tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/education-uk-39430/articlesEducation UK – The Conversation2024-03-07T13:03:45Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2211552024-03-07T13:03:45Z2024-03-07T13:03:45ZWhy schools need to take sun safety more seriously – expert explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/577546/original/file-20240223-16-azytla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=37%2C0%2C4195%2C2788&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The World Health Organization recommends formal school programmes as the key to preventing skin cancer.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-boy-having-sunscreen-applied-339150182">Paul Higley/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite the UK’s rainy climate, there is a one in six <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ski2.61">risk</a> of developing skin cancer. Children, especially, should take extra care as severe sunburn as a youngster more than <a href="https://www.skincancer.org/risk-factors/sunburn/">doubles</a> the chance of developing skin cancer later on. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://academic.oup.com/ced/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ced/llad458/7507665">new research</a> my colleagues and I conducted shows that less than half of primary schools in Wales have a formal sun safety policy.</p>
<p>With skin cancer rates continuing to rise by <a href="https://gettingitrightfirsttime.co.uk/medical_specialties/dermatology/">8% annually</a> in England and Wales, it’s a problem that’s not going away and the disease now accounts for half of all cancers. In 2020 alone, the cost of treating skin cancer in England was <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23554510/">estimated</a> to be more than £180 million.</p>
<p>There is hope, though. It is estimated that around <a href="https://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts">90% of skin cancers</a> are due to ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure from the sun. This means they can be prevented through safer behaviour. </p>
<p>In the UK, though, many people still <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/5/579/611761">underestimate</a> the link between sunburn and skin cancer. Research paints a worrying picture, revealing disparities in sun protection awareness and behaviour across different groups. Notably, <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/5/579/611761">men</a>, people living in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26875569/">low-income neighbourhoods</a>, those belonging to <a href="https://academic.oup.com/her/article/20/5/579/611761">lower socioeconomic groups</a> and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28125871/">people of colour</a> are often found to be less informed about sun safety and are more likely to put themselves at risk. </p>
<p>With childhood a crucial time for learning healthy behaviour, teaching all children from a young age about sun protection could be one way to reduce future skin cancer rates. And the <a href="https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/42678/9241590629_v1.pdf?sequence=1">World Health Organization</a> recommends formal school programmes as the key to prevention. </p>
<p>Overall, school-based interventions have been <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091743521000438">shown</a> to positively influence sun safe knowledge and behaviour. For example, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyt105">schools in Australia</a> with written policies show better sun protection practices than those without.</p>
<p>But in UK schools, the situation varies. The UK government’s Department for Education has issued <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/relationships-education-relationships-and-sex-education-rse-and-health-education/physical-health-and-mental-wellbeing-primary-and-secondary#by-the-end-of-primary-school">statutory guidance</a> for England that children should leave primary school knowing about sun safety and how to reduce the risk of getting skin cancer. </p>
<p>In Scotland and Northern Ireland, it is not a legal requirement to teach sun safety in schools. And in Wales, while sun safety is recommended as part of the Welsh Network of Healthy Schools scheme, again there is no mandatory requirement to have a sun safety policy or to teach skin cancer prevention. Nor are there central UK resources provided to help schools in this area. </p>
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<img alt="The red, peeling sunburnt back and shoulders of a young girl." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/578006/original/file-20240226-21-2xd3jb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Being severely sunburnt as a youngster more than doubles the chance of developing future skin cancer.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/dangerous-sunburn-shoulders-young-girl-601094933">Alonafoto/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>My colleagues and I wanted to know how many schools have a sun safety policy, a formal document that sets out a school’s position with respect to the education and provision of sun safety. We also wanted to understand whether the existence of a policy varied by area or school characteristic, and what support schools need. </p>
<p>In 2022, we sent a survey to all 1,241 primary schools in Wales. In total, 471 schools responded. </p>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We found that only 39% of responding schools had a formal sun safety policy. And of these, not all enforced them. Schools that had more children receiving free school meals and with lower attendance rates were less likely to have a sun safety policy.</p>
<p>We asked schools that did not have a policy to tell us the reasons why not. Thirty-five per cent of schools were “not aware of the need”, while 27% of schools had “not got around to it just yet”. Thirty schools (13%) said that a sun safety policy was not a priority at this time. Clearly, there is work to be done on raising awareness among schools and school leaders on the role they can play in this area.</p>
<p>Of course, schools are busy places. So, when asked to indicate what would encourage them to create a sun safety policy, 73% of schools said assistance with development, while 56% said resources to aid the teaching of sun safety. </p>
<p>Previously both Cancer Research UK and the Wales-based Tenovus Cancer Care charities have offered support and guidelines for schools but this support is no longer easily available. The England-based charity <a href="https://www.skcin.org/ourWork/sunSafeSchools.htm">Sckin</a> has a comprehensive and free sun-safe schools accreditation scheme. Some schools told us they based their policies on resources supplied by the local authority, but this was not consistent across Wales.</p>
<p>UV levels will soon rise in the UK and now is the time for schools to start thinking about sun protection. Having a formal sun safety school policy sets out the position of the school when it comes to sun safety. When enforced and communicated properly, this makes it clear to everyone (governors, teachers, carers and pupils) their individual responsibilities when it comes to staying safe. </p>
<p>But with fewer than half of schools in Wales having formal policies, and not all enforced, awareness of the importance of this issue and the potential role of schools is lacking. </p>
<p>It is therefore time for sun safety policies to become mandatory for primary schools across the UK. This could help to improve knowledge and behaviour for all age groups. But adequate support and guidance must be also given to schools to help them educate children about sun safety and protect them while they are at school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/221155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Peconi received funding for the Sunproofed Study from Health and Care Research Wales through a Health Research Grant Award. She is also a volunteer with the charity Skin Care Cymru, a charity working to raise the profile of skin health in Wales. </span></em></p>Being severely sunburnt as a child more than doubles the chance of developing future skin cancer but less than half of primary schools questioned in new research have a sun safety policy.Julie Peconi, Senior Research Officer in Health Data Science, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044152023-05-15T15:43:18Z2023-05-15T15:43:18ZEsol English classes are crucial for migrant integration, yet challenges remain unaddressed<p><em>You can also read this article <a href="https://theconversation.com/esol-pwysigrwydd-dosbarthiadau-saesneg-i-ymfudwyr-ar-heriau-iw-datrys-205783">in Welsh</a>.</em> </p>
<p>In the year ending September 2022, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-system-statistics-year-ending-december-2022/summary-of-latest-statistics">more than 70,000 people</a> had claimed asylum in the UK. The vast majority were from countries that do not use English as a first language. </p>
<p>Being able to communicate in English is essential for newly arrived migrants. People who have gone through traumatic experiences are, understandably, often desperate to build new lives. They want to use the skills and knowledge they have to access work and education. To do that, they have to navigate the health, social security, housing and education systems. </p>
<p>Language is the single most important area that can promote integration for migrants. My research has shown that <a href="https://www.academia.edu/44971642/Exploring_ESOL_Teacher_Working_Conditions_and_Professional_Development_In_England_And_Wales">language teachers</a> are uniquely placed to positively affect the lives of people in these situations. </p>
<p>In fact, the 2016 <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-casey-review-a-review-into-opportunity-and-integration">Casey review</a>, a government-commissioned report on the state of social cohesion in Britain, highlighted that developing fluency in English is critical to integration.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-like-youre-a-criminal-but-i-am-not-a-criminal-first-hand-accounts-of-the-trauma-of-being-stuck-in-the-uk-asylum-system-202276">'It’s like you’re a criminal, but I am not a criminal.' First-hand accounts of the trauma of being stuck in the UK asylum system</a>
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<p>Given its importance, refugees and people seeking asylum are often keen to enrol in English for Speakers of Other Languages (Esol) classes. And these classes can provide more than language tuition alone. They are a social space, providing a sense of structure to daily lives, offering both linguistic and psychological support. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://ifs.org.uk/news/plans-will-leave-spending-adult-education-and-apprenticeships-25-below-2010-levels-2025#:%7E:text=Press%20Release-,Plans%20will%20leave%20spending%20on%20adult%20education%20and%20apprenticeships,below%202010%20levels%20by%202025&text=Total%20spending%20on%20adult%20education,as%20compared%20with%202010%E2%80%9311.">cuts to adult education budgets</a> following the change of government in 2010, and the introduction of austerity, mean access to Esol language support is often difficult. There can be long waiting lists and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/4/3/74">too few classes</a> available. </p>
<p>Also, the way adult education is funded in the UK means teachers are obliged to follow an assessment system to measure language competence. That constraint frequently results in classroom time being focused more on passing exams than on developing fluency or bestowing a warm welcome and sense of belonging. </p>
<p>While coping with the demands of building a life in a different country through a new language, many Esol learners are also dealing with the trauma associated with forced displacement. That’s on top of the <a href="https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/lln-2018-0064/">stress involved</a> in navigating an often hostile and complex asylum system. </p>
<p>Such challenges mean Esol teachers can be a vital bridge to the new society. And the Esol classroom can be the prime location for getting information and for creating the bonds needed for successful integration. With that in mind, how Esol classes are organised and managed is fundamental to a person’s success in learning English and all the associated opportunities. </p>
<p>However, providing Esol classes, primarily through colleges of further education, is a hugely bureaucratic undertaking. This often results in the potential of Esol classes to promote integration being missed. </p>
<p>One of the reasons is that these classes are funded in the same way as other adult education subjects. Accordingly, teachers must follow a curriculum that provides evidence that learners are progressing. This results in teachers putting their efforts into preparing students for constant tests and assessments. And that leaves little time to address the real-life concerns, needs and interests of their migrant learners. </p>
<p>It also means the opportunities to bring about a sense of belonging are instead replaced with learning about matters such as verb conjugations and the English tense system. </p>
<p>Changes are needed to both the way Esol is funded and organised, and to the way Esol professionals are educated to view the language classroom. </p>
<h2>Solutions</h2>
<p>Removing some of the requirements to produce evidence of learning would shorten teacher administration time. It would also relieve the pressure on students and teachers to be constantly preparing for the next assessment. This would allow more time to focus on discussing issues of relevance to the learners.</p>
<p>There is much support from language experts for viewing Esol from this more human perspective. It is an understanding of the classroom that resonates with educators who have been advocating for a <a href="https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/pub_BC_NEXUS_booklet_web.pdf">participatory pedagogy</a> – which involves more collaboration and decision making among students – for Esol since the turn of the century.</p>
<p>This style of teaching focuses classroom content on the <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/%22When-I-wake-up-I-dream-of-electricity%22%3A-The-lives%2C-Cooke/a9ad375c87803c59b586b05e3ce5825d4f758d9d">lives of learners</a>. Examples of typical issues that dominate such discussions include the challenge of finding meaningful employment, the effects of trauma, culture shock, separation from family, money worries and finding accommodation.</p>
<p>This means more time is taken up with learners using language to express thoughts, anxieties, hopes and concerns that affect their new lives. And far less time is used by the teacher striving to cover an externally imposed syllabus. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Creative workshops to enhance language acquisition and integration for people seeking sanctuary.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Thinking afresh about language education for forced migrants means considering how a participatory approach may be an effective way to welcome newcomers and help with their integration. With little effort, language education for migrants could allow space for the development of projects that bring people together. It could foster friendship and understanding while also promoting language development.</p>
<p>Esol is not just another academic subject, it is the most important area that promotes integration. But, at present, opportunities to provide holistic, person-centred language education to people seeking refuge in the UK are being missed because of the overly bureaucratic and exam-focused system that prevails.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204415/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Chick is affiliated with the Welsh Refugee Council as a Trustee</span></em></p>Although English to speakers of other languages (Esol) is treated like any other subject, it can offer far more to those learners.Mike Chick, Senior Lecturer in TESOL/English, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1633002021-06-24T18:58:17Z2021-06-24T18:58:17ZOne Britain One Nation Day is the perfect vehicle for the government’s values campaign<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408055/original/file-20210624-23-uz9uer.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=736%2C273%2C1998%2C1414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">One Britain, One Nation?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/RaJJDlGu0x8">Photo by Aleks Marinkovic on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The UK government has officially endorsed the celebration of June 25 as One Britain, One Nation (OBON) Day. Part of a campaign to promote British patriotism, the day is a long-standing endeavour that a few months ago barely anyone outside a group of schools in West Yorkshire had heard of. Yet it has since garnered <a href="https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/read-this/everything-you-need-to-know-about-one-britain-one-nation-day-2021-3283442">celebrity support</a>, been discussed <a href="https://www.esthermcvey.com/news/esther-mcvey-supports-one-britain-one-nation">in parliament</a> and now <a href="https://www.nme.com/news/music/uk-government-mocked-for-asking-kids-to-sing-bizarre-one-britain-one-nation-song-2976398">gone viral</a>. </p>
<p>The video for the OBON anthem, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9720465/Retired-policeman-One-Britain-One-Nation-campaign-blasts-diabolical-social-media-trolls.html">written by</a> pupils and their music teacher at a primary school in Bradford, features children waving union flags and singing lyrics such as “Strong Britain, Great Nation”, and has been viewed over 3 million times.</p>
<p>This sudden flurry of interest was prompted by the education secretary, Gavin Williamson, praising the campaign. With such Whitehall enthusiasm, we would be forgiven for thinking the government itself had come up with this whole thing. </p>
<p>The actual history of OBON Day is more complex. But the government’s endorsement of the celebration is part of a wider, controversial drive to use schools to promote “British values”.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">OBON Day 2021 Anthem - Official Video.</span></figcaption>
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<p>This is, in fact, the ninth year an annual One Britain One Nation Day has been celebrated. In 2005, former police inspector Kash Singh established <a href="https://www.onebritainonenation.com/">OBON</a> as a community-interest company. Singh came to the UK from the Punjab when he was six years old, unable to speak English. </p>
<p>He has explained that he wanted to see “everybody feeling part of this great country”. His project, he said, aimed to “utilise the strength of all our people to build a proud nation, where everyone has a strong sense of belonging and aspires to play an important role in the life of our nation”.</p>
<p>At Singh’s instigation, OBON Day celebrations have since taken place in Bradford and West Yorkshire. This year, the campaign caught the attention of notable MPs, including former cabinet member Esther McVey, who prompted Boris Johnson to support it at prime minister’s questions in May. An official endorsement followed, with a post on the department for education’s Twitter account encouraging schools to celebrate the day.</p>
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<p>While certain MPs have echoed the Department for Education’s <a href="https://twitter.com/1Britain1Nation/status/1407015305214320641">support</a> of the project, others have <a href="https://www.thenational.scot/politics/19393186.one-britain-one-nation-day-tommy-sheppard-says-uk-support-palpably-ignorant/">criticised</a> it for supposed nationalistic undertones. The song has been roundly <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/23/uk-education-secretary-mocked-for-one-britain-one-nation-day-song">mocked</a> on social media. <a href="https://twitter.com/Scarfolk/status/1407401986610417664">Memes</a> have drawn a comparison with totalitarian regimes. Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she thought the whole thing was a <a href="https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19393568.nicola-sturgeon-criticises-ludicrous-one-britain-one-nation-day/">spoof</a>. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welsh-fa-urges-every-schoolchild-20885122">Welsh Football Association</a> meanwhile has suggested Welsh pupils sing their nation’s anthem instead, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwdZOHm8r-Y">Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau</a>. It’s a subtle dig at how the campaign fails to acknowledge devolution. It also neatly illustrates the heated debate the campaign prompts, around questions of patriotism and national identity, and what we teach our children.</p>
<p>It is striking that the government has <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prime-minister-sings-up-for-mocked-patriotic-one-britain-one-nation-song-sjttgjflf">couched</a> its support for OBON Day within a push for what it has dubbed <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/guidance-on-promoting-british-values-in-schools-published">fundamental British values</a>. In 2012, it introduced a requirement for schools to promote democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance. </p>
<p>Though ideas of respect and tolerance clearly have wide appeal, this legal duty for teachers has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-problem-with-teaching-british-values-in-school-83688">controversial</a>. <a href="https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10038503/1/Starkey%20FBVs%20and%20citizenship%20education%20Geografiska%20Annaler%20as%20accepted%20Nov%202017.pdf">Research</a> has critically examined its motivations and links to the counter-terrorism <a href="https://eprints.ncl.ac.uk/223892">Prevent</a> strategy. Overall, the department for education’s encouragement of more schools to celebrate OBON Day can be seen as the latest in a series of moves over the past decade to promote values, virtues, morals and character education. </p>
<p>In my forthcoming <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Mapping-the-Moral-Geographies-of-Education-Character-Citizenship-and-Values/Mills/p/book/9781138300828">book</a> I trace these curriculum initiatives and related extra-curricular activities. The department for education’s focus on character-building programmes of sport, music and volunteering for schoolchildren has grown alongside a push to implement <a href="http://orca.cf.ac.uk/92496/">military ethos schemes</a> and <a href="https://schoolsweek.co.uk/williamson-plans-1-1m-expansion-of-cadet-units-in-schools/">cadet units</a> in schools. Seen in this context, Gavin Williamson’s support of OBON is hardly surprising.</p>
<h2>Which great nation?</h2>
<p>A recent <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/brexit/brexit-britain-divided-eu-referendum-five-years-public-split-1062481">poll</a> found there are still deep divisions along the lines created by the Brexit referendum. In which case, you might ask if the sentiment of something like OBON Day could actually be restorative. </p>
<p>The problem is that the UK is not one nation, but a union of four: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the latter of which is not part of Great Britain. The fact that this celebration is being held on June 25 sidelines Scottish schools, many of which have already closed for the holidays by this date. Education is also a devolved issue, and the <a href="https://nation.cymru/news/boris-johnson-sings-praises-of-widely-mocked-the-one-britain-one-nation-song/">Welsh government</a> highlighted that it had “not been engaged in this project”. </p>
<p>This incoherence in the campaign appears to have been overlooked by the government. And similar dynamics can be seen in other projects it has backed. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-national-citizen-service-59648#:%7E:text=Launched%20in%202011%2C%20the%20National,to%2017%2Dyear%2Dolds.&text=NCS%20marks%20a%20shift%20change,and%20local%20authority%20youth%20clubs.">National Citizen Service</a>, for example, is a state-funded youth volunteering scheme but which only operates in England and Northern Ireland. My <a href="https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Brands_of_youth_citizenship_and_the_politics_of_scale_National_Citizen_Service_in_the_United_Kingdom/9482555">research</a> reveals how its name and brand overlooked devolution and how this ultimately hampered its potential for being implemented in other parts of the UK.</p>
<p>It is unclear how many children will take part in OBON activities. Indeed, it appears its reach is still largely limited to the schools in West Yorkshire who knew about it before the song went viral. Nevertheless, the department for education’s endorsement is significant. It demonstrates a continued drive from Westminster to promote fundamental British values in schools, at a time when education is increasingly embroiled in a wider <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/jun/21/tory-mps-accused-of-adding-fuel-to-culture-war-in-education-report">culture war</a> worthy of far greater attention.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1404458028116631554"}"></div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Mills has received funding from the Economic and Social Research Council and Arts and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>What started out as a community project with local schoolchildren has garnered an official endorsement and countless memes. It has also sparked a national conversationSarah Mills, Reader in Human Geography, Loughborough UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1593002021-05-14T11:57:24Z2021-05-14T11:57:24ZHow COVID-19 has affected overnight school trips, and why this matters<p>For over 45 years, children from across the UK have headed to the family-run Rhos-Y-Gwaliau Outdoor Education Centre in Snowdonia, north Wales on school trips. They’ve gone gorge walking and abseiling. They’ve explored mines. </p>
<p>Rhos-Y-Gwaliau has been seen as a haven of outdoor learning for children who otherwise might not have access <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/3395647.stm">to the countryside</a> – not to mention <a href="https://307c988e-a61d-4330-85b2-796e488fe419.filesusr.com/ugd/d00a84_df6d54796525493188ed3183949cd01f.pdf">the awe and wonder</a> of the Welsh peaks. That is, until the pandemic hit.</p>
<p>For the first time in over a year, schools <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/985138/10_May_Schools_Guidance.pdf">may once again</a> (from May 17) organise overnight educational visits. But the damage is done. The <a href="https://ukoutdoors.org.uk/Save-Outdoor-Education">Save Outdoor Education Campaign</a> estimates that 2 million children nationwide have missed out on trips since residential centres were forced to close. </p>
<p>If the economic loss for the industry has been <a href="https://www.tes.com/news/coronavirus-decision-not-fund-outdoor-centres-catastrophic">catastrophic</a> (<a href="https://www.business-live.co.uk/retail-consumer/welsh-outdoor-education-centres-share-20253114">permanent closures</a>, 15,000 jobs cut and £500m <a href="https://ukoutdoors.org.uk/Save-Outdoor-Education">in lost revenue</a>), the losses for the children are even greater.</p>
<h2>Outdoor adventures</h2>
<p>Sleeping, eating and sharing challenges collectively, in nature, is a valuable experience. In the context of the rise in <a href="https://www.field-studies-council.org/primary-school-trips/">indoor culture</a>, there is clear support at government level for outdoor education. </p>
<p>Ofsted has <a href="http://www.lotc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Ofsted-Report-Oct-2008.pdf">supported the idea</a> since 2008. The new GCSE qualification <a href="https://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/news/gcse-in-natural-history-announced/#:%7E:text=A%20GCSE%20in%20natural%20history%20is%20being%20developed,to%20engage%20with%20nature%20and%20promote%20environmental%20issues">in Natural History</a> emphasises its importance. And <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/natural-england">Natural England</a>, the government’s advisory body for the natural environment, advocates for support to enable it. </p>
<p>In primary school, trips are designed as adventures, with environmental discovery at the heart of the experience. Across the UK there are large <a href="https://www.kingswood.co.uk/">activity</a> <a href="https://www.pgl.co.uk/">centres</a> equipped with abseiling towers and assault courses. In Berkshire children might go camping at the local <a href="https://thegordonbrowncentre.org.uk/">Gordon Brown Centre</a>, where they’ll do wall-climbing, archery and pond dipping. For schools near a river, or the coast, teachers might opt for water-based activities, such as kayaking. </p>
<p>In year six, trips are seen as a means to help children transition from <a href="https://www.phf.org.uk/publications/learning-away-final-evaluation-full-report/">primary to secondary school</a>. Staying away from home – possibly the first time – and facing emotional and physical challenges through team-building activities, they are said to gain a great deal in terms of personal development. </p>
<p>At secondary school level, adventure programmes on trips are often enriched by discrete environmental education sessions, designed to complement the geography and science curriculum.</p>
<h2>Personal development</h2>
<p>Quite how outdoor education affects children’s development needs more research, but a paper looking at UK primary school children’s <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10382049908667608?casa_token=PFVhofzM1-AAAAAA:f3WxVgH7lnlWqNXrHOUTbg5WS3BGXPFJGlElzdgq5FGg_WGWay7j_VFSWXovnlOs-oL7sOrnI2dq">residential learning</a> suggests that there are cognitive (academic) and affective (emotional and behavioural) benefits. </p>
<p>While the evidence for affective learning <a href="https://www.informalscience.org/sites/default/files/Review%20of%20research%20on%20outdoor%20learning.pdf">is strongest</a>, it is clear that any emotional and behavioural benefits gained from school trips can help to lay a good <a href="https://www.outdoor-learning.org/Portals/0/IOL%20Documents/Teaching%20Outdoors/Horizons%20special%20Residentials.pdf?ver=2019-04-23-160114-157">foundation</a> for academic achievement too.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="chlidren in red helmets and wetsuits climb down a cliff" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/400516/original/file-20210513-16-4f3muq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facing challenges outdoors as a group can help children gain confidence and form stronger bonds with their peers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/bf65FecxzmA">Coasteering on Unsplash</a>, <a class="license" href="http://artlibre.org/licence/lal/en">FAL</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Research has found that school trips <a href="http://learningaway.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Learning-Away-Comparative-Research-Report.pdf">give children tools</a> to face unanticipated challenges. They help pupils to mature, to form stronger bonds with peers and teachers, and become better students – all of which is vital for making the <a href="http://learningaway.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/LA-Final-Report-May-2015-1-1.pdf">transition to secondary school</a>. </p>
<h2>Social effect</h2>
<p>Beyond a child’s development, school trips bring social benefits too. A few days away together in a natural setting can be a great leveller. Classroom cliques and pressures dissipate when children – regardless of <a href="https://learningaway.org.uk/the-campaign/what-makes-a-brilliant-residential/">background or ability</a> – have to work together to climb a mountain without a path or navigate the way through a gorge.</p>
<p>However, state funding to make this happen is crucial. The Institute for Outdoor Learning (a professional membership institute which champions learning in the outdoors) estimates that for the 1.4 million children who receive <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/11/allow-school-trips-in-summer-term-uk-outdoor-education-centres-say">free school meals</a>, going on a school trip might be the only opportunity they have to experience time away from home. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/833726/landscapes-review-final-report.pdf">its 2019 review</a> on Natural Landscapes, the UK government highlighted how important it is that the British countryside remain accessible to everyone, including children from disadvantaged ethnic groups and low socio-economic backgrounds. This is all the more pressing during a pandemic which has heightened concerns around inequality of access to <a href="https://cfey.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Full-report-v2-2.pdf">natural, green spaces</a>.</p>
<p>Despite the many demands on how school funds should be allocated and the commitment from staff that organising school trips requires, not to mention the decline in council-funded outdoor residential centres, demand for trips from schools <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14729679.2012.731725?needAccess=true">continues to rise</a>. Teacher support for such trips at a time of immense pressure on education speaks volumes.</p>
<p>Finally, outdoor experiences can also help to foster <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.3200/JOEE.40.2.2-14?casa_token=DCdP7rZkFzkAAAAA:SbvNrW-pxMQLuACn1HDs9JWaRbj7_B6aRHAFRvkqbLQtdlnPbN5g0JPZ6zpmRTy9B6jgTgABOng_">an emotional bond with nature</a> and shape pro-environmental attitudes. Through residential school trips, UK pupils can discover areas they might not otherwise visit, and might perhaps, come to love and thereby wish to conserve and protect. </p>
<p>In 1978, American lepidopterist and ecologist Robert Pyle coined the term <a href="https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/18516">extinction of experience</a> to capture the global phenomenon of a progressive loss of interactions with nature. It is a concept that applies to the closure of Rhos-Y-Gwaliau and other centres, and the resulting lack of opportunity for children to spend time there. </p>
<p>When leading British naturalist <a href="https://theecologist.org/2013/apr/04/securing-natures-future">David Attenborough said</a>, “No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they have never experienced,” he voiced the concerns of many conservationists. Children are the future custodians of our planet and society. Ensuring that they have the chance to access to nature – and enabling that through school trips – is something we must prioritise.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159300/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen Cripps does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children gain on every level from spending time away from home in nature but Covid has made school trips impossibleKaren Cripps, Lecturer in Business Management, University of WinchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1521922020-12-18T15:15:39Z2020-12-18T15:15:39ZWhat children can teach governments about making graphs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375637/original/file-20201217-19-15xd5b3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5898%2C3998&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kids know...</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kid-write-graph-on-wall-by-303639425"> PathomP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 has been dominated by data. But with great amounts of data comes great responsibility to communicate it properly. Unfortunately, the accurate and clear communication of complex information has been an area where many have fallen short this year. The UK government in particular has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/next-slide-please-data-visualisation-expert-on-whats-wrong-with-the-uk-governments-coronavirus-charts-149329">criticised</a> for the graphs used in its coronavirus briefings.</p>
<p>How can we do better? Adults could learn a thing or two from children about how to make graphs that people can easily read and understand.</p>
<p>As part of <a href="https://mathsweekengland.co.uk">Maths Week England</a>, we challenged primary school children to create graphs about the things that were important to them. We received more than <a href="https://statsyss.wordpress.com/2020/11/06/check-out-our-chart-competition-for-maths-week-england-2020/">75 entries</a> of amazing charts relating to sport, sweets, toys, pets and almost everything in between. </p>
<p>Many of the graphs were so beautiful, colourful, and informative that we thought they could be used to teach media organisations and government bodies a few lessons about displaying data.</p>
<p>Here we present some of the children’s excellent examples to provide a list of dos and don'ts when it come to graph making.</p>
<h2>Do: label your axes and provide a scale</h2>
<p>The main purpose of a graph is to provide a clear, concise and accurate representation of your data. An important, but often overlooked, part of this is making sure that your graph actually tells your reader what they are looking at. Producing a graph without proper labels is a bit like building a car without an engine – it might look good, but it’s not going to get you anywhere.</p>
<p>Nine-year-old TaoHai used Lego to produce an excellent representation of the population of each of the world’s continents. The y-axis (vertical axis) is very easy to understand – each large check mark on this axis represents one billion people.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of a lego graph of the world's population" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=93%2C76%2C840%2C640&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375635/original/file-20201217-17-4oq8y5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=578&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tahoi, nine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Statistical Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In contrast, <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/boris-johnson-coronavirus-parliament-professor-covid19-170215230.html">the graph in this story</a> by the Press Association uses a line graph to display the number of global COVID-19 cases and deaths in which neither axis has a labelled scale, This makes it impossible to interpret the lines. Another issue with this plot is that it tries to put both cases and deaths on the same numerical scale, despite them being an order of magnitude apart.</p>
<h2>Don’t: hide the origin</h2>
<p>If you’re using a bar chart to compare a set of values which are quite close together, it can be tempting to start the numerical scale at a number other than zero in order to highlight their differences more clearly. However, this can often be misleading - making the numbers seem smaller than they actually are.</p>
<p>Farhan, aged eight, compared the speed of their favourite cars from the computer game “Asphalt 8”. The lowest speed is 290.1km/h, but they nonetheless opted to draw each of the bars from zero – ensuring that the relative differences in size can be compared fairly. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bar graphs representing speeds in a video game." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=454&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375482/original/file-20201216-17-1kkfhcf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=570&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Farhan, eight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Statistical Society</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This is something several graphs relating to the pandemic has failed to do. For example, <a href="https://youtu.be/1-Fv2i2VoYs?t=543">the graph in this video from Balkan TV station N1</a> shows the proportions of mask-wearing in different regions of Croatia (mask wearers in blue). </p>
<p>At first glance, you might think that more than half of the people in each region do not wear masks, but when you look more closely at the actual figures provided, you realise that the scale on the x-axis has started at 75% rather than 0%.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of a graph from the Balkan TV station N1." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375634/original/file-20201217-23-sbmmbr.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Confusing graph.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=543&v=1-Fv2i2VoYs&feature=youtu.be">N1/youtube</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This case is likely just a misguided attempt to differentiate between the regions, but many unscrupulous graph makers use this technique in order to deliberately mislead.</p>
<h2>Do: keep it simple</h2>
<p>The whole point of providing people with a graph is that it’s easier to digest than lots of big tables of numbers. A well-designed graph will allow the reader to glance at it and immediately understand the key take-home point. If your graph is too cluttered or provides too much information, then it’s going to confuse the reader.</p>
<p>Our school children did a good job of following this important rule. Most of the entries focused on presenting the count of a single variable, which left the reader in no doubt as to the main findings of their investigation. Holly, aged 10, raided the treat cupboard to count the frequency of each type of chocolate in a standard box of Celebrations. You can immediately tell that there are more Milky Ways than anything else.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bar graph using chocolate from a celebration box." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=448&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375452/original/file-20201216-15-1xs1fs8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=563&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Holly, 10.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Statistical Society.</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Compare this to the slide below from the English Chief Medical Officer’s press conference on October 31. There is an overload of information here – we’re being asked to compare positive test rates in nine different regions of England across five different age groups over 24 days.</p>
<p>This plot also breaches another golden rule of presenting data by having a series of numbers on the graph which are too small to read.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Image of confusing graphs from the UK government.." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=349&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375450/original/file-20201216-13-wk18qv.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=438&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Graph from UK government briefing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UK government/COBR</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Don’t try to reinvent the wheel…</h2>
<p>When statistics is taught at school, we tend to focus on tried and tested data visualisation techniques such as bar graphs, line graphs and pie charts. These classical methods are popular and have stood the test of time for a reason – they’re clear, simple to produce and easy to understand. Of course, there is always room for innovation.</p>
<p>Professional statisticians tend not to recommend pie charts much in general because they can tend to lead to <a href="https://www.data-to-viz.com/caveat/pie.html">less exact interpretations</a> compared to a bar chart. But we will make an exception for nine year-old Elise, who took the concept of a pie chart literally to display their friends’ and family’s favourite types of jam.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pie chart that's actually a pie." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=331&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375448/original/file-20201216-19-yqrium.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Elsie, nine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Statistical Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The main reason the pie chart worked is that it was still straightforward to understand the information being conveyed. That isn’t always the case though, as we can see from <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-7464500a-6368-4029-aa41-ab94e0ee09fb">this BBC visualisation</a>, which tries to use an animated flower to count COVID-19 deaths. </p>
<h2>…but rules exist to be broken</h2>
<p>Ultimately, however, each individual graph is judged on its own merits, and sometimes you can break some of the rules and still produce something fantastic. </p>
<p>Our competition winner was 10-year-old Lola, who constructed a wonderful 3D infographic displaying her daily exercise over a five-day period. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="3D image of exercise habits." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/375446/original/file-20201216-19-91k5ct.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=580&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lola, 10.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Royal Statistical Society</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The beauty of this entry is that it is both simple and complex simultaneously – the lollipop sticks provide a straightforward representation of steps and exercise time, but for those who want to dig deeper, the actual data is also included elsewhere.</p>
<p><em>Acknowledegements: We would like to provide a massive thank you to all the children who participated.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152192/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Granger is supported by the Medical Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Teece is supported by the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East Midlands (ARC EM).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Craig Anderson and Maria Dunbar do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There have been some shockingly bad graphs circulating during the pandemic.Craig Anderson, Lecturer in Statistics, University of GlasgowEmily Granger, Research Fellow in Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineLucy Teece, Research Fellow in Medical Statistics, University of LeicesterMaria Dunbar, PhD candidate in Statistics, University of ZurichLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1467252020-09-28T13:40:15Z2020-09-28T13:40:15ZLocked down again: the ‘invisible’ children in need of protection from abuse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360277/original/file-20200928-24-o4870d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=97%2C284%2C5450%2C3556&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-teenager-girl-looking-rain-falling-404082793">Shutterstock/P-fotography</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For many <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-reopenings-will-not-necessarily-help-protect-vulnerable-children-139250">vulnerable children</a> living in chaotic households with abusive family members, lockdown was nothing short of a living nightmare. That nightmare has not ended with the re-opening of schools, as social bubbles are regularly being <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/dozens-of-schools-forced-to-send-home-pupils-amid-covid-cases_uk_5f5b3564c5b67602f603956c">sent home</a> to self-isolate. There is also an entire group of children who fall into a grey area when it comes to being categorised as “at risk”, and we could be losing track of them during the chaos of the pandemic.</p>
<p>Only those children and families high on social services’ “at risk” registers and those subject to <a href="https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/child-protection-system/england">child protection plans</a> have been actively monitored and reviewed during the pandemic – at potentially reduced capacity. </p>
<p>But what about all the other children who are being brought up in unsafe homes who didn’t make it into that category? Thousands of these vulnerable children are falling through the cracks in an overburdened system and they desperately need help.</p>
<h2>Off the radar</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-blogs/our-blog/being-the-eyes-and-ears-spotting-signs-of-abuse-while-schools-are-closed">The Children’s Society</a> says that for the most vulnerable children, school is a “safe haven” which provides routine as well as emotional, psychological and social support (not to mention the 1.3 million children entitled to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52098076#:%7E:text=Around%201.3%20million%20in%20children,been%20making%20their%20own%20arrangements.">free school meals</a>). </p>
<p>Schools also make children visible. Data shows that during lockdown (April to June in the UK), when schools were only open to key-worker families and highly vulnerable children, there was an 18% reduction in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/01/warning-rise-child-protection-referrals-english-schools-reopen">referrals to children’s services</a>. We argue that these reductions show that vulnerable children are dropping off the radar.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1300690832828358658"}"></div></p>
<p>The UK <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/attendance-in-education-and-early-years-settings-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak/2020-week-37">Department of Education</a> has reported that nine out of ten children returned to school this September – meaning 10% are still at home. While there are many reasons for non-attendance, it is imperative that children are accounted for and supported. But currently, all but critical checks are being done <a href="https://neu.org.uk/coronavirus-what-you-need-know-phoning-pupils-home">over the telephone</a>. </p>
<p>Other services which could help check in on children are also operating at reduced capacity. For example, health visitors are only doing <a href="https://healthforunder5s.co.uk/sections/foryou/health-visitors-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/">visits for critical cases</a>, with other checks completed over the phone with a caregiver.</p>
<p>Teachers are trying to deal with vast amounts of pupils who are at least three months behind on their curriculum. They are trying to teach under <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak/guidance-for-full-opening-schools">new government guidance</a> that is constantly changing, with increased COVID-19 cases and school-bubble lockdowns altering teaching delivery. Teachers are supposed to act as <a href="https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/news-and-blogs/our-blog/being-the-eyes-and-ears-spotting-signs-of-abuse-while-schools-are-closed">“eyes and ears”</a> when it comes to the safety of children, but they are busier than ever. </p>
<p>The restricted measures implemented to keep the population safe at home are unintentionally ensuring that some children remain unseen, and at more risk than ever. Researchers have called this the “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7262164/">pandemic paradox</a>”.</p>
<h2>Risks at home</h2>
<p>The majority of children who suffer abuse endure it in their <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/childphysicalabuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2019">own homes</a>, most commonly perpetrated by parents. A report by the charity World Vision found that COVID-19 was contributing to a “<a href="https://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/2020-05/Aftershocks%20FINAL%20VERSION_0.pdf">perfect storm</a>” in child abuse and predicted major spikes in children experiencing physical, emotional and sexual violence as a result of having to spend more time in dangerous homes.</p>
<p>Research carried out by <a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/generation-lockdown-third-children-and-young-people-experience-increased-mental-health#:%7E:text=Boredom%20%2851%25%29%2C%20worry%20%2828%25%29%20and%20feeling%20trapped%20%2826%25%29,factor%20in%20supporting%20children%E2%80%99s%20mental%20health%20and%20wellbeing.">Barnardo’s</a> found that 26% of children that were questioned felt trapped, while a third experienced difficulties with mental health, wellbeing and loneliness. This is echoed by NSPCC findings that calls to the counselling service, Childline, have <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/53355529">risen by 37%</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/generation-lockdown-third-children-and-young-people-experience-increased-mental-health#:%7E:text=Boredom%20%2851%25%29%2C%20worry%20%2828%25%29%20and%20feeling%20trapped%20%2826%25%29,factor%20in%20supporting%20children%E2%80%99s%20mental%20health%20and%20wellbeing.">Barnardo’s staff</a> said many vulnerable children rely on support services, which <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/369/bmj.m1669.full.pdf">have been</a> closed or operating on reduced capacity. They echoed concerns about young people being hidden from those who may have previously offered protection, such as schools. </p>
<h2>Identification of vulnerability</h2>
<p>So how are vulnerable children being identified and supported in all this chaos? <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344387337_Evaluation_of_Integrated_Multi-_Agency_Operational_Safeguarding_Arrangements_in_Wales">A study</a> across Wales, where Michelle interviewed senior people from various agencies charged with keeping children safe, highlighted the struggles in engaging families remotely. Some participants were concerned about the reduction of safeguarding referrals, with one saying they were “holding their breath” over when children would become visible to schools again. She said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I really worry about those children that were, maybe, receiving lower level support and are not visible … just all of those kids coping with that … I’m more concerned with the ones that we are not seeing, you know … what about the children that actually just need to come to school to get out of the stressful environment?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is a statutory duty on a range of organisations, including schools, the police, social work and healthcare to work together <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-safeguard-children--2">to safeguard children</a>. Yet <a href="https://www.iriss.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-04/iriss-esss-outline-schools-ei-20190429.pdf">very little support</a> is given to schools in terms of how they can work with these other agencies to identify children before vulnerability concerns spiral into child protection issues. With teachers and social care under incredible pressure, there is a real need now for meaningful collaboration – no single agency can cover it all. </p>
<p>These “forgotten” children must get back into school and back into the light. For this to happen there must be better access to COVID-19 testing for teachers and pupils to minimise the current situation where hundreds of pupils are being sent home to isolate due to one positive test.</p>
<p>Coordinated safeguarding approaches and information sharing, together with a focus on building strong relationships <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344387337_Evaluation_of_Integrated_Multi-_Agency_Operational_Safeguarding_Arrangements_in_Wales">across agencies</a>, will help ensure that vulnerable children and families are identified and supported as early as possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146725/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle McManus has received funding from various bodies such as Welsh Government, National Safeguarding Board Wales, Lancashire Constabulary, and various other police forces for research projects. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Ball does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s not just children designated as being ‘at risk’ who are vulnerable. There are thousands of others who have not been assessed and who need the ‘safe haven’ of school.Michelle McManus, Subject Head in Criminal Justice, Liverpool John Moores UniversityEmma Ball, PhD candidate, Criminal Justice, Liverpool John Moores UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1123332019-03-06T15:09:41Z2019-03-06T15:09:41ZYoung people care about climate change – teachers need to engage with that passion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/261460/original/file-20190228-106365-1n6v853.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cultura Motion / shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is arguably the single most important issue facing the planet over the next century. Today’s school students will be the ones who must reverse it, cope with it as best they can, or experience its consequences.</p>
<p>We know students feel <a href="https://theconversation.com/school-climate-strikes-why-adults-no-longer-have-the-right-to-object-to-their-children-taking-radical-action-111851">engaged and passionate</a> about global issues like this, now adults have to work much harder to make school courses relevant and real. Challenging students to tackle “live” data and watch climate change in action is one way to approach this.</p>
<p>To take one example, let’s look at the natural “cycles” of two key substances: water and carbon. Both are absolutely crucial to how the natural world works, and both have been badly disrupted by human activity. Understanding climate change is impossible without grasping what has happened to the water and carbon cycles, but unfortunately, as you may remember from school yourself, these are not the most thrilling topics.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262156/original/file-20190305-48429-11ogqc0.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=700&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The carbon cycle simplified (and before human disruption such as fossil fuel burning).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The-carbon-cycle_biosphere.png">Bvelevski / wiki</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Globally, the two collide at the cellular level in tiny pores in the leaves of plants through which CO₂ enters before processing by photosynthesis. Importantly, while CO₂ enters the plant, water leaves in transpiration. As CO₂ levels rise, plants can choose whether to take advantage of this artificial, human-driven fertilisation and fix more carbon (<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ask-the-experts-does-rising-co2-benefit-plants1/">grow faster</a>), or reduce water loss and deal with drought more efficiently.</p>
<p>In contrast, these naturally intermeshed carbon and water cycles do not collide in the English and Welsh school system. There, pupils are taught that carbon dioxide is taken into plants and feeds the carbon cycle while, entirely separately, in the water cycle, transpiration injects water into the atmosphere, affecting cloud cover and so the balance between cooling and warming. Climate change cannot be understood without an appreciation of how human actions are affecting all sorts of interlocking natural cycles, and colleagues and I hope that, as researchers, we can help school teachers to join these dots in the classroom.</p>
<p>It’s true that talking about carbon and water cycles can seem abstract and disconnected from the exciting and forward-looking parts of the curriculum such as medical advances or molecular biology. But colleagues and I want to change that perception by engaging 15 and 16-year-old students in climate change research, enabling them to use real data to understand these cycles and how they relate to climate change. The materials are being rolled out this term in a pilot programme at a <a href="http://www.uobschool.org.uk">school</a> linked to the University of Birmingham.</p>
<p>These approaches are particularly timely. The <a href="https://www.my-gcsescience.com/9-1-gsce-science-a-guide-for-parents/">new high school science courses</a> in England and Wales (known as GCSEs) have a much greater emphasis on applying knowledge and ideas to unfamiliar scenarios as well as analysing and evaluating information than previous courses.</p>
<p>One of the aims of the biology course, for instance, is to develop curiosity in the natural world and to encourage pupils to appreciate the relevance of biology to their everyday lives. These skills can be difficult to achieve in a classroom – especially as teachers are under pressure to just “get through” a seemingly ever-growing body of knowledge that pupils must understand and remember.</p>
<p>Using materials we have developed, pupils have been able – in just one lesson – to make links between topics such as environmental change and the cycling of materials, or plant cell organisation and photosynthesis and transpiration. At the same time they are also getting to grips with large data sets and experimental design on a grand and unfamiliar scale.</p>
<p>This data comes from Birmingham’s <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/bifor/face/index.aspx">FACE project</a>, which is fertilising a forest of mature oak trees with extra carbon dioxide on a huge scale. For at least the next decade, rings of 35m-high pylons will feed the trees extra CO₂ to see how such forests might respond to a carbon-rich atmosphere. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/262169/original/file-20190305-48435-1oar5bq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">CO2 is pumped into a forest in Staffordshire to simulate atmospheric conditions in 2070.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/bifor/face/index.aspx">BIFoR FACE / Uni of Birmingham</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At this point, we have some information from lab studies but real experiments out in the forests are rare and have never looked at UK oak forests. What is clear is that the global consequences of climate change will be mediated through trees, as they balance the uptake of CO₂ with water loss and in turn directly affect any further global warming. </p>
<p>This is not an ivory tower experiment – the forest is wired and connected to the digital world, and pupils will be able to explore the experiment themselves online and monitor its progress in real time. Data sets can be downloaded and used in the classroom to directly address the water and carbon cycle aspect of the syllabus. Direct participation with this high tech research enriches both the school experience and the science itself in a two-way process.</p>
<p>Trees get bigger as photosynthesis takes carbon from the atmosphere, but they shrink as water is lost through the open pores. So over months and years tree trunks get thicker, but they shrink and expand over a daily cycle. Here in a single organism the consequences of elevated CO₂ for carbon and water cycles are played out and captured in a single lesson plan.</p>
<p>We hope that this sort of interactive, citizen science approach will revolutionise the study of ecosystems and climate change. This is an opportunity for students not just to learn about how science is progressing but to directly participate – ultimately, we aim not just to transmit knowledge, but to inspire action.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/112333/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeremy Pritchard has received funding from the NERC
He chairs the Royal Society of Biology Curriculum Committee</span></em></p>Our new high school science courses get pupils involved in ongoing climate science research.Jeremy Pritchard, Professor of Life Sciences Education, University of BirminghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1086372018-12-13T09:49:45Z2018-12-13T09:49:45ZProfessor Sir Paul Curran, on six years as chair of The Conversation UK<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250204/original/file-20181212-76971-13ru05r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">City, University of London</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Nearing the end of his second and final term, the founding chair of The Conversation UK considers the achievements of the project and looks at the role of universities in a rapidly changing news media environment.</em></p>
<p>Our universities are a national success story, ranking, along with those in the United States, among the <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2019/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats">best in the world</a>. Their research power is phenomenal - they produce more high-quality research per pound invested, than universities in any other country. However, traditionally, little of this research or research-informed commentary reached the public who contributed to its production. </p>
<p>One of the reasons is a deep-seated academic mistrust of traditional journalism, a problem exacerbated by a rapid decline in newspaper sales, advertising revenue and consequentially, the number of specialist journalists. Often unable to resource the production of content anchored in research, print and broadcast media turned increasingly to media-friendly academic generalists and university press releases. That was the dispiriting position before the global economic downturn. Concerns about globalisation, immigration, technological change, automation and the “elite” who benefited, soon ran through the media and before long, feeling and emotion, rather than fact and rational assessment, became the currency of public discourse. Today the position is worse.</p>
<h2>The idea</h2>
<p>The rise in populism and declining trust in the establishment, including in universities and the experts within them, has been a topic of much recent public debate. It has been fuelled by the politicisation of undergraduate fees and a consequential media assault on university competence, intentions and value. With few willing to speak on their behalf, universities have found it increasingly difficult to communicate with the public and yet polling shows that <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-universities-can-earn-trust-and-share-power-in-the-bitter-post-truth-era-76653">trust in universities</a> increases, once the public are reminded of what their experts do. </p>
<p>However, the relative decline in societal trust has been even greater for the UK’s media. Increasingly fragmented social media offerings, limited editorial control and “alternative versions of the truth”, coupled with the over-simplification, trivialisation and the coarsening of public debate in the search for readers, has undermined the media’s ability to serve the public good. The decline has led the unwary, who often find it difficult to believe what they read, to choose to read what they believe. The result? A reduction in our collective exposure to the views of others. </p>
<p>Into this increasingly dire situation came an idea, from the former editor of The Observer, Andrew Jaspan, of <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/who-we-are">how to unlock academic content</a> in a way that would provide daily research and research-based comment to a public hungry for trustworthy content. The idea was for an academic and a journalist to co-create a readable article, under the academic’s byline, that would be free to read and crucially, to republish through a Creative Commons licence. Moreover, universities, government, concerned citizens, trusts and foundations would realise that an informed public is a vital component of a civilised society and would fund its production. </p>
<p>An excellent idea alone was not enough and it took Andrew Jaspan’s entrepreneurial zeal and the farsightedness of the <a href="https://www.unimelb.edu.au/">University of Melbourne</a> to establish, with a founding group of Australian universities, the first edition of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au">The Conversation</a> in 2011. It was an idea whose time had come and the edition was soon producing a regular diet of high quality and trusted articles.</p>
<h2>The London bureau</h2>
<p>The launch of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk">UK edition</a> in 2013, an important stage in the internationalisation of The Conversation, was made possible by the support of 20 founding UK universities and an impressive array of sponsors. They included UK research councils, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the Wellcome Trust, the Nuffield Foundation and The National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. The task of establishing The Conversation UK (TCUK) fell to a dedicated executive team, journalists from leading national print and broadcast media keen to produce independent and serious journalism and a Board of Trustees with senior academic and media experience. </p>
<p>Academics wanted to write for TCUK, universities valued their articles for the exposure they brought and for the research impact they documented; and the media were quick to seize on the opportunity to republish well-written and trustworthy articles without cost. </p>
<p>Now, the majority of TCUK’s articles are republished, unaltered, in major national and international print and broadcast media. Often, university research reported in today’s The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, or on the BBC news, for example, was on the TCUK website yesterday. International outlets such as The Washington Post, Le Monde, New Zealand Herald, Scientific American and CNN also regularly feature some of the 15 or so articles TCUK publishes each day. </p>
<p>Two events, during TCUK’s first year, confirmed the value of the idea to the UK’s national media. The first was the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/somerset-floods-8947">Somerset Levels flood</a>. Repetitive national coverage of sandbagged doors, small boats and rescue workers was soon augmented with informed The Conversation coverage of the hydrology and climatology of the area, the practicalities of dredging and medieval farming practices that depended on regular flooding. The second was the disappearance of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/flight-mh370-9400">Malaysian Airlines flight 370</a>, en route to Beijing. Similar international coverage of personal grief, a missing plane and conspiracy theories was quickly augmented by The Conversation’s background stories on physical oceanography, aeronautical engineering, Malaysian history and geo-location using Doppler shift of signals from aircraft engines. </p>
<p>Free from the vagaries of advertising revenue, TCUK has had the financial stability it needed to grow steadily to its current editorial team of 19. Over the past five and a half years it has produced, from an office on the roof of City, University of London, more than 20,000 articles by more than 12,000 academic authors. TCUK is now supported by 80 universities and is the most popular means of getting academic research and research-based comment into the UK media. This popularity is growing. Most months over the past year, more than 3 million unique visitors have engaged with The Conversation content produced in the UK. Importantly, an average month sees more than 10 million people view the content via republication. These readers are relatively young members of the public, with almost half aged between 18 and 34 and over four in five working outside of academia. </p>
<p>TCUK is a membership organisation and strives to provide an excellent service to participating universities through, for example, training for thousands of academic authors each year. It also continues to innovate with new services, such as topical conferences and <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/fact-check-uk-15076">fact checking</a> and new products, such as video, <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/podcasts/the-anthill">podcasts</a> and animations. </p>
<p>The Conversation’s global audience of around 40 million readers a month is increasing rapidly. Editions in Australia and the UK have been followed by editions in the US in 2014, Africa (sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) and France in 2015, Canada and Indonesia in 2017 and Spain in 2018. </p>
<h2>The right time</h2>
<p>Universities in the UK are going through a difficult time and this is unlikely to abate in the near future. The sector knows that in its drive to rebuild public trust it must not engage in tedious media spats about politically distorted details and opinions based on feeling but rise above the fray and do what universities do best. That is to seek truth, create and disseminate new knowledge in ways that that support the economy, transform lives and contribute to the global good of society. </p>
<p>TCUK is trusted and provides academics with a powerful voice, via mainstream print and broadcast media, in ways that generate admiration rather than admonishment. The idea has emerged, not only as a means of unlocking academic content and stimulating evidence-based public debate, but as one of the most powerful tools we have to rebuild societal trust in our great universities. I am extremely proud of those who championed, worked for and had faith in the idea; and deeply honoured to have played my part in its realisation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Curran does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nearing the end of his second and final term, the founding chair of The Conversation UK considers the role of universities in the news media environment.Paul Curran, President, City, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/965842018-12-12T12:09:42Z2018-12-12T12:09:42ZGrammars receive £50m boost, while primary and secondary schools rely on cash donations from parents<p>A handful of grammar schools are to receive a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/dec/03/campaigners-criticise-50m-fund-for-grammar-schools-expansion">£50m boost to expand their pupil numbers</a>. To qualify for the funding, schools had to submit plans on how they would try and increase the number of poorer pupils. </p>
<p>In total, 16 grammar schools are to be given a share of the £50m selective school expansion fund to create 4,000 additional places for pupils from the poorest backgrounds, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/grammar-schools-given-50m-diversity-cash-have-only-2-poor-pupils-fh56rwnjr">according to The Times</a>.</p>
<p>But the move has come under fire after <a href="https://inews.co.uk/news/education/grammar-school-funding-diversity-50m/">it was revealed</a> that just 2% of their pupils admitted to the grammar schools awarded the funding classify as disadvantaged. Headteachers at cash-strapped comprehensive schools also spoke out in protest – given that in real terms, per-pupil spending is <a href="https://theconversation.com/headteachers-march-the-school-funding-protests-explained-104012">in significant decline</a>. This has led to many headteachers increasingly <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/schools-amazon-wishlists_uk_5b23cbcae4b07cb1712ddcd8">asking parents for cash donations</a>, with some schools forced to cut staff. </p>
<p>The announcement has reignited a heated debate over the merits of selection at 11+ in the English schools system. Those <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-grammar-schools-remain-so-popular-49248">in favour of grammar schools</a> say they are a positive influence on the quality of education and the standards achieved by children who attend schools in selective areas. <a href="https://theconversation.com/grammar-schools-debate-four-key-questions-answered-74274">Those against say</a> they are socially divisive and remnants of an outdated system that disproportionately benefits middle class children.</p>
<h2>‘Unjust’ and ‘unfair’</h2>
<p>Stories of working class children whose life chances have been transformed by attending a grammar school may be aplenty, but anecdotes supporting social mobility arguments don’t make for good policy. </p>
<p>There would also be something wrong if high performing grammar schools <a href="https://theconversation.com/dear-theresa-may-this-is-what-you-need-to-know-about-grammar-schools-65360">couldn’t get good results</a> for very able children – which indeed they do – even if those children come from disadvantaged backgrounds. But <a href="https://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=34136">research shows</a> that children who attend grammars do not perform any better than they would in a high performing comprehensive school.</p>
<p>Working with research assistant, Ella Jakeway, I analysed some of the issues around areas that fall under the grammar school system – using data from the <a href="https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/">Department for Education</a>. And the data demonstrates the potentially damaging impact grammar schools can have on a local area.</p>
<p>In many selective local authority areas the gap between rich and poor only gets wider. The worst case is Buckinghamshire, a wholly selective authority, where the progress made across eight subjects by disadvantaged children is on average three quarters of a grade less than that of the more affluent children. This would suggest a selective system is not benefiting all children, and may in fact be harming the prospects of some. </p>
<h2>Working the system</h2>
<p>When analysing the data, we looked carefully at the characteristics of children attending school in selective authorities, and discovered a phenomenon that appears to challenge the social mobility argument for grammar schools. </p>
<p>We looked at the numbers of disadvantaged children in a given local authority at the end of primary school, and measured how that had changed by the time those children reach the age of 16. We found children crossed borders to neighbouring authorities to a much higher degree than expected. The number of disadvantaged children in Buckinghamshire, for example, drops by more than a third by the end of secondary school even though the total number of children increases. This is because the net movement into selective areas is driven by the middle classes.</p>
<p>The county seems to have a huge influx of middle class secondary aged children coming in, while some disadvantaged pupils attend non-selective schools in neighbouring authorities. By way of contrast, some of the lowest performing local authorities show a significant increase in numbers of deprived children.</p>
<h2>A measure of privilege</h2>
<p><a href="http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01398/SN01398.pdf">The latest government statistics</a> show the number of children in selective grammar schools has risen steadily since an all-time low in 1986 (3%) to 5.2% today. And the new £50m cash boost to a handful of schools could increase that number to more than 6%. </p>
<p>But it is by no means clear how the expansion could be limited to the most disadvantaged children nor how this could be maintained over time. The danger is that the extra places will simply encourage more children to travel further to school – the travel time for pupils at grammar schools is already <a href="https://epi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Grammar-schools-and-social-mobility_.pdf">double that of those at non-selective schools</a>. </p>
<p>That said, my own research and that of others suggests the biggest factor that determines a child’s outcomes at 16 is not whether they attend a comprehensive or grammar school, but their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/nov/21/english-class-system-shaped-in-schools">family’s socioeconomic status</a>. And this introduces educational differences even before children begin formal schooling. Ultimately then it would seem that grammar schools risk making what is already an unbalanced and uneven situation simply more unjust and unfair.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96584/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Rolph does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Grammars have received a £50m funding boost, while at the same time many primary and secondary schools are resorting to Amazon Wish Lists to fund basic supplies.Chris Rolph, Principal Lecturer in Education, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1076272018-12-04T15:06:24Z2018-12-04T15:06:24ZWomen in STEM: how gender inequality could damage Scotland’s economy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248707/original/file-20181204-34154-56ds9x.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Negative assumptions about the place of women and girls in STEM need to be challenged.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/attentive-schoolgirl-doing-chemical-experiment-against-692415145?src=fdE5wAhmWhOj1UYWgP7bSg-1-3">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Like much of the world, Scotland has a problem with gender equality when it comes to science, technology, engineering and maths. From a very young age, outdated assumptions about who is suited to STEM subjects often mean girls are steered away from them. Those who do pursue them in school and university face many barriers in their careers that lead to the notorious “<a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/10637941/The-leaky-pipeline-of-women-in-science.html">leaky pipeline</a>”, where women are seen in lower and lower proportions at every stage of seniority.</p>
<p>This is a huge issue not just for women but also for the economy. There is increasing demand for STEM professionals but a significant shortfall in young people graduating with the relevant qualifications. But things will never change if half the population is not being encouraged to engage with these subjects in the first place. </p>
<figure>
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</figure>
<h2>Challenging the status quo</h2>
<p>In 2012, the <a href="https://www.rse.org.uk/about-us/">Royal Society of Edinburgh</a> (RSE) launched the <a href="http://www.rse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Tapping-talents-report_FINAL.pdf">Tapping All Our Talents report</a> (TAOT), which was a comprehensive evaluation of the status quo, and a call to action for government, academia and business across Scotland. So what has changed since then? Has progress been made in addressing these issues? Is the high-profile debate of gender issues in the media these days feeding into positive action for women in STEM?</p>
<p>In March 2018, the RSE, together with the <a href="https://www.youngacademyofscotland.org.uk/about/about.html">Young Academy of Scotland</a>, launched TAOT 2018 to explore these questions, and the resulting <a href="http://www.rse.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Women-in-STEM-report-2018_final.pdf">report</a> was published in November 2018. As well as looking back at the targets set in 2012 and analysing how the field is changing for women, TAOT 2018 also broadened the scope of its enquiry. </p>
<p>In the intervening six years it has become clear that gender equality can only be achieved through a fundamental shift in the way society perceives the place of women in STEM and the stereotyping issues that put them off. The report looked not only at women already working in STEM and studying in higher education, but also at girls in school, from secondary to early years.</p>
<p>One of the most potent images from the 2012 report was the leaky pipeline graph, showing how the percentage of women engaged in STEM subjects dropped at every stage from standard grade to professorial level. The graph below shows the ratio between the 2008 figures (which the 2012 report was based on) and 2018, and the good news is that things are looking up.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=40&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=40&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=40&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=50&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=50&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249272/original/file-20181206-128187-m76o6a.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=50&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249273/original/file-20181206-128190-m68ske.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sources: SQA Attainment Statistics (2017); HESA.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This indicates that initiatives such as <a href="https://www.ecu.ac.uk/equality-charters/athena-swan/">Athena SWAN awards</a> (UK-wide recognition for gender equality in academia) are working, and fairer access to funding from bodies such as the <a href="http://www.sfc.ac.uk/about-sfc/about-us/about-us.aspx">Scottish Funding Council</a> are succeeding – but not fast enough. Even if things continue to improve at this rate, Scotland is still decades away from equality.</p>
<h2>Trends for concern</h2>
<p>Broadening the focus to schools highlighted some worrying trends. At SCQF (<a href="https://scqf.org.uk/the-framework/about-the-framework/">Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework</a>) levels 3-5, the percentage of girls has stayed the same for most STEM subjects between 2012 and 2018. Biology remains female dominated at school level, with chemistry and maths at about 50%, and physics remaining around 30%.</p>
<p>More concerning is engineering, which has shown slight improvements but still has less than 10% female participation, and computer science, which has seen a drop from 32% in 2012 to 18% in 2018. This is against a backdrop of a dramatically increasing skills gap in computing-related industries, where the demand for technologically skilled professionals outstrips the number of young people studying these subjects. The failure to engage girls in the subject significantly reduces the potential pool of future professionals and will have an impact on the Scottish economy. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/video-games-could-be-a-short-term-answer-to-sciences-gender-problem-105328">Video games could be a short-term answer to science’s gender problem</a></strong></em> </p>
<hr>
<p>Very similar trends can be seen at higher level in all subjects. At university level, there is again a fairly stable picture across the six years since the 2012 report, with both maths and computing showing a decline in female participation over the years – though in computer science this is much less than in schools. This drop at school level is likely to hit female recruitment to university computer science courses in coming years.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.sfc.ac.uk/about-sfc/about-us/about-us.aspx">Scottish Funding Council</a> has introduced its <a href="http://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications-statistics/corporate-publications/corporate-publications-2016/SFCCP052016.aspx">Gender Action Plan</a>, which requires Scotland’s higher and further education institutions to develop plans to ensure that all courses have a gender imbalance less than 75:25 by 2030. But change of this magnitude is unlikely in subjects with significant gender imbalance without specific, targeted initiatives not just in higher education but also in schools and early years.</p>
<p>At staff level, the picture in universities is more encouraging, with both percentages of female faculty members and female professors increasing in most STEM subjects, some dramatically – for example, female professors in maths increased from just 3% in 2012 to a more respectable (though still shockingly low) 10% in 2017. There are also now have 73 STEM departments in Scottish universities with Athena SWAN accreditation, demonstrating a serious commitment to tackling these issues.</p>
<p>As well as analysing academia and education, the 2018 report also focuses on government and business across Scotland. It identifies strong leadership by the Scottish government to <a href="https://www.gov.scot/policies/science-and-research/women-stem/">drive culture change</a> and significant improvements in many aspects of business, such as sustained partnerships between education and industry. But it emphasises that such initiatives “must be driven faster and further” to make an impact. Other key findings include the need for better data to understand, track and provide solutions to gender inequality in STEM, and a focus on behaviour change that means bias and discrimination are unacceptable.</p>
<p>It is heartening to see that the attention that has been focused on women in STEM across Scotland over the last few years has yielded positive results and the country is moving in the right direction. But there is still much to be done. </p>
<p>Tackling inequality to smash the barriers that women and girls face in STEM is a huge challenge, and one that requires commitment and persistence in education, business and government. Wavering in that commitment could have serious consequences for the ability to develop and sustain the kind of STEM-based innovation in which Scotland has been world-leading for centuries.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107627/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Fiona McNeill was a member of the working group for Tapping All Our Talents 2018. </span></em></p>With demand outstripping supply for STEM professionals, Scotland will suffer if more young women are not engaged with these subjects.Fiona McNeill, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1040752018-10-05T13:38:01Z2018-10-05T13:38:01ZWhy reformed A levels are not preparing undergraduates for university study<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239497/original/file-20181005-72117-y2ojrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Piling on the pressure?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/books-stack-on-library-table-time-691274914?src=bC2hz2Ets1CNg--psdRPog-1-58">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>At the beginning of the university year, new students are busy adjusting to a life of lectures, whipping up their next meal (<a href="https://www.savethestudent.org/save-money/food-drink/6-delicious-recipes-you-can-make-with-baked-beans.html">seven recipes with baked beans anyone?</a>) and managing their time. A familiar picture perhaps – but there’s something different about this year’s intake of undergraduates. </p>
<p>Across England and Wales, the majority have recently taken the reformed A level exams – and <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_683051_en.html">our research</a> suggests the new system is not effectively preparing students for various aspects of university study.</p>
<p>It was in 2012 that the then secretary of state for education, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/letter-from-the-secretary-of-state-for-education-to-ofqual--2">Michael Gove, wrote</a> to the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation and told them: “The single most important purpose of A level qualifications is to prepare young people for further study at university”.</p>
<p>Proposals for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-the-facts-gcse-and-a-level-reform/get-the-facts-as-and-a-level-reform">wide-ranging reform</a> were drawn up for England (<a href="https://www.qualificationswales.org/english/qualifications/gcses-and-a-levels/as-and-a-levels/">Wales took a slightly different path</a>) and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-the-facts-gcse-and-a-level-reform/get-the-facts-as-and-a-level-reform">introduced in phases</a> the following year. </p>
<h2>Testing times</h2>
<p>The changes meant that the majority of A level assessment is now based on exams at the end of a two-year course. Exams in January are out, and tests are no longer based on individual modules. Other changes meant AS levels (still a one-year course) no longer counted towards A level grades, and coursework was minimised.</p>
<p>These changes went ahead despite a <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-deserve-better-than-this-shambolic-a-level-reform-35269">range</a> of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-gove-generation-first-pupils-to-live-through-a-level-reforms-wait-for-results-45532">critical</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/permanent-revolution-of-a-level-exams-helps-nobody-30488">comment</a> from teachers, students and parents. They highlighted chaotic implementation, delays and a lack of information and resources. </p>
<p>More fundamental were concerns about the focus on performance in the short exam period and about how well A levels prepare students <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/perceptions-of-a-levels-gcses-and-other-qualifications-wave-16">who do not go on to university</a>. Some predicted the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-slow-death-of-the-as-level-64070">“slow death” of the AS level</a> with a loss of subject breadth (and numbers studying for these qualifications have <a href="https://results.ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/as-level/all-subjects.php?v=20180904">dropped dramatically</a>).</p>
<h2>Putting students off?</h2>
<p>We are already appear to be seeing an effect on <a href="https://www.ucas.com/file/138186/download?token=HfxYNizO">university applications</a> in the reformed subjects as they are phased in. Some subjects, such as chemistry, English and history, experienced more than expected drops in <a href="https://www.ucas.com/file/138186/download?token=HfxYNizO">university applications</a> (taking into account the drop in overall applications). </p>
<p>Data released <a href="https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/ucas-undergraduate-releases/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources">later this year from UCAS</a> will reveal the impact on the next group of reformed subjects. But early indicators suggest a drop in university applications for geography, drama, theology and religious studies. There is also a longer trend of reduced applications for ancient and modern languages.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/news/research/title_683051_en.html">our research</a>, funded by the University of Exeter’s <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/teaching-excellence/educationincubator/about/">Education Incubator</a>, we wanted to understand the effects of these reforms on the ground – by talking with A level students and teachers as well as university students and lecturers. Working with undergraduate student researchers, we focused on biology/biosciences, English and geography.</p>
<h2>Feeling unprepared</h2>
<p>We found that the reformed A levels are considered overall to be more rigorous in terms of content. But they are not preparing students effectively for the type of assessments they will face at university. </p>
<p>At university, students often face more frequent coursework, group work and more regular examination than they do for A levels. These differences are already causing increased difficulty for some students because the reformed A levels were focused on exams at the end of a two-year course.</p>
<p>Universities should be aware that new students may feel particularly unprepared for assessments in the first year. They could help by ensuring high-quality guidance and support for group work, managing multiple deadlines and regular assessed coursework. </p>
<h2>Supporting independence</h2>
<p>One of the main changes to A levels was an effort to promote an increased expectation of independent study, especially in coursework. This was something students and their teachers viewed as positive – but highly challenging. </p>
<p>Yet while this approach does appear to prepare students for more independent working at university, we found it also leads some to assume they should not need to access available support – even when they might benefit from it.</p>
<p>In setting expectations about independent study, schools, colleges and universities can instead emphasise “supported independence”. This recognises that working out when to ask for support, and doing so, is a necessary part of the learning process. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239498/original/file-20181005-72097-12da6yk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What’s the result of the new results?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/two-girls-celebrating-exam-results-school-735915199?src=vCuSgjnf8sFlXDwu_4Ax9g-1-0">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Universities should also heed <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1323195https:/www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1323195">the evidence</a> that the school a student attended, and their social background, shape expectations about accessing support. Some students strongly take messages about independence to mean they should not access support. </p>
<h2>Easing the transition</h2>
<p>It would be easy to conclude then, that the new style of A levels aren’t yet fit for purpose, and need further reform. We think that given the level of change still working through the qualification systems at A level and GCSE this would be a hasty reaction.</p>
<p>Instead, schools and universities can play their part in collaborations that bridge the knowledge gaps between the two phases of education, and in easing the transition through high-quality support and development opportunities.</p>
<p>We think the Department for Education should commit to a review of A levels to assess the effectiveness of the reformed qualifications in preparing students for university. </p>
<p>First, the department should <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/as-and-a-level-decoupling">investigate</a> the number of schools that enter students for the AS level and then the next year the A level (effectively cramming a two-year course into one year). It should also review the number of students who are “off rolled”, or transferred, on to other qualifications if it looks like they are not succeeding. Secondly, the government needs to address the issue of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/perceptions-of-a-levels-gcses-and-other-qualifications-wave-16">low perceptions</a> of aspects of the new A level courses. </p>
<p>It is clear the reformed A levels aren’t yet preparing students as effectively as they could for the type of assessments they will face at university. The question that remains is whether they are putting some students off from university study in those subjects completely – and whether application rates for those subjects can recover.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104075/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matt Finn works for the University of Exeter and the research project was funded through the University of Exeter's Education Incubator.</span></em></p>Rigorous they may be, but the new style of exam still leaves students with gaps in their learning skills.Matt Finn, Lecturer in Human Geography, University of ExeterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/897962018-01-11T10:09:01Z2018-01-11T10:09:01ZFive things to think about when choosing a school for your child<p>In today’s educational climate of league tables, exam results and Ofsted reports, many parents may believe this is all the information needed to decide which school to select for their child. </p>
<p>But while it is easy to see how schools are judged by their exam results, there <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425690701837513">is a wealth</a> of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17457823.2015.1085323">evidence</a> that highlights the damaging effects of high stakes testing cultures in schools – and how this impacts children’s learning identities. </p>
<p>It can be misleading, then, to see schooling as being solely about achieving the best grades. Particularly as <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09620214.2012.737688">my research</a> shows that for children, the most important aspect of school life are the relationships they build with their friends and teachers. </p>
<p>For children, secure friendships sustained over time are closely associated with feelings of confidence and self-worth. They also allow children to better adjust to school and form positive school values. But as many parents are aware, young children may, as one <a href="https://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/328799-do-preschool-friends-stick-together-in-reception-classes">Mumsnet subscriber put it</a>, “change best friends about five hundred times in their first couple of terms”. In this way, the ups and downs of friendships can also cause a lot of issues for children (and parents). This had led some schools to take the controversial measure of <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/10031299/Children-shouldnt-have-best-friends-private-school-head-argues.html">banning best friends</a> – which happened at Prince George’s new school.</p>
<p>But social psychologists such as Brett Laursen, have spoken out <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/17/fashion/17BFF.html">against such policies, arguing that</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We [should] want children to get good at leading close friendships, not superficial ones.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>And given that close peer friendships nurtured through adolescence encourage children’s social development and help them to build other significant relationships, it is clear that the friendships children make in school, can have a long and lasting impact. So with this in mind, here are some things to look out for when making a visit to a prospective school.</p>
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<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/247342386" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<h2>1. Talk the talk</h2>
<p>Talk with the headteacher and senior management team. Get a sense of how you experience them as role models and ethos setters. See how they interact with the staff and children. Do they know children as individuals and understand their backgrounds, and do they know children’s names? These are all important things to look out for when you are visiting a prospective school, and can quickly give you a sense of how the school is run and the priorities in place.</p>
<h2>2. Pick up on the vibes</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Educational-Binds-Poverty-Routledge-Education/dp/0415719399">Research has shown</a> there is a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1080/01411920701243628/full">general difference between girls’ and boys’</a> friendship groups. Boys are more likely to form extended social groups where status is gained through the denigration of other groups with differing social values. Girls, on the other hand, tend to form close one to one alliances – where social exclusion (often accompanied by a high degree of emotion) is <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0954025910030204?journalCode=cgee20">more likely to happen within the group</a>.</p>
<p>With this in mind, see how the children interact with peers and adults in the classroom. Think about what the atmosphere is like and if the children work in a purposeful way. Do they cooperate with each other? It’s also worth looking at classroom grouping practices and consider to what extent girls and boys are encouraged to work together or if activities are segregated by gender.</p>
<h2>3. Stay for playtime</h2>
<p>It’s worth sticking around for break time, too, as this can give you a real sense of how children are able to interact on their own terms. This is highly important, because <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14733280500037224?journalCode=cchg20">recent research</a> has highlighted the importance of “place” in shaping children’s experience of school. In this way, the emotional attachment and responses children form to key parts of the school – such as the playground – can play an important role in building a sense of belonging and learner identity. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/201359/original/file-20180109-36009-12utys1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Watch how the children play together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. The laws of friendship</h2>
<p>As friendships and relationships can strongly influence a child’s sense of both inclusion and exclusion at school, give careful consideration to how a school provides for the emotional and social well-being of their pupils. See if you can get a sense of how the school deals with friendships and relationships and how teachers respond to children’s friendship difficulties. Are children working together and playing together, taking turns and sharing? It is also worth asking about the school’s key mission statement and philosophy for learning, and what resources back these up.</p>
<h2>5. Look to the walls</h2>
<p>Look at wall displays in the school, because these will give a good indication of how values are practised. Are they child-led and centred? Is there evidence that displays like a “wall of honour”, or “values ambassadors”, are not just a “tick-box” exercise, but are used in a meaningful way to acknowledge where children have practised social and moral values that are promoted at school?</p>
<p>A school that makes provision for learning how to “do friendships and relationships” can be instrumental in teaching important life and social lessons to children – and ultimately may be more likely to be a place where your child can reach their full potential.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89796/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ceri Brown received funding from the ESRC (2008-2011 Open competition doctoral scholarship). 2010 I was part of a research team who received funding from The National College for Leadership of Schools and Children's Services. I do not currently receive any external funding.</span></em></p>Research shows that for children, the most important aspect of school life are the relationships they build with their friends and teachers.Ceri Brown, Lecturer in Education, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/804972017-11-17T14:16:38Z2017-11-17T14:16:38ZOnline learning can prepare students for a fast-changing future – wherever they are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195198/original/file-20171117-7588-1rai1rs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The classroom of the future.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Take a moment to think back to the first classroom you ever entered, whether it was at school, or nursery, chances are there was a blackboard, with coloured chalk where you focused most of your attention. You were probably working from a booklet or on paper using pencil and crayons and drawing pictures by hand. </p>
<p>Now fast forward to the classroom of 2017 and everything has changed. Gone are the chalks and the crayons – which have been replaced by screens, social networks, cloud computing and augmented reality.</p>
<p>Technology has changed the way classrooms work, not just at school, but right throughout the education system. So from nursery to university, students these days engage with online learning from day one. And yet, despite this increased growth in technological advances, higher education institutions are operating in an increasingly competitive and unstable market. </p>
<p>In the UK, the introduction of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-36856026">increased fees for undergraduate study</a>, the removal of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/sep/18/removing-cap-student-numbers-six-questions-hepi-report">recruitment cap</a> and the subsequent competition for good students has created an unprecedented era of “<a href="https://www.higheredtoday.org/2014/02/28/confronting-higher-education-consumerism-challenges/">education consumerism</a>”. </p>
<p>Students too, expect more from their learning. Feverish recent press coverage of the “<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4790694/Top-universities-desperate-attempt-courses.html">clearing free-for-all</a>” where selective Russell Group universities offered places through clearing in traditionally highly selective courses has emphasised the view of students as consumers in a “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/aug/18/fewer-uk-students-degree-courses-ucas-clearing">buyer’s market</a>”. </p>
<p>The idea of a “typical student” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/jun/10/flexible-study-future-for-universities">is also changing</a>. With this comes a change in how these students prefer to learn. In particular, older students looking to obtain postgraduate qualifications want their education to be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/11/postgraduate-students-feel-overlooked">valuable and worthwhile</a>. But it must also be flexible enough to fit in with their existing commitments and responsibilities. </p>
<p>Universities are also in the market of preparing students for jobs <a href="https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/martin-boehm-preparing-students-for-jobs-that-dont-exist-yet">that don’t even exist yet</a>. Even after graduating from a first degree there is an increasing need and pressure on students to keep learning and adapting. </p>
<h2>Taking it online</h2>
<p>During the past decade, international student numbers have also rapidly grown at <a href="https://institutions.ukcisa.org.uk/info-for-universities-colleges--schools/policy-research--statistics/research--statistics/international-students-in-uk-he/">universities in both the UK and US</a>. But with the threat of Brexit on the horizon in the UK – as well as an altogether <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/11000084/Visa-rules-mean-UK-is-unwelcoming-for-foreign-students.html">not particularly welcoming visa system</a> – these are numbers that have recently <a href="https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/applicants-uk-higher-education-down-5-uk-students-and-7-eu-students">started to dwindle</a>.</p>
<p>Given these political issues – and increased difficulties for international students in terms of getting visas – one solution could be to change the way education is actually accessed. In a post-Brexit world, online education could provide an important method for international students to move ahead with their education. It could also enable them to study for a degree at a UK university from <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryancraig/2015/06/23/a-brief-history-and-future-of-online-degrees/">the comfort of their own home</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=551&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195199/original/file-20171117-7603-1qiqcmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=693&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How to reinvent the classroom for the internet generation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shuttertsock</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In this way, a carefully constructed online learning programme that also has lots of support built in provides an international experience for students. But on top of that it also can provide an experience that is relevant and gives students a valuable skill-set for their future working life. The online classroom and the sense of collaborating across <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ellen_Kossek/publication/234021856_Managing_the_Global_WorkforceChallenges_and_Strategies/links/5626b91a08ae4d9e5c4d4630.pdf">international and cultural boarders</a> mirrors the workplaces these students are in or aspire to work in. </p>
<h2>Future classrooms</h2>
<p>It is clear then that online programmes can and should be viewed as an innovative platform through which access to higher education can continue.
This is important because <a href="http://oro.open.ac.uk/44281/3/Meeting%20the%20needs%20of%20disabled%20students%20in%20on-line%20distance%20education%20%28Final-English%29.pdf">online learning breaks down barriers</a> that are otherwise difficult to overcome and helps to share knowledge across the globe. This provides students with new knowledge that is enriched with international insights and cultural awareness. </p>
<p>It also ensures that learning can continue to be accessed remotely from across the globe, no matter how uncertain the future higher education landscape becomes. But, for this to happen, higher education institutions must continue to adapt, and develop new ways to deliver programmes and courses. This will not only ensure they follow global trends and advances, but also make sure that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/apr/28/disabled-students-use-e-textbooks">education truly is accessible to all</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80497/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen O'Sullivan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The future of education is in the clouds.Helen O'Sullivan, Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for Online Learning, University of LiverpoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/874112017-11-15T12:32:17Z2017-11-15T12:32:17ZAlmost half of trans pupils have attempted suicide — schools must do more to challenge gender stereotypes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194623/original/file-20171114-26445-1m6jk1d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">More still needs to be done to improve trans pupils’ experiences.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="http://www.stonewall.org.uk/school-report-2017">recent report</a> by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender charity Stonewall, found that 80% of transgender youth have self-harmed, and 40% have attempted suicide. So the Church of England’s recent guidance to its schools, urging teachers to allow pupils to “explore the possibilities of who they might be without judgment”, is very welcome. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.churchofengland.org/media/4043522/ce-vagc-report-dl-v5-web.pdf">The document</a> advises teachers to allow pupils to explore gender creatively, and not negatively evaluate behaviour that doesn’t conform to stereotypes. This includes letting children dress up in typically “female” or “male” clothes, such as tutus or tool belts, whatever their gender.</p>
<p>The guidance has been welcomed by organisations supporting trans rights, such as <a href="https://twitter.com/Genderintell/status/930068969125548034">Gendered Intelligence</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/stonewalluk/status/929999393427685381">Stonewall</a>. It’s believed that challenging gender stereotypes early on means children who don’t conform to them will be less likely to experience bullying.</p>
<p>But the Church’s guidelines <a href="http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/878810/transgender-church-of-england-drag-queens-archbishop-of-canterbury-justin-welby-tutus">have also been criticised</a> for pushing a “transgender agenda”, in the same way <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5073601/Transgender-lessons-2-year-olds.html#ixzz4yKbgvlT0">schools</a> introducing kids to alternative sexual and gender identities have been. Recently, parents even removed their son from a <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-41224146">school</a> in the south of England, after it allowed another child to express their gender freely. </p>
<h2>Young voices</h2>
<p>As part of my <a href="https://queerlinglang.wordpress.com/2016/07/08/young-lgbt-voices/">research</a> into LGBT identities, I’ve worked with young transgender people. And while they don’t often have a voice in debates surrounding how children should be spoken to about gender, they’re the ones who best understand what they need. </p>
<p>In 2015, I interviewed a number of young people who again and again told me they just want to be accepted for who they are – as Zack, who was 15, explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Just respect it, even if you think it’s a phase – how are we supposed to work out who we are, if you’re contradicting who we’re trying to be?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Access to support was a main hurdle for all the young people in my study. They couldn’t find the information they needed at school, and didn’t know who they could talk to – 17-year-old Dan explained to me how it took him so long to find professional help that he considered suicide. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194636/original/file-20171114-26457-61oz7r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Let children explore gender identity.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Occasionally, LGBT issues were discussed in school, but as 19-year-old Kyle put it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Schools only care about the LGB side – they always forget the T. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The young people I spoke to also told me that, throughout school, they never heard anyone talk about trans issues or identities. Effectively, in school, trans people didn’t exist. Little wonder then that 19-year-old Bella felt trans kids were treated as freaks by their peers. She told me how she was often called “tranny” and “she-male” and received death threats on social media. </p>
<p>Zack also talked about the impossible position he was in whenever he had that most basic need – to use the loo. He was regularly intimidated by boys who wouldn’t let him use the “male” toilets at school. But if he tried to use the “female” toilets, he’d be threatened. Once, a group of girls said they’d stab him if he came into the “wrong” toilets again. </p>
<h2>Dignity for all</h2>
<p>Maybe if gender was discussed more openly from a young age, trans kids wouldn’t be seen as being so “different”. Rather than confusing children who aren’t transgender – as the critics fear – giving school pupils more awareness and knowledge could actually make them more compassionate. </p>
<p>Some schools are already working towards the goal of supporting students who don’t conform to gender norms – including an <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/london-school-girl-pupils-gender-neutral-identify-male-st-pauls-public-school-a7589701.html">all-girls school in London</a> which now allows trans or non-binary pupils to be known as such. Similarly, Cornwall council has provided <a href="https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/community-and-living/equality-and-diversity/cornwall-schools-transgender-guidance/">transgender guidance</a> to all schools in the county since 2012. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=392&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/194633/original/file-20171114-26426-23k3vk.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Let kids be kids, whatever their gender.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even though such guidelines didn’t exist at the schools the young people in my study went to, adults did try to help them. Unfortunately, though, they often got it wrong. Take Kyle’s teacher as an example. He announced to his class that Kyle was trans, saying “if anyone’s got a problem with that, come and see me”. Kyle felt humiliated, and that he’d been outed to his peers, who might not otherwise have realised that he was transgender. </p>
<p>To properly support transgender and non-binary youths, then, more needs to be done to understand what they need. Guidelines sent to schools are a step in the right direction, as they can encourage teachers not to reproduce gender stereotypes, and advise them on creating safe, gender-neutral spaces. But this isn’t enough on its own. </p>
<p>After all, when I asked the young people to define <a href="http://www.galop.org.uk/transphobia/">transphobia</a>, Dan said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s often just people getting things wrong because they’re uneducated about it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>And this makes it clear it’s not just children in schools who need education in this area.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>All names have been changed.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87411/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Jones does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New guidance urging schools to stop making pupils conform to gender stereotypes is a step in the right direction.Lucy Jones, Assistant Professor in Sociolinguistics, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/735742017-07-24T11:24:00Z2017-07-24T11:24:00ZFor some kids school holidays mean hunger and isolation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172697/original/file-20170607-11336-my8unv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food glorious food -- not for all children.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">pexels.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The school holidays, the best times of your life, right? Maybe not if you’re one of many families struggling to cope with the extra costs of food, activities and childcare. In fact for many families, rather than a summer spent frolicking in the sun, sea and sand, the school holidays are faced with dread. </p>
<p>A lot of this is down to the fact that for around 39 weeks of the year, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/552342/SFR20_2016_Main_Text.pdf">14% of children</a> from low income families across England have access to <a href="http://www.schoolfoodplan.com/actions/school-food-standards/">healthy</a>, free school lunches. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2010.01843.x/abstract">Some children also have breakfast at school</a>, which has led to the <a href="http://www.kelloggs.co.uk/content/dam/newton/images/masterbrand/UK/R5_Kelloggs%20Breakfast%20Club%20Audit%20APSE.pdf">rise of breakfast clubs</a>. But of course for many families, this can stop during the holidays when school food isn’t available. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.fillingtheholidaygap.org/APPG_Holiday_Hunger_Report_2015.pdf">A recent report</a> from a group of MPs shows that the school holidays are a challenging time for parents – with many families struggling to make ends meet. </p>
<p>This is a time when, for some families, food supplies are compromised – with parents skipping meals to feed their children. Families also often rely on cheap, convenience foods – that are seen as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534775/">more filling for less money</a> – than healthier options.</p>
<h2>Holiday hardships</h2>
<p>To help support families during the school holidays, many organisations have introduced holiday clubs. These clubs take place in school and community settings – such as church halls and community centres – to offer meals and activities to families during the school holidays. And our <a href="http://healthylivinguk.org/staff">Healthy Living research team</a> have been investigating how these types of holiday clubs make a difference to children and families. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534775/">Our research</a> shows that while parents do their best to make sure their children are fed, for some families the food they have available is limited. And within these families, the focus tends to be on making sure children feel full and less about whether the food is healthy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172698/original/file-20170607-30446-b0bix9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Holiday clubs are often about so much more than just food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We discovered that <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2016.00172/full">holiday clubs can help to support families</a>, giving them the chance to have healthy, balanced meals consistently across the school holidays. And that these types of clubs can also save families money by making food at home last longer – reducing the likelihood that families will skip meals. </p>
<h2>Access for all</h2>
<p>Accepting free food is already <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/jpsj/2016/00000024/00000003/art00005">something that is stigmatised</a> , but these types of clubs are often seen as a more acceptable way of supporting families. This is because many holiday clubs are open to anyone within their community. And this open access model is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534775/">highly valued</a> by parents and children alike, as it avoids having to single people out. </p>
<p>This is unlike some sources of food aid, like food banks, where <a href="http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/SPERI-Paper-18-food-poverty-in-the-UK.pdf">people usually have to be referred</a> by another organisation such as a doctor’s surgery or social services. This need for referral can be difficult because it involves highlighting certain people as vulnerable, which can be off-putting for those needing support. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172699/original/file-20170607-11289-83nim.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Holiday clubs can allow children to make new friendships.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More than just meals</h2>
<p>But not all families attend holiday clubs just to access food. families also go along for the range of activities on offer, which can include sports, crafts and cooking. </p>
<p>During the school holidays, especially the long summer break, parents can struggle to find enough suitable activities to keep their <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534775/">children entertained</a>. Activity and transport <a href="http://www.cpag.org.uk/sites/default/files/CPAG-Scot-Cost-School-Holidays-full%20report.pdf">costs and safety concerns</a> can also limit the number of activities families have available to them. This can lead to children and parents becoming isolated and less active – which might be why generally <a href="https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/news-centre/press-releases/2016/uk-schoolchildren-lose-fitness-during-lazy-summer-holidays.aspx">children’s fitness levels</a> improve during term time, but then decline during the school holidays. </p>
<p>But by providing families with regular activities, holidays clubs <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534775/">help families to stay active</a> and mix with other people from the local area. This is because, essentially, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4534775/">holiday clubs bring people together</a> – they help children and parents to make new friends and support them to keep in contact with friends they would usually only see around school during term time. </p>
<p>School holidays should be a happy time – giving children a chance to make memories that will last a lifetime – unfortunately though for many families, this is not always the case. But as our research shows, by providing food, fun and friendships, holiday clubs can go some way to help make this happen.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73574/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pamela L Graham has previously worked on research projects funded by Kellogg's, Brakes and Food Cardiff. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Greta Defeyter receives funding from Kellogg's, Brakes, and Food Cardiff</span></em></p>But holiday clubs can help.Pamela L Graham, Vice Chancellor's Research Fellow, Northumbria University, NewcastleGreta Defeyter, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.