Delivering subject content through nine life themes
Simon Coveney, the Republic of Ireland’s foreign affairs minister, said in a speech recently that democracy is “our world’s most precious metal, but if it is not looked after, it tarnishes easily”. In the USA – a country with a long history of democratic… Continue Reading “Active citizenship”
Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, declared this week that humanity had become “a weapon of mass extinction”, putting a million species at risk. The web of life that sustains our planet – everything from plants and animals to fungi and micro-organisms – faces an… Continue Reading “Campaign for School Gardening”
The England men’s football team fell short of cementing their place in history by lifting the World Cup, but millions of us came together to watch their progress, and the consensus seems to be that they gave a good account of themselves, with the… Continue Reading “Children’s activity levels”
We will have a merry Xmas, declares today’s Daily Express front-page headline defiantly. “Britons are determined to splash what’s left of their cash to make the most of Christmas”, it says, as if a mad spending spree is the answer to all our current… Continue Reading “Physical literacy and mental health”
It didn’t trouble the headline-writers but the National Trust’s just-published annual audit of how the year’s weather has affected nature ought to be at the forefront of our minds as we assess the year that is ending, formulate new year’s resolutions and generally look… Continue Reading “Review of the year”
Education was briefly back in the headlines this week with the hype ahead of the prime minister Rishi Sunak’s ‘Building a better future’ speech that all young people should be learning mathematics up to the age of 18. His argument is that a growing… Continue Reading “New thinking in education”
What better way to shake off the after-effects of a late night or pick yourself up if you’re feeling a bit down than by going for a walk – especially if you are lucky enough to have easy access to green space. The evidence… Continue Reading “Opening up the countryside”
The opening line from a recent government blog on its Education Hub site was certainly encouraging: “Education is one of the key tools we have in the fight against climate change,” it said. We now have a bit more information about two initiatives –… Continue Reading “National Education Nature Park”
A new study on attitudes to raising children suggests that present-day parents in the UK place a high value on their children displaying good manners and being tolerant and respectful, just like parents did a generation ago. However, it also indicates that UK parents… Continue Reading “What matters to parents”
Post-16 education in England is about to be transformed by a much-needed reform package or thrown into chaos by “unworkable gimmicks” introduced for short-term political gain. Delete according to taste. Or – a third alternative – nothing fundamental will end up changing at all.… Continue Reading “Transforming post-16 education”