Education News June
Change in Government brings Change to Education and potential changes to Governance
Also: NGA Code of Conduct, Academies Bill, Bullying Suicides
Michael Gove writes to Ed Balls setting out the DfE spending cuts for this year
The Literacy Trust - 8 Jun 2010
The Department for Education has released a letter from Secretary of State Michael Gove to his predecessor Ed Balls setting out the DfE’s £670m contribution.
It spells out how the required contribution by the Department of Education to the national debt will be made and details an initial saving of £359.1m through cutting waste and inefficiencies. Front line service delivery seems safe but there may well be huge implications for LAs in some of the cuts listed. It rather looks as if Diplomas are going to take a big hit. Read on Download Full Letter – PDF
Governance Code of Conduct – NGA
NGA – The National Governors’ Association are working on a standard code of practice which they propose be adopted by all governing bodies. It is intended to describe the appropriate relationship between individual governors, the whole governing body and the leadership team of the school. A specimen code of practice will be issued in their annual publication ‘Welcome to Governance’ which should be ready for the September 2010.
The current version can be obtained here
The House of Lords Academies Bill gets its first reading.
What is becoming the next big thing in education, The Academies Bill, gets it’s first reading in the House of Lords. The intension is to enable (local authority) maintained schools to apply to the Secretary of State to become (state funded) Academies. This would include primary and special schools. Under the provisions the first new Academies could be in place as early as September 2010.
In considering whether to apply for Academy status a governing body should review the legislation with regard to transfer of property and liabilities as well as budget surpluses. Funding is expected to be in line with existing local authority funding and Ofsted inspection and provisions are anticipated to be similar to current levels. Review the Legislation here
The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust are running a series of regional seminars for governors and headteachers wishing to explore academy status. The seminars will provide the opportunity to hear from policy makers, serving academy principals and legal and technical experts about the freedoms you gain and the responsibilities you take on. Details of the seminars can be found on the SSAT websire.
Yorkshire and Humberside seminars to be held 21 June – Bradford read on
“Overwhelming” academy response 7 June 2010 – Croner Education News
The new Government has said, since it announced its reforms, 1114 schools have applied to convert into academies, many of which are primaries which were previously not able to apply. Read On
Charity suggests strong Bullying link to children suicides BBC 13 June
A bullying prevention charity has called for more official data on child suicide and research into its causes. Beatbullying found that up to 44% of suicides among 10- to 14-year-olds may be bullying-related. Read On
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