Tag: Department for Education

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 15 October 2010.

The Careers Profession Task Force has today published its report, Towards a Strong Careers Profession, setting out its vision for high-quality careers education, information, advice and guidance.

The report’s recommendations are designed to uphold common professional standards and help raise the status and integrity of career guidance in this country. The report calls on careers professionals to work together to provide a strong and unified voice, to show professional leadership and to take responsibility for transforming careers advice for young people and their parents, who rightly expect excellence in the services they receive.

The task force was chaired by Dame Ruth Silver, DBE FCGI MA Dip Ed, Chair, the Learning and Skills Improvement Service, who said today:

I was delighted to be asked to chair the Task Force on the Careers Profession. This is a subject close to my heart, having devoted my own career to supporting young people and adults to make the most of their talents. I saw first hand as Principal at Lewisham College, where a professional culture pervaded everything we did, the critical role of career guidance in helping all members of the local community to succeed.

We owe it to all young people to give them the best possible support in making decisions about their future learning and work.

John Hayes, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning, said:

This report highlights the importance of maintaining and strengthening a motivated, quality careers profession. We know that high-quality careers advice is crucial in helping young people make the right choices about their future careers and supporting vulnerable young people to overcome barriers to entering employment, training or higher education. This was also highlighted by Lord Browne this week in his report.

I welcome the Careers Profession Task Force report. Its findings and recommendations will inform the plans we are making to bring together guidance for young people and adults in an all-age careers service. I will take the opportunity to reflect further on the report when I speak on the future of careers advice at the Institute for Careers Guidance conference in November.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 29 September 2010.

Mr Hayes outlined the changes to apprenticeships in a speech to the Group Training Association (GTA) England in London.

He said:

“The truest measure of the success or failure of this Government’s commitment to apprenticeships will be found in how well-equipped today’s young people will be in future years to face the shifting challenges of life and work.

“To be successful in that, we must create a radically new model for workplace training with Apprenticeships at its heart and with partnership between Government, employers and individuals as its motive force.”

Mr Hayes said the Government would reform the apprenticeships system by:

• Expanding the number of apprenticeships on offer
• Taking a firm approach in establishing what the employer contribution to Apprenticeship programmes should be
• Making it easier for businesses to access apprenticeships.

The Government announced in May that £150 million from the Train to Gain budget would be redeployed to provide an extra 50,000 apprenticeship places.

Another £50 million from Train to Gain has been allocated for college building projects.

Consultations

Mr Hayes reminded the sector to have their say via the two consultations launched in July. They include:

• Skills for Sustainable Growth
• Skills funding system

UKSkills merged

Mr Hayes also announced in the speech that UKSkills, an independent charity which promotes skills, is to become part of the Skills Funding Agency. Activities and staff will be transferred across to the Agency as part of the merger.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 24 September 2010.

All young people should have the chance to learn an instrument, read music and receive top quality music education, Education Secretary Michael Gove said today.

Launching an independent review of music education, which will be led by Darren Henley, Managing Director of Classic FM, Mr Gove said broadening the access and opportunities young people have to experience and understand music is central to raising standards.

Research shows that quality music education improves behaviour, attention and concentration, and has a hugely positive effect on numeracy and language skills. Giving all young people the best possible music education will help the Government achieve its twin aims of driving up standards and reducing the attainment gap.

The review will look at

• how to make sure music funding benefits more young people
• improving the music opportunities young people receive both in and out of school
• improving the teacher training and professional development offered to music teachers
• how to attract more music professionals into schools
• how best to offer quality live music experiences to all young people.

Michael Gove said:

It’s a sad fact that too many children in state schools are denied the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument. Evidence suggests that learning an instrument can improve numeracy, literacy and behaviour. But more than that, it is simply unfair that the joy of musical discovery should be the preserve of those whose parents can afford it.

Mr Henley issued a public call for evidence today, seeking the views of parents, schools and music specialists. He said:

Having worked closely with leading music educators and thinkers over the past few years, I know how much of a positive difference high quality music education makes to children’s lives. I am looking forward to delivering to ministers a report which outlines how we can ensure that every child in England benefits from a world-beating music education system.

Minister for the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey, said:

Young people are the lifeblood of creativity in the UK. We produce some of the greatest musical talent in the world but there is so much more that can be done to harness the passion and enthusiasm that children have for music.

Young people need to be given greater and more equal opportunities to benefit from formal music education. We need to encourage them to see the link between learning an instrument, and the artists they hear on the radio and the songs they download.

As well as it being important to learn skills in music for its own sake, the benefits don’t stop there. Immersion in music can lead to improved social skills and educational success, with behaviour, wellbeing, confidence, team-working and concentration skills all proven to improve with good music provision. I look forward to supporting the review and seeing its results.

The review is expected to make its recommendations before the end of the year.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 23 September 2010.

Education Secretary Michael Gove today announced another step in the lifting of the bureaucratic burden on heads and teachers. The school Self Evaluation Form (SEF) process takes days out of heads’ time and can cost schools tens of thousands of pounds. The Secretary of State has asked Ofsted to ditch it. It is the next stage in a rolling programme of reducing bureaucracy for teachers and trusting them to get on with their jobs.

The SEF asks teachers and heads to collect and verify facts and figures about their school in preparation for their Ofsted inspection. Headteachers say it can take many long hours to fill in and take teachers out of the classroom for extended periods. It can run to over a 100 pages once it has been filled in.

The Coalition Government has already taken several steps to reduce bureaucracy including:

freeing schools from local authority and national government control by allowing them to gain academy-style freedoms
abolishing three quangos that created vast additional bureaucracy for schools without proven benefit
reducing the burden on teachers and improving the quality of inspection by asking Ofsted to change their framework to focus on four principal areas: the quality of teaching, the effectiveness of leadership, pupils’ behaviour and safety, and pupils’ achievement.
This rolling programme will continue into the autumn as ministers engage with teachers and frontline staff on their plans to give them more power and remove the form-filling and bureaucracy that takes them away from the classroom.

Michael Gove said:

The Coalition government trusts teachers to get on with their job. That’s why we are taking steps to reduce the bureaucracy they face and giving them the powers they need to do a good job. We believe that teachers – not bureaucrats and politicians – should run schools.

The removal of the SEF was welcomed by teachers:

Kate Dethridge, Head of Churchend Primary School in Reading, said:

Removing the SEF will free up huge amounts of time – many heads spend most of their summer holidays updating the SEF, then you would need at least two or three senior management meetings to discuss it.

Amanda Whittingham, Assistant head of Wensley Fold School in Blackburn, said:

Just to update the SEF took up two full days of work for the head, deputy and a paid external consultant brought in as an expert on filling in the SEF.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 21 September 2010.

A Department for Education spokesman said:

The independent Capital Review team is working with building companies on a pilot proposal to rebuild Campsmount Technology College in Doncaster. Under plans, the new school could be potentially built ahead of the original schedule and with significant cost savings.

The Government believes there are better, faster and more cost-effective ways of rebuilding our schools in need of repair, without compromising on having a safe school environment for pupils to learn in. The Capital Review team’s final report will be submitted at the end of the year and we look forward to the outcome of their pilot project at Campsmount Technology College.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 16 September 2010.

Schools minister corrects claims that free schools and academies are not covered by FOI legislation, and responds to opinion put forward by a group of professors in ‘The Guardian’.

Sir

The professors writing in your paper yesterday (‘Gove should delay creating more academies and free schools’) stated that free schools and academies will be not covered by Freedom of Information legislation. They are wrong. The Academies Act that passed into law in July extends FOI to all academies and free schools.

I agree about the need to avoid a two-tier system but they fail to recognise that it already exists. Just 27% of pupils on free school meals get 5 good GCSE grades, compared to 54% of non-free school meal pupils. Academies are helping to raise standards and aspiration in some of the poorest parts of the country. Our academy and free school proposals will give poorer parents the choices that richer parents have always had. The pupil premium will benefit poorer pupils, providing extra money directly for those pupils who need it the most.

Rather than delay, we need to spread the benefits of academy status as fast as possible.

Yours

Lord Hill, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools

 

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 14 September 2010.

In response to the Ofsted report on special educational needs, Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

Ofsted’s report presents some challenging but familiar criticisms of the system supporting children with special educational needs (SEN) and disability. It is clear that we have a consensus on some of the issues with the SEN system – now I want to work with parents, charities, teachers and other organisations to find a consensus on the solutions.

Last week I launched a call for contributions to the Government’s SEN and disability Green Paper, which will focus first and foremost on meeting families’ needs. Children with SEN and disabilities should have the provision they need to succeed and parents should not feel they have to battle the system to get help. Improving diagnosis and assessment will be central to our commitment to overhaul the system to ensure families get the appropriate support at the right time.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 10 September 2010.

Ministers are considering how to ensure parents can send their child with SEN or disabilities to their preferred educational setting – whether that is a mainstream school, special school or an academy.

The plans were outlined today as Children’s Minister Sarah Teather called on parents, charities, teachers and LAs to contribute to the Government’s SEN Green Paper.

The paper, to be published in the autumn, aims to improve radically the entire SEN system and will cover issues including school choice, early identification and assessment, funding and family support.

Ministers are considering a range of options, including how to:

give parents a choice of educational settings that can meet their child’s needs
transform funding for children with SEN and disabilities and their families, making the system more transparent and cost-effective while maintaining a high quality of service
prevent the unnecessary closure of special schools and involve parents in any decisions about the future of special schools
support young people with SEN and disabilities post-16 to help them succeed after education
improve diagnosis and assessment to identify children with additional needs earlier.
Sarah Teather said:

Children with special educational needs and disabilities should have the same opportunities as other children, but the current system is so adversarial that too often this doesn’t happen. I want parents, teachers, charities, teaching unions and local authorities to come forward with the changes they think are needed to make the system better for children with SEN and their families.

Parents should be in control of their child’s education and future. Importantly, they must be involved in discussions and decisions about the support they need rather than feel they have to battle the system. I want to make it easier for parents to choose where their child is educated.

I want to look at every aspect of SEN – from assessment and identification to funding and education. We need to strip away the cumbersome bureaucracy but ensure there is a better, more comprehensive service for families.

To support fundamental changes to the SEN and disability system, ministers are looking at how to identify children’s needs earlier, develop fairer and more transparent funding arrangements, and streamline assessments to make life easier for parents and families.

Ministers are seeking a wide range of views to help them develop proposals for consultation that are practical to implement, reduce bureaucracy and build on current effective practice as well as make the most of the available funds.

Alongside the launch of the Call for Views, the Children’s Minister today confirmed the end of the national disabled children’s services parental survey. Only a limited number of parents could respond to the survey and ministers want all parents to have the opportunity to get involved in how local services are designed and delivered. The Government welcomes views on how to strengthen the process for ensuring parents’ views affect the services their family receives locally.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 10 September 2010.

Michael Gove reaffirms the government’s belief that autonomy for schools leads to higher performance and sustained improvement.

Michael Gove has today commented on the National Audit Office report on the Academies programme.

He said:

I welcome the findings of this NAO report. It confirms our belief that the Academies programme is working, reporting a clear lift in performance after schools convert to academies, confirming that they are improving faster than other comparable schools and that they continue to serve the most disadvantaged communities and pupils. We also know that pupils on free school meals have improved faster in academies than similar pupils nationally.

The experience of the city technology colleges in England, and other reforms across the world, shows that giving schools autonomy successfully drives up performance, and that this improvement is sustained. The performance of the large academy chains is already improving at a rapid rate. This year the Harris Federation reports a ten percentage point increase across all their academies, and ARK academies have reported a 13 percentage point increase.

We have already taken prompt action on the NAO recommendations as we strive to strengthen the programme even further. The Academies programme is helping children from all backgrounds to get a better education – that is why we are allowing more schools to become academies, and are giving real power and autonomy back to schools and teachers.

Text of NAO Report.

The press release issued by the Department for Education on 10 September 2010.

Ministers are considering how to ensure parents can send their child with SEN or disabilities to their preferred educational setting – whether that is a mainstream school, special school or an academy.

The plans were outlined today as Children’s Minister Sarah Teather called on parents, charities, teachers and LAs to contribute to the Government’s SEN Green Paper.

The Green Paper, to be published in the autumn, aims to improve radically the entire SEN system and will cover issues including school choice, early identification and assessment, funding and family support.

Ministers are considering a range of options including how to

• give parents a choice of educational settings that can meet their child’s needs
• transform funding for children with SEN and disabilities and their families, making the system more transparent and cost-effective while maintaining a high quality of service
• prevent the unnecessary closure of special schools, and involve parents in any decisions about the future of special schools
• support young people with SEN and disabilities post-16 to help them succeed after education
• improve diagnosis and assessment to identify children with additional needs earlier.

Children’s Minister Sarah Teather said:

Children with special educational needs and disabilities should have the same opportunities as other children, but the current system is so adversarial that too often this doesn’t happen. I want parents, teachers, charities, teaching unions and local authorities to come forward with the changes they think are needed to make the system better for children with SEN and their families.

Parents should be in control of their child’s education and future. Importantly, they must be involved in discussions and decisions about the support they need rather than feel they have to battle the system. I want to make it easier for parents to choose where their child is educated.

I want to look at every aspect of SEN – from assessment and identification to funding and education. We need to strip away the cumbersome bureaucracy but ensure there is a better, more comprehensive service for families.

Christine Lenehan, Director, Council for Disabled Children, said:

CDC is delighted by the Government’s continued focus on the needs of disabled children and those with SEN. We hope people involved in the lives of disabled children take this opportunity to respond to the call for views.

Julie Jennings, Chair, Special Educational Consortium, said:

I am delighted that disabled children and children with special educational needs have been made a high priority by the Government. I am pleased, too, that there is no suggestion that we are starting from a blank sheet of paper – so much evidence has been brought together over the last few years that this invitation to contribute to the Green Paper is rightly focused on setting priorities and practical action that is going to make a real difference.

To support fundamental changes to the SEN and disability system, ministers are looking at how to identify children’s needs earlier, develop fairer and more transparent funding arrangements, and streamline assessments to make life easier for parents and families.

Ministers are seeking a wide range of views to help them develop proposals for consultation that are practical to implement, reduce bureaucracy and build on current effective practice as well as make the most of the available funds.

Alongside the launch of the Call for Views, the Children’s Minister today confirmed the end of the national disabled children’s services parental survey. Only a limited number of parents could respond to the survey and ministers want all parents to have the opportunity to get involved in how local services are designed and delivered. The Government welcomes views on how to strengthen the process for ensuring parents’ views affect the services their family receives locally.