1) Social Mobility

The government will hope that the launch of their white paper on social mobility will be a big news story tomorrow (Tuesday). The policy direction of this paper has been widely leaked http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7822562.stm and http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5489213.ece and from the Observer http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/jan/11/labour-government-education-social-mobility

I think our mentoring into the professions schemes could feature strongly in the considerations of the social mobility commission if we push ourselves to the fore.

The Sutton Trust has already begun making its contribution to this debate with a couple of articles by Lee Elliot Major in the Daily Telegraph. The first article considered social mobility and parental influence http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/4015830/Wed-be-better-off-if-we-educated-everyone.html with the second suggesting 10 measures that could usefully be implemented http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/4015925/Ten-education-reforms-to-improve-social-mobility.html

2) Is it Worth the Debt?

The government’s plans to encourage internships for unemployed graduates has generated some comment

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/10/graduate-employment-crisis-rescue-package Much of the discussion has emphasised the disappointment of the unemployed or underemployed alumni, such as here http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5488978.ece while this focus on disappointed graduates is understandable, it was my experience in the last recession (I was teaching at a university and was known as a soft touch for a good reference for people I didn’t know), that many graduates once employed in an organisation, even on a temporary contract, would then move onto permanent better paid positions with those same organisations. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if these internships prove to be useful and also that some people who would never otherwise have considered a job in retailing end up pursuing it as a rewarding career. However, from memory, it was the school leavers with low or no qualifications who were the real long term losers in the recession. Work creation schemes and temporary jobs just didn’t seem to serve this group in the same way as they did for graduates. For them, temporary jobs are just that, temporary low paid employment. These young people never really joined the workforce; instead they become a new cohort in the army of the long-term unemployed. Despite the debt, it’s still worth going to university.

3) Good News Item

For the rest of the month, there is an exhibition at London’s City Hall of artwork by disadvantaged young people from some of the capital's poorest boroughs

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jan/07/art-youth-young-people-culture-london-dulwich-kennington-kids why not take a lunch-time stroll to view? It’s on the walls at City Hall from the reception area down to the canteen; also you might see Nance: what a win/win scenario.

4) Uneven Results

The self styled ‘top universities’ Russell group’s widening participation programs have been found to have had varying levels of success http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article5439367.ece

5) Brightside Farm?

Care farming seems to work; ever heard of it? Who’d be the farmer? http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/06/care-farms-teenagers-badly-behaved-youth

6) Happy Now?

A survey of happiness levels among young people in the UK has been produced http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/jan/08/ofsted-children-friendship there is even a happiness map http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2009/01/07/HAPPYMAP.pdf

Note the unhappy NEETS http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7810902.stm I think the mental health aspects of disadvantage and social exclusion are often underestimated or ignored and that unhappiness is the nearest we’ll get to recognition.

7) A Mathematical Proof

The importance of maths http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/poor-maths-skills-cost-britain-16324bn-a-year-says-study-1225807.html