Student Loans Company 'spied on vulnerable students' social media'

August 2, 2018, 6:21 am

≫ Next: The government is failing students who are estranged from their families | Becca Bland

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Exclusive: Support workers say estranged students lost funding despite no finding of guilt of fraud

The Student Loans Company (SLC) has been accused of spying on the social media accounts of vulnerable students as part of an anti-fraud drive that resulted in some losing funding and dropping out of university despite no finding of guilt against them.

SLC made a random selection of 150 estranged students, part of a group recognised as vulnerable because they have no relationship with their parents and tend to be financially disadvantaged, and asked them to provide evidence that they no longer had contact with their families.

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The government is failing students who are estranged from their families | Becca Bland

August 2, 2018, 8:51 am

≫ Next: 'They hadn’t eaten all day': food banks tackle holiday hunger

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A fraud investigation has left students estranged from their families in extreme poverty. We need an understanding system

For many of us, the idea of not having a family to depend on is unimaginable.
But for some young adults studying at university, this is their everyday reality. The struggles they face go beyond lacking support and unconditional love – they can be penalised by the student loan system for their estrangement.

The size of the student loan given to young adults aged 18-24 is based on the household income of their biological or adoptive parents. Although it doesn’t make this explicit, the government expects parents to top up the loan. Yet there is no legal statute for young adults to claim the finance it is expected they should receive from family. This places them at the mercy of familial goodwill to provide it.

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'They hadn’t eaten all day': food banks tackle holiday hunger

August 2, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Food banks appeal for help to feed children during school holidays

≪ Previous: The government is failing students who are estranged from their families | Becca Bland

Gap in school meals provision means demand spikes during summer just as donations dry up

Food banks appeal for help to feed children during school holidays

It was around January this year that Sid Taylor first began to notice that children attending the youth club where he worked in Salford were going hungry. “They’d tell us they hadn’t eaten all day and we realised that it was a need in the local area,” he said.

Staff at the club, in Little Hulton, started offering the children eggs or beans on toast, often paying for it out of their own pocket. “I got my slow cooker out and started making stews and they loved it,” said Taylor. “I realised we were getting them to eat really healthy things, things 12-year-olds would normally turn up their noses at.”

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Food banks appeal for help to feed children during school holidays

August 2, 2018, 10:01 pm

≫ Next: The spying accusations are a new low for the Student Loan Company | Dawn Foster

≪ Previous: 'They hadn’t eaten all day': food banks tackle holiday hunger

Trussell Trust raises alarm about shortage of donations

‘They hadn’t eaten all day’: food banks tackle holiday hunger

Calls have been made for the public to donate to their local food bank during the summer holidays owing to increasing demand from families who rely on free school meals during term time.

The Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity, said an increase in food bank use over the summer was driven by a rise in demand by children, as it released figures from its network of more than 420 food banks across the country.

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The spying accusations are a new low for the Student Loan Company | Dawn Foster

August 3, 2018, 8:27 am

≫ Next: Britain’s economics students are dangerously poorly educated

≪ Previous: Food banks appeal for help to feed children during school holidays

If you’re a student who is estranged from your parents, the last thing you need is the SLC making a fragile situation even worse

Heading off to university offers many students their first taste of adult life: their first adult relationships, the trials of flatsharing, budgeting, managing workloads, as well as drinking to excess and failing to adequately feed themselves. But for some it’s not as simple as mere growing pains: the university culture and student finance system can entrench existing inequalities at every step, with students from wealthy backgrounds able to rent superior accommodation, while students from less affluent backgrounds struggle with money, and students estranged from their families are left without accommodation during the holidays. As if that wasn’t bad enough, now the Student Loan Company has been accused to have been spying on vulnerable students.

A number of students who reported estrangement from their parents when applying for student finance reportedly had their social media monitored, with staff at the SLC searching for proof that the students had disproved their claims by made contact with their parents to disprove their claims. Several students had their loan payments stopped and then some are said to have dropped out of university despite no findings of fraud against them.

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Britain’s economics students are dangerously poorly educated

August 4, 2018, 9:00 am

≫ Next: No Etonians in the cabinet? How will we ever cope? | Jess Phillips

≪ Previous: The spying accusations are a new low for the Student Loan Company | Dawn Foster

Universities that only train young people to be City analysts leave us unable to learn from the past or predict the future

Last year the chief economist at the Bank of England, Andy Haldane, gave a fear-inducing speech that warned of Armageddon in the jobs market. Robots threatened 15 million UK jobs, he said.

This dystopian picture of busy machines and queues of jobless Britons was replaced this month by a rosier view from PwC, which made the opposite claim: robots and artificial intelligence could create as many jobs as they destroy, which happens to be around 7 million.

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No Etonians in the cabinet? How will we ever cope? | Jess Phillips

August 4, 2018, 10:00 am

≫ Next: Geography a force for broadening the mind, says Michael Palin

≪ Previous: Britain’s economics students are dangerously poorly educated

The school has created more than its fair share of leaders. But look where that’s got us

Charles Moore wrote an article last week about the historic over-representation of Etonians in government. It was headlined: “With Etonians shunned in the modern cabinet, where will the new talent come from?”

Oh how we laughed, the sad bitter laugh of a broken system. Here are some of the places I would rather pull talent from over Eton: my local Harvester, the inpatients of my local maternity ward, my brother’s Narcotics Anonymous group. Also I’d like to speak up for the fellow I met yesterday at Heathrow who piled so many bags on to a trolley and drove it masterfully through a crowd of angry, tired travellers without even a furrowed brow. Put him in charge of the trains.

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Geography a force for broadening the mind, says Michael Palin

August 5, 2018, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: Hospital admissions for teenage girls who self-harm nearly double

≪ Previous: No Etonians in the cabinet? How will we ever cope? | Jess Phillips

Comedian and broadcaster praises rise in geography entries at GCSE and A-level

The comedian and television presenter Michael Palin has praised the study of geography as a force for broadening the mind as fresh figures show a spike in take-up for the subject at schools in England.

The man behind travel shows including Around the World in 80 Days, Pole to Pole and Full Circle says studying geography is key to understanding the world and “helping us to realise that we all share the same planet”.

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Hospital admissions for teenage girls who self-harm nearly double

August 5, 2018, 4:19 pm

≫ Next: UK economy 'could benefit from more going to university'

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School work and social media blamed for rise to 13,500 patients from 7,300 in 1997

The number of girls under the age of 18 being treated in hospital in England after self-harming has nearly doubled compared with 20 years ago, according to NHS figures.

The figure reached 13,463 last year against 7,327 in 1997. In comparison, the figure for admissions of boys who self-harmed rose from 2,236 in 1997 to 2,332 in 2017.

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UK economy 'could benefit from more going to university'

August 5, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: Restore grant system for poor students, urges Russell Group chief

≪ Previous: Hospital admissions for teenage girls who self-harm nearly double

Universities UK says educating people of all ages would help to meet economic challenges

The UK economy could benefit from more people of all ages attending university, a report has concluded.

It also suggests the advance of automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and digital technology, as well as the challenges of Brexit and an ageing population are creating greater demand for those with qualifications above level 4.

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Restore grant system for poor students, urges Russell Group chief

August 6, 2018, 1:06 am

≫ Next: UK schools and tech industry urged to foster education revolution

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Group recommends ‘living wage’ grant for students eligible for free school meals to allay debt fears

Ministers must reinstate maintenance grants for poor students wanting to go to university, the head of the group representing the leading universities has urged.

UK students from low-income families were awarded up to £3,387 a year until 2016 and the restoration of the grant system would make a “substantial difference” to people who were “nervous” about student debt, according to Tim Bradshaw, the chief executive of the Russell Group.

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UK schools and tech industry urged to foster education revolution

August 6, 2018, 4:01 pm

≫ Next: Sex and special needs: Why new schools guidance must embrace pupils with learning difficulties

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Education secretary wants UK and Silicon Valley firms to help put tech at heart of classrooms

Tech companies in the UK and abroad, including Apple and Microsoft, have been urged to help foster an education revolution by putting technology at the heart of the classroom.

The education secretary, Damian Hinds, said only a minority of schools and colleges were taking advantage of opportunities to bring education to life by, for instance, enabling children to take virtual trips through the Amazon or to control robots.

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Sex and special needs: Why new schools guidance must embrace pupils with learning difficulties

August 6, 2018, 11:30 pm

≫ Next: Let’s not pile even more pressure on teens over their A-level results | Nick Hillman

≪ Previous: UK schools and tech industry urged to foster education revolution

Many schools are denying sex education to vulnerable young people who need it most

There’s a coffee-morning atmosphere in the classroom at Oak Field School, Nottingham, as teacher Tom Hall sits with six teenage boys, offering stories, encouragement and light relief. This is a sex education lesson. Laminated “OK/Not OK” cards are scattered around the table which, along with illustrations of sexual anatomy, show actions such as “touch,” “cuddle,” “masturbation”. The boys do not smirk or titter, but point and sign: it is OK to cuddle your sister; it is not OK to kiss your friends.

“Is it OK at your age to have a boyfriend or girlfriend?” Hall asks. James, 16, says yes, with vigour, but something is playing on his mind: “Can you get married twice?” he asks. “You mean at the same time?” James nods. “No,” Hall smiles, “That might be a risky business.” It’s a lesson in love learned sooner rather than later.

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Let’s not pile even more pressure on teens over their A-level results | Nick Hillman

August 6, 2018, 11:45 pm

≫ Next: The Islamic school that ensures its boys understand the Israeli point of view

≪ Previous: Sex and special needs: Why new schools guidance must embrace pupils with learning difficulties

A surge in unconditional university offers has caused an uproar, but making young people apply after they have their grades is not the answer

Tis the season of university admissions, as thousands of people are about to get their exam results and a greater proportion of school leavers are on their way to higher education than ever before.

The fight by universities to recruit has become more intense. In part, this arises because there are fewer school leavers. People turning 18 this year were born around the millennium, when there were 100,000 fewer babies in England and Wales than in 1990. At the same time, universities in England are free to recruit as many students as they like. In the old days, when universities A and B filled up their places, people enrolled at C or D instead. Now, the most popular universities can expand, leaving others more vulnerable. One result of this frothy market has been an explosion in unconditional offers, where a university wants a student so much it doesn’t mind what A-level results they achieve.

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The Islamic school that ensures its boys understand the Israeli point of view

August 6, 2018, 11:59 pm

≫ Next: What video games in schools can teach us about learning

≪ Previous: Let’s not pile even more pressure on teens over their A-level results | Nick Hillman

The private Abrar Academy is pioneering a groundbreaking method of teaching the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict

More than 550,000 students took GCSE history this summer, says Michael Davies, a history teacher at Lancaster Royal Grammar, a selective state boys’ school in Lancashire. “Of those, only 2,200 had studied Israel and Palestine. In comparison, 70,000 had studied the history of the American West.”

At Abrar Academy, a private Muslim boys’ school based in a former Methodist church in Preston, this year’s GCSE cohort did not take the Israel/Palestine option. Like so many schools of all dominations, they studied the first world war instead.

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What video games in schools can teach us about learning

August 7, 2018, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Why you should give your children the gift of boredom this summer | Gillian Harvey

≪ Previous: The Islamic school that ensures its boys understand the Israeli point of view

Southgate primary in West Sussex is one of many British schools bringing games into the classroom, with staff seeing benefits for parents as well as students

At the end of the summer term at Southgate primary school in Crawley, West Sussex, a class of 10-year-olds are folding together cardboard models of remote-controlled cars and decorating them with pipe cleaners, pens, googly eyes and tape, with the aim of using them to transport a biscuit across a table and into the open mouths of their teachers.

The kids are playing with Nintendo Labo, an ingenious game that comes with a box of fold-up cardboard models that turn from inert facsimiles into working toys, with the addition of a Nintendo Switch console. Snap two controllers on to a cardboard car and it judders across the table. A cardboard piano becomes a working keyboard with a screen. A cardboard fishing rod can be used to play a fishing game, attached by string to a base housing the console. They are fun to play with, but they also teach engineering principles – the software includes a child-friendly but comprehensive breakdown of how the console uses features such as vibration, infrared cameras and gyroscopes to make the models work.

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Why you should give your children the gift of boredom this summer | Gillian Harvey

August 7, 2018, 1:00 am

≫ Next: Universities staff put trips to Vegas and strip club 'on expenses'

≪ Previous: What video games in schools can teach us about learning

Left to their own devices, children grow in resilience and gain skills – including learning how to entertain themselves

Remember the summer holidays when you were at school? How you and your friends had the opportunity to learn a new sport, brush up on your maths for September or take advantage of a plethora of educational and recreational opportunities? How your parents would spend hours planning your break in order for you to get the most out of your teacher-free time?

No? Me neither. In fact, like many of my generation, I spent most of the long break wondering what on earth to do with myself. Other than 10 days in misty Cornwall, much of my summer was spent with my mum and siblings at home in Bedfordshire, complaining of boredom, getting into petty squabbles and feeling that I must be missing out on something more exciting.

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Universities staff put trips to Vegas and strip club 'on expenses'

August 7, 2018, 3:24 am

≫ Next: Scottish ministers under fire as exam results decline again

≪ Previous: Why you should give your children the gift of boredom this summer | Gillian Harvey

Employees at 54 institutions spent £204m on corporate credit cards, FoI data shows

University staff used expense accounts for luxuries including gambling trips to Las Vegas and late-night entertainment in a strip club, according to details uncovered by a freedom of information request.

Over the past two years, employees at 54 universities spent £204m on corporate credit cards to buy everything from Premier League tickets to days out at the races. Durham University spent £17m, including £2,614 at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, while Northumbria University spent £2,184 on a “corporate event” at the lapdancing club chain Spearmint Rhino.

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Scottish ministers under fire as exam results decline again

August 7, 2018, 6:26 am

≫ Next: Tokyo medical school admits changing results to exclude women

≪ Previous: Universities staff put trips to Vegas and strip club 'on expenses'

Pass rates for Highers fall for third year running as Nationals drop two percentage points

Scottish ministers have been accused of complacency after the latest school exam results showed a continuing decline in grades.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) disclosed on Tuesday that A-to-C pass rates for Highers, the main qualification for university entry, had fallen for the third year running, dropping by 0.2% year on year.

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Tokyo medical school admits changing results to exclude women

August 7, 2018, 4:39 pm

≫ Next: Student Loans Company reviews processes after 'spying' scandal

≪ Previous: Scottish ministers under fire as exam results decline again

University manipulated test scores for more than a decade to ensure more men became doctors

One of Japan’s most prestigious medical schools has admitted deliberately altering entrance exam scores for more than a decade to restrict the number of female students and ensure more men became doctors.

Tokyo Medical University manipulated all entrance exam results starting in 2006 or even earlier, according to findings released by lawyers involved in the investigation, confirming recent reports in Japanese media.

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