Reflections on the implementation of the Gifted and Talented policy in England, 1999–2011

This paper, as part of an on-going study looking at the impact of gifted and talented policies on an inner-city school, explores the role of the local authority in implementing the various gifted and talented initiatives since 1999, when local authority gifted and talented co-ordinators were first appointed under the Excellence in Cities (DfEE, 1999) programme

Reflections on the implementation of the Gifted and Talented policy in England, 1999–2011

This paper, as part of an on-going study looking at the impact of gifted and talented policies on an inner-city school, explores the role of the local authority in implementing the various gifted and talented initiatives since 1999, when local authority gifted and talented co-ordinators were first appointed under the Excellence in Cities (DfEE, 1999) programme

The Moral Imperative: the case of the English education system

In England, social choice in education faces trade-offs between equity and efficiency. The scope of these trade-offs ranges from the introduction of choice to correcting 'market failures' to reduce inequalities and restrict social injustices. The article analyses the English school education system and its relationship with social preferences. The authors argue that the moral and legal need for non-discriminatory education supersedes perceptions of cost-effectiveness and utilitarianism. They consider that the current system has failed owing to inappropriate processes within social and public choice and that a reformed system based on a social democratic imperative will allow closer social integration on the basis of ability rather than privilege

Immaterial boys? A large-scale exploration of gender-based differences in child sexual exploitation service users

Child sexual exploitation is increasingly recognised nationally and internationally as a pressing child protection, crime prevention and public health issue. In the UK, for example, a recent series of high-profile cases has fuelled pressure on policy-makers and practitioners to improve responses. Yet, prevailing discourse, research and interventions around child sexual exploitation have focused overwhelmingly on female victims. This study was designed to help redress fundamental knowledge gaps around boys affected by sexual exploitation. This was achieved through rigorous quantitative analysis of individual-level data for 9,042 users of child sexual exploitation services in the UK. One third of the sample was male and gender was associated with statistically significant differences on many variables. The results of this exploratory study highlight the need for further targeted research and more nuanced and inclusive counter-strategies

Kicking ‘No Touch’ Discourses into Touch: Athletes’ Parents’ Constructions of Appropriate Adult (Coach)-Child (Athlete) Physical Contact

It has been suggested that sport is increasingly becoming a ‘no-touch zone’ as some coaches, driven by a desire for selfprotection, restrict their use of physical contact with (child) athletes in the belief that this reduces their risk of being accused of abuse. Research on coachathlete physical contact is limited, however, and no studies have yet explored how athletes’ parents understand such behaviours. This paper reports on a study that investigates athletes’ parents’ perspectives of appropriate coach-child athlete physical contact within youth swimming. Parents constructed physical contact as necessary and legitimate in three specific contexts and drew on children’s rights principles to rationalize this. This paper discusses the significance of this and explores the benefits of adopting child-centred coaching practices

Transforming Community Health Services for Children and Young People who are Ill : A quasi-experimental evaluation

Background: Children’s community nursing (CCN) services support children with acute, chronic, complex and end-of-life care needs in the community. Objectives: This research examined the impact of introducing and expanding CCN services on quality, acute care and costs. Methods: A longitudinal, mixed-methods, case study design in three parts. The case studies were in five localities introducing or expanding services. Part 1: an interrupted time series (ITS) analysis of Hospital Episode Statistics on acute hospital admission for common childhood illness, and bed-days and length of stay for all conditions, including a subset for complex conditions. The ITS used between 60 and 84 time points (monthly data) depending on the case site. Part 2: a cost–consequence analysis using activity data from CCN services and resource-use data from a subset of families (n = 32). Part 3: in-depth interviews with 31 parents of children with complex conditions using services in the case sites and a process evaluation of service change with 41 NHS commissioners, managers and practitioners, using longitudinal in-depth interviews, focus groups and documentary data. Findings: Part 1: the ITS analysis showed a mixed pattern of impact on acute activity, with the greatest reductions in areas that had rates above the national average before CCN services were introduced and significant reductions in some teams in acute activity for children with complex conditions. Some models of CCN appear to have more potential for impact than others. Part 2: the cost–consequence analysis covered only part of the CCN teams’ activity. It showed some potential savings from reduced admissions and bed-days, but none that was greater than the total cost of the services. Part 3: three localities implemented services as planned, one achieved partial service change and one was not able to achieve any service change. Organisational stability, finance, medical stakeholder support, competition, integration with primary care and visibility influenced the planning and implementation of new and expanded CCN services. Feeling supported to manage their ill child at home was a key outcome of using services for parents. Various service features contributed to this and were important in different ways at different times. Other outcomes included being able to avoid hospital care, enabling the child to stay in school, and getting respite. Although parents judged that care was of high quality when teams enabled them to feel supported, reassured and secure in managing their ill child at home, this did not depend on a constant level of contact from teams. Limitations: Delays in service reconfigurations required adaptation of research activity across sites. Use of administrative data, such as Hospital Episode Statistics, for research purposes is technically difficult and imposed some limitations on both the ITS and the cost–consequence analyses. Conclusions: Large, generic CCN teams that integrate acute admission avoidance for all children with support for children with complex conditions and highly targeted teams for children with complex conditions offer the possibility of supporting children more appropriately at home while also making some difference to acute activity. This possibility remains to be tested further. Future work: Further work should refine the evidence on outcomes of services by looking at outcomes in promising models, value for money and measuring quality-based outcomes. Funding: The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

The contested place of religion in the Australian Civics and Citizenship curriculum: exploring the secular in a multi-faith society

In the absence of a dedicated subject for teaching general religious education, the inclusion of Civics and Citizenship education as a new subject within the first Federal Australian Curriculum provides an important opportunity for teaching the religious within Australian schools. The curriculum for Civics and Citizenship requires students to learn that Australia is both a secular nation and a multi-faith society, and to understand religions practiced in contemporary Australia. The term "secular" and the need for students to learn about Australia’s contemporary multi-faith society raise some significant issues for schools and teachers looking to implement Civics and Citizenship. Focusing on public (state-controlled) schools, the argument here draws on recent analysis within the Australian context (Byrne, 2014; Maddox, 2014) to suggest that religion remains an important factor in understanding and shaping democratic citizenship in Australia, that this should be acknowledged within public schools, and that a constructivist, dialogical-based pedagogy provides possibilities for recognising the religious within Civics and Citizenship education

Disability, special educational needs, class, capitals and segregation in schooling: a population geography perspective

This paper investigates the spatially variable schooling of young people with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), and interconnections with class and capitals, using analysis of the School Census, and interviews with 64 educational professionals and parents in three areas in Southeast England. Three key original findings emerge. First, high proportions of young people with SEND come from poor backgrounds; however, most young people with SEND labels are not poor. Second, social class, capitals, and SEND intersect in ways which relatively advantage young people from more affluent and educated families, who gain access to specific labels and what is locally considered the ‘best’ education. Third, we conceptualise school spaces as differently ‘bounded’ or ‘connected’, providing different opportunities to develop meaningful relationships and qualifications, or social and cultural capital, rather than focus on the type of school (‘special’, separate schools for students with SEND; or ‘mainstream’ local schools). What are locally considered to be ‘the best’ school spaces are connected and porous, providing opportunities to develop social and cultural capital. Other school spaces are containers of both SEND and poverty, with limited opportunities to acquire social and cultural capitals. Overall, we suggest that the intersecting experience of SEND, class and capitals can (re)produce socio-economic inequalities through school spaces