News in brief
- The education secretary Nicky Morgan has promised to “sweep away bureaucratic and legal loopholes” that prevent the conversion of struggling local authority schools in England into academies. The new education bill sets out how council-maintained schools rated as inadequate by Ofsted will have their legal options curtailed or removed. This allows the Department for Education (DfE) to quickly replace their management and impose sponsors.
- Bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds fall by the wayside between key stage 2 and GCSEs, according to analysis commissioned by the Sutton Trust. The trust described these students as “missing talent” and noted that they achieved top results in primary level.
- Government plans to shakeup GCSEs and A-levels have failed to win enthusiasm from the public with employers, parents and students backing reform but unhappy with the pace of change. An annual survey conducted by YouGov for the exam regulator Ofqual suggests more work is needed to prepare parents and young people.
- Sunny Varkey, the founder of the GEMS education company, is to become the first education entrepreneur to sign up for Bill Gates’s campaign for philanthropic donations. The Giving Pledge, set up by the Microsoft co-founder, his wife Melinda Gates and investor Warren Buffet, was designed as a way for the wealthy to use their money for good causes. Varkey said he wanted to support the “vital cause” of education.
Research of the week
Children born in the summer – between May and August – risk falling behind academically and developing behavioural problems in their first year at school unless the curriculum takes their needs into account, according to research published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
The study, led by Professor Courtenay Norbury at Royal Holloway, University of London, found that the youngest pupils were almost twice as likely to have language problems and behavioural difficulties relative to older students in their reception class.
The authors noted: “Our results question whether many of the youngest children in the classroom have the language skills to meet the demands of the curriculum, to integrate socially with older peers and to regulate their own emotions and behaviours”.
However, the researchers advised caution regarding delaying entry for summer-born children. “Our findings do not provide clear guidance about the optimal age at which a child should start school, or whether deferring school entry for a summer-born child will benefit that individual,” the article states.
Read more about this research here.
Snapshot of the week
We loved this Vine of the life of a star from the Guardian science team. Perfect for introducing the topic of space in class.
The week in numbers
Childcare providers warn about funding shortfalls as the government speeds up plans to double free provision for three- and four-year-olds. The Pre-School Learning Alliance said the grant for the existing funding falls, on average, around 20% short of the true cost of providing care.
Students are unconvinced they are getting value for money from their university courses, according to a survey carried out by the Higher Education Policy Institute and the Higher Education Academy. The survey suggests with “the benefit of hindsight”, more than a third would have chosen a different course.
Dates to remember
Having been fished by indigenous people for possibly 40,000 years, the first recorded sighting of the Great Barrier Reef by Europeans was on 6 June 1768.
It is 52 years since Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be launched into space on 16 June 1963.
Teaching resources
- Dinner at the Reef is a fun way to teach pupils about food chains in a marine environment. You can find the whole game pack here.
- Make edible meteorite samples and present them to your class. Ask teams to study them and write up short geological descriptions – a great activity to teach scientific language.
- Counting in five’s, a fun caterpillar-themed worksheet, can be used to build a numeracy display area.
- Brush up your students’ knowledge of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with this simplified version.
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