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The number of the schools in England moving from local authority control to central government control by becoming academies has grown rapidly since 2010 when the new academies agenda was instigated. More recently, the number of academies forming groups of academies – Multi-Academy Trusts (MATs) – which are distinct legal entities, has also grown rapidly. Together, these two changes, academisation and MATs, represent one of the most significant structural changes to the state education system in England since the Butler Education Act of 1944. The configuration of groups of schools into MATs has produced a diverse landscape of organisational structures and bodies responsible for the management and oversight of state funded schooling. MATs are extremely diverse structures, having a range of lead institutions, organisations and individuals. There is also a wide variance in geographic spread. \ud \ud Set against the socio-political and economic background of globalisation, these changes reflect one way in which the English government has responded to the opening up of public services, including schools, to private business interests and international capital. In becoming academies schools move out of local authority control and ‘buy in’ advice and support services. For example, responsibilities traditionally held by local authorities for intervening in and supporting inadequately performing schools have been taken on by so-called ‘sponsoring academies’. In essence, schools that are performing inadequately are required to become academies and join a MAT. Within the MAT will be a sponsoring academy, which has specific responsibilities for improving the inadequately performing school. \ud \ud The study is based on analysis of the Department for Education’s Edubase2 database relating to Academy sponsorship. It aims to describe emerging patterns of MATs paying particular attention to size, geographical spread, school type and sponsorship arrangements. The role of the Regional Schools’ Commissioners in allocating Sponsors and underperforming schools is also of interest here. Answers to the following questions were considered:\ud ● Why would schools chose to become sponsoring academies?\ud ● How is the arrangement brokered - particularly where sponsorship may cross geographical/county borders?\ud ● What are the sponsorship arrangements?\ud ● Is sponsorship short-term e.g. until the sponsored school meets satisfactory standards of performance or long-term?\ud ● What are the opportunities and risks of academy sponsorship?

Confusion between terms and ambiguities among definitions have long plagued the field of invasion biology. One result is disruption in flow of information from researchers to policy-makers and managers who rely on science to inform regulatory frameworks and management actions. We reviewed the South African marine biology literature to quantify the current usage of terminology describing marine invasions and found a variety of terms in use, few of which are defined when used. In response, we propose standard terminology that aligns with international practice. We then interpreted the Blackburn unified framework for biological invasions within the marine context and used this as a transparent way to apply the standardised terms to an updated list of marine alien species for the country. This resulted in the recognition of 36 alien and 53 invasive species within South Africa. Most notably, follow-up research is required to confirm the status of at least 11 listed species, the majority of which have been recorded only once, or not in the past 25 years. It is hoped that by standardising terminology, marine science in South Africa will better support authorities charged with managing the threat posed by marine alien species.Keywords: definitions, invasive species, state of knowledge

This chapter explores the inclusive education debate as it relates to children with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD). It illuminates a fundamental tension between international policy which promotes inclusive education as a human right (UN, 2006), and the challenge of including learners with profound intellectual impairments in the current neoliberal education system (Tomlinson, 2017). This tension is examined through two interpretations of disability found in the field of Disability Studies: the medical model and the social model (Goodley 2011). A medical model interpretation holds that children with PMLD are excluded from the mainstream because they lack the intellectual ability to learn at the same pace as other children. A social model interpretation holds that children with PMLD are excluded because mainstream education has not been designed with the needs of children with PMLD in mind, resulting in a range of barriers that prevent children with PMLD from meaningful participation. Proponents of the social model of disability call for a radical reform of the education system to reflect the diverse needs of all learners, including children with PMLD (Baglieri and Shapiro, 2017; Greenstein 2016).\ud \ud According to international policy, one of the key outcomes of inclusive education is social cohesion (UNESCO, 2002) defined in this chapter in terms of a sense of belonging, shared identity, and social cooperation (Fonseca et al., 2019; Simmons 2020). If inclusive education is to be realised for children with PMLD, then any radical reform of the education system must begin with an understanding of how schools can foster social cohesion amongst pupils. This chapter presents research evidence that illuminates the possible conditions of social cohesion, which include specialist staff who perform a dual role of supporting the emerging communication skills of children with PMLD, whilst also providing mainstream school peers with expert knowledge about how each child with PMLD uniquely communicates. The findings also suggest that children benefit from protected time and space to experiment with communication strategies, play together, develop friendships, and share roles and responsibilities. The chapter concludes by suggesting that if inclusion is to be actualised for children with PMLD, then we need to move beyond narrow concepts of inclusion as assimilation into a neoliberal education system, and begin to reimagine inclusive education as a process of enacting the conditions that can lead to social belonging.

This chapter will locate placement and work-based learning within organisational and wider socio-economic and political contexts, in addition to discussing various conceptions of what is being learnt in the workplace. Drawing on research into learning at work the chapter will provide an introduction to models and frameworks that can be used to evaluate the extent to which workplaces offer opportunities for learning of both an academic and professional nature. Changes in the way work is organised will be considered, in addition to the extent to which workplace processes and activities provide access to specific knowledge and competence, and to distinctive forms of learning. These aspects will be closely related to student experiences of placement and work-based learning.