Family Child Care

Underachievement

Those of you with an interest in the attainment of children from ethnic minorities may be interested in a new review which suggests that <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/969920/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin" target="_blank">teachers underestimate black pupils</a>. The report - <a href="http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RR177.pdf" target="_blank">Black Children’s Achievement Programme Evaluation</a> - was commissioned by the DCSF, and argues that teachers need to understand that different strategies must be employed to raise the attainment of different ethnic groups. On a similar(ish!) note, another new research publication from the <a href="http://www.cps.org.uk/" target="_blank">Centre of Policy Studies</a> states that teachers are being asked to spend <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2009/nov/27/too-many-iniatives-not-enough-teaching" target="_blank">too much time fulfilling government initiatives</a> with a detrimental effect on teaching quality; the report argues that white working class and black Caribbean boys are particularly affected. You can read the full text of <a href="http://www.cps.org.uk/cps_catalog/WASTED.pdf" target="_blank">Wasted</a> online now.

Underachievement

Those of you with an interest in the attainment of children from ethnic minorities may be interested in a new review which suggests that teachers underestimate black pupils. The report - Black Children’s Achievement Programme Evaluation - was commissioned by the DCSF, and argues that teachers need t…

27Nov2009

Improving Safety, Reducing Harm

Improving Safety, Reducing Harm

The Department of Health has recently published Improving Safety, Reducing Harm: Children, Young People and Domestic Violence. This is a practical toolkit, designed for use by practitioners who are working with children, with detailed information on risk assessment, guidance for schools, official po…

26Nov2009

A Quick Catch Up

Children's rights, mental health issues and family intervention are all covered in today's bumper post, which covers a number of recent publications... <ul><li>The parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has criticised the government's <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/968423/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin" target="_blank">record on protecting children's rights</a>; issues highlighted in their Children's Rights report included the treatment of young offenders and media treatment of children. You can read the <a href="http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200809/jtselect/jtrights/157/157.pdf" target="_blank">full text</a> online now.</li></ul><ul><li>A new publication from the <a href="http://www.scmh.org.uk/" target="_blank">Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health</a> claims that up to <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/nov/23/uk-crime-behavioural-problems-study" target="_blank">80% of crime is committed</a> by individuals who had behavioural problems as a child. The report, entitled <a href="http://www.scmh.org.uk/pdfs/chance_of_a_lifetime.pdf" target="_blank">The Chance of a Lifetime</a>, argues that the cost of introducing parenting support for problem families at an early age is easily offset by the savings from a reduced crime rate in later years.</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-RBX-09-16.pdf" target="_blank">New research</a> into the government's Family Intervention Projects (FIPs) suggests that they are helping to <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/968700/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin" target="_blank">reduce anti-social behaviour and enforced evictions</a>.</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://publications.education.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-RR170.pdf" target="_blank">Improving Educational Outcomes for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Pupils What Works?</a> is a new piece of DCSF research which takes a fresh look at a topic which has attracted plenty of attention in recent years. </li></ul>

A Quick Catch Up

Children's rights, mental health issues and family intervention are all covered in today's bumper post, which covers a number of recent publications...The parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights has criticised the government's record on protecting children's rights; issues highlighted in their…

25Nov2009

Ofsted Under Fire

Today sees the publication of <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Ofsted</a>'s annual report (<a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Annual-Report/2008-09/The-Annual-Report-of-Her-Majesty-s-Chief-Inspector-of-Education-Children-s-Services-and-Skills-2008-09" target="_blank">click here</a> for links to the report and various supporting documents and summaries), which contains information about Ofsted's findings from the past year, grouped around the themes of looked-after children, teaching and learning, and skills for employment. In particular, a need to <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8376014.stm" target="_blank">tackle inadequate teaching</a> has been highlighted. However, this year's report has rather been overshadowed by the publication of <a href="http://www.adcs.org.uk/Downloads/Position_Statements/20Nov09-ADCS-position-on-inspection-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">this paper</a> by the <a href="http://www.adcs.org.uk/" target="_blank">Association of Directors of Children's Services</a>, which argues that the inspection models which Ofsted currently uses are flawed and need to change. Further press reaction to this controversy is available in this <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/8375380.stm" target="_blank">BBC article</a> and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/nov/23/reform-ofsted-schools-watchdog-critics" target="_blank">this piece</a> from the Guardian.

Ofsted Under Fire

Today sees the publication of Ofsted's annual report (click here for links to the report and various supporting documents and summaries), which contains information about Ofsted's findings from the past year, grouped around the themes of looked-after children, teaching and learning, and skills for e…

24Nov2009

State of the World's Children

State of the World's Children

Last week saw the publication of UNICEF's annual State of the World's Children report. This year the publication has a special theme, celebrating 20 years since the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most widely ratified human rights convention in history. The full text of the re…

24Nov2009

EYES Search

EYES Search

Another slow news day so another appeal for feedback from users... From looking at the stats of visitors for this site, it seems that in recent months the number of enquiries entered into the EYES Search Box on the right of this page (see previous post for details) has risen sharply. However, I'm un…

18Nov2009

Information Workshop 2

Information Workshop 2

Just a reminder (see previous post for details) that if you'd be interested in being introduced to useful techniques to staying on top of news and research in your subject area, then just contact me and I'll try to organise a session at a time that suits. I have had a couple of expressions of intere…

17Nov2009

Anti-Bullying Week

This week is National Anti-Bullying Week, which means that a number of organisations are seeking to raise awareness of issues surrounding all forms of bullying. This year seems to have a particular emphasis on cyber-bullying, with the appearance of a number of new reports and resources devoted to this subject. The <a href="http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/" target="_blank">Anti-Bullying Alliance</a> sends out a resource pack containing various materials to schools at this time each year, and all of the contents can be downloaded from <a href="http://www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk/get_involved/anti-bullying_week_2009/support_for_schools/anti-bullying_week_2009_pack.aspx" target="_blank">this link</a>. Meanwhile, Bullying UK has launched a <a href="http://m.cyberbullying.co.uk/" target="_blank">mobile version of its cyber-bullying site</a>, which enables children to access advice and information while on the move. For new research, take a look at <a href="http://www.beatbullying.org/pdfs/Virtual%20Violence%20-%20Protecting%20Children%20from%20Cyberbullying.pdf" target="_blank">Virtual Violence: Protecting Children from Cyberbullying</a>, a new report from the <a href="http://www.beatbullying.org/" target="_blank">Beatbullying</a> charity; the study aims to highlight the true extent of cyberbulling in the UK. Also, <a href="http://www.teachers.tv/" target="_blank">Teachers TV</a> has commissioned a new programme entitled <a href="http://www.teachers.tv/video/38151" target="_blank">The Bullies Playground</a>, which conducts a detailed study of cyberbullying. For official guidance on tackling all types of bullying, the <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Teachernet</a> website has compiled <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/behaviour/tacklingbullying/" target="_blank">this list of links</a> to various documents and sources which have been issued in recent years. Or for further information, you could just click on the 'Bullying' link in the 'Hot Topics' menu in the right-hand column of this page, which will give you a list of all blog posts which have dealt with this topic.

Anti-Bullying Week

16Nov2009

Happy Birthday

If you've looked at any of the entertaining logos on Google's homepage during the last week, you've probably realised that <a href="http://www.sesamestreet.org/home" target="_blank">Sesame Street</a> is celebrating its 40th birthday. To mark the occasion, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2009/nov/10/michelle-obama-sesame-street-debut" target="_blank">Michelle Obama is making a guest appearance</a>, while newspapers and magazines from <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/09/sesame-street-40" target="_blank">the UK</a> to <a href="http://tunedin.blogs.time.com/2009/11/10/sesame-street-raising-little-media-critics-for-40-years/" target="_blank">the US</a> and beyond are publishing articles which (mostly!) praise the impact that it has had. Some facts about Sesame Street (courtesy of www.imdb.com) <ul><li>The highest number of the day has been 21, the lowest has been 0</li><li>The series was originally designed for inner-city children to help them formulate phrases in standard English; the Sesame Street neighbourhood reflects the areas where these children would be growing up</li><li>Following the death of the grocer Mr Hooper, a special episode was commissioned to help children deal with the loss of a loved one</li><li>The Snuffleupagus character initially interacted only with Big Bird; the producers made him visible to other characters as it was felt that it was sending a bad message to children that adults would not believe them if they had something important to tell</li><li>Linda (an actress on the show) was the first regular deaf character on American TV</li><li>The Guiness Book of Records lists Sesame Street as the Most Popular Children's Educational Programme, having been shown in 180 countries</li></ul>Sesame Street is also surely among the most researched programmes of all time; a search for "Sesame Street" on Google Scholar returns over 13,000 hits. For classic clips from the show covering its entire history, try taking a look at the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/sesamestreet?blend=1&ob=4" target="_blank">official YouTube channel</a>.

Happy Birthday

If you've looked at any of the entertaining logos on Google's homepage during the last week, you've probably realised that Sesame Street is celebrating its 40th birthday. To mark the occasion, Michelle Obama is making a guest appearance, while newspapers and magazines from the UK to the US and beyon…

10Nov2009

Regulating Play-Based Provision

A new factsheet from Ofsted seeks to clarify how play providers can meet the requirements of the EYFS <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/965178/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin" target="_blank">without altering existing good practice</a>. The information provided in the document (entitled Regulating Play-Based Provision) outlines Ofsted's role in overseeing early years provision, and provides links to other useful materials. To access the factsheet, <a href="http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Forms-and-guidance/Browse-all-by/Other/General/Factsheet-childcare-Regulating-play-based-provision" target="_blank">click here</a>. The DCSF will be issuing further guidance to help the play sector deliver the EYFS before the end of the year; when this information is released it will be featured on here. Readers with an interest in play may also like to take a look at the <a href="http://www.skillsactive.com/playwork/principles" target="_blank">Playwork Principles</a>, which lay out a professional and ethical framework for playwork, and are being incorporated into the Playwork National Occupational Standards.

Regulating Play-Based Provision

A new factsheet from Ofsted seeks to clarify how play providers can meet the requirements of the EYFS without altering existing good practice. The information provided in the document (entitled Regulating Play-Based Provision) outlines Ofsted's role in overseeing early years provision, and provides …

10Nov2009

The Really Good School Dinner

The Really Good School Dinner

If you work in a school, is your institution involved in the Really Good School Dinner? Now into it's second year, this project enables UK schools to help children in some of the world's poorest countries. The premise is simple: on the week beginning 25th January 2010, UK children are encouraged to …

09Nov2009

Spring in the Fall

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjcoIHpMjrt6nCVqVf5Hsz0tbgRwK5gl8hD-38ISYQ0LYDMBDxpASE-FkCDD0jatwpjXQgw0LXH9s4YjS4dSNyn6LfTPXxuDnBvlUN77BbgGrH-CoCNSDbABNtYvjK7walXXfb-4aazw/s1600-h/Calif.+3-09+005.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401869724407488498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifjcoIHpMjrt6nCVqVf5Hsz0tbgRwK5gl8hD-38ISYQ0LYDMBDxpASE-FkCDD0jatwpjXQgw0LXH9s4YjS4dSNyn6LfTPXxuDnBvlUN77BbgGrH-CoCNSDbABNtYvjK7walXXfb-4aazw/s200/Calif.+3-09+005.JPG" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" /></a> I was struck by an extraordinary thought the other day as I was raking up leaves. We go somewhat overboard with our yard, so every fall we must clean up the falling leaves and dying plants. It's like a right of passage into winter (whether we want winter to come or not). As I was raking, I thought about how much of our yard will 'sleep' for the winter and come alive again in the spring. Each perennial plant will have another chance to grow and flourish, trying to surpass the previous year. I was thinking about how wonderful it would be for children who suffer an emotional or developmental setback to have a spring, where they could have another chance to flourish. Maybe this time, with the right light, water and nourishment, he just might flourish. Then it hit me that every fall when we begin a another school year, a child may have a new 'spring' in learning. If a teacher works hard to provide the right amount of nourishment, the child can flourish, even more than the previous year. Even as I watch the new trees I planted begin to grow and spread, that same anticipation should be occurring each school year as we watch our students grow and spread their wings.

Spring in the Fall

I was struck by an extraordinary thought the other day as I was raking up leaves. We go somewhat overboard with our yard, so every fall we must clean up the falling leaves and dying plants. It's like a right of passage into winter (whether we want winter to come or not). As I was raking, I thought a…

08Nov2009

Safeguarding Children

I've written about the <a href="http://www.c4eo.org.uk/" target="_blank">Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services (C4EO)</a> site on here a few times before; for those who aren't familiar with this organisation, they carry out evidence-based research with a view to identifying effective practice in delivering children's services. Currently they are doing a number of studies on different themes, and the latest set of briefings, on the subject of Safeguarding Children, have just been published. Click on the links below to view the various reports: <ul style="font-style: italic;"><li><a href="http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/safeguarding/files/safeguarding_briefing_1.pdf" target="_blank">Effective Interventions for Complex Families Where There are Concerns About, or Evidence of, a Child Suffering Significant Harm</a></li><li><a href="http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/safeguarding/files/safeguarding_briefing_2.pdf" target="_blank">What are the Key Questions for Audit of Child Protection Systems and Decision-Making?</a></li><li><a href="http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/safeguarding/files/safeguarding_briefing_3.pdf" target="_blank">The Oversight and Review of Cases in the Light of Changing Circumstances and New Information: how do People Respond to New (and Challenging) Information?</a></li></ul>Previous reports from C4EO have focused on <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2008/12/childrens-services-bullying.html" target="_blank">Children's Services</a>, <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2009/03/disabled-children.html" target="_blank">Disabled Children</a> and <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2009/05/vulnerable-children.html" target="_blank">Vulnerable Children</a>. Studies on Child Poverty, Schools and Communities, Youth, Families, Parents and Carers and Narrowing the Gap are still in progress, and details of each will be included on the blog when they are published.

Safeguarding Children

I've written about the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes in Children and Young People's Services (C4EO) site on here a few times before; for those who aren't familiar with this organisation, they carry out evidence-based research with a view to identifying effective practice in delivering children…

06Nov2009

20 Years of the Children Act

20 Years of the Children Act

It's been 20 years since the passing of the Children Act 1989, a landmark piece of legislation which still governs much of how cases involving children are handled. To mark the occasion, Community Care magazine has published a series of articles which represent a range of views on the Act, from lega…

02Nov2009