Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Summertime!
I can't express to you how happy I am that assignments have been handed in and exams are over! It's been one hell of a year, making some friends for life. Now I can't wait to go on holiday! Sun, sea and the boyfriend. What more could a girl ask for? Time to enjoy!!!
Friday, 25 May 2012
Freedom!
I am happier than you will ever know right now after finishing all of the assignments. One exam left and I'm ready for the summer. Two holidays with the boyf, couldn't be better. Let's just hope I've passed them all now. Bring on freedom!!!
Toy completed!
I managed to complete my ferris wheel ready to hand in last week. That's my nephews birthday present sorted mwhahaha! It looked pretty good in the end. Nice and bright for the kids. Im very happy with it, let's just hope it passes!
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Toy Progress...
My Ferris wheel is coming along swimmingly!! After making the carriages out of some green card and making tiny little benches inside them so they looked the part, I started painting two doughnut shaped plastic pieces I found in my garage which was previously on an extension cable. My dad, being an electrician and a massive hoarder already had most of the materials I needed in order to make my toy.
Monday, 14 May 2012
Further Education in Wales - Nick Bennett
Further education is typically education that is carried out after compulsory education has been completed and before higher education is started. This is anything from AS Levels, A Levels to vocational qualifications. The majority of people that are in further education are aged between 16 and 19 and can achieve their qualifications from taking a full-time or part-time course. Further education is seen as second chance education and is put in place to fulfil one’s potential. Further education colleges are independent and are run by trustees or governors. Funding of further education is provided by the Department for Education and Skills. The aim is to prepare students for working life and to support industry and also to prepare them for higher education. Colleges have a different approach to school and is not compulsory. Students attend college at their own will in order for them to further their knowledge in the world of work that they desire.
According to Colegau Cymru (2011), there are 17 further education colleges and 2 further education institutions in Wales. Some colleges specify in vocational subjects whereas others focus more on A Level subjects. Each college across Wales vary in the amount of students that choose to study there and the amount of subjects you can gain qualifications from. Problems within further education colleges arise when students remove themselves before receiving any qualifications, causing potential waste. Mergers between further education institutes happen to either create a new one or to maintain the identity of one of one of the original organisations. It is done to improve the general function of the college and has hopes that it will work better together than they have done alone. A recent merger happened in South Wales between Swansea College and Gorseinon College and became Gower College Swansea. Mergers are very expensive and are mainly done for the long-term benefits they bring. Mergers need to be well prepared in order for them to be successful. The higher the amount of students at a college, the more funding the college has. However, over the last few years funding has been stricter and has seen a massive 1.6% pay cut. Statistics from the Welsh Government website show that in 2010/2011, there were 240,370 learners at FE institutions, a reduction of 0.6% on 2009/2010. Full-time learners at FE institutions rose by 3.8% whereas part-time learning declined by 1.3% and of learning activities with known qualification levels, the proportion at level 3 rose by 3%.
The Welsh Government website states that they plan to use £750,000 to increase Welsh-medium courses in further education. The money will allow five extra colleges to join the Bilingual Champions Scheme. The aim is to increase the number of modules and courses available to learners through the medium of Welsh. Leighton Andrews says,
“Extending this scheme will develop and strengthen Welsh-medium provision in further education in line with the target set in the Welsh Government’s Welsh-medium Education Strategy. It also supports our new Welsh Language Strategy which aims to create more opportunities for people to use Welsh in every aspect of their lives.”
One of the main purposes of further education is to underpin social justice. Everyone has the right to attend further education and each one has equal opportunities regardless of race and gender. Another reason to attend further education is to support the economy. The more people learn, the more jobs there will be and the more qualifications you receive, the more economic opportunities you have.
Governing Bodies - Steve Gullick
School governing bodies work with the school to provide the best quality education that there is to offer. Anyone over the age of eighteen is eligible to become a school governor and does not need to be a parent or have any specific qualifications in order to fulfil the role. They are reappointed every four years. Depending on the size of the school, there can be as little as nine members of the governing body and as much as twenty. Governors are unpaid and work voluntarily alongside the head teacher to put in place the school’s aims and policies. Head teachers are offered a place on the governing body and are able to refuse, however most accept. This is a controversial topic as many have different views on whether or not governors should be paid. If governors were paid, they may not have a body filled with members that are passionate about what they are doing. However, as the meetings are held in their own time, some people believe that the role should not be unpaid. Governors must attend a meeting at least once each term to discuss the management of the school and should also attend school events and suitable training. A second meeting may also be held to ensure everything is looked at thoroughly. As written on the School Governors’ One Stop Shop website, the governor’s main responsibilities are:
· Ensuring accountability
· Acting as a ‘critical friend’ to the head teacher
· Monitoring and evaluating the school’s progress
· Budgetary allocation and control
· Planning for the long term future of the school
· Setting the school’s aims and values
· Appointing senior members of staff including the head teacher
Governors must have an interest in the welfare of the children and must listen to other people’s views as well as making their own judgements. There are some problems that can arise within governing bodies. As there are not any special requirements needed to become a school governor and the fact that anyone is eligible, they may not have the same views. Not all of the governors will have background knowledge in education and will just have the interest of the children at heart.
http://www.schools-search.co.uk/school-governors.php
http://www.sgoss.org.uk/read-the-facts/
http://www.newham.gov.uk/educationandlearning/schools/schoolgovernors/
PISA - Andy Reynolds
Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) was first set up in the year 2000 and is a standardised test put in place every three years worldwide in order to evaluate education systems. PISA compares the results of students from different countries to see which ones are scoring high in reading, mathematics and science. 15 year old students from partaking schools are chosen at random and are assessed. PISA is held in countries that are members of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The assessment is carried out in three year cycles and the most recent test was performed in 2012. The results of the assessment should then be used to improve teaching strategies ready for the next test. National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) manages the PISA tests within the United Kingdom.
Wales carried out the assessment for the first time in 2006 with the test mainly focussing on science. Wales scored significantly less than what they were hoping to and had plans to change that by 2009. Unfortunately this was not the case and scored even less in all three areas or reading, mathematics and science than they did in 2006. 5 points were dropped in reading, 9 points in science and a staggering 12 points in maths. Wales also scored below the OECD average in reading and mathematics in 2009. Education Minister, Leighton Andrews (2010) described the PISA tests as a “wake-up call to a complacent system” and aims to have Wales score within the top 20 schools by 2015.
In 2009, Shanghai-China, Korea and Finland scored the highest in the performance table whereas Peru, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan scored the lowest. Finland has scored within the top 3 schools each time but yet Finnish schools allocate less homework and engage the children in more creative play. It was also noticed that there are no private schools in Finland; therefore there is no ‘extra’ teaching time to be shared amongst students. Wales ranked 38th for reading, 40th for mathematics and 30th for science out of 67 countries.
So far, Leighton Andrews has put in place a statutory requirement on all qualifying teachers to be trained in literacy and numeracy and has also asked officials for initial teacher training to become a two year master course. There are many difficulties that need to be tackled in order to raise the results in the PISA tests in Wales and achieve results in the top 20 schools by 2015.
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