P. J. Plauger, Computer Language, March 1983
Did this ring particularly true because of today’s activities? Not sure, but I really like it.
Asher
The DCSF has just published the Bercow Review into Speech, Language and Communication. In a nutshell it concludes that some children are failing to develop the neccessary skills in this area.
It suggests, amongst other things, that Sir Alan Steer looks into how these skills can be developed in every primary school class room. I think we need to be lobbying to say that one way is through properly resourced and trained class teachers facilitating class councils.
More info here: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/bercowreview/
Asher
Ofsted have just produced a report on successful strategies for taking schools out of special measures, it contains some strong words about pupil participation:
Pupils and students’ greater engagement in school life had a significant influence on improving outcomes in almost all of the schools surveyed.
…
Establishing and keeping high profile a school council, an open forum
or a house system were all successful approaches to giving expression to the
pupils’ voice.…
Increasing levels of participation had measurable benefits in all the schools.
It then goes on to specify what those measurable gains were, very useful stuff. The full report is here: http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/publications/070221
Asher
IPPR have just published Thursday’s Child, a research/policy document on where they think education should be going. One of the issues they discuss is social and emotional wellbeing, it contains this paragraph:
Wellbeing in the classroom
The school environment is the most important school-level component of the emotional and social wellbeing of pupils and teachers. Classroom environments that foster warm, personal relationships and strong bonds between teachers and learners best promote social and emotional wellbeing. There needs to be a greater focus in ITT and CPD on how to promote these classroom environments and facilitate social and emotional learning; for example, how to use group dynamics effectively in classrooms. Teachers should also receive training on how to pick up issues as soon as they arise.
You can read the rest of the summary in Information and Research > IPPR.
He’s an ex-prison governor. It seems to me like Boris’ view of young people is that they are a problem for his constituents, rather than anything else.
Bit more info here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/may/06/boris.race
Just reading a little bit from HH talking about the fact that the Diplomas that are being introduced for 14-19 year olds are apparently the responsibility of the DIUS (Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills), not the DCSF. The DCSF has repsonsibility for everything up to the age of 13, but then after that there is a great deal of shared responsibility. It seems to me that all of our current work is still focussed on the DCSF, I think we need to see if there is scope to engage with DIUS. If we want to do anything with 14-19 institutions (e.g., sixth-form colleges, FE colleges) we really have to work through DIUS as they are not under the DCSF at all (I think). Whilst this is of course frustrating and confusing it could also open up more lines of funding and more areas of work to explore.