School inspectors are getting younger these days.

At South Camden Community School, pupils from Year 7 upwards have conducted an alternative to an Ofsted: a student-led inspection termed “Instead”, The Times Educational Supplement (May 16) reports.

Instead was set up by Edge Learner Forum, a group of 13- to 21-year-olds, which brings together pupils from schools across London to discuss educational issues. As well as observing teachers, pupils have a chance to air their views on the school in interviews or Big Brother-style “diary rooms”.

The inspectors' verdicts are discussed with teachers in face-to-face meetings and collated into a report, but no teacher is identified.

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Pupils stress that they want to work with the school to make it better - unlike Ofsted who pronounce the school's strengths and weaknesses before disappearing.

Another unorthodox mode of inspection is ruffling university lecturers' feathers.

According to the University and College Union, Newcastle University and other institutions have introduced “capability” policies as a way of managing lecturer's performance outside disciplinary procedures.

Universities say the procedures are needed to manage staff performance rather than misconduct issues but UCU believes disciplinary procedures can be used for both, Times Higher Education (May 15) reports.

Examples include using “capability procedures” against an academic who was not publishing in the right journals and using student questionnaires to query capability in appraisal.

Garry Coupland, the assistant director of human resources at Newcastle, says the policy is “certainly not about a fast track to dismissal” rather it “protects the interests of staff by identifying a number of support measures”.

Reading skills pass children by

Literacy levels among looked-after children may be suffering because their carers often lack faith in their own reading ability.

A draft report on Reading Rich, a scheme by the Scottish Book Trust and NCH Scotland aimed at children in care, reveals that only 74 children took part in the scheme between 2004 and 2007, with carers' concerns over their own literacy skills contributing to low involvement. Many carers also lacked knowledge of age-appropriate books, reports Children & Young People Now (May 14).

The report recommends better partnership working between the care sector and education experts.

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