UK Education News and Views

April 10, 2017

• Topical

Here is a summary of the educational news from the start of this year…

Term-time holiday ban – A rising number of parents are facing prosecution for term time absences. Recently, the Supreme Court upheld a ban on taking children out of school for family holidays. Jon Platt, from the Isle of Wight, rejected the £60 fine issued to him by his local education authority for taking his daughter out of school for a seven day holiday. He claimed that her 92% attendance record met the legal requirement of ‘regular attendance’, and he was therefore not liable to pay the fine. The Supreme Court ruled, nonetheless, that it was an absence that disturbed the learning of his daughter and her peers, and Platt was obliged to pay the fine.

Free school meals – Labour have proposed to introduce free school meals for all primary school children. The controversial part of this measure is that Jeremy Corby has said it will be funded by adding VAT to private school fees, which Labour has estimated could raise around £1.5 billion each year. The aim of the policy is to increase the well-being of primary school children by making sure that no child goes hungry at school and everyone has access to a nutritious meal.

The demise of Design and Tech – According to a poll by The Association of School and College Leaders, GCSE courses in design and technology have been removed by almost half of schools in a bid to improve achievement in the core subjects. The decline in numbers has been slowly increasing since Labour removed its status as a compulsory subject in 2004.

Grammar schools – After Justine Greening, the Education Secretary, was heckled by head teachers for claiming that grammar schools will improve prospects for disadvantaged pupils at a conference in March, the latest opposition to the government’s new plans has surfaced. The Church of England, has rejected the government’s plan to allow the development of new grammar schools. The Church is actually the largest single provider of schools in England and they have said they will not be incorporating grammar schools into their educational vision as they wish to cater for the many, rather than few.

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