Robotical Ltd offer a free trial of Marty the Robot for 3 weeks
Free STEM resource: Robotical Ltd offer a free trial of Marty the Robot for 3 weeks to schools throughout the UK! The Edinburgh based tech company, Robotical, are on a mission to create classrooms ‘Where learning comes alive’ with their programmable, walking, dancing, football-playing robot named Marty. To achieve this goal they are offering 3 week free trials of the robots throughout the UK and even covering all of the shipping and collection costs! Marty is designed to deliver real-world learning and help children think differently about science, technology, engineering and maths. Free online lesson plans, cross-curricular activities and friendly staff are on hand to help teachers make their lessons more fun and engaging – sparking creativity and empowering their children to view scientific concepts in innovative, practical and immersive ways. You can programme Marty with a basic remote control, with block based languages like Scratch or with real programming languages like Python so your lessons with Marty will span across a broad range of ages and abilities. Jonathan Baxter, Deputy Head Teacher at The Flora Stevenson Primary School, said, “Having something physical to move, away from a computer screen, helps pupils better understand what happens when they input certain commands.It moves the lessons from theoretical to practical and pupils can see the interaction between software and hardware. Marty is cute and engaging which makes it easy to introduce him in the classroom. But he also demonstrates how coding can be applied in the real world as he can interact with his surroundings.” Rushil Shah, COO at GoCode Academy told us that “Marty has been a head turner with students! He works really well across all of the age groups at GoCode. The younger kids love his human features and are able to use Scratch to get up and running with Marty quickly. For the older kids they’re able to explore coding in more detail by moving onto Python and see the physical connection between hardware and software.” 15 year old student, Iona, had this to say about her experience with Marty the Robot: “Playing and learning with Marty has been great fun, and it definitely has taught me a lot about engineering and computer programming which will help me in my future career. I definitely want to do engineering at university, and Marty has just made me more determined to make this happen. I have even taught Marty to feed my dog, so I’m wondering what other household chores he could help me with, maybe he could tidy my room or wash the dishes?! ” To find out more and try Marty for free for 3 weeks simply follow this link, scan the QR code below on your smartphone’s camera, call Robotical on 0131 564 0922 or email Ben via ben@robotical.io:
Kalmer Counselling – A school-based counselling service
Schools are experiencing more pressure than ever to meet the Mental health and emotional wellbeing of both pupils and staff. Teachers and support staff naturally become attached to, protective of, and concerned for the children/young people they educate. Today’s classrooms are filled with pupils who’ve experienced trauma through carrying the weight of poverty, abuse, violence, neglect, illness, divorce, death, loss and more. After a period of time daily reminders of the struggles they face, and the human desire to support and relieve them, teaching staff begin to suffer the symptoms of compassion fatigue (Secondary Trauma). By offering a therapeutic service within school creates a dedicated time and space for your pupils and staff to reflect providing them with the opportunities to develop the strengths and coping skills that underpin resilience enhancing their mental health and emotional wellbeing. Kalmer Counselling is an accredited member of the BACP and was formed to meet the need for a therapeutic service designed specifically for schools across the North East. Our background and experience demonstrate that we understand the school system and how it functions allowing our service to compliment and enrich current wellbeing strategies. We create a dedicated time and confidential space to help meet the Mental health and emotional wellbeing of pupils, parents and staff. We offer: • One-one or group work counselling sessions • Individual sessions – Spot purchased • Half day or full day -Termly or full Academic year • Staff development/training • Parent Workshops • Clinical Consultation & staff supervision • Experienced in working with Adopted & Looked After Children Our service is complimented by the fact our clinical management team, who are qualified accredited Child and Adolescent Psychotherapists, are also Thrive Practitioners, School Governors, Primary School Teachers and University of Northumbria lecturers If you’d like to know more about Kalmer Counselling please contact us on 0191 2416731 http://kalmer-counselling.co.uk
Bradford school revamps reading areas in time for World Book Day
Shibden Head Primary Academy has overhauled its pupils reading areas ahead of World Book Day which is set to take place on Thursday 5 March 2020. The new facilities have been designed to include comfortable, inviting spaces for children to spend time solo reading as well as with other pupils to encourage them to work together and to inspire children to read more at home. This has also seen the introduction of new books for children to enjoy. During World Book Day pupils at the school will be encouraged to come to dress as their favourite book characters and create a ‘book in a jar’ or a ‘book in a box’. Children will also be able to purchase books at a Book Fair which will be running during the week commencing Monday 9 March. Head of Shibden Head Primary Academy, Sarah Thornton said: “Nationally, 27% of pupils leave primary school unable to read at their expected level for their age. “This is why at Shibden Head we are putting a full school focus on the importance of reading and how it can be a fun hobby for our pupils to engage with. Connecting with them at a school level will mean they will be encouraged to read more at home too.” Michelle Harrison, Assistant Head and English Leader at Shibden Primary Academy, added: “With technology playing a bigger role in youngsters lives it can sometimes be difficult to get children to engage with books. “That is why we have gone back to basics and made spaces where children can access the books a fun place to be, helping them excite one another about what stories they can unfold.” Shibden Head Primary Academy operates as part of Focus Trust – a charitable multi-academy trust which is based in the North West of England with a vision of providing an engaging and challenging learning environment where the children are happy.
Safeguarding absent children means giving them more ‘ways out’
By Lara Péchard, Head at St Margaret’s School in Hertfordshire The importance of registration and attendance some say, has supposedly been made easier by management information systems, but these can be perfunctory and in some cases the word of another child can be enough for someone to be marked present. Increasingly in our fast-paced world, absence is the first and most reliable indicator of a pastoral or safeguarding issue and consequently it deserves much more prominence and professionalism in schools. Regardless of the type of school or size of site it seems many schools still find the monitoring of attendance a difficult task. Having explained at industry training days about the important steps one should take regarding pupil attendance, it was surprising to discover just how many schools struggle with the process. All too often parents are somewhat shocked that the child they dropped off at the school gates or at the train station never actually made it in. Systems need to be more suspicious about a possible gap between parent and school exploited by the child. In this scenario the possibility is that the child has simply gone to a library or a coffee shop to catch up on work or is unable to face the school day. This is a common occurrence especially for a sixth former without the right routines. However, in an age of child exploitation and County Lines, as a school, you have to be sure you know where your pupils are at all times during school hours. Chasing absence and lateness every day with the child and family is a must. For the child spiraling into depression, going into school might be too much for them. Schools need to know how to identify these children and the correlation with their attendance patterns. A chill out zone or welfare area; open and non-judgmental might make the difference in holding them safely. Often when a child has a high rate of lateness or absence you can find colleagues too easily accepting of plausible reasons for absence, as a pastoral need. For example, citing a parental health issue as a reason for a boy regularly missing school is one that springs to mind. In this scenario, at best the child is at home with a parent undertaking schoolwork, but in this case he was sleeping off a drug dependency and needed the school to lean in rather than respect his distance. It can be uncomfortable trying to encourage parents to get their children into school. Avoiding school is difficult for the entire household. Of course there are often very legitimate reasons to keep children at home and away from school. However, the instinct should be to get them into school to provide support, especially when offered as a package of care for the child and family. Often a parent, especially those who can work from home can be weak and an unhealthy pattern can take hold. A child that is consistently off school for one reason can quickly develop other issues that are very difficult for families to unpick. In truth, there are many more desperate situations where the school is trying to reach the inadvertently ‘boxed-out’ child with friendly visits from a tutor, classmates or chaplain. Schools need robust attendance systems that allow for multiple registration points, communication with home and that are easy for staff to get right. Secondly, schools should allocate a dedicated member of staff to check and follow up absences with personal communication. Schools need to be safe places with suitable space to ‘zone out’ for the traumatised, unhappy or bereaved. Giving children more ways out, so that coming into school can be managed even if homework isn’t completed, has to be where schools focus their attention.
Raising child self-esteem takes patience
Andrea Chatten, the founder of mental health service Unravel, is the Lead Children’s Emotional & Behavioural Psychologist and author of The Blinks novels. Here, she discusses raising child self-esteem and its effect on behaviour… I have always been fascinated in children’s emotional and behavioural difficulties. Starting out as a teacher, I recognised that, although it was my role to educate them in maths, English and the ten plus subjects that they needed to be taught, but these children needed more. I felt passionate and committed to help these children understand some of the difficult and complex feelings that they were experiencing, and which hugely affected their well-being. No matter how clever they had the potential to be, unless they received lots of emotional understanding and different ways of doing things, these kids could miss out on the most important thing we want for children – happiness. When I became a parent I found myself challenged with the level of responsibility and pressure to ensure that my children did not become as emotionally vulnerable as some of the children who I had worked with for many years. Parenting was by far the most difficult job that I had done as it was the most important. Don’t get me wrong the love and commitment I had for my class really wasn’t much different to what I felt for my own children but this role was about me helping my children evolve from the blank canvas that they were born as. As parents, carers and teachers, we are fundamental in how our child’s canvas develops. How much colour is present? How much grey? How the colours are dispersed, how bright those colours are and more importantly how appealing the final product is within our culture. Raising children with good self-esteem takes patience, huge, regular bundles of patience, as children translate patience into love. Patience means being gentle. Patience makes us listen more actively. Patience means we find time in this crazy fast world to stop and just be in the moment with our children. This love then becomes locked away inside of children and activates a core message that runs through them like a stick of rock. In order for children to develop a good level of self-esteem the message needs to be positive – “I am ok. I’m not perfect, I have faults but I am ok. I am worthy of love.” Reading this may make you feel pressured as it is your job and you, like every champion of the children in your care has made mistakes. You too just need to be ok, not perfect, you have flaws and bad days too. I had to have a serious word with myself when both my children were small. Coping day to day with sleep deprivation, a hungry breastfeeding baby and a toddler was tough. Some days I was not the best Mum. As I had only ever worked with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, it seemed so easy to mess up children and damage their self-esteem. Please let me reassure you now it isn’t that easy. Long term damage to self-esteem develops over time. Not from a bad day here and there, though how we re-engage with our child afterwards is essential. Apologies and explanations mean we take responsibility for negative actions and don’t leave them with the child. It also means that we model real emotions and make mistakes a normal part of being human. If we don’t re-connect emotionally afterwards, that can make children feel like it is their fault and they aren’t good enough. It is this internal dialogue that can begin the spiral of low self-esteem. Children’s self-esteem starts with us. We have to find as many ways to show children that we not only love them but like them. Also, it is essential that if our children have pushed us into going off them, that this stage is only ever temporary and we the adults get back on them as soon as possible. Children are highly sensitive to this emotional withdrawal and that too fosters low self-esteem. Raising children with good self-esteem is not difficult if we practise positive interactions and keep reflecting throughout the process. None us are perfect but with love, patience, and emotional warmth our children’s canvases can be bright, colourful and most of all happy. Top tips to help support your child’s emotional well-being 1. Get in sync – emotional connection is key. It is normal to disconnect with our children, life is demanding. However, when children don’t feel positively connected to us, it impacts on their well-being which is often communicated by negative behaviours 2. Communicate as much as possible from as early as possible. Talking with each other is how we learn, and problem solve, and it starts younger than we once thought. If you want to be having meaningful conversations with your teenager’s start being open and honest when they are two or three. 3. Listen to what your children tell you – they will teach us. It can be difficult hearing hurtful things from our children, but they are telling us what they need. Don’t hear what they say actively listen. 4. Avoid general praise – be specific. Avoid using words like good and bad with kids. This can negatively impact on identity and well-being. Instead reward and praise the action, progress or value. They are less likely to reject this kind of praise and it fosters healthier self-esteem 5. Keep reflecting. The only difference between a positive parent and a negative parent is reflection. It certainly won’t stop us making mistakes, but we might make fewer mistakes and certainly not keep making the same ones! 6. Help children to name and claim emotions. Our emotions are designed to keep us alive. We must acknowledge them otherwise the brain will turn the volume up on them meaning we feel emotions much more intensely. Once we name them our brain relaxes in the hope, we will then do something about it. 7. Help your child challenge their
Get free science resources for British Science Week!
British Science Week takes place from 6-15 March 2020 and a well-known parenting blogger is launching a digital campaign to provide parents and teachers with free learning resources – raising money for charity at the same time. Helen Neale, the creator of the UK’s No.1 Parenting Blog Kiddycharts.com, is launching 31 Days of Learning which will give schools and families free access to a range of fun learning activities, bringing the wonder of science and creative subjects into classrooms and homes. This special digital event will provide parents and teachers with exciting experiments, crafts, projects and games to bring STEM and STEAM learning to life. From making rainbow slime to growing fruit and vegetables, the activities will help children to get hands-on with science, and to see the links between art and STEM subjects. Launching on 1st March, a new activity will be made available on the KiddyCharts website each day throughout the month. Covering Science, Maths, Languages, Literacy and Art, the free resources will also include activities to boost awareness around mental and physical health. One project encourages children to create a journal helping them to recognise their emotions, while another looks at healthy eating. Ranked as the leading UK Parenting Blog by Rise Global, Kiddycharts.com is the only UK Blog that is a registered social enterprise, with most profit going to charity. All proceeds from the 31 Days of Learning campaign will go to Reverence for Life, a charity that supports local UK and International charities in their work to help homeless, disadvantaged and vulnerable people and children affected by HIV/AIDS. Helen said: “31 Days of Learning will give parents and teachers access to fantastic free resources just in time for British Science Week. We’ve recruited some of the UK’s best-known bloggers to help us, and each day they’ll provide an exciting new activity for kids – helping them to learn about the world around us while raising money for a really important cause.” Teachers and parents are encouraged to visit www.kiddycharts.com from 1st March to start downloading the free resources. The content will also be available via Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #31DaysOfLearning. Helen can be found on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Picture: This fun science experiment blows up a balloon using baking soda and vinegar. This free activity will be available on Day 1 of the campaign provided by blog Daisies and Pie: daisiesandpie.co.uk.
How can we effectively close the disadvantage gap?
Sharon Davies is the CEO of Young Enterprise and a highly experienced youth worker. Having left home at 16, Sharon was working in a Kwik Save at 19 when she was spotted by a youth worker who noticed her savvy and calm interactions with misbehaving teenagers outside the shop. The youth worker then encouraged her to go into youth work herself – a turning point for her own future. Here, Sharon discusses closing the disadvantage gap by giving young people the skills they need to succeed… A 2019 report by the Education Policy Institute found that the attainment gap between the most disadvantaged students and their peers is increasing. Disadvantaged students are almost two years behind by the time they finish their GCSEs. The report ‘Who’s Left 2019’ found that the extent of the disadvantage gap has historically been masked by ‘off-rolling’. This is the practice of removing students from rolls, based on whether or not they were enrolled in January of Year 11, which more often than not improves the GCSE results of a school. The FFT Education Datalab, which produced the report, found that 24,600 students disappeared from school rolls in 2019, compared to 22,000 in 2018. This problem is getting worse. Disadvantage gap highlights inequality According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, income inequality in the UK is amongst the highest by international standards, and regional inequality is higher than any other large wealthy country. More and more young people are not getting the fair start they deserve. In fact, according to a recent poll by the Social Mobility Commission, 74% of people in the South East believe that there are good opportunities for them to make progress, compared to 31% in the North East. It is critical that young people with the least access to social capital are not left behind. So how can we reduce the disadvantage gap? The answer lies in ensuring every young person is provided with meaningful opportunities to develop crucial skills as a fully integrated part of the education system. Our current knowledge-based curriculum has created an exam led approach to education which inevitably leaves some young people behind. It increases pressure on teachers and school leaders and exacerbates challenges such as off-rolling. There is a greater need than ever to teach these crucial financial and entrepreneurial skills in our schools. Having the opportunity during school years to develop work skills and gain insight into the range of career opportunities available is a prerequisite for social mobility. Confidently understanding money puts young people in a good position to start their working lives. We are currently not doing enough to give young people the consistent access to the skills they need. Consequently, opportunities to even the playing field are being missed. Buidling on transferable skills It’s not just about understanding the world of work and finance, but all of those transferable skills that are going to be the currency of employability in young people’s futures. At Young Enterprise, we never fail to be amazed by the impact our programmes can have on our participants. Young people develop a confidence they never had, able to solve real-life problems in real-time, learn from their mistakes and adapt accordingly; these are the skills that enrich academic attainment to maximise opportunity. Just imagine if every young person were given equal access to develop the skills they need to succeed in addition to their academic achievements. Imagine the increased opportunity if a young person can showcase their potential through both academic achievement and skills development, and these were equally valued by employers. This vision is not a million miles away. It is one that Young Enterprise wholeheartedly believes in, it’s one that employers call for every year, and it is one that enables teachers to do what they entered the profession to do – inspire, enthuse, and prepare young people most effectively for their future. With a new language of success, together with the access to develop skills to match, so many more young people – regardless of their background – can begin to aspire to success. We’re committed to making change happen. By 2023, Young Enterprise aims to create a minimum of 1 million opportunities to help young people activate their untapped ambition. But as the ‘Who’s Left’ report showed, there is still a long way to go. We owe it to our young people to act today to equip them with the skills and confidence they will need to succeed tomorrow. All of our futures depend on it.
Cosy covers from BundleBean – for everyday adventures in all weathers!
Enjoy easier days out with our Wheelchair cosies – that fit effortlessly on to all special needs buggies, manual and powered wheelchairs. They come in two sizes – a child size suitable for 3+ years and an adult size recommended for anyone from 130cm tall to full size adult. Child Size: 80cm wide by 1m long and Adult Size: 90cm wide by 1.40m long (we suggest you check the length of legs and footplate before ordering). Waterproof, warm and easy to stow in its own stuff-sac, these covers are super easy to fit in seconds – no need to remove harness or get out of the wheelchair to fit. They come with a compact stuff sac for easy storage. The cheerful designs are sure to brighten even the greyest day and provide a fun talking point. A lovely way to customise a boring wheelchair! Our cosies are easy to fit with no fiddly fixings, non-restrictive and comforting. A signature pouch pocket to keeps hands warm and useful things within reach. Perfect for anyone with sensory issues who don’t like feeling restricted and great for children who like the reassuring comfort of a blanket that can be taken everywhere – BundleBeans are also great for car seats, planes and hospital visits. BundleBean is a small business that is dedicated to designing high-performing products to make days out easier in all weathers. We pride ourselves on personal customer service and thoughtful, practical designs. KEEP WHEELCHAIR USER WARM AND DRY – with a 100% waterproof shell and cosy fleece lining, these covers will keep you cosy and comfortable in all weathers EASY TO FIT UNIVERSAL DESIGN – easy to fit in seconds with no need to get out of the chair. Can be fitted by the user to aid independent living, where appropriate. Fits all manual and powered wheelchairs. REASSSURING AND PRACTICAL – designed with the wheelchair user’s needs in mind: comforting without being too restrictive for sensory issues, can withstand kicking, can be folded down to access PEGs / administer medication, contrast Velcro tabs to help with limited sight STUNNING DESIGNS – our fashion-led, Scandi-inspired designs are here to brighten up your day and provide a talking point – a great way to cheery up a boring wheelchair! RRP £29.99-£44.99 from www.bundlebean.com
Exam stress in students – how to plan for success
Revision expert and founder of the Tassomai learning program, Murray Morrison has helped thousands of students to prepare for exams. Here he explains how managing stress is the key to success. If you can spot the signs early, then there’s time to make the difference… The underlying theme of nearly every revision session I taught was to emphasise the importance of knowledge. But it wasn’t knowledge of all the facts on the syllabus – it was knowledge of self. Where are your gaps? Where are your strongest topics? Which ones are the priority to fix? When – and how – are we going to tackle them? Seeing stress in students was something I was very used to: many of my students were referred to me by psychotherapists specialising in teen anxiety. My job as I saw it was not to spoon-feed them with lessons and tutoring, rather it was to show them how to self-regulate, put together a plan that was manageable, attainable and sustainable and help them to execute it by themselves. Among the myriad troubles a teenager faces, exams or the preparation for them is a big one. At the crux of it is the issue of not knowing what they don’t know: this builds a nebulous dread, recognising that there’s work to do but not knowing where to start. Conversely, students also not knowing what they do know is a problem: they often know more than they think, and are missing out on giving themselves a little confidence-building credit. This is the foundation of the software I built, Tassomai – by using adaptive quizzing with immediate feedback, students can build a practice routine that helps them quickly find gaps and fill them – and do so without relying too much on outside help. But that’s just one part of what’s needed for a truly healthy revision program. If schools are trying to support parents in helping their children’s revision, I’d advise they give the following advice: recognise the signs, open up communications, go through the textbooks and syllabuses together to map out where the problems are, and help them to put together a plan for success. First, can parents recognise the signs of revision stress in amongst the normal behaviours of a teenager? Avoidance Students who, when exams or revision are mentioned, bury their heads in the sand are displaying classic avoidance behaviour. They might change the subject completely, or they might find a subtle excuse to get out of the room and stop the conversation. Do not waste time in confronting this behaviour. Revision-avoiders need to make a plan and they will need a bit of help to do it. Avoiding the problem means that revision work will pile up and stress will increase. Confronting it, though mildly traumatic at first, will defuse the situation and they can start to feel like their work will genuinely bear fruit. Aggression With similar motivations to the avoidance tactics, but dealing with the stress a little more aggressively, acting spikily, shouting or slamming doors and storming out. The approach must be similar – conversation, a bit of analysis together and putting a plan of work together – but proceed with caution to avoid damaging the chances of progress. Have faith however, that by doing the initial work, the underlying issues that caused the aggressive behaviour will dissolve a little, and life for all will be much more agreeable. Overworking Seeing this behaviour you might initially count yourself lucky or feel there’s no problem. Students who keep themselves busy, who are motivated and diligent and who stay up late revising with extra practice papers may seem to be on top of it all. However, this behaviour may indicate a lack of confidence and a tendency to worry. Take time to make sure that they’re addressing everything they need to focus on. Overworkers have been known to keep revising their best subjects and hide the problem areas out of mind. Make sure also that they’re keeping things in perspective – they might benefit from limited or regulated revision times and a bit more time for R&R. Passivity A problem among higher-achievers – some students seem to have it all under control, but whenever you look at them, they’re lying around not doing much. It can be hard, if you’ve never struggled in school to know how to ask for help – or from whom. Talk to them to find out whether they are truly feeling positive. Acknowledge that they’ve been doing very well so far, but ask if there aren’t just one or two things they’d like to get help with. If nothing else, a couple of practice papers to get them fit and ready for the big day might be positive. It could justify the confidence or reveal one or two topics for final polish. Distraction Finally, that student who spends much of their revision time on seemingly highly-productive but not-terribly-useful work. In exam stress terms, this is the student who is always very busy with superficial tasks like colouring in notes or organising files and revision plans. This feels like a combination of overworking and avoidance – but students with this profile are in a sense well ahead of the curve, because their notes will be brilliantly organised and ready. Nevertheless, they would benefit enormously from some outside help: work constructively to set a goal for each revision session, and check in regularly to track what has been achieved and how valuable the session was, and find a way to chart that information so that they can see how far they’ve come. All students, whether they conform to these examples or not, are likely to improve their psychological preparedness for exams with a few straightforward actions, and these are done most healthily if parents or friends are able to support. The single best thing to be done in dealing with exam stress is to work out quickly where the strengths and the weaknesses lie in each subject, make a plan around that analysis and constantly check and