Schooling

Do primary schools need more male teachers?

A comment from a Mum at the school gates the other day got me thinking about the disparity between the number of male and female teachers in UK primary schools. She mentioned how nice it was that they had a male football coach for an after school club and how it was good for her boy who didn’t have a constant male role model at home, as many children don’t. All the teachers and staff at my…
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Schooling

SUMMER BRAIN DRAIN COSTS UK SCHOOLS OVER £105 MILLION EVERY SEPTEMBER

As teachers across the country return to classrooms this week, research out today reveals that teachers spend up to four weeks going over old ground in September as a result of ‘summer brain drain’. According to a survey commissioned by LeapFrog’s reading and writing solution, LeapReader, at least £105 million* will be lost during September reversing the effects of ‘summer brain…
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Schooling

BACK TO SCHOOL TIPS: 10 Ways to help children settle back in to their usual sleep routine

The back to school countdown has well and truly begun. Whilst new uniforms and lunch boxes will definitely be on the ‘to do’ list, one thing parents may want to consider is adjusting children’s sleep back in to their usual routine following the summer of later nights and lazier mornings. Dave Gibson, sleep expert at London bed makers Warren Evans shares his sleep adjustment tips to help…
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Schooling

Back to school essentials 2013

With the new school year looming, it’s time to consider those essential buys – from the uniform and school bags to lunchboxes and stationary. Here is a list of school essentials tested and chosen by London Mums. SCHOOL WEAR Fairtrade uniform products Fairtrade uniform products feel more luxurious in quality than the supermarkets’ equivalent items. The price is equally competitive so when…
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Schooling

Back-to-school costs are punishing parents

Pricey school uniforms should be dropped in favour of plain clothes and a badge. PARENTS are being forced to spend hundreds of pounds kitting out their children for the new school year, a Family Action report has found. The Big Stitch-Up finds that the average annual back-to-school cost – including uniforms, coats, bags and stationery – is now £156 for a child at primary school and £285 for…
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Schooling

Could you confidently advise your child on post-school education options?

As the schools break up, it’s natural that many parents of children in the mid-to-late teens will be preoccupied with what their son or daughter is going to do when they finish school for the last time. With economic uncertainty continuing and rising youth unemployment, there’s a lot of pressure on both parents and young people to make the right decision. It’s worrying then, that AAT…
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Schooling

Fairtrade school uniform - have you swapped?

With back to school steadily creeping up, parents will have the same old concern that they have year on year, buying the ‘right’ school uniform. However recently, buying the ‘right’ school uniform no longer just means the correct uniform for the school, which fits well, washes well, is comfortable and increasingly fashionable etc.  Nowadays the ‘right’ uniform should also be ethical…
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Schooling

Further education – the next step for your child?

As children approach the end of formal education, it’s a time full of big decisions. They might want to complete A-Levels, go to university, but if they are not sure yet what to do, further education could be the answer. At the recent Big Bang Fair in London, Automobile engineering was one of the areas preferred by boys in particular. And it’s an industry that is expanding and requires new…
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Schooling

Parents call for greater access to drinking water in primary schools

According to a new research, children are not getting access to basic drinking water requirements at school, despite Department of Education guidelines. This is particularly sensitive now that the government plans to allow childminders and nursery staff to look after more children in England. The survey carried out by the Natural Hydration Council (NHC) with Netmums included in-depth focus…
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Schooling

WITH 63% OF UK 11-14 YEAR OLDS UNABLE TO EVEN SPELL ‘ACHIEVEMENT’ HOW CAN WE EXPECT OUR NEXT GENERATION TO BE SUCCESSFUL?

The news of the UK’s slipping education standards is worrying: From not knowing who invaded England in 1066 to which century WW2 was in, these shocking statistics gathered over the last 12 months are a bit distressful. Despite exam results going up each year, new research by the teacher-set exam revision service, Education Quizzes, confirms our fears: young people are struggling to keep up…
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