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15 Most Recent Press Articles
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Written by LDEA on Thu 18th Mar 2010
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Written by Wendy Scott on Sat 12th Jan 2008
Convinced by arguments about the value of investing in early education, day care and family support, the government has done a great deal to expand provision for young children since it came to power in 1997. It is essential that this is sustained and developed so that potential benefits are realised. Improving all services to match that of the best is vital, but there are worrying signs that quality of provision is being levelled down rather than up.
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Written by Peter Downes and published in PETER DOWNES was a modern languages teacher before becoming a headteacher in 1975. He was President of SHA in 1994-95 and President of the Association for Language Learning in 1999-2000. He is now a Lib Dem County Councillor in Cambridgeshire. Information on this project is offered on a personal basis and is not party policy. Those who wish to know more can contact Peter at: peter.downes@cambridgeshire.gov.uk; tel: 01480 398082. on Sat 12th Jan 2008
From 2010 the government wants all primary children to be learning a foreign language. This sounds like a good idea in theory - children learn more easily when they are young - but the practical implementation is riddled with problems. Secondary schools draw their pupils from a range of primary schools. This makes continuity from primary to secondary extremely difficult to manage. One solution would be for the government to require all children to start the same language at 7 and this would probably be French. That may have been appropriate 50 years ago but certainly not in today's world.
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Written by Paul Porgess and published in PAUL PORGESS is a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Stockport, and a member of the Children and Young People`s Scrutiny Commitee on Sat 12th Jan 2008
Stockport is highly polarised; it has parts that are very deprived and other parts affluent, but with pockets of deprivation. Although school performance overall is very good, there are pockets of underachievement.
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Written by Patricia Bamford and published in PATRICIA BAMFORD is a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Kingston-upon-Thames, and is the Executive Member for Children and Young People`s Services on Sat 12th Jan 2008
In Kingston , every Child mattered before Government introduced ECM. The Children's Trust Board provides effective leadership in a cohesive setting.
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Written by Maureen Rigg and published in MAUREEN RIGG is a Liberal Democrat Councillor in Stockton-on-Tees on Sat 12th Jan 2008
Following the 2005 local election, the chairing of scrutiny committees was taken from labour and put in the hands of opposition parties. Liberal Democrats chaired the Children & Young People Select Committee, taking the first topic as Youth Club Provision. I was very keen, as chair, to break the mould of previous scrutinies, so our first witnesses were members of the Youth Assembly, aged 14-18. They told us that Youth Clubs were very good at providing for younger people, but less good for the 14+ age group and nearly useless for the 16+ group. What they needed was somewhere to 'chill out' safely with their friends, not a place with organised activities. Some thought that providing alcohol would deter young people from drinking illegally in pubs or taking bottles into back alleys or hedge-backs. Most of them accepted that unless there was a change in the law that wouldn't happen. The committee went to visit Youth Cafés operating in nearby towns and made a recommendation that Stockton should divert some funding into this style of youth provision. The recommendation was reluctantly accepted, but when the first one opened the Labour cabinet member was very quick to accept the praise from the young people and to take the credit!
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Written by Baroness Margaret Sharp and published in MARGARET SHARP is a Liberal Demcorat spokesperson in the House of Lords on education, science and technology on Sat 12th Jan 2008
The Leitch Report, Prosperity for all in the Global Economy: World Class Skills, published last December seems to have received general approval. The Government, CBI and the unions have all welcomed the proposals and agreed that training for those over 19 needs to be 'demand led', reflecting the needs of employers. Indeed, most money for adult training is in future to be channelled via employers through the 'Train to Gain' programme which will refund them for what they spend on basic (up to NVQ Level 2) training in the hope that they will in turn recognise the value of (and pay for) further, more advanced (Levels 3 and 4) training for their employees. In addition, the employer-led Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are to have a dominant role in setting the curricula for all vocational NVQs.
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Written by Baroness Margaret Sharp and published in MARGARET SHARP is a Liberal Demcorat spokesperson in the House of Lords on education, science and technology on Sat 12th Jan 2008
September 2008 is the start date for schools and colleges to begin teaching for five of the new 14-19 Diplomas, based on the Tomlinson proposals which sought to introduce a secondary school curriculum more attuned to the needs of the general run of teenagers, many of whom find the GCSE/A level dominated curriculum too academic. Tomlinson's idea was to combine academic studies with a more practical approach so that those who learn better 'by doing' can concentrate more on the practical side while also introducing more hands-on experience, e.g. in engineering, for the more academically inclined.
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Written by John Howson and published in JOHN HOWSON is a director of Education Data Surveys and President of the Liberal Democrat Education Association. He started his teaching career in Tottenham and has been a lecturer, civil servant as well as working in the private sector. He joined the Party in 1996. on Sat 12th Jan 2008
Liberal Democrats have created some key policies for education during the past twenty years. Throughout the Major government, a 'penny on income tax' to challenge the Tories lack of spending on schools; the battle for effective early education, and free higher education for all to counter Labour's tuition and top-up fees policy. However, where do we stand today? At a time when the central ground is the key to winning in politics, and extra taxation has been ruled out, what can we offer that is distinctive on education?
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Written by Baroness Joan Walmsley and published in JOAN WALSMSLEY is LibDem spokesperson in the House of Lords on on Sat 12th Jan 2008
What does every man and woman in the street know about young offenders? I'll bet the answer is that they are very likely to "do it again", especially those who have been sent to prison for their offence. But it doesn't have to be like that. Yes, the re-offending figures are horrendous but the solution to this problem is not rocket science. It's common sense, but it costs money. However, having said that, doing nothing costs even more. We all know that it costs more to keep a child in prison than at Eaton.
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Written by James Kempton and published in James Kempton is the Leader of Islington Council on Sat 12th Jan 2008
The pupil premium marks a welcome shift in Lib Dem education policy. It contrasts with higher spending, smaller class sizes, greater teacher autonomy in the classroom, slimming down inspections. To date our policy platform has had more than a hint of defending the provider interest and of teacher knows best, which is not the sort of Liberalism I feel comfortable with.
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Written by David Laws MP and published in DAVID LAWS is the Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on Sat 12th Jan 2008
It is unacceptable to any liberal that Britain is the developed country where your life chances and income at age 30 are more influenced by your parents' background and income than in almost every other developed country. Britain is a meritocracy, but one in which the chances of acquiring "merit" are hopelessly unequal.
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Written by Colin Wilsdon and published in COLIN WILSDON has been a Councillor on West Sussex County Council since 2001 and is the Lib Dem spokesman on Children and Young People's Services. on Sat 12th Jan 2008
Liberal Democrats are in a minority on West Sussex County Council (WSCC), just 16 out of 70, though they make a contribution out of proportion to their numbers. Margaret Collins (Education Committee Chair when we controlled the county council 1993-97) recently led a task force on Short Term Breaks for Children with Special Needs. This arose from contact with a group of parents who put together a graphic account of the pressures they were under in looking after children with special needs. They did not want to give up looking after their children, though at times they were sorely tempted, but just wanted enough respite to be able carry on. The task force looked at holiday playschemes, overnight provision, and out-of-school clubs and delivered interim reports on each over a period of nearly two years. It was cross-party and it is fair to say that all members were committed to doing something to relieve this pressure. It was well received by the Children and Young People's Select Committee and its call to the Cabinet for more resources, ("invest to save"), was unanimously supported. Since then the Tory chairman of the Select Committee has been keeping up the pressure on the Cabinet Member to respond with more money with some success.
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Written by Annette Brooke MP and published in ANNETTE BROOKE is the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Children, Young People and Families on Fri 11th Jan 2008
The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) is due to come into force in September 2008 and is a single framework for care, learning and development for children in all early years settings from birth to the August after their fifth birthday.
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Written by Anne Kent and published in ANNE KENT is a County Councillor in Cambridgeshire and the Liberal Democrat Children's Spokesman on Cambridgeshire County Council on Fri 11th Jan 2008
Cambridgeshire is a varied, largely rural and rapidly growing county covering Huntingdonshire and Fenland as well as the Cambridge area. Liberal Democrats are in opposition to the Conservatives with 22 of 69 seats. Labour have 4 and struggle to take part. It is the lowest funded Local Authority, with a wide variation in education achievement, the highest traveller population in England and a good, mature relationship with schools, (local financial management was pioneered here during a LD led council). Many secondary schools are village colleges, making extended schools evolution not revolution, none are religious and we have no academies - yet. The major issues are funding and growth. The new Children's Service was created 2 years ago by merging a very highly rated education service with a poor social services one.
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