Displaying items by tag: Education

There are concerns some schools in lockdown could be inundated with pupils without laptops after a change to the vulnerable pupil list. Pupils are learning remotely in England after schools shut to all but children of key workers and the vulnerable. But those without laptops or space to study are now eligible to attend school, under government guidance. National Association of Head Teachers general secretary Paul Whiteman said demand for key worker and vulnerable places in schools had risen substantially since the last school shutdown. ‘We have concern that the Government has not supplied enough laptops for all the children without them, and so has made lack of internet access a criterion of vulnerability - adding to the numbers still in school.’

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover, and gain control of their future. Early childhood education is critical for all children, particularly during a crisis like the Covid pandemic. For children who have experienced war and displacement - many of whom have lived their whole lives as refugees - it can be a lifeline, healing emotional and developmental wounds caused by years of trauma. The pandemic has hit displaced and vulnerable families the hardest, as in-person programmes have been put on hold for safety concerns. Now the IRC has adapted and uses digital tools to reach children and their families directly in their homes. It equips parents to create a nurturing and predictable home learning environment that fosters children's resilience during times of crisis and provides caregivers with ways to manage their own stress.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson has urged British university vice-chancellors to adopt the international definition of anti-Semitism. He warned them that he would act if ‘the overwhelming majority’ of universities had not adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism by the end of the year; they could even have ‘funding streams’ suspended. He said it was disturbing that a recent survey by the Union of Jewish Students showed only 29 out of 133 universities had adopted the IHRA definition, and 80 said they had no current plans to do so. Mr Williamson said, ‘The repugnant belief that anti-Semitism is somehow a less serious, or more acceptable, form of racism has taken insidious hold in some parts of British society. I am quite clear that universities must play their part in rooting out this attitude and demonstrating that anti-Semitism is abhorrent.’

Centres of Hope are Christian schools open to anybody regardless of faith background. They want to show Jesus’s love to the community, and they don’t attach conditions to entry. But they do want to make sure that they show Jesus as the real source of hope. Young children and teenagers do separate activities. The young ones dance and sing songs about Jesus and watch biblical stories and funny sketches by staff. The teenagers watch a Christian movie and then discuss it. But like everywhere, Syria has taken measures to prevent coronavirus spreading. Many centres temporarily closed, and staff refocused efforts towards humanitarian and emergency aid. Now the centres are re-opening, and they are praying that they will reach even larger numbers of children to show them the love of God and to tell them the good news of salvation.

The number of secondary schools in England sending home pupils because of Covid is increasing rather than diminishing. 21% of secondary schools are not fully open - up from 18% the previous week and 8% in mid-September. This is usually because they have sent home pupils in response to Covid cases. About 7% of primary schools had to send home pupils, up from 5%. These weekly figures from the Department for Education show a worsening picture for secondary schools being disrupted by the pandemic, with the highest figure for groups of pupils being sent home since schools went back in the autumn. Pray for the teachers having difficulty operating in the midst of rising infection rates. Pray for God to give them the stamina and wisdom to successfully balance complex control measures while delivering education for those in school as well as those who are self-isolating at home.

Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other faith group parents have commenced a judicial review into the new relationships and sex education curriculum. The judicial review, launched by Let Kids Be Kids Coalition, will challenge the education secretary's decision to prevent parents from withdrawing their children from relationships lessons that came into effect on 1 September. The mandatory curriculum includes transgender and LGBTQ topics. While schools are required to consult parents on the lessons content, parents do not have any right of veto. Parents voiced concern that books on sexual orientation and gender dysphoria, like 'King and King', 'And Tango Makes Three' and 'My Princess Boy' are becoming normalised in primary schools and relationships education had become ‘sex education by a different name’. They do not want children exposed to ideologies that do not reflect the family’s religious convictions and are crowdfunding to cover the legal costs of their challenge.

A leading epidemiologist warned the country is at a ‘critical moment’ in the pandemic, as students prepare to return to universities. Students moving across the country could cause a wave of infection. Data showed the highest number of detected infections was in younger people. Government scientific advisors said ‘significant outbreaks’ linked to universities were likely. Pray for University administrators and lecturers to have heavenly wisdom as they take steps to minimise risks on campuses. Current strategies include online teaching, grouping students together within year groups, putting in place local testing and tracing policies and no freshers’ week for 1st-year students. The University and College Union cannot see why the government insists students move around the country and engage in unnecessary face-to-face interactions. Also, online learning ‘would remove any need to open doors and windows in the winter months as the guidance suggests’. See also NOTE:  The Students Union wants a balance between personal teaching and online teaching; not least because many have paid £ thousands for local accommodation!.

As schools across the UK reopen, teachers could face an influx of children facing an emotional and mental health crisis. Pray for teachers, parents, churches, and agencies who will be working to alleviate an expected emotional health crisis. Pray for the teachers, who will already be aware of the specific challenges that their community faces. May God anoint each one as they draw on their skills to provide emotional and academic guidance. Some children may not have held a pen or got up at 7am since March; consequently different pupils in the same class will have had different experiences of the lockdown period. They will also have varying levels of coping skills and resilience in dealing with those experiences. Teachers attempting to help these children may feel overwhelmed themselves. Pray that they are wisely supported by outside agencies and community groups. Pray for children displaying challenging behaviour to receive appropriate extra mental health support.

Some children may be feeling excited about the easing of some of the lockdown restrictions. But it is also normal for children and young people to feel anxious about it. During lockdown they have spent long periods of time at home and are living with uncertainty about the coming weeks and months. Moving out of lockdown might be worrying, and some may find it difficult to adjust. Before the pandemic some were already suffering bullying, cyber bullying, school challenges, or relationship challenges. Coming out of lockdown for these more vulnerable children may cause them to fear meeting up with others at school. They may need some time to adjust to the new situation. Also some parents will be struggling to decide whether their child should go back to school at the moment. Pray that they will feel comfortable in deciding what is right for the entire family.

Eight million children were sent home from school in March. A majority of them struggled to continue learning during lockdown. Of the 52% who struggled, three-quarters of their parents said lack of motivation was the reason. There were also wide disparities in what families were able to do. Although under one in ten parents complained about lack of devices to work on, this rate doubled for single parents. Also nearly a third of working parents said the requirement to homeschool their children had been negatively affecting their job. See A-level and GCSE results are expected to be higher this summer with exam boards basing their grades on previous exam results, the previous year’s distribution of grades in the school, how schools ranked their pupils, and their teachers' predictions. However there is a risk that some pupils could be discriminated against. Back-up exams will be available for all subjects in the autumn.