Call for education professionals to help with recruitment of child participants for groundbreaking language technology project
Education professionals are being urged to inform parents of children aged between four and eight to use the extra family time the pandemic has presented to participate in a groundbreaking national research project to ‘Tell one story now, help thousands of children tomorrow’. Supported by billboard advertising which went live in 400 locations across the country this week, the ‘Citizen Science’ project Language Explorer uses a first-of-its-kind machine learning based app to detect and assess developmental language disorders (DLD) – something which affects two children in every classroom. Participation in Language Explorer can be done at home, and involves a child re-telling a story read to them in the app, the recording of which is uploaded for analysis using technology which measures the level of language used by the child. The data collected in this project will be invaluable in training the app to recognise children with language difficulties and create significant efficiencies within the NHS, easing pressure on speech and language therapists by dramatically shortening the assessment process and facilitating faster diagnosis and treatment, and increased accuracy in planning interventions. The app was created by project leader and award-winning healthcare technology solutions developer Therapy Box, and the project is a collaboration with Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, Newcastle University and three NHS sites in Hackney, Newcastle and Bristol. The research project is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme. Language Explorer has also won awards including the Scale & Grow at the Virgin Media Business VOOM Awards, and a Digital Public Health Award. Some 600 children are required for the Language Explorer project, and around 200 have already taken part. The project partners hope that the advertising campaign – provided by JC Decaux after the project won the prize in the Virgin Media Business VOOM Awards – coupled with the fact parents are spending extra time with children because of school attendance restrictions, will boost participation. The app is free to download on iOS or Android devices. Rebecca Bright MBE, speech and language therapist and founder of Therapy Box, explained: “The Language Explorer app has been designed with children to ensure it is engaging, and to make sure the language used is suitable for its audience. Parents can simply download it, create a profile, and then their child can listen to the story. The child will then be asked to retell the story in their own words, complete a quiz and play a repeating game. Once all three challenges are completed, there is the option to listen back to the story and play a game to steer a ship to collect as many treasure coins as possible – so there is a reward for children participating in the form of a fun game. “The app will be put through its paces over the course of the second year of research by speech and language therapists and families accessing in-clinic or video assessment. The evolution of Language Explorer is an important step in developing artificial Intelligence to help the NHS achieve crucial efficiencies,” she added. Assessing children’s language is labour intensive and can take up to 30 minutes to listen and record a child speaking and then as much as 90 minutes to transcribe and analyse the sample. Lack of resource means children are either not assessed fully or not every child is assessed, which can deprive them of the right type and intensity of speech and language therapy. Dr Yvonne Wren, Senior Research Speech & Language Therapist at Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Research Unit, concluded: “Language Explorer has the potential to revolutionise the way we carry out language assessments with children in speech and language therapy. We want to ensure that we can carry out the highest quality work within the minimal time we have available to work with children in NHS clinics, schools and homes – and Language Explorer could be a game changer in helping us to do this. Our research will investigate how well Language Explorer works in clinical settings and how it can contribute to evidence-based care for children whose language development is causing concern.” To download the app: Appstore: https://lnkd.in/gPvPzDE PlayStore: https://lnkd.in/gmwBAht Watch this video for further information and instructions https://lnkd.in/gwvrf8c For updates on Language Explorer follow Therapy Box: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tboxapps Twitter https://twitter.com/TherapyBox LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/therapy-box/
Majority of education professionals feel stressed about finding a new role in the current climate
A brand new study from the UK’s leading independent job board, CV-Library, reveals that a staggering 75% of education professionals feel stressed about trying to find a new role in the current climate, with one in four (25.4%) admitting that they’ve put their job search on hold due to COVID-19. The study surveyed 1,100 professionals and found that 93.8% of people working in the education sector were hoping to find a new job in 2020. Amongst professionals who have put a pause on their job search, 66.7% said they won’t start looking again until lockdown is completely lifted and 26.7% said they’ll start searching again later in the year. The findings show that people who aren’t currently working are naturally the most stressed about finding a new role; with 87.5% of people who are unemployed and 90.9% of education professionals on furlough admitting that they feel this way. The figure dropped to 63.6% amongst people working part-time and 60% amongst people working full time. Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library, comments: “With a new decade comes a desire for change and a lot of people had big intentions for 2020. Whether that was to find a new job, set-up a new business or embark on an exciting new career path. Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic has flipped the world on its head and forced people to abandon these plans, which is resulting in a lot of angst and uncertainty. “For employers and recruiters, the fact that more people are wanting to change jobs is a massive positive, but we know that organisations are already making difficult decisions around their existing workforce. While job vacancies are starting to pick back up, opportunities have been limited over the past few months and this is naturally making job seekers feel nervous.” Amongst the 74.6% of respondents in the education industry who said they hadn’t paused their job search during the pandemic, only 22.7% said they’ve been able to find a new role during this time. However, this figure rose to 53.3% amongst candidates in the public sector, 42.9% in property, 37.5% in recruitment, 32% in manufacturing and 24% in social care. Biggins continues: “Certain industries are undoubtedly going to be more affected than others throughout the pandemic and we’ve certainly seen more jobs being advertised within the public sector and social care. It’s a stressful time for hiring professionals and job seekers, so try to be as sensitive as you can when handling applications. Communication is going to be key in this critical stage.”
New GCSE qualifications must reflect our changing world
GCSEs in Wales don’t reflect the needs of society as we rebuild after the coronavirus pandemic – and leave teenagers unprepared for life, says the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales. The current crisis has illustrated the need for change to education, said Sophie Howe, who is calling on Welsh Government to further consider replacing the qualifications. Year 11 pupils will this summer be given GCSE grades based on evidence, including teachers’ assessments, after exams were cancelled because of school closures. Ms Howe said she hoped such an approach would be extended when schools reopen, arguing the pandemic has provided a pilot for moving away from testing at age 16. The commissioner favours pupil-centred assessments, reflecting the new Curriculum for Wales 2022. Her latest Future Generations Report calls for a “radical rethink” of GCSEs. Qualifications Wales (QW) has just published its vision for qualifications in the future, reporting plans to update content and assessment of GCSEs to meet future needs and reflect and support the new curriculum. In its consultation, QW suggested it will bring in new work-related qualifications and move schools away from so-called ‘teaching to the test’, where lessons are focused on pupils passing an exam. Ms Howe, whose role is to protect future generations from the political actions of today, is now urging Welsh Government to reflect the Well-being of Future Generations Act in its approach to the new qualifications. “The education system prepares young people for exams. Education has to go beyond that and prepare us for life,” she said. “Teaching young people to think long-term, seek to prevent problems and collaborate with others is critical.” While the pandemic has brought huge challenges, Ms Howe said it has also given us an opportunity to reevaluate how we teach our children. She said: “As a result of the pandemic, schools are showing that they can assess pupils in a fairer way than testing the knowledge which can be regurgitated in two hours. “The world is changing. I’d like to see GCSEs better skilling our young people as global citizens trained in the latest technology.” The climate crisis is impacting work, community and well-being, said the commissioner – and education needs to quickly adapt to the challenge. She has called for a Universal Basic Income, a four-day working week and for Welsh Government to commit to a green recovery from COVID-19, since her Future Generations Report was published in March. In a paper outlining five steps to reset the economy, Ms Howe asked ministers to show political courage while ‘building back better’, with a focus on quality of life over GDP. An emphasis on teaching creativity, resilience, innovative thinking and design, says the commissioner, could help enable Wales to be a leader in the low carbon revolution. She said: “Wales is going to need to teach more care-givers, more green employees to help meet carbon emission targets in Wales and the UK. “Providing people with education and the opportunity to develop the right set of skills for their future improves health, socio-economic position and life expectancy. “We need to react positively to the changes in how we’re living, to ensure people have the right skills for our future Wales.” The Future Generations Report also found Welsh schools need more diversity, particularly more Black Asian and minority ethnic role models. The commissioner backed a petition calling for Black and POC UK histories to be taught in the Welsh curriculum. She recently made a statement on the need for people in power to work to dismantle systemic racism in Wales and the rest of the UK. The emotional impacts of COVID-19 on communities are going to be felt long into the future, she said, adding mental health and well-being education should be prioritised in the delivery of the curriculum. The Children’s Commissioner for Wales has published the results of a young person’s survey, Coronavirus and Me, where many reported a pleasure in spending time with family and enjoying the outdoors during lockdown, while 16% of secondary age pupils felt sad ‘most of the time’. Ms Howe said: “Teaching skills like team-work, critical thinking, emotional intelligence and problem-solving are vital if we’re to nurture a generation of emotionally resilient children. “That’s the education they need to help prevent cycles of lifelong inequality and adversity.”
Scribblerzone celebrates National Writing Day with the launch on a children’s writing competition
We know that research shows that children who love writing write 7 times above their expected levels at school.* We also know that children love writing competitions as can be seen by the thousands that enter the BBC’s 500 words competition. Tonya Meers co-founder of ScribblerZone says “National Writing Day is an annual event that celebrates writing and we love to do anything that encourages children to write which is why we are running a writing competition for 7-13 year olds.” There are 2 categories, one for 7-10 year olds and the other for 11 – 13 year olds. First prize A full membership to ScribblerZone worth £180 per year; Their story published in an anthology that we’ll be publishing at the end of the year; and £20 worth of books of their choice. Second prize The second prize will be their story published in the anthology; and £10 worth of books of their choice. All the children need to do is write a story with theme ’The night I got locked in the museum’. The competition opens on the 24th June and closes 31st July 2020 midnight (BST). The winners will be notified on the 4th September. “Tonya adds, we can’t wait to read the stories the kids come up with as they’ve got such fantastic imaginations and we think that this theme will give them lots of opportunities to come up with all sorts of possibilities. In addition when the children submit their stories they will also get the free membership level so they will continue to get lots of writing inspiration as well as being able to read interviews with other authors and those involved in the literary world so they’ll get lots of tips from the experts.” Heres how to enter the competition
Schools pulling teacher training placements for 2020-21, according to NASBTT survey
A “worryingly high” number of schools say they pulling teacher training placements in the next academic year, according to the findings of a survey by the National Association of School-Based Teacher Trainers (NASBTT). From 247 responses to a survey which closed on 1st June, 124 School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) providers, School Direct Lead Schools and HEIs have reported that school partners had informed them they are unable to participate in training programmes in 2020-21. Furthermore, 81% of ITT providers are more concerned about securing sufficient school placements next year compared to previous years and 45% of providers have closed, or are considering closing, programmes as a result of placements. The findings come at a time when latest figures show that there has been unprecedented increases in the number of applicants accepted for places on postgraduate ITT courses in the month between mid-April and mid-May: 30,600 compared with nearly 29,400 in May 2019, and also marking some 4,000 new applicants since mid-April. “ITT providers have told us, through our survey, that schools are not offering placements primarily due to concerns over the post Covid-19 transition, including worries about having additional people in school, the reluctance to allow trainee teachers to teach given the amount of time children have been away from school, the need to focus on other priorities, and uncertainty resulting from the pandemic,” NASBTT Executive Director Emma Hollis explained. “Additionally, capacity in schools (and in particular mentor capacity), concerns over the amount of support NQTs will need and therefore not being able to also support ITTs, and general anxiety over school finances have all been given as reasons for the decision. The number of schools who appear to be withdrawing placements is worryingly high, especially at a time when we are seeing increasing applications to teaching.” Emma called on the Department of Education to “act now” to ensure that there is no permanent damage to the system. “We would like to see supportive communications to schools, including clear guidance and encouragement to take ITTs and NQTs in the next academic year; but if needed, a requirement for schools to engage in ITT,” she said. “Funding, including suggestions for funding to schools to incentivise placements and to providers to support additional mentoring time, is also a consideration. And further guidance to ITT providers on areas such as social distancing for training and flexibility in online offerings is also worthy of attention. The bigger picture also shows concerns about the ITT Core Content Framework and Ofsted Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Inspection Framework, and both of these could be delayed or relaxed to give ITT providers some much needed breathing space.” Giving his reaction to the findings, James Noble-Rogers, Executive Director of the Universities Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET), added: “We are extremely worried about the likely shortage of school placements next year and the impact it could have on recruitment to ITE. At a time when we are experiencing the first significant increase in applications to ITE for many years, it would be a great shame if potentially excellent teachers were turned away because of placement difficulties. The government could help to address this by pointing out to schools the benefits of participating in ITE, and giving ITE providers the flexibility that they need to maximise existing placement opportunities.”
Online learning platform Firefly acquires SchoolPost to improve teacher parent communications
Firefly Learning, the leading provider of education technology for learning continuity and parental engagement, announces the acquisition of SchoolPost, a leading school-home communications tool. SchoolPost brings together email, SMS, secure web-based messaging, alongside online reply and consent forms into an integrated, interactive and customisable package. It will help schools to improve their communications with parents at a particularly crucial time during lockdown with the majority of school pupils home learning. A recent analysis of over 400,000 Firefly users over the lockdown period found that parental engagement has increased by 8 times. SchoolPost will ensure parental engagement is at the heart of education. Simon Hay, Co-founder and CEO of Firefly said .“Our mission is to supercharge the school experience so every student can reach their full potential. With many traditional channels now impossible, dialogue has become harder just as schools must enrol millions of parents to support more directly their children’s learning. We’re delighted to be working with the SchoolPost team. This deal accelerates our plans to give parents a one-stop shop for all their school interactions.” James Barrell, Co-founder and Commercial Director of SchoolPost, said “It has been an amazing journey growing SchoolPost so far, and we believe that combining forces with a larger organisation with a shared vision and values will help us to continue to build on this. We’re confident that Firefly will be a great long-term home.” The SchoolPost team will continue to develop and support their product just as they do today, but with the backing and resources of the wider Firefly team to help accelerate their plans.
Tender success as Magna become approved contractor to schools
Warwickshire based Magna IM has been appointed by Crescent Purchasing Consortium to become an approved contractor of maintenance work to schools across the West Midlands. The framework provides schools across the UK with access to services from approved contractors for a wide range of maintenance services. Magna IM was added to the framework following a selection process which included demonstration of value for money, local knowledge and previous experience within the sector. Kevin McMullan, Commercial Director said, “Our appointment to the Crescent Purchasing Consortium is another great result for the team and a credit to the hard work they have put in. It is great to see our experience in the sector being recognised and opening more opportunities for us to develop further within the school’s sector. We have built a reputation over many years for delivering a first-class service and value for money to our customers in both the commercial and residential sectors which was acknowledged by the Crescent Purchasing Consortium on our appointment.” The Crescent Purchasing Consortium is a UK wide framework which provides its members with access to suppliers for both planned and responsive maintenance. It covers all electrical, heating, air conditioning, water and ventilation needs that a school may have. Schools have faced a challenging time during the Coronavirus pandemic and many classrooms remain empty as the unprecedented school closures continue. However, whilst schools are closed it presents a perfect opportunity for any works to be carried out and many are using this time wisely, implementing LED motion sensor lighting to reduce the need for touching switches. Magna IM operates in Warwickshire and the West Midlands as well as London and the South East and have been providing full property maintenance services to both commercial and residential customers for over 20 years.
8 year old Kaylie smashes school’s lockdown reading target with animal fundraiser
Renaissance believe that every pupil can be a successful learner and their portfolio of education technology products, from Accelerated Reader to myON news, empower teachers to help their students to reach their full potential. Eight year old Kaylie Bowler, from Perth, is in Year 4 at Goodlyburn Primary School and has used Renaissance’s Accelerated Reader to challenge herself and fundraise during lockdown. Kaylie is a huge animal lover and under normal circumstances can usually be found at Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife on the weekend, her family are members of both. To encourage Kaylie and her peers to read on their own during lockdown, Kaylie’s class teacher set a lockdown reading target challenge of reading 25 books, to achieve the ultimate award – a platinumcertificate. The children read their books on Accelerated Reader, Renaissance’s software which helps teachers monitor and track the progress of their pupils. It also gives pupils engaging comprehension activities and quizzes to improve their literacy skills and motivate them to read. Kaylie quickly smashed the highest goal and read 30 books in just one week! Her teacher and mum suggested she set herself a personal challenge, which she did with the aim of reading 100 books before the end of term and fundraising for her two favourite animal organisations. Kaylie was inspired to fundraise for the zoo and wildlife park after seeing that they both needed donations to make sure they had enough food for their animals. Kaylie smashed her personal target and raised over £150 for Edinburgh Zoo and Highland Wildlife Park in just four weeks! Kaylie’s teacher said: “Before lockdown, Kaylie wasn’t one of the most confident readers, but lockdown has really spurred her on and motivated her to read, along with support from her class teacher. Accelerated Reader has been a great tool, especially during these difficult times as we teachers can see tangible results when student’s reading levels improve. Kaylie isn’t only reading all of these books but we can see from the quizzes she completes after reading them that she understands what she’s reading and that the books are at the right level for her. Literacy skills are the foundation that learning across all subjects relies on, so having a firm grasp of them now will support Kaylie in learning across the curriculum. It’s been a delight to watch Kaylie blossom.” Kaylie’s mum said “Kaylie is animal obsessed so when she saw her favourite zoo and wildlife park needed donations, she wanted to do all she could to help. She loved the challenge of reading her books and then completing the quizzes on Accelerated Reader. As the results are instant it helps keep kid focused and really driven to make sure they are paying attention when they read, and asking questions if they don’t understand anything. We’re really proud of her raising over £200 for such good causes and are excited to see what she’s going to challenge herself to do next!”
Eco-Activists’ Online Streaming Platform Backed By PM’s Father To Be Offered Free For 32,770 Schools Across Britain
The world’s first online streaming platform for Eco-Activists, Ecostreamz (www.ecostreamz.com) backed by PM Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley Johnson, will be offered free for 12 months to 32,770 schools across Britain. Johnson, a keen conservationist, is an Honorary Ambassador of Ecostreamz. The platform embraces viewpoints from both sides of the political spectrum, and has been in talks with organisations from the Ape Alliance to Extinction Rebellion about embracing the platform, hosted on Microsoft Azure, one of the world’s ‘greenest Cloud service providers’. Tensions emerged between PM Boris Johnson and his father, when Stanley Johnson marched with Extinction Rebellion just prior to the election. He joked that he was proud to be a ‘crustie’ after Boris Johnson labelled Extinction Rebellion ‘uncooperative crusties’. SaveMoneyCutCarbon, backed by Lord Robin Russell and Tree Council Chairman Joel Cadbury, who were also the first recipient of investment from Barclays £175 million Sustainable Impact Capital Initiative, is advising Ecostreamz on its educational sponsorship programme. Save Money Cut Carbon who install immunity-protecting LED lights in schools and contactless taps are offering the free 12-month Ecostreamz subscription for each school they convert. Schools can gain Government-backed loans from Salix Finance to adopt ‘COVID-19’ protecting equipment. Careful editorial balance is an absolute prerequisite for Ecostreamz to provide a welcome resource in classrooms for young people who had their eyes open to the dangers of Climate Change by Greta Thunberg and plastic pollution in our oceans, after watching Sir David Attenborough’s Blue Planet 2. Ecostreamz is backed by Mya-Rose Craig, 18 years, who blogs as Birdgirl and is President of Black2Nature. She started conservation campaigning ten years ago, becoming the youngest British person to be awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science (by Bristol University) at the age of 17 years for her environmental campaigning. Mya-Rose says: “I got involved because I think Ecostreamz is an amazing way to ethically consume media and support the causes you care about”. Fellow Ecostreamz Ambassador is Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, joined the Ecostreamz Advisory Board. Dr. Goodall says: “Documentaries can change the world and in many cases, they have! With Films like ‘The Cove’, ‘Blackfish’, ‘Blood Lions’ and ‘Stroop’, many wildlife conservation crises have received more attention in the media and the public. Unfortunately, however, the vast majority of independent, issue-related films remain unseen because they are rarely picked up by television networks or theatres. That is why I have agreed to sit on the Advisory Board of Ecostreamz. By creating a streaming video service like Netflix dedicated to global environmental and social justice issues, Ecostreamz will endorse the importance of film in changing public discourse.We are running out of time for many species and their habitats in this planet we share. Ecostreamz provides an important service and I am glad to be a part of it.” Stanley Johnson says: “Britain will emerge from the pandemic with an even greater thirst for a cleaner and greener future. I am very confident that Ecostreamz will lead that charge”. Remarkably, 80% of all paid streaming revenues is returned to charities and filmmakers that provide the content. The project is co-founded by Oregon-based James Branchflower and British conservationist Ian Redmond OBE, the man who introduced Sir David Attenborough to the mountain gorillas for the BBC documentary Life on Earth in 1978 and went on to serve as Envoy for the UN Great Apes Survival Partnership. Ian Redmond OBE says: “Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion both urge the media to ‘tell the truth’ but,” says Redmond, “the mainstream media are reluctant to show documentaries they see as ‘ratings losers’ because they can be difficult to watch. Passionate filmmakers, often working with charities, make powerful educational films about the issues of our day, many of which win awards but then disappear. Ecostreamz is a platform for these important films and supports the causes that are featured. The scheme to provide free school subscriptions is a wonderful opportunity to educate the next generation and link students to the organisations working to solve the problems exposed.” Participating Ecostreamz partners include: Wild and Scenic Film Festival, International Wildlife Film Festival, Social Justice Film Festival, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Ape Alliance, The Borneo Project, International Primate Protection League, Gorilla Foundation, Freeland Foundation, WildAid, African Wildlife Foundation among many others. Some of the featured films currently enjoying high demand on Ecostreamz include: “Blood Lions”, “God in Shackles”, “Tainted Love”, “Stroop” and “Long Gone Wild”, among a strong line-up of must-watch critically acclaimed films.