UFO Info Week-End

It would require some investment no doubt and rather greater involvement from universities themselves

It would require some investment, no doubt, and rather greater involvement from universities themselves. Ranking anoraks will no doubt tease out more oddities than this I am a party animal these days, not a statistician. The new Times Higher Education Supplement university league tables also emerged last week – though if there was a launch party I was not invited. Maybe the eventual outcome on post-qualifications admissions will be exciting enough to provoke dancing in the street.
While the net effect of all this multi-ethnic jollification can be tough on the liver (thank goodness for the Islamic Society, I say) the consequences for the LSE could not be better. Last week, even, “The Frogs they had a party”, as the posters proclaimed. And if, after all these excitements, you are sober enough the next morning, you can get free Chinese lessons in the street Ni hao It’s only the Brits who lack something to celebrate. I suggested a thrash to mark the start of the Higher Education Funding Council’s teaching grant consultation, but there were no takers.

What with parties to mark the end of Ramadan and the great Diwali celebrations there’s been little time for work. The South Americans got in on the act, too, with “Latino Hallowe’en”, and the ANZ society have been celebrating Rugby League wins as a warm-up for the forecast All Black-wash this winter. The Malaysians and Singaporeans – united here if not there – are party-givers extraordinaire. The Scandinavian pub-crawlers are in full swing too, rivalling the Central and Eastern European Development Society (“free shots” is their USP). It is right that parents who can afford it should pay for this service But not all will be able to contribute very much. Providing high quality childcare staffed by large numbers of well qualified workers will be very expensive.

If ministers want their proposals to succeed, they need to reconsider the issue of funding.. It has been a busy few days on the campus, as we like to call our warren off the Aldwych. Council leaders warn that if central government refuses to provide the cash then the cost will have to be borne by parents in childcare fees or by council tax payers in higher taxes.
Access to childcare is vital if parents are to return to work. The OFT has refused to rule out further investigations into fee-fixing covering more schools.
The 50 already identified face fines totalling millions of pounds if the findings are confirmed after a period in which the schools are given time to make representations.The findings, after a two-year investigation by the OFT – described by officials as one of the largest in its history – provoked uproar amongst the independent sector. Local authorities are warning that it will be impossible for them to meet the demand for childcare without at least an extra £200m over the next two years. The Local Government Association says that nothing will change in childcare provision – particularly for the poorest families – unless more money is found to ensure that all children get high quality care. Beverley Hughes, the children’s minister, insists that the needs of children and their parents are at the heart of the proposed legislation.

Local authorities will be expected to act as the champions of parents and children, ensuring that their views are heard in the planning and delivery of services. The aim is that all mothers and fathers should be certain that high quality local services will be provided to support them and their children. However, the proposals will not bring any extra Government investment. Local authorities will be given the vital role of shaping the future provision of childcare for children up to the age of 14 as well as delivering of services to pre-school children. The new law will also enable the Government to steam ahead with its plans for extended schools that will open from 8am until 6pm by providing childcare and activities for children before and after the normal schoolday.

The legislation aims to provide a lifeline for working parents by ending the lottery that sees plentiful high quality childcare offered in some areas and very little elsewhere. The Childcare Bill – published by the Government this week – attempts to enshrine in law for the first time parents’ right to expect high quality childcare for their offspring. “I feel that it is really important for children to grow up with a strong sense of their religion and culture, and still get a high standard of education.”Hinduism in a nutshellHinduism is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam, with 600,000 followers in the UK.It consists of numerous different strands, with no single, universally recognised founder.They respect all other religions as equally valid “routes to God”.A belief in reincarnation, in various life forms, is central.Many Hindus wear coloured markings on the forehead, in particular the red spot, or bindi, signifying the married status of a woman.The main Hindu festivals are: Diwali, the Festival of Light, in November; and Janmashtami, marking the birth of Lord Krishna in August SMcC. “Once a year, we hope to give over a whole day to a festival honouring all the teachers in the school.”Kaushik Patel, who lives in Harrow, is typical of the parents hoping to be able to give their children just that sort of school experience in the reasonably near future. “My wife and I are very excited about the new school,” he says. For him, the essence of the new school will be the nurturing of character.