Teaching News

---

Teaching News and Events (12/5/12) Posted: 12 May 2012 02:00 AM PDT Here are links to some of this week’s education-related news: Schools: The outspoken head of Ofsted has hit out at teachers who complain their jobs are “too stressful” and make excuses for poor performance. Head teachers have accused England’s chief inspector of schools of “bully boy tactics” against their profession. Education Secretary Michael Gove has attacked an English culture that accepts poverty limits the achievements of poor children. Head teachers say they will disrupt a new spelling, grammar and punctuation test to be introduced in England’s primary schools next summer. The government has been accused of “wasting precious time” with school building plans, by the shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg. Head teachers should have their pay docked for failing to crack down on poorly-performing staff, it is claimed. The number of empty school places needs to be cut to save money and improve standards, the Schools Inspectorate for Wales has said. A committee of MPs says it fears the system for checking school spending in England is not robust enough. It says it is alarmed by reports of “worrying expenditure”, such as high salaries for staff, in some academies. The Olympic stadium is undergoing its final test event before the Olympics Games begin in July. Young athletes from schools all over the UK are taking part in the 2012 School Games. Pupils could be banned from taking their mobile phones into classrooms as part of a new drive by Ofsted to improve discipline in schools. Exams and Further Education: School spending on exams rose to £328m last year – up from £154m less than a decade ago, according to figures from the exam watchdog Ofqual. A-levels could feature more multiple-choice questions as part of a major shake-up of the gold standard qualification, according to Ofqual. The author of a report on international higher education has questioned whether UK universities can remain world leaders without more funding. The report for Universitas 21 rated the UK 10th best at providing higher education in a ranking of 48 countries. Other News: Poor parenting is to blame for a rise in the number of children starting school unfit for the demands of compulsory education, according to a senior government official. Local authorities in Scotland have been accused of undermining standards in nurseries by employing fewer teachers and more nursery nurses. In a bid to protect children from over-sexualised imagery, the government is to consult on whether music DVDs should have movie-style age ratings. Young people in Wales are to be targeted in a major new drive costing more than £850,000 to encourage them to stop smoking. Next week's Teaching Events include: 1st to 31st May -  National Share-a-Story Month 1st to 31st May - Local and Community History Month 12th May – World Fair Trade Day 13th to 19th May - Christian Aid Week 15th May - International Day of Families 18th May - International Museum Day 18th May - Fruity Friday 19th May - Scratch Day

You are subscribed to email updates from Teaching News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610