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Exam reform; civil partnerships; bullying

Jenni Murray asks whether we need to reform the school exam system; should religious venues conduct civil partnerships; and is being left out the worst kind of bullying?

It's been all rows and revelations in education recently - the Education Secretary Michael Gove's plan to make it easier for popular schools to grow bigger and the exposure of exam board staff giving tips to teachers about what was coming up on tests. So Jenni asks former deputy heads Katharine Birbalsingh and Ollie de Botton whether we need to shake up the way we educate our children? In March 2010 the House of Lords supported a proposed amendment to the Equality Act to permit civil partnerships to take place on religious premises. Now a debate will take place attempting to annul this on the basis that it will compel religious authorities to host same-sex partnerships against their will. Chris Bryant MP and Ella Leonard from Catholic Voices discuss with Jenni. Every Saturday morning a group of refugees gather at human rights organisation, the Helen Bamber Foundation, to learn each others' traditional songs with the help of volunteer musicians. Known as Woven Gold, Jennifer Chevalier went to meet the group as they were preparing a new song for Christmas. School children believe that being left out affects them more than any other type of bullying according to a new report. The report's author Tom Benton from the National Foundation For Educational Research joins the programme with Head Teacher Alision Shaw, to consider whether we need to extend our definition of bullying and how we tackle it.

Available now

45 minutes

Chapters

  • Educational Reform

    Former Deputy Head Katharine Birbalsingh, and former Assistant Headteacher Ollie de Botton join Jenni to discuss whether we need to change how we educate our children.

    Duration: 10:33

Broadcast

  • Tue 13 Dec 2011 10:00

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