News in brief
Secondary school students in England will have to take five core academic subjects at GCSE under plans due to be put forward by schools minister Nick Gibb. He is expected to say that he makes “no apology” for the focus on an academic curriculum.
Thousands of primary schools across England have opted to assess children starting reception using a method that focuses on observation as opposed to testing. More than 11,000 of 16,700 schools signed up for the test-free approach offered by Early Excellence, a small consultancy in Huddersfield, which emerged as the surprise winner of the competition to supply the Department for Education’s (DfE) controversial new baseline assessment.
A group of Tory MPs are pushing for money to be diverted from urban schools to rural ones. The backbench MPs – centred on the f40 education funding campaign group – is calling for radical changes to the way that school funding is calculated. Currently inner city schools receive £2,000 or £3,000 more per student each year than schools in more rural regions.
Schools are being offered software to monitor students’ online activity for extremism-related language. The “anti-radicalisation” software is being produced by several companies ahead of the introduction of the Counter-terrorism and Security Act 2015, which comes into force on 1 July. This puts a legal requirement on schools to “have due regard to the need to prevent pupils being drawn into terrorism”.
Research of the week
Academic research has found that students struggle to multi-task in using mobile phones while studying.
The study by academics at Ohio University, Illinois State University and Nebraska University noted that students sending and receiving messages while studying received lower test scores. They were also less effective at note taking.
The research, conducted by Jeffrey Kuznekoff, Stevie Munz and Scott Titsworth, was carried out through a series of tests with 145 undergraduates.
“It is a common occurrence to observe students who are physically present, yet mentally preoccupied by non course-related material on their mobile devices.
“As mobile devices have deeply saturated the college student population, this problem will likely continue to pose a significant obstacle,” says the study.
Read more about the research here.
Snapshot of the week
We’ve been looking for teacher gardeners this week and loved this snapshot from Jenny Spencer. Some healthy-looking veg patches.
@GuardianTeach me? pic.twitter.com/8TnSuVa8we
— Jenny Spencer (@Boudiccatalks) June 8, 2015
The week in numbers
In a poll of US teachers, conducted by communities in schools and public opinion strategies, 88% described poverty as a minor, moderate, or serious problem in their schools.
Primary school student numbers are rising sharply. There have been 94,000 extra students this year, reaching the highest levels since the 1970s.
Dates to remember
Sunnier days will be with us later this month. Commonly known as the longest day of the year, the summer solstice takes place on 21 June. This is when the sun reaches its northernmost point in the sky and pauses briefly before it moves southward again.
Mathematician Alan Turing would have been 103 years old on 23 June. He was renowned for breaking German ciphers in the second world war and helped develop the Turing machine, a model of a general purpose computer.
Teaching resources
- What does the summer solstice mean to modern Britain?
- Cracking the code – ideas for deciphering coded messages
- Celebrate the contribution made by refugees to arts and culture with these lesson tips
- Stimulate creative writing with this picture: The little girl and the red balloon
Latest blogs and comments
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- Why ed tech is not transforming how teachers teach
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- “High-stakes achievement culture” in schools could explain rise in teenage mental illness
- How Sweden’s celebrated schools system fell into crisis
