Dean Associates

Welcome to Dean Associates's March newsletter, with an update of the leading stories in UK education.

Conservatives to expand academies if they win power

With the polls narrowing, the Conservative party is starting to put some flesh on the bones of its education policy.

A recent announcement has promised that they will look to push for hundreds of new schools to become "academies" by removing the need for consent from the local council.

The current government brought in the academy programme, allowing secondary schools autonomy in management although still receiving state funding. Businesses, charities and universities have all been involved in backing academies across England.

The Association of School and College Leaders has accused the Tories of wanting to create "corner-shop" that will fragment the schooling market and leave the poorest struggling.

793,000 school places available

Official figures published last week have shown that there are 793,000 empty seats in secondary and primary schools across England.

Critics of the government have stated that this is an indication of the uneven quality of the state school system that turns many parents from their local schools. The Labour party insists that it is working hard to bring down the surplus places, recognising that they are a waste of resources in tightening times.


The end to free Scottish university tuition?

The Scottish government has indicated that the introduction of tuition fees may well be a possibility in the future.

The Scottish education secretary has stated that university tuition fees will not be introduced during the current administration. However, it was admitted that university funding would come under pressure in the next few years and that there would need to be a review of this position.

In England and Wales, a full review of tuition fees - currently £3240 - is being undertaken by Lord Browne. Findings will be published later this year.

Currently, university education is free to all Scottish students who meet the eligibility criteria.

Class sizes on the up?

One in eight primary school children is being taught in a class with more than 30 pupils and over 200 primary schools in the UK regularly teach children classes of more than 40.

Although the government introduced legislation in 1997 to limit the size of infant classes - Reception through to Year 2 - class sizes have been creeping upwards since 2000.

It is generally agreed that large class sizes make it harder for teachers to keep order and also allows less support for weaker pupils.

Government diplomas too easy

The new diploma qualification - introduced by the government to meld academic and vocational work - is not stretching the brightest pupils.

There are 14 diploma subjects currently available - for example, engineering, creative and media studies and IT - and they are intended to be an alternative to A Levels for 16 to 18 years olds.

Recently, a study revealed that a student applying to a university with a diploma would need an additional qualification - for example an A Level - to make them competitive.

Childcare vouchers reprieved

A happy ending for a previous story. The government has dropped plans to phase out tax relief on childcare vouchers for working parents. Instead, the Government will allow tax relief on all basic rate tax, only removing the ability to claim on higher rate tax.

The vouchers offer parents substantial savings on the cost of childcare by allowing them to exchange part of their gross salary for the vouchers. The exchanged salary is exempt of income tax and national insurance. The move to basic rate tax means that parents will save just over 30% on the first £240 spent on childcare each month.