How to help the planet in 2026- Monday News Issue 193
- Matthew Paminter
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
“The magic in new beginnings is truly the most powerful of them all”
Events this week:
January 14th- January 31st- Mentoring Month 2026
January 14th- Work Harder Day 2026
January 17th- International Mentoring Day 2026
January 18th- World Religion Day 2026
Videos of the week
Protein: Everything You Need to Know
From protein pitfalls to considered choices, Gemma Atkinson, Dr Jack Mosley and Lucy Watson cut through the hype to discover the truth about the consumer health obsession
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 90 mins)
Event of the week/month
International Mentoring Day 2026
Whether it’s guiding someone through their career path, offering life advice, or helping a mentee unlock their potential, mentorship is one of the most powerful tools for growth and connection in our personal and professional lives. And International Mentoring Day provides a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on these invaluable relationships.
In 2026, International Mentoring Day will be celebrated on January 17th as part of National Mentoring Month, a month-long celebration that emphasizes the importance of mentoring, encourages participation in mentoring programs, and raises awareness about the value of mentorship.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 30 mins)
Safeguarding & ED & I
Back to Basics: Reinforcing Safeguarding Principles for the New Year
January is the perfect time to stress-test your safeguarding system end to end. Begin with the essentials: confirm your Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and deputies are clearly identified, appropriately trained and have protected time for their role. Review escalation routes and thresholds for Early Help and statutory referrals and check that Local Authority contact details (MASH/Children’s Services and LADO) are up to date in your policy and on staff noticeboards.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 40 mins)
Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy Targets Online and Offline Abuse
The government has announced a major new Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy, aiming to halve abuse within the next decade through what it describes as the largest crackdown in British history.
Key measures include specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams in every police force across England and Wales, improving victim support and strengthening action against perpetrators. Around 200 rapes are recorded daily, with many more going unreported.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 30 mins)
Digital Risks in Early Years: What Practitioners Need to Know
Even very young children encounter digital content at home and in early years settings, so your approach to online safety should be practical and proportionate. Start by establishing a clear policy that covers staff use of devices, secure Wi-Fi, filtering and monitoring where relevant, image and video recording, and consent expectations for parents and carers. Support families by addressing common risks such as inappropriate content, commercial pressure and in-app purchases, location sharing, and oversharing (including “sharenting”).
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Mental Health and Family Instability: A Rising Safeguarding Priority
Recent data shows a significant shift in the landscape of safeguarding referrals, with mental health and substance misuse now surpassing domestic abuse as the leading causes. This trend is particularly relevant for further education (FE) providers, where learners often face the ripple effects of family instability.
FE providers are reporting increased cases of student anxiety, self-harm, and emotional distress with many incidences linked to breakdowns at home. In response, safeguarding teams are strengthening early help pathways and deepening collaboration with external agencies to ensure timely, holistic support.
As we move into 2026, FE professionals are encouraged to remain vigilant, foster open dialogue with learners, and embed trauma-informed practices into their safeguarding frameworks.that suggest the person is unsuitable to work in regulated activity, even if there is no criminal conviction or caution.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Health & Safety
Building healthy boundaries for a fresh start to the new year
As the new year gets closer, many of us start making big promises about how the next one will be better - getting healthier, earning more, or prioritising what feels most meaningful. But as we cross the finish line of 2025, one thing that can really support your mental wellbeing is setting healthy boundaries. We asked an expert to share some simple, helpful tips for setting better boundaries in the year ahead.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
How to improve your sleep behaviour
Sleep is important for our wellbeing, and a lack of shut-eye can affect everything from performance at work to immune function. As one in five of us aren't getting enough sleep, we explore the best ways to improve sleep behaviour.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Health & Safety Resolutions for the New Year
The New Year marks the perfect time for businesses to assess their current health and safety strategy, making any necessary changes and resolutions to follow in the upcoming year.
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 30 mins)
Wider Curriculum
Functional Skills Maths – Top Tips
Maths is an important part of an apprenticeship programme, and apprentices cannot sit their End Point Assessment without prior achievement of Maths and English. However, Functional Skills Maths causes anxiety for many learners across the country. We regularly hear learners say, “I’m rubbish at Maths”, “I am never going to understand it” or “this has nothing to do with Early Years!”. Research has confirmed that maths anxiety is linked to poor maths performance, and negative experiences of Maths can impact your motivation or confidence to study.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Add these 2 routines to your workday in 2026, says focus and productivity expert
With 2026 around the corner, many people are eyeing tips and tricks to bring into the new year at home and at work.
And while many are considering a new morning or evening routine, there are two other routines you might want to incorporate into your schedule, specifically at work, to better focus when you need to and disconnect at the end of the day, says Cal Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University and author of several books on focus and productivity.
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Sustainability
How to help the planet in 2026: Seven eco-friendly New Year’s resolutions
The start of a new year offers the perfect opportunity to pick up new skills and introduce new habits, particularly ones that make a genuine difference to the health of the planet.
Whether you’re hoping to shrink your carbon footprint, support biodiversity or make smarter choices every day, here are seven things you can do in 2026 to help protect the natural world.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)
Three climate New Year’s resolutions that will fail
Four in five adults in the UK say they have changed their lifestyle to help tackle environmental change. The New Year is a good time to implement changes to behaviour, but our willpower is finite.
The secret isn’t to be more virtuous, but to be strategic.
If you want 2026 to be the year you make a difference without burning out, here is what the evidence suggests you should prioritise – and what you should ignore.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning if it links to the knowledge, skills, and behaviours in your apprenticeship standard – Approx. 20 mins)`
Comments