This
project is financed by the LSC, SEEDA and
the European Social Fund
NATIONAL & REGIONAL
NEWS GENERAL & POLICY
Job Cuts at BAA
The UK’s largest airport operator, BAA, has announced it is to cut jobs. BAA, which owns Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen airports, is yet to announce the number of positions due to go, but has played down reports that 2000 jobs will be lost. The positions are being removed as part of an efficiency review and is said to not affect its security and customer service roles.
BAA has said the job cuts are about building a much leaner and more efficient business as opposed to cutting costs, however Unions have criticised airport operator’s actions believing it to be illogical to resolve its difficulties through slashing jobs. Unions have also said that efficiency problems were partly due to lack of trained staff and therefore any future cuts would only make conditions worse.
Source: BBC online, 30th August 2007
Emigration Rates on the Up
Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest more people left the UK last year than in any other year since records began in 1991. Some 385,000 left the UK for the long-term last year, whilst long-term migration into the UK was 574,000. The UK’s population grew by 349,000 (0.6%) in that time, to 60,587,000. The figures show emigrating Britons preferred Australia as their chosen destination. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Source: BBC online, 22nd August 2007
Thames Water Reduces Leaks
For the first time since 1999 Thames Water has managed to hit targets for reducing leaks. However, last year enough water was lost every day through leaks to fill 316 Olympic-sized swimming pools. In the last twelve months Thames Water lost 790 million litres of water a day, according to new figures; enough for every customer to flush their toilet 30 times a day. Whilst the director of Water Services at Thames Water; John Halsall is pleased with the progress, he suggests they certainly cannot become complacent. Thames Water announced in June that their profits were down over 20 per cent, most likely due to having to address the problem of leakage.
Source: thisislocallondon website, 21st August 2007
Floods Cause £3bn Damages
Following the flooding across England throughout June and July, homeowners and businesses are still on the road to recovery. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) believes the UK government needs to do more to protect against such floods. The ABI in a letter to Hilary Benn the Environment Secretary confirmed it is concerned that even light rainfall could lead to further widespread flooding.
The UK suffered its wettest July on record this year, submerging thousands of homes, leading to £3bn of damage. The ABI has welcomed plans to strengthen flood defences, but it also wants a review of how to solve the problem. The ABI suggest the government will need to spend an extra £150m on flood defences and some flooding was the result of drains and watercourses being blocked due to inadequate maintenance. Blocked drains and watercourses led to flooding in areas not previously identified as being at risk.
Source: BBC online, 22nd August 2007
EU Assistance with Flood Crisis
The government has applied for support from the European Union Solidarity Fund (EUSF) for coping with natural disasters, following the recent floods across parts of England. A likely donation from the EUSF will be in the region of £60m to £125m, whilst the cost of the flood damage totals £2.7bn according to Flood Recovery Minister John Healey. However if the application is approved, funds may not be forthcoming for a year. The EUSF is focused on helping countries cope with the uninsurable costs of natural disasters, such as restoring infrastructure and the clean up operation, damage costs must exceed £2.2bn for an application to be considered. If the government’s application for assistance is successful, funds would have to be spent in the UK within 12 months, and a report would be made back to the EUSF on how it had been spent.
Source: BBC online, 20th August 2007
New Rights For All School Leavers
All 16-year-old school leavers should be offered the chance to continue their education from this September, the Government has told local authorities. In a bid to widen youngsters’ opportunities after GCSE’s, Ministers have written to councils in England to remind them of the duty to offer a suitable option to young people with no post-GCSE educational place.
College leaders have said there is still a real need to let people know of this new entitlement and have called for career advisers to make people aware of this opportunity as soon as possible. Schools and councils are obligated to ensure pupils are aware of their post-16 opportunities before they leave school under what is known as the ‘September Guarantee’. The September Guarantee is part of plans to reduce the proportion of young people not in education or training, known as NEETs. Recent figures showed that 11% of 16 to 18-year-olds in England are still outside education, training or work. However, by 2013 youngsters will be legally required to stay on in education and training until the age of 18.
In order to ensure young people do not get ‘lost in the system’, a letter was sent to directors of children’s services in councils across England reminding them to ensure school leavers’ details are recorded so they can be tracked and contacted. This way the LSC and Connexions can regularly monitor the number of young people without a place.
Source: BBC Online, 25th August 2007
Boys Are Less Keen To Go To University
Boys are not as keen to go to university as girls, a survey suggests. According to the research commissioned by educational charity the Sutton Trust, only two thirds of boys (67%) want to go to University compared to around three-quarters (76%) of girls. The gap of nine percent is double the gap that emerged in a survey of pupils in England and Wales in 2006. The survey also suggested girls were more certain of their intentions than boys.
The research also found that boys are more cynical than girls about what factors might help them get on in life, with boys more likely to list “knowing the right people” than girls. By contrast, the girls were more likely to list factors such as “being able to read and write well”. In recent years, it’s not only boys’ aspirations that have been a cause for concern for teachers and Ministers, but also their underachievement at school. Girls are more likely to get the benchmark five good GCSEs than boys and more girls do better at A-level.
Source: BBC Online, 27th August 2007
University Places Confirmed for Students
University applications service UCAS has confirmed a record 316,594 A-level students university places on results’ day alone. There are still 37,169 university places waiting to be allocated, but some 2,087 places have been offered through clearing. On results’ day at its peak some 70 students were logging into the UCAS website every second to track their application.
Higher Education Minister Bill Rammell has attributed the record number of placements to the ‘improved student finance package’, following the introduction of non-repayable grants and alterations to tuition fee payment. Rammell also congratulated Ucas staff for their hard work. This year the top five courses being sought were law, economics, business management, history and psychology.
Source: BBC online, 22nd August 2007
A Level Success
A Level results for 2007 show increases in the proportions of entrants gaining top grades. A quarter of A level entries gained an A grade, up from 24.1% to 25.3% since last year. The overall national A level pass rate also increased and now stands at 96.9% gaining grade A to E. This represents a rise of 9.3 percentage points since 1997. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Sources: DCSF website; BBC Online, 16th August 2007; Daily Telegraph, 14th August 2007
GCSE Exam Results
Once again this year GCSE results show increases in the proportions of entrants gaining higher grades. Since 1997, the percentage of GCSE entrants gaining A* to C has gone up by 8.7 percentage points, and this year the percentage rose from 62.4% to 63.3%. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Sources: DCSF website, BBC Online 23rd August 2007
School Stress Affects Children Long Before Term Begins
Children as young as four and five are suffering with stress up to six months before starting school. The study of 105 children, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, found raised levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the youngsters up to six months before terms begins. Findings suggest that the parents’ anxieties about their children starting school are rubbing off on the youngsters, causing the raised levels of cortisol.
The Bath University team who carried out the study sought to discover the impact that beginning school had on children's temperament and behaviour and found stress levels begin to rise much earlier than they had expected. Though the team did not expect the levels to be raised in the six months prior to school starting, they had expected cortisol levels to rise when school began and have said they would be more worried if stress levels hadn’t raised at all. The study found that stress levels generally returned to normal within sixth months of school starting.
Source: BBC online, 31st August 2007
Writing Standards for Seven Year Olds Drop
Writing standards for English seven year olds have gone down for a second year. 80% of children reached Level 2 in writing tests, which is a drop of 1% on the previous year. Meanwhile, maths, science and reading were at the same level as last year – 90% of children were the required level in Maths, 89% in science and 84% in reading. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Source: BBC Online, 30th August 2007
Free Fruit Scheme Proves Successful
A government scheme offering free fruit and vegetables to school children has substantially helped more pupils eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to research by the National Foundation of Educational Research. However, unfortunately fewer children eating packed lunches met the five-a-day target.
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) entitles all four to six-year old children in state infant, primary and special schools to a free piece of fruit or vegetable each day. The study found that 32% of children were eating five portions of fruit and vegetables in 2004, compared with 44% of children in the 2006 study.
Source: BBC online, 3rd September 2007
Fall in Number of Teens Reaching Targets
A Government target set to see 85 per cent of 14 year olds reaching level 5 in English and Maths by this year has not succeeded after just 76 per cent reached level 5 or above in Maths, down from 77 per cent last year. In English and Science there was a 1 per cent increase in those meeting national standards, to 74% and 73% respectively. Girls outperformed boys in English overall, with 80% of girls and 67% of boys making the grade. Boys were outperformed by girls in all core subjects. In Maths 76% of girls and 75% of boys met the standards, and in science 73% of girls and 72% of boys. 74% of pupils gained level 5 or above in ICT.
Source: Montrose Reports, 15th August 2007
Schools Failing Teenage Boys
A recent report by the Bow Group think-tank talks of the failure of teenage boys in schools, which has now reached crisis point. Last year one in five boys aged 13 or 14 were suspended from school; a total of 248,950 suspensions, compared to some 94,750 girls. Alongside this 7,280 boys were expelled and 1,680 girls. It seems one in five boys aged 14 has the reading ability of someone half his age, and a quarter of boys at 16. The Bow Group report suggests we are sitting on a ‘qualifications timebomb’, with far less boys going onto further education compared with girls. Behaviour portrays the gender gap prominently: boys vastly outnumber girls at special schools and in Pupil Referral Units for banned children, there are 11,280 boys compared with 3,690 girls.
Many believe under achievement has been a problem for years, with schools failing to nurture traditional male traits. This comes alongside peer pressures like ‘anti-swot’, which boys are more prone to. There is a continuing campaign to recruit more male teachers to help with the problem.
The report concludes that boys’ under performance links with reading failure at a young age. It appears the only time boys outperform girls is when it comes to poor discipline in the classroom. In reading tests at 7 years girls were seven points ahead of boys, by 14, they had a fifteen point lead. Boys are less likely to even be entered for key GCSEs, and for those that are, just 43 per cent get a C or above in English and Maths, compared to 51 per cent of girls.
Source: Evening Standard, 13th August 2007
‘Pick and Choose’ Teachers
Teacher recruitment in the England and Wales is entering a ‘golden period’, where schools are able to pick and choose teachers as stated by the country’s leading education market recruitment specialist. However this means that newly qualified teachers face stiff competition for jobs, especially in the North of England. According to director of Education Data Surveys, John Howson, the workforce in the North is shrinking fastest alongside pupil numbers. Howson argues that schools are the best staffed they have been for generations, but goes on to warn many school have hidden vacancies, as teachers are not teaching their specialist subjects.
Source: Montrose Reports, 17th August 2007
Academy Status Bid for Independents
A number of independent schools may well join the state sector as academies. More than 30 independent schools have looked into academy status, and four already have plans to make the change according to the Independent Schools Council. Halifax Financial Services recently discovered fees at independent schools had risen 41% in the last five years, making them too expensive for many key workers, including teachers and engineers.
Geoff Lucas, General Secretary of the HMC, which represents England’s largest independent schools, said he expects up to six of the schools to turn into academies. Discussions have taken place within the Girls’ day School Trust schools with six schools who are interested in making the move. Over half of the Church of England’s cathedral school foundations have shown an interest in academy status; nine are now in discussion with the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
Source: Montrose Reports, 3rd August 2007
Private Nurseries Forced out of Business
An over-supply of places in state-funded nurseries and day care centres is forcing private nurseries out of business. Whilst in some areas parents are struggling to pay fees for private nurseries, in other areas there are too many places on offer in government-funded centres. By 2012 the government aims to provide at least one full day care children’s centre ‘in every community’. Education, training and childcare provider; Nord Anglia recently announced the sale of its 88 kindergartens for £31.2 million, after having cost them £73 million three years ago.
Source: Montrose Reports, 15th August 2007
Schools Set Up Car Exclusion Zones
Schools are being encouraged to set up car free zones around their buildings in a bid to force parents and children to walk to school. A report by the Institute for European Environmental Policy talks of the ‘twin crises’ caused by over car usage; an obesity epidemic and global warming. The report suggests that banning cars from the vicinity of schools would instil good habits early on. According to the IEEP if people were to walk an hour more each week, over a decade people could see a reduction in average weight of up to two stone. This would also displace about 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide form cars. The report also asserts 40 per cent of all journeys in the UK are less than 2 miles, and 38% of these are made by car.
The report goes on to call upon the government to make the streets of Britain more attractive to walk on. Research in the US is quoted in the report which found every additional kilometre walked per day reduced the chance of becoming overweight by 4.8%. The number of hours the average Briton walks has also dropped form 87 hours a year to 67.
Source: BBC online, 13th August 2007
Regional Assemblies to be Abolished
Regional assemblies, including the South East Regional Assembly (SEERA) are to be abolished, the Government has said. Most of SEERA’s powers will be transferred to the regional development agency (RDA), SEEDA, by 2010. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Source: Brighton Business website, various dates
Mixed Signals about UK Economy
Recent CBI figures for the last three months suggest that increasing interest rates have had an impact on the leisure, personal care and travel sectors. The survey of 144 companies attributed poor sales in these sectors to a combination of rising interest rates, poor weather and higher household bills. However, other sectors such as professional services to businesses, such as law, fared well.
The manufacturing sector is also buoyant. A survey of 866 manufacturers by the EEF and Grant Thornton shows that UK manufacturers have recorded their best performance for more than 10 years. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Source: BBC online, 3rd September 2007
Longer Hours in Work
Research by the employment law firm, Peninsula, shows that people are spending on average half a day longer in the office than five years ago, and a day longer than 10 years ago. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Source: HR Look website, 31st August 2007
Housing to Reflect South East Economic Success
The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) has welcomed the increased housing figures in the Government’s panel of inspectors’ report on the draft South East Plan, as a key step in ensuring the region achieves its ambition of sustainable prosperity. SEEDA ‘s Chief Executive, Pam Alexander, has emphasised their belief that targeted investment in the region’s infrastructure will support the region’s continued economic success and is essential to free up development sites for employment and housing.
SEEDA also warmly welcomed the Panel’s recommendations that forecasts of economic growth and labour supply should be key determinants of levels of future housing provision in the South East.
Source: SEEDA website, 28th August 2007
Careers Guidance is Key to a Country’s Prosperity and Competitiveness
Over 100 delegates from around the world will emphasise that careers guidance needs to be placed at the heart of education, social and employment policy at the UK’s first International Symposium on Career Development & Public Policy in Aviemore on October 22-25. The symposium, organised by Careers Scotland, will welcome delegates from over 30 countries including developing nations such as Botswana, India and Egypt.
"A skilled, employed workforce is essential to a country's prosperity and competitiveness. Careers guidance plays an important role in shaping people's working lives and ensuring they have the skills, attitudes and self-confidence to succeed in today's competitive global market. Over the last few years, understanding of the role career guidance can play has moved up the policy agenda and the size of the symposium is testimony to that growing interest.” Said Vivienne Brown, Head of Policy & Strategy at Careers Scotland
Research has shown that careers guidance can lead to higher levels of employment, greater attainment, higher wages and improved motivation at work.
Source: www.onrec.com; HR Look website, 31st August 2007
Play Hard and You’ll Work Harder
Taking part in non-work activity with colleagues is the way to boost productivity and individuals' pay packets according to new research. Getting together with colleagues outside of the office can make a difference to the UK’s tough business environment. It is estimated that this boost could be worth 14% a year, or in financial terms it is predicted that the additional output generated by the positive effect of non-work-related activity with colleagues could be worth around £163 billion for 2007.
The research also suggests that non-work activity with colleagues can increase salaries and help careers flourish with 15% of respondents believing good relations beyond the office helped them achieve a promotion.
Source: www.national-lottery.co.uk; HR Look website, 31st August 2007
Increasing Demand for Customer Relations Training
Two thirds of organisations are experiencing a growing demand for customer service training. 64% of senior human resource executives report a rising demand for customer relations or customer service training, while just 24% indicate no increase.
“There's an awareness that employees in various functions aren't sufficiently responsive or attuned to customers,” said Novations Vice President Peter Ambrozaitis. “More employers are extending customer relations training beyond the traditional sales or call centre areas into other departments such as product development or fulfilment.”
Source: www.onrec.com; HR Look Website, 31st August 2007
SME’s Suffer at the Expense of Poorly Educated School Leavers
Poor educational attainment is having a negative effect on the productivity of small businesses, a new report warns.
The report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) warns that small firms are having to train staff in the basics themselves instead of being able to rely on their school education. According to the FSB, levels of basic skills amongst school leavers are continuing to slip, meaning that very few school leavers are in a position to contribute immediately as they start their new job. The basic skills that a business needs from a school leaver is literacy, numeracy and the ability to communicate well, but according to the research one in ten small firms report problems finding these basic skills in their applicants.
Source: www.freshbusinessthinking.com; HR Look, 31st August 2007
Volunteering and Charitable Donations are Growing in Popularity
A national survey has found that more and more people are likely to volunteer or give money to charity. ‘Helping Out: A National Survey of Volunteering and Charitable Giving’ found that more than half of people in England had both volunteered and donated to charity in the last twelve months, and over 80% had given to charity within the last four weeks.
The study of 2,705 people in England revealed that the most common reasons for volunteering were 'to improve things or help people' (53%), 'because the cause was important' (41%) or 'because they had spare time' (41%).
Source: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk, 5th September 2007
£2 Billion Investment for Jobs and Skills
The Work and Pensions Minister Mike O'Brien has welcomed a £2 billion investment in jobs and skills in England over the next seven years from the European Union. All regions of England will benefit from funding for a range of activities including job search advice and support, confidence building, basic skills and vocational qualifications.
Mike O'Brien said: "The new European Social Fund programme will support our aim to achieve full employment. It will complement our national initiatives by funding additional opportunities for people who are most disadvantaged in the labour market.”
The European Social Fund programme will target unemployed people, disabled people, lone parents, older workers, ethnic minorities, low skilled people, and young people not in education, employment or training.
Source: www.dwp.gov.uk, 4th September 2007
Possibility of Job Losses in The City
Following turmoil in the markets, thousands of jobs could be lost in the City of London, economists have warned. Jonathan Said from the Centre for Economics and Business Research has said up to 5,000 of the 340,000 financial service jobs in the City could go. After a long period of expansion and profit growth, problems have surfaced in recent weeks causing upheaval in financial markets. However for some it is not all bad news, as volatility in markets can be beneficial for the very good financial institutions. City bonuses which hit a record £8.8bn last year are expected to fall according to Mr Said.
News of declines in City bonuses is not good for many London based firms selling luxury items such as sports cars and multi-million pound properties.
Source: BBC online, 22nd August 2007
Minimum Leave for UK Workforce
From 1st October 2007, the legal minimum holiday entitlement of four weeks, including bank holidays, will rise by 4 days to 24 days. Employers can make a payment in lieu of the additional holiday above four weeks until April 2009, when there will be a further increase to 28 days overall. The increase will be pro-rata for part-time workers.
However, the increase still leaves the UK at the bottom of the league for holiday entitlement in the EU. According to the Incomes Data Services the UK still falls well behind all other EU countries, which range from 28-29 days in the Netherlands to 39.5 days in Denmark. Click here to go through to our website for further details.
Source: BBC online, 13th August 2007
Two Year High for House Prices
Government figures released last month show that the housing market raced ahead in June, with annual price growth running at its highest levels for more than two years. In the last twelve months until June, property prices rose by 12.1 per cent, the largest annual jump since March 2005. The average cost of houses in the UK now stands at £214,222 after the increase, which contrasts with other indexes which had suggested the housing market was slowing down as a result of higher interest rates. In London, prices rose by 17.5 per cent in the 12 months up to the end of June, the highest increase since January 2003, whilst the South East figure stood at 10.7 per cent.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has attributed the June gains to a 2.4 per cent rise in the average price of a flat during the month, and the cost OF a bungalow rose by 2.3 per cent. First- time buyers are now paying £164,755 to get themselves onto the property ladder, which is 12.4 per cent more than a year ago.
Source: Evening Standard, 13th August 2007
Graduates Rate Training Higher Than Salary
In a recent web poll by accountants Ernst and Young, some 44% of respondents rated training and development higher than their salary. Graduates were asked what the most important factors for their first graduate job, just 18% of respondents placed salary top of the list. Ernst and Young havE said those most likely to have responded to the web survey are graduates with accountancy degrees and vocational experience.
After training, salary and benefits came in second place in the poll, followed by work/life balance and reputation of the business. Another recent survey uncovers the competition for graduate jobs, with an average of 30 applicants for every graduate vacancy.
Source: BBC online, 22nd August 2007
Stress From Frantic Email Checking
With targets, deadlines and getting to work on time all contributing to stress levels for many workers, e-mail stress has been added to the bunch. Workers are said to be checking their emails up to 40 times an hour, and being swamped under the neverending supply of messages to their inbox. New research suggests staff are left feeling tired, frustrated and unproductive as a result of the continuous stream of incoming mail and the pressure to respond quickly to emails.
Research by academics from Glasgow and Paisley universities found people check their emails more often than they own up to: 35 per cent of participants in the study said they checked their emails every 15 minutes, but monitoring equipment said it was often more frequent. Around 34% of participants felt ‘stressed’ by the sheer volume of emails they received and felt they had an obligation to reply quickly. It was also discovered that women felt more pressured than men to respond to emails quickly. Those likely to be worst affected by an over burden of emails were workers in creative jobs, or in work requiring long periods of concentration to get important projects completed, including academics, writers, journalists and architects.
Source: Evening Standard, 13th August 2007
Baby Bobbies on the Beat
Thames Valley Police has recruited two 16 year olds as police community support officers. The pair will join foot patrols at the police station, and will have the authority to detain and question suspects. The 16 year olds are too young to join the regular police force, but there is no minimum age for PCSOs. News of the recruits has triggered a row over public safety, and fears of ‘policing on the cheap’. Other forces have insisted they would not employ PCSOs under the age of 18. However, 16 year olds can be hired at the Chief Officer’s discretion. The new bobbies will have a string of powers including the ability to stop and search under terror laws and issue penalty notices for disorder. Whilst the youths cannot drink alcohol legally themselves, they will be required to confiscate alcohol from under 18s. It was also pointed out by one Federation official that the pair cannot deal with cinema disturbances if it is a film of certificate 18. The police service insisted the recruits were taken on board as they had the necessary skills for the job.
The recruitments are the latest development in the ongoing controversy surrounding PCSOs, who have been dubbed Blunkett’s Bobbies in reference to the Home Secretary who created them, are now being named Blunkett’s Babies. There are claims full-time officers are being replaced with cheaper PCSOs, in a bid to save money. However sources have indicated the force is under huge government pressure over the recruitment of PCSOs. Across the country other forces have stated they would not employ PCSOs under 18 years, although Humberside Police did admit to having a 17 year old PCSO.
Source: Evening Standard, 13th August 2007
Wage Wars for Beauty and the Beast
A recent study suggests the more attractive you are the more you earn. Not only are attractive men and women more popular and successful, but salaries can vary up to 15 per cent between the best and worst looking. The depressing truth is that there is an assumption attractive people are more helpful and cooperative than their ugly counterparts. The results come after three groups were rated according to general perceptions of physical attractiveness during an experimental investment game. 38 per cent of attractive participants were considered to look helpful, contrasting to 18 per cent of participants of ‘average attractiveness’ and just 5 per cent of unattractive. However when attractive people do not pull their weight at work their looks actually count against them.
Source: Evening Standard, 13th August 2007
Launch of Employability Skills Programme
A joint initiative has been launched by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS), Jobcentre Plus and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to help people back into work. The Employability Skills Programme aims to give low-skilled unemployed people access to flexible training. The programme will help improve people’s skills to find a job and to progress at work, which will improve their life chances. In turn this will contribute to a reduction in child poverty and increase social mobility. The programme has been developed to meet the needs of Jobcentre Plus customers, and can lead to an Employability Award.
Source: GNN, 1st August 2007
Pensions Act Gives Boost for Women and Carers
Thanks to the Pensions Act 2007, women and carers have received a huge boost. Reforms to the state pension system which have received Royal Assent mean many women on low incomes could receive an extra £50 a week by 2050 from the state pension.
At present to achieve a full Basic State Pension, women and men must contribute 39 and 44 years respectively. However when the new system comes into play from April 2010, this will be lowered to 30 for men and women. By 2046 the Act will have gradually increased the State Pension Age to 68 for men and women. Not only will the Act come as a boost for women and carers, but it will also re-link the Basic State Pension with earnings from 2012, or by the end of the next Parliament, and provides for a simpler flat rate state pension.
Source: GNN, 26th July 2007
Is The Government Failing The Elderly?
Around two thirds of older people believe the government are not doing enough to combat ageism, according to a survey by Help the Aged. Many of the1,321 over 60’s questioned wanted an outright ban on age discrimination, with others saying they faced a daily barrage of incidents of ageism.
Help the Aged has recently launched its Just Equal Treatment campaign to put ageism on equal footing with racism and sexism. The charity is calling for the Single Equality Bill to include a ban on age discrimination to cover the provision of goods, facilities and services.
Last year ageism at work for people under 65 was outlawed. However, the Government’s Discrimination Law Review is consulting on whether further steps are necessary. Help the Aged presented 450 responses to the Government’s Discrimination Law Review earlier this month.
Source: BBC online, 3rd September 2007
Free Fruit Scheme Proves Successful
A government scheme offering free fruit and vegetables to school children has substantially helped more pupils eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, according to research by the National Foundation of Educational Research. However, unfortunately fewer children eating packed lunches met the five-a-day target.
The School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme (SFVS) entitles all four to six-year old children in state infant, primary and special schools to a free piece of fruit or vegetable each day. The study found that 32% of children were eating five portions of fruit and vegetables in 2004, compared with 44% of children in the 2006 study.
Source: BBC online, 3rd September 2007
‘Good’ Childcare Places Have Declined
According to a report by Ofsted, there has been a 4% drop in the proportion of childcare settings in England judged to be good or outstanding.
The education watchdog labelled 4% of childminders, nurseries and crèches as "inadequate", with weaknesses such as an insufficient range of toys and activities, lack of regular observation or poor staff training.
The Ofsted report named ‘Getting on Well: Enjoying, Achieving and Contributing’, follows a study from Durham University which suggested Government initiatives in early years have done nothing to improve the educational standards of those entering primary school.
The report found that childcare was rated as "satisfactory" or better in 96% of settings and Ofsted has estimated that of the estimated 500,000 children cared for in the settings inspected this year, 285,000 were receiving "good" or "outstanding" care.
Source: BBC online, 28th August 2007
Children Proud of Parental Employment
Research has shown that children not only like their parents working but are proud of what they do. The research by Jobcentre Plus asked pupils in nearly 500 primary schools how they felt about their parents having jobs.
Some 46 per cent of those asked said they actually liked their parents going to work, and almost a third were proud that their parents worked. Children from both one and two parent families were polled for the survey, which revealed that on the whole working parents successfully find quality time to spend with their children. Children mentioned numerous examples of activities they did with their parents, including 50% playing indoor games and 48% playing outside or riding a bike. Just 7% of children felt their parents did not have time for them as a result of work and most recognised their parents had to work (55%) as they needed the money. Parents’ efforts were recognised the most by the older children surveyed; the 9-11 year age group were the most likely to say they were proud of their parents working.
Source: GNN, 14th August 2007
FE Staff Voice Their Opinions
The Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning (QIA) in a recent study of FE staff, found that there is increasing optimism amongst the further education sector.
Staff took part in the survey at the QIA summer conference to have their say about what they feel are the most important and pressing matters are for the new secretary of state. Ahead of the introduction of the Framework for Excellence, the introduction of diplomas and developments in the 14-19 education reform agenda, 41% of staff surveyed were more confident with the continuing success of the system compared with 12 months ago.
Top priorities for FE staff were improvements to continuing professional development (CPD), better evaluation of learner success and the drive to self-regulation. Established by the government in April 2006, the QIA aims to speed up quality improvement, increase participation and raise standards and achievement in the FE sector.
Source: LSC Research newsletter, 13th August 2007
