The rule of thumb "the more you know, the easier it is to learn", is good news for teachers… mostly. Of course low attaining and underachieving learners get stuck in the trap: "the less you know the harder it is to learn" and then go on to develop further barriers to learning.

Bishop Cornish CofE VA Primary School pupils become Ripple Energy’s youngest group of shareholders as they purchase part-ownership in new wind farm, protecting their school from the shock of soaring energy bills and saving 802 tonnes of CO2 – the equivalent of planning an estimate 66 hectares of forest, or 33,000 trees.^[1]

This Global Wind Day – the annual international celebration of clean wind power on 15 June – pupils at Bishop Cornish CofE Primary School in Saltash, Cornwall, brought a breath of fresh air to net zero, sharing a new way in which schools, businesses and individuals can stabilise their electricity bills by owning part of a large-scale wind farm.

The school and pre-school, which has 242 pupils aged 2-11, will be benefitting from shares in an 18.8MW wind farm nearly 500 miles away at Kirk Hill in Ayrshire, Scotland, in a project enabled by Ripple Energy. The Kirk Hill wind farm is thought to be the world’s largest consumer-owned wind farm and the second of Ripple’s revolutionary people-powered projects. The power generated by the wind farm will cover 100% of Bishop Cornish’s electricity needs, and in return the school will benefit from total electricity bill reductions of an estimated £235,000 and total carbon savings of 804 tonnes over the 25 years of the wind farm’s lifetime.

Sarah Adkins Chair of Trustees for Bishop Cornish Education Centre Charity: “100% renewable energy generation was a pipe dream when we set up our school charity in 2004. Since then, we have raised £400,000 to build our multi-award winning eco-education centre, become the first ‘Zero to Landfill’ school in Cornwall and begun investing in amazing creative and sustainable learning environments and skills for our children. With over 30 years’ experience in wind energy on our charity board and after due diligence we are thrilled to have achieved, through Ripple Energy, our net zero goal – we could not have achieved this alone.

In addition, once the difference between wholesale electricity prices and the low wind farm operating costs are rebated on a monthly basis, our charity and the school will be able to focus on what matters most – nurturing in our children a lifelong love of learning and caring for each other and our environment.”

Tracey Fletcher, Headteacher at Primary School, said, “For us as a school we are absolutely delighted that Bishop Cornish Education Centre Charity has invested in the Kirk Hill Wind Farm. For us, it is much more than the welcome savings on our ever-increasing energy bills; we will be able to provide our children with the understanding and knowledge that they too can make a difference to a global climate crisis that we can no longer ignore.”

The purchase comes as energy prices in the UK are set for a continued period of instability. The energy regulator Ofgem has already announced that the annual energy price cap will increase to £2,800 in October^[2] – a £1,573 increase from the beginning of the year.^[3] And headteachers across the UK have warned that their schools are facing a 100% increase in energy costs over the next year, with many schools forced to cut budgets and redistribute their spending from classroom time and equipment for pupils to energy bills – making a choice between lighting and learning.^[4] 

The Kirk Hill project will help Ripple members like Bishop Cornish School stabilise their electricity bills, as they benefit from direct savings to their bills based on the electricity their share of the wind farm generates. Ripple’s model enables members of the public and businesses to buy into low-cost renewable energy projects no matter where they live in the country – a way for all people to generate their own energy and save money off their electricity bills, protecting them from price spikes.

Bishop Cornish School is one of 18 businesses and 5,603 individuals that have bought into the Kirk Hill wind farm co-op, raising a total of £13.2m and making it the largest amount raised by any UK Co-op Society in a single offer, according to the trade association Co-operatives UK. Kirk Hill will also create total carbon savings of 12,750 tonnes CO₂ per annum – that’s the same as the weight of 140,000 baby elephants – or over 2.2 tonnes on average per owner.

Sarah Merrick, CEO of Ripple Energy, said: "Owning part of a wind farm is the easiest way to protect yourself from future energy price spikes. Wind delivers clean, stable-priced power for the long term. We want as many people as possible to benefit, while also reducing their carbon footprint.

"It’s fantastic to see the breadth of people joining Ripple’s consumer-led energy movement, with Bishop Cornish leading the way in demonstrating how schools and other businesses can support clean energy and take control of their electricity costs, creating a greener future at the same time."

Ownership in the Kirk Hill wind farm is six times that of Ripple's first wind farm Graig Fatha in Coedely, South Wales, which began operating in March 2022. Owners get savings applied to their electricity bill that reflect the difference between the market price for electricity and the wind farm's low and stable operating costs. When market prices are high, like at present, savings are high. When the market price is lower, savings fall too. The net effect is to help stabilise bills.

Graig Fatha’s 907 owners have already seen collective bill savings of over £57,000 between March and May.      

Ripple is designed to be accessible to all: even if you can’t put solar on your roof or don’t have the opportunities to make energy efficiency improvements to your home because you rent, you can still have your own source of low-cost, clean energy.

And Ripple’s innovative people-forward approach is gaining momentum: reservations for its third, as yet unnamed, project opened on 4 May 2022 and more than 1,000 people have already reserved their spot. All households can sign up to Ripple, join the co-operative and buy shares in the wind farm in a few minutes. Ownership is flexible, starting at just £25. People can even generate more clean power than they use, as the cap on ownership is the equivalent of 120% of their consumption. The more they own, the more green power they get, the more they save.

In addition to passing savings to Ripple's members, the Kirk Hill wind farm will provide a community benefit fund of £94,000 per year. The co-op will work with the local community to determine the best approach to manage the community benefit fund. Ripple intends to focus the fund on fuel poverty actions or environmental projects, and will be conscious of other local needs when directing exactly how the fund is to be used.

1 . CO2/tree equivalence based on Encon calculations https://www.encon.be/en/calculation-co2-offsetting-trees
2 . bbc.co.uk/news/business-61562657
3 . ofgem.gov.uk/publications/price-cap-increase-ps693-april
4 . independent.co.uk/news/education/school-energy-bill-price-increase-b2066807.html

New research has today highlighted significant concern amongst both businesses and teachers about how prepared young people are for the world of work – particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The polling is released by education charity Teach First as it launches a new report, Rethinking Careers Education: Investing in Our Country’s Future. The report makes a series of recommendations on how improving careers education – and increasing business engagement with schools – can help level up opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The new research reveals that eight in 10 teachers (79%) believe their pupils are less ready for the world of work when compared to previous years, while more than half of teachers in schools with the most disadvantaged pupils (55%) believe the pandemic has negatively affected pupils’ perceptions of their career prospects.

Teach First also conducted a survey of over 500 HR decision makers from British businesses and found they share this concern, with over half (56%) saying they are concerned that ‘lost learning’ from the pandemic will exacerbate the skills shortage amongst pupils and students.

While grades are hugely important, the research suggests that other skills are also highly valued by employers. When asked to select the top three skills that they would consider most if recruiting young people, they were most likely to choose broader soft skills (69%), literacy and numeracy (54%), and digital and IT skills (48%). However, when asked to give their assessment of the preparedness of current school, college and university leavers, 72% of businesses said that they were concerned about their level of soft skills. They also reported concerns about the level of literacy and numeracy (68%) and digital and IT skills (52%).

In their new report Teach First argues in favour of a series of recommendations which they believe could make a tangible impact on young people’s employability. Nearly seven in 10 (69%) of teachers agreed that improved careers education would decrease the number of young people that end up classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).

Children on free school meals are currently twice as likely to be NEET at age 18-24 compared to those not (26% compared to 13%)[i].

Solutions

To help tackle this, Teach First believe careers education needs to start at primary school level. Teachers agree, with seven in 10 (71%) primary schools teachers believing career-related learning for their pupils will raise their pupils’ awareness of different career pathways, and two-thirds (66%) said it will raise their aspiration.

The DfE recently made a welcome commitment for a new careers programme for primary schools in disadvantaged areas in the recent Schools White Paper. In order to be as effective as possible, Teach First wants the DfE to work with sector leaders and publish a framework for effective careers learning in primary schools based on the Gatsby benchmarks and pair this with a new fund that trains and supports primary teachers working in disadvantaged areas.

Based on their own experience of successfully training Career Leaders in secondary schools, Teach First estimate this would cost £8.5m to support the top 10% most disadvantaged primary schools by pupils’ free school meal eligibility – which is approximately 2,000 primary schools.

The report also calls for a series of other key recommendations, including:

• Large employers to offer blended work experience programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Whilst in-person work experience will continue to be crucial, online options offer employers a chance to diversify their recruitment and widen participation – particularly to regions outside of London.
• Large employers should collect and publish socioeconomic background data to inform their outreach work with schools and recruitment policies. This will ensure disadvantaged pupils, who are far less likely to access work placements through their family networks, are helped to secure the same opportunities to vital careers knowledge and experience.
• The Department for Education should use destinations data to target additional transitional support at schools and colleges that serve disadvantaged communities.

Russell Hobby, CEO of Teach First, said:

“Our country’s long-term prosperity depends on the next generation of young people. Careers education is an essential part of that – making a significant impact on a young person’s development at school, as well as their future employment opportunities. Schools do their best to prepare pupils for the world of work, but that is not their core purpose. That is why we believe it is essential that employers are involved in shaping the future of careers education. 

“For too long, securing high quality careers advice and work experience has been a postcode lottery – that must change. With concerns over the cost-of-living crisis, and a potential recession later in the year, it’s vital that we do everything we can to give our young people the best possible chance to succeed and thrive in the world of work”.  

Simon Wareham, Teach First Careers Leader & Assistant Principal at Southmoor Academy, said:

“To accommodate all our work, our careers education team has doubled in size. As school budgets are always limited, I work with our headteacher to adapt existing roles and school funding. We also rely on business partners to support with free resources, travel support and activities. Thankfully, many employers are invested in supporting our pupils and helping them to consider career options.

 “Ultimately, all schools need to be equipped to provide their pupils with a complete education. We are passionate about making sure all of our pupils have the skills they need to be well prepared to go out and excel in the wider world.”

Lauren Wallace, Physics teacher and STEAM Lead from Bishopbriggs Academy, shares why she sees cross-disciplinary collaboration between Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths as an integral part of her students' development.

According to the ONS, between October and December 2021, 692,000 young people in the UK aged 16-24 were classified as NEET. At Unifrog, we work together with our partner schools across the UK to close the gap and raise aspirations, and this year we predict that we’ll prevent 4,200 students from becoming NEET across our partner schools.

Our mission has always been to level the playing field when it comes to young people finding the best opportunities for them, and our new data-driven approach to supporting schools has had a major impact on students’ next steps. We used the Education Endowment Foundation Family of Schools database to look at matched pairs of schools where one school was a Unifrog partner and one was not, and tracked them over 3 years to assess the impact Unifrog had on the number of NEET students.

Schools were matched based on:

• similar numbers of students eligible for FSM,
• a similar number of SEND and EAL students, and
• levels of prior attainment of students.

Our findings:

• 74% of the time, Unifrog schools saw a reduction in students becoming NEET vs their paired non-Unifrog school.
• Across the sample, using Unifrog led to 2 fewer students becoming NEET per school every year.

Using this information, we can predict that 4,200 fewer students will become NEET this year, thanks to Unifrog.

What is Unifrog?

Unifrog is a one-stop careers platform designed for all students from KS3 to KS5. With over 650 career profiles and 100 subject profiles, students can explore different jobs, learn about the pathways that can get them there, and explore how their skills and interests might play into their future choices.

We also help students compare every opportunity - including colleges, sixth forms, apprenticeships, and universities in the UK and overseas - and support them in creating world class applications for those opportunities. Our aim isn’t just to close the gap, but to help every student find the best next step for them, whatever that might be.

Finally, we provide support for school and college staff to run a well-planned and well-executed careers strategy across all year groups with a dedicated series of lesson plans and activities to help them meet all Gatsby Benchmarks, with a focus on embedding careers in the curriculum (Gatsby Benchmark 4).

How does Unifrog help close the gap?

Because Unifrog supports students from Year 7, all students will have a clear and defined CEIAG journey meaning staff can check in on them and support them in finding their best next step even if it changes. We provide live reporting on CEIAG strategies allowing staff to tailor their CEIAG programme throughout the year to best provide for their students, and to target support for students who are not on track to meet their goals. Plus, we’re there every step of the way to suggest solutions and ideas to support staff with this.

We also use student and teacher feedback to ensure students are getting everything they need to make decisions about their futures and to build the skills and experiences they need to get there. For example, in a survey of over 6,000 of our users, students identified skills development as a key challenge during the pandemic. We used this to draw up recommendations for both partner and non-partner schools to share in our Insights report to make sure no student gets left behind.

Similarly, in a survey of 5,500 UK students in Y11-13, we found that when it comes to considering an apprenticeship, students identified ‘lack of encounters with employers’ as one of the main obstacles. Naturally we rose to the challenge, creating live, interactive webinars and Careers Fairs to provide students with encounters with employers wherever they are in the world. Teachers are able to use Unifrog to plan and track engagement with these types of encounters too, meaning they can spot where students are missing key careers education or target students for particular encounters, based on their intentions and career interests.

If you’re already a Unifrog partner, get in touch with your Area or Account Manager for support on embedding a careers curriculum that works for all your students and helps you achieve the Gatsby Benchmarks. If you’re not a partner yet and want more information, we’d love to hear from you; you can request a demo here.

Students aged 7 - 11 across the UK are invited to participate in an interactive survey titled Life’s Big Questions. Created by Dreamachine, a one-of-a-kind programme setting the minds of the UK public alight with its magical journey to explore the extraordinary potential of your mind, the online survey is hosted by Martin Dougan (CBBC Newsround), together with globally renowned neuroscientist and author Anil Seth and philosopher Fiona Macpherson. The survey is an interactive exploration of the amazing power of the human brain and how we each experience the world that places young people’s perceptions at its core.

Life's Big Questions connects children’s voices across the four nations, celebrates their unique differences, and gives a student voice perspective on what matters to them most. Involve your students in the unique opportunity and let their thoughts and perceptions on the human mind be heard.

Rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Life’s Big Questions invites children to explore big scientific and philosophical questions about how we experience the world and why our senses aren’t as simple as they seem. Centred around five ‘big questions’ such as ‘Can I believe everything I see?’ or ‘ Are colours only in my mind?’ the survey gives voice to how young people experience the world around us and their connection with others.

Created for flexible learning and easy for teachers to build into their lessons or enrichment sessions, the pupil facing website will host a short video introducing each question. There will then be several fun examples illustrating the question, and a simple question that pupils can answer. Pupils that take part will then be able to see how their answers compare with children across the UK – encouraging them to consider the ways we are similar - and what makes us unique.

Each question includes Q&As with world-leading experts in science and philosophy, explaining why we experience the world the way we do. Simple step by step activities, including audio clips and optical illusions, will guide a whole class or individual pupil through the survey. The survey can be completed as a whole class or individually.

Professor Anil Seth says: “I believe that children are intrinsically curious about consciousness and perception - about how we each experience the world, and why we have conscious experiences at all. By engaging with children about these fundamental topics, we’ll be able to cultivate this curiosity, build greater understanding and empathy, and foster greater wellbeing too - because understanding how we’re each different on the inside is an important part of bringing us together and forging connections. And we’ll also hope to discover fascinating new data about how children across the country experience their worlds.”

Fusing science with arts, the Dreamachine themes offer compelling classroom investigation on the power of the human mind, our amazing brains and the big questions of perception and consciousness - our sense of self, how we see the world and how we connect with others. All associated resources are linked to curricula across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Life’s Big Questions is launched as part of the Dreamachine Schools programme, a major programme developed by A New Direction in partnership with the British Science Association, UNICEF UK and We The Curious, commissioned as part of UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK.

Steve Moffitt, CEO of A New Direction, said: “We launch Life’s Big Questions as schools come to the end of yet another challenging academic year; schools need to manage staff capacities, learning loss for students, and the mental health and wellbeing of both pupils and teachers. At A New Direction we have created this suite of high-quality learning assets and resources, a programme of CPD and a set of light touch time bound exercises which all address big conceptual questions that feel relevant and useful for schools at this present time.”

The first 500 schools to take part and register will have the opportunity to win in-school experiences for their students, including an online Q&A with leading scientists or philosophers and a science themed workshop. Sign up today.

Every parent wants to be proud of their children’s early accomplishments: “My child started walking when he was 9 months” or “My child started speaking when he was 1”. Parents are also time-poor, and often reliant on screens to do some of the childminding.

The COCO app is a ready-to-use adaptive learning platform working without Wi-Fi that allows teachers to stimulate the children through fun and attractive games. Plus, with 3 levels of difficulty, each game can be adapted to the children’s level in the different learning areas.

Games to develop essential skills

COCO’s educational games help children work on their vocabulary, language, and mathematical skills, for example. With the COCO app, you will develop the children’s knowledge with our trivia quiz, improve their vocabulary with the Brain Storm game, where they have to put back in order famous sayings, or their language with Syllabus, where they have to make up words from given syllables. You will also work on their logic with Snowball Effect or Tangram.

Physical activities to fight against screen addiction

The COCO app includes a sports break where, every 15 minutes of screentime, children are asked to do at least one physical exercise. It has several positive impacts: it helps children detach from devices, to discourage screen addiction, and also combats sedentary behaviour.

The children will learn to acknowledge their own body and the space around them by following COCO’s movements, for example, by dancing with the little coach or doing some yoga. These exercises are perfect to take an active break from all the learning they are doing in class and clear their minds.

Helping those with special needs

Each child is different which is why a teacher must give different techniques and tips on how to learn and acquire certain skills. In order to include children with learning disabilities, like dyslexia, dyscalculia or ADHD, each game includes audio description and hints to allow everyone to use the COCO program. Moreover, the app only includes encouraging messages to invite the children to keep learning and exercising.

Learning social skills, such as recognising emotions, is really important in a child’s development. It is even more important for children with developmental disorders such as autism or Down Syndrome. Which is why the COCO app includes certain games that have been adapted for special needs children. Recognising emotions is a common game when working with children with autism. However, doing it on a tablet is much more fun and motivating for them. In the game Mime an emotion, the child will learn to recognise emotions such as fear, hunger, pride, and serenity.

ADHD children live in a frenetic world and for them to sit or focus takes a lot of effort. With COCO they can take a break from the world around them and do structured activities at the same time. For example, in the game 1,2,3 red light, the child has to move to the music and stop when the music stops. This requires concentration and adapting to external stimuli.

Note that there are technical sheets for teachers on how to use the COCO app for each cognitive disorder.

The app can be used at home, during therapy or at school, as a group activity or for one-on-one use. Special prices available for 10, 20, 50 or more schools.

To learn more about COCO app and see pricing, visit them on EdTech Impact: https://edtechimpact.com/products/coco-thinks-and-coco-moves.

With the exam season in full swing, teenagers taking their GCSEs are hoping their teachers covered everything so they can achieve top marks. The methods teachers use in the classroom could also hold the key to improving pupils’ grades, according to a pioneering report published today.

The study, led by the University of Bristol, sheds new light on the fascinating and elusive question: what makes an effective teacher? For the first time in the UK, the researchers have identified which teaching practices drive up exam results and how different class activities work better depending on the subject.

Lead author Simon Burgess, Professor of Economics, said: “Whether or not you have an effective teacher is by far the most important factor influencing pupils’ GCSES, outside of your family background. This unique research unlocks the black box to effective teaching, helping us understand what specific teaching practices are more likely to produce better test scores.

“This is crucial to know as it could also make a dramatic difference to a child’s life chances and their potential future earnings.”

The team of international researchers analysed around 14,000 GCSE results of pupils from 32 secondary schools across the UK, comparing the scores to classroom observation reports spanning two years just before the COVID-19 pandemic on 251 teachers from the same schools. 

The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, revealed compelling links between GCSE grades depending on teacher effectiveness ratings and class time usage.

The research showed that how teachers used class time had a significant impact on their pupils’ results. In fact, typical variations in class activities between teachers accounted for around a third of the total influence of teachers on the GCSE marks of their pupils.

Highly-rated teachers were also shown to have a greater impact on lower-achieving pupils than higher achievers, a finding with implications for how schools should deploy their most effective teachers.

There were also notable conclusions highlighting how specific teaching approaches are more beneficial for certain subjects.

For instance, the most important activity for English teachers appears to be facilitating interaction and discussion between classmates; more time spent on this tends to raise English GCSE scores. Conversely, for Maths teachers, the key activity is making time for pupils to practise questions individually in class; again, more time on this increases GCSE marks.

Assessing the long-term impact, the researchers went on to project how such improvements would enhance pupils’ future salaries. The effects are sizeable: the typical change in class time use considered raised GCSEs and later salaries that generated an additional £150k of lifetime income every year for a class of 30 pupils.

The report, in collaboration with the Oxford Partnership for Education Research and Analysis (OPERA) and Harvard University, forms the basis for a cheap and easy tool which teachers and school leaders can use to identify and improve classroom skills.

Professor Burgess said: “The potential of these findings is huge in both educational and economic terms. This greater understanding of the most effective teaching techniques could be used to help teachers learn and improve their own performance.

"Now we know the added importance of effective teaching for lower-achieving pupils, the research could also be used to inform and advance the ‘levelling-up’ agenda, helping underprivileged pupils thrive.”

This June, primary and secondary schools across the UK will be involved in a two week focus on British farming and food production during Farming Fortnight.

Organised by leading education organisation LEAF Education, Farming Fortnight runs from 6-17 June 2022. A wide range of engaging and informative national curriculum linked resources and materials on farming, food production and the natural environment will be downloaded by hundreds of schools for this two-week immersion into the world of farming. Topic sheets, lesson plans, case studies and videos exploring different farming sectors will support teachers in delivering inspiring lessons and activities.  Each day has its own farming theme and social media hashtag to encourage schools and students to share their learning experiences – these include #MilkingMonday, #WoollyWednesday, #FishyFriday and #TastyTuesday! Schools and students are encouraged to share their learning experiences on social media.

LEAF Education Director of Education and Public Engagement, Carl Edwards, explained: “Farming Fortnight provides an exciting and inspiring platform to educate and connect children and young people with where their food comes from. This is of course vital for ensuring that they lead healthy, active lifestyles, make the best food choices – all while capturing their enthusiasm, to connect with topical issues around climate change, healthy diets, wellbeing and showcasing the range of future career opportunities available within the agricultural sector.

“Now in its fourth year, Farming Fortnight has seen continued growth in popularity and is an established date in the academic year. Since it was launched, we have seen over 3.5 million people engaging with Farming Fortnight through resources, videos and on BBC’s Countryfile.  We hope that 2022 is our biggest year yet with even more schools and young people taking part and enjoying our fantastic resources!”

Farming Fortnight is supported by Farming Minister, Victoria Prentis, who said: “Farmers produce the food we eat and care for the environment that we rely on. Farming Fortnight is an excellent initiative, and I passionately believe that we should teach children about the work that our farmers do. In the next fortnight, thousands of young children will engage with food and farming in a positive and interactive way, and I urge as many schools as possible to take part.”

Farming Fortnight was developed as a result of LEAF’s Pioneering teenager research and in collaboration with staff and students from Brockhill Park Performing Arts College. 

Farming Fortnight runs from 6-17 June. It is free for schools to get involved and all campaign resources are available from  www.countrysideclassroom.org.uk/farmingfortnight

On Wednesday 25 May at 4pm, the online workshop - The Education Evolution will be available for free to teachers and educators across the country aimed at equipping them with coaching strategies to create long lasting change in students and within the schools they work in.

Led by Sam Moinet – former teacher and founder of Student Breakthrough and the new Educators Coaching Academy – the workshop comes at a crucial time in the academic calendar, with many teachers feeling the strain of mock exams and supporting their students to transition into higher year groups and new schools.

Sam said: “I’ve been a teacher and worked in education since 2013, so I understand the pressures and frustrations they face and the lack of support available. Through my own experiences and listening to the teachers I work with now, a lack of time, knowledge and relevant training makes it extremely difficult to help young people manage their emotions. There are also common barriers that stop students reaching their full potential such as anxiety, low motivation and self-esteem and this is why effective mental health coaching can have such a profound impact.

“My mission is to make lasting change in the education system by supporting, empowering and inspiring educators and teaching them valuable skills and techniques to become confident mental health coaches. I therefore hope this free workshop provides some valuable advice and support at a critical time in their teaching careers.”

The mental health and wellbeing of staff working in education has never been more important following the intense pressure and strain of the last two years. The latest 2021 report by Education Support into Teacher wellbeing found that 77% experienced symptoms of poor mental health due to their work, 72% are stressed and 42% think their working environment has a negative impact on their mental health.

In a more recent survey by the NEU, 44% of teachers in England said they had plans to quit within five years, siting workloads and pay as key significant factors and for those who had thought about stress at work, two-thirds reported they were stressed at least 60% of the time.

Sam added: “This workshop is just the beginning. We need to radically transform mental health support in schools – not just for children but for teachers too. I feel very passionately that this is something that’s been missing in the industry, and I aim to change that.

“We are planning to officially launch the new Educators Coaching Academy in June which will be aimed entirely at school leaders, teachers and educators themselves. There really is nothing else like it.”

To find out more about the workshop and to book your free place visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/education-evolution-life-changing-coach-training-for-teachers-tickets-337055952427

The annual ‘What Kids Are Reading Report’ from learning and assessment provider Renaissance Learning reveals the number of books read by children this year has increased again year on year, while comprehension levels remain high.

The study of over 1 million pupils across the UK and Ireland shows that pupils read 11% more books than the previous year. The books they read matched the increased difficulty found in last year’s report and comprehension levels stayed the same as achieved in 2021.

Reading enjoyment

Additionally presented in the report are findings from a survey of 42,502 pupils by the National Literacy Trust (NLT). Previous data from the NLT found that children’s enjoyment of reading was at an all-time low at the beginning of 2020 but that this trend was reversed dramatically during lockdown – where reading for pleasure increased for the first time since 2016.

While this year’s enjoyment levels have not quite reached the heights they did during school closures (56%), the latest NLT data continues to show an improvement on pre-pandemic levels with just over half of children and young people aged 8-18 still saying they enjoyed reading either very much (21.6%) or quite a lot (29.9%).

Primary to secondary slump

In primary school pupils read harder books as they get older, but during secondary school this declines. Older pupils in secondary school were still reading the same difficulty of books as upper primary pupils. Pupils in primary schools also consistently showed a much higher quality of comprehension when reading (79% to 83%) than pupils in secondary schools (67% to 73%). And this comes despite secondary pupils reading books that were only as difficult as those the primary school pupils were reading. It is striking how, from Year 7, the difficulty of favoured books declines sharply, with the transfer to secondary school having a significant effect even on highly motivated readers.

Favourite books and authors

From 2021 to 2022 there was little change in most popular authors in primary schools, except Julia Donaldson became a little less popular and Roderick Hunt bounced back to a degree. Jeff Kinney, David Walliams and Roald Dahl remained popular. J. K. Rowling re-emerged as a top five most popular author.

Readers can vote for their favourite books after finishing the book. J.K Rowling dominates the list of favourite books within primary schools, with her Harry Potter titles taking the top 3 spots. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows comes out on top, with Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban second, and Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix third.

There are more changes in secondary schools, Rick Riordan has been knocked off the top spot this year and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson takes the crown as the favourite book read by secondary pupils. All of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series also entered the top ten for the first time.

The ‘What Kids Are Reading Report’ was written using Renaissance data analysed by University of Dundee academic Professor Keith Topping. Professor Keith Topping, the principal author of this report, is also the author of the upcoming publication about AR Improving reading comprehension of self-chosen books through computer assessment and feedback: Best practices from research.

Professor Keith Topping comments: “As schools return to something like normal, Accelerated Reader has continued to maintain and even increase reading activity in children and young people. We see clearly from the evidence that time spent reading books is crucial to improved reading skill, an essential transferable skill for the future. Children with high quality comprehension of real books also perform better on tests of reading skill. This is excellent, but more attention to communicating favourite books between peers would increase it even further.”

John Moore, Managing Director of Renaissance UK and Australia said: “The past year has continued to be challenging as pupils adjust to post-pandemic life and most return full time to school. We know books and reading have provided millions of pupils with comfort and escapism and we’re delighted to see this passion continuing, with pupils overall reading 11% more books over the last academic year.

“At Renaissance we understand the important role reading plays not only in a child’s learning, but also in their overall development and wellbeing. Books have never been more accessible than they are today, from visiting local libraries and bookstores to accessing books on myON or Accelerated Reader. This report highlights how important it is that everyone has access to a wide range of books that ignite their own personal passions so each child gets the most out of the opportunities for development that a love of reading can embed.”

Dr Christina Clark, Head of Research at the National Literacy Trust, comments: “The National Literacy Trust are delighted to contribute to this annual report with Renaissance Learning. It is heartening to see in our research that more children and young people said in 2021 that they enjoy reading compared with early 2020.  Our data also suggests that Renaissance Learning’s Accelerated Reader (AR) programme can be a valuable tool for sustaining the enthusiasm for reading during lockdown, as we found that more children and young people who use AR said that they enjoy reading, and that this is particularly the case for boys."

A copy of the full report can be found here: www.whatkidsarereading.co.uk

Design Museum and Deutsche Bank announce the year 10 team from Cambourne Village College, Cambridge, as the winners of the 2021-2022 Design Ventura prize. This year, more than 18,000 students from 397 schools participated in the competition, out of which ‘Eco Seed’, designed by the students from Cambridge has been selected as the winning design. The design will be manufactured and sold at the Design Museum Shop for £11.99 with all profits going to Motor Neurone Association (MND), a charity of the student’s choice.

This year, students were invited to answer a live brief which was set by award-winning artist and Pentagram Partner Yuri Suzuki. Students work as a design team to develop a product concept for a target audience, considering the packaging, cost and ways to market their idea. A record 397 schools took part in this year’s Design Ventura competition. Significantly this is 9.5% of the 4,190 registered secondary schools in the UK. The overall winner was selected from a shortlist of ten schools who pitched their ideas to a panel of leading design and business experts including Yuri Suzuki, Sound Artist and Designer and Design Ventura 2021-22 brief setter; Rosa Bertoli, Design Editor at Wallpaper*; Sebastian Conran, Designer and Trustee at the Design Museum; Preena Patel, Buying and Merchandising Manager at the Design Museum; and Christoph Woermann, Chief Marketing Officer of Corporate Bank Marketing at Deutsche Bank Lareena Hilton, Global Head of Brand Communications and CSR Deutsche Bank said: ‘Deutsche Bank is proud to continue supporting Design Ventura. With the World Economic Forum listing problem solving, critical thinking and creativity amongst the top ten skills needed for work in 2025, it’s clear how the programme helps students’ readiness for their futures in work. We know from the programme’s in-depth evaluation that almost 100% of teachers see an improvement in the confidence and ambition of their students, and we are delighted that Design Ventura continues to be a springboard for the next generation of design talent.’

The Cambourne Village College team were intrigued by the idea of growing seeds with minimal resources. Using this idea as a foundation they created five prototypes until they finalised on ‘Eco Seed’. Designed as a doughnut shaped grid which floats on water, ‘Eco Seed’ keeps the seeds or plants moist, provoking them to germinate whilst allowing the user to observe the plant's growth. Once the roots have grown, the plants can be easily removed from the product and planted.

Environmentally conscious products featured heavily in this year's shortlist with several plant-based designs submitted. However, Eco Seed won out with judges praising its unique idea of letting you view the process of germination from tip to root with your naked eye and educating people about the life cycle of plants. Fiona MacDonald, Head of Learning at the Design Museum said: ‘‘Eco Seed’ brings a new perspective on the much-loved pot plant. It creates a delightful and curious way to watch a seed germinate and grow. Utilising intelligent engineering as well as elegant design, it celebrates what often happens in the soil – normally always out of sight - as much as what happens above. It is fantastic to see students thinking and designing with such environmental awareness.’

Yuri Suzuki, Sound Artist and Designer and Design Ventura 2021 Brief Setter said: ‘I was so impressed by the projects. During the selection process, we were all full of excitement. I would like to say thank you to all the emerging designers for the incredible moment.’ The Cambourne Village College student team will now be working with a professional design agency to develop and manufacture their product for sale in the Design Museum Shop from Autumn 2022 with all funds going to their selected charity Rainforest Concern. The list of shortlisted schools include:

Winners:

● 1st place - Cambourne Village College’s Eco Seed

● 2nd place - Tiffin School’s Drummable

● 3rd place - Salford City Academy’s Tongue Twister Test

Commendations:

● Commendation for best presentation - Liverpool Blue Coat School’s Designosaur

● Commendation for Ingenuity - Orleans Park School’s The Sturdy Stabiliser

● Commendation for Most Market Ready Product - South Wilts Grammar School’s Gender Jigsaw

● Commendation for Good Design Process - Ferndown Upper School’s Flip-It!

● Outstanding Finalist - Prendergast Ladywell School’s Grow Your Story

● Outstanding Finalist - The Piggott School’s Corky

● Outstanding Finalist - County Upper School’s Sunny London