NEWS
Mental health, friendships and bullying amongst top pupil concerns, data from 650 schools finds
Data released during Mental Health Awareness Week by Tootoot, the award-winning anti-bullying and reporting app, shows a rise in mental health issues raised by children, and has identified friendship issues, bullying and behaviour as the top concerns amongst the UK’s primary and secondary school students in 2017. More than 11,500 reports were gathered from
650 schools over a two-year period from users of Tootoot’s award-winning anti-bullying and reporting app. Pupils were given the opportunity to use the app to anonymously report issues that were troubling or concerning them. Similarly, teachers used the platform to log pupil incidents and concerns they had observed. The information collected shows that teachers
are not always proficient at identifying the issues of greatest concern for their pupils. Pupils are increasingly likely to categorise an issue as a mental health concern, with the category seeing a 33 per cent growth since 2016 – the change is in line with the increasing public discourse around children’s mental health. Teachers, however, are less likely to identify an issue as mental health. Whilst the category has increased in case counts since 2016, its percentage growth from 2018 has decreased by 35 per cent, and mental health features at number 15 on the teacher’s list compared to number 8 on the student list. Friendships and bullying were the concerns that
pupils most regularly sought support for. This can be compared with teachers, who identified pupil
behaviour and issues at home or with their parents as the most common concerns that they recognised and recorded. Verbal bullying has also seen a significant 45 per
cent growth in pupils’ cases from 2016. This can be compared to cyber bullying, which showed only a 3 per cent growth. This shows that despite regular reports of children increasingly spending greater time online, traditional forms of bullying are still dominant.
u
https://tootoot.co.uk/
Glasgow welcomes 13th World Down Syndrome Congress
Glasgow is getting set to host the 13th World Down Syndrome Congress, a global event attended by over 1,200 families and people with Down’s syndrome, as well as health care practitioners, education professionals and experts at the forefront of research and best practice in the care and development of people with the condition. Hosted by Down’s Syndrome Scotland on behalf of Down Syndrome International (DSi), the Congress takes place at the Glasgow SEC’s Scottish Event Campus between 25th-27th July. Held every two years, the Congress provides
a once in a lifetime opportunity for families, professionals and people with Down’s syndrome to access the latest medical research,
educational developments and best practice related to the condition. Congress will also offer a unique
environment for families to share their personal experiences and learnings with a global community, as well as connect with people from diverse cultures, backgrounds and communities who face similar challenges and concerns. Focusing on four core pillars; Research, Lived
Experience, Practice and Performance, the congress encourages delegates to learn and share experiences through a detailed programme of over 150 plenary sessions, selected practice workshops, Meet the Expert sessions, presentations, performances and
exhibitions that take place over the course of two days. There will also be a dedicated programme for
delegates with Down’s syndrome, including The Gathering, which takes place on the 24th July. The Gathering is a special day where delegates with Down’s syndrome come together to share conversations and ideas about what they each bring to their communities, how to speak up, self-advocacy and about their human rights.
u
http://wdsc2018.org.uk/
Mums and dads struggle to make the grade in GCSE science quiz
Parents often say: "exams were harder in my day", but do they really appreciate how hard GCSEs are? And could they do better than their children? When it comes to GCSE science, it looks like the answer is a resounding no! When online learning company Tassomai asked parents to put their science knowledge to the test, they didn’t compare to their children who scored significantly higher marks. The results of the quiz may bring some
satisfaction to thousands of stressed out teenagers sitting GCSE science exams. On average, parents only got 6 out of 15 questions right, compared to 9 out of 15 for the students studying for their GCSEs. Whilst the parents remembered some key facts
like pH values and the difference between exothermic and endothermic reactions, they struggled to recall Newton’s Laws or the meaning of terms like “Oxygen debt”. Vic Goddard, Principal at Passmores Academy
in Harlow and known to many from TV’s Educating Essex thinks a lot of us underestimate just how hard GCSEs are, as well as the stress they can cause some students: “Mental health issues and anxiety around exams is a serious problem and one that we’re coming across more and more in our schools. GCSEs are the first exams that really matter to their chances of employment etc. and a lot of students feel under immense pressure to get good grades. They’re studying 8 or more different subjects at the same time, so it’s important we don’t underestimate the challenge and the impact of exam stress.” Murray Morrison, a former private tutor and
the brains behind Tassomai believes that technology can reduce exam stress by helping us approach learning in new ways: “Parents often underestimate the stress caused by cramming for exams.
It doesn’t help us retain information in
the long term - and like many of the popular methods students use to revise, it’s been shown
12
www.education-today.co.uk
to be ineffective. The most powerful way to learn is through repeated, targeted practice over as long a period as possible and technology can make that process more efficient. ‘Little and often’ is one of the key principles behind Tassomai which uses an algorithm to adapt learning quizzes to each individual student so that they really practise the content they need. By the time the exams come around, students who’ve completed the program are confident that they’ve got the knowledge in their heads and this hopefully makes the exam process a great deal less stressful.”
uwww.tassomai.com/quiz May 2018
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 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
