What is the easiest way to solve the issues raised by the Childhood Obesity Strategy.

The new Childhood Obesity Strategy, which was made compulsory this term in England and is voluntary in the rest of the UK, has now been introduced by many schools, according to the latest research.

This new directive requires all primary schools in England to provide 30 minutes of physical activity on a daily basis to all children in the school, in addition to 2 hours of PE.

Research undertaken in November suggests that there are two main reasons as to why some schools have delayed implementation; these relate both to funding and to how the compulsory 30 minutes a day activity can practically be introduced into lessons.

Fortunately, since the announcement of the new strategy solutions have been found to both the issue of funding and to the issue of the practicality of introducing the activity to all pupils every day, no matter what the weather.

In terms of the funding, the PE and Sport Premium funding is being provided jointly by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport, and has been allocated to heads of primary schools in England.

By way of example, the average primary school with 250 children will receive £18,500 Obesity Strategy funding this academic year.  The release is in tranches with the 1st  7/12ths already taking place in November and the 2nd 5/12ths in May.  As for the additional activity, there are a growing range of resources that can be used in class as part of each lesson.  This means that children don’t require specialist PE activities each day nor do they have to go outside; the funding can instead be used to provide resources to use in the classroom as part of their lessons.

The government has also confirmed that these activities within lessons are to be counted as physical activity – which is extremely helpful during the winter.  This also avoids putting undue pressure on colleagues who take PE lessons.

Free trials of the lessons are available on the Free Trial Lesson page of our website. And if you have any questions please do phone 0114 2661061 or email enquiries@imoves.com.

‘IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE SOLUTION;  YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM!’

Whilst pupils are continuously instructed not to bully, and given advice about what to do and who to tell if they are being bullied, it seems that there is much less advice for pupils who are neither the bully nor the bullied – the witnesses.

Yet, the witnesses are in perhaps the most powerful position of all when it comes to eradicating bullying, not least because their account of a situation is likely to be unbiased and can put ‘he said, she said, he did, she did’ situations to rest.

With this in mind, we are giving away a copy of one of the assembly stories from the volume, More Brilliant Stories for Assemblies, which touches on said theme.

In short: Ranpresh is terrified of ‘The Gang’ and gets attacked on the way home from school. Hannah is a witness but she is afraid to do anything about it. At last she finds the courage to be part of the solution rather than being part of the problem.

CLICK HERE to get a FREE COPY of the assembly story: THE WITNESS  

For more information or to order More Brilliant Stories for Assemblies for £17.99 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-book, or both for £21.89, please visit: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/more-brilliant-stories-for-assemblies-248

Alternatively, you can place an order:

  • over the phone on 01449 766629
  • by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
  • by fax on 01449 767122
  • by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.

Debate Chamber 2018

Debate chamber

Debate Chamber courses offer students the opportunity to find out more about some fascinating subjects, prepare for university applications, meet like-minded peers and get to grips with some tough intellectual challenges.

In addition to our usual summer schools, we are pleased to announce a small number of one- and two-day courses, taking place in late February 2018. These will cover some of the most popular subject options, and offer a chance for students to get a taste of their chosen discipline in advance of our main summer school programme.

Click on the individual event details below for details and to book your place:

PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) Weekend – 24th – 25th February

Medicine Weekend – 24th – 25th February

History Masterclass – 24th February

Mathematics Masterclass – 24th February

Physics Masterclass – 25th February

International Relations Masterclass – 25th February

English Literature Masterclass – 25th February

Practical Details

These courses are all suitable for students aged 15-18, and will be held at Student Central, University of London, Bloomsbury Campus.

You can find full details of all our courses – schedules, costs, student reviews and tutors at www.debatechamber.com.

There is a limited amount of bursary funding available for students who would otherwise have financial difficulty in attending – please see our here for details.

To book a place on any course please visit www.debatechamber.com call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

What are the most effective ways of addressing the underachievement of boys?

There is a significant amount of evidence concerning the various ways in which different schools have looked at addressing the problem of the underachievement of boys.

Curiously the research finds that some of the more popular approaches to dealing with this problem are actually among the least effective.

Certainly many teachers would agree where the problems lie, with issues such as male learning styles, and the whole issue of boys’ participation in education.

There are also such areas as addressing literacy concerns, a male-inclusive classroom, and the importance of creating a whole-school strategy.

It is with these concerns in mind that the one day evidence based experiential workshop “The Boy Problem: Raising boys’ achievement” which can take place in your school at a time to suite you and your colleagues.

This three hour course was described as An engaging and thought-provoking session that was a great way to start the new academic year” by  Bob Owers, Headteacher, Churston Ferrers Grammar School, Brixham, Devon in September 2017

There are more details about the course on our website at The Boy Problem: Raising Boys Achievement

For more information or to discuss a booking, you can contact Liam by email at liam@mengage.co.uk or by phone on 07788725318.

Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.mengage.co.uk to see what else we offer with regards to mental health and accredited mentoring.