News

Industry and education to work together to improve opportunities for students with special educational needs and disabilities

Employers, government officials and education providers across the country pledged support for a brand new campaign, centred around providing work experience opportunities for young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). 

The 24/7 news cycle, social media and 'fake news' make it hard for even the savviest to keep up with what’s really happening in the world. Picture News is the simple yet brilliant new resource that enables schools to encourage children to question what they hear and read, to think around key issues and topics and develop ‘healthy’ news mindsets.

The Picture News team consists of qualified teachers. Each week they choose the latest big news story, turn it into a vibrant A2 poster with a thought-provoking question and create an assembly plan with British values, Key Stage1 and Key Stage2 focus cards. The materials are available to schools as a download or printed and posted direct to the school.

School children across the UK will be filling up bird feeders, turning classrooms into bird hides and creating wildlife friendly bakes in preparation for watching and counting the birds in their school grounds for the 2019 RSPB Big Schools’ Birdwatch.

The Birdwatch – which takes place during the first half of the spring term (2 Jan – 22 Feb) – is a chance for children to put down their books and discover the nature that lives in their local community. The Birdwatch involves children spending an hour watching and counting the birds that visit their outdoor space, before sending the results to the RSPB.

As part of their 10th birthday celebrations, Wheels for Wellbeing launched possibly a world first with their Guide to Inclusive Cycling at a well-attended conference at London’s City Hall In October. Neil Andrews Campaigns and Policy Officer at the inclusive cycling charity outlines what the Guide is, who it is for and how it can be used.

Why the Guide?

Wheels for Wellbeing’s Guide is the product of years of campaigning to make cycling more inclusive. Its roots can be traced back to a talk they gave at a London Cycling Campaign seminar in 2014, where some of its key principles were first developed, and more recently with the launch of our Beyond the Bicycle manifesto in 2016.

According to a recent study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ)1, a 68% increase in self-harm incidence was found amongst girls aged 13-16 between 2011 and 2014 in the UK, with an annual incidence of 77 per 10,000 (or 0.77%) in that specific group of age. The study also highlights that self-harm is the strongest risk factor for subsequent suicide, with suicide being the second most common cause of death before age 25 worldwide. According to the authors, these revealing results indicate an “urgent need to develop and implement effective interventions for girls in their early-mid teens”. 

Like many technologies 3D Printing has taken its time to find its true vocation where the gains in digital processing are discovered by both leaders and followers. Often, new technologies need time to be matched with other skills and processes in order to be fully efficient. The advances in software, 3D scanners and 3D printers and light sensitive resins has now certainly reached this point.

Awesome Apps Ltd is a European Distributor for the new MoonRay series of DLP printers that are revolutionising the worlds of dental production, investment casting applications and rapid prototyping, among others.

A new independent school for young people with autismand learning difficulties, to help meet local need, is to open in Tavistock, Devon. The school will be run by Priory Education and Children’s Services, which runs schools, colleges and homes across the country for children and young adults with specialist needs.

The new site is set to open just after half term on 29 October- with an official opening planned for later in the academic year - and its senior leadership team has announced it will be admitting 25 young pupils aged between 7 & 19 years old. Admittance to the school will be staged, to ensure all students are receiving the right support for their individual needs, prioritising young people from the local area.

Disabled Living has an enviable reputation of organising the very prestigious Kidz to Adultz event since 2001 and now hold five of the largest FREE UK exhibitions totally dedicated to children and young adults up to 25 years with disabilities and additional needs, their parents, carers and all the professionals who support and work with them.

With 165+ exhibitors this free to attend event promises to be a ‘one stop shop’ offering visitors the opportunity to view the most up to date equipment and products including assistive technology. In addition visitors will have access to information on services, benefits and support organisations including information on alternative funding streams for equipment, respite and much more.

Due to popular demand, Playinnovation the innovative games company has launched a brand-new range of indoor and portable mini games which are perfect for the school market.  

Schools can now install Playinnovation’s educational games walls as mini games and perfect for use indoors and outdoors.  The games can be fitted to your gym or outside wall and feature magnetic numerical targets, moveable ground spots and a portable scoreboard for easy storage.