News

News at a glance: February 7

STEM
A new website helping students to find scholarships, resources to help young job-hunters, and news on English and maths catch-up funding for year 7 students – SecEd's at a glance headlines from February 7.

Catch-up Premium

Schools were told this week how much money they can expect to receive under the government’s Catch-up Premium. The payment is worth £500 for every year 7 pupil who has failed to reach the Level 4 benchmark in literacy and maths at the end of primary school. This is expected to be around 110,000 pupils. The funding will go towards one-to-one catch-up tuition and totals £54.5 million this academic year.

ICT scholarships

Fifty scholarships worth £20,000 each have been launched for those wishing to train to teach computer science. The BCS chartered institute for IT is managing the scheme with funding from the Department for Education. The BCS is also to broker mentoring and development opportunities with schools, universities and major employers. Dr Bill Mitchell from the BCS said: “The scheme aims to help meet the growing need for computer science teachers in schools and ensure that students get a good grounding in computer science education so they are suitably equipped for progression into further education and a professional career. Visit: http://academy.bcs.org/scholarships

Scholarship Hub

Students across the UK can search for scholarships, grants and bursaries worth around £80 million via a new website. With the cost of a three-year degree now estimated at £75,000, the website outlines possible funds that are available from more than 150 universities and organisations. Visit: www.thescholarshiphub.org.uk

Send My Friend

Students are once again being asked to get involved with the Send My Friend to School campaign which is fighting to get a primary education for every child in the world. Currently, 60 million children still miss a basic primary education, despite world leaders pledging to eradicate the problem by 2015. A key part of the problem is a lack of teachers in the developing world. Students are urged to help remind politicians of their promise. The campaign includes a free teaching pack and online lesson resources. Visit: www.sendmyfriend.org

Employment skills

Three new websites designed to help the one million unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds in the UK have been launched. The Discoverables site helps young people to identify strengths and undertake tasks to develop their skills. The Matter is a newspaper published by young people and is aimed at encouraging the development of skills. Step Up meanwhile helps young people to market themselves and make connections. Visit: www.discoverabl.es\, www.thisisthematter.com and www.nextstepup.co.uk