Newsround

What’s been in the education news just lately?

• New research by think tank LMKco says that teachers in London are biased against black Caribbean and white boys from poorer backgrounds.
• Ever heard of Silmu Parenting? Well, this relates to scientific, evidence-based information and practical advice for challenging situations related to upbringing. Silmu Parenting is a platform developed at the University of Helsinki, “helps parents better understand their children’s traits, while improving parents’ self-understanding and, thus, making it easier for them to be the kind of parent that the children need them to be.”
• A new report from the Education Endowment Foundation offers four practical and evidence-based recommendations on working with parents to support their children’s learning:

1. Critically review how you work with parents
2. Provide practical strategies to support learning at home
3. Tailor school communications to encourage positive dialogue about learning
4. Offer more sustained and intensive support where needed

• According to research by The Sutton Trust, Oxford and Cambridge admit more students from just eight elite schools than from three-quarters of all the other schools and colleges put together.
• The Tes talked to Professor Larry Hedges, the $4m academic who revolutionised education research.
• BBC research reveals how some universities allocate rooms in accommodation to freshers using a system of percentage targets for each category of residence.
• Bath Spa University is criticised for being “insensitive” and “a complete shambles” after they name mental health day ‘Wonkee Wednesday’.
• Can you name a female scientist from history? Claire Jones, Senior Lecturer in History of Science, University of Liverpool, says that women have been written out of science history and its time to put them back.
• As always, the Best Evidence in Brief brought to us by the Institute for Effective Education is well worth a look. They look at a study published in Economics of Education Review about whether pupils benefit from longer school days.
• Legal proceedings have been lodged in the high court against Outwood Grange AcademiesTrust (OGAT) for its use of so-called isolation units to discipline pupils.
• Osfted have published phase 3 findings of An investigation into how to assess the quality of education through curriculum intent, implementation and impact. The report says,

In terms of importance, coherent rationale, knowledge of curriculum concepts and curriculum is ambitious were the most prominent intent indicators spoken about by inspectors during the focus group…..too many primary schools in our sample had an imbalanced curriculum offer. In these schools, the curriculums were not as challenging as that set out in the national curriculum 2014.

• Led by Dr Joanna Sikora of Australian National University, academics analysed data from more than 160,000 adults from 31 different countries and found that growing up in a house full of books is major boost to literacy and numeracy. She said early exposure to books in the parental home matters “because books are an integral part of routines and practices that enhance lifelong cognitive competencies.”

• Have you heard about The Day? This is an online news service used by schools around the world teachers can subscribe to help “students develop information literacy and critical thinking and prepares them for the challenges ahead in the ever-changing world.”