“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty”
Events this week:
January 20th- Blue Monday 2025
January 20th- 26th - Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2025
January 21st- Race Against Dementia Day 2025
January 23rd- National Reading Day 2025
January 24th- International Day of Education 2025
January 26th- World Leprosy Day 2025
Legislation/Regulation of the week
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill explained.
Major reforms to protect thousands of vulnerable children hidden from sight will take another crucial step forward, as the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is debated in Parliament (8 January 2025).
Children not in school registers, stronger powers for councils to make sure children are getting the right education, and a unique identifying number for every child are part of major reforms to help tackle the tragedy of children vanishing from education and protect young people from exploitation, grooming and abuse.
(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)
Please remember to review this in your policy/legislation review workbook)
Videos of the week
Olly Alexander: Growing up Gay
Recent figures show that more than 40 per cent of LGBT+ people will experience a significant mental health problem, compared to around 25 per cent of the whole population, and are more than twice as likely to have attempted suicide.
In this eye-opening film, young pop culture icon Olly Alexander explores why the gay community is more vulnerable to mental health issues, as he opens up about his own long-term battles with depression. As the outspoken frontman of British band Years and Years, Olly is a powerful voice on mental health, bullying and LGBT+ rights. He has broken taboos with music videos that celebrate queer identities and spoken openly about his own sexuality as well as his ongoing struggles with anxiety.
In the film, Olly joins young people on their journeys battling issues that parallel his own - from homophobic bullying to eating and anxiety disorders - and along the way he asks what can be done to address them.
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. 60 mins)
Event of the week/month
Race Against Dementia Day 2025
Race Against Dementia Day is more than just a date on the calendar. It’s a call to action, inviting individuals, families, and organisations to join forces in the fight against dementia. The goals of the day are simple yet impactful:
Raise Funds: Support the groundbreaking research needed to develop treatments and, ultimately, a cure for dementia.
Encourage Participation: Inspire people to get involved in dementia research by volunteering, fundraising, or spreading the word.
Accelerate Change: Push for innovation and rapid progress to ensure that the future is free of the devastating impact of dementia.
Dementia affects millions of individuals worldwide, not just those diagnosed but also their families and caregivers. Events like Race Against Dementia Day aim to highlight the importance of research while offering hope for a better future.
(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
Parents think they know how to stay safe online, but do they really?
Many parents and carers believe they have a solid understanding of online safety, but the digital world is constantly evolving, and staying informed is more challenging than ever. New apps, privacy risks, and online threats emerge quickly, making it difficult to keep up with the latest developments.
This fast-paced digital environment presents a different world for many parents, who may not have grown up with the same level of technology, making it harder to understand the complexities and dangers that their children now face online.
While parents may be familiar with basic safety measures—such as using strong passwords, setting privacy settings, or monitoring screen time—they might overlook newer risks, such as data mining, AI manipulation, Sextortion, grooming or the rise of deepfakes. Many are unaware of the dangers linked to emerging trends in social media, gaming, or the mental health effects of excessive screen time.
(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. 50 mins)
Cyberstalking: What it is and how to protect yourself
Cybersecurity statistics show that 20% of people believe their romantic partner could plant cyberstalking programs on their phones. That number shows just how prevalent this type of cybercrime is.
Cyberstalking is when a cybercriminal uses email, direct messaging, or other electronic means to harass, scare, or threaten someone with physical harm. It takes different forms, including:
· Tracking someone’s online activity or physical location
· Stealing someone’s identity for financial gain
· Making death threats or other overt threats of violence
· Blackmailing a victim using personal information or photos
· Making false accusations about a victim online
(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)
Changes to Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) safeguarding requirements: September 2025
The early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework is mandatory for all early years settings. It sets the standards that all early years providers must meet to ensure that children learn and develop well, and are kept healthy and safe.
The Department for Education (DfE) continually monitors and reviews safeguarding requirements for early years settings to ensure they are comprehensive and suitably robust to help providers keep children as safe as possible.
A consultation on proposals to strengthen the EYFS safeguarding requirements was held between 22 April and 17 June 2024, with 1470 responses received. There was strong support from respondents for all of the EYFS changes, with clear consensus that these will improve children’s safety and align with current best practice in early years settings.
The consultation showed that early years providers have excellent practices in place to keep children safe and many are already carrying out the upcoming changes in their settings. The safeguarding reforms will formalise existing best practice in the sector and ensure that all educators have the knowledge and support they need to deliver the safest, highest quality early education and childcare provision possible
(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)
The door is still closed- Homeless adolescents
Ten years ago, the study ‘The Door is Closed’, which examined the advocacy case work of Coram Voice, found that children were being allowed to become or remain homeless because local authorities were failing to give them the support they are legally entitled to. ‘The Door is Still Closed’ report finds that little progress has been made in the intervening decade. Examination of legal rulings, case work and published reports shows that all too many homeless 16- and 17-year-olds are still being left unassessed, unsafe and denied the support and security that vulnerable children need.
The report finds seven barriers to children receiving the support they are entitled to and makes a number of important recommendations to ensure homeless 16- and 17-year-olds can access the care and support that they are entitled to.
(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)
Mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse – update from the Home Secretary
On 6 January 2025 the Home Secretary provided an update on the Labour government’s plans to make it mandatory to report child sexual abuse.
The government will put forward measures in the crime and policing bill to make it an offence to fail to report or to cover up child sexual abuse with professional and criminal sanctions. The bill is planned to be put before Parliament this spring.
(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)
Record numbers of children in England jailed many miles from their families
Vulnerable children are being jailed many miles from their families at record levels, a Guardian investigation has found, prompting warnings that the government is breaking the law.
The proportion of young people being detained in young offender institutions (YOIs) more than 100 miles from their home has doubled over the last decade to 15% – the highest since its peak at the height of the Covid pandemic.
More than one in 10 of the young people in custody in England are being held at least 75 miles from their families, the highest since the Ministry of Justice began publishing the figures in April 2015.
(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
How to be happy: 12 everyday tips
While we might chase happiness through success, status, wealth, or love, it's believed by many that true happiness stems from within. By incorporating small, consistent lifestyle changes, happiness can become a lasting part of life, rather than a temporary feeling.
Happiness does not purely exist in the mind. It is a state of being deeply linked with both our physical and psychological well-being.
Being happy isn't about ignoring negative emotions. The key to having a more positive mindset is to embrace both the negative and positive aspects of life.
(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)
Antibiotic resistance: a hidden health crisis
If you have a bacterial infection, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. However, unnecessary use of antibiotics can weaken their effectiveness, leading to antibiotic resistance and making future infections harder to treat.
Doctors and other appropriately qualified health professionals will only prescribe antibiotics where there is a critical need.
(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)
Victims of stalking to be given more protection
Victims of stalking will receive stronger protections, and offenders will be subjected to stricter management under new measures introduced by the Home Office from December 2024.
A key concern for victims is the distress caused by not knowing the identity of an online stalker. This uncertainty can heighten the danger, leaving victims unsure if the perpetrator is someone they know.
For the first time, the Home Secretary will introduce new statutory guidance under a ‘Right to Know’ framework. This will empower the police to disclose the identity of an online stalker at the earliest possible stage. The guidance will clarify the process for disclosure, offering victims greater reassurance by swiftly revealing the identity of those targeting them online.
(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)
Sexual Harassment and workplace celebrations: Reflections for Employers
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) published an article at the end of 2024 regarding Employers duty to safeguard its employees during work place celebrations.
The Worker Protection Act 2023 preventative duty means employers must take reasonable steps to protect their staff from being sexually harassed at work – whether they are attending a work party or working at one.
Workplace parties are opportunities for colleagues to come together to celebrate the festivities and their hard work over the year. If you’re an employer, you don’t need to cancel your social activities to comply with the law, but you do need to take steps to address the possibility of sexual harassment occurring.
(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)
Wider Curriculum
FE ethnicity pay gap revealed
Ethnic minority teachers and leaders in FE are paid more than their white colleagues – but there is a stark underrepresentation in top roles, an FE Week probe has found.
Never-before-published figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request show non-white teachers earned a few hundred pounds more than their white counterparts in 2022/23, equivalent to 1 per cent.
The FE ethnicity pay gap bucks the trend for the rest of England’s education sector, where pay gaps that favour white people were 7 per cent among school teachers and 5.2 per cent for university staff.
(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)
46 Diversity in the Workplace Statistics to Know
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace are among the most important topics facing HR, people teams and recruiting professionals.
Knowing a wide range of statistics related to workplace diversity and inclusion might help you and your team better understand the complex nature of the topics. Using this knowledge, you can work toward building a diverse and inclusive workforce that will ultimately yield higher revenue and boost employee performance.
(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)
Redefining work-life balance: what is the Quiet Quitting movement?
Quiet firing is when employers gradually reduce an employee's responsibilities, hoping they'll resign. In contrast, quiet quitters set their own boundaries - actively disengaging from excessive work demands to protect their mental wellness. But while quiet quitting might seem good for your health, could it have some long-term downsides?
Quiet quitting is a social movement that since the COVID-19 pandemic has increased in popularity, particularly among working members of Gen Z - born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s. Quiet quitting prioritises reducing work stress by maintaining work-life boundaries. The aim is to remain employed while safeguarding mental wellbeing by only doing the bare minimum.
(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
Met Office: Record global CO2 rise leaves 1.5C goal hanging by a thread
Study shows increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere far exceeded expectations last year, fuelling fears chances of limiting global warming to 1.5C are slipping out of reach
The chances of achieving the Paris Agreement's totemic target of limiting global warming to 1.5C by the end of the century now looks to be hanging by a thread, after record levels of carbon dioxide were detected.
https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4396770/met-office-record-global-co2-rise-leaves-5c-goal-hanging-thread
(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)
What is a sustainable and eco-friendly nursery like?
Should you look for an eco-friendly, sustainable nursery for your child? Encouraging children to ‘be green’ and care for the environment can influence the way future generations live on our planet.
Nurseries modelled on social, environmental and financial sustainability are becoming increasingly popular in the UK. This is because parents are keen to educate their children from an early age about having a respect for all life, whether human, animal or plant. But how can you tell how environmentally-friendly an early years setting is? There are many factors to consider when trying to understand how green and sustainable a nursery is.
Is the nursery limiting its impact on the planet’s resources by reducing consumption of energy, water, paper, toxic chemicals, plastic etc? Does it recycle and reuse items? Is it educating children, parents and the wider community about sustainability?
(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)
An Idiot’s guide to change the world- Climate: Shaping a better world through sport
As we blow the halftime whistle we look to the sports world for some bright ideas in succeeding in the second half. Sport is an enormous industry with huge power, so how can we harness that to keep us moving towards our 2030 goal? In this episode Gail Gaillie and Loyiso Madinga meet Olympic sailor Hannah Mills, who has become an advocate for sustainability and clean oceans. She tells us how technological innovation in sport is being applied to other industries to create greener solutions. They also speak to the daughter of footballing legend Pelé, Kely Nascimento, a filmmaker and activist who works at the intersection of sport and social justice. Kely discusses how sport is a lens through which you can view any issues in society, and the investment still needed to develop women’s sport.
(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. 60 mins)
Comments