• Over half of parents disagree that a university education beats an apprenticeship for achieving faster career success
• Despite the wide range of apprenticeship opportunities on offer, worries about pay remain as two out of three parents believe apprentices are poorly paid

Parents are increasingly recognising that apprenticeships can give their children the chance of embarking on a successful career although worries about low wages remain, according to new research from Prudential¹.

Its study among parents of pupils who completed major school exams this summer shows that 51 per cent disagree that graduates are more likely to achieve faster career success than apprentices, and just one in four (26 per cent) say apprenticeships do not offer the best career path.

The Prudential study underlines how attitudes are changing – the survey also shows that 51 per cent of parents disagree that apprenticeships are best suited to those considered to be non-academic.

However, worries about low wages remain and more than two out of three (67 per cent) parents think apprenticeship roles are poorly paid while 43 per cent believe that apprenticeship opportunities are often in lower-skilled and lower-paid industries.

Neither of these issues is necessarily the case – Government data shows that wages for apprentices start at £3.30 an hour for under 19s or those in the first year of an apprenticeship, and rise in line with age². But 92 per cent of employers are willing to pay more than the typical apprenticeship wage, provided they’re matched with the right candidate³. Apprenticeships⁴ are available in 1,500 different job roles across more than 170 industries, from advertising to youth work and from environmental engineering to legal work.

Simon Moffatt, human resources director at Prudential’s insurance business in the UK, said: “Apprenticeships offer an excellent introduction to the world of work and increasingly parents are recognising that university is not the only route to career success after school.

“As university education becomes more expensive, many apprentices realise that the prospect of good longer-term employment opportunities offsets a potentially lower initial pay structure.

“While pay is important in any job, with apprenticeship schemes part of the attraction is gaining excellent on-the-job training with future job and career progression.”

The Prudential apprenticeship scheme pays the National Living Wage and offers a high quality training programme, allowing apprentices to achieve a recognised vocational qualification as well as all-important work-based skills and experience.

 

The insurer’s scheme offers placements in a wide range of areas in the company, including  IT, HR, customer services, operations, sales support, distribution, financial planning, communications and marketing. Positions are available in Prudential’s offices in London, Reading and Stirling.

 

To date, Prudential has recruited over 175 young people into its high quality, work-based training programme, which is based on a 12-month contract. Over the last two years around two-thirds of Prudential’s apprentices have been retained by the company in ongoing roles.

 

 

 

28^th September 2016: Primary schools across the UK will transform into a mass dance troop today in celebration of World School Milk Day.

As part of an initiative promoted by The Dairy Council, pupils and teachers will get moving and shaking to celebrate the white stuff and will learn about the role that milk plays in keeping children healthy.

Teachers are encouraged to tweet a video of their dance troop to The Dairy Council for the chance to win some milky prizes.

Schools are also invited to get involved in the celebrations by designing a backdrop for the video or a display for the classroom wall. Other activities include downloading a presentation from The Dairy Council’s website about the benefits of milk; holding a pop quiz or competition in class; or making milkshakes.

Primary-aged children require lots of nutrients and energy from food and drink to ensure adequate growth and development, and a simple carton of semi-skimmed milk can provide 42-52% of 4-10 year olds recommended daily intake for calcium and 24-35% of their recommended protein intake.

Another important but less known nutrient, iodine, is also found in significant amounts in milk. It is an important nutrient that contributes to growth and brain development in children, and a glass of milk provides about 52-57% of their recommended intake.

Erica Hocking, Senior Nutrition Scientist at The Dairy Council, said: “At primary school age, it is essential that children have a healthy, balanced diet and get plenty of physical activity to help them maintain a healthy weight as they get older.

 

“Research shows that milk consumption may have a beneficial effect on growth and body weight in children. Schools have a key role to play in encouraging children to replace sugary drinks with milk or water.

 

“This year, we are asking schools to get moving and shaking in celebration of all things milk. Just tweet us footage of your class strutting their stuff for World School Milk Day and you will be in with the chance of winning some milk shakers for the entire dance troop. We have even created a dance tutorial video which is available on our website and YouTube channel to inspire pupils and teachers to get moving – check it out. We can’t wait to see all of the videos.

 

“We would like to thank all of the schools across the UK who are supporting our initiative – milk is an easy, tasty and affordable way to help children to get their recommended daily allowance of calcium, protein and iodine and we hope pupils have enjoyed learning about milk today.”

 

 

Teachers from some of the UK’s leading digital schools will be inspiring their pupils with new technology this term, after attending a prestigious teaching and learning event in the US.

 

8 teachers from schools in the Midlands, Hertfordshire, London and Devon flew to Chicago this summer to take part in the Discovery Education Summer Institute, an exclusive professional development and networking summit for education’s ‘digital leaders’.

 

The group were hand-picked to make the trip after taking part in a competitive application process, and impressing judges with their enthusiasm for using digital technology to boost pupil achievement.

Hosted at Chicago’s Loyola University, the six-day event brought together educators from some of North America’s most advanced digital schools. With interactive workshops on STEM learning, green screening, coding and virtual reality and the opportunity to explore the latest tech gadgets, the week provided plenty of inspiration for the UK teachers. The group have returned to their classrooms ready to share new ideas and resources with pupils and staff alike.

One of the teachers chosen to attend was Julia Elfred from Christ Church C of E School in Croydon. Speaking at the start of the new school term, Julia said:

 

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that participating in the Summer Institute has been a life changing experience.  I came home from Chicago armed with exciting, innovative ideas to use with the children at school; a global network of amazing like-minded people who love to share; and, more importantly, a renewed passion for the job that I have been doing for many years.”

 

Christopher Goymer, a Year 5 teacher at Wandsworth’s West Hill Primary School, who made the trip with Julia said:

 

“The Summer Institute was quite simply the most rewarding and inspirational form of professional development that I’ve ever been to in my life. It was a week bursting to the brim with teaching ideas to bring back to my school in London.”

 

Welcoming over 170 teachers from across the globe, and now in its 11^th year, the Summer Institute is the annual flagship event of the Discovery Education Community: the largest professional learning network of its kind in the US. With a growing membership in the UK, the DE Community connects teachers who are passionate about ed-tech through social media, virtual conferences and in-person events.

 

Catherine Howard, Director of Educational Partnerships at Discovery Education UK said:

 

“Professional learning communities play a vital role in supporting teachers, and we were delighted to give 8 UK teachers the opportunity to attend this prestigious event. Bringing together talented teachers from around the world, the Discovery Education Summer Institute is a unique professional development opportunity which will have a lasting impact on the schools involved.”

 

The 8 teachers who attended the Discovery Education Summer Institute were : Julia Elfred from Christ Church C of E School in Croydon, Christopher Goymer from West Hill Primary School in Wandsworth, Dan Ferry from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Islington, Claire Trebilcock from Boringdon Primary School in Plymouth, Rachael Coultart from St. Nicholas Church of England Primary School in Hertfordshire, Stacey Trow from Delves Infant and Nursery School in Walsall, Matthew Haydon from Greet Primary School in Birmingham and Gemma Clarke from Grangehurst Primary School in Coventry.

 

To learn more about the Discovery Education Community and Discovery Education’s award-winning, curriculum-matched content, visit www.discoveryeducation.co.uk

• The Oaka Digital KS3 resources are designed for students with special educational needs (SEN), including dyslexic and visual learners.
• The digital packs contain kinaesthetic and visual activities, quizzes, imagery and animations to help improve engagement and attainment.
• At the Oaka stand (19), teachers can purchase the entire Oaka Digital range of 42 topic packs at a discounted introductory price of £49 for the first year (this is a Special Show Offer and normal price is £149.00).

 

Oaka Books, a UK publisher specialising in SEN resources, today announced it will be launching its new digital resource packs for dyslexic students and visual learners at the TES SEN show on 7 and 8 October in London.

 

This digital resource library will make Oaka topic packs accessible to up to 300 pupils per school at a cost of around 1p per pack per pupil for the year.

 

Oaka Digital includes a range of visual learning resources and revision aids covering a number of subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, geography and history. The packs contain 3D images, animations, quizzes and activities to help KS3 students with special educational needs and ESL (English as a second language), as well as visual learners.

 

The packs will be available for teachers to purchase at the TES SEN show, at stand 19 at a discounted introductory rate. The offer for teachers signing up for the resources at the show will be £49 for the year (as opposed to £149 thereafter). These digital packs can then be used alongside the existing Oaka Books paper-based materials or as standalone curriculum-based aids.

 

Bambi Gardiner, founder of Oaka Books, said: “It’s important for us as parents and teachers to recognise the different learning styles of every child, especially those students who may struggle with reading, or prefer to work in a more hands-on learning environment. Launching our digital resources means we are able to support more students with SEN, including dyslexic and visual learners, ensuring they have effective materials that are best suited to their specific learning needs, so they can achieve their full potential.”

 

For more information about these resources, visit: www.oakabooks.co.uk, and to view the sample digital science pack, visit: digital.oakabooks.co.uk

• The Naace Conference for London and South England will be held in October, with the theme, Learning UnlimITed.
• Research with schools during the development of the event’s content identified several key issues; excessive focus on examinations, issues with infrastructure and an overly prescriptive curriculum
• Speakers include education experts, academics and teachers, with the opening keynote from Professor Rose Luckin, London Knowledge Lab.

 

Naace, the association for education technology, today announced its London conference, Learning UnlimITed, to be held on 21 October at Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College. The conference will bring together a number of outstanding speakers and the event is completely free to attend, ensuring that the crucial messages presented are available to all.

 

The event programme was compiled through submissions from headteachers, teachers, governors and other education stakeholders from around the UK, ensuring that the topics covered will address the real issues facing schools today.

 

In determining the programme, research from Naace revealed several key issues: Headteachers and governors are anxious about the excessive focus on examination, placing pressure on both pupils and teachers; teachers highlighted their concerns around what they called an “over-prescriptive curriculum” leaving little time for enrichment or learning outside of the classroom; and business managers are wading through problems with infrastructure, including procurement, connectivity and safeguarding.

 

The event’s content has been developed to address these issues. The event will be organised into three distinct threads: digital pedagogy and assessment; EdTech procurement and support; and online safety. As well as keynote speeches from educational experts, the conference will also allow attendees to get hands-on with workshops, participate in panel sessions, and get a glimpse into the best practice of similar schools in their use of EdTech.

 

 

Mark Chambers, CEO of Naace said: “We wanted to host an event that was accurately tailored to the specific needs of schools, so we took suggestions from a range of education stakeholders about what they wanted to discuss and designed the programme around this. We’re very excited to welcome visitors to the event and we hope that this personalised approach will prove more valuable to those who attend.”

 

More details of the event programme can be found on the Naace website, and educators from around the UK can get involved before the event and have their say by tweeting to @Naace with the hashtag #NaaceLon16.