Monthly Archives: April 2013

Department for Education faces scrutiny after responding late to one in five FOI requests

Tweet The Department of Education continues to perform poorly in responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, according to recently published figures. The figures, published by the Ministry of Justice, show the department responded late to 21% of the requests they … Continue reading

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University complaints – get the data

TweetLast week we reported on complaints to universities ranging from one for every five thousand students to one in every fifty. The data behind that, says @UnileaksUK, raises questions about the body which handles complaints where a student is unhappy with the … Continue reading

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Academies present schools with greater opportunity to “innovate” says committee member

TweetReporting by Emily Jeffery, editing by Nicole Froio Painsley Academy in North Staffordshire received academy status last August. At the same time it also achieved a record-breaking 100% of year 11 students receiving grades A*-C in their GCSE’s. Painsley shared the … Continue reading

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Useful education links for April 19th through April 26th

Tweet These are some of the education stories we found interesting between the 19th and 26th April 2013.

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How are university student complaints handled? Unileaks crunches the numbers

TweetThe OIA (Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education) has published its first set of complaint figures for the individual institutions who subscribe to its Scheme. The figures show rates varying considerably with some universities having as few as one … Continue reading

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MAPPED: How many hours do children spend at school around the world?

Tweet Recently proposed reforms could allow UK state schools to stay open until 4:30pm each day with pupils taking shorter, four-week summer holidays to spend more time in the classroom. We’ve mapped the amount of hours pupils across the world spend … Continue reading

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Factcheck: Schoolchildren ‘left behind’ by shorter school days?

TweetEducation secretary Michael Gove has called for longer school days and shorter school holidays to improve pupil performance and make life easier for working parents – but does the evidence support him? Matt Burgess and Emma Greatorex investigate.

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Useful education links for April 13th through April 22nd

TweetThese are the education links we found interesting between April 13th and April 22nd: Suffolk teachers take time off over stress of Ofsted visits – Telegraph – The statistics have been released by Suffolk County Council following a Freedom of … Continue reading

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Useful education links for the last week

These are some of the education stories we found interesting between the 13th and 19th April 2013.

Pupils may get congratulations from David Willetts, the Universities Minister (The Times) – Bright pupils from poor backgrounds could soon receive a letter from ministers encouraging them to apply for university. Continue reading

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What information do universities record – and what might be requested?

TweetTimes Higher Education reporter David Matthews wrote about “stumbling blocks” to university transparency this month – and in the process highlighted some useful tips for those wanting to investigate higher education. Here are the highlights: Who makes the decisions? Most … Continue reading

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How education changed under Thatcher – Peter Wilby

TweetWriting in The Guardian Peter Wilby provides a brief history lesson on the education system in Britain and how it changed under Margaret Thatcher – particularly universities (“[previously] run on similar lines to the BBC”) and schools curriculum, selection and funding. It’s a … Continue reading

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12,000 children miss out on chosen secondary school

TweetMore than 12,000 secondary school children have failed to get a school preference of their choice, figures have revealed.  Recently published data from the Department of Education shows the number of applications being made to secondary schools for pupils to … Continue reading

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