Cribsheet 04.07.11

Misguided jobsworths must stop their over-zealous application of health and safety laws

World gone mad, says Health and safety exec

Three cheers for Judith Hackitt, head of the Health and Safety executive, who is waging war on the jobsworths who are using health and safety to excuse unpopular decisions. Hackitt promised that her agency would challenge "daft and misguided decisions" that make playground games, and sport and science lessons dull, and are "stifling childhood".

The Department of Education simultaneously announced that it has cut its safety guidelines down from 150 plus pages to just eight. Guardian cartoonist Martin Rowson was moved to illustrate the news.

More education news from the Guardian

A bitter row has broken out between the writer of Billy Elliot, Lee Hall, and a school in Bridlington after Hall refused to remove references to a gay character in Beached, his epic opera set on the Beach at Bridlington, which was to involve 300 primary-aged children.

Hall has spent a year writing the Opera and rehearsals have been under way for six months. But two weeks ago the main primary school involved threatened to remove its children from the performance unless changes were made to the script.

The scene that has caused offence does not involve any of the children. The main character simply states that he is gay when confronted by others.

"Of course I'm queer/That's why I left here/So if you infer/That I prefer/A lad to a lass/ And I'm working class/ I'd have to concur."

The school ruled that this material was innapropriate, and asked for a rewrite. They were backed up by East Riding council.

East Riding council said the school's staff, governing body and the council's schools music service had all had concerns about the scene. They felt the tone and language used was "inappropriate for a performance featuring young children, with pupils participating aged four to 11".

But Hall staunchly refused to alter the script. Describing the school's request as "completely outdated hysteria" coming from "an entirely different era".

• The conversation: Do modular GCSE examinations encourage resits?

Do modular GCSEs encourage pupils to take resits until they get the results they want? Two students discuss the pros and cons

• Pass notes No 3,002: The Oxford comma

Elitist and irritating, or useful and precise? All you need to know about the controversial punctuation mark

Debate Mate

The erstwhile Labour leadership candidate, David Miliband, was on hand last week to chair the final of the Debate Mate Cup. Over the past 16 weeks 1,700 pupils aged from 11-15 have taken part in the inter-school debating championship. You can see pictures from the event here.

Schools from across the country took part in the semi-finals on Wednesday. But they were beaten to the final by the crews from St Angela's Ursuline convent school in Newham, and Robert Clack in Dagenham.

Cribsheet thinks the Robert Clack team drew the short straw as they had to propose the motion "This House believes that children should have a legal obligation to support their parents in their old age". They made some excellent technical points about the current failings in long-term care, but ultimately St Angela's took the cup. The kids, it seems, don't want us oldies around cramping their style when they are older.

Robert Clack pupil Reece Weaver was the first to speak. Afterwards he told cribsheet that learning to debate had given him confidence, and that it had helped him to develop analytical skills, which helped his school work across the board. "It gave me the ability to analyse things, analyse points and problems," he said. Moreover, "at the end of the day you are just better at arguing. You can actually get your point across which is is a really useful skill in life".

His team mate Kelvin Anim said: "The way you approach subject matters and the way you approach topics also changes because if you don't have debate skills either your views can be biased or you don't consider both sides which then means that your interpretation isn't as full or as detailed as it could be, so what debate allows you to do is to pick apart a point, identify biases, so that in the end after all of this the views that you hold and what you stand for is better because of it."

Weaver added, "but most of all it's fun".

David Miliband thanked Debate Mate for the opportunities they provide, and said they ought to be part of the curriculum in every school. "Debating fluency is as important as being able to read and write and count," he told the audience.

"Every private school in the country has a debating society, but very, very few state schools have a debating society, and we've got to take debating away from the idea that it's just for the rich and privileged. Communication and debate should be something that every one of us should be engaged in in a way that is respectful but also passionate and that's what I liked about what I've seen tonight."

Education news from around the web

• The Telegraph is carrying the story of Andrew Milewski who has been struck off the teaching register for inadvertantly projecting porn from his laptop into a classroom full of 11-year-olds. The GTC panel said:

"We consider that accessing pornography within a school classroom when pupils are present is a fundamental and serious breach of the standards that a teacher should observe and the public are entitled to expect."

• TNW Asia is reporting that South Korean schools are to replace all textbooks with Tablets.

From the Guardian higher education network

• Aaron Porter's first or fail

In the first of a series of weekly blog posts, Aaron Porter gives his verdict on who has had a good week and who has had a bad week in HE

• Life on campus (in the tropics)

We've all dreamed of it, but the Guardian's Higher Education Network meets some of the UK staff who are actually doing it. Cribsheet's author went to meet some of the teachers who have upped sticks are currently lecturing on Nottingham University's Malaysian campus.

Guardian Education Centre seminars for teachers

Insight into Journalism: investigative and features journalism

This seminar, part of our popular Insight into Journalism series, gives secondary school teachers and college tutors the chance to spend a day at the Guardian. You'll meet specialist journalists from the investigations team, find out from writers what makes a good features article and learn about commissioning, editing and interview techniques.

Time: 8 July, 9.15-4.30.

Cost: £72, including lunch and resources.

Education seminars from Guardian Professional

Making the most of media opportunities to enhance your school's profile

Whether it's sharing good news or handling a crisis, headteachers and school management teams need to be able to handle the media in all of its forms. This one-day seminar in association with the NAHT is essential for new and aspiring heads as well as established school leaders who wish to update their knowledge. It includes a session on social media.

20 September, London.