Uk - Careers advice for seven-year-olds

News 26 10 2009: Careers advice for seven-year-olds. Primary school children are to get careers advice from the age of seven under a new scheme to encourage them to develop aspirations early on in life. Under Schools Secretary Ed Balls, primaries will offer career-related learning, as well as opportunities to experience university life and the world of work, to children aged 7-11. Mr Balls will say that a "radical change" is needed in careers advice, as it is "too late" for children to start thinking about their future at 14, when they start choosing subjects at SECONDARY SCHOOL. Careers advice will be made available through internet social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube and a dedicated online mentoring scheme, and a £10 million fund will support innovative careers education.

 

Opinion: On reading the above my thoughts quickly focused on the millions in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />Britain currently unemployed and in need of career advice somewhat more urgently however my mind then refocused on the “purpose” as to Education. In my earlier years I recall the words “General Education” being used in providing a “foundation as to standards”, meeting both social and general work needs, and where Higher Education was about specialist knowledge and training tied to Job skills in serving Employer needs. The definition of “key skills” according to the Department for Education and Employment are "generic skills which individuals need in order to be effective members of a flexible, adaptable and competitive workforce" which is a very broad statement meaning a preparedness for absolutely anything?. General education should rightly “expose” students to the skills/knowledge in use beyond School Gates however purposefulness and motivation for learning is also about Jobs to which such education be applied once successfully gained. Horses for courses and where a horse pulls the cart and not pushes it.

 

Old News

00 00 1992 National Curriculum introduced in the UK.State schools are required to adhere to it until students reach age 16. National Curriculum core subjects are: English, maths and science and foundation subjects are design and technology; information and communication technology; history; geography; modern foreign languages; music; art and design; physical education; religious education; and citizenship. After five years of secondary education, students take General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) examinations in a range of subjects. The GCSE is a single-subject examination set and marked by independent examination boards and Students usually take up to ten (there is no upper or lower limit) different subjects, including mathematics and English language.

 

12 01 2007 School leaving age raised to 18 by 2013. Brown backs move by Education Secretary Alan Johnson that 330,000 teenagers will stay on from 2013 - mandatory education until they are 18 while Sir Digby Jones, the newly- appointed skills tsar, stated there would be exemptions for under-18s who are caring for parents or relatives, and for young teenage mothers. The change will help to tackle rising youth unemployment. Mr Johnson, the Education Secretary who himself left school at 15 without any qualifications, told The Times: “It should be as unacceptable to see a 16 year-old working, with no training, no education, as it is now to see a 14-year-old..”. According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment among 16 and 17-year-olds has risen from 19.9 per cent when Labour came to power in 1997 to 25.3 per cent now. The number of unskilled jobs has dropped from some 8 million in the 1960s to some 3.5 million now. To enforce the change the Gov is considering withdrawing driving licences from teenagers who do not comply as is/was done in the Canadian province of Ontario,

 

19 07 2008 Survey 16-17yr old not employed. Researchers at the London School of Economics found that almost 18% of that age-group in England are not in employment, education or training [ termed Neets ]- compared with the Government's figure of some 7%, reported BBC Radio 4's Today programme. Minister for young people Beverley Hughes said that the number of Neets aged 16 and 17 should come down as the Government introduced the new education-leaving age of 18.

 

Secondary school teacher: Job description:A secondary school teacher teaches one or more national curriculum subjects to pupils aged 11-16, or up to 19 in schools with sixth forms.Teachers encourage, monitor and record the progress of individual pupils, and devise and tailor resources accordingly. They must also keep up to date with developments in their subject area, new resources, methods and national objectives. Teachers liaise and network with other professionals, parents and carers both informally and formally. Typical work activities include: planning, preparing and delivering lessons; marking work, giving appropriate feedback and maintaining records of pupils' progress and development; researching new topic areas, maintaining up-to-date subject knowledge and then devising and writing new curriculum materials; selecting and using a range of different learning resources and equipment; undertaking pastoral duties, such as taking on the role of form tutor, and supporting pupils on an individual basis through academic or personal difficulties; preparing pupils for qualifications including external examinations and administering and invigilating them; managing pupil behaviour in the classroom and on school premises, and applying appropriate and effective measures in cases of misbehaviour; supervising and supporting the work of teaching assistants, trainee teachers and newly qualified teachers (NQTs); participating in and organising extracurricular activities, such as outings, social activities and sporting events; participating in departmental meetings, parents' evenings and whole school training events; liaising with other professionals, such as learning mentors, careers advisers, educational psychologists and education welfare officers;  undergoing regular observations and participating in regular in-service training (INSET) as part of continuing professional development (CPD); in 'middle schools', which take children aged eight or nine to 12 or 13, teaching the primary or secondary curriculum appropriate to the age of the children.

 

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Students usually transfer from primary school straight to secondary school at age 11.

Education is compulsory up until the end of year 11 - (the last Friday in June in the academic year a person turns 16).See News 12 01 2007 School leaving age raised to 18 by 2013

Traditionally the five years of compulsory secondary schooling from ages 11 to 16 were known as "first year" through to "fifth year,". In the 1990’s renamed to Year 7 through to Year 11.

Year 7 (First Form) 11-12; Year 8 (Second Form) 12-13; Year 9 (Third Form) 13-14; Year 10 (Fourth Form) 14-15; Year 11 (Fifth Form) 15-16; [ End for those whom elect ]

Year 12 Lower Sixth AS-First Year College 16-17; Year 13 Upper Sixth A2-Second Year College 17-18. Year 12 & 13 are traditionally known as the Sixth Form and require students to specialise in three to five subjects for their A Levels. Since the 1990s some students also undertake more vocational courses at college such as a BTEC or other such qualification. This is an unusually specialised curriculum for this age group by international standards, and recently some moves have been made to increase the number of subjects studied. After attaining the relevant A Level qualifications the student can enter university.

Secondary Schools classed as either (selective) grammar schools, (non-selective) comprehensive schools, city technology colleges or academies. Most secondary schools in England and Wales are comprehensive schools. Grammar schools have been retained in some counties in England. Academies (previously known as city academies) are a new type of school introduced by the current Labour government. Independent secondary schools generally take pupils at 13. In a few parts of the UK there are middle schools for ages 9 to 13 and upper schools for ages 13-18.

 

UKnational curriculum

To ensure teaching standards are consistent, pupils in compulsory education follow the national curriculum. This is a framework used by all state-maintained schools to ensure teaching and learning is balanced and consistent. Children aged five to 16 in state-maintained schools must be taught the national curriculum which sets out:

§                     the subjects taught

§                     the knowledge, skills and understanding required in each subject

§                     standards or attainment targets in each subject, and

§                     how a child's progress is assessed and reported.

Within the framework of the national curriculum, schools are free to plan and organise teaching and learning in the way that meets the needs of their pupils.

The national curriculum is organised into blocks of years called 'key stages'. There are four key stages as well as a ‘foundation stage’. This covers education for children before they reach five (compulsory school age).

The national curriculum is divided into four key stages:

§                     key stage 1: 5 to 7 years old

§                     key stage 2: 7 to 11 years old

§                     key stage 3: 11 to 14 years old, and

§                     key stage 4: 14 to 16 years old.

There is also a notional key stage 5, which covers 16-19 year olds.

Pupils are assessed by national curriculum tests at the end of each key stage:

§                     key stage 1 assessments are taken at age 7

§                     key stage 2 assessments are taken at age 11

§                     key stage 3 assessments are taken at age 14, and

§                     key stage 4 is assessed by levels of achievement in national qualifications such as GCSE.

Compulsory education ends after key stage 4, but students can move on to further education (FE) at schools or FE colleges.