How can we equip trainee teachers to support Looked After Children?
As a teacher I was always frustrated with how to support Looked After Children (LAC) better than I was. I felt as though I lacked information and that I needed to have a greater understanding of how to support them, but at the time I did not know how to gain this. After working as a primary classroom teacher and then across many schools within behaviour support, I looked at increasing my own knowledge and understanding in this area which led to my EdD research which looked at perceptions and experiences of trainee teachers working with Looked After Children: https://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/11028. LAC continue to underperform academically in comparison to their peers, and for decades have been let down by systems and support, with many entering the criminal justice system at an early age. My study examined trainee teachers’ and mentors’ perspectives and experiences to conclude how specific training could potentially support teachers and, in turn, impact on Looked After Children. There are currently approximately 70,000 children of school age in the UK that have been ‘looked after’ for 12 months or more. We also need to remember that in addition to the Looked After Children, there are also many more children that are placed with family members or under guardianship orders that may not be included within these statistics, but may present with similar challenges. While these numbers represent a small fraction of the 11.5 million children in the UK, more than a third of Looked After Children will end up Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET) on leaving school with only 6% of care leavers progressing to university (university participation rate of 38% of the general population). The long-term impact on these children can be seen in the criminal justice system. Although there are many factors contributing to these outcomes, those that achieve higher educational outcomes are less likely to become part of the criminal justice system. These children are more likely to go on to succeed by establishing a family, work lives and careers. As we all very well know, the training of teachers compresses a large number of important issues into the generally short course-time available. So, for example, a detailed consideration of the needs of LAC competes with phonics and reading, behaviour management, SEND, subject knowledge, skill development and much, much more in the list of priorities. However, there must be some place for LAC awareness, and therefore this research considered a five-year professional development strategy. The research gathered information on the experiences and issues trainee teachers and mentors faced when working with LAC, creating a model of development for training and CPD. The research highlighted the need to provide: · Training for awareness and understanding on policy and administrative knowledge – such as review and implementation of the Pupil Education Plans (PEPs), Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and funding support and application. · Challenge to perceptions – challenge trainee perceptions in relation to achievement, expectations and behaviour of LAC. · Training on supportive strategies for LAC – such as specific behaviour management support and attachment disorder. · Training for collaborative working – with carers, other teachers, social workers and healthcare professionals. There will always be a balancing act in teacher training: what is prioritised within the training curriculum, and what centre-based and school-based training includes. However, statistics show that outcomes for LAC are poor, and I think we would all agree that we need to question what we can do further as educational professionals. Dr Sarah Alix is Programme Director at North Essex Teacher Training. Her latest book, ‘The Foster Carer’s Handbook on Education’, has recently been published with CoramBAAF: : https://corambaaf.org.uk/books/foster-carers-handbook-education
How to create playgrounds full of learning opportunities
Marco Boi, Founder and CEO of PlayinnovationTM discusses the importance of playgrounds in primary schools and how they can create plenty of learning opportunities… Learning Outside the Classroom (LOTC) provides children with exciting, engaging and more practical experiences to enrich their education and help them learn, but how many schools have playgrounds geared up to support this? Many places can be used for LOTC, from local parks and museums to highstreets and nature reserves, but this often involves considerable forward planning and permission from parents/guardians, meaning it’s difficult to implement on a regular basis. Playgrounds, on the other hand, are always accessible, ready and waiting to bring lessons to life. However, the logistics of taking lessons outside can sometimes be a little tricky, requiring teachers to gather multiple resources, which then need to be set up before the teaching and learning can begin. But what if your playground had been designed for LOTC to create a seamless transition from classroom to outdoor space, with the equipment you need already in place? The great news is that playgrounds are evolving. No longer just places for pupils to run around and let off steam during breaktimes, today’s playgrounds are being designed to promote and support LOTC throughout the school day, and rightly so. According to an Ofsted study into LOTC, “Such hands-on activities led to improved outcomes for pupils and students, including better achievement, standards, motivation, personal development and behaviour.” By combining specially designed equipment with bold, inspiring colour schemes and inclusive physical activity and learning zones, these innovative, modern playgrounds are able to boost learning, interaction and discovery in a way that’s harder to achieve with more traditional playgrounds. The inclusive zones (which we like to call pockets) are particularly beneficial. Unlike the huge, empty playgrounds that many schools still have, zones allow you to offer a much wider variety of activities and learning opportunities to your pupils, both in lessons and during their free time. And while creating zones may sound like a mammoth task, it’s much easier than you might think. For example, adding target games to spare walls and fence systems around your school’s playground or sports court is a straightforward way of dividing a larger space into multiple areas – creating accessible, social environments that cater for as many pupils as possible. Target games designed for covert learning – when not being used during recreation time – are also fantastic teaching and learning tools for lessons. With a bit of creativity, they can be used to achieve a wide range of learning objectives from the National Curriculum. For instance, the majority of target games involve numbers, allowing children to develop maths skills – such as counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication and more – in a fun, interactive setting that inspires a love for the subject. So, why not tick off that Year 2 objective to ‘Count in steps of 2, 3, and 5 from 0, and in tens from any number, forward and backward’ with a target game, or work on your Year 3 class’s ability to solve number problems and practical problems through the strategic thinking necessary with target games? The options are endless, and it might just help to reignite your passion for certain topics. A win-win. By creating a playground full of learning opportunities, you’ll also be achieving an even more outcomes of high-quality physical education, school sport and physical activity, as described by the Association for Physical Education, such as developing self-esteem, confidence, teamwork and cooperation, independent learners and effective leaders, and, importantly, physical and emotional wellbeing. Just as teachers are building LOTC into their lesson planning, it should also be a key consideration for headteachers and school business managers when looking to build, enhance or redevelop their sport and play areas. Providing teachers and pupils with outdoor spaces specifically designed for LOTC opens the door to even more possibilities and makes LOTC much easier to achieve on a regular basis, which, I think we can all agree, is an absolute must if we’re to provide pupils with the broadest scope of learning opportunities possible, encouraging them to feel excited and engaged in their education. Why outstanding playgrounds are essential in primary schools Playground days live long in the memory. Who doesn’t remember the breaktime stampede as pupils squeeze their way through classroom doors to unleash their energy – whether swinging from the monkey bars (a teacher’s worst nightmare) or playing a game of imaginary, swashbuckling pirates – keeping feet off the tarmac as if it were crocodile-infested waters. For most children at primary school, other than Physical Education lessons, playtime is the most active part of their day. It offers the chance to have fun, let off steam, build friendships, follow their interests and, importantly, relax away from lessons, which is good for their mental health and wellbeing. However, there’s much more to playgrounds than first meets the eye. Playgrounds have endless potential for developing children socially, emotionally and intellectually. On a basic level, they’re places for children to enjoy themselves outside of the classroom, but when you start to peel back the layers, they’re places for learning new skills, discovering hidden talents, building self-confidence, being mentally and physically stimulated, and expanding horizons. Absolutely essential for primary schools. Bring Lessons to Life Outdoors Keeping primary school pupils on task within the four walls of the classroom is a challenge at the best of times. After all, experts say that, typically, a child can concentrate well for three to five minutes for every year they’ve been alive. This means a five-year-old should be able to manage 15-25 minutes at a time. But, as every teacher knows, concentration is made all the more difficult when the sun’s beaming down outside and the lesson being taught requires a fair amount of focus (oh how we love the summer! Thankfully, there’s a trick that all teachers can perform… Heading outside to the playground, and taking activities down to a more practical level, allows them to switch up the learning
4 ways to make a child a master of maths
Tony Staneff, series editor of the latest DfE-approved maths mastery textbook, Power Maths Key Stage 1, outlines four ways schools can embed the much-discussed mastery approach in their classrooms… to make each of their students a master of maths. While the mastery approach to maths has been around for a few years now, I wouldn’t be surprised if you are still wondering what it actually means. In my work with schools and teachers across the country, I know there’s a lot of confusion around the different interpretations of mastery and how to bring the practice into the classroom, so, here are four practical tips to help teach maths as effectively as possible and kick-start your mastery journey. 1. Encourage a positive maths culture It can often be the case that prior attainment causes teachers to assume that some children may not be able to succeed in a new topic. Ask yourself: what are the expectations of children in your school with maths? Are children working on “ability” tables and being pigeon-holed too early? Promoting a positive and growth mindset towards mathematics is a fundamental part of the mastery approach as teachers are encouraged to ensure that all pupils have, or are given, the background knowledge to succeed and there is no limit placed on their attainment. This should be a constant message delivered throughout the school year. If pupils are struggling, this doesn’t mean they can’t do maths – it’s important to look at the factors affecting achievement in the lesson, for instance, do they have the pre-requisite knowledge or is too much content being covered? 2. Take another look at lesson planning School leaders should encourage teachers to spend longer on topics and to go deeper. This is what happens in some of the most successful education settings across the world and it also supports how our brain works. Look at a curriculum that takes a small steps approach and avoids covering too much in lessons, too quickly and sending children into cognitive overload. While forgetting is part of the learning journey for every child, leading academic Daniel Willingham says that “Memory is the residue of thought” and so it’s important that children are thinking in lessons. Ask teachers to consider how they can structure their lessons to spark curiosity and use plenty of affirming types of questions. 3. Teach for meaning and understanding Do pupils need to know that 2 x 5 = 10 or know why 2 x 5 = 10? The most effective way of children understanding mathematics is if the abstract has some meaning and understanding. Encourage teachers to use concrete manipulatives and images such as the bar model. Schools should look for resources that are full of images that link the underpinning mathematics with the abstract calculations. 4. Keep up your learning and access support Whether you have the best teachers of maths in the world or those that need more development, we can all keep learning. Steps to improvement can include conducting an audit, getting in touch with your local maths hub or looking into funding for DfE-approved textbooks as part of the Teaching for Mastery national programme. Investing in your staff’s CPD as part of a wider development plan for maths is crucial, as is allowing your teachers to do maths together on a regular basis. Tony Staneff is the mastery team leader at White Rose Maths and series editor of Power Maths, a whole-class mastery programme. Power Maths Key Stage 1 has been approved by the DfE and written to comprehensively deliver the UK National Curriculum for key stage one. Don’t forget you can get a a handy, free guide on maths mastery!
CLA – online service has potential to ease teacher workload
A service launching this autumn for schools aims to reduce the amount of time involved in lesson preparation by delivering digital books needed for the classroom on a single online platform. Eela Devani explains. At a time when government and educational publishers are focused on improving digital access in schools, the traditional processes of lesson preparation – often involving teachers in time-consuming photocopying of chapters and extracts from physical books – are becoming increasingly outdated. Stretched resources don’t help to reduce the workload involved in lesson preparation. So the continuing shift to digital offers a better way to manage time and get the job done more effectively. An online education platform for books is currently being tested by a number of schools before its launch in the autumn to all schools licensed by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) across the UK. The platform allows teachers to access thousands of digital copies of the books that the school owns. Digital library offers flexibility Digital access to books brings significant advantages. A digital library gives schools a complete view of the books they own and helps teachers make the most of them. The platform gives teachers the flexibility to access their school’s books remotely without needing physical copies. Teachers access their school’s books remotely on any device to make copies without needing the physical book to hand. They share them with students by sending a link in an email direct to their device, linking through the VLE or printing a hard copy for use in class. The platform, which is available at no cost to CLA-licensed schools, allows teachers to make digital extracts of books that the school owns and share with colleagues and students. For students, whose personal lives are spent predominantly in a digital world, online access to learning content fits neatly into their comfort zone. Schools can read more about the CLA Education Platform at a dedicated website educationplatform.co.uk. It provides a searchable database of books, with content summaries provided by educational publishers, and details of how the unlocking process works. Eela Devani is Strategy and Digital Director of Copyright Licencing Agency. As a non-profit organisation, CLA ensures that schools can legally access, copy and share the published content they need, while ensuring copyright owners are paid fair royalties for the use of their work. Find the CLA on Twitter, Facebook.com and Linkedin.com.
Rocking Ur Teens – events for your teenage students
Founded in 2015, Rocking Ur Teens is a social enterprise that equips young people with the skills that leaders of the future need. It does this through its annual events. To date, Rocking Ur Teens has welcomed over 1,500 students and teachers at its conferences. Over the next five years, Rocking Ur Teens aims to expand its impact by growing its mentoring programme. Their mission as an event is to allow students to “develop entrepreneurial spirit, agility and flexibility, character, self esteem and good mental health.” About Rocking Ur Teens Rocking Ur Teens is a social enterprise with a vision of crafting inspiring conferences that: – Expose teens to corporate environments, apprentices, graduates and interns, giving them a practical insight into the world of work – Create relationships between young people and corporate organisations to develop pipelines of diverse talent – Are accessible, providing socially mobile speakers who share stories and act as role models. Seeing is believing! – Break down barriers between those from culturally diverse backgrounds and continue to bring together a national and international audience. Dispel myths like ‘science is not for girls’ and engage audiences with speakers such Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE – Stemettes – Introduce teens to social action at an early age to illustrate how they can make a difference in their local and global community – Develop self-esteem and mental health awareness through speakers that have experienced it, such as Jonny Benjamin MBE – Mental Health Campaigner Rocking Ur Teens was founded by Jenny Garrett, award winning author, speaker and coach, Sandy Parris, event planner and Geoffrey Williams, Head of Diversity & Inclusion EMEA at Thomson Reuters. Holding around four events and conferences a year, Rocking Ur teens focuses on both boys and girls between the 13-14 years olds in Year 8 & 9 of School to help them gain the confidence that they need in order to excel in their final years of education. Rocking Ur Teens was founded by Jenny Garrett, award winning author, speaker and coach, Sandy Parris, event planner and Geoffrey Williams, Head of Diversity & Inclusion EMEA at Thomson Reuters. For more information about Rocking Ur Teens please visit their website, Facebook page or Twitter page Rocking ur teens reminds boys about “being your true self” October, 2019 With the #MeToo movement and men in senior positions accused of deception, it’s arguably never been a more important time to ask: What does it mean to be a man? How do we tackle toxic masculinity? What is men’s responsibility in the world? How can we celebrate the uniqueness of men? To celebrate International Men’s Day, Rocking Ur Teens will be bringing together 180 teenage boys and their teachers for an empowerment event to explore these questions and much more. Taking place on 12th November at Thomson Reuters head offices in Canary Wharf, the one-day interactive event will showcase positive male role models to inspire participants through their experiences and raise their aspirations, showing them that anything is possible when they have the courage and confidence to find their own identity and work hard. The event will be hosted by Bear Grylls The Island Star and Radio Presenter, Dean Quinton. Participants will also hear from keynote speakers including Andrew Hulbert, Successful Entrepreneur and CEO of Pareto; Cameron Parker, Motivational Schools Speaker and Andrew Odong, Content Strategist and Founder of Creative Media Agency Pesa Productions. They will share their career stories and learned wisdom. Andrew Hulbert said: “I remember my teens. I was unproductive, lacked direction and wasn’t focussed in the right areas. I have so much experience now that I’d like to have given to my younger self. That’s why I’m involved in Rocking Ur Teens, as it gives me the chance to shape the future of some of the countries brightest teenagers and pass on that learnt wisdom.” The teens will also take part in a spoken word workshop with Ragz-CV and a session on making good choices. They’ll benefit from speed mentoring with a diverse group of men who will share the advice that they would give their 13-year-old selves – with the benefit of hindsight. Talking about our last boys conference, one teacher said: “Students were blown away by the experience they thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and the opportunity to network and experience new ideas.” Sponsored by Thomson Reuters, the conference is highly subsidised and tickets cost just £15 per student or teacher. To find out more about the conference and how to sponsor the event see rockingurteens.com. Tickets for this event are sold out, to register for future events see rockingurteens.com. Girls inspired to be tomorrow’s STEM leaders at Rocking Ur Teens event November 2018 International Airlines Group (IAG) and Rocking Ur Teens are teaming up to hold a one-day energetic and interactive conference for teenage girls aged 13 and 14. According to WISE, women make up just 23% of those in core STEM occupations in the UK and 24% of those working in core STEM industries. To grow these figures, IAG and Rocking Ur Teens will showcase STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers where traditionally girls are underrepresented and get them excited about the prospect of a job in one of these areas, that they may not have previously considered. At a time when teenagers are starting to think about possible careers, the event will bring to life the realities of various roles in both corporate organisations and non-typical industries for participants, so that they can start to map out their own journeys. Bringing together teens from different backgrounds, the event’s focus is on raising aspirations, building self-esteem and supporting teen girls in a safe and fun environment to learn, share and grow whilst providing effective tools to help them to successfully navigate their teenage years. Taking place on 4 December at IAG’s offices in Harmondsworth, West London, the day will be hosted by Capital Xtra radio presenter, Remel London. Attendees will hear from scientists, pilots, engineers and entrepreneurs including Emily Grossman, expert in molecular
School Uniform – A Summary of Government Guidance to Schools
This post was written by Christian McAleenan, Managing Director of Owl & Badger, a schoolwear business. Christian is an advocate of reducing school uniform costs by allowing parents to shop from multiple school uniform suppliers. At the beginning of September the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), whose role is to police competition law, wrote to the Department for Education (DfE). In its letter the CMA said that “school uniforms are a major cost to families” and blamed “school policies [that] prevent items being purchased from cheaper alternative suppliers”. The letter was prompted, the CMA said, by a surge of complaints from parents and carers about the excessive cost of uniforms. Undoubtedly, the CMA was also motivated by stories in the press highlighting the issue. The DfE responded in turn. During the exchange both organisations referred to guidance they had each issued respectively to schools and school uniform shops. But what is that guidance and how should school leaders expect government policy to develop going forward? What the DfE Says When Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, responded to the CMA he referred to guidance provided to schools in 2013. That guidance is the ‘School uniform guidance for governing bodies, school leaders, school staff and local authorities’. In summary, it notes the benefits of uniform and states that it is for the governing body of a school (or academy trust in the case of academies) to decide uniform policy. The views of the wider parent body should also be properly considered. It is applicable to both secondary school and primary school uniform policies. The main thrust of the guidance is to emphasise to school leaders that they must consider carefully the cost and availability of uniform. The guidance notes that there is a legal obligation on schools to ensure that uniform policy is not so expensive as to discourage parents from applying for a place. It further builds on this, advising schools that: • governing bodies should prioritise value for money for parents and be able to demonstrate how best value has been achieved; • compulsory branded items should be kept to a minimum; • cash back arrangements with school uniform suppliers were prohibited; and • exclusive single supplier contracts should be avoided, unless regular tendering competitions are run. Additionally, the guidance focuses on human rights, equality and discrimination considerations (something QA Education has touched on before here). The DfE reminds schools that though “pupils have the right to manifest a religion or belief,” this right can be restricted if properly justified (e.g. on genuine health and safety concerns). In any event, a school’s leadership should always be sensitive, reasonable and willing to engage in dialogue to resolve any problems. Governors should be open to considering reasonable requests for flexibility in uniform policy from individual pupils when doing so will accommodate particular social and cultural needs. Should things break down, governing bodies have a legal obligation to have a complaints procedure in place to deal with issues including those relating to school uniform. Finally, a school can discipline pupils for breaching the school’s rules on appearance or uniform. This should be carried out in accordance with the school’s published behaviour policy. This can include asking a pupil to go home briefly to change. However, consideration must be given to the child’s age and vulnerability, time it will take and availability of parents. What the CMA Says Turning to the CMA, their guidance is set out in an open letter sent to schools and school uniform suppliers in October 2015. The October 2015 letter repeats the DfE advice that head teachers and governing boards should help to ensure that prices are competitive and deliver good value for money. It also states that exclusive supplier relationships for school uniform undermine that requirement. To that end the letter states school leaders should: 1. ensure that parents’ and carers’ views on school uniform policy are taken on board and prioritise value for money when selecting uniform retailers; and 2. review current uniform arrangements with any exclusive supplier or retailer, modifying it to drive competition between school uniform suppliers instead. The CMA also highlighted that not doing so could mean a school was breaking competition law and could be investigated formally by the CMA. It is worth noting that even were the CMA does not act, a school risks being drawn into litigation brought independently by uniform suppliers who have been barred from selling uniform to parents. Such litigation would undoubtedly be costly, time consuming and disastrous for a school’s reputation. Mounting Pressure The government guidance to schools outlined above is now several years old. However, the guidance does not appear to have resolved the issue. This summer alone, stories relating to the high cost of school uniform were repeatedly covered by the BBC, Sky News, the Telegraph, the Guardian, and the Metro, to name but a few. Indeed, as grants issued to low income parents for school uniform are scaled back, the issue is likely to get worse. Unsurprisingly, this is causing government to react. The most movement to date has been seen in Wales. The Welsh Government issued new statutory guidance, which came into force on 1 September 2019. The Welsh guidance repeats the requirement for governing bodies to focus on reducing the cost of uniform and also brings in a new emphasis on promoting gender neutrality. It also provides clear suggestions on how to do achieve these goals, including the adoption of uniforms that can be bought from more than one outlet and the limitation of the use of badges or logos. Its ‘statutory’ nature means that schools are legally obliged to consider the advice set out within it (the DfE guidance referenced above is ‘non-statutory’, but see below as this is likely to change). At the same time, opposition MPs in Westminster have been campaigning to push down school uniform prices. At a joint session of the Education and Work and Pensions Committees, held in early September, MPs considered
College celebrates another year of outstanding GCSE results
Students at Brampton College, Hendon – London’s top performing sixth form college since 2001 and third highest-achieving sixth form nationally– are celebrating another year of outstanding GCSE results, with 59.4% 9-7 / A*-A grades (compared to 20.3% nationally in 2018) and 37% 9-8 / A* grades (compared to 10.8% nationally in 2018). As well as A level courses, Brampton offers an intensive one year GCSE programme of study for young people who are transferring from other schools after year 10 to complete their GCSEs or retaking their exams, as well as overseas students planning to integrate into the English education system. Particularly high performing candidates include Shani Boyd and Alex Milchev. Shani is a gifted student who has suffered from chronic fatigue and other health issues which affected her on a daily basis. She missed nearly two years of her previous school and although her family were concerned she would not be able to complete her GCSEs, she has passed with flying colours, receiving an exceptional six grade 9s. Alex transferred from Bulgaria in the summer of 2018 to the English system. Despite difficulties in adjusting to the new curriculum and language, Alex is a maths genius, achieving a 9 in Mathematics and a further two 9s and two 8s. Both of them are looking forward to starting their A levels at Brampton College in September. Brampton’s outstanding results are testament to the college’s comprehensive pastoral support programme as staff recognise that top-quality education must be underpinned by commitment to student wellbeing. The college places an emphasis on understanding each individual student’s academic and emotional needs, delivering programmes that respond to these individual requirements. Before joining Brampton, GCSE students have often faced significant challenges, including high teacher turnover, lack of individual attention or feeling undervalued in a large school. Brampton supports young people who may have found it difficult to achieve in other environments, finding they flourish in a supportive atmosphere with one-to-one support, where they are encouraged to work hard and do their best. The success of Brampton’s approach is evident in this year’s excellent results, with 20.3 of all GCSE grades this year the top mark of 9 (worth more than the previous A* grade) – compared to the national average of 4.3% in 2018. Commenting on the 2019 results, Bernard Canetti, Principal of Brampton College, said, “We are delighted to see that our GCSE students have once again achieved fantastic results. Their success is hugely well-deserved, and it is brilliant to see that all of their hard work has paid off. We are thrilled that most students have decided to stay at the college for their A levels, and we look forward to supporting them over the next two years.” To apply to study GCSEs or A-levels at Brampton College, request further information or arrange an interview, please contact Pam Glenville, Admissions Secretary on 020 8203 5025 or email pam@bramptoncollege.com.
What teachers need to know about ADHD
Dr Mark Kennedy is a Senior Teaching Fellow at The Institute of Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He is also Lead Educator on the Understanding ADHD: Current Research and Practice course on the FutureLearn Platform. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is regarded as a “neurodevelopmental disorder”; which puts it in the same category as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It’s the most common neurodevelopmental disorder, affecting around 4-5% of children. Despite this, teachers frequently say that they lack specific knowledge about ADHD and what strategies can be used to help children affected by ADHD. When you ask people what ADHD is, they describe a child with too much energy. In reality, there’s a lot more to it than hyperactivity. In fact, there are three “presentations”; Hyperactive-Impulsive, Inattentive and Combined Type. The most common form in the general population is actually inattentive, not hyperactive-impulsive, which comes as a surprise to some people. Teachers need to be aware of ADHD for a number of reasons. Children with ADHD often struggle academically. As well as being a concern for parents and teachers in itself, ADHD and associated difficulties in school can also begin to impact the child’s self esteem. Beyond this, it has been linked to poorer outcomes in adulthood, such as unemployment and difficulties in relationships. Importantly, research has shown that teachers simply being aware of what the disorder is, can actually be beneficial. I think that’s a really positive message, especially given the immense pressure teachers are under to accommodate the broad range of issues children in their class may be facing. Free-to-join online ADHD course Motivated by a desire to increase awareness, King’s College London have partnered with FutureLearn to create the free-to-join, online course: Understanding ADHD: Current Research and Practice, which launched in May. The course is an accessible and time-efficient resource for anyone looking to learn a bit more about the disorder. Being ADHD aware also matters because there’s reason to believe that girls with ADHD are being missed. When you look at population-based studies, for every one girl with ADHD, there are two boys. But when you look at clinical referrals, the ratio is double that (1 girl: 4 boys). In our course, we speak with a mother of a daughter with ADHD. She describes her daughter’s report card, which contained descriptions of ADHD behaviours, but no-one had considered that she may have ADHD. Much like Autism Spectrum Disorder, there’s a huge amount of evidence to suggest that the brains of children with ADHD are hardwired differently, compared to those without it. That matters because it means that children with ADHD are less able to regulate their behaviour, again like those with ASD. Understanding that – and the increased empathy that this understanding brings – along with helping children to understand this, has again been shown to help. As well as being aware of the disorder, there are low-cost, practical things teachers can do to help. For instance, sitting a child with ADHD close to the teacher has been shown to help; it’s harder to get distracted and makes it easier to pick up on the teacher’s cues. More practical tips, strategies and evidence based advice is discussed in the Understanding Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder course on the FutureLearn platform.
The knock-on effect of Brexit on career opportunities
With the once distant idea of Brexit fast becoming a reality, concerns over the future of the current labour market have grown. For young people, the impact on the job market presents a lot to be worried about, particularly with the threat of large firms moving their offices to Europe. Giving rise to the gig economy, Brexit means young people face increased job insecurity, resulting in potentially hugely damaging consequences. Whilst there’s no way of perfectly determining what will happen, it’s not all doom and gloom for those starting out in their career – Sharon Walpole, Director of www.Careermap.co.uk, has identified the potential good, the bad and the ugly impacts of Brexit on the labour market… Apprenticeships Change doesn’t have to be all bad, in fact 2019 marks a big year for apprenticeships as they are expected to be boosted after Britain’s exit from the European Union. Indeed, whilst the 2017 levy that was introduced by the Government has led to a decline in the total amount of people taking up apprenticeships and a huge strain has been placed on smaller businesses, the quality of apprenticeships has risen greatly. By 2020, The Apprenticeship Levy has promised to create 3 million apprenticeship starts, equipping more young Brits with the opportunity to earn whilst they learn. As a result, there has been a rise in the number of those applying for the new high-quality apprenticeship courses as businesses are desperately looking for more highly skilled workers to replace the departing Europeans. Additionally, the opportunity to build a better career within businesses means that retention and motivation within the workplace is expected to improve. With tuition fees putting so many off university, this is a perfect opportunity to explore what apprenticeships are on offer. Take this time to explore Further Education and School Leaver Programmes as many even offer you the chance to earn yourself a degree or vocational qualification without the student debt. What about my degree? With the decline in attractiveness and reputation of the UK after a possible hard Brexit, there is much concern over the loss of funding for humanities and social sciences due to the financial impact that the loss of international students will have. With the expansion of Higher Education into businesses, it has been suggested that whilst The Russell Group will face the biggest economic loss from a decline in international students, they will be given greater support, meaning smaller institutions will lose out. Alongside this, universities could lose their research opportunities abroad, as well as the ability to participate in collaborative funding. However, a decrease in students can also be positive for UK students as they will be given greater opportunities to benefit from smaller numbers on their course, giving them the ability to build better relationships with lecturers and build better skills for the future. Travel European students currently studying in the UK face a race against time to complete their education as the costs of studying are likely to increase. An end to the free movement of people means that immigrants will no longer have the same privileges as British citizens and this works similarly with Britons studying abroad, damaging job prospects as well as access to education and services. Additionally, the potential scrapping of the EU’s student exchange scheme, ERASMUS, means that young Britons won’t have nearly the same travel opportunities to live and work abroad as older generations had. This can lead to a generation largely closed off from the international world, eliminating opportunities for international friendships and impacting chances in the job market. This does not meant that equivalent schemes cannot be established however, as UK universities will still have strong relationships with European universities, so all might not be lost.