Cribsheet daily: 21.01.11

The fight to save EMAs goes on, and should the government move towards a single teaching qualification?

MPs haven't given up the fight on EMAs

The House of Commons Education committee is to hold an inquiry into the impact of EMAs.

The committee seeks submissions on what impact the education maintenance allowance has had on the participation, attendance, achievement and welfare of young people and how effective the discretionary learner support fund in replacing it will be and what preparations are required for providers and local authorities, for the gradual raising of the participation age to 18 years and what is their current state of readiness.

Schools and colleges should pass on their comments by 2 March 2011.

Should the government move towards a single teaching qualification?

Should FE lecturers be allowed to teach in schools? Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman thinks they should, and he argued the case in parliament this week [scroll down to 4pm if you are hitting the link, Hansard lists debates according to the time of day]. Sheerman said there is "an artificial chasm between those that teach in further education and those who teach in schools", he thinks this is important because our current four-tiered qualification system for teaching staff doesn't recognise "the importance of vocational and practical education". He told MPs that at present FE teachers can be employed in schools only as a matter of "last resort", whereas primary school teachers with the QTLS certificate can teach at FE level. He urged the government to "look to overcome the obstacles and create a single teaching qualification, effectively moving the barriers that constrain the best use of FE lecturers."

More education news and comment from the Guardian

• Give me the facts: Michael Gove says an academic education will best equip students for the 'knowledge industries of the future', as teachers condemn plans as elitist and outdated

• Gove's approach to history is contradictory: the education secretary says he's non-prescripive, yet he wants to set out the "essential knowledge" pupils should acquire, says Colin Jones

• Scrapping the EMA and cutting the young adrift: As youth unemployment hits an all-time high, this government will regret scrapping the the EMA and the Future Jobs Fund, says David Blanchflower

• Gove, like Stalin, wants to tell us what history to study. Well, let me tell him: From Canute to Thatcher, Britain is rich in stories of wisdom and folly. If only politicians could learn from others' mistakes, says Simon Jenkins

• What do you think about teachers? No, don't tell me, please, don't tell me: Parties are full of people talking about what's wrong with our schools. If only I could resist rising to their bait…

Education news from around the web

• Headteacher says sorry after convincing pupils as young as five that world war three had started, reports the Mirror. Children were shown footage of the blitz and told that London was currently under attack,

"Teachers then led them to a cellar when an air raid siren sounded and a firework was let off to simulate a bomb. ... Mr Richards, head of St Mary's RC Primary School in Bacup, Lancs, said: We saw advice from schools that basically suggested we introduced the topic as if it was really happening. Unfortunately we made it too real. The bulk of the boys thought it was great but a few of the girls were upset and had a sleepless night. The school apologises for any distress that was caused."

• While This is Kent carries a report about Frances Fish, the primary school head teacher found guilty of altering pupils' SATS papers.

• And the Wall Street Journal is reporting that more four year olds can operate an iphone app than can tie their own shoes.

Gove's role model

• Gove names Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg as role model for pupils, reports the Independent. Gove said that the breadth of Mr Zuckerberg's education indicated that "would have done very well in our English baccalaureate" and that this:

"powerfully underlines the lesson that a rigorous academic education is the best preparation" for working life. Mr Zuckerberg, 26, studied French, Hebrew, Latin and Ancient Greek, then went on to take a maths degree. The rounded education had helped him on to a path where he eventually earned billions."

Science project: Stargazing

The Campaign to Protect Rural England and the British Astronomical Association's Campaign for Dark Skies are calling for "citizen scientists" to take part in Star Count Week. Between Monday 31 January and Sunday 6 February 2011 star gazers will be asked to count the number of stars they can see within the constellation of Orion. The results will help create a Star Count map, illustrating how light pollution is affecting the view of the night sky across the UK. Five local councils have already taken action and altered street lighting to reduce light pollution in their areas.

Participants can choose any night between Monday 31 January and Sunday 6 February but the sky must be clear, with no haze or clouds, so there is the best chance of seeing stars. It is recommended that observations are made after 7pm so the sky is sufficiently dark.
Organisers are asking people to count stars within the constellation of Orion in the southern night sky - the same direction that household satellite dishes face. The main area of the constellation is bounded by four bright stars. The star count should not include these four corner stars - only those within this rectangular boundary - but do include the stars in the middle known as Orion's three-star belt.

Further details of the Star Count Week and instructions on how to take part can be found here.

Competition

Children aged between seven and 14 can now enter the Young Human Rights reporter of the year competition, run by learnnewsdesk, the Guardian's online news service for schools, and Amnesty International. A winner and two runners-up in the primary and secondary school categories will win a trip to Amnesty International and the Guardian headquarters in London as well as an MP3 recorder. The closing date for entries is 14 February.