More Successful Prosecutions For Truancy

Three more parents have been prosecuted for failing to ensure their children attend Thomas Clarkson Community College in Wisbech.

All three pleaded guilty to the charges at Peterborough Magistrates' Court. One was given a 6-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge, while the other two were each given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

The prosecutions were brought by Cambridgeshire County Council.

Education welfare officers, who are conducting regular truancy sweeps in the area, thanked local shops and supermarkets for their support.

Thomas Clarkson Community College Vice-Principal David Gray said: "Children need to go to school.  The courts play an important role in ensuring parents take their responsibilities regarding school attendance, seriously.  Schools work closely with parents to help them do their best but sadly in some cases court action like this is necessary in the best interests of our young people."

Huppert Backs TV Chef To Ensure Academies Don't Serve Junk Food

Television celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver’s fight to get the government to make sure new academies and free schools don’t serve junk food to their pupils has been backed by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert.

Julian raised the issue with Education Minister, Michael Gove after he received a letter from Jamie and an email from a resident both expressing their concerns.

He has also signed a Commons’ Early Day Motion welcoming Jamie’s campaign and calling on Mr Gove to change the law to make academies and free schools serve food that meets nutritional regulations.

Julian said: “It is vital that our children receive good, nutritional meals, not only to promote healthy living now but also to teach them how to eat well for the future.

“We have children across the country who are obese because of poor diets and lack of exercise. We cannot afford to take any chances that this problem will be compounded by poor nutritional standards in our schools when we have introduced laws to protect against it.

“All schools teaching our children should be bound by the regulations put in place to safeguard the health of pupils in their care; there should be no exceptions.”

Mr Gove told Julian: “Free schools and new academies which have been set up from September 2010 are not required to comply with the school food standards.

“Studies by the School Food Trust now provide good evidence of the benefits of a balanced meal on pupils’ concentration, behaviour and ability to learn. Given this evidence we expect that free schools and academies will still want to promote healthy eating and good nutrition through the provision of high quality lunch services.

“We have asked the School Food Trust to survey the quality of food in a sample of academies in response to concerns raised by Jamie Oliver and we expect the trust to report to us within the next few months.”

The full wording of the EDM is as follows:

That this House recognises the impact of unhealthy eating and obesity on children's health and well-being; expresses its concern that academies and free schools opened since September 2010 are not required to adhere to the mandatory standards for school food; welcomes the joint Jamie Oliver Children's Food Campaign, Food for Life Partnership, LACA and School Food Matters Save Our School Food Standards campaign; and calls on the Secretary of State to amend the Education (Nutritional Standards and Requirements for School Food) (England) Regulations 2007 to require academies and free schools to adhere to the standards for school food so that the one million children now attending these schools can benefit from this commitment to their health and well-being.

Huppert Pushes Government To Put Life-Saving On School Timetables

Julian at the Westminster
launch of the Red Cross
campaign

MP Julian Huppert joined forces with a leading national charity today (Tuesday, May 15) to push the government to include life-saving skills on school timetables.

Julian and members of the British Heart Foundation met Education Minister, Nick Gibb following the charity’s high profile campaign for emergency life support to be taught in biology lessons.

The meeting came after Julian led on an open letter signed by 44 MPs to Education Minister, Michael Gove last month calling for schoolchildren to be taught CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

And he visited the British Heart Foundation shop in Cambridge’s Burleigh Street in January to support the campaign.

Julian has also give his backing to a similar campaign, Pupil, Citizen, Lifesaver being run by the Red Cross which was launched in Westminster last week with politicians, pupils and teachers.

“Teaching our children basic life-saving skills would put hundreds of thousands of potential lifesavers out on the streets every year,” said Julian, who used to volunteer with Cambridge’s St John Ambulance.

“We made a strong case to Nick Gibb for including life saving skills on the National Curriculum and he took on board the huge benefits that it could bring to society as a whole.

“Only a handful of primary schools offer this teaching at the moment. Putting it on school timetables across the country would mean that the next generation would be equipped to tackle an emergency situation calmly and efficiently and more lives could be saved as a result.”  

Nick Clegg: A Deal With Teachers (Guest Post)

For me, nothing better illustrates the Liberal Democrat mission to make Britain a fairer place than our Pupil Premium: extra money for the most disadvantaged children in our schools.

We are letting schools decide the best way to spend this money.  I want to strike a deal with our schools and teachers: we’ll give you the cash, the freedom, and we’ll reward and celebrate your success.  But in return, we want you to redouble your efforts to close the gap between your poorer pupils and everyone else.  We won’t be telling you what to do; but we will be watching what you achieve.

Click here To View Video

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto.  And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.
 
Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,

Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

More Pupils Offered School Places Of Their Choice

Cllr Andy Pellew

The vast majority of children in Cambridgeshire will be starting Reception in September in their first choice primary school, according to new figures.

A total of 91.57% of children applying for a place in Reception this September by the deadline have been allocated a place at their first choice school. This is an increase on last year's 90.6%.

A further 6.06% have been offered a place at their second or third choice primary school, while fewer than 2.5% could not be offered any of their preferences.

This increase has been achieved by Cambridgeshire County Council's Admissions Team, despite the continuing pressure on primary school places throughout the county.

These latest figures come after it was revealed that 94.7% of students had been offered a place at their first choice secondary school in September; a rise of 5.3% on the previous year. A further 3.45% were offered a place at their second or third choice, while just 1.85% could not be offered any of their preferences.

A total of 6704 children requested places at Cambridgeshire primary schools this year, with 5715 applying for secondary school. The number of applications made online also increased.

Local County Councillor Andy Pellew said: "It's a credit to the hard work the County Councils' Admissions Team have put in that this years numbers show such an improvement over the previous year especially given the emerging demographic pressures across the County and specifically here in Cambridge City".

Huppert Welcomes Extra £12.5M For County’s Schools

Cllr Peter Downes

An extra £12.5 million of government funding for Cambridgeshire schools has been welcomed by Cambridge MP Julian Huppert.

The money is designed to relieve the pressure on school places and comes after Julian joined MPs from across the county to campaign for extra funding, raising the issue in the House of Commons.

He received a promise from Education Minister, Michael Gove to review the county’s grant funding and the latest investment is part of an additional £600 million for schools across England this year. It comes on top of the £800 million already announced for 2012-13 to address the shortage in pupil places.

Julian said “This extra money is good news and will so some way to addressing the massive shortfall in funding for schools across Cambridge and the county as a whole.

“I am pleased that we are putting money into schools; they have been neglected by previous governments for far too long. Educating our children must be one of our top priorities but we cannot give them the schooling they need and deserve without investment.

“Our schools have been near the bottom of the pile compared to other local authorities across the country and while this payment helps with school buildings, we are still millions of pounds short of the national average for what we can spend on our pupils. There is no room for complacency here.”

Liberal Democrat Peter Downes, Cambridgeshire County Council's Shadow Cabinet Member for Education said: "I am pleased that Cambridgeshire's plight is finally being recognised by the government.

“There is a growing demand for school places across the country and this county in particular, but until now there has never been the money to address this problem. Finally we have a government which is taking this issue seriously and I hope the coalition will continue to build on this and give Cambridgeshire schools the money they need.”

Huge Boost for King's Hedges Schools!

Cambridge MP Julian Huppert

The government has today announced an extra £12.5 million to fund extra school places across Cambridgeshire. This is part of a £600 million fund to ensure that all children have access to a school place.

Julian Huppert, Member of Parliament for Cambridge, said "this new money represents a massive win for schools across Cambridgeshire. For too long central government has ignored the need for new places in growing regions such as ours.

Today's announcement, along with the Liberal Democrat pupil premium, will give schools the funding they so desperately need to make sure that every child in Cambridgeshire, no matter what their circumstances, will be given a fair start in life."

Longstanding School Governor Vacancies Across Cambridgeshire

The link below is the document provided to County Councillors with the list of all vacancies for Local Authority Governors in Primary and Secondary Schools across Cambridgeshire.

February 2012 Governor Vacancies

Governor Vacancies are advertised quite widely and if you're interested in becoming a Governor of a School please visit Cambridgeshire Governors website;

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/education/governors/becoming/

And complete the "Register an Interest" form and send it off.

There is also lots of other information related to being a School Governor on the website which is well worth a read if you have time!

Summer Schools Fund Promises Benefit For City's Poorest Pupils

Cambridge MP Julian Huppert

Cambridge head teachers are being urged by MP Julian Huppert to help their most disadvantaged pupils by taking advantage of the government’s £50 million Summer Schools Fund.

Applications for the fund, which was launched last September by Liberal Democrat leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, opened yesterday (Thursday, March 1).

It is designed to help disadvantaged pupils nationally, including more than 8,000 across Cambridgeshire, to make the transition from primary to secondary school.

Julian said: “I hope Cambridge head teachers will apply for this funding to run summer schools for disadvantaged youngsters across the city who will be moving on to secondary education this autumn.

“This money could help pupils by giving extra support in English and maths or provide wider activities such as music and sport or trips to theatres and museums.

“I am delighted that the coalition government has been able to target education funding in this way. It is clearly understood that youngsters from poorer backgrounds struggle at school. Some go on to secondary education with low literacy and numeracy skills.

“The Liberal Democrat-led Summer Schools Fund and the Pupil Premium will help to address some of these issues by giving disadvantaged young people the help they need and deserve to succeed.”  

Cambridge head teachers applying for the funding will be able to design and run their summer schools, targeting pupils who will benefit the most.

Huppert Fights For Better Education For Disadvantaged Youngsters

MP Julian Huppert has struck out in Parliament for better education for youngsters from poorer families.

He wants more help for pupils in receipt of free school meals and those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds to reach their full potential.

Julian spoke out during Questions in the House of Commons yesterday (Monday, February 20) saying that the new director of the Office of Fair Access, Professor Les Ebdon had a great deal of work to do to balance improved access and high standards.

And he paid tribute to Cambridge’s three “excellent universities” saying it was a privilege to represent them.

Julian asked Business Secretary, Vince Cable: “Will my right honorable friend assure me that Professor Ebdon will get full governmental support in his role, particularly from the Department of Education, because far too many pupils, particularly those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and those who receive free school meals, are still not given the chance to reach their full potential while they are at school?”

Dr Cable acknowledged that the problem is frequently found in schools and he said that the Lib Dem’s Pupil Premium, which provides schools with money to help youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds, will raise standards.

Later Julian said: “It is vital that we have a level playing field so that no child is disadvantaged because of his or her background.

“We must do everything we can to ensure that standards are high in our schools for every child and that every young person has a chance to access the top universities.

“Unfortunately, at the moment schools are not doing enough to encourage youngsters from black and ethnic minority backgrounds to apply for the top universities and that needs to change.”

The full text of Julian’s question reads: “I have the privilege of representing three excellent universities. Clearly, the head of OFFA has a lot of work to do to balance improved access and high standards. Will my right honorable friend assure me that Professor Ebdon will get full governmental support in his role, particularly from the Department of Education, because far too many pupils, particularly those from black and ethnic minority backgrounds and those who receive free school meals, are still not given the chance to reach their full potential while they are at school?

Children With Special Needs Miss Out As Academies Cash In

Schools converting to academies in Cambridgeshire have been cashing in at the expense of pupils who need extra help because of their special needs.

The Children and Young People's Scrutiny panel has been told that services will be reduced for disabled children, for young people in care and for those with special needs.

An officer report said that “services will be spread more thinly” and “lower levels of need will not  receive support”. There will also be a reduction in specialist teachers who support primary age children with special needs and a cut in family support packages.

These cuts are necessary because the government is making a general reduction in funding to local authorities but also because the county's budget has been top-sliced by £3.1 million pounds to give extra funding to the new academies.

“This is desperately unfair,” said Lib Dem Education spokesman, Peter Downes. “Surely it is wrong to be moving funding away from those who need it most in order to give extra funding to those who need it least. The way the extra money has been allocated to academies has given them far more than they need to replace the services they are no longer getting from the council.”

At the Scrutiny Panel, Cllr Downes challenged Cllr Harty, Cabinet Member for Education, to approach the academies to give back some of their extra cash to reduce the service cuts.

“'If we are 'all in this together', now is the time for some altruism from the academies,” said Cllr Downes.

Notes for editor:

There are currently 32 academies in Cambridgeshire. Since they became academies, they will have received by March 2013, on top of their normal funding, an extra £13.8 million pounds to enable them to buy in the services they no longer get from Cambridgeshire County Council. Most estimates are that this about three times more than they need.

Lib Dems Pledge To Maintain School Buildings And Improve Energy Efficiency

In their alternative Cambridgeshire County Council budget, the Lib Dems have set aside £10 million over the next five years to maintain and improve the buildings of the 200 schools for which the council is still responsible.

“The council has a school maintenance backlog of over £20 million”, said Lib Dem Education Spokesman, Peter Downes. “We would increase the investment in making schools fit for purpose and we would give priority to maintenance work that would improve energy efficiency.

“This is a win-win situation. The school would reduce its expenditure on energy, thus releasing more funds for teaching, and the county would have to pay less in carbon tax.'

Central government has cut back drastically on the funding it makes available directly to school for capital improvements in order to fund its other schemes, such as the creation of 'free schools'.

“The government has got its priorities wrong and we must do what we can at a local level to redress the balance,” said Kilian Bourke, Lib Dem Group Leader.

Lib Dems Bid To Solve Poor Exam Record For Disadvantaged Pupils

Cambridgeshire has one of the lowest records in the country for helping pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds achieve their full potential.

The county comes 12th from the bottom in league tables for achieving five A* to C grades in GCSEs including English and Maths; only 25 per cent of the pupils on free school meals achieve these targets.

In a bid to close the national performance gap, Liberal Democrat Children's Minister has allocated an extra £600 per Free School Meals child, the Pupil Premium.

With this money schools will be able to support children from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing extra one-to-one tuition, more teaching assistants or after-school activities.

This year, the amount available nationally for the Pupil Premium will be doubled to £1.25bn and this will increase to £2.5bn by 2014-15.

Peter Downes, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson and former secondary school headteacher, said: “The gap between those who do really well and those who don’t is too great. Unfortunately, how wealthy your parents are has been a deciding factor in a child’s chances for too long.”

Cllr Downes, who represents Brampton and Kimbolton on Cambridgeshire County Council added: “As a Liberal Democrat, I believe we cannot let this continue and that is why we must help children reach their full potential. In the Cambridgeshire Liberal Democrats’ budget amendment we propose to enhance the Pupil Premium by £250 per pupil in the eight most deprived schools in the county.”

Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, Sarah Teather said: “These figures reveal that children from deprived backgrounds have been let down by previous governments. All too often, children from disadvantaged backgrounds do not get the same opportunities as their more well-off peers, leaving their talents wasted.

“As a Liberal Democrat, I believe we have a duty to ensure we turn this shocking legacy of the last Labour Government around. That is why the Coalition Government is doing the right thing by giving schools extra money to focus on supporting these pupils.”

Free Cycle Safety Training For Thousands Of Cambridgeshire Youngsters

Cllr Pellew at a Bikeability event
at the Grove Primary School in
King's Hedges

A bid for government funding and reductions in spending elsewhere will mean that thousands of Cambridgeshire youngsters will get free cycle safety training thanks to the County Council.

The spending savings which have resulted in an extra £10,000 boost from the County Council budget and the grant from DfT will see 4,000 training places during 2012/13, 4,500 the next year and 5,000 the following year - a total of 13,500 youngsters who will receive the training in primary schools at no cost - currently the training costs £15 a head.

The Bikeability training grant bid of £540,000 will be used by the County Council to provide the road safety education sessions which will be delivered in partnership with School Games Organiser Host Schools (formally known as School Sports Partnerships).

Cambridgeshire County Councillor for King's Hedges Andy Pellew said "It's fantastic news that the County Council has finally recognised the folly of charging youngsters for this sort of necessary training. It was always very frustrating that despite being in receipt of Government money the Conservative-Controlled County Council had decided to place a charge and it's good to see it going from the start of the next academic year."

"Given the importance of Cycling to the general health and well-being of youngsters not to mention the nett benefit to removing school-run cars from the roads I look forward to as many youngsters as possible benefiting from this change of heart as quickly as possible."

During the last 12 months for which figures are available, 355 pedal cycle casualties were reported on Cambridgeshire's roads.

Cambridgeshire County Council pioneered on-road practical cycle training for 10/11 year olds, during the late 1970s, which eventually became the benchmark for all such schemes nationally. Since then the County has trained thousands of children every year.

The County Council will receive a Bikeability payment retrospectively from DfT for every young person who undergoes the training and the free training sessions will be introduced from the beginning of the next academic year.

Primary School Applications - One Week To Go!

Just a quick reminder; if you have a child born between 1st September 2007 and 31st August 2008 that they need to apply to the school they wish their child to attend from September 2012. The deadline for applications is the 15th January (next Sunday).


The process can be completed online at www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions or by returning a paper form, which can be obtained from any primary school and returned to the Admissions Team at Cambridgeshire County Council.

Alternatively you can pick up the form from either King's Hedges Primary or the Grove.

Primary School Applications

The County Council is currently reminding parents across Cambridgeshire who have a child born between 1st September 2007 and 31st August 2008 that they need to apply to the school they wish their child to attend from September 2012.

The application process opened on the 14th November and parents have the choice of returning a paper form (which can be obtained from The Grove, King's Hedges Primary School, of in fact any Primary School) or applying online via the Counties website;

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions

The completed form needs to be received by the Admission Team before 15th January.

Applications received after that date will be dealt with last which could mean some children will not only not receive a place at one of their preferred schools but they might not even get a place in the school in the catchment area in which they live.

Huppert’s Victory As Government Gives Extra £10m For Schools

MP Julian Huppert is celebrating victory after today’s (Thursday, November 3) announcement by the government that it will be giving Cambridgeshire schools an extra £10.2 million.

Julian had been pushing for more money for the county’s schools which are among the lowest funded in the country.

He joined MPs from across the county to campaign for extra funding and raised the issue in the House of Commons.

In February, Education Minister, Michael Gove promised Julian a review the county’s grant allocation – and today he announced the county would be among 100 benefiting from an extra £500 million to provide more school places.

Julian said: “This is good news for Cambridge and Cambridgeshire as a whole.

“It goes some way to addressing the major shortfall in funding which puts the county’s schools near the bottom of the pile compared to other local authorities across the country. Even with this payment, however, the county is still £25 million short of the national average and we cannot afford to be complacent.  

“But in allocating this money, the Minister has recognised that our region is experiencing rapid growth and that we are facing a severe shortage of school places in the city and across the county. It’s a start in giving our children the education they so rightly deserve.

“The fight is far from over, however, and I will continue until Cambridgeshire is put on a par with the rest of the country and receives the money from government to which it is entitled.”

Liberal Democrat Peter Downes, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Shadow Cabinet Member for Education said: “I am pleased that Cambridgeshire’s plight has been recognised by the government and it has been chosen to receive this extra money.

“Our schools have suffered from years of under-funding by successive governments and finally steps are being taken to address that.

“I hope that the coalition will build on this and allocate Cambridgeshire schools the money they need to meet the growing demand for places across the county.”

Councillor’s Victory As Lords Back Campaign To Help Students

A Cambridgeshire County Councillor’s campaign to get a fairer deal for part-time university students under the government’s education loans scheme cleared another hurdle last night (Tuesday, November 1).

In the House of Lords, the government agreed with the Liberal Democrat amendment for the move, clearing the way for it to be written into the government’s Education Bill and become law. It was then also supported cross-party in the Lords.

Dr Belinda Brooks-Gordon teamed up with former Cambridgeshire County Council Liberal Democrat leader, Baroness Sal Brinton, to make sure part-time students were not discriminated under the scheme.

From 2012 eligible part-time students will be able to borrow the full cost of their tuition fees for the first time. Students become eligible to start making repayments four years after they begin their studies instead of the three years originally planned by the government.

“I am absolutely delighted,” said Cllr Brooks-Gordon. “The Lords have supported this move which gives part-time students the same rights as enjoyed by their full-time counterparts.

“This will make such a huge difference to those people struggling to get a university education against a backdrop of financial hardship. These are the very people that we need to help and this change will make it possible.”

Cllr Brooks-Gordon and Baroness Brinton were both mature students at Cambridge’s Churchill College and fully admit what without support they would have struggled to achieve their qualifications.

“I was determined that part-time students, many of whom are single parents, mature students or disabled, should not be discriminated against in the loans system” said Dr Brooks-Gordon, a Reader at Birkbeck, University of London and past tutor at the Open University.

Part-time students make up 40 per cent of undergraduates and Cambridge is national hotspot for part-time students including Anglia Ruskin, the Open University, and Cambridge University."

Baroness Brinton said: "It was clear when I made the case repeatedly in the House of Lords that the Government’s original proposal was bizarre and illogical.

“The Lords and now the government have backed our proposals and cleared the way for these changes to become law. That will bring a great deal of relief to many part-time students and hopefully encourage others to embark on courses that might otherwise have been completely out of reach.”

Secondary School Application Deadline Approaches

Parents of children due to start secondary school in September 2012 are being reminded that the relevant forms must be completed and submitted by the end of this month.

The Secondary Application Form - and Supplementary Information Form if required - must be submitted to Cambridgeshire County Council by 31 October 2011.

Information and guidance about how to apply for a place is available in the Next Steps - Admission to Secondary School: a guide for parents 2012 - 2013 leaflet. This publication is available from Cambridgeshire County Council's website at: www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions, where parents will also be able to access the online application facility, or download a paper copy of the Secondary Application Form

If parents submit their applications late, there is a real risk that their child will not offered a place at one of their preferred schools, as other children's applications (those received by the 31 October deadline) will be processed ahead of theirs.

For further information, e-mail admissions@cambridgeshire.gov.uk or log onto the County Council's website at:

www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/admissions

Pupil Premium Brings More Money Into King's Hedges

Today figures have been released by central government for the amount of pupil premium each school is to receive. The total figure for each school is based on the number of Free-School-Meals pupils the school has enrolled.

King's Hedges schools will receive the following amounts;

• The Manor £52,704
• King's Hedges Primary School £55,632
• The Grove £27,328

The total amount for King's Hedges is £135,664.

As Chair of Governors of the Manor this is fantastic news for the school and for the local community. King's Hedges contains some of the areas in Cambridgeshire with the highest levels of deprivation. Any extra money that helps our local schools invest more in the future of our children the more benefit, both in terms of higher achievement and - critically - aspiration, that we will see.