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An alternative approach to helping looked-after children gain good grades

    Opinion
  • Monday, October 4, 2010
  • | CYP Now
When middle-class children fall behind at school, the parental response is often special tutoring. In London, tutoring for secondary school admission is a substantial industry, and in Birmingham almost all children being put in for grammar school tests are tutored. I'm not judging this, by the way, I was tutored (fruitlessly) for my French O-level; and we paid for extra music lessons whenever needed.

Gove gives joint working a rude jolt

    Opinion
  • Tuesday, April 6, 2010
  • | CYP Now
Michael Gove's revelation to CYP Now that a Conservative government will remove obligations on local authorities to have children's trusts in place will come as a thunderbolt for children's services, particularly in their efforts to safeguard children and enable them to thrive.

The best education begins in the home

    Opinion
  • Tuesday, October 30, 2007
  • | CYP Now
A number of issues have converged for me in recent months. There was the Rowntree report on family relationships, and the Sutton Trust report on social mobility - or rather, the shocking lack of it. The German EU presidency culminated this summer in a congress on young people and strategies for social cohesion. And, just the other weekend, Lewis Hamilton came within a point of being crowned Formula One champion in his first season. This could almost be a quiz question: what is the connection?

Sector must influence the coalition

    Opinion
  • Monday, May 17, 2010
  • | CYP Now
They say that a week is a long time in politics. Quite. As predicted in these pages for many months, the new Tory Secretary of State Michael Gove has renamed the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) as the Department for Education.

Election result prolongs uncertainty

    Opinion
  • Monday, May 10, 2010
  • | CYP Now
At the time of writing -- on the historically uncertain afternoon of Friday 7 May -- the Conservatives were about to enter into negotiations with the Liberal Democrats about helping them to form a government.

Every Child Matters faces biggest test

    Opinion
  • Monday, April 19, 2010
  • | CYP Now
The Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) pledged, in its annual report last week, to assess and build on the progress of Every Child Matters (ECM) for the next five years, as a policy priority for the coming 12 months. It is a good priority to hold, particularly given the uncertainty ahead.

Cuts could enhance joint working

    Opinion
  • Tuesday, October 6, 2009
  • | CYP Now
The party conference season is over and national politics is destined for a surreal few months in the run-up to the general election. Expect plenty more short-term children's policy announcements - some even eye- catching - as the main parties try to outmanoeuvre each other to strike a popular chord. Politics in Westminster will become increasingly sensationalised and polarised.

Never mind the inspectorate, recruit the right inspectors

    Opinion
  • Monday, April 18, 2011
  • | CYP Now
On the face of it, the education select committee's call to split Ofsted into two separate inspectorates for education and children's care would represent a further step away from services centred on the needs of the whole child. It is a trend played out in several areas through the disappearance of children's trust arrangements and local authority children's services departments.

Traveller families require mobile solutions

    Opinion
  • Tuesday, April 29, 2008
  • | CYP Now
Traveller children in the UK are among the most disadvantaged of all groups. In terms of education, Ofsted estimates up to 12,000 teenagers from Traveller families are not enrolled in school. For those who do attend, the picture is far from perfect.

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