By Steven Swinford, and Peter Hutchison Telegraph 25 Feb 2011
Schools in more than a third of council areas are selecting low-ability students or using lotteries in an attempt to break the middle-class hold on the most sought-after places.
On Tuesday parents of almost 540,000 children in England will find out which secondary school their son or daughter will go to in September
The number of authorities where such admission policies are used has increased sharply as competition for the best schools has intensified, a survey by The Daily Telegraph has found.
The …

Do parents understand the EYFS profile and the assessment descriptors level 1 to 9. I have the feeling that in some schools these assessments might not be explained sufficiently to parents e.g. what does level 9 mean- is the average child supposed to be working between levels 4 to 6.? Do you have any evidence from parents to support this view. I would be grateful for any information. Barbara Johnstone

By Daniel Boffey Mail
18th September 2010
Thousands of children are missing the beginning of the new term because of changes to school admissions forced through by the last Labour Government.Under the new rules, parents moving home must now ask their Local Education Authority (LEA) to provide a school place for their child, rather than organise it themselves.But an investigation by this newspaper has found that up to 15,000 children could be missing school because of the bureaucratic chaos caused by the change. The Mail on Sunday contacted 150 LEAs. The 44 …

The Mail on Sunday has been made aware of a change to the system for school admissions for children moving at an unusual time in their school careers, either mid term or during the summer holidays but at an age when they would not normally be expected to move schools.
The new system means that parents who have moved to a new home in a new area have to apply to the LEA for a place in a school rather than simply asking the school closest to their new home if …

Primary schools will have to find an extra 350,000 places over the next four years despite cuts in education spending, ministers have been warned

Press Release
Date: 26 July 2010
First Schools Group to Offer Nationally Accredited Gifted & Talented Courses in England
The Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP) is breaking new ground in the provision for Gifted and Talented students.
The partnership, led by the Thomas Hardye School and Sunninghill Prep School, have been working together with the National Association for Gifted Children to offer fully accredited Gifted and Talented courses, which is a national first. The courses begin next week at 10.00am on Monday 26th July.
The DASP pupils have been offered the courses to give them …

By Katie Clark Dorset Echo 3rd July
DORSET head teachers have enjoyed a two-day stay at a luxury Christchurch hotel paid for out of their school budgets.
Secondary school head teachers from across Dorset attended the conference at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel in Mudeford near Christchurch last week, with more than half of the heads staying overnight despite most either living in Dorset or nearby.
The annual conference was organised by the Dorset Association of Secondary Heads (Dash) and paid for out of their annual subscription costing £250.
Chairman Andy Puttock, head of Queen …

By Sarah Harris mail
3rd July 2010
Teachers have used ‘Big Brother’ tactics to spy on children’s lunchboxes, it has been revealed. They secretly photographed pupils’ packed lunches over six months and analysed the contents. Staff awarded marks to the food and then showed their findings to outraged parents, offering them advice on how to improve nutrition. St Paul’s primary school in Gloucester checked pupils’ packed lunches for nutritional valueEducation bosses have now put a stop to the scheme in Gloucestershire after discovering the extent of the surveillance. Nineteen primary schools …

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Angel Harrison BBC News education correspondent
Head teachers have voted for a boycott of this year’s Sats tests due to be taken by 11-year-olds in England in a few weeks’ time. In ballots of the National Association of Head Teachers and some members of the National Union of Teachers, 64% of those voting backed the action. Union leaders say they are pleased but will take a final decision on whether the action goes ahead next week. These national tests, in maths and English, are only taken in England. The union balloted …