Newsround

What’s been in the news just lately?

• The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.

• Education Secretary opens Education World Forum. He said that schools are right to impose rules to stop students wearing trainers as it encourages “footwear competitiveness”. All good schools poverty-proof. See more about the Education World Forum here.

• The National Audit Office says that the Government “still does not fully understand what is driving demand for children’s social care or why there is such wide variation between local authorities in their children’s social care activity and costs.”
• All music lessons should be free.
• Disgraceful news here – 23% of schools in England have not told the government how much asbestos they have in their buildings and how they are managing the risks.

• Kim et al (2019) have published A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Teacher Personality on Teacher Effectiveness and Burnout.

• Parents’ maths anxiety is negatively associated with children’s maths achievement in early elementary school.
• In Trends Shaping Education 2019, the OECD looks at major global developments and speculates how they could impact on education. It identifies key mega-trends affecting the future of education the top three being globalisation, digitalisation and ageing. The report aims to inform strategic thinking and stimulate reflection on the challenges facing education globally, at the societal level and for individuals. Are you future ready? Take the OECD quiz on the latest trends shaping education!

The future is not a distant, external world where we can send our problems to be fixed by education.

• A report by the Education Policy Institute has found that GCSE pupils in England outperform those in Wales. A couple of reasons might explain this:

*Higher levels of poverty in Wales will explain some of the difference, but a wider attainment gap between rich and poor pupils in Wales suggests this is unlikely to be a major explanation.

*England does have more pupils from minority ethnic groups, who tend to perform better at GCSE level.

To find out more, look in their report.

• Ofsted inspectors have found three of the UK’s four Steiner state schools “inadequate”.
• A periodic table found Dduring a laboratory clear-out at the University of St Andrews , a periodic table printed between 1879 and 1886 is believed to be the oldest in the world.
• The Food Foundation recently published its report The Children’s Future Food Inquiry. It found,

Young people we spoke to want schools to consider price, portion size and cultural and dietary requirements in the meals they offer, and provide a dedicated hunger teacher to deal with food poverty issues.

Rob Percival, Head of Policy at the Soil Association commented The Children’s Future Food Inquiry provides a sobering and challenging insight into the issue of poverty and hunger in schools.” See also the Soil Association’s report from last year The State of the Nation: Children’s food in England, 2018