Toxic Childhood Syndrome

Are our children today suffering from a toxic syndrome? This is what Sue Palmer argues in her research published in Toxic Childhood, Orion Publishers, 2006.

Sue argues that the technological and cultural changes that have transformed our lifestyles have happened so fast that we haven't noticed that those that benefit the adult population are not always so good for our children. The side effects of all these changes are producing a 'toxic cocktail' affecting the social, emotional and cognitive development of a growing number of children, which in turn affects their behaviour.

This research is music to many of the teaching profession's ears. For years they have been dealing with an array of developmental issues in the classroom, but with little to explain the increase in occurrences, and in some cases the arrival, of these. The research doesn't place the blame for these changes at anyone's feet, teachers, parents, or anyone else. It is a complex problem of culture developing faster than biology.

Do you agree? Find out more and learn how to detoxify your children by visiting Sue's website.

Fade or Flourish: How primary schools can build on children's early progress

The Social Market Foundation have launched their 2 year research into early years and life chances with the publication Fade or Flourish: How primary schools can build on children's early progress. The research argues that primary schools can 'play a crucial role in sustaining the social and academic gains provided by early years interventions'.

The research offers 7 key strategies that schools can adopt to consolidate the early years' social and academic gains:

1. a central focus on literacy
2. ensuring good behaviour and attendance
3. creating a co-educator role for parents
4. using innovative class structures
5. a variety of additional support
6. a more flexible curriculum
7. a coordinated transition strategy

For more information on the project please visit their website.

Impact Learning Programme

The Impact Learning programme (ILP) is providing 'a robust and radical model' for re-shaping, re-defining and re-energising the culture for driving learning, across all ability, all key stages and all social groups. It uses unique resources that teach pupils how to learn, and change the perception and performance of teaching and support staff. In Thurrock, ILP has taken root in a cluster of Primary schools:

• “Staff performance increased from satisfactory to outstanding within 3 terms.”
• “We are entirely focussed on learning now – we no longer discuss, or deal with behaviour issues.”
• “By the end of the 5 day Transition Programme, all our level two and three pupils had increased their spelling age between 5-7 months. They had experienced the ‘Feel Clever Factor’ and were craving learning in ways never experienced by us, or their parents, before."

For more information visit www.company24.co.uk

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This newsletter is sponsored by
Select Education, the 'Number One Education
Staffing Agency' in the UK and worldwide.
www.selecteducation.co.uk