www.sec-ed.com News
Teachers need training
In brief
Maths consultation
A public consultation on
A level maths criteria is
open for contributions from
teachers and other interested
in emotional literacy
parties in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland. The criteria
set out the required knowledge,
understanding and skills for AS
and A level mathematics to help
make sure these qualifications
prepare learners for progression
by Dorothy Lepkowska
Wolverhampton College, has conducting research and offering “However, it has not yet “We want to help them to engage to higher education and
presided over the creation of the advice, as well as offering master reached the level of teachers, with young people and to be better employment. Visit: www.qca.
Applied Centre for Emotional classes and organising conferences which is what we are hoping to able to diffuse difficult situations in org.uk/qca_21230.aspx
Teachers need better training in Literacy, Leadership and Research. for teachers. do. Teacher training and CPD the classroom.”
emotional literacy to enable them The virtual centre, which is Emotional literacy has been tend to focus on developing teach- The centre will be launched at
to communicate with pupils in based at the College, is the first of described as the ability to under- ers’ subject knowledge, but social a conference at the University of
Vegetarian week
the classroom and diffuse difficult its kind in the country and aims to stand, control and talk about one’s interaction is an important aspect Birmingham’s Medical College on Schools are being urged to sing
situations, an academic has claimed. provide CPD to secondary teachers own emotions and feelings and to of the job. June 4. the praises of vegetarianism as
Dr John Majors, a leading psy- and college lecturers. empathise with others. It offers the “We have up to 60,000 pupils The conference, whose theme part of National Vegetarian Week,
chologist, said that while a lot of It will also work with initial resilience and capacity for people a day playing truant and feeling will be Bringing Emotional which takes place from May 18 to
work had been done in develop- teacher training institutions to to cope with life’s difficulties and alienated. When we speak to young Literacy into the 21st Century, will 24. A school action pack has been
ing emotional literacy in pupils, develop courses in emotional lit- challenges. people one of the words we hear be attended by one of the pio- produced by Cauldron Foods and
teachers also needed to be better eracy for new teachers, and develop Dr Majors said: “Most of the most often is ‘disrespect’, so we neers of Emotional Intelligence, the Vegetarian Society, containing
informed if relationships in schools curriculum packages for schools. emotional literacy work done in have to find ways to change this Professor Jack Mayer. ideas for introducing the subject
were to improve. One of the main purposes of the schools so far has been aimed at perception. There seems to be a For more information, of vegetarianism to both the
Dr Majors, who is also direc- new centre will be to monitor the students, such as SEAL (social and crisis in communication between visit www.regonline.co.uk/ classroom and the school canteen.
tor of innovation at City of field of emotional literacy learning, emotional aspects of learning). teachers and pupils. Emotionalliteracy2009 Visit: www.vegsoc.org/nvw
seN matinee
Pupils from 60 SEN schools
across South East England will
attend a free matinee of the hit
musical The Lion King at the
Lyceum Theatre in London
next month. The 1,300 11 to
15-year-olds, along with around
400 teachers, will also be
given the opportunity to learn
Nants’ Ingonyama, an African
chant used in the production.
Classroom resources and
workshops will also be available
to the participating schools.
Parenting course
A set of qualifications to teach
parenting skills to pregnant
teenagers has been launched by
the exam board Edexcel and
the Nationwide Community
Learning Partnership. The
qualifications combine the Young
Mums To Be and Parents With
Prospects training programmes,
which take learners through
Time Team visits Essex
the journey of pregnancy and
the early years of a child’s life.
The course will be offered at
approved training centres around
school for Tudor dig
the UK from September.
TsN change
After 11 years as chief executive
Staff and students at New Hall Beaulieu was demolished two ing. We had old drawings of the of the Teacher Support Network,
School in Essex have been mixing and a half centuries ago, and was buildings, but there was no way to Patrick Nash is to step down next
with the stars of Channel 4’s Time one of the royal palaces of Henry check their accuracy until now. Thursday (April 30). He is taking
Team, who paid the school a visit as VIII’s youth. “There are still parts of the dig up a role at social enterprise
part of an investigation into Henry A level and GCSE history stu- open, and we are looking into pre- company LTL Connect and is
VIII. dents helped out during the dig serving these so that all our students to be replaced at TSN by Julian
The dig, which transformed the by carrying out pot-washing duties will benefit. We would also love Stanley, former chief executive
school grounds into an archaeo- – helping to restore some of the other schools in the area to get in of The Creset in Peterborough.
logical site for three days during uncovered artefacts to their original touch if they want to look around Mr Nash, a SecEd columnist,
the February half-term, was broad- condition. the site.” said: “We have made a huge and
cast over the Easter weekend, and Students from all years had the Vice principal and keen histo- positive difference to the lives
revealed features of the original opportunity to meet the team and rian Rachel Owens added: “This of large numbers of teachers and
palace built on the site by the Tudor learn about the site’s history. was a unique opportunity for us to taken staff health and wellbeing
king between 1516 and 1520. Katherine Jeffrey, principal of the learn what life would have been to the top of the agenda.” Visit:
The Time Team experts, assist- school, said they were delighted at like when King Henry VIII com- www.teachersupport.info
ed by 6th-formers at the school, the discoveries the team had made. missioned New Hall and what that
located the original gatehouse and She told SecEd: “This was the meant to the local community.” Digging history: The Time Team hard at work (above left)
chapel, and were also able to calcu- first archaeological dig on the site, If you would like to visit the with help from former student and archaeologist Nicola
wartime Twitter
late the size of the palace, which is and to find the original markings of school, get in touch via the website Wager (top), while architectural historian Jonathan Foyle Historians are being offered
also known as Beaulieu. the old chapel was absolutely amaz- at www.newhallschool.co.uk unwinds with Time Team presenter Tony Robinson (above) the chance to get Twitter
updates from the 1940s as part
Manifesto launched to stop decline in geography
of an Imperial War Museum
campaign. Mrs Sew and Sew, a
fictional character from wartime
London, will be blogging and
A manifesto launched on Friday vey of 600 secondary pupils, the Despite these findings, entries for in the world to be pushed to one Martin Shevill, headteacher twittering about a host of money
(April 17) is hoping to revitalise results of which were published to GCSE geography dropped by more side. of Ossett School and Sixth Form saving tips from the utility
the position of geography in the coincide with the manifesto launch, than four per cent between 2007 He told SecEd: “The league College in Wakefield, added: “The years of the 1940s. Based upon
national curriculum, and halt the found that more than 90 per cent and last year, and the Association tables culture means that headteach- new manifesto will help schools the Ministry of Information
decline in the number of students felt it was important to learn about claims that the subject is becoming ers are not encouraged to focus on to consider the contribution that propaganda character, who
studying the subject at GCSE. the issues affecting people’s lives in increasingly marginalised within humanities, and if we are to have a geography can make to the wider encouraged people to Make Do
A Different View, published different parts of the world. the curriculum. broad and balanced curriculum then curriculum. I hope it will be a and Mend throughout the Second
by the Geographical Association, A similar number wanted the Professor David Lambert, chief this needs to be addressed. useful tool for all people lead- World War, Mrs Sew and Sew
argues that geography has a pivotal curriculum to cover where food, executive of the Geographical “Our survey shows that children ing schools, as well as geography will also upload film footage
role to play, and calls for teachers energy and water come from, while Association, said there was want to learn about geography, and teachers themselves.” and photographs from her era to
to look for new ways of engaging more than 60 per cent felt that something “dreadfully wrong” if we don’t listen to them then we To read the manifesto, YouTube and Flickr. Visit:
students in the subject. not enough school time was spent with an education system that run the risk of marginalising these visit www.geography.org.uk/ www.iwm.org.uk/toughtimes
A Geographical Association sur- learning about the wider world. allowed learning about our place issues still further.” adifferentview
SecEd • April 23 2009 
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20