Blog posts in March 2012 
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The secret to boosting children's reading & writing abilities?
Sunday 25 March 2012
Categories: Education, Family Relationships, Parenting, Role Models
Once again the reading and writing abilities of our children are being questioned. According to Ofsted’s new chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw one in five children are still leaving primary school with inadequate literacy standards and will “have difficulty accessing the secondary curriculum”. In other words they will start senior school at a significant disadvantage. Sir Michael proposes to tackle the situation by raising the targets for schools. Does this make sense? Does raising...
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Heavy schoolbags risk 'deforming' our children
Wednesday 21 March 2012
The Daily Mail reported last week on a survey run by the organisation BackCare which warns that some children are carrying as much as a quarter of their body weight in their huge schoolbags. This is causing a significantly increased risk of spinal problems. Bags carried on one shoulder or the crook of the arm cause particular health risks. Schools are criticised for not allocating sufficient storage space for their pupils and parents are urged to keep an eye on the situation. Sean...
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Girls, maths and the "Cinderella attitude"
Monday 12 March 2012
Categories: Education, Media Influence, Numeracy, Role Models
I disagree entirely with Lady Conran‘s assertion that girls deliberately choose to limit their capabilities in Mathematics, believing their ‘prince charming’ will deal with that sort of thing. (The Times 8/3/12)) The standards achieved by girls at GCSE are very similar to those achieved by boys and there is no evidence that girls are more likely to dismiss the importance of mathematics than boys.
Parents and society do not help the image of the subject; the readiness of a large...
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Term-time holidays -right or wrong?
Tuesday 6 March 2012
Categories: Education, Family Relationships, Parenting
InThe Independent last week it was reported that Education Secretary Michael Gove is cracking down on parents taking their children on holiday in term time. Headteachers will no longer be able to sanction up to two weeks a year for family holidays during those periods when the school is in session and count it as ‘authorised absence’, as has been the case in the past. The article suggests that 4.5 million days of schooling are lost each year by children whose parents take them on...