The 1988 Education Reform Act shook the English education landscape, creating an urgent need for professionals to stay informed, quickly, and clearly. Enter the Document Summary Service (DSS). Launched in 1989, the DSS delivered ten concise, two-page summaries of key education reports every month (except August). Packaged in boxes, they were sent to subscriber’s addresses. These reports were pulled from heavyweights like the Department for Education, Ofsted, Sutton Trust, and Ofqual. Subscribers included universities, schools, governors, inspectors, and local authorities.
Category: Education
In conversation with: BERA Undergraduate Award Winner 2024, Em Quinton
We spoke with Em Quinton, a BSc Psychology in Education graduate, who recently won the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Undergraduate Award 2024.
She told us all about how she ended up studying at the School of Education (which was not initially her plan A!), her favourite modules and her first reaction to receiving the prestigious award from BERA this summer.
Why did you want to study for a BSc Psychology in Education degree at the University of Bristol?
In the very beginning, I actually wanted to study neuroscience. Covid meant I couldn’t take my A-Levels, so I sort of happily fell into the course. I was desperate to be in Bristol, and wanted to do something psychology-related. It turned out that Psychology in Education was far, far better suited to my skills and interests than my original plan would have been, so I’m glad I carried on with my plan B!
South West Anti-Racist Education Forum
On 28th June, UWE hosted the third annual South West Anti-racist Education Forum (SWAREF), an event organised in partnership between UWE and the University of Bristol. The 2024 SWAREF aimed to build on the previous two events in 2023 and 2022 and provide informative and participatory sessions on issues which local practitioners have identified as priorities: student voice, racial literacy, safeguarding, refugee education and sharing current anti-racist projects and research. The takeaway from the day, described by an attendee, is that education practitioners should be ‘explicitly and actively anti-racist’. (more…)
Nearly half of children born in Wales in 2002-03 classed as having special educational needs – this may have negatively affected their attainment
Cathryn Knight, University of Bristol and Emily Lowthian, Swansea University
Nearly half of people born in Wales in 2002-03 were classed as having special educational needs (Sen), our new research has indicated, raising questions about the system used to diagnose a generation of Welsh children.
Our report for the Nuffield Foundation found that 48% of this group, who are now aged 20 to 22, were identified as having Sen at some point before they turned 17. In some cases, this may have negatively affected their educational outcomes.
Pandemic disruptions meant complete data was only available for this year group. However, we also identified several factors that made some children born in Wales between 2002 and 2008 more likely to receive a Sen diagnosis – including being a boy, being born in summer, and being on free school meals.
Our findings suggest children from these groups may have been over-identified (and those not in these groups potentially under-identified). A new system for identifying educational needs was introduced in Wales in 2020, and the number of children being diagnosed has since fallen significantly – it was 20% lower in the year after the new system began. (more…)
King’s speech 2024: experts explain new government’s plans for workers’ rights, rail nationalisation, education, and more
The king’s speech has been delivered, marking the state opening of parliament (technically, this was the first king’s speech with a Labour government in 74 years). The speech was written by Keir Starmer’s government, not the king, and lays out the government’s agenda for the coming year. Here, a team of The Conversation’s academic experts break down the key policies most likely to have a direct impact on people’s lives.
Read the rest of our expert reactions to the government’s plans for political reform here. (more…)
If the government is serious about tackling child poverty, it should extend free school meals
Will Baker, University of Bristol
The government has created a new ministerial taskforce for its child poverty strategy, led by Work and Pensions secretary Liz Kendall and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. It is urgently needed: 4.3 million children in the UK are living in poverty.
The government has already committed to making sure free breakfast clubs are available in all primary schools in England.
We know that having a good breakfast at school can help improve child behaviour and readiness to learn, and helps children achieve more at school. The introduction of breakfast clubs for all primary school children is welcome – but this cannot be the limit of the government’s ambitions if it is serious about tackling child poverty and dealing with its consequences. Extending free school meals in England would be a powerful step here. (more…)
International Women’s Day 2023: Digital rights are women’s rights- no ifs, no buts!
Blog by Chidinma Ibemere, M.Sc. Education Leadership and Policy, University of Bristol, UN Women UK Delegate for CSW67 for International Women’s Day 2023
At the core of the first official celebration of the International Women’s Day by the United Nations in 1975, was the quest and the mandate to advance women’s rights everywhere, at all times. It is unfortunate that 48 years down the line, the menace, gender inequality, still thrives in various forms and dimensions across the intersections of life.
As overwhelming as this situation may seem, it is important that all hands must be on deck to ensure gender equality becomes a reality in our time. (more…)
Anti-racism in education: promoting racial equity and building a global anti-racist movement
Blog by Jáfia Naftali Câmara School of Education, University of Bristol
The Transformative and Anti-racist Educational System project (SETA) secured US$10 million from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to enable transformative long-term changes to Brazil’s systems and institutions that sustain racial inequities. ActionAid has developed SETA in collaboration with a coalition of civil society organisations: Ação Educativa, Brazil’s leading NGO working in education, culture and youth rights; A Campanha Nacional pelo Direito à Educação, the widest educational collective in Brazil, including student and community groups; CONAQ, a national Quilombola movement advocating for their specific educational needs and challenging inequality and barriers to land access; Geledés-Black Woman Institute, focuses on defending Black women’s rights and challenging traditionally white and male-dominated education spaces; Makira-E’ta, a leading Indigenous Women’s Network supporting Indigenous women’s rights and UNEafro Brasil, which convenes young people, teachers, activists and researchers around themes of antiracism, the right to education, community leadership and the fight against all types of discrimination. The SETA project aims to spark an intergenerational dialogue on racism and education and mobilise a global network on racial justice in education.
Global Dialogue: Reflections as a student participant
Blog by Emily Hui Sein Yue (Elim), Master of Education (MEd)(Comparative and Global Studies in Education and Development)student, Faculty of Education, the University of Hong Kong.
I first participated in the Going Global Project in 2019, going on to be a facilitator. In this article, I share my experiences and thoughts about the value of the dialogue meetings that I have been involved in. (more…)
Cultural shocks and surprises as a UoB MSc Education international student
My name is Emmanuella Henshaw and I am a 2021 Commonwealth shared scholar at the University of Bristol. I am studying for an MSc in Education (Policy and International Development).
In September 2021, I began my studies at the School of Education. In this article I will be sharing my academic shocks I have experienced studying at University of Bristol. (more…)