Play and arts therapy experts Clear Sky are helping children boost their mental health
At least three children in every UK classroom will have a diagnosable mental health difficulty. Many more will be struggling with psychological difficulties which impact on their learning such as anxiety and low self-esteem. Play & Creative Arts Therapy creates a safe environment for children who are finding it difficult to explore and express themselves, through the language of play. By also offering support to parents, and providing professionals with specialist skills we can help parents and carers to better understand the emotional needs of the children in their care and attend to them appropriately. Ultimately this leads to improved emotional wellbeing and increased resilience putting them in good stead for a happy and healthy future. Clear Sky Children’s Charity are experts in Play and Creative Arts therapy. We work in schools providing 1:1 and group therapeutic interventions to children who have experienced trauma, or who may be experiencing emotional or behavioural problems. All of our sessions are child-led and are delivered by experienced and fully qualified Play and Creative Arts professionals. We support schools through our Attachment-Play based learning programmes and offer a range of CPD in-school training which is supported in turn by our online ‘Emotionally Healthy Schools’ framework; giving settings the opportunity to embed the principles of good emotional health to support their entire community through the use of resources, games and videos. We work with groups of parents and in groups of parent-child together to help strengthen the important relationship between child and carer through the medium of Play. At the beginning of lockdown as this face to face support was not possible, we created a 94-page practical Parents Play Kit, full of ideas for parents to use at home with their child to build and strengthen communication, understanding and empathy, and create time and space for parents to connect with their child. Our Play Kit was downloaded thousands of times and made available in print for therapeutic practitioners and professionals working with children. We work with the National Education Union as part of their CPD programme, delivering our Space to Shine programme for NQT’s and experienced teachers alike where we enable professionals to practice play! Finally, we provide support for those professionals who are working within the therapeutic sector to enable them to access the very latest research, resources and learning through our online membership body ‘The Institute for Play and Attachment’. Our aim is to support all children to survive and thrive through ‘The Power of Play’! To find out about how Clear Sky’s services and to download a copy of our Parents Play Kit, or to enquire about our school training and resources, please visit our website: www.clear-sky.org.uk or email us at: info@clear-sky.org.uk
Identifying meaningful measures to address the attainment gap
A project to explore how to make better use of data to assess the poverty-related attainment gap across eight local authorities has begun. The research is being led by the Northern Alliance – a collaboration of Scottish councils – and the Data for Children Collaborative, and international partnership of universities and government. The partnership also includes researchers from University of Strathclyde Fraser of Allander Institute, the CivicDataLab, and additional support from Glasgow Caledonian University and East Neuk Analytics. Addressing the poverty-related attainment gap is a huge challenge for schools and services across Scotland and globally. It is appreciated there are many factors with the school day which impact on this. All local authorities hold information that paints a picture of the challenges families face and the numbers of children and young people living in poverty. The project team has been working closely with education practitioners to understand what data currently exists, how these datasets may link with one another and, crucially, how this may help inform issues associated with poverty and deprivation. They have also completed an in-depth analysis of the tools currently available to teachers, to understand what is needed to enable practitioners to make better decisions with the data that is available to them. The work provided an overview of existing features, their capabilities and limitations, and provided insight into potential alternative solutions. The Data for Children Collaborative is a unique partnership between UNICEF, The Scottish Government and the University of Edinburgh, hosted by Edinburgh Futures Institute. Their goal is to leverage expertise from partner organisations in order to address existing problems for children using innovative data science techniques. Northern Alliance Research Assistant Grant Murray explained: “We are very pleased to be working in partnership with the Data for Children Collaborative. It’s a great example of how working together across council areas means we can look to address shared challenges. “This work is allowing us to conduct in-depth analysis at a regional level, alongside local insight and challenges on the ground, drawing on potential new data sources and techniques.” Jo Kirby, Northern Alliance Lead Officer for Raising Attainment and Closing the Gap, said: “More relevant data in a local context will serve to improve the system so that those working in schools can better understand and facilitate equity and progression in the classroom for all our learners, regardless of the barriers they may face.” Alex Hutchison, Director of the Data for Children Collaborative added: “This project highlights the power of academia, private sector and public sector working together, and how each of those areas brings different strengths to look at a problem in a new way.” Laurence Findlay, Regional Improvement Lead for the Northern Alliance and Director of Education and Children’s Services for Aberdeenshire Council thinks the analysis of data will help to inform approaches at a local level. He said: “This important work will help practitioners to think about the trends identified within their local context. This isn’t just about schools but all services that support children and families understanding how best they can work together to make a difference. Understanding the factors that present barriers to families and young people will help us to better support families to access the help they need to thrive.” The outcomes of the first phase of work are now available on the project summary webpage. The Northern Alliance is currently reviewing proposals for the second phase of works, which will aim to take a deeper look at the data identified, and build meaningful measures for education practitioners to use.
Ethnic minority teachers offered free Google backed training scheme
Happy2Host Education, a UK-based professional development and creative agency, has announced it has been chosen to run an innovative program aimed at improving diversity and increasing the number of Black and Asian educators in the Google for Education Trainer community. The worrying lack of Black and Asian trainers in the Google community also extends to Google’s partners. Last year, Happy2Host Education became the first black-owned company in Europe to become a Google for Education partner. The agency hopes that through their involvement with the scheme and their work within the community, diversity and inclusion will improve. The program, with cohorts starting in February and April, will focus on empowering educators from minority backgrounds to have a greater impact at their school through upskilling using Google software. The mentoring program lasts for six months where candidates will receive 20 hours of guided professional development, including 6 hours of mentoring from Google Trainers – like Happy2Host Education. CEO of Happy2Host Education, Lawrence Tijani says, “We are incredibly proud to be running this very important project on behalf of Google UK. We are looking forward to working with incredible educators from Black and Asian communities to help them gain the Google for educator certifications.” Happy2Host Education is an inclusive environment that provides a range of affordable creative services for educators. The black-owned company celebrates what makes people unique and utilises these differences to help education providers stand out from the crowd through digital marketing and personal development. Completing Google certifications has been shown to improve student outcomes in the classroom, drive forward organisations’ digital culture and lead to further career progression for educators. However, many educators on previous Google-backed schemes haven’t been representative of the current diverse educational community. To improve this, the new wave of mentoring has been supported by 60 educators from marginalised communities, and Happy2Host are happy to be able to support in any way they can. Applications for the next cohort of the Google mentoring scheme open in March 2022. To book a place click here. To find out more about the EdTech tools, training, and strategies that Happy2Host offer, visit https://happy2host.education/
Coronavirus closures have left pupils more than 18 months behind
The learning gap created by the pandemic will take more than 18 months to close, teachers have warned. State school teachers were far more likely to offer a gloomy forecast of how long it would take pupils to catch up compared to teachers in private schools, according to a survey of 4,690 teachers for leading EdTech event, Bett. The survey – carried out by Teacher Tapp – showed that 14 per cent of teachers in private primary schools and 23 per cent of private secondary teachers had not seen a learning gap created by the pandemic. A majority of private secondary school teachers thought that their gap would be closed within 6 months. Just three per cent of teachers in state schools did not think there was a learning gap thanks to Covid19 compared to 19 per cent of private school teachers who thought there was no gap. Some 36 per cent of primary teachers in state schools thought the learning gap would take 18 months or more, while 32 per cent of secondary state school teachers thought the same. Overall, classroom teachers were slightly more pessimistic about how long it would take to close the learning gap than headteachers or members of the senior leadership teams (SLT). Some 32 per cent of teachers at the coalface thought it would take 18 months or more, compared with 31 per cent of SLT and 28 per cent of heads. When analysed by subject, language teachers and Key Stage 2 primary teachers were the most pessimistic, with 34 per cent warning it would take more than 18 months to catch up students. Some 28 per cent of maths specialist teachers thought it would be more than 18 months, while the figures were nearly the same for English teachers (27 per cent) and humanities (27 per cent) while nearly a third of science teachers – 31 per cent – also warned of the longest time delay. For teachers of early years and Key Stage one in primary, a third warned it would take more than 18 months while 30 per cent of PE teachers and 24 per cent of art and design and technology teachers thought the same. School closures ban Nearly four in ten – 38 per cent – of teachers agree or strongly agree with banning school closures and classing them as ‘essential infrastructure’. The move is proposed by senior Tory MP Rob Halfon, the chairman of the education select committee, who wants school closures to be banned unless they are voted for in parliament. Mr Halfon has put forward a Private Members’ bill to argue the case, saying that school closures and lockdowns had led to massive gaps in learning and to a safeguarding crisis. Many teachers remain uncertain about the proposed ban, with 29 per cent saying they were unsure whether they backed it. Slightly fewer teachers were against the ban – with 20 per cent disagreeing and 10 per cent strongly disagreeing. Primary school teachers remained marginally more supportive of keeping schools open – with 39 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing with a ban on future closures, 30 per cent being uncertain, nine per cent strongly disagreeing and 18 per cent disagreeing. Among secondary school teachers, 39 per cent agreed or strongly agreed with a ban on closures while 27 per cent were unsure and a third disagreed or strongly disagreed. The split was starkest between state and private schools. Private schools were much more likely to want to stay open – with 25 per cent strongly in favour compared with 15 per cent in the state sector. Overall, 48 per cent of private school teachers backed the ban compared to 37 per cent in the state sector. Private primaries were strongly in favour of Mr Halfon’s proposals by 53 per cent compared to state primaries on 38 per cent. Just 37 per cent of state secondary school teachers backed the ban compared to nearly half – 48 per cent – of private secondaries. More state secondary teachers disagreed with the ban – with 34 per cent disagreeing or strongly disagreeing – than private secondary teachers (23 per cent). For private primaries, just 20 per cent opposed the move compared with 28 per cent in state primaries. A further 23 per cent of private school teachers agreed with the ban on closures compared to 22 per cent of state schools, Headteachers were also more likely to be very supportive of keeping schools open – with 42 per cent strongly agreeing or agreeing with an outright ban compared with just 35 per cent of classroom teachers. There were also regional variations, with London schools most in favour of a ban on closures – 40 per cent vs 31 per cent in the East of England. A third of teachers in the East of England disagreed or strongly disagreed with school closures while that figure was 29 per cent in London; 35 per cent in the Midlands, 31 per cent in the North West, 32 per cent in the South East, 30 per cent in the South West and 28 per cent in Yorkshire and the North East. Schools rated as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted were the most likely to want to stay open – with 38 per cent supporting the proposed ban compared to 34 per cent of schools rated as ‘Good’ and 33 per cent of schools rated as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requires improvement’. Eve Harper, event director, at Bett UK at Hyve Group plc, said: “Our survey shows that teachers are clearly concerned that the learning gap has widened since the pandemic. More teachers think that the Covid catch-up will take 18 months or more. There is also a stark difference in how long state school teachers fear it will take for pupils to recover lost learning compared with private school
New film released for schools to highlight ‘County Lines’ grooming threat
A new film tackling the growing issue of criminals grooming and exploiting teenagers has been released for schools. New this week on Into Film’s free screening service for UK schools, Into Film+, is the film County Lines, an Award-winning British drama depicting the story of a teenage boy pressured into running ‘County Lines’, an escalating issue facing vulnerable children and young people today. Aimed at pupils aged 16+, Into Film launched the film and accompanying teaching resource to highlight the UK crisis affecting pupils who lack support and safeguarding within society and to provide valuable insight and support for teachers tackling this challenging subject matter in the classroom. “This film authentically depicts the reality for young people caught up in the County Lines trap,” said Stefanie Roberts, Signs of Safety Practice Lead, Bexley Children’s Social Care. “This is exactly the model used and the film tracks it brilliantly. It’s an important film to share with young people, their teachers and families, and we will be using the film as part of our training.” Inspired by true events, County Lines is the highly acclaimed debut feature from writer/director Henry Blake who based the film on his own experience as a youth worker operating in an East London PRU (Pupil Referral Unit) for children excluded from mainstream school). The film is a vivid and moving coming-of-age story about a struggling mum and her 14-year-old son, Tyler, who is groomed and recruited into a lethal drug-selling network, a ‘County Line’. The director’s first-hand knowledge from working with young people already taking part or at real risk of ‘County Lines’ exploitation has enabled him to create an authentic film that captures the harsh reality that so many young people in the UK currently face. The National Crime Agency (NCA) estimates that more than 10,000 children in the UK are now exploited by or forced to work for drug gangs and that there are now more than 2,000 individual deal line numbers in operation. Police forces, the government, charities and academia are working to combat and disrupt the threat, which can have traumatic and long-lasting consequences for those exploited. “Frontline staff are so crucial because they can urge other professionals to recognise and acknowledge a child’s vulnerability; something that if it goes unchecked can send a young person on a whistle-stop tour of the UK’s criminal justice system,” said County Lines Writer/Director, Henry Blake. To watch County Lines and access the teaching resource, sign up to the free* streaming platform, Into Film+ Into Film and the Into Film+ streaming platform is supported by the BFI using National Lottery funding, thanks to National Lottery players, and the UK film industry through Cinema First. The National Lottery raises £36 million each week for good causes across the UK. *Into Film+ screenings of Filmbankmedia’s films for an entertainment or extra-curricular purpose require a Public Video Screening Licence (PVSL) from Filmbankmedia. State-funded schools in England are covered by the PVSL.
Kaiser Chiefs frontman and Radio 1 star host new CBBC art show
Kaiser Chiefs frontman and former art teacher, Ricky Wilson, is teaming up with award-winning Radio 1 presenter, Vick Hope for a brand new CBBC show, which sees 27 budding young artists from around the UK compete to be crowned Britain’s Best Young Artist. Armed with a sketchbook and pencil, each episode sees three contenders take part in an Inspiration day, designed to challenge and stretch their artistic muscles, before returning to the art studio to create a showstopping artwork. The wannabe artists must impress Ricky and a guest judge who will be on hand to critique the finished artwork and decide who moves onto the next round. Joining Ricky as a guest judge will be world-class artists including Alison Lapper, Simeon Barclay, Si Mitchell and many more. Those that make the semi-finals are commissioned to create an original piece of art for celebrities including, Dr Alex George; acing driver, Jamie Chadwick and former Blue Peter presenter, Lindsey Russell, all appearing in the series. The series culminates with the grand finale, in which the top 3 artists have to draw on all of their creative skills and experience to produce a winning masterpiece which best depicts their hometown. Out of 3 semi-finalists, there can only be one winner who goes on to be crowned Britain’s Best Young Artist and win the prize of their final masterpiece displayed at an art gallery in their home town. Ricky says: “I’ve really enjoyed seeing what all the kids in the show can do and what they can do is astonishing. If I could do anything as half as good as them at that age then I’d be winning the Turner Prize.” Vick says: “Britain’s Best Young Artist is a place for experimentation, for getting your hands dirty, getting stuck in and trying new things. This show proves that anyone can make art and anyone can be an artist, no matter how young they are.” Britain’s Best Young Artist made by BBC Children’s In-House Productions will air Monday to Thursday on CBBC and BBC iPlayer from Monday 7th February. Britain’s Best Young Artist was filmed in a warehouse studio in Bolton, Greater Manchester and across several UK locations including Wales, Cumbria, Yorkshire, West Midlands and London.
How to get boys to open up about their feelings – a case study
Emotional health training organisation Mind With Heart is on a mission to help schools flourish and build a more compassionate society. Here the London based charity talks about its ‘Connected With Others’ programme which explores how positive relationships are key to our own wellbeing. It is an interactive and mindfulness-based programme for secondary school students. The aim is to equip young people with essential life skills that will support them throughout their education, as well as in their working and personal lives. The programme cultivates: • Awareness to recognise their own emotions, as well as the emotions of others; • Stability and resilience to be present with challenging emotions, and the ability to refrain from reacting habitually; • Self-compassion and the ability to be kind to themselves; • Emotional intelligence and listening skills, which enables them to give and receive support from others; • Empathy and compassion to be a good friend to others, including those outside their immediate circle of care; and • A sense of common humanity and a readiness to help. One trainer held this course in a London secondary school over a 5-week period of 10 sessions long, and it was delivered over the course of 5 double lessons of 1 hour and 45 minutes each. Interviews with 3 randomly selected boys from Year 9 (ages 13 to 14) were conducted before the training and again after the training was completed. In addition, there was a focus group of 13 Year 9 boys, which was taken at the end of the course. The majority of students were from a Bangladeshi ethnic background. In terms of the general student population at the school, around half were from a low income background, eligible for Free School Meals. Case study – Student 1 (‘S1’) S1 is a 14-year-old boy; he is chatty, enjoys playing sports and his school friends mean a lot to him. When he was asked in his pre-programme interview how he tries to support friends if they’re going through something difficult, he said ‘…if they forget about it and move on then it will help them focus more on different things’. S1 wants to support his friends and be a good friend by cheering them up and distracting them. By not acknowledging how his friends are really feeling, S1 dismisses their emotions. S1’s response was the same when asked whether he felt supported by his friends: ‘I feel very supported by my friends. When I’m feeling sad, they would try to help me forget about it by cheering me up’. In fact, many of the boys expressed the same thoughts on this, which highlights the problem of emotional avoidance rather than addressing and dealing with emotions. In fact, when asked what empathy was, S1 said he had never heard of it and, when further asked what compassion was, he thought that it was ‘being very enthusiastic and keen toward something’. Mind with Heart’s ‘Connected with Others’ programme aims to provide students with greater understanding and the tools to enhance their listening skills, expand their emotional intelligence and nurture their relationships. After the programme, we observed in S1 an increased empathy, readiness to help, courage and openness to approaching emotions. When asked about whether he would approach emotions differently he said, ‘I would. For example, if I was sad before I wouldn’t like to tell anyone, and I would think about it a lot. Now [the programme] made me think about it, I get it off my chest. I’ll be able to get some advice…’. This was echoed across many of the individual participants. It was clear that the training marked a shift in many of the boys, from perceiving themselves and/or others as ‘weak’ if they expressed their emotions, to it being a sign of ‘maturity’ and ‘strength’ to do so. When reflecting on what he had learnt from the programme as a whole, S1 said, ‘it might not sound as important when you have other things like maths and science, but really when you think about it, it could be one of the most important things that people feel around the world’. Case study – Student 2 (‘S2’) In his interview before the programme, S2 said that, if he is down, he would speak to his friends, particularly those he has known for a long time – ‘they kind of understand me’. However, interestingly, he did not feel the same when speaking with his family. ‘Parents might have [experienced the same things], but at the moment they don’t really know.’ The interview also explored gender stereotypes and whether S2 felt pressure from these stereotypes. S2 was acutely aware of stereotypes such as boys ‘don’t cry’ and that they’re ‘meant to be tough’. He further mentioned that he thought ‘some of them [his male classmates] feel shy and embarrassed to talk about how they feel’. Connected With Others encourages participants to investigate emotions, but also aims to provide them with support, confidence and assurance to take home these conversations and continue them with their families. In addition, the exercises and activities aim to re-educate on social gendered norms relating to emotions. For example, one activity required students to create abstract drawings of 8 different emotions. Students shared their drawings with the rest of the group. The activity opened the possibility for the boys to discuss the range of emotions they feel, while normalising the notion that boys experience a broad range of emotions. It seeks to challenge the traditional hegemonic masculine notions of boys only being allowed to show themselves as ‘tough’, ‘stoic’, ‘unemotional’ and demonstrates that boys can feel a wide range of emotions including being sad, angry, anxious, nervous, disappointed, depressed and shy. After the programme similar questions were put to S2. He said that before he ‘would just keep it [sadness] to myself’ and to cope he would play sports. Whereas now, together with playing sports, he would also try to talk about it. Further, when S2 was asked whether there was
Society reveals ‘deeply unfair disadvantage’ face masks are having on deaf children
The National Deaf Children’s Society has stepped in with a list of actions the Government should take to help deaf children while face masks are used in classrooms. Deaf school children left dreading school following the return of face coverings to classrooms at the beginning of the year, the charity says. It says the situation continues to put deaf children, who are struggling to keep up with hearing classmates, at a “deeply unfair disadvantage” and it’s affecting their education and their mental health. The National Deaf Children’s Society has today published a list of measures that it wants the Government to take, to counteract the negative impacts on deaf children’s education of the continued wearing of face coverings in class. This is in light of the Government’s planned review of the use of face coverings in secondary school and college classrooms on 26 January. The charity is asking parents of deaf children across England to email the Secretary of State, Nadhim Zahawi MP, to outline the impact face coverings in classrooms are having on their children. Face coverings make lip-reading impossible and obscure crucial facial expressions. Describing the ongoing use of face coverings in classrooms as putting deaf children at a ‘deeply unfair disadvantage’, the charity recommends the Government takes action to protect the education of deaf children, including by providing clear face coverings to schools and colleges with deaf pupils. In addition, the charity urges that a dedicated fund is set up to pay for extra support like radio aids or speech to text reporters for deaf pupils and the Secretary of State should write to schools, colleges and parents about the impact of face coverings on deaf pupils and give examples of reasonable adjustments that should be made. These mitigations will ensure that the communication needs of deaf children continue to be met in schools, even if the wearing of face coverings continues into next month. Mike Hobday, Director of Policy and Campaigns at the National Deaf Children’s Society, said: “Face masks across the country are having a huge impact on England’s 45,000 deaf children. Public health must be a priority, but face masks in class mean that deaf children are being left out and left behind. This is not acceptable. “Deaf children tell us they are struggling to communicate with their mask-wearing friends, unable to consistently understand their teachers and falling behind in their schoolwork. “The Government needs to take the urgent actions we’ve set out today to stop deaf children being failed.”
Oldham primary school achieves top art teaching accreditation
Oldham-based Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School has been awarded The Artsmark Award having demonstrated an ongoing commitment to quality and diversity in arts and culture. The Artsmark award, accredited by Arts Council England, is the only creative quality standard for schools and education settings. Their aim is to ensure every young person can be creative and access a diverse, high-quality cultural education. Having begun the journey in December 2017, the school had to achieve many targets which were set by Curious Minds – the Artsmark team. Joanna Dudson, the school’s Art lead, was acutely aware that even before beginning the journey, the school was independently well on its way. To achieve the award the school had to raise the profile of the arts across the curriculum whilst also deepening the awareness across the school of how it could engage pupils more positively in their own learning journeys. Artsmark fed into the school’s vision of #shaping the future, #making memories and #ready for life perfectly. Despite a global pandemic landing in the middle of their progress, the school did not let it impact their journey. Joanna continued to develop the curriculum and activities with the children around this by adopting a more flexible and adaptive approach. The activities adopted during the lockdown period meant that the students not only met the criteria for Blue Peter Badges, but also the Green Badge for awareness of the environment, conservation, and nature. This award entitled the children to free entry into top attractions across the UK. Commenting on the journey, Joanna Dudson said: “We are really pleased to have achieved this award; at Lyndhurst we value all aspects of learning. Creativity supports all areas of development, as well as supporting emotional and mental wellbeing while creating learners for life. “A real highlight in the process, aside from the Blue Peter badges, was utilising the music specialist at ‘Voices Music Foundation’ to teach music through singing. This allowed the children to develop their motor skills, confidence, rhythm, teamwork, and coordination. “All the staff at Lyndhurst were involved in the process towards the award, so to receive it has solidified our school wide community.” Lyndhurst Primary and Nursery School forms part of the Focus-Trust – a charitable primary schools trust which is based in the North West of England and West Yorkshire with a vision of providing great schools at the heart of communities where children thrive, achieve and succeed.