Children’s Mental Health NHS Cuts

March 25, 2015 By Leave a Comment

A vast number of spending cuts to the NHS Children’s Mental Health Services now means that children are dangerously at risk of not receiving the proper, professional support that they need to deal with various mental and emotional issues.

The charity YoungMinds has warned that these cuts have resulted in the mental health care system for children being pushed to a breaking point and that the cuts will ultimately lead to higher thresholds for care. A higher threshold for care means that a child’s mental health may have to deteriorate to a crisis point before they are eligible for help and for many reasons this is unacceptable.

It is feared that many young people in crises could end up in prison or in poor adult care as a result of cuts to the NHS. While these facilities are often well equipped for adults, children need a different kind of care and attention that cannot be given.

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Dr Martin McShane, the National Clinical Director for NHS England’s long term conditions had this to say;

“Joint local partnerships of local authority, school and NHS commissioners are vital to creating integrated approaches that make sure that a child or young person gets the right treatment from the right person and at the right time”

 

It is important that children feel they have enough support to help them deal with the issues that life gives them, which is why collaboration between parents and teachers is essential. It is just a sad fact that such heavy cuts are being applied to child NHS services when in reality more attention in those areas is needed.

Do you see yourself helping young children on a daily basis? Redbox Teachers take supply teachers and support teachers with a passion for helping children to learn and grow and help them to find placements that they can truly enjoy. Send us your CV now if you’re looking for work!

 

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Using Lego to teach more than just Building

March 23, 2015 By Leave a Comment

An independent school in Birchfield has started using Lego in order to teach mathematics to its 5 year old students. Lego itself, the Danish company has launched a new product designed to help teachers encourage mathematics in younger children.

lego rbKnown as MoreToMaths, it allows teachers to concentrate on the learning process of mathematics, helping children learn through play. Birchfield’s Headteacher, Hugh Myott, had this to say on the new campaign;

 “We’ve got to prepare young people for living in the 21st century, and we’ve got to get them thinking from a very young age…Children are exposed to so much technology that they need something extra and we need to be ready to provide that.”

There has to be a balance between giving your children as much information and opportunities to learn at a young age as possible, and allowing them to be children and have fun. As is often the case in schools, there is a lot of pressure on young children to pick up new abilities quickly.

Often the jump between nursery and reception or reception and year one can be quite frightening, you were playing in the sand and finger painting and napping and all of a sudden you are expected to learn the alphabet, how to hold a pen and eventually write your own name. It may not seem like much but it is a frightening prospect for some children, so MoreToMaths could be a welcome change from the day-to-day lessons seen in modern schools.

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The New Children’s Health Campaign ‘Ways to encourage children to cut down on sugar’

March 19, 2015 By Leave a Comment

As support teachers, the health of our students is always of a high priority, which is why it comes as no surprise that as of the last few months, schools across the country are encouraging parents to reduce their children’s sugar intake through their school lunches.

sugar rbThe ‘Change4Life’ campaign provides helpful tips for both teachers and parents in order to encourage their children to eat less sugary snacks, including ‘swapping’ various sweet treats for healthier alternatives.

These can be anything from swapping ice cream to yoghurt to substituting sweets with more natural sugars such as a piece of fruit or a cereal bar.

When it comes to sugar, it is estimated that children should be getting around 10% of their daily calorie intake from sugar; however in today’s ‘preserved food’ society the reality is that they are consuming a lot more.

Swapping sugary treats with healthier treats will help provide children with more energy, natural sugars and sugar free drinks which can reduce heart disease, cancer and type 2 diabetes, which can be prevalent in later life.

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Ormiston Trust Offers Rent to Teachers in Deprived Areas

March 16, 2015 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to teaching in highly populated and urban areas, it can be hard for a full time or even part time teacher to find decent accommodation that is a reasonable distance from the school. Finding work in London can be quite difficult because of this, particularly if you would really rather not spend a few hours on commuting to work every day.

rent rbIf you want to teach at a school in a deprived or run-down area, finding a good place to rent where you feel safe and secure can make it a little bit harder.

This is probably why, in an attempt to boost teacher recruitment in under-developed areas, the charity Ormiston Academies Trust, has plans to extend offers of subsidised houses to teachers in these areas.

The Trust – consisting of 30 primary and secondary schools – has said that providing cheaper housing, closer to the schools would make it more attractive to teachers looking for work. It can be hard to find any sort of accommodation when teaching supply or substitute teaching, so this could make a huge difference to the amount of applicants they get each year.

This scheme has come about as a result of two test schools providing this service at Grimsby and the Isle of Wight. There are high hopes that this will help to tackle the teacher deficiency in under-developed and deprived areas.

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Pupils believe that they are more Tech Savvy than Teachers

March 12, 2015 By Leave a Comment

A recent survey from Competing at School has come up with the results that around half of young people believe that they are more computer savvy than their teachers and parents. Although this may not be strictly true, it certainly begs the question as to whether or not we are spending enough time on educating our teachers when it comes to information technology.

tech savvy rbTen or fifteen years ago it may have been unheard of for teachers of most subjects to be any more computer literate than needing to know how to use the basic office works, however nowadays computer literacy is an essential skill for all subjects.

While there are still courses available to help teachers gain a better understanding of computers, how to use the internet and how to increase online security, more must be done to help teachers and pupils use computers and the internet as an access for learning. In some cases, teachers need to express concerns when they feel they need extra training and schools should attempt to assist in teacher training in order to ensure the safety of our children while engaging in online activities.

 

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Following the Trojan Horse Affair

March 10, 2015 By Leave a Comment

With recent reports of the Trojan Horse affair in Birmingham quickly spreading it is strange to think that – as is so often the case following a drastic or unfortunate event – at least a few good things will come out of such an intense security breach. It can be easy to forget that the education and security of our children is just as important, if not more so, than digital data such as bank details and personal information.

What is the Trojan Horse?

Much like the well known Greek tale and the similarly named computer virus, Operation Trojan Horse is in reference to a number of associated individuals attempting to infiltrate a number of Birmingham primary schools in order to introduce an ‘extremist Islamist or Salafist’ ethos into their curriculum. While this in itself sounds very damaging, it brings to mind the question of the ‘Operation’s necessity.

catholic rbThe population of Birmingham is predominantly Muslim, so why should these ‘extremists’ feel the need to introduce Islam into the minds of schoolchildren who are already predominantly Muslim?

The answer is this; there are currently 51 Catholic aided primary schools in Birmingham and only two Muslim aided schools. There is a distinctly overwhelming lack of religious support in primary schools for Muslim children.

Perhaps Operation Trojan Horse was seen as an act staged by extremists, but it has opened up the eyes of many to a larger issue. In developing multi-cultural Britain, perhaps it is time that we started providing support for the religious majorities in our cities instead of simply glossing over the issue as an ‘extremist threat’.

However it is also important not to jump to conclusions. As a result of Operation Trojan Horse, security in protecting children from extremism has been vastly improved in Birmingham schools, and that it is important to remember that protecting our children and pupils from security threats, no matter how benign, should be first and foremost on the minds of our School Governing body.

 

 

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Overcrowding in Primary Schools

March 6, 2015 By Leave a Comment

According to a recent Labour party study, it has come to light that around 1 in 5 primary schools throughout the country do not have enough space for pupils. In a worrying study it has been found that 18% of all schools are over capacity, with around 9% just stretching to capacity.

classroom rbDesperate Measures

With a growing number of students needing education each year, there is an increasing problem of overcrowding in many schools, resulting in parents having to use private education or even home school their children if their local public schools are found to be overcrowded.

With so many abandoned warehouses and old office blocks located in bustling cities, we do sometimes wonder why these buildings aren’t repurposed as schools. A lot of it comes down to government funding and also finding qualified teachers to step up to the mantle, or otherwise risk increased class sizes, which can have its own problems.

Temporary Solutions

At the moment, several schools have come up with temporary solutions to this growing crisis, with one school converting an old double-decker bus into a extra few classrooms and another using a car park to erect around eight portable classrooms. While these solutions are innovative, it begs the question of how these schools will continue to cope in the years to come.

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World Book Day

March 5, 2015 By Leave a Comment

World Book Day 2015 is on the 5th March and with a fantastic line up planned by the World Book Day website, you will certainly want to plan a few lessons around the resources shared online. Offering a number of ideas and inspirations as well as book recommendations for a wide age range, the World Book Day website, promises to provide for a bigger and better World Book Day than ever before.

imagesThe World Book Day Award has also been launched, offering schools an incentive in the form of winning £10,000 to spend on books to improve their school library. For the chance to win, the schools must provide an insightful and imaginative answer to the question posed “Why can’t we live without books?”

This £10,000 question opens up a whole variety of possibilities as we pay homage to authors from around the world. Creators of realms and timelines, authors spin fantastic stories, enlightening hearts and bringing tears to our eyes. Even as young children, we bring those worlds to life in our imagination and often hold fond memories of our first and favourite books.

Why not change a child’s life forever by recommending a book that you once loved as a child, or reading aloud to them from a range of your favourite collections? Share the knowledge!

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