Le "modèle" anglo-saxon,  libéral  ... et blairo-socialiste...
 

  ÉCOLES ANGLAISES :
Discipline, rigueur et esprit compétitif sont les maîtres mots de la mutation mise en œuvre par le gouvernement travailliste..

  En Angleterre, des caméras dans les classes

  Prélèvement d'ADN  : à la sortie des maternelles ? 
Depuis 2004, la police a déjà  le droit de prélever - et conserver -  l'ADN de tout mineur, à parir de 10 ans, mis en cause dans un délit, peu importe qu'il soit par la suite inculpé, ou innocenté. La base de données contient déjà l'empreinte génétique de 1,5 millions de 10-18 ans.Un porte-parole policier vient de déclarer qu'il souhaitait un "débat" en Grande Bretagne afin de déterminer jusqu'où on pourrait aller pour identifier de potentiels délinquants. 
Ajoutant que des experts affirment qu'il est possible de repèrer ces délinquants potentiels dès l'âge de cinq ans...

   Royaume-Uni : L’uniforme discriminatoire
En imposant un fournisseur unique pour l’achat de l’uniforme, les écoles pratiquent une discrimination à l’encontre des élèves pauvres. 

  Directeur d'école en Grande Bretagne :
« Le métier a beaucoup évolué. Aujourd’hui, on est beaucoup plus responsable, on a plus de pression, on nous demande plus de résultats. »

  Deux fois plus d’enseignants sont partis en retraite anticipée au cours des sept dernières années. 

  35% des élèves de 11 ans ne savent pas lire.

  Un ado sur cinq ne peut situer son pays sur une carte.

  Ecoles publiques fermées aux pauvres.  Un rapport émis par ConfEd, (une association qui représente les dirigeants du secteur de l’éducation locale) dénonce le manque d’intégrité des processus d’admission dans certaines écoles publiques. Des réunions de "sélection" d’élèves sont organisées, durant lesquelles ne sont admis que les enfants "gentils, brillants et riches".  Ainsi, 70 000 parents n’ont pas pu inscrire cette année leurs enfants dans l’école de leur choix. En écartant les élèves issus de milieux pauvres, ces établissements "hors la loi" espèrent rehausser leur taux de réussite aux examens. 

   Selon l'OCDE, les écoles privées britanniques ont les meilleurs résultats au monde : FAUX !

  ... & Moins de pauvres dans les écoles primaires catholiques.

  Les écoles anglaises pourront être gérées par des "trusts".

  L’école britannique livrée au patronat.  En mars 2000, le Conseil européen de Lisbonne avait fixé comme principal objectif à la politique de l’Union en matière d’éducation de produire un capital humain rentable au service de la compétitivité économique. 

  Le créationnisme aux examens.

   "BAGUE DE VIRGINITE" : Une adolescente anglaise, fille d'un pasteur évangélique, perd son procès en Haute Cour.

  Grande-Bretagne : l'athéisme (bientôt ?) au programme scolaire

  Grande-Bretagne :Les sponsors au secours de l'école

  Empreintes digitales pour les enfants d'une école de Londres. Le Royaume-Uni réfléchit à la mise en place d’une loi pour la création d’un fichier national des enfants de moins de douze ans.

Naître et grandir pauvre en Grande-Bretagne  est encore plus pénalisant que dans d’autres pays développés.

  Un demi-million de «sans-logement». A Londres, un enfant sur deux sous le seuil de pauvreté.

  Un demi-million d'enfants britanniques travaillent "illégalement".

«tolérance zéro» et conditions de détention intolérables. Plus de dix mille jeunes délinquants britanniques sont emprisonnés.  «Le bilan du Royaume-Uni en terme d'emprisonnement des enfants est l'un des pires qui se puisse trouver en Europe.»

  Les frais très élevés d’inscription universitaire dissuadent les étudiants issus de familles modestes de s’inscrire en fac.

  De plus en plus d’étudiantes se prostituent ou travaillent dans l’industrie du sexe pour payer les frais d’inscription de leur université.

  Plus de 350 000 Britanniques ont quitté leur île en 2005 pour jouir d'une vie meilleure.
Les jeunes Britanniques se voient vivre ailleurs.  Difficulté d' acquérir un logement, hausse de la fiscalité et indigence des services publics, en particulier les transports et le système de soins.

  M. Ernest-Antoine Sellière, alors président du patronat français :« Je suis un socialiste britannique »

  Londres, paradis des milliardaires.

  Selon des rapports de l’ONU et de la Banque mondiale :  « Au Royaume-Uni, les inégalités entre riches et pauvres sont les plus importantes du monde occidental, comparables à celles qui existent au Nigeria, et plus profondes que celles que l’on trouve, par exemple, à la Jamaïque, au Sri Lanka ou en Ethiopie.»

  Grande Bretagne :  premier pays où chaque déplacement de véhicule sera enregistré.

  Les Britanniques inventent l'ultrason antijeunes.

   De plus en plus de mineurs hospitalisés pour des problèmes d'alcool. Le nombre de mineurs hospitalisés en Angleterre pour avoir trop bu a augmenté de 20% en un an.

Beuark.
Ségolène Royal rend hommage à la politique de Tony Blair.

TANDIS QUE  le gouvernement travailliste envisage de prolonger l’âge de la scolarité obligatoire jusqu'à 18 ans, l'ancien chef de l’Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), intervenant à la Chartered London Teacher Conference, vient de rappeler le phénomène croissant du "décrochage scolaire".

Il y a 7 ans, alors qu'il était encore en fonction, l'ancien inspecteur avait estimé à 10 000 le nombre de jeunes décrochant du système scolaire à partir de 14 ans. 
Selon Sir Mike Tomlinson, environ 25 000 élèves "disparaissent" chaque année des circuits scolaires lorsqu’ils atteignent la 9ème année (env. 14 ans).

"on ne sait pas exactement où ils sont".

Ces adolescents estiment "que l'école n'a rien à leur proposer" et on suppose que certains travaillent avec leurs parents, d'autres trouvent des petits boulots mal payés ou traînent dans les rues.

David Law, porte-parole des Libéraux démocrates, estime que ces chiffres "montrent qu' il est ridicule de vouloir prolonger la scolarité obligatoire jusqu'à 18 ans alors que certains élèves décrochent déjà à 14 ans.

Monday, 23 February 2009 -

Sir Mike Tomlinson, a former chief inspector of schools and head of Hackney Learning Trust, says they feel school "has nothing to offer them".

The law says they should be in full-time education to age 16, and that is being changed to require some form of learning to age 18.

A charity has called for more courses for youngsters who have limited skills.

Sir Mike made the remarks at the Chartered London Teacher Conference.

He explained that as pupils were tracked from year to year in the annual census that all schools are required to complete, the total numbers fluctuated only slightly up to Year 8 or 9, when they are aged about 12-13.

But then there was a drop.

He said: "There are around 25,000 who fall off the rolls when they move from Year 9 to Year 10.

"They are saying 'this is no place for me'.

"They end up in poorly paid jobs or with no jobs at all."

'Very worrying'

He added later: "In general terms we don't know where they are.

"They may be in college and have persuaded a further education college to take them on, they may be working in their parents' business, or they may be on the streets."

He said schools did attempt to find them but this obviously was not successful.

"They are very, very worrying figures," he said.

Liberal Democrat schools spokesman David Laws said: "Thousands of young people are dropping out of school early because the education system has let them down.

"This shows just how ludicrous it is for the government to raise the education leaving age when it can't even get 14 year olds to turn up."

Seven years ago, when Sir Mike was head of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), he suggested some 10,000 pupils were missing from the system.

He said he believed then that the problem was growing.

Last year a committee of MPs - investigating the issue of forced marriages - was told that more than 2,000 children were estimated to be missing from schools in about a tenth of England's local authorities.

'Stepping stones'

The charity UK Youth, which offers skills training to some 750,000 young people, has said things may get worse if more is not done to recognise those at the lower end of the attainment scale.

It said the Apprenticeship Bill, currently being given its second reading in the House of Commons, put too much emphasis on qualifications.

Chief executive John Bateman said: "These young people need more stepping stones to validate and recognise their achievements before they can aspire to reach NVQ Level 2.

"Building the necessary skills and confidence to carry out a simple task such as baking a cake is often viewed as a minor learning goal, but this can be accredited and provide the confidence and self-esteem necessary to progress to formal qualifications."

This is the approach being taken in Scotland where the government is proposing to vary education maintenance allowances to encompass those in community and voluntary projects. 

d'après  et    (de 2004 à 2008)

Le jour même de leur mise en oeuvre, un sondage réalisé par Times Educational Supplement indiquait que seulement un chef d'établissement sur dix approuvait ces mesures.

Ces mesures ont échoué, constate l'opposition "libérale-démocrate" qui préfèrerait une plus grande coopération entre parents et ... la police.

Plus de 35 000 parents ont dû payer une amende, et près de 8 000 ont été traduits en justice ces trois dernières années, tandis que durant la même période l'absentéisme a continué d'augmenter... de plus de deux millions de jours d'école "chômés".

Le nombre d'enfants pratiquant l'école buissonnière a augmenté d'un tiers depuis l'arrivée des travaillistes au pouvoir, en dépit d'un milliard de livres consacré au traitement du problème. 

Pour la secrétaire du principal syndicat d'enseignants, "il existe un noyau dur d'absentéistes pour lesquels les amendes et même la prison n'ont aucun effet. La seule manière de traiter ce problème est d'admettre que cela tient à la situation sociale et économique de ces familles. La menace de sanctions ne fait qu'empirer leur comportement".

Une hypothèse : cette hausse serait peut-être dûe, aussi, au fait que les écoles sont devenues moins tolérantes quant aux motifs d'absence. "58 000 élèves supplémentaires auraient été considérés comme présents en 2007 si les critères étaient les mêmes qu'il y a dix ans".

Mais l'an dernier près de 230 000 élèves ont été étiquetés "absents chroniques" (ayant "séché"  plus de 20% des cours).
--------
Aux USA, les pénalités sont de 25 à 500 dollars et six mois de prison en cas de récidive.

By Sarah Cassidy, Education Correspondent - Friday, 2 May 2008 -

The Government's policy of fining and prosecuting the parents of persistent truants has failed to reduce the number of pupils skipping lessons, research by the Liberal Democrats has revealed.

More than 35,000 parents have been fined and nearly 8,000 prosecuted in the past three years, but truancy has increased by the equivalent of more than 2 million school days in the same period.

The number of children in England playing truant has risen by a third since Labour came to power – despite more than £1bn being spent on tackling the problem. Last year 1 per cent of all lessons were missed through unauthorised absence, although this includes pupils who were late. This compares to 0.92 per cent in 2006 and 0.73 per cent in 1997.

Under laws introduced in 2004, parents who allow their children to miss school face on-the-spot fines of £50 and fast-track prosecutions that could see them jailed for up to three months.

David Laws, the Liberal Democrat children's spokesman who received the figures in answer to a parliamentary question, said: "The Government's strategy to tackle truancy is failing. Despite prosecuting more parents, the truancy rate in our schools is continuing to rise.

"Parents need to take responsibility for their children's behaviour and they have an obligation to ensure they attend school. A community-wide approach involving parents, police and local welfare officers would be much more effective than the current measures."

Michael Gove, the shadow Schools Secretary, blamed the Government's failure to ensure that all pupils left primary school able to read properly, arguing that youngsters who struggled to cope in lessons were likely to become persistent truants.

About 7 per cent of pupils accounted for a third of all absences in England's secondary schools last year. Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said ministers were wrong to suggest that fines and prosecutions could provide a "magic solution" to the problem.

"There is a hard core of truants for whom fines, court appearances and even prison have no effect," she said. "The only way you can deal with it is to recognise that it's to do with the social-economic situation of the families involved. The threat of sanctions can actually make things worse by making these parents even more embedded in their behaviour."

But John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Lecturers, said: "Fines and prosecutions are only used at the end of the line. Children cannot be successful in education unless they attend school. It therefore remains a priority for schools to reduce truancy. But they will always try to do this by persuasion rather than resort to prosecution."

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families argued that the truancy rate had gone up because schools were taking a tougher stance on weak excuses for absence which they may once have authorised. Overall absence, which includes children off sick with permission, hit a record low last year.

"On average, 58,000 more pupils were in school each day in 2007 than would have been the case if absence rates were still at the level of a decade ago," she said. 

By Nigel Morris, Home Affairs Correspondent - Thursday, 3 June 2004 - 

Levels of truancy, serious offending, drinking and smoking are rising among teenagers, and more are falling victim to crime, according to a study of classrooms in England and Wales.

Levels of truancy, serious offending, drinking and smoking are rising among teenagers, and more are falling victim to crime, according to a study of classrooms in England and Wales.

Although most youngsters stay on the straight and narrow during their secondary school years, the results paint a graphic picture of the pressures and temptations they face in 2004.

The survey of 4,715 youngsters aged 11 to 16 suggests progress is being made on rehabilitating the most troublesome ones, but that mainstream schools are struggling to contain rising rates of crime and antisocial behaviour.

Ministers will be disappointed that highly publicised initiatives against truancy, including the threat of prison for parents whose children regularly skip lessons, seem to have failed.

The research, by Mori for the Youth Justice Board in 192 schools, found more than a quarter of young people (26 per cent) had "bunked off" for a least one day, compared with 22 per cent last year and in 2002.

There is little difference in the likelihood of boys or girls deliberately missing school, although the levels increase with age, with 13 per cent of 11-year-olds saying they had truanted, rising to 39 per cent of 15- and 16-year-olds. Making the link between truancy and juvenile crime, the survey reveals that 45 per cent of young offenders have played truant, compared with 18 per cent of those who have not committed an offence.

Two-thirds (67 per cent) of secondary school age children told Mori they had drunk alcohol, a sharp increase from the 43 per cent recorded in 2002, and 25 per cent said they had smoked tobacco, up from 21 per cent two years ago.

But use of illegal drugs appears to have levelled, with 15 per cent saying they had taken cannabis and 5 per cent using solvents (both up 1 per cent), and 3 per cent taking amphetamines (again up 1 per cent). The survey found a connection between drug-taking and crime, with nearly a quarter of youngsters excluded from school admitting they had taken a class-A drug.

"Drug-taking among young people is also linked to truanting from school, as young people who have ever played truant from school are considerably more likely to say they have used drugs or alcohol," the researchers added.

A total of 26 per cent of youngsters said they had committed a criminal offence in the previous 12 months, which breaks down to 31 per cent of boys and 20 per cent of girls. The overall figure is the same as the past three years, pointing to resistance to initiatives on youth offending by the Government.

But there is evidence that the crimes committed by teenagers are becoming more serious, with increases in theft, burglary and carrying a weapon. Almost two in five black young people (37 per cent) admit offending, compared with a quarter of whites (26 per cent) and one in five Asians (20 per cent).

And three in five (60 per cent) of young people excluded from mainstream education admit they have offended, although there is evidence they are committing fewer serious crimes and reoffending less.

Just under half of young people (49 per cent) reported being a victim of crime,up from 46 per cent last year. They were most likely to have been threatened, bullied or had property stolen.

A criminal justice source said that he had been most struck by the increase in truancy. He said: "The Government has made a song and dance about the issue, but these results show it has had a miserable impact."

Mark Oaten, the Liberal Democrats' home affairs spokesman, said: "These figures give a grim picture of teenagers playing truant and drinking in shopping arcades. This lifestyle is often the first step towards a life of crime and the Government now has to get a grip on this generation." 

27 February, 2004 -  Michael Shaw, Stephen Lucas and Patrick Hayes -

A TES survey reveals widespread resistance from heads afraid of jeopardising relationships with parents. However, the majority support the idea of local authorities or education welfare officers imposing the penalties.

From today, heads and other senior teachers can fine parents whose children truant or who go on holiday in term time without permission.

Of the 100 heads surveyed, only 12 said they were likely to use the new penalties, while 44 said it was very unlikely and a further 44 said they would never resort to them.

The new powers were introduced to make parents more responsible for their children's behaviour. Education authorities can now enforce attendance at parenting classes if their children are excluded or suspended.

Schools can also ask parents to sign contracts agreeing to improve their child's behaviour and attendance.

Several of the heads said they were feeling overwhelmed by Government initiatives because the Prime Minister Tony Blair suggested this week that they should carry out random drug tests on their pupils - an idea schools also ridiculed.

Headteachers opposed to the fines include Ros Avison, head of Swanley secondary in Kent. "I don't relish the thought of escorting a parent to the cash machine and have no intention of doing so," she said.

Dr Patrick Hazlewood, head of St John's school and community college in Wiltshire, said: "The fines are a product of a police state mentality and I can only imagine the resentment they would create."

The dozen heads who said they would use the fines saw them as a last resort.

Parlaunt Park primary in Slough has taken a strict approach to unauthorised absences, yet still has attendance rates below 90 per cent.

Tara Moran, headteacher, said: "Children only have one chance at an education so their parents must be held responsible. I'd prefer it if education welfare officers gave out the fines but I would not hesitate to use them myself."

Many headteachers said they had sympathy for families who took their children on holiday during term time and suggested that travel companies should be penalised for over-charging.

One head, who wished to remain anonymous, said parents had taken more term-time breaks since the fines were proposed because they had learned that schools could permit 10 days' absence each year.

While heads were reluctant to impose penalties themselves, only 15 per cent opposed the principle of parents being fined over non-attendance. An estimated 50,000 pupils miss school without permission each day and the Government hopes LEAs and schools will use the fines as a speedier alternative to parental prosecutions.

A study published this week by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that half of parents interviewed felt that prosecutions for truancy did not improve attendance.

The National Association of Head Teachers and Secondary Heads Association said The TES's findings reflected their members' deep opposition to the fines.

The Department for Education and Skills said it had never expected all schools to use the fines. A DfES spokesman said: "It is entirely up to heads - they are just another tool in the tool-box."

By Zsombor Peter - Wednesday June 23, 2004 -

Although the governing board of Gallup-McKinley County Schools will have to update the district's truancy policy to fall in line with the new state law, it's not convinced the changes will make much of a difference.

Beefing up existing truancy regulations, the New Mexico Legislature increased the fines and jail-time parents of truant students will face. Under House Bill 106, if the local juvenile probation office determines that the parent is somehow responsible for the truancy of a student who's collected more than 10 unexcused absences in one semester and the absences continue after written notice from the school district, the parent can face a minimum fine of $100. That's up from the current $25 minimum. Under the new law, they could also end up spending up to 90 days in jail. Continued absences could lead to a $500 fine and up to six months behind bars.

With all its interest in holding parents more accountable for their children, however, the state did not forget about the students themselves. Students can have their driver's licenses suspended for up to 90 days their first time before the Children's Court and for up to one year on subsequent visits.

Gallup-McKinley school officials understand that students who aren't in the classroom aren't being taught. It's a connection they like the state officials who backed the law and the legislators who passed it have understood all the better since the federal government's gotten more serious about tying funding to academic success.

As Gallup-McKinley Superintendent Karen White put it, "you can't teach kids if they're not in school."

They don't all, however, believe this law is the best way to get them there.

Robert Gintowt, Gallup-McKinley's hearing authority officer, has been discussing truancy-fighting measures with a team of school officials, law enforcement officers and lawyers since September. Speaking with the local district attorney's office and law enforcement agencies has left him with little hope that they'll be enforcing the new law. It may seem strange that they would refuse to enforce a state law, he acknowledged, but that's the message he said he's been given.

"They are very reluctant to do anything," Gintowt said.

State law may threaten driver's license suspension, he said, "but the court system in Gallup, New Mexico, will not do that."

Once students turn 16, Gintowt said he was told, they are no longer forbidden by law to drop out of school. If students don't have to be in school, then, courts find it hard to penalize them for skipping.

White, a former police officer herself, believes they're simply too consumed with weightier problems.

"Truancy has just been a low priority for juvenile probation officers," she said.

The problem, she and others believe, is also one of jurisdiction. Navajo students, whether they attend school on the reservation or live on Navajo Nation land and attend school off the reservation, fall under the jurisdiction of tribal courts, where the state's truancy laws don't follow them.

If the cops and courts won't help, Gintowt said, that leaves the districts to their own devices.

Board member Mavis Price, a member of the team looking at the truancy problem, said the group is considering reinstating teen courts, whereby students judge and sentence their fellow peers in truancy cases, throughout the district as one tactic. Price said her experience with such methods suggests that students' peers tend to be harder on them than adults and that they're more likely to take the decisions to heart.

Although the board tabled a decision on incorporating the new law into district policy Monday evening, it will have to do so eventually, likely before the start of the fall semester at the latest. Price expected the truancy team to have the legally mandated changes, however unlikely they are to be enforced, along with more realistic, self-reliant measures ready for incorporation into district policy by the board as soon as early July.