Winnersaint

Indeed. However, the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE) will apply for existing employees. What that means is that existing school employees will switch from being employed by the Local Authority to the academy and that the statutory School Teachers' Pay and Conditions) will be included in contracts. It does not however apply to new employees where academies will be able to determine pay and conditions of employment

I suspect that this is part of a long term plan. Gove has announced that the target for secondary schools to reach as far as 5*A-C grades inc English and Maths will be 50% by 2015 and at almost the same time he announces plans to reform what he calls a discredited exam system. Put these two things together and you can see where this is heading. Taking coursework and modular exams out of the equation will make it more difficult for some, not all, to be successful. This will in turn increase the number of schools that "fail" ie. don't reach the 50% benchmark, allowing the government to take them out of local authority control and turn them into academies. It could be argued that Gove's success will be measured by the number of academies that are created more than any other yardstick and that the exam reforms are merely a crude way of making that happen. Politician in cynicism and downright dishonesty shock!!

Think 'Dirtie Bertie's' got it all sewn up. Agree that points classification will be interesting probably best chance for Cav to get it. On a far more mundane note, trying my first 10 mile TT in a couple of weeks - aiming for sub 30, plus 110K Sportive in middle of July, been truly bitten by the bug only prob is I'm 53. Wish I'd started a few years ago.

Always look forward to it. I know many who don't, usually citing the doping scandals that plague the sport. Despite that, and I don't dismiss that doping is an issue in cycling, the TDF is my sporting highlight of the year. I do however wish that 'Albertanol Clenbutador' had the dignity and foresight to give it a miss this year pending his hearing. Would love to go see, but it's term time and as is pointed out in other threads in different parts of the forum us skivving, wouldn't hack it in the private sector, gold plated (LOL) pension grabbing teachers have too much holiday anyway, so the TDF will have to be put on hold until I retire. F O O K I've just realised they won't even let me do that now! Looking forward to the mountains particularly Stage 12 in the Pyrenees (Tormalet, Luz Ardiden) , hope you both enjoy your watching and riding. Dead jealous.

Road cycling, doing my first event on July 17th - Anthony Maynard Sportive around west Berks 110K (around 70 miles). Anything under 5 hours will be a bonus. Maybe do some 10m time trials later in summer.

Have lived and worked in the area for over 30 years. Our daughter was born in The Royal Berks I find it hard to dislike them much. Grudgingly I'll be rooting for Reading even though in my eyes they will ALWAYS be a third or fourth division team, plus they gave us Branfoot.

Not going to bother. Christmas cancelled due to Uncharted : Drake's Deception and Mass Effect 3.

hopefully getting a carbon fibre frame road bike and taking part in a couple of events in the Thames Valley.

To my Cardiff supporting mate's diappointment I reckon the Jacks (Swansea) will go up. According to him and a lot on their boards their players are a bunch of unmotivated overpaid wasters, who have lost form at the wrong time. I think Reading might turn them over tonight, but I'm not sure about over two legs. See Final as Cardiff v Swansea. Will Wembley be left standing??

OK only 1. Bristol Rovers at SMS. Would go to many more if I could fit it around family and cycling commitments. Hasn't helped with folks living in Blandford as opposed to Winchester as they did in the past. Wanted to do Walsall but sold out. Interestingly our recent trip to SMS was prompted by teenage daughter's wish to go to West Quay as it has a Hollister shop. She was torn between the designer gear and her first trip to SMS. This time Hollister won, but she wants to go next season. i can see a few more games on the cards, plus Reading and probably Watford away.

Nervous enough to change into my somewhat disturbing alter ego MAMIL (Middle aged man in Lycra) and head out on the bike for 30 miles around the Berkshire countryside at around 3 o'clock. should get back around the time the game ends.

RIP our 'Enry'. Never thought you lost the Bugner fight!

Not really. for those of us who were there it was a momentous three days, but it's a bit like hearing stories from my parents and grandparents about VE Day. Significant historically, but it was 12 years before I was born, and I'd soon tire of hearing the same old things over and over again. Maybe we could have a Saints 1976 thread where the 'oldies' could reminisce? Being in your early twenties and expressing this view doesn't make you any less of a Saints supporter than anyone else on this board, older or younger, I just hope we all get to enjoy the sweet smell of success at some time in the next week. believe you me, you won't forget how good it feels.

I'd agree with you wholeheartedly. this is something very close to my professional heart and amidst the rant I probably haven't been explicit enough in what I was trying to say. What I was trying to convey was that the burden of responsibility in dealing effectively with behaviour in classrooms lies with classroom teachers. Of course it is the responsibility of all individuals, both adult and children to conduct themselves appropriately and to take responsibility for their own actions without excuses being given and accept appropriate sanctions. This is one of the fundamental premises of a 'Behaviour for Change' programme I run in school. You would however be amazed how often relatively minor situations are escalated into something far more serious by adults. This usually happens when they personalise problems in the classroom, hold grudges or indeed as the OP intimated make assumptions as to how a young person behaves based on other factors which have little or no relevance to the individual.

Nail hit on head. I manage an Inclusion Centre which is beginning to morph more into a PRU Pupil Referral Unit for our school. All too often I have to work with young people who are denied access to education within the classroom due to a variety of spurious reasons that really boil down to the teacher (Let's not forget they are the adult here) disliking the pupils with which they have had issues with in the past. Much, but not all of the time, the issues are of their making and not being prepared to modify their behaviours towards the young people only exacerbates the situation. These young people are not in the main two headed ogres. Violence towards our staff is phenomenally rare. Most of the students I end up working with are rude; some are occasionally abusive (usually directed at the situations they find themselves in that they are unable to deal with, not at the teachers); the majority engage in low level misbehaviour which because it is challenged in an inappropriate manner by adults often develos into something much more serious. As a parent I would agree with the sentiment that young people should not be allowed to disrupt or interfere with the education of others, but there needs to be recognition that the burden of responsibility for behaviour in classrooms lies in the first instance with the classroom teachers. If they abrogate their responsibilities and merely 'pass the buck' (most usually to a Head of Year/House) they undermine their own authority. Rant over!

Valley Parade circa March 76 came with crumbling terraces, rusty crash barriers and s h i t segregation hence flying Party 7's. If I remember rightly most of us didn't bother with the exits but left the ground over the corrugated metal at the back of the Spion Kop terrace which had been trampled down. Eastville, the former home of Bristol Rovers was a dump also. An elevated section of the M32 was very close to the back of an open uncovered terrace with a similar corrugated metal back to that at Bradford.

Heresy by SJ Parris. Seeing if her work stands up to Shardlake novels and also Conquest by Stewart Binns, basically about Hereward the Wake. I do enjoy my historical fiction.

hey Dune you might be a right wing T W A T but this made me LOL

Bailey the Scouse *****, because he was responsible for Ossie and I think Stevie Williams being sent off away at Blackburn the last time we got promoted. Got dogs abuse in the thrashing we gave them around Easter time. I believe the modern way to describe this is...LOL

CWC game at the Dell against Olympique Marseille. For atmostphere and noise alone the quarter final against Anderlecht. The Dell was so noisy it made your ear drums vibrate.

It's right up there with Uncharted 2. Thorougly enjoyable and immersive game. Playing Crysis 2 now but just cant get into that in the same way as ME2. It pulls you in with its storyline and it stands up as a third person shooter withs strong RPG elements. Shame that I wasn't able to play the first game but the comic has kind of filled me in on the back story. Really enjoyed the Overlord and Lair of the Shadow Broker Missions. Looking forward to ME3. It's going to be a stonking end of 2011 with that and Uncharted 3.

Coming to the end of Heartstone now. Have enjoyed all the Shardlake novels, this one particularly so. I agree with Pugwash, Sansom portrays Portsmuff as a right s h i t h o l e. funny how things never change!

collapsed on beach next to the Red Sea, bit of snorkelling, reading etc.

I avoided the board tonight, largely because anything less than a win was going to result in the utter ****** that has been posted by some. i've got three posts per day but I might just go for the infraction. Alpine you are one fookin weirdo T W A T

The only good'un' is dead'un'