Guess who’s blog this came off?

Nick Clegg a political opportunitist of th nastiest kind”. Typical of Lib Dems.

A COUNCIL binman has sparked fury by plastering a BNP sticker to his windscreen.

 

Sun reader Ben Cardwell, 24, spotted the far-right political party’s logo as the lorry did its rounds on Friday.

Ben said: “I cannot believe he had the nerve.”

The Labour-run council in Salford, Greater Manchester, yesterday said it was investigating. Councillor Joe Murphy said: “We have clear rules against using council property to promote political parties.”

School exclusions soar?funny i think i better ask the question again because this was not the answer i got!

July 13, 2009

THE number of pupils kicked out of Manchester schools has soared in 12 months.

A report by city education bosses has raised fears over a 50pc hike in the number of students expelled for bullying, drugs, and violent behaviour.

Last year 126 children were thrown out of primary and secondary schools – a huge increase from the previous year when just 83 were expelled.

However, the expulsion rate at neighbouring Salford was twice as high.

The Manchester school with the highest expulsion rate was Loreto High school in Chorlton, formerly called St Thomas Aquinas, which expelled 12 of 419 students in 2007/8. North Manchester High School for Boys was the next most likely to expel students, kicking out 14 of its 826 pupils that year.

Assaults on staff or pupils, disruptive behaviour or threatening or abusive language were the most common reasons for expulsion, although sexual misconduct, drugs and possessing weapons such as knives were also listed.

Most of the expulsions happened at secondary schools but 28 last year were from primary schools – a sharp rise from 16 in the previous year. Pupils aged under 12 were thrown out for offences such as bullying, serious attacks or persistent disruption.

Manchester council claimed the hike was due to a national rule change which made it harder for headteachers to issue pupils temporary exclusions, leading many schools to opt for the red card.

But John Edwards, the council’s deputy director of children’s services, said that schools had now adjusted to the change and expulsions were back down to ‘double-digit’ figures.

He said: “Permanent exclusion figures for the current school year are back down to the lower levels of earlier years, indicating that schools have now developed practice in response to the legislative change.”

Despite the recent rise, Manchester schools have made long-term progress in reducing the number of students expelled. In the mid-90s, more than 200 children were excluded each year. But the numbers have reduced dramatically over the next decade, with just 57 excluded in 2003.

The exclusion rate compared favourably with other urban areas such as Birmingham, Liverpool, and Hull.

The pupil exclusion rate at Salford was much higher with an average of 3 in every 1,000 of its pupils excluded last year, compared with 1.3 out of every 1,000 in Manchester.

Nearly 12pc of Manchester pupils were black or from mixed heritage families. But these groups accounted for 25 pc of kids who were excluded last year.

Offences

Expulsion is used against students who commit major offences. But schools also have the power to send problem pupils home for up to 45 days.

In Manchester, there was a fall in the number of short-term exclusions. Pupils who were sent home last year spent two days away, a reduction from three days previously.

Teachers have claimed that recent guidelines make it harder for schools to permanently remove disruptive students – with pupils instead being issued with multiple short-term suspensions. However, Avis Gilmore, north west organiser for the NUT, said asking children to leave was not an easy decision for most schools.

She said: “Expulsion should be a last resort for schools, providing they are properly funded and resourced to help them cope with those pupils. Where you have large class sizes and a high number of disadvantaged pupils, you’ll see more pupils expelled.

“For some pupils it can be a relatively minor offence, but it could be the last straw for the school.”

In an interview last year, schools secretary Ed Balls defended the right of headmasters to expel students. He said: “If you have got a child who is being suspended time and time again, they should be expelled.”

Mark Lee, north west director for children’s charity Barnardos, which campaigns for a reduction in the number of expulsions, said: “Exclusion can have a devastating long-term effect on young people, leading in many cases to offending behaviour, under achievement and homelessness.

“It’s very unfortunate when it reaches the point where a child is forced to leave their school. We know from experience that access to alternative education such as vocational training can significantly improve a young person’s learning experience and attainment.”

Mum of dead British soldier says MOD is ‘betraying’ troops in Afghan and Iraq war

Exclusive By Beth Neil 13/07/2009

  

A grieving mother who has launched a legal battle over the Army’s use of lightly armoured vehicles has hit out at the Ministry of Defence for “betraying” British troops.

Sue Smith’s son, Pte Phillip Hewett, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq while driving a Snatch Land Rover four years ago.

She has accused the Government of sending ill-equipped soldiers out to fight a war they have no hope of winning.

Speaking exclusively to the Mirror in the worst week for British fatalities in Afghanistan since the war began, Sue said more soldiers would die unless the MoD gave them the support they need. She said: “We’re sending our children off to war and they don’t stand a chance.

“The MoD isn’t providing enough adequate equipment to keep them safe.

“The MoD say we’ve got 9,000 troops over there, but how many are actually fighting? Nowhere near that amount.

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“Up against the Taliban, under-staffed and poorly equipped, how are they expected to cope?

“It’s an utter betrayal and it really does beggar belief.” Sue believes that Phillip, who was 21 and served with the 1st Battalion Staffordshire Regiment, need not have died.

Phillip was in a convoy of three Snatch vehicles which were blown up in the Al-Amarah region of Iraq in July 2005. Two other soldiers died in the blast.

The Snatch, used in both Iraq and Afghanistan, was a cheap way of transporting troops in Northern Ireland but is poor protection against roadside bombs. Sue claims Phillip’s death could have been prevented if he had been driving a Warrior, a much stronger armoured vehicle.

Last week she won the first round of her legal challenge. A High Court judge gave Sue, from Tamworth, Staffs, the go-ahead to seek a judicial review of Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth’s decision not to hold a public inquiry into the Snatch’s past use.

Sue, 47, who is married to builder Nigel and has three daughters and two step-children, said: “How can we stand by knowing our troops are going out there without the equipment which could save their lives?

“It’s not just the dead. What about the horrifically injured as well? They go out whole and come back broken.

“These are our children. It’s just not right.”

A comment from David ottewell on a Tory Blog

1. Independent, professional journalism – carried out with respect to standards of fairness, accuracy, etc. – is an anchor of democracy. Without it the public are adrift in a sea of propaganda. It saddens me to see politicians – true democrats, one would hope – who fail to recognise this.

David a question where was the quote aimed?