News
Oxfam encourages singing to aid learning
Sing Up, the not-for-profit educational singing organisation, has joined forces with development charity Oxfam to create a Key Stage 2 resource, using singing as a tool to explore global issues.
The free, downloadable resource pack focuses on the theme of food and small-scale farming across the world, using music to explore this in a creative way. The resource takes pupils through the ‘learn-think-act’ process, helping them deepen their understanding of food as a global issue and encouraging opportunities for performance.
Make students cancer-aware
New figures from Macmillan Cancer Support show that over 220,000 9 to16 year olds believe that you can ‘catch’ cancer from someone else. A poll of 500 school children also showed that under-16 year olds are ill informed about the lifestyle choices that can lead to cancer. Nearly all surveyed (97%) were unaware that sunburn can cause cancer, 4% didn’t know that smoking causes it, whilst 2% think you can get it from being badly behaved.
To combat this lack of awareness, Macmillan is launching the Talking About Cancer Toolkit which gives teachers a variety of resources to teach their pupils about the facts of cancer, with the aim of encouraging students to make informed lifestyle choices and creating a more sensitive and cancer-aware society.
It isn’t just the causes of cancer that seem to confuse children. One in five (21%) believe that cancer is always fatal and over half (52%) don’t know what cancer is. This is despite two-thirds (67%) knowing someone who has been diagnosed with it. It is not surprising, therefore, that over half (53%) say the word ‘cancer’ makes them feel frightened. Katherine Donnelly, School Leader at Macmillan Cancer Support, says: “The unknown is always scary and, as our survey has shown, cancer is something school children don’t know a lot about. As cancer affects more and more people, the chances of children knowing someone with the condition grows - be that their grandparent, parent or friend. This can be really distressing and they may feel too worried to ask questions. “Just over a quarter of children have been taught about cancer at school and this needs to improve. Macmillan’s Talking About Cancer Toolkit helps teachers approach this difficult subject with lesson plans and exercises to educate children and dispel the myths.” The toolkit can be requested for free from
www.macmillan.org.uk/teachingpack
The resource has been designed to meet the recommendations of the national plan for music education and the government’s call for every school to have a ‘singing strategy’. It also supports the practice of singing as a classroom activity, enabling teachers to integrate music into the classroom in an inclusive way, ensuring every child sings and performs regularly. John McLaverty, from the Oxfam Youth & Schools team, said: “Oxfam is very pleased to be launching our first collaboration with Sing Up, linking together music performance and global learning in a unique and exciting new way.” Michelle James, Sing Up Chief Executive added:”The causes that Oxfam deals with engage and inspire children, so the singing resources we have developed are an ideal way of helping them to understand these global issues more deeply.”
Each song is presented with extension activities that raise awareness and support citizenship education. Included is the accompanying sheet music, a step-by-step guide to learning the song, links to the curriculum, plus links to online audio files and backing tracks on the Sing Up or Oxfam websites, freely available for Sing Up ‘friends’ and members alike.
To download the resources or for more information, visit
www.singup.org or
www.oxfam.org.uk
Zainabu Jalloh (right) participates in class singing activities during lessons at the Early Learning School, West Point, Monrovia, Liberia
Meningitis survivors more likely to struggle at school
A new study commissioned by national charity, the Meningitis Trust, has shown that meningitis can cause long-term, often hidden damage that can limit a child’s educational attainment.
The research, published in The Lancet Neurology, identified learning and behavioural problems in children as young as three years old, who had experienced meningococcal group B disease (MenB), a type of meningitis.
The research was led by Professor Russell Viner at the UCL Institute of Child Health and showed that child victims can be left with a borderline low IQ, leaving them
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behind in the classroom and affecting their ability to learn. They are five times more likely to have speech and communication problems, and in later school life display poor executive function, affecting their ability to plan and organise, especially as they move from primary to secondary school.
In addition, meningitis was found to impact on an individual’s memory - both long and short term - and leave survivors significantly more likely to experience epilepsy. In response to the findings, the Meningitis Trust has called for the automatic right for any child who has had meningitis to have
www.education-today.co.uk
timely and appropriate assessments throughout their educational life. Sue Davie, Chief Executive of the Trust, said: “We hope that the new findings will encourage education and health professionals to recognise (the hidden effects), as well as the noticeable physical after-effects of meningitis, and push for children to receive the support they need and deserve.”
For more information on the Meningitis Changes Futures campaign,which is tackling educational difficulties, visit
www.MeningitisChangesFutures.co.uk
October 2012
Image courtesy of Aubrey Wade/Oxfam GB
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