Archive for May, 2007
Acknowledging the problems is the first step to getting better
Posted by David Conway in Education on 18/05/2007
The element which has worried me most about education reforms under New Labour, is the way that learning has been squeezed out in order to accommodate improvement. It sounds like an oxymoron of course, but the Government’s desire to be seen to be doing well, as educationalist Alan Smithers once so pithily put it, has often forfeited children the opportunity of genuinely doing well.
Cancer care: straining resources
Posted by James Gubb in Health on 17/05/2007
A study released yesterday by Cancer Research UK revealed that in the past 30 years, survival rates from cancer in the UK have almost doubled from 23.6% in 1971, to 46.2% in 2000/1. OECD statistics running up to 2003 show the trend continued. In terms of deaths from cancer before the age of 70 that were potentially preventable by good medical care, the UK witnessed a 3.29% improvement.
Many, including the government’s cancer tsar, Prof Mike Richards, expect Eurocare-4 statistics, to be published later this year, to show further progress. A large proportion of the extra funds the NHS has received since 2000 has been targeted at improving cancer care through the NHS Cancer Plan; 99.9% of suspected cancer patients urgently referred by their GP are now seen by a specialist within 2 weeks, compared with just 63% in 1997; the number of cancer specialists employed by the NHS has increased by 49%; and £520m has been invested in new specialist equipment.
But a more interesting point will be to see whether improvements in the UK (assuming there will be improvements), outstrip those in other countries.
Tories introduce Education policy of the Lemming
Posted by Nick Cowen in Education on 16/05/2007
Anyone hoping for a change in attitude to schools at the next election will be sorely disappointed by the news that the Tories have cloned their new education policy from Labour. In a repentant tone, David Willetts casts aside grammar schools and embraces Comprehensive education. The disingenuous reasoning behind this move: ‘We must break free from the belief that academic selection is any longer the way to transform the life chances of bright, poor kids… This is a widespread belief but we just have to recognise that there is overwhelming evidence that such academic selection entrenches advantage, it does not spread it.’
Widespread it may be despite the sustained attack on selection, but it also happens to be true. Indeed, this ‘overwhelming evidence’ seems to point in the opposite direction to which David Willetts is now facing. As Alan Smithers has pointed out, Northern Ireland retains a grammar school system and has significantly superior exam results. In 2005, 31.2 per cent of A level results were A grades compared with the UK average of 22.8. Even the overall A level pass rate was higher suggesting that the selective system offers a boost for even the less academically able students. 71 per cent of GCSE results were A*-C grades compared with the UK average of 61.2. These results show fairly conclusively that one current system of selective education benefits all pupils far more than the current comprehensive system.
Brown’s EU Blues
Posted by James Gubb in European Union on 14/05/2007
Some time ago Tim Garton-Ash summed up Blair’s EU problems in two words ‘Rupert’ and ‘Murdoch’. Brown too will face these problems but with two additionally troublesome words, ‘Tony’ and ‘Blair’.
Much has been made in the media of the fact that Brown is essentially a domestic politician, has little inclination to engage himself unnecessarily with the politics of the Europe, and moreover that he enjoys running the UK economy too much to be willing to share it with the EU any further. This appears to be cause for optimism amongst EU-sceptics, but realistically Brown will be unable to just ‘dig in’ – the constitutional issue will not simply pass over-head and action WILL need to be taken, even if it not compelled by the actions of Blair at the EU summit on 22nd June.
The education legacy: Good intentions, bad moves
Posted by David Conway in Education on 11/05/2007
Just a few more weeks remain under the leadership of the man whose realisation of ‘education, education, education’ we’ve been witnessing for the past ten years. With school improvement Tony Blair’s chief priority, the all-important question is, how has he done? The verdict? Better on effort than strategy.
Academies for 2000 pupils: the DfES’s own school choice
Posted by Nick Cowen in Education on 09/05/2007
The Sunday Times reports that the new Thomas Deacon Academy has not found room for building a playground amongst its (mostly taxpayer) £46.4 million funding. Justifying this move is the claim that all the pupils of this school will be so enthused by the curriculum that they will not require playtime in which to let off steam (a situation that one teacher blogger considers to be without precedent). The project manager of the academy even makes the further claim that removing all unsupervised time from the school day will prevent bullying. True in the same way that stomach stapling can be pretty effective at tackling obesity.
Looking at the school on Peterborough’s official website, the situation doesn’t appear quite as horrendous as the Times article implies. There is indeed no playground but a combination of grass and artificial pitches are there for structured sports activities (more than many schools can offer) and in the not unlikely event of this no-playtime policy falling flat on its face, these areas could probably be used to kick a football around.