Schools Reading Support Service

Reading Matters was established in Leeds in 1997 as a training and volunteer network. Based in Bradford, West Yorkshire as a registered charity not-for-profit social enterprise, Reading Matters recruit, train and place volunteers in secondary schools to work as Reading Mentors. Here they work using reading support materials on a one-to-one basis with children who are struggling with their reading.

Reading is a basic life skill that most people take for granted. Imagine for a moment you cannot read the instructions on a bottle of prescription medicine or that you find it difficult to read the job adverts in the local paper. In the UK today an estimated 5 million adults do not meet this basic standard of literacy.

It is vital that children are encouraged to become competent readers in order to benefit from secondary education. Reading Matters offers a range of tried and tested interventions and training programmes that can have a direct impact on this statistic.

The Reading Matters training course for Reading mentors includes:

• understanding of why some young people struggle to read confidently
  

• practical techniques to help support reading
  

• guidance on choosing books, games and other resources to motivate the reluctant reader
  

Reading Matters has linked to Keen2learn to provide logistics support with a selection of key resources to encourage reluctant readers. Selected from the market leaders suppliers the reading resources comprise of reading games, special books developed for reluctant readers and an on-line reading service MightyBook.

To see the full report see Reading Support at keen2learn

Turn A Shower Into An Educational Game

They say education is a lifelong journey. Difficult to comprehend when you are at school slogging through lessons and exams but learning can be greater fun when turned into an educational game. Take a practical application and apply as many subjects that have been learned in the classroom.

This morning I took a shower, a frequent occurrence I hasten to add, but today I had one of those eureka moments – a tribute perhaps to that other rather more famous bather. Have you ever thought how much science is involved in the process of taking a shower?

To highlight the point I have used the following abbreviations as each topic appeared during my ablutions.

• Biology (B)
• Physics (P)
• Chemistry (C)
• Maths (M)
• Citizenship (City)
• Psychology (Psy)
• Geography (G)
• Geology (Geo)
• English Language (Eng)

The first question to loom up is why we take a shower? The experience is functional in removing body odours created by bacteria, (B) but also physiological as it induces endorphins that help wake you up and make you feel good (Psy) Removal of body odours also makes you a little less undesirable to others nearby ( City).

The water is fed from a header tank under gravity- thanks to Newton (P) – and as I’m a devout wuss, heated. Energy is consumed to heat the water by the conversion of electrical energy into heat P). This is measured in watts, the result of multiplying volts by amperes (M +P).

Responding to marketing persuasion I have been attracted to the delights of a power shower. The increased force (P) boosts the endorphins (B) but unfortunately uses 12 times the amount of water (Geo) than the gravity shower all of which has to be heated (P ) This is draining the natural resources, literally, of water and power causing environmental concerns (forgot to add the code for the environment – that’s an (E). The availability of water depends on geography (G) and the natural storage which locally are aquifers (Geo).

Being male I have a predilection to B.o.g.o.f offers ( buy one get one free) in supermarkets and anything in blue packaging (Psy) The resultant over purchase of needless stock (M) led to a ban by my wife (City)that means all shower products used have her stamp of approval and sensible supply level.

Today’s showering experience was a cornucopia of non blue ingredients. The shampoo promised a “Fruitful Infusion” to produce a “Dazzling Shine” (Eng) from the passion flower, patchouli and vetiver ingredients(B). The conditioner provided “Tangle free hair with uplifted volume” enhancing the dazzle effect by way of a “Citrus lift”(Eng) from tangerine, lemongrass and aloe vera (B) And the rest of the body below the head was in turn subjected to “Serious pampering”(Eng) from fennel (B) and sea mineral (C) based in a silky smooth shower gel (C).

The post shower application of talcum powder, contained talc mineral (C+Geo). The deodorant, promising to maintain a “desert – dry”(Eng) atmosphere under the arms (B +G) from aluminium zirconium trichlorohydrex (C). The aftershave contained alcohol ( C).

In the space of 5 minutes I had consumed 150 litres of water, 4 kilowatts of energy (P), half an alpine meadow of additives, and drained the lot away to the water treatment works where they will use bacteria (B) to break the ingredients free from the water, and off we go again.

Taking a simple shower will seem a lot busier from now on. My shower involved 34 applications of science and learning and a lot of fun to see just how many links with education can exist.

Alistair Owens operates an educational games web site and writes on educational matters for a wide range of publications.

Self Esteem Learning for Children

It’s off to school; hat, coat, school books, dinner money and a great slice of trepidation are ready. Our ability to learn may be linked to intelligence and concentration, but the greatest influence is the feeling of well-being. Self Esteem plays a critical role in commitment and our ability to excel.

So what influences our feeling of self esteem? Clearly as a significant function it needs careful analysis and nurturing to ensure the optimum condition prevails. We need to understand where we can support those who would benefit from this attention and in what form.

The annual performance appraisal in adult circumstances can be extremely rewarding for both parties if used properly. Equally it can be disruptive if misused as the opportunity to castigate and focus on the negatives elements of performance. I am a great believer in the need for continuous appraisal. It takes the sting out of a situation, provides immediate beneficial feedback allowing corrective or progressive actions to be taken promptly.

Storing problems merely to coincide with an appraisal is a total waste of the opportunity to encourage an individual to develop. Schoolchildren need a regular check more than ever up to reassure, encourage and provide positive corrective support. Yet this element is predominately overlooked. “How was it at school today” is hardly an approach that will reveal the full facts. A child with low self esteem may miss the opportunity to open up preferring anonymity than having to explain their feelings.

The skill is to overcome any reluctance for a child to open up. How often have we heard of incidents of a child being bullied at school that has gone unmentioned or a child struggling in lessons which only came to light in the end of term or annual report? Low self esteem has a self destruct element. Careful and progressive handling is required to nurture a positive response that can make the world of difference. Lessons become enjoyable personalities develop, general outlook and demeanour develops a positive theme and individuals become less of a target with bullies.

There a number of books and games developed to encourage positive self esteem. Possibly one of the best is the range developed by two sisters, both mothers who are passionate about children feeling good. With backgrounds in Psychology, complimentary therapy, counselling and Art and Design the sisters put their skills together to design and produce a fun, educational range of products including board games, books, relaxation CD’s and positive affirmation cards.

The range developed as educational games features four fun, funky, multi cultural characters called the Feel Good Friends who help children in different ways to gain confidence and self esteem. The range teaches children about feelings, emotions, empathy, kindness, sharing and caring and helps to change negative beliefs into positive beliefs. Most importantly children get to explore their feelings and emotions in a fun, safe way.

The products are popular with Parents, Teachers, Foster Carers, Social workers, play therapists, members of the Children and Family Court Service and other professionals working with children.

Since launching in 2006 Feel Good Friends have won business awards and a community Impact award. The Feel Good Faces board game was short listed for the UK TES and NASEN Inclusive Resource for Primary Classrooms Award as well as being highly recommended at the Toy Awards 2007

Parents Playing Truant At Parents Meetings

Traditional parents’ evenings are becoming less popular and schools should consider other ways to communicate with families, the schools secretary, Ed Balls, said today, 7th May 2008

Speaking at an event today on the government’s Parent Know How programme, which aims to develop new and innovative ways of helping parents access information and support, Balls said research shows parents prefer informal chats with schools staff instead of parents evenings and want to get information on their children’s progress on-line.

While evening meetings will continue to have a role, Balls urged schools to keep parents up to date in ways that better fit their busy lives.

A survey of 5,000 adults for the Department for Children, Schools and Families showed that since 2001 the proportion who saw parents’ evenings as the “most useful” way of communicating has dropped from 43% to just 19%.

Parents now see communicating with schools through “informal discussions with school staff” as the most useful way of finding out about their child’s progress.

Half of parents felt very involved in their child’s education in 2007, up from 29% in 2001. Two-thirds of parents (65%) wanted to be even more involved, the research found.

Balls said: “We know parents are increasingly involved in their child’s education - and want to do even more. See the full report in the Guardian

Dads Falling Behind In the Bedtime Reading Stakes

The vital role of dads in bedtime reading is under threat, new research by the National Year of Reading reveals less than half of dads (42 per cent) say they regularly read bedtime stories to their children, while mums are twice as likely (76 per cent) to do so, despite bedtime reading being one of the best ways of establishing the reading habit in children.

Work pressures including stress and long hours were the main barrier for 58 per cent of dads, while a lack of confidence meant one in ten felt the role was better suited to mums. Boys are falling behind girls when it comes to reading* and more male readers as role models would help redress this.

The study of over 2,000 adults was conducted by the National Year of Reading and YouGov as part of a campaign to raise awareness of the pressures dads face and the impact this has on children’s reading habits. Read the full article

Are Parents, Children or Schools Responsible For Failing Exams?

The trepidation of waiting for the annual exam results does not just apply to school children. At the moment parents are discovering if they have been successful in their application for their child's place in a preferred school. Naturally we regard the performance of a school is entirely due to the skill of the teaching team, but one of the greatest influences in the teaching environment is the effect parents have in the performance.

Changes in the social environment, and the assumed responsibilities of families have evolved over the years. Many schools cite increasing pressure and workload from dealing with issues that have been abandoned by the family. Discipline seems to be the greatest concern, creating problems with the control of the classroom and a challenge to authority. Hardly conducive to a focus on learning and inevitably the prerequisite to a dysfunctional adult life for the child involved.

The schools best able to cope have retained a level of control and a teaching team that achieved good results for the children. No surprise that these schools are much sought after and strive to maintain their position in the league tables. But they suffer from their own success as a proportion of parents have been resorted to lie and cheat to meet the entrance criteria. Unbounded by any social responsibility this regrettable activity hardly sets the ideal role model for their children and wastes valuable resource in its detection.

Around 240,000 children fail to get into the school of their choice each year so it is easy to see the temptation to manipulate the application details and accept that some parents would feel they had failed if they did not. It’s a double edged sword. But now more grist to the mill; figures announced in May 08 reveal 24,000 teachers are classed as failing and should not be in the job, up from the 17,000 assessed as failing last year. At 5% they are a small percentage of the c.450,000 full time equivalent teachers in the UK but lets say the figures are still understated by 20% and really there are 28,800 failing teachers. The outcome is staggering as these failing teachers are involved in teaching children who are subsequently penalised. The average class size is 30 thus 720,000 children suffer as a consequent but this assumes the poor teachers only handle a single class. In reality they handle several classes at secondary level. Let’s assume five classes and the resultant number of children disadvantaged reaches a staggering 3,600,000. Doesn’t bear thinking about, but what are schools doing about it? The procedure to remove a poor teacher is so arduous that many schools have taken the alternative route to persuade them to move on to another school merely recycling the problem. So can we really criticize parents wanting to get their children into the better schools.

The ideal outcome would be the appearance of a greater number of good schools and the allocation of greater involvement of parents in the schooling process throughout their child’s attendance at school. This would swell the teaching numbers with an auxiliary team drawn from the 7.4 million households with school aged children. Suddenly the teaching capacity of the UK is swelled by a huge reserve that can only benefit our children. Parenting issues that clutter the school can be effectively redirected and schools allowed to focus on academic content. Modern teaching resources used in class to support lessons are predominately educational games. These are ideal to replicate the lesson content at home as practice. All we need now is the coordination of this massive resource, at least it will help compensate for a child failing to gain entry to a preferred school, being taught by a failing teacher, or a school cluttered by social burdens

You can see an example of the educational games and teaching resources used in school .

Sage Or Technocrat As The Ideal Teaching Resources.

The role of a modern teacher is not easy. The objective to impart knowledge, instil a learning ability, an interest in learning and ultimately groom their students towards examination success posses many challenges in modern schooling. The expectations of parents, educational authorities, the schools inspectorate and changes in society are a growing challenge to the average teacher resulting in a significant number falling by the wayside.

The dilemma is how to provide the ideal modern teaching resource extending from early learning through primary to secondary and high school. We need to compare the honed skill of the experienced teacher applying the traditional approach, able to control a class of mixed ability, with that of a computer literate vogue fledgling teacher. But in the contemporary school which has the greater relevance? Modern technology has resulted in significant changes to the teaching resources now used in school. Sophisticated software and a games approach to learning can enliven the class lesson content immeasurably compared to 15 years ago. Educationalists have developed a fun learning approach to education, turning many a dull subject into educational games. This approach has even spurred eminent scholars in education research on the University campus to recognise the advantage of applying greater video game content in education.

But still that question, which of the teaching skills is therefore better matched to the modern classroom. The mature disciplinarian versus the technocrat. A few years ago I had a conversation with a large supplier of “whiteboards” that have appeared in many classrooms. This sophisticated piece of modern electronic wizardry allows the teacher to project information onto a class sized interactive screen and interface with a computer program. The problem is the computer literacy required to make them work effectively is not second nature to many otherwise skilled teachers and many have tended to switch them off having spent most of the lesson trying to master the operation. The supplier found a significant number being used only as a modern “blackboard” with dry wipe pens used instead of chalk. This expensive technical stand-off can be perhaps personified by the “video chasm”, where parents rely on children to operate the video or DVD recorder.

Yet technology is a core element of the curriculum and needs cohesive introduction, or does it? Can anyone recall giving instruction to children on the operation of a mobile phone? Doubtless the skill wasn’t taught at school yet the average child’s speed of operation and use of a phone’s features is phenomenal. Children learn from experimentation, the buzz of immediate feedback and peer support. The hands -on approach has a significant benefit. It would seem there is a need for a mixture of instruction at school and experimentation that might have to extend beyond the school timetable.

So who does make the better teacher; the mature disciplinarian or the technocrat? I believe the mature approach has the edge. Learning is a process that benefits from a sound structure that can be enhanced by technology rather than replaced by it. The early building blocks for learning need to be put in place correctly to guide and enthuse. If this is enhanced through an element of fun in learning English games rather than pure text book slog then so much the better, but in the long run it is the steady experienced and proven approach rather than the fashionable that wins through. Yet the time served teacher is under threat as many are leaving the profession early due to the mounting pressures of the role. And of equal concern the young fledgling that would ultimately become the next generation of mature teacher is also falling by the wayside, with a significant number of new teachers leaving the profession within three years.Perhaps we need to turn education inside out and really get to understand the needs, motivation and experience of teachers and how the system should be best configured. Maybe the experience of an Ofsted inspection on the bureaucrats behind the system could be the start.