Tag: schools

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English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely more often than in Scotland with consequent surges in youth crime

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Professor John Robertson OBA From School attendance, absence and exclusions statistics 2024-25 published yesterday: Cases of exclusion decreased from 11,673 in 2022/23 to 10,647 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. The rate of exclusions per 1,000 pupils decreased from 16.6 in 2022/23 to 15.2 in 2024/25. This is consistent with the overall downward trend since 2006/07. No pupils were removed from the register in 2024/25, compared with one pupil in 2022/23. This is the first time there has been no pupils removed from the register since records began in 2002/03. In England, in the same period, … Continue reading English schools excluding pupils at twice the rate and expelling infinitely more often than in Scotland with consequent surges in youth crime

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Labour’s pledge to hire 6,500 extra teachers in England will be a ‘challenge’ will only add 1.4% to the total and still not affect their nearly 40%, per head, higher teaching load than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: A key government pledge to appoint 6,500 extra teachers in England by the end of this parliament will be difficult to achieve and is likely to fall short of demand, the UK’s public spending watchdog has warned. The education secretary Bridget Phillipson’s promise to recruit thousands of extra teachers in state schools, which has been funded by adding VAT to private school fees, forms one of the cornerstones of the government’s education policy. However, a report by the National Audit Office (NAO), published on Wednesday, warned that a projected increase in … Continue reading Labour’s pledge to hire 6,500 extra teachers in England will be a ‘challenge’ will only add 1.4% to the total and still not affect their nearly 40%, per head, higher teaching load than in Scotland

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Feeling safe in school – a widening gap across the UK

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: Girls in England say they feel less safe at school and are more disenchanted with their education, research has found. Using data from an international study of pupils at primary and secondary schools, researchers said the steep fall in girls’ “emotional engagement” compared with the years before the Covid pandemic has become a pressing issue for schools. While the results from the international survey showed pupils’ feelings of belonging, safety and pride have fallen in many countries since the pandemic, researchers from University College London (UCL) found that England had one of the biggest drop-offs among … Continue reading Feeling safe in school – a widening gap across the UK

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Dangerous walks to school – what they don’t want you to know about Labour North Lanarkshire and Labour Wales

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By stewartb I notice in a BBC article a reference to North Lanarkshire Council’s financial woes: ‘In a bid to save £3.6m in August, the Council. changed the qualifying mileage limits for free school transport from one mile to two miles for primary school pupils, and two to three miles for secondary school pupils.’ One parent is quoted by BBC Scotland saying, amongst other things: “But we’re talking about a 50 minute walk for most children, and some will be more than that. So the distance is part of it, but it’s the safety.’ Of course ‘safety’ is a critically … Continue reading Dangerous walks to school – what they don’t want you to know about Labour North Lanarkshire and Labour Wales

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Scots Unison leader betrays her members, who benefit most from the SNP’s progressive policies, for political gain

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Christine McAnea, UK Labour Party member and current General Secretary of UNISON, has just written to members to say: A new dawn for public services – Investing in public services is more than just a budgetary choice; it’s a moral duty. High-quality public services are the foundation of a fair and just society. With Labour in charge, we have the chance to build a more equitable and prosperous future for everyone in the UK. McAnea, former Communist Party Member, earns £119,513 with benefits of £12,756, plus pension contributions and employer’s national insurance contributions that are not publicly available. With Labour … Continue reading Scots Unison leader betrays her members, who benefit most from the SNP’s progressive policies, for political gain

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Schools – IFS has already exposed Labour’s meanness and SNP record in funding 18% above the rest of the UK

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Labour must hate the IFS. In the last few day’s they’ve pinned £18bn of cuts on them. A year ago……see below. The Scottish Government spends £4.2 billion on education and skills. Anas Sarwar has promised another £150 million or only 3.5% more but it is already 18% higher than in the rest of the UK. From the IFS last year: In the most recent year (2022–23), school spending per pupil in Scotland was over £8,500. This is over 18% or £1,300 higher than the level seen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, all around £7,200 per pupil. School spending per … Continue reading Schools – IFS has already exposed Labour’s meanness and SNP record in funding 18% above the rest of the UK

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Aberdeen home-owners buy property which requires maintenance just like any other, in a Thatcherite scheme, at a knock-down price, from a Tory or Labour council, after a professional survey, and the SNP Government has to do something?

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By Professor John Robertson As with the excited media reports on inflammable cladding, quite safe from ‘towering infernos’ in Scotland because of the cavity fire barriers required in Scotland by longstanding building regulations, the reports on Raac are tending to be evidence-deficient. Today, BBC Scotland is headlining: ‘We live in fear our roof is going to collapse’ The report, typically, does not mention that the tenants bought these properties at ‘knock-down’ prices from public ownership, as part of Thatcher’s right-to-buy scheme which seriously damaged the ability of public authorities to house the less well-off. There’s no mention of the first … Continue reading Aberdeen home-owners buy property which requires maintenance just like any other, in a Thatcherite scheme, at a knock-down price, from a Tory or Labour council, after a professional survey, and the SNP Government has to do something?

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Janitor strikes can close schools in Scotland but not in England

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Thanks to Dottie again for alerting me to this, from the Observer today: Headteachers are being forced to mend desks and unblock toilets themselves after sacking school caretakers in the wake of budget cuts, the Guardian has been told. School leaders in England said they could not afford to employ caretakers, and were having to change lightbulbs and clear playgrounds of dead rats themselves. Amanda Richards, the headteacher of Sytchampton primary in Worcestershire, said her school “literally can’t afford” a permanent caretaker, leaving her and other staff to move heavy equipment and make emergency repairs to keep the school running. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2024/apr/28/headteachers-schools-england-caretakers-budget-cuts The … Continue reading Janitor strikes can close schools in Scotland but not in England

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England’s primary schools heading back to pre-War class sizes under Conservative or Labour governments

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From the Guardian today: English primary schools cutting teacher numbers amid budget pressure, survey finds. A survey of more than 1,000 school leaders and teachers by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that three-quarters said their primary schools were cutting teaching assistant roles, while a third were also cutting teacher numbers. From GOV.UK in November 2023, pupil-teacher ratios: Any class-teachers out these will be shouting things like ‘I’ve got 30’ and ‘I’ve never had fewer than 25’, and so on. That’s because the above ratios take into account promoted staff with no or reduced class-contact times, so in Scotland, … Continue reading England’s primary schools heading back to pre-War class sizes under Conservative or Labour governments

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School suspensions 4 times more, and full expulsions shocking 600 times more, common in England’s not so fair and pleasant land

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Many thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this via the Guardian: Pupil suspensions in England hit record high, rising by nearly a third year on year, DfE figures show From the Scotsman, no friend of the SNP Government, on 25 March 2024: Across Scotland, there were 11,675 cases of temporary exclusion of any length of time, with just one pupil being expelled, as previously revealed by The Scotsman. The figures compare to 39,553 temporary exclusions and 164 permanent in 2007, when the SNP came to power. So, with 10 times the population, all things being equally progressive and hopefully not … Continue reading School suspensions 4 times more, and full expulsions shocking 600 times more, common in England’s not so fair and pleasant land