Mapping user experiences of the EHC process

A recent report, commissioned by the DfE, examines the experiences of children, young people and families involved in the EHC process and their satisfaction with the Education, Health and Care (EHC) process for children and young people with SEND. 

It also explores the extent to which the approaches employed to capture user feedback in the course of the study, could help others gather user satisfaction and make improvements to their service. 

Event: Healthy Children, Bright Futures

Healthy Children, Bright Futures

Addressing Key Health Issues for Under 5's

Date: 16 June 2016 
Location: Grand Connaught Rooms, Holborn, London
Bookings can be made here

Regional Schools Commissioners

Eight Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) were appointed in September 2014 to oversee the growing numbers of academies in England and have since become increasingly prominent. In fact, their roles are likely to expand to include decision-making in tackling poor performing local authority (LA) maintained schools as well as coasting schools. 

Further to the Government's report laying out plans to turn all maintained schools into academies by 2022, research by the Local Government Association (LGA) found that 86% of council-maintained schools are now rated 'good' or 'outstanding' by Ofsted, compared with 82% of academies. They also found that 'inadequate' council-maintained schools are more likely to improve if they stay with their local authority, rather than being forced to convert to an academy.

Engagement in Teaching

For those of you exploring strategies for teacher-pupil engagement, this series of NFER reports, will be of interest; these showcase new findings from PISA 2012, highlighting key engagement strategies that teachers can use in the classroom. The reports focus on three areas:

• Cognitive Activation in Maths
• Tackling Low Performance in Maths
• What can we Learn From England’s High Performance in Science and Problem-solving?

Another research study examines the impact of school-based programmes that are in place to support students aged 14-16 who are at risk of temporary disconnection from learning.

Children leaving care

Considerable research has been conducted into the area of children returning home following a period in care. The government has set out guidelines on improving practice in respect of children who leave care to return home. This article offers advice on helping children re-settle back into their homes and the risks posed to these children is addressed by the NSPCC here.

Early Years 2016

Bookings for the annual Early Years 2016 conference are now being taken. The event is jointly organised by EYE (Early Years Educator) and Practical Pre-School magazines and is to be held in Birmingham. To take advantage of the early bird discount, book by 30th April.

Can the Sugar Tax beat Child Obesity?

It was announced in this year's budget that the soft drinks industry would be levied with a sugar tax, to be implemented in April 2018, as part of efforts to combat child obesity. This was good news for Jamie Oliver and his campaign for an introduction of a tax on soft drinks; he has also produced his own strategy to help tackle childhood obesity. Sugar was first highlighted as a key cause for poor health back in 1972 by John Yudkin who wrote on this subject. Robert Lustig echoed the same theory in his lecture on sugar in 2009. This article aims to clarify why sugar is being blamed for a string of ailments including obesity.

Educate to Rehabilitate

Charlie Taylor, a former headteacher and child behavioural expert has set out plans to transform youth custody; his interim report suggests that the youth justice system would be more effective and better able to rehabilitate young people if it were focussed around education. Local, secure and smaller schools would draw on educational and behavioural expertise to rehabilitate children and give them the skills they need to thrive on release. 

Amongst its findings, the report states that around 40% of young people in under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have not been to school since they were aged 14; they are also only receiving 17 hours of education every week against an expectation of 30 hours.

Reading Ambassadors needed....

The Publishers Association (PA) are calling on members of the public to share their love of reading by volunteering in their local communities; they will be asked to undertake a range of activities to promote more reading for pleasure and to help boost literacy - their website provides numerous ideas on how to get involved. A series of road shows across the UK will aim to to recruit 10,000 Reading Ambassadors by 2020.  

Reports: Teacher's workload

The three review groups set up to propose ways of reducing teachers’ workload have submitted their final reports to the Education Secretary, Nicky Morgan. The first report calls on all parties in the education system to reduce the unnecessary burdens of data management by ensuring that every data collection has a clear purpose and that the process is as efficient as possible; the second looks at the role that marking plays in teaching and the three principles of effective marking; the final report, looks at the role that planning plays in effective teaching, the difference between lesson planning for accountability purposes and lesson planning to help pupil progress.

The recent NUT conference supported warnings on workload, which delegates said had been exacerbated by teacher shortages and rising pupil numbers. Delegates said teachers were now working 65 to 70 hours per week in term time, claiming it to be one of the most common reasons for teachers leaving the profession.

Consultation: 30-hour offer

The Department for Education has begun a consultation to gather evidence about the 30-hour free childcare offer which is being introduced from September 2017. The consultation will seek views on a number of issues including: how local authorities should work with childcare providers to provide the entitlement and how the needs of working parents can be met. The consultation runs until 6 June 2016.