News Stories

Citizenship lessons in England often unsatisfactory, Ofsted warns

Inspectors in England have condemned much of citizenship teaching in schools.

In what the Times describes as a "devastating report" Ofsted drew particular attention to confusion among teachers as to the purpose and intended content of citizenship classes.

Citizenship, which is compulsory for children age 11-16 in England, was introduced to increase political literacy among young people, and to increase understanding of societal problems.

However, the inspectors report that often teachers seemed to wrongly equate Citizenship with PSHE - frequently classes supposed to address "conflict resolution" for example talk more about bullying in school than Parliament or the UN.

Although a growing number of schools are entering students for a GCSE short course, often the inspectors found standards of written work to be very poor; they also called for more specialist Citizenship teachers.

A government spokesman told the Times that 1,200 new Citizenship teachers are being trained over the next two years. (28th September 2006)



Go to BBC guide to Citizenship in the National Curriculum.

Go to BBC "Have Your Say " forum - Citzenship thread.

Johnson looks to US for Saturday schools

Education Secretary Alan Johnson has spoken approvingly of Saturday schools he witnessed on a recent trip to the US, citing in particular the opportunity they offer to provide additional support to the most and least able, and for curricular enrichment.

The Department of Education has begun thinking about possible means of implementation in England, and hopes to secure extra funding in this summer's spending review. (26th September 2006)

SQA figures show boys still lag girls

This year's SQA figures show that attainment among boys continues to significantly lag that of girls.

30% of boys this year achieved five or more Standard Grades at levels 1 or 2, compared with 39% of girls. Similarly, 24% of girls gained three of more Highers in S5, compared with 18% of boys.

"We know boys are more susceptible to peer pressure and that it is not cool for them to do well as school, and there is rightly a debate about how much biology has to play in this, but there are also deep-seated cultural expectations to consider," said Rae Condie, a lecturer at Strathclyde University who has studied issues of gender and attainment.

"There is evidence that stereotypical expectations that boys are more daring and active and girls are well-behaved may be self-fulfilling, and we need to look at this," she told the Herald newspaper.

Meanwhile Education Minister Peter Peacock promised to address the situation in the ongoing review of the school curriculum.

"This is an issue which is common across the Western world," he said. "We know there are a variety of factors which have a bearing on this, such as the different rates at which boys and girls mature, but we also know that there are things we can do.

"There is not enough to motivate boys in the current curriculum. The ongoing review of what is taught in schools, as well as a focus on the importance of vocational and other options, will help us address the situation." (21st September 2006)

Angus Council to offer Mandarin in schools

Angus Council has announced plans to offer Mandarin in schools. It is hoped this will help develop links with its sister area of Yantai in Shandong. (21st September 2006)

Teachers should talk up university to deprived students, Education Secretary says.

Addressing the annual conference of Universities UK, Education Secretary Alan Johnson yesterday argued that teachers working in deprived area must do more to encourage the best pupils to apply to university.

The government's target hopes 50% of pupils will enter university by 2010, though Johnson admitted this now seems unlikely to be met. (15th September 2006)

Social Studies at Access 3

The SQA have released a new discrete Access 3 Cluster in Geography, History and Modern Studies for Scotland.

This joins the existing Access 3 Cluster in Social Subjects, which offers a more interdisciplinary and flexible approach and has also been revised. (12th September 2006)

Scottish Highers to debut in Shanghai and Beijing

A first batch of Chinese candidates to sit Scottish Highers will do so next year.

200 students from the Space Centre in Beijing and the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics will sit the new Higher in English as a Second Language, together with three Highers from a choice of Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Business Studies.

The students will sit the exams in late afternoon or early evening, at the same time as Scottish students on the other side of the world. Up to this point, a small number of Chinese students have obtained vocational qualifications from the SQA, which has identified China as a key market.

Students in Indonesia will also be sitting Highers for the first time. (5th September 2006)

History teachers argue for more Scottish history

Key topics in Scottish history will lie at the centre of history teaching in Scottish schools, if a new syllabus endorsed by Scotland's leading history teachers is adopted.

The Scottish Association of Teachers of History (SATH) will unveil their proposed new syllabus next week, responding to fears that the Executive's 'Curriculum for Excellence' review will lead to a downgrading of the subject.

Under the new plans, compulsory topics for primary school children will include the Wars of Independence, the Act of Union and the Scottish Enlightenment. In the earliest years, pupils will focus on local themes.

"We have taken a chronological approach so that children can learn the unfolding story of Scotland's history," Peter Hillis - professor of history education at Strathclyde University and author of the syllabus - told Scotland on Sunday Newspaper.

"It will take time and there will be changes along the way but it is a structured syllabus which can form the bedrock of history teaching under the Curriculum for Excellence."

The proposal will receive a full discussion at the SATH conference on November 25. (4th September 2006)

More Scots at Cambridge

More Scottish students will begin courses at Cambridge University this year despite the introduction of top up fees, statistics show.

94 Scottish students will begin degrees at Cambridge this year; the figure was 82 in 2005 and 80 in 2004. Cambridge admissions officials travel to university fairs in Scotland each summer, this year they attending events in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

The statistic (quoted in the Scotsman) of course reflects an increase in acceptances - and this may or may not reflect an increase in applications. (4th September)

Parental involvement in homework on the rise, survey finds

Increasing numbers of parents spend time helping their children with homework, according to new research commissioned by Nestle.

The research found that 75% of parents check the children's homework, and that 80% ask their children what they have been studying.

On average, parents spent an hour a day helping their children with schoolwork - according to the survey worth over £2,500 a year in terms of investment of time. (1st September 2006)

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