PA in the media
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Children's minister raises doubts over age-banding
guardian.co.uk, 12 September 2008
The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has refused to be drawn on suggestions that the idea of age-banding – which it describes as an initiative from The Publishers Association – runs directly counter to its plan stating that children should be taught according to their "stage not age".
The children's minister, Ed Balls, said that while his department was broadly supportive of any measures that helped parents to choose the right books for their children, it advised caution in this area. Helen Goodman, deputy leader of the House of Commons, said that the scheme stemmed from a wish to sell more books through supermarkets.