Hot on the heels of this year’s Alcohol Awareness Week (13th- 19th November), alcohol education charity Drinkaware is highlighting the benefits of alcohol education in schools. Research from the charity’s Drinkaware Monitor 2016, in conjunction with Ipsos Mori, found that only one in four young people have received helpful information about alcohol from teachers, and 56% of young people who were drinking said that they drank alcohol to fit in.
Dekko Comics is an organisation who combine entertainment and education through comic stories, thus helping those who feel intimidated by the current systems and left disinterested in the learning process. With a roster of vibrant and engaging characters, Dekko Comics have proven popular, with both children and adults finding them a great way to engage with the lessons being taught.
Drinkaware has launched Drinkaware for Education, a set of free, curriculum linked, alcohol education resources suitable for PSHE classes. Tailored for 9-11 and 11-14 year olds, the resources are flexible allowing teachers to mix and match activities to suit their needs. Covering subjects such as an Introduction to Alcohol, Risks and Harms, Emotional Wellbeing and Peer Pressure, the resources consist of lesson plans, videos, presentations and homework activities.
Over the past few years public knowledge of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) has increased, not least due to several high profile cases in Oxford, Rotherham and Bradford. In many ways, these high-profile cases are just the tip of the iceberg, as many children and young people are not the victims of organised groups of adults, but by individuals whom they know and trust.
Nottingham Girls’ High School has joined forces with the NSPCC to raise vital funds for the community. Pupils were joined by esteemed alumna Jenny Farr MBE, president of the Nottingham branch of the NSPCC, and held a Mad Hatter-style coffee morning campaign to mark 125 years of NSPCC East Midlands. The event raised over £1000, and included an Alice in Wonderland-themed fancy dress, bake sales, tea parties and an art competition.
An exciting and engaging experiential learning resource is being used by teachers to get pupils ‘work ready’. Schools are promoting the employability of their pupils by using Northgate business simulations, where pupils learn about understanding profit and loss, making business decisions, and working as a team all within a risk-free environment.
Nixiwaka Yawanawá, an Amazonian tribesman from Brazil, recently paid a visit to Great Chesterford Primary School in Essex. Nixiwaka, now living in London, works with the charity Survival to teach British pupils about life in tribal Brazil.