Liberal Democrats : Education and Skills News Feed

]> Liberal Democrats : Education and Skills News Feed http://www.libdems.org.uk/education RSS News provided by Liberal Democrats en-gb Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:56:02 +0100 Copyright Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats In house Absurd to financially penalise schools for poor results - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14957 Commenting on reports that specialist schools failing to reach the Government’s GCSE pass rate benchmark could be stripped of additional funding, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "It would be absurd for the Government to financially penalise schools with lower results. These schools are often the ones in the most challenging catchment areas. "There is a strong case for funding all schools at the specialist status level and then providing additional top-ups on the basis of deprivation." Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 ETS must not receive a penny for marking fiasco - Brooke http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14946 Commenting on the announcement that the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has ended its contract with ETS to mark future SATs papers, Liberal Democrat Schools Spokesperson, Annette Brooke said: "ETS demonstrated pure incompetence when it came to marking this year’s SATs. "Many children are still waiting for their results, which are now nearly six weeks late. "Ministers must confirm that ETS will not receive a penny for this year’s fiasco. "I hope that instead of finding another company to mark future Key Stage 3 papers, the Government will now scrap these expensive and unnecessary tests altogether." Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Ministers must tackle educational divide - Brooke http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14941 Commenting on today’s A-Level results, Liberal Democrat Schools Spokesperson, Annette Brooke said: "These young people have clearly worked hard and we should celebrate their success. "But with one in four candidates now achieving an A Grade, we need to be sure that the most talented students are being properly stretched. "The new regulator must now act by reviewing these top grades so that we can be fully confident that the apparent improvements are real. "There is now a clear divide at the heart of our education system. The rate of improvement in the A Grade pass rate in the south is nearly three times greater than in the north. "Ministers must work to find the reasons for this inequality and ensure that any improvements in our schools and colleges benefit all students." Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 It is time for SATs to be scrapped - Brooke http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14930 Commenting on today’s SATs results for 14 year olds, Liberal Democrat Children Spokesperson, Annette Brooke said: "Ministers have once again failed to meet their own targets. After three years of secondary education, thousands of pupils are not reaching the expected level in key subjects. "It’s a disgrace that on the day the results have been published, many schools will still not yet have received their marked papers. "The shambles surrounding the marking of this year’s tests undermines the credibility of these results. The Government must waive the re-marking costs to schools for this year’s exams. "These tests taken by 14 year olds are unnecessary and expensive - it is time for them to be scrapped. The money saved should be used to help teachers address educational failure where it first arises - in infant and primary schools." Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Ministers petrified to admit serious test result doubts - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14917 Commenting on Ed Balls’ announcement that the publication of Key Stage 3 results at local authority level is to be delayed, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "Ed Balls’ announcement on Key Stage 3 results is a complete dog’s breakfast. It inspires no confidence at all in the quality of the results. "If the results are not now accurate enough to publish at a local authority level, they should have been held back at a national level too. "This announcement gives every impression of a Government which understands that there are serious doubts about the Key Stage 3 test results. But ministers are clearly too petrified to admit this. "It is getting clearer by the day that we need a radical overhaul of national testing, including the abolition of Key Stage 3 tests." Thu, 7 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 SATs shambles a disgrace - Brooke http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14904 Commenting on today’s Key Stage 2 SATs results, Liberal Democrat Children Spokesperson, Annette Brooke said: "The shambles surrounding the marking of this year’s tests are a disgrace. 460 schools still do not have results for all of their pupils. "The Government must now waive the re-marking costs to schools for this year’s exams. It would be totally wrong for schools to pay the price for the Government’s and ETS’ incompetence. "Yet again, ministers have failed to meet their own targets. Too many children will be starting secondary school without having a good grasp of the core subjects. Tue, 5 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 1m diploma claim desperate step - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14895 Commenting on official pamphlets for 14-year olds claiming that they could earn over £1m over their working life if they take one of the Government’s new diplomas, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "The Government should be extremely careful about making fanciful predictions about the earning power of the new diplomas. "These figures are based on dubious assumptions and they don’t make a realistic comparison of the choice between diplomas and other high quality qualifications. "The Government must also avoid giving the impression to young people that financial gain is the only benchmark for deciding what to study. "This looks like a desperate step from a department which is in an increasing state of panic about the widespread shunning of the diplomas." Mon, 4 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100 3m schooldays lost to truancy shocking - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14878 Commenting on the news that nearly three million school days were lost in the spring term to truancy, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "The level of truancy in this country is shocking, and it is totally unacceptable that three million school days have been lost in a single term. "Ministers have thrown vast sums of money at this problem, but it seems to have had little effect. "It’s obvious that the top-down approach pursued by ministers has failed, and what is needed is a more effective local approach involving parents, schools and the police. "The number of children going on holiday during term-time is very concerning. Parents need to take responsibility for their children’s education and they have an obligation to ensure they attend school." Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Scandal that one in five SATs results still delayed - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14875 Commenting on Ed Balls’ latest update on the marking of this year’s SATs papers, revealing that nearly one in five Key Stage 3 English papers have still not been marked, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "These latest figures highlight the continuing and appalling shambles of the marking of the national tests. "It is unbelievable that, almost one month after the original deadline, one in five 14-year olds are still waiting for their English results. "The Government’s plans to publish the primary school results next week regardless of this debacle casts serious doubt over whether they will be a fair and accurate reflection of pupils’ progress. "It is now inevitable that there will be many more complaints about the haphazard standard of marking, particularly in the English tests. "All of this highlights the staggering incompetence of both the Government and ETS, and the need for the scrapping of the Key Stage 3 tests." Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Police in schools shows increased threat of violence - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14856 Commenting on Lord Adonis’ call for a dedicated police officer to be made available to every school, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "It is a sad state of affairs when the threat of violence in our schools means ministers are proposing to give each school a dedicated police officer. "However, with the number of police officers now falling, the Government must explain where these officers will come from. Our children will not be any safer if police officers are taken off our streets." Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Schools must not pay for ETS' incompetence - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14843 Commenting on the news that ETS will not be responsible for the remarking of this years’ national curriculum tests, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "The decision to remove ETS’ responsibility for remarking the tests is the clearest possible demonstration of the implosion of confidence in this company’s basic competence. "The next step must be to cancel ETS’ five-year contract, and to ensure that not a single penny of public money is paid to ETS for the shambolic management of this year’s exams. "The Government must also waive the re-marking costs to schools for this year’s exams - it would be totally wrong for schools to pay the price for the Government’s and ETS’ incompetence." Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Key Stage test marking remains a shambles - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14796 Commenting on today’s Parliamentary statement by Ed Balls, revealing that nearly a quarter of Key Stage 3 English papers have still not been marked, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "This latest information shows that the marking of the Key Stage tests remains a shambles. "Almost a quarter of Key Stage 3 English tests have yet to be marked and released to schools. This means that over 130,000 children are still waiting for results two weeks after these were due. "The marking of the tests has been such a mess that there will now be real concerns about the reliability of the results - with schools facing potentially huge bills if they request re-marking. "Ministers must consider the case for waiving re-marking costs this year, and they must ensure that not a penny of public money is paid to ETS until the results of the independent report have been carefully considered. "Ed Balls should scrap the Key Stage 3 tests for next year, and re-invest the money saved where it is needed most - in early intervention to tackle poor maths and English skills." Tue, 22 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 SATs should be scrapped not reviewed - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14787 Commenting on the news that the Conservative Party has asked Sir Richard Sykes to lead a new inquiry into the future of testing and assessment, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said: "There is no need for endless reviews about the future of the national tests. "The recent marking shambles has even further strengthened the case for completely abolishing the Key Stage 3 tests, the reliability of which has now been discredited by the incompetence of ETS. "Ed Balls should not only withhold payments from ETS and find a new contractor, but also announce wholesale reform of the testing regime. "The tens of millions of pounds saved by ending the Key Stage 3 tests should be used to identify and address educational failure where it first arises - in infant and primary schools." Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 Growing crisis with number of youngsters not in employment or education - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14776 Commenting on a report from the London School of Economics which suggests that 18% of 16 and 17-year-olds are neither in employment, education or training, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said:   “These new figures suggest that there is not only a growing crisis with a large number of young people not in employment or education, but also that the Government's own figures may be understating the scale of the problem. “Although ministers claim that increasing the education leaving age will magic this problem away, the reality is that the Government's sledgehammer approach could also destroy the jobs market for young people and further undermine their prospects.” Mon, 21 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100 SATs should be scrapped - Laws http://www.libdems.org.uk/education/story.html?id=14766 Key Stage 3 SATs tests should be scrapped, following the debacle over this year’s test results, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws has said. Commenting, David Laws said: "The marking of this year’s national tests has been a disgrace. Thousands of children will now not receive their results until next term. "Following this marking and administrative shambles, the Government needs not merely to replace its contractor but to scrap Key Stage 3 tests altogether. "It is now clear that not only are the tests taken by 14-year olds expensive and unnecessary, but they are unreliable as well. It is unfair to put pupils and schools into high stakes tests where there is simply no confidence in the reliability of the marking. "While there is still a good case for having external tests at the end of primary school, many teachers agree that national tests at 14 are pointless and could be replaced with the school’s own exams. "The tens of millions of pounds saved by ending the Key Stage 3 tests should be used to identify and address educational failure where it first arises - in infant and primary schools." Fri, 18 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0100