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17 May 2010 School Exams A message for: The next Education SecretaryThe next Education Secretary

I have just supervised AQA exam 'Preparation for a working life'. The 1.5 hr exam went as follows: After 30 mins some 20% of students had completed the paper. After 45 mins some 50% of students had finished. After 60 mins some 95% had finished. After a further 5 mins the entire body of some 200 students had completed the paper. So here we had 200 students, 11 invigilators, and 1 teacher for a period of not less than 25 mins being totally unproductive apart from satisfying some state controlled examination authority. This behaviour was more or less standard for the half dozen exams I have had privilege to supervise. This occurred at a well-regarded state school. What a travesty waste of a nations effort for this scenario to be repeated throughout the whole country for every exam taken! What an example to students bearing in mind the title of the paper? Why ever not reduce the time of the exam, or better still, extend the paper to fill the time so that the most able students are better identified for further encouragement, and recognize those students who do infact need extra help? Paul Christchurch
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14 May 2010 Early Years Education A message for: Michael GoveMichael Gove

I read with interest the change of name from DCSF to The Deparemtn for Education. As a provider of Early Years Education for many years I am delighted to see a common sense approach hopefully coming back into our profession. The last few years of endless changes and interference have left our worforce disollusioned and with very low morale. I await with interest the 'next steps' in the education of our youngest children and the self esteem of practitioners raised to the highest level given the importance of the profession they are in. Yours truly Mollie Orton. Mollie Burbage, Leic.
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13 May 2010 Truancy/Exclusion A message for: Michael GoveMichael Gove

Dear Mr Grove, As Chair of Governors of a Federation. truancy and exclusion seems to me as ripping of the tax payer. It costs approximately £29 per day per child for education and if for any inexcuseable reason they do not attend school this money is ineffect lost. I propose, as with the student lone, at least the cost of this missed time is run as an account against the child with a monthly statement sent out to the offenders. I believe that not all parents are liable for their child's non-attendance, but where it is clear this is happening it should also apply to them. The soft touch does not work with many, and with the loss of corporal punishment nothing has been put in to replace it. When they are not at school what is the saying ' The devil makes work for idol hands'. Regards Philip Smye-Rumsby Philip Dover
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13 May 2010 Education reform A message for: Michael GoveMichael Gove

Dear Michael Gove, Having experienced two very different secondary schools, I have seen two very different views on how children should be educated however, despite both school's having these different views no school can escape the constraints of our current National Curriculum. How children are currently tested needs to be challenged and changed. With a new leader, the time I believe is now. Many examinations at GCSE and A level are testing skills on memory rather than student's understanding of material. With teachers also recognising this problem, teachers are putting to much emphasis on what children are learning rather than how they are learning it. As a result, children often leave school unable to critically think. I therefore believe, by changing the current curriculum so that students can be tested in a number of different ways from assessment in vocational learning, projects, examinations we can broaden the minds of young people and bring learning to life. With flexibility in the curriculum, this can also allow teachers the flexibility to teach students their knowledge past examination requirements. Many teachers are currently teaching to the test rather than teaching what they know which is a shame as many have so much more to share with students that goes way beyond the curriculum. I also believe that critical thinking programmes need to be placed in schools to avoid this concrete thinking style which is so problematic in children at the moment. This concrete thinking i'm afraid in my oppinion is due to the rigidness in the curriculum and teachers teaching to the test in order to get students through their examinations. By taking more focus off examinations and looking at more closely how children are tested and taught will provide beneficial effects for the future generation. I do stress however, that we must remember examinations are important. The way in which questions are worded in exams are often very closed and does not test student's abilities to link certain elements of their course together. Therefore, the structure of examinations should be addressed. I believe more philosophical questions should also be used. I passionately believe that time for education reform is now. Kind regards, Rebecca Knight Hertfordshire University Psychology Student. Rebecca Hertfordshire
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09 May 2010 laptops A message for: Ed BallsEd Balls

I live in castleford, west yorks and I am disgusted by labours policy to provide laptops and internet access for children of parents that are unemployed. What about the children with parents who are working and working hard, but are unable to afford the luxury of a laptop. These are obviously the ones who are going to be DEPRIVED. It seams to me as if you are better off NOT working, to be able to get anything today. sandra castleford
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08 May 2010 corruption and unfair recruitment in kirklees and bradford A message for: The next Education SecretaryThe next Education Secretary

I am an aspiring headteacher and have become disillusioned by the corruption in local education authorities. please investigate the corruption with the kirklees and bradford authorities because young deputy heads like myself are being threatened turned away because of ethnicity and for being outspoken and challenging unprofessional conduct. jobs are already earmarked and decisions are being inflenced by school improvement partners. I would like to make a difference at a wider level but I am being gagged!! need a solution to this corruption because the future of our children is being ruined by incompetant and corrupt individuals. Rizwana Bradford
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08 May 2010 Education A message for: Michael GoveMichael Gove

I admire your strong stance on education and desperately hope you can bring the much needed change. I am a big fan and love how you keep your cool in discussions with over excitable colleagues in other parties. Shannon Spalding
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02 May 2010 sats boycote A message for: Ed BallsEd Balls

i live in leeds and im disgusted to how much pressure as been put on my child 4 these sats well if thes sats doint take place on the 10 of may a number of us are concidering our own boycot and just remember this is all ur heads doing the school my child attends is hollybush primary leeds 13 in bramley most of the kids are not doing the after school classes that nows in protest u carnt put pressur on then change it all these kids are stressing enuff as it is sort it or we protest with the tv crew involved cordelia leeds
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25 April 2010 Education needs changing A message for: Ed BallsEd Balls

Labour got it sooooooo wrong in the last 13 years. Now listen to the Edge and you might start to get it right. http://www.edge.co.uk/haveyoursay William READING
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22 April 2010 Aspergers A message for: Ed BallsEd Balls

As parents with a child with aspergers/ dyslexia have discovered that education is a let down for these kids, they are punished expelled and ignored, because of teachers lack of knowledge, in our opinion giving the head teachers control will cause a world war, you can not punish a child for a condition they didnt choose to have, a lot of kids are lagging behind it seems to us the academic students get nurtured and un academic are left to sink as a result these kids start being disruptive some aggressive which leads to being expelled. Help needs to circulated around the country provisions and more services need to be implemented, we know you are helping Ed and you have our full support. Deborah Cornwall
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