Newsround

What’s been in the news just lately?

• Prof Steve Strand questions why black pupils are disproportionately identified as having a particular range special needs and says, “Black Caribbean children may be suffering an inappropriate and narrowed curriculum, from unwarranted over-identification, particularly [in] secondary schools.”

With Ariel Lindorff, Strand’s research involved a comprehensive analysis of the England National Pupil Database to identify ethnic disproportionality in the identification of SEN throughout the period 2005 – 2016. The report found

* Asian pupils (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Other Asian) are half as likely to be identified with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) as White British pupils

* Black Caribbean and Mixed White & Black Caribbean pupils are twice as likely to be identified with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs as White British pupils.

Read the Executive Summary here.

• A new report by the National Education Opportunities Network (Neon) shows differences in white working class students going to university by higher education provider. Read the report  ‘Working Class Heroes – Understanding access to higher education for white students from lower socio-economic backgrounds’.
• A guide for headteachers in England aims to help them deal ethically with thorny issues like exclusions – and to confront colleagues who do not.
• Scientists found that when racial language was removed from textbooks, teenagers were less likely to hold racist views about the intelligence of different groups.
• Do pupils perform less well in their GCSEs in years when there is a major international football tournament taking place? Of course they do.
• The BBC report, “Anne Longfield (children’s commissioner for England), Sally Holland (Wales), Bruce Adamson (Scotland) and Koulla Yiasouma (Northern Ireland) said they had reservations “about the degree to which children have been engaged and considered” during the Brexit process.”
• See the interview with ten-year-old David Yamba who had his new home was vandalised with the words “No Blacks” painted on the front door.
• Andreas Schleicher, director of education and skills at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says teaching children coding is a waste of time. He predicts , the skill will soon be obsolete.
• Amanda Spielman says all children must learn about same sex couples regardless of their religious background.