Commuting time
One in 10 teachers are now completing school work during their commutes to work, a five-fold increase from five years ago. Research involving 2,000 people found that teachers have some of the shortest daily commutes compared to other industries, with the average journey being 14.8 miles and the average commute time 37 minutes. More than half of teachers (54 per cent) in the UK commute by car, while nearly a fifth (19 per cent) walk to work. Only eight per cent use the train or Underground while seven per cent hop on a bus.
Holocaust CPD
There are still places available on the Holocaust Educational Trust’s four-part Lessons from Auschwitz CPD course in June. It involves two educational seminars and a visit to the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is open to secondary or post-16 teachers of any subject area. You must apply by Friday, May 24. Contact: 020 7222 4761 or info@lfaproject.org.uk
Year 7 literacy
A free literacy support package has been published by Dyslexia Action to help schools support new year 7 students this September. It includes training for teaching assistants and teachers and a “Units of Sound” download, a phonics-based reading and spelling computer programme. Schools can apply if they are expecting a certain number of free school meals children in September to be below Level 4 in literacy. Contact: bolton@dyslexiaaction.org.uk or 01204 395500.
Mandarin focus
The Institute of Education (IoE) has this week taken over as hosts of the Confucius Institute in the UK – an organisation that supports the teaching of Mandarin Chinese in schools. The new set-up will see IoE academics working with colleagues at Peking University in China to research the most effective ways to teach Mandarin. Visit: www.ioe.ac.uk
Epilepsy support
A free secondary resource pack to support epileptic students has been launched to mark National Epilepsy Week. On average, five students in every secondary has epilepsy. The downloadable pack includes assembly plans designed specifically for key stage 3 to help them understand more about the condition. National Epilepsy Week began on Sunday (May 19). Visit: http://youngepilepsy.org.uk/schools-pack
Engineering prize
The annual Technology Horizons Award is asking students to create a video explaining how technology will help an ageing population in the future and is offering £2,000 worth of prizes. Run by Bosch, the competition is being aimed at students aged 13 to 16 who should upload their entries to Facebook. The 20 videos which get the most votes will be submitted to a judging panel. The deadline is June 26. Visit: www.facebook.com/BoschUK