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The Guardian - UK

National

Judy Friedberg

Cribsheet 20.04.11

Elderly Woman in Assisted Care Home — Photograph: Owen Franken/Corbis

It's a two-horse news week in education, and both stories are on the move today.

Nick Gibb, the schools minister, is talking to the ATL conference - we'll let you know what he says. And Offa is going to announce how many universities have submitted proposals to charge above £6,000. Latest entries on our updating datablog are Worcester £8,100, Salford £8,000-9,000, Leeds Trinity £8,000, UEA £9,000, Blackburn College University Centre £7,000, College of Law £9,000. Check the datablog for all those who've declared so far.

Now let's trawl about for something less mainstream.

I like this comment from a reader on a piece Lucy Tobin has done on "blended learning". The concept of combining face-to-face tuition with online instruction was clearly a new one to stupidboy (who looks strangely familiar in his photo):

"Call me stupid, but this looks absolutely fascinating, capital a, capital f.

You know, I think the days of the traditional university are over, capital o. We should just let them rot, or perhaps turn them into old folks' homes and twentieth century theme parks, full of old technology and old people. Hmmmm.

The best teaching globally can be accessed from anywhere via a computer. Innovations in delivery, and interaction between participants, can be developed to leave traditional university courses in the dust, capital d."

More education news from the Guardian

• Amelia Hill has written an enlightening feature about Moat House school in Stockport, Cheshire, which is trying to improve the life chances of some of the 20,000 under-18s who get pregnant each year and decide to keep their babies. It tries, she says, to make education and a job the priority of mothers who are little more than children themselves.

Kathy Burton, its head, says:

"My opening gambit to every girl who comes to us is: 'What would you have wanted to be doing, 12 months from now, had you not got pregnant?' Then I make it clear that they will still be able to achieve that ambition - or do even better - with a baby."

Annie, who got pregnant at 14, was functionally illiterate when she turned up at Moat House:

"Being pregnant calmed me down a lot. I had a lot of anger but I've grown up. I've learned I can read if I try - and I want to try now, I want to be a good role model for Tara. Without her, I wouldn't have done anything with my life but now I've got plans and ambitions."

• Jonathan Clifton argues that schools need to be given the right information to use the pupil premium effectively.

• Ed Miliband warns of a drop in the number of student places because of the government's miscalculations on tuition fees, while Wes Streeting fears students won't even bother to apply because of the confusion surrounding the issue.

• And David Batty reviews the crisis facing art colleges, whose public funding is vanishing. Nigel Carrington, rector of the University of the Arts London, says:

"There is a complete collapse of funding for universities like this. We have to assume we are being privatised. We will have virtually no public funding at all by 2015. We have £52m of teaching funding at the moment. We expect all but £1m-£2m of that to have gone by 2015."

Education news from around the web

• PencilandPapertest has ripped into Ofsted's feeble attempt to reform itself. It's hard to resist the temptation to quote the whole thing. It begins thus:

"Our friends at Ofsted have recently published their revised plans for how they go about inspecting schools. And what an uninspiring read it is. Uninspiring, that is, if you hold the view that Ofsted has lost its way and is in need of a major shake-up, not just a tweak of focus here and there."

And continues:

"What is missing is any consideration of the culture of inspections and the recognition that the inspection experience of some schools has been something along the lines of: drop-in, damn and depart. This, in my view, damages rather than enhances school improvement.

To counter this, Ofsted does need fundamental change. Some are proposing splitting the whole organisation in two - more cruel critics might recommend breaking it up further (a million very tiny pieces springs to mind)."

• Mike Baker's blog looks at the option of universities charging variable amounts for courses depending on how much they cost to deliver, as Coventry is doing:

"The university has anticipated a problem that could be faced by other universities, namely the prospect of students on low-cost courses feeling they are being asked to subsidise others on courses where teaching, equipment and facility costs are higher."

London Metropolitan and Birkbeck are also taking a banded approach to fees.

Still on tuition fees, the BBC has video of three university leaders, Liz Barnes, Ian Marshall, Paul O'Prey on how their universities reached a decision on fees.

And the Telegraph blames the whole fee debacle on Vince Cable. Calling for a removal of any cap on fees, and "a true market" in higher education, the editorial opines:

"Cable seems to spend much of his time these days perfecting his role as the coalition's licensed dissident. It is a pity that he does not spend longer ensuring that the policies for which he is responsible are fit for purpose."

• The Illawarra Mercury makes its first Cribsheet appearance, to inform us that Paul Wellings has been appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Wollongong.

Here's the tweet, from @HarrietatBath, that tipped us off:

"Congratulations PW & who'll be next chair of @1994group?"

• Kevin Maguire, writing in the New Statesman, thinks the education secretary needs to be taught some manners:

"The cabinet dunce, Michael Gove, continues to struggle. An informant watched him march to the front of a Pret A Manger queue to inquire loudly what was in the soup. Ignored by staff who saw only a pushy customer, the education secretary sheepishly retreated to the back, none the wiser. Yet maybe Mickey deserves a smiley-face sticker for getting his own lunch, unlike Labour's Liam Byrne, who memorably instructed civil servants in writing to deliver soup to his desk between 12.30pm and 1pm."

On the Guardian Higher Education Network

Four things you shouldn't worry about in higher education policy. Some 'radical ideas' circulating in higher education are anything but, says Paul Wakeling, so pay them no attention because they're not going to happen.

Education seminars from Guardian Professional

Getting the best education for children in care

The Guardian's one-day seminar in association with Tact (the UK's largest fostering and adoption charity) will provide an overview of the UK education system and strategies for dealing with the challenges faced by looked-after children and their carers.

26 May, London.

Making the most of media opportunities to enhance your school's profile

Whether it's sharing good news or handling a crisis, headteachers and school management teams need to be able to handle the media in all of its forms. This one-day seminar in association with the NAHT is essential for new and aspiring heads as well as established school leaders who wish to update their knowledge. It includes a session on social media.

13 June, Birmingham and 20 September, London.

Distinctiveness and branding in higher education

Higher education institutions will struggle in the marketplace unless they stand out from competitors and make sense to stakeholders. The Guardian's half-day seminar in partnership with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education will explore what it takes to develop and maintain a distinctive brand that attracts students, staff and funders. Participants will hear from experts, examine case studies and have the opportunity to network with peers.

28 June, London.