From 9 February to 4 May Ofsted’s social care online questionnaires are open and available for completion. The questionnaires are Ofsted’s chance to hear what children and young people, parents, staff, social workers and other professionals say about children’s homes, adoption agencies, fostering services and residential family centres. Access the documents
A new United Nations human rights report seeking to analyse the problem of attacks against girls trying to access education found that schools in at least 70 different countries were attacked in the five years between 2009 and 2014, with many attacks specifically targeting girls, parents and teachers advocating for gender equality in education. Read more
A fifth of secondary school pupils admit saying something hurtful to someone online, a new survey has revealed, with teenage boys more likely to have done this than girls. This is despite three in 10 secondary school pupils and over a quarter of primary school pupils having experienced something online that concerned, upset or frightened them. Read more
On 21 October 2015, we will arrive at the point in time that Marty McFly travels to in the 1989 sci-fi sequel, Back to the Future II. But if a teenager today were to drive Doc Brown’s DeLorean back to Hill Valley High, would he or she notice any difference? Some schools are breaking the mould and embracing innovative teaching methods and curricula. Read more
The DfE published new GCSE subject content and assessment objectives for RE this week –c omplete with a misspelling of the word ‘Christianity’. Read the document In spite of considerable pressure and support to include humanism, it has been largely excluded. Read the response from the British Humanist Association.
Working memory involves the conscious processing and managing of information required to carry out complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. Memory has long been viewed as a key aspect of learning, but as the emphasis in educational standards has shifted away from rote learning toward the knowledge and skills needed to process new information, working memory is increasingly taking centre stage. To discover strategies to improve working memory, click here.
Is education the key to future social action? Local community work used to be an intrinsic part of our society for young people, but in recent years it has declined. This may be because of the lack of permanence in our communities, the rise of social media, economic issues or the fact that young people are under so much pressure to succeed. So is the answer to include social action in school life? Read more
Southampton University Law School is to host a major international conference on the ‘legality, validity and legitimacy’ of Israel ‘given the urgent need to respond to persistent Palestinian suffering.’ For three days in April, academics will discuss the ‘problems associated with the creation and nature of the Jewish state itself and the status of Jerusalem.’ Is this academic freedom or discrimination? Read more