PEN Summer Reading #2

Holiday Reading: Friday 13th August.

• Are new academies a return to GM schools?

Patrick Watson blogs an interesting response to last weeks Mike Baker piece on the similarities between academies and GM schools

• Behaviour and attendance partnerships put on hold

Sec-Ed Magazine on this weeks under-reported news that these new systems have been put on hold by the coalition

• Playground plans shelved under government spending cuts

News of more cuts to schools infrastructure in the pipeline, as reported in The Guardian

• Stop knocking Comprehensives - they work

In praise of the Comprehensive school. Kevin McKenna writes in The Observer

• A response

A short critique of some of the points in the above article, from 'Ron's Blog'

• The perils of comparing 'like' with 'not like'

Excellent blog from Warwick Mansell on the realities and data behind last weeks headlines that science standards are at their lowest for 10 years

• Children will lose out under new education policies

Phil Beadle with a interesting take on the impact of the coalitions education policy so far

• U-Turn over headteachers pay cap

The Telegraph reports that Michael Gove has gone back on his pledge to cap headteachers salaries at the level of the Prime Minister, calling the plan 'unworkable'.

• The dangers of a paltry pupil premium

Conor Ryan on the dangers associated with setting the pupil premium too low.

• Focus on results can make children do worse

An Institute of education released today shows that children do better in exams when teachers focus on learning rather than grades.