Safeguarding fear
Fifty-seven per cent of school leaders say that current safeguarding guidance for schools is failing to reduce bureaucracy, a survey by The Key has found. It also discovered that 18 per cent of the respondents had found assessments following referrals to social services that had not been completed within the required 45 days. One head told researchers that “more and more safeguarding issues are being pushed back to school level”, with a number of respondents reporting that social services were “overworked and understaffed”. A guidance document offering advice for school leaders has been prepared by The Key: http://bit.ly/14dIj6n
Digital divide
Politicians have been reminded that just under 500,000 school-age children still cannot get online at home. The e-Learning Foundation is calling for all political parties to prioitise this issue and has published its own manifesto ahead of the General Election. At the heart of the manifesto is a drive to ensure that every young learner has access to “suitable and safe digital resources at school and at home” regardless of their parents’ income. It is calling for the next government to outlaw any school ICT policies or programmes that result in children being excluded because of their parents’ inability to pay. Download the manifesto at: http://bit.ly/1ySfDwf
Participation call
A collection of essays focusing on the active participation of young people in the development of government policy has been published by the National Children’s Bureau. The essays also consider how professionals can involve them in their work and offer best practice ideas. Examples include a project empowering disadvantaged young Black people to use cameras to document their life-stories and experiences, and encouraging young people with complex health needs to act as co-researchers. Visit: www.ncb.org.uk/participation-essays
Fair Trade films
Three films focusing on the Fair Trade movement are being published for use with key stage 3 students. Produced by the Fairtrade Foundation, the films follow Tayna, a 13-year-old student from Enfield, London, as she visits cocoa farmers in the Dominican Republic. Through Tayna’s experiences, students have the opportunity to learn about the lives of cocoa farmers, their families, the food supply chain as well as to discuss what they can do to help make trade fair. Visit: http://schools.fairtrade.org.uk/resources
Innovation Hubs
A chain of Innovation Hubs is being launched by Fujitsu to help students and teachers to develop their digital skills. The centres are being opened in partnership with a range of UK institutions and the first was opened at UTC Reading last week, where the first projects will involve social media training, cyber-security lessons for pupils in years 10 to 13, and coding work. Visit: www.fujitsu.com/uk/