Higher education reform much-needed, but government must take time to get the framework right, says expert – OUT-LAW.com

‘Reforming higher education in England is both long overdue, and vitally needed to protect the sector’s hard-won reputation.’

Full story

OUT-LAW.com, 15th January 2016

Source: www.out-law.com

‘Trojan horse’ headteacher receives lifetime ban for professional misconduct – The Guardian

‘A headteacher who was accused of misconduct in the so-called Trojan horse scandal in Birmingham has been banned indefinitely from teaching after being found guilty of professional misconduct.’
Full story

The Guardian, 4th January 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Jail warning for backstreet school organisers – BBC News

Posted December 14th, 2015 in consultations, education, fines, Islam, news, prisons, school children, sentencing, standards by sally

‘Education Secretary Nicky Morgan says anyone found running an illegal backstreet school in England will face fines or a prison sentence.’

Full story

BBC News, 13th December 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Top judge leads calls to scrap mandatory daily Christian worship in UK schools – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2015 in Christianity, consultations, diversity, education, inquiries, news, school children by sally

‘Schools should no longer face a legal requirement to provide daily acts of worship of a Christian character, under radical reforms being proposed by a top-level inquiry into the place of faith in multicultural Britain.’

Full story

The Guardian, 6th December 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Call for fewer Church of England bishops in House of Lords – BBC News

‘The number of Church of England bishops who sit as peers in the House of Lords should be cut to make way for leaders of other faiths, a new report argues.’

Full story

BBC News, 7th December 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Regina (Fox and others) v Secretary of State for Education – WLR Daily

Posted November 30th, 2015 in education, examinations, law reports, local government, statutory duty by sally

Regina (Fox and others) v Secretary of State for Education [2015] EWHC 3404 (Admin); [2015] WLR (D) 481

‘The Secretary of State had erred in leaving non-religious views out of the new GCSE subject content for religious studies, which amounted to a breach of the duty to take care that information or knowledge included in the curriculum was conveyed in a pluralistic manner.’

WLR Daily, 25th November 2015

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Religious education and state impartiality – Education Law Blog

Posted November 30th, 2015 in education, examinations, local government, news, statutory duty by sally

‘In R (Fox) v Secretary of State for Education [2015] EWHC 3404 (Admin), Warby J held that guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Education was unlawful because it contained a statement (referred to in the judgment as “the Assertion”) that delivery of Religious Studies GCSE content consistent with subject content prescribed by the Secretary of State would in all cases fulfil the state’s legal obligations with regard to religious education. In fact, the judge held, relying exclusively on such GCSEs could be enough to meet those obligations but would not necessarily be so and some additional educational provision may be required.’

Full story

Education Law Blog, 27th November 2015

Source: www.education11kbw.com

‘Error of law’ in new religious studies GCSE – BBC News

Posted November 26th, 2015 in education, examinations, news by tracey

‘The education secretary made “an error of law” in leaving “non-religious world views” out of the new religious studies GCSE, the High Court has ruled.’

Full story

BBC News, 25th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

‘Trojan Horse’: Park View pupils ‘fed diet of Islam’ – BBC News

Posted November 17th, 2015 in disciplinary procedures, education, Islam, news, professional conduct, teachers by tracey

‘Teachers at the school at the centre of the “Trojan Horse” scandal fed pupils “on a diet of Islam” and isolated them from British society, a panel found. Akeel Ahmed, 41, and Inamulhaq Anwar, 34, denied stepping up religious influence in education at Park View Academy in Birmingham. But a professional conduct panel found against them.’

Full story

BBC News, 16th November 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Degrees for all new police officers under radical new plans – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 13th, 2015 in education, news, police, recruitment by tracey

‘All new police constables will be required to have a degree in policing before they can join the force, under radical new proposals. The new scheme, set out by the College of Policing, could be implemented as early as 2019 and would represent a massive shift in the academic criteria for would-be Pcs.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 12th November 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Prosecuting parents for term-time holidays – Education Law Blog

Posted November 10th, 2015 in appeals, education, fines, holidays, local government, news, parental responsibility by sally

‘We posted last month about a decision by a magistrates’ court on the Isle of Wight to throw out the prosecution of a parent for taking his child on holiday during term time. The BBC reports that the local authority has appealed and that the question is whether “the unauthorised absence of a child for seven consecutive school days on holiday… amounts to the child failing to attend the school regularly“.’

Full story

Education Law Blog, 5th November 2015

Source: www.education11kbw.com

Parents sue Government over sidelining of humanism in Religious Studies – Daily Telegraph

‘Three parents have launched a judicial review against the Government’s decision to sidelining humanism in the Religious Studies curriculum.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 8th November 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Gove admits the UK sentencing framework needs to be more sensitive, & 7 more things we learned at the 2015 Howard League AGM – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

‘Since his appointment as Justice Secretary & Lord Chancellor in May this year, the Rt Hon Michael Gove has maintained a fairly low profile. Aside from his Making Prisons Work speech in July, Mr Gove’s plans for the future of the Criminal Justice System have not been very clearly outlined. Although since his swearing in, to the delight of many, Gove has managed to overturn the previous Lord Chancellor, Chris Grayling’s ban on books for prisoners; scrapped plans to create a super youth prison; and halted massively controversial plans for the UK to undertake Saudi Arabian prison training contracts.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 6th November 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Scotland Yard’s paedophile unit: Meeting the police men and women doing the most difficult work imaginable – The Independent

‘Paul Gallagher meets the people whose job it is to identify victims, stop abuse material being shared and distributed, categorise extreme imagery ready for court and, hopefully, catch paedophiles before they find a victim ‘

Full story

The Independent, 4th October 2015

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Gove plans to give prison governors more powers to educate and reform – The Guardian

Posted October 5th, 2015 in budgets, education, news, prisons, recidivists, rehabilitation, release on licence by sally

‘Prison governors could be given greater powers to educate, punish and reform inmates under plans being considered by Michael Gove to relax the grip of Whitehall on the penal system.’

Full story

The Guardian, 3rd October 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Reading fiancee of dead cyclist accused of keeping grieving son out of school – BBC News

Posted September 29th, 2015 in education, fines, local government, news, prosecutions, school children by sally

‘The partner of a cyclist killed by a drink-driver is being prosecuted after her son missed a number of days at school following the death.’

Full story

BBC News, 28th September 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Schoolgirls need protection from forced marriage, Ofsted warned – The Guardian

‘The founder of a charity that offers helplines and refuge to women escaping from forced marriages has called on Ofsted inspectors to focus on the issue when visiting schools where girls may be at risk.’

Full story

The Guardian, 26th September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

NUS begins legal action to prevent government scrapping maintenance grants – The Guardian

Posted September 25th, 2015 in budgets, education, equality, loans, news, trade unions, universities by sally

‘The National Union of Students has begun legal action to prevent the government scrapping maintenance grants.’

Full story

The Guardian, 23rd September 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

School crime reports topped 30,000 in 2014 – BBC News

Posted September 24th, 2015 in crime, education, news, statistics, theft, violence by tracey

‘More than 30,000 alleged crimes linked to schools were reported to police in 2014, a BBC investigation has found. The figure – for England, Wales and Northern Ireland -is equivalent to 160 allegations per school day. Theft and violent crime were the most common types of offence to be reported.’

Full story

BBC News, 24th September 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Review of prison education: terms of reference – Ministry of Justice

‘A review of prison education to examine how it supports rehabilitation of different types of prison learners.’

Full press release

Ministry of Justice, 11th September 2015

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice