All posts tagged: chair

Oracy chair reassured it will make it into curriculum review

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More from this theme Recent articles The chair of the Oracy Commission has said he is “reassured” the issue will be “woven into” the curriculum review’s final report, after the interim document failed to mention it. Labour announced in 2023 that its curriculum and assessment review would embed “digital, oracy and life skills” in children’s learning. But campaigners for a greater emphasis on oracy were surprised when the review’s interim report, published last week, did not mention it. Geoff Barton, the former leader of the leaders’ union ASCL and chair of last year’s commission, told an event this week he had spoken to review chair Professor Becky Francis on Monday. Geoff Barton He said he was “very reassured” that oracy would be “woven into the final report”. “What she reminds me is that this is an interim report. “It’s high level. So it’s starting to say: ‘Here are the things that we’re now going to focus on’, and it takes us into the more granular bits of what I think will be in the final …

APPHG Chair welcomes provisions to tackle illegal faith schools as Children’s Bill passes to the Lords

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All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG) Chair Lizzi Collinge MP welcomed provisions in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill to end illegal faith schools and introduce a home-educated children’s register as the Bill finished its first stages in the Commons and passed to the House of Lords. But she called for the 50% cap on faith-based admissions to new state schools to be maintained, in the face of it being scrapped by the Bill. Lizzi spoke at the report stage of the Bill, welcoming the new powers it provides against illegal faith schools that would ‘[grant] Ofsted increased powers of entry and [provide] more powers to bring criminal cases against those schools and the people who run them.’ Humanists UK has led the campaign to close illegal faith schools, and the APPHG Chair recognised this in her speech laying on record her ‘thanks to Humanists UK for its work exposing the dreadful practices in illegal schools over the past decade.’ Collinge set out the dangers of illegal faith schools for the over 7,000 children and young …

EBacc may ‘constrain choices’, curriculum review chair says

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More from this theme Recent articles The EBacc “may constrain” pupils’ choices and “limit access to” vocational and arts subjects, Professor Becky Francis has said as she outlined areas the curriculum and assessment review panel believe “need further attention”. Francis, who is leading the government’s curriculum and assessment review, also stated that “the current construction and balance” of some subjects “appears to be “inhibiting mastery, hindering progress and undermining standards”. Despite this, she told the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference this morning the evidence shows “many aspects of the current system are working well”. “There are issues with the shape and content of the curriculum,” Francis said. “While we have a broad offer, evidence suggests there are trade-offs between breadth and depth, which can make it harder for pupils to master a subject fully.” Responses to the call for evidence, which ran from September to November, suggest “the EBacc may constrain choices, impacting students’ engagement and achievement, and limiting access to, and the time available for, vocational and arts subjects”. Less time for arts and computing At key stage …

Sir Hamid Patel appointed interim Ofsted chair

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Star Academies chief executive will lead Ofsted board after Dame Christine Ryan steps down later this year Star Academies chief executive will lead Ofsted board after Dame Christine Ryan steps down later this year More from this theme Recent articles Academy trust CEO Sir Hamid Patel has been appointed interim chair of Ofsted. Patel, who has been a member of the Ofsted board since 2019, will serve in the post until a successor is found for Dame Christine Ryan, who announced in November she would be stepping down. Ryan will leave her role at the end of March, following four-and-a-half years as chair. Patel is chief executive of Star Academies, a multi-academy trust that runs 36 primaries and secondaries in northern England, the West Midlands, and London. He will serve as interim chair of the Ofsted board for up to five months, until a new chair is appointed. Ryan announced her decision to step down as chair last year, months after a damning independent review led by former HMI chief inspector Dame Christine Gilbert broadly …

The Conversation – with chair of governors Shekeila Scarlett

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More from this theme Recent articles If you’ve read any of my previous entries for this column, you’ll know that I have a keen interest in artificial intelligence (AI) and a growing curiosity about how its evolution will shape the future of education. So when I came across Mark Anderson’s insightful LinkedIn blog, which reflects on the UK Government’s recently released AI playbook, I was excited to dive in. For some context, the AI playbook was created to help the public sector better understand the potential of AI, its limitations, and the risks it presents. It provides vital guidance on how AI technologies can be deployed responsibly and effectively, with a key focus on safeguarding security, wellbeing and public trust. In his blog, Anderson offers a balanced overview of the playbook and makes a compelling case about the need for schools to develop their own AI playbook. He suggests that schools should adopt a framework similar to the government’s playbook to ensure the responsible and beneficial use of AI in education. A central takeaway from …

Who’s Ken Martin? Supporters say the Minnesota Democrat and would-be DNC chair is ready for battle

Published by Sam

The chairman of Minnesota’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Ken Martin, has emerged as a favorite in the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee on a platform of expanding Democrats’ operations in every state and territory, contesting every election and year-round campaigning. Some of Martin’s supporters, including current and former candidates for chair, describe Martin as well-positioned to bridge the ideological divide in the Democratic Party while competently wielding and building party infrastructure. Early in the race, Martin, the president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, boasted the endorsements of well over 100 party insiders. More recently, CBS News reported that he enjoys the endorsements of some 51 state party chairs or co-chairs, including 20 whose endorsements were not previously public. “This is an opportunity to really reimagine the DNC and for me, that means really getting the DNC out of D.C.,” Martin recently told Democracy Docket. “One of the shortcomings I believe of our national party committees is that they focus almost exclusively on just one election cycle with no longer term arc to …

Lizzi Collinge MP elected as new chair of the APPHG

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Lizzi Collinge MP has been elected as the new chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Humanist Group (APPHG). Rachel Hopkins MP had to stand down as chair due to getting a government position. Following on from that, Lizzi was unanimously elected by the group. Lizzi is the new MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale. She mentioned humanism in her maiden speech in the House of Commons, saying: ‘I am a humanist. Humanists are people who shape our lives in the here and now, because we believe it is the only life we have, and what is politics if not shaping lives in the here and now? Humanists try to treat everyone we come across with warmth, understanding and respect. We believe that we humans have everything we need: logic, reason, evidence, and empathy to make good, ethical decisions.’ The APPHG is one of the oldest APPGs in Parliament and today has around 120 MPs and peers in membership from all parties. Humanists UK provides the secretariat for the Group. Labour MP Lizzi is joined as an officer …

Trump taps ex-Treasury official Miran as chair of Council of Economic Advisers

Published by Sam

Stephen Miran, who was an adviser for economic policy at the U.S. Treasury Department when Donald Trump was last in office, has been tapped by the president-elect as the chair of his Council of Economic Advisers, Trump said on Sunday. The White House Council of Economic Advisers advises the president on economic policy. This story is developing. Please check back for updates. Source link

Creationist teaching advocate appointed to chair Northern Ireland Education Authority

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Northern Ireland Humanists is deeply concerned by the recent appointment of Mervyn Storey, an advocate for teaching creationism in schools, as chair of the Education Authority. This places him at the head of the institution responsible for delivering Northern Ireland’s education services. Mervyn Storey, a member of the Free Presbyterian Church and former vice-chair of the Caleb Foundation, has a long history of promoting creationism and opposing evolutionary science in schools. Mervyn is a former MLA. As chair of the Assembly’s Education Committee, he pushed for intelligent design to be taught in classrooms and objected to evolutionary exhibits at the Ulster Museum. His record raises significant concerns about his ability to uphold the impartiality and inclusivity that education demands. Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented: ‘Mr Storey’s track record of pushing for creationism in schools raises serious concerns about his ability to lead an education system that should teach children facts, not pseudoscience. We will be writing to the Education Minister to seek reassurance that creationism will not be taught in schools as scientifically …

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All posts tagged: chair

Oracy chair reassured it will make it into curriculum review

APPHG Chair welcomes provisions to tackle illegal faith schools as Children’s Bill passes to the Lords

EBacc may ‘constrain choices’, curriculum review chair says

Sir Hamid Patel appointed interim Ofsted chair

The Conversation – with chair of governors Shekeila Scarlett

Who’s Ken Martin? Supporters say the Minnesota Democrat and would-be DNC chair is ready for battle

Lizzi Collinge MP elected as new chair of the APPHG

Trump taps ex-Treasury official Miran as chair of Council of Economic Advisers

Creationist teaching advocate appointed to chair Northern Ireland Education Authority