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Education

CLASSROOM TOOLKIT Prepare your kids for their big return to school, from extracurricular activities to mental health support

SCHOOL BLOODLINE AND CULTURE HOME LEARNING HACKS HEADSPACE IN THE CLASSROOM

EDITOR’S LETTER 3

Editor’s letter

Education Published by

What do you expect from your child’s educational environment? Networking opportunities? A strong ethos? Sporting accolades? n this issue we speak to people whose relatives have attended the same school for generations, and query how an institution’s culture can survive and adapt across the decades. The question of heritage and bloodline strikes a personal chord for me this week, as my teenage sister returns to boarding school to begin her senior leadership post as Head of Boarding, the same position I held way back in 2004. She, our middle sister and I all lived in the same room at the same school, albeit separated by several years.

Each of our school experiences has

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been drastically different across the decades, though the youngest has faced the greatest challenges – her formative school years spent socially distancing behind a mask.

Indeed, when she opened her results in August, it wasn’t to the same excitable fanfare there had been for my own grades 18 years ago, or for the grades of the siblings that came between us. That’s no reflection on the results themselves but rather on the tumultuous academic year that young people have endured. With uncertainty hanging over what university might look like in a post-Covid world, the usual results day envelope-opening

Contents 4 Generation game: keeping the legacy alive

9 Kitchen classroom: how to motivate your kids at home

10 How Covid changed our career outlook

13 Back-to-school basics for positive mental health

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Managing Director James Hurst Finance Director Rowan Willing Publisher Wes Stanton Head of Marketing Miguel Chalabardo Editor Rachael Fulton

didn’t provide the same nervous hype in our house as previous generations had. This is hardly surprising, as students of my era could explore career options and look forward to university life unaffected by a rampaging virus.

How, then, do we cushion the Covid blow for the children in our lives? How do we get them engaged and motivated for the future of their education, now they’ve returned to the classroom? In this issue we speak to a psychiatrist about the apps that offer support

14 The making of a modern pentathlete: investing in extracurricular activities Read more at checklists.co.uk

and guidance for children and young people re-entering the school system post-pandemic. We catch up with home-schooling experts who give tips on homework motivation.

We also hear success stories and tried-their-best stories from parents-turned-lockdown-teachers around the UK. Olympian Jo Muir also spoke to us upon her return from Tokyo.

She explains how her teenage extracurricular hobbies have moulded her as an adult, setting her up with important life skills and teaching her the importance of commitment and discipline. I hope you like reading about her successes as much as I loved interviewing her, and that you feel just as inadequate in your fitness regime by comparison as I did. Enjoy!

Editorial Team Laura Forsyth, Shannon Maher Production and Marketing Team Stefanie Ward, Sarah SomertonJones, Katherina Bradshaw, Nicola Charalambous, Nadeem Vadva Business Development Team Maddie Black, Hannah Morgan, Kyle Stephenson, Jack Perricos, Emily Neil, Nichola Halle, Chris de la Prida Accounts and Administration Team Onitha Antoine, Michael Yabbey, Sharon Warne, Eric van Langenberg, Curtish Haree, Dylane Menga Education Checklist is published and wholly owned by Hurst Media Company Ltd. Every care is taken in compiling the contents of the publications but the publishers assume no responsibility in the effect arising therefrom. Readers are advised to seek professional advice before acting on any information which is contained in the publication. Hurst Media Company do not accept any liability for views expressed, pictures used or claims made by advertisers.

Rachael Fulton, editor

Education

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4 SCHOOLING

Generation game: keeping the legacy alive What attracts multiple generations of the same bloodline to a certain school?

We speak to two families to find out hen Claire Seacy began • her education at St George’s School in 1971, aged five, she • was following in big sister Jane’s footsteps. Claire was the second of three sisters to attend the allgirls school; as their mother Diana • of was drawn to its strong ethos female empowerment and to its formidable then-headmistress Jean Lindsay.

St George’s commitment to championing women in their chosen fields appealed to Diana.

After all, she was the mother of three young women beginning their education in the late 60s and early 70s, an era when the tide was truly turning in the move towards equal rights. Claire would grow up to send her own three daughters: Victoria, Jessica and Georgia, to the Edinburgh school.

“I think one thing that attracted both my nana and mum to the school was the consistency of its message,” says Claire’s daughter,

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Victoria Izatt-Lowry, who now works at St George’s. “That message has always been that girls should be empowered and have wonderful female role models they can look up to. That hasn’t changed. The girls can be what they want to be, without feeling that their gender is constraining them to a certain life or choices.”

Female empowerment in 2021 looks very different to when Victoria’s mum and aunts fi rst attended St George’s, and Victoria believes the school’s ability to adapt to new technology and social change is what makes it appealing to multiple generations of families. “Updating a Facebook status would never have been an issue when my mum was there,” says Victoria, “But now teaching girls about online safety and how they are perceived is really important. The school has always been really good at taking into account the latest developments in society and technology.”

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Victoria, Max and Mackenzie Craig

In the Spotlight• Haileybury School Established in 1862, Haileybury is a top co-educational boarding and day school for 11- to 18-year-olds on a historic, 500-acre campus in Hertfordshire, just 20 miles north of London. For UK enquiries contact uk.admissions@haileybury. com or for international enquiries int.admissions@haileybury.com Find out more at haileybury.com

For other parents, a school’s • and sporting legacy is a academic huge draw. Lawrence Craig and his late brother Colin both attended Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow, where the school’s commitment to rugby and its record for producing Scotland international players are a great source of mutual pride for staff and students. Lawrence later sent all six of his high-achieving children, who now range in age from 14 to 35, to his former

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT Research by the University of Essex shows that having an elder sibling can positively impact a child’s educational performance. The ‘sibling spillover effect’ means that younger students’ grades improve if the elder brother or sister performs well. The effect is doubled if students attend the same school.

school. All played rugby during their school careers and had instilled in them the competitive nature that Lawrence believes is synonymous with Kelvinside. The youngest, Mackenzie, is a current Kelvinside student who shows the most natural ability for his father’s favourite sport. “Rugby is our heritage, but Kelvinside also gives you a very well-rounded education.

Not just in sport, or academically, but in the way you come out of the school,” says Lawrence.

“You approach the world with confi dence, you’re prepared for different environments. The friendships I made at Kelvinside I still have to this day, and the bonds are phenomenally strong. I wanted my children to have the same.”

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Merchant Taylors’ School

Student exchange improves employability

Merchant Taylors’ School is one of the country’s ‘Great Nine’ schools, founded in 1561 by the Merchant Taylors’ Company he school is academically highly successful but is also well known for its exceptional extracurricular provision, especially in music and sport, and its unique tutorial system, with each boy assigned a tutor who looks after him throughout his time at the school.

Merchant Taylors’ School offers an outstanding education, where academic success is complemented by breadth of achievement.

Boys are supported and encouraged, whilst they

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are inspired to reach the highest standards.

The school focusses on developing the intellectual strengths of its pupils in an atmosphere that is challenging, exciting and enjoyable.

Facilities are superb and give every boy the opportunity to fi nd several things at which he, personally, can excel. There

is also an excellent Careers Service which enables boys to start detailed career planning and secure valuable work experience, especially through tapping into the large network of alumni.

The school is situated on a stunning campus of 285 acres with easy access from the Metropolitan Line and runs coaches from inner London to the home counties.

Merchant Taylors’ will be holding Open Mornings on 24 September for 13 plus applicants and 25 September for 11 plus applicants.

Find out more Visit mtsn.org.uk to reserve your place at the Open Morning and to find out more.

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ESN UK is set to digitise the student exchange experience with new Society App partnership ormally the Erasmus Student Network, ESN is the largest student-led organisation in the world. The organisation has been championing student exchange since 1991, supporting students working and studying both abroad and in the UK by developing the professional skills and professional networks necessary for students’ future careers.

A total of 87% of students who have studied abroad have said their exchange was a catalyst for increased maturity and more than 90% said studying abroad increased soft skills such as communication, language proficiency and adaptability.

Together with Society App, ESN UK are launching

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a new app specifically for their members to help them to develop these skills to a higher proficiency. The app will be the fi rst of its kind and scale to transform cross-university communication in student mobility organisations. It presents new and exciting opportunities for the digital generation as the app hopes to increase student engagement and participation as well as utilising the virtual platform to more widely promote the benefits of student exchange.

As businesses across the world are becoming more globalised and internationally focused, ESN UK are putting their best foot forward

in the mission to give students the best chance of employment as they enter the postgraduate market.

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Find out more Visit esnuk.org for more information or contact pr@createyoursociety.com

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•

2 SECTION

SCHOOLING 5

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A first in Europe: advancing biomedical research at Haileybury It is an exciting time for some of Haileybury’s most creative and ambitious young scientists, whose research could contribute to finding cures for human diseases like pancreatic cancer and diabetes aileybury is proud to be the only school in Europe offering Stan-X – an open-ended science programme based on experimental biology, allowing pupils to build resilience in learning with trial and error. The ultimate goal of the research is to introduce students and their teachers to genuine, unscripted experimental science.

Working collaboratively with Stanford University in the US and the University of Oxford, Stan-X is comparable to a graduate genetics course and is part of an innovative study involving other schools and colleges around the world.

The master, Martin Collier, said: “We are very proud to have been invited to be involved in this project and to be the only school in Europe offering Stan-X. It is very exciting indeed to be involved in a project that so signifi cantly enhances our pupils’ scientifi c understanding.

“We are hopeful that our new Science Centre will be completed in two years’ time. It is an ambitious project and ground-breaking, in that, integral to the project, it will be a standalone facility for scientifi c and technological research.

“Stan-X is the fi rst of many advanced research projects that will be undertaken at Haileybury by our pupils over the course of the coming years.”

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The Stan-X programme involved seven Lower Sixth pupils last year, who were working with teaching staff to create a laboratory from scratch. This year, more pupils will be selected to take part alongside the original seven. Once the laboratory was up and running, ‘team taught’ sessions saw pupils use modern stereo-microscopes to identify phenotypic markers in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, such as curly wings, stubble hair or white eyes.

Fruit fl ies are considered a model organism and a century of research has shown that humans and fruit fl ies share many mechanisms that are crucial for development,

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growth, function and survival. The aim of the research is to use fruit fl ies’ genetics to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie human diseases. Results obtained at Haileybury will

Haileybury pupils are the first in Europe using fruit flies to advance biomedical research

provide new tools and insights to a global community of researchers investigating diseases like diabetes and cancer.

It is the brainchild of Stanford Professor Seung Kim, of Stanford University, who wanted to provide opportunities for secondary school teachers and students to perform experiments without a known outcome, rather than predictable lab exercises carried out in science classes across the globe.

The course originated at Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire, nine years ago and Haileybury are offering it as an academic enrichment option with seven sessions a week.

Professor Seung Kim said: “The essence of science is discovery.

But too often science is taught in a very general way. That’s why my colleagues and I developed a programme to allow them to do genuine experiments and make discoveries in school.

“The Haileybury pupils will play an important role in this research but, perhaps most importantly, will experience the joy, mystery and anxiety of attempting to make a discovery at an earlier stage of their education than most school pupils.

We think that for some, perhaps many, this experiment could be transformative.

“Very few school pupils get the chance to be involved in the planning, execution and

interpretation of scientifi c experiments to which teachers and students don’t already know the answers – I am sure that the Haileybury team will fi nd this work exhilarating. Our additional expectation is that the instructors will quickly achieve considerable autonomy, ensuring the durability and fl exibility of this experimental science programme.”

In prior Stan-X partnerships, research fi ndings co-authored by pupils and instructors have been published in peer-reviewed science journals and presented at international meetings. Similar outcomes are anticipated for the Stan-X partnership with Haileybury.

There are also plans to establish an award for a Haileybury Stan-X Scholar to work over the summer months at the University of Oxford, or in the Kim laboratory in Stanford.

Find out more For any enquiries, please email admissions@haileybury.com, or call 01992 706353. For further information visit haileybury.com

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6 SCHOOLING ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Creativity is at the core of being Providing opportunities through art in schools has been Art Projects for Schools’ passion for 25 years. It’s why they are called Art Projects for Schools, of course rt Projects for Schools’ creative card projects have generated over 16 million individual cards, all designed by pupils from across the UK and in turn sent around the world. This is due to the inspiration of the school art specialists and the creative sessions they run. Art gives pupils the freedom to express themselves, to challenge the boundaries of imagination, express humour, love and sentiment. Whether celebrating Christmas, Diwali, Eid, or any other festival, it’s an opportunity to be creative, engage family, friends and communities and engender a sense of pride.

The enormous variety of design and effort the pupils put in never ceases to amaze. You would think that with over 7,000 primary and junior schools having taken part each year, many for over 16 years, APFS would

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have seen every conceivable design.

You’d be wrong. With endless opportunities for creativity, the project creates wonderful designs for cards, gift tags, wrapping paper

Everything you can imagine is real – Pablo Picasso

and mugs that are loved by families and friends. You can even fundraise for your school too – over £6 million has been raised so far!

Art Projects for Schools, established in 1997, are a leading supplier of fundraising creative projects to primary and junior schools. Constantly innovating, their most popular project, The Creative Card Project, has seen the transformation of 220,000 artworks into almost six million Christmas cards over the eight weeks leading up to Christmas in one year. Sustainability is also very important to APFS – all their paper is certified by the FSC and they partner with The Woodland Trust planting more trees and habitat.

Ex-teacher and founder of APFS Dan Dickey puts this success down to a simple ethos: “Art Projects for Schools exists to raise the profile of art in schools, give children hands-on experience of the design process and generate money for

the school. We also realise the pressures schools are under and so have developed an online process which eliminates 90% of the workload.”

Whether you are a parent, a teacher, an art facilitator, a PTA member, or simply an art enthusiast, APFS hope you enjoy visiting their site, either to fi nd out more about their fundraising projects or to take a look at their creative resources.

Find out more To learn more, visit apfs.org.uk or call the customer service team on 0800 027 1939.

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Education

SCHOOLING SECTION 71 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

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Become a member and Cardiff Sixth Form College help give geography a voice Join thousands of geography teachers and become a member of the Geographical Association eographical Association membership • provides specialist support and • expert advice for geography teaching, as well as the chance to connect and share with the subject community.

Together, they have real • influence with government on matters that affect all teachers of geography.

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MEMBERSHIP GIVES YOU ACCESS TO: � Practical teaching resources � Expert help with the EIF and preparing for Oftsed inspections � Termly journals packed with great teaching ideas and professional advice � The latest news about geography and geography teaching � Expert advice and guidance on raising achievement in geography in your school � Discounts on training courses, conferences, publications and consultancy services.

Top school for A-level results over the past 11 years

ardiff Sixth Form College’s results are outstanding.

In 2021 98% of students received A*-A and 100% • A*-B grades, with 38 students going on to study medicine.

Excellent teaching, one-toone support, superb academic materials and nearly double • the amount of teaching hours of other schools makes the difference. 89% of students won places to QS top 100 universities; 75% went on to a UK Russell Group university and 43% to one of the G5 universities, with students studying subjects such as medicine, engineering, economics and law.

GCSE results were also impressive: 79.2% of students gained all A* grades; 90.3% A*-A grades and 95% A*-B. Cardiff is also one of the top schools in the GCSE small school league tables in The Telegraph, last published in 2019. Big news is that Cardiff

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In the words of one Geographical Association member: “Being a member of the GA means that I am, and genuinely feel, part of a community of like-minded individuals, dedicated to furthering an understanding of the value and importance of geography.”

Join the Geographical Association today Go to the website at geography.org.uk and use the code GATELE10 to receive a 10% discount on your first year’s membership.

is launching a new two-year GCSE programme from September 2022. Designed as a four-year career pathway into top universities, the new programme will help students prepare for their future by incorporating study skills, international work observation programmes, careers societies and industry speakers.

Top-quality careers and UCAS guidance, a wide range of extracurricular activities as well as awardwinning pastoral care makes this a school to consider.

Also opening in 2022 is a new Cambridge campus for day and boarding students.

Find out more Register for the College’s Virtual Open Day on Saturday, 2 October 2022 at 10am via ccoex.com/ admissions/open-daysvisits

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How to beat 7% Oxbridge STEM chances Entrance to Oxford and Cambridge is always competitive but even more so for STEM subjects oth Oxford and Cambridge boast application to offer ratios of up to one in 14 for certain STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects. In the last three years, The University of Cambridge has seen a 100% increase in the size of its computer science application pool and both economics and medicine have seen a jump of over 50%.

Paarul Shah, author of The Oxbridge Formula, says: “Too often, STEM students are given counter-productive advice. They focus excessively on their personal statements, to the detriment of what really matters: their admissions test and interview score. And ultimately, a student’s success in those is down to their ability to solve tough problems.”

Aimed at just the top 2% to 5% of A-level students, the admissions tests aren’t ‘crammable.’ Students cite their biggest challenges with admissions tests as being the intense time pressure and the

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unfamiliar framing of the questions.

Problem-solving, a key component of a successful Oxbridge STEM application, cannot be learnt overnight. To achieve a degree of fluency and confidence with solving tough admissions test questions, students need to be willing to practise problem-solving outside of the school curriculum.

Paarul adds: “We recommend that students dedicate six to eight hours per week to supercurricular problem-solving practice during term time. This should be increased in the summer before the admissions tests. This is a

minimum requirement for students on our Oxbridge Mastermind Programmes.”

Paarul is also founder of The Oxbridge Formula Mastermind, which takes a multi-pronged approach to boosting students’ chances by getting them academically prepared for all aspects of their Oxbridge application.

“The admissions tests might be sooner,” she warns, “but interview preparation should start early too.

An Oxbridge interview isn’t a job interview. Students are going to be asked really thought-provoking and challenging technical

questions. Being able to articulate their thought processes when solving a problem at the edge of their comfort zone is a vital skill for them to develop over time.”

The Oxbridge Formula Mastermind is a comprehensive preparation programme. Mastermind students get access to a personalised learning portal; week-by-week study plan, highly interactive weekly workshops, intensive courses, mock interviews and oneto-one tuition.

Find out more To learn more about the Oxbridge application process for STEM subjects, find The Oxbridge Formula on Amazon. Download a free Oxbridge Webinar for Parents at oxbridgeformula. co.uk/parents-webinar or scan the QR code.

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8 HOME LEARNING ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

5-minute Knowledge Hacks How edtech is making lifelong learning more accessible hen the fi rst Covid-19 lockdown hit last year, many people put their new-found time into learning to bake sourdough, fi nally tackling that bookshelf of must-read books, or mastering an instrument. But as time went on and home-schooling, caring, and working from home dominated, those well-intentioned plans went out the window.

This hasn’t just been an issue caused by the complexities of the pandemic. Everyone knows the

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pressure that comes with starting a new course or committing yourself to fi nally reading that hyped nonfiction book everyone is talking about. More than 2 million books a year are released and there are thousands of online courses that are often left uncompleted. Anyone who has ever been stalked by app notifications will understand.

Yet, education has the potential to make a real difference in people’s lives instead of swiping through endless photos, videos, and inane status posts. Societies with higher

Users report how Uptime easily fits into their day – a five-minute burst of inspiration here and there – helping them feel smarter and more creative, instead of endless ‘doomscrolling’.

Most people have an intrinsic desire to learn and progress1. Learning can help people to build confidence, connect with other people, fuel creativity, and encourage mindfulness, by allowing them to be totally focused on one task.

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rates of degree completion and levels of education tend to be healthier, have better economic stability, lower crime, and greater equality. People want to feel inspired and empowered but they just don’t always have time or can simply feel overwhelmed with the choice of educational content available.

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Jamie, Patrick and Jack, Uptime founders

The most popular Uptime Hacks include Ali Abdaal’s How To Be Happier, Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Work Week, and Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive.

SOURCE: 1Want to be happier? Learn something new (Psychologies, 2015).

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HOME LEARNING SECTION 9 1 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Kitchen classroom: how to motivate your kids at home From homework to home learning, teachers’ top methods to keep • kids engaged •

hen the pandemic forced schools to close, many parents were left struggling to balance their own workload with the• added responsibility of managing their children’s education. Almost 60% of parents of primary school children and nearly half of parents of secondary school children reported fi nding the demands of home schooling challenging, with three out of four parents citing their child’s lack of motivation as one of the biggest barriers in their learning.

Others encountered lack of resources, or a schedule so demanding that it impinged on their own work and household management.

For mother-of-two Caroline Boss, the pressures of keeping on top of daughter Lottie’s gruelling school schedule while caring for younger daughter Joey had a lasting impact. “It was unbelievably

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diffi cult,” recalls Caroline, who lives in Bristol. “There were moments of brightness, but there’s a reason that for good teachers it’s a vocation. Parents teach their kids organically – perhaps you see a tree on a woodland walk and tell your children facts you know about the tree – you impart your wisdom wherever you can, but trying to adhere to a curriculum is a totally new relationship. You don’t have a precedent for it.”

Spanish teacher Hannah Nisan was able to apply her teaching

techniques and training at home with daughter Mia-Bella, aged seven.

They used a reward sticker chart to help structure the home learning day and improve Mia-Bella’s motivation.

Hannah and her fellow teaching staff were also conscious of their students’ sedentary screen-time during their home learning and how this might impact engagement. They found that interrupting the day with practical and physical tasks helped keep students focused and improve their overall mental wellbeing. “At home we practiced the basics, such

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as spelling and numeracy skills using imaginative role play, money and games. I also made sure I took her outside every day, even if it rained,” says Hannah of teaching Mia-Bella. “With my school students, we introduced a feel-good Friday online kids’ Zumba Fitness session, which started the day nicely with some exhilarating moves and improved overall wellbeing.”

Progress-focused praise can be an excellent motivational

tool for home learning, whether parents face a full academic day or they’re encouraging kids with their homework. Rather than focusing on the child’s perceived natural ability or intelligence, praise that zones in on the child’s effort develops a growth mindset.

Swapping phrases such as “you’re so smart” with “you worked really hard there” is proven to help children achieve more in the longrun. A varied schedule can also help keep children’s minds active and engaged in the tasks at hand.

Home learning environments cannot replicate that of the school classroom. One of the advantages to home learning is that the timetable is more fluid, so you can tailor it to your child’s needs and strengths. If they are more productive at certain hours of the day, you can – and should – adapt the schedule to suit them.

“Parents shouldn’t worry if they are struggling with home learning and homework,” says Naomi Howlett, senior teacher at Hollygirt independent school in Nottingham.

“It doesn’t matter if they can’t exactly follow the lesson plan, but even if you can spend 15 minutes of quality time with your children it has a lot of benefits with regards to their learning and wellbeing.”

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Home-learning resources White Rose Maths work hard to transform the teaching of maths in schools, from early years to GCSEs y providing excellent CPD, mastery-based schemes of learning, and high-quality teaching resources, White Rose Maths aim to develop a whole new culture of deep understanding, confidence and progress in maths.

By building confidence, resilience and a passion for maths, they can show that whatever an individual’s prior experience or preconceptions, maths is an exciting adventure that everyone can enjoy, value and master!

Their core resources are their ‘small step’ Schemes of Learning, originally written for primary schools and more recently for early years and secondary phases. Now used by over 80% of primary schools, more than 40% of secondary schools and international schools, in 140 countries, these are (and always will be) free to use. Based on a mastery approach to teaching and learning, they also align directly

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with the national curriculum.

The team at White Rose Maths also pride themselves on their ability to react to an ever-changing educational landscape, and in response to the school closures in March 2020, their team produced

a total of 640 free home-learning videos and worksheets to motivate and sustain learning, and to ease the workload and stress for teachers, parents and carers. Aligned with all current maths pedagogy, the video lessons were a huge hit with users, and they expanded the provision to include early years and Years 9 to 10 in early May. They’ve recorded over 26 million resources downloads since the launch of home learning, and 50 million page views!

In addition, their premium worksheets are now available as printed workbooks, which can be delivered to schools to be used in class, or directly to parents for home learning.

They’ve recorded over 26 million resources downloads since the launch of home learning

Attractively designed and printed in full colour, these high-value, low-cost workbooks are great for home- or school-based learning, and they also reduce the time and cost of photocopying in school.

Written by an amazing team of specialist teachers, the workbooks really help children not only to ‘do’ the maths, but to understand it. Each book also aligns perfectly with their home-learning videos.

Find out more White Rose Maths have now created over 1,400 video lessons, which are all available for free from their website. Visit whiterosemaths.com, email support@ whiterosemaths.com or call 01422 433323.

Find them on social media @WhiteRoseMaths

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10 CAREERS AND TRAINING

SECTION 1

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How Covid shaped our career outlook The world has transformed in the last 18 months, as has our collective approach to working life he UK labour market is gradually adjusting to the lasting impacts of Covid-19. Not only has the virus decimated some • sectors, such as arts and events, the UK workforce has had 18 • months to reconsider its priorities and adapt to new working environments. For those who weren’t made redundant in the last year, the office workforce • has had a taste of working from home and forgone the drudgery of the daily commute. Parents have had more time with their children – for better or worse – and research shows many of us have taken a step back to wonder what we want to get out of our work-life balance. Many of us are upskilling to explore our options, or going self-employed to reduce stress and improve overall life satisfaction.

A recent report by Aviva found that 60% of UK workers intended to make changes to their careers in response to the pandemic, and research by prospects.ac.uk found that 45% of employed 2020 graduates had changed their chosen career since.

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“We know from the data that people are reassessing their career plans,” says Charlie Ball, labour market expert for prospects.ac.uk at Jisc. “In the next few months there will be increased competition in certain sectors. Head hunters

Motivations have been moulded by the pandemic

In the Spotlight• Oxford Media & Business School An alternative option to university with the same university • lifestyle.

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are gearing up for a busy autumn, particularly in law, fi nance, accountancy and audit. Less in tax and insurance, particularly in IT and engineering. Good quality coders are at a premium.”

Charlie is quick to note that IT businesses adapted most effectively to the constraints of the pandemic, in most cases moving their employees to remote working immediately and experiencing limited impact on their productivity or client base. For those considering upskilling or a career move into IT, online coding courses allow employees to upskill from the comfort of their own home. Sites like Coursera offer courses in coding fundamentals, Python, Java and game development that will give upskillers a grounding in coding language, or expand on coding basics

to make them more employable when new opportunities arise.

Not only are individuals seeking new challenges and careers, their motivations have been moulded by the pandemic. “In the labour market, skilled workers with good records have options,” says Charlie.

“The data shows that there’s a strong move away from seeking to maximise fi nancial reward, and more towards quality of life.”

This was a pertinent, pandemic lifestyle shift for Emily ButtonLynham, who left her role as global director in technology at American Express to set up her own business, Emily Button Creative, after a decade of climbing the corporate ranks. She now coaches female clients to nurture multiple income streams, allowing them to strike a comfortable balance between career and family life. “I started thinking, what am I good at, what would I like to be doing, and how much of it?” says Emily. “Lots of my clients want to change careers right now, they want to do things they love.

They want to be working on their own terms and be their own boss.

There is still a perception that self employment is more unstable, but it’s about identifying and managing multiple income streams and spreading that fi nancial risk.”

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Self-study the SQE with Law Answered The Law Answered team are keen to improve access to the law, and think the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) will be a step in the right direction here are a number of ways to become a lawyer in the UK without a law degree. There is a degree conversion route, which leads to postgraduate study, as well as training courses, and a vocational route. However, this is all about to change – in a big way.

As of 1 September, some of these options have been replaced by the SQE as the route to qualification as a solicitor. The fi rst part will be multiple-choice exam questions covering general legal knowledge, and the second part will include skills-based tasks such as research, drafting, interviewing and advocacy.

Instead of a formal training contract, the fi nal step to qualification will be a period of ‘qualifying work experience’, which could include paralegal work and even vacation schemes.

It’s hoped that the SQE will open up the route to legal qualification to groups who may

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previously have faced fi nancial and other barriers to law.

One of the great things about the SQE is that students can self-study without having to pay enormous law school fees. The Law Answered team want to support this by offering reasonably priced guides that students can use to prepare for the SQE. They are keen to make sure that their guides will be the best SQE materials available anywhere.

The team of solicitors and tutors at Law Answered are

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currently working on a series of SQE Answered guides, and will begin offering these guides from autumn this year. These guides will use all the great learning features of Law Answered’s popular LLB, LPC and PGDL guides and will comprehensively cover all the material covered on the SQE syllabus. They will also be working on sets of multiple choice questions to help students prepare for the SQE1 MCQ test, as well as materials for the SQE2 skills tests.

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Find out more Visit lawanswered.com to view their full range of study guides and find out more. Use the code CHECKLIST10 to get 10% off any of Law Answered’s guides.

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CAREERS AND TRAINING SECTION11 1 ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Retrain in nutritional therapy for a flexible, rewarding career If you are passionate about wellbeing and nutrition, join a growing • industry as a registered nutritional therapist •

aced with current health challenges, many people are becoming increasingly interested • in improving their health and wellbeing, so this is an exciting time to train as a nutritional therapist.

The Institute for Optimum Nutrition

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(ION) offers a fully supported, part-time qualification route.

Validated by the University of Portsmouth, the course is designed to equip you with the knowledge and clinical competencies required to practise as a registered nutritional therapist, and to make a difference to the wellbeing of clients and those around you.

WHY PERSONALISED NUTRITION MATTERS Due to genetic makeup and health history, one size does not fit all when it comes to health and

wellbeing. People may present with similar symptoms, but their triggers can be very different; so a plan that worked for one person may not work for someone else.

That’s why registered nutritional therapists adopt a personalised • approach. They fi nd the right plan for the individual client, supporting them with targeted advice, tailored health plans, and personalised lifestyle •change.

Many of ION’s students have gone on to study nutritional therapy after addressing their own health issues. Registered nutritional therapist Angelique Panagos consulted a nutritional therapist about her own health conditions, before going on to study with ION. She told ION of the impact: “This sparked that passion for a path I now know I was destined to follow. I haven’t looked back and love every minute of what I do. I feel healthy, energised, my hormones are balanced, and I am able to focus.”

ION graduate Claire Doherty, also now a registered nutritional therapist, says: “If

you are considering ION or you’re considering training as a nutritional therapist, then my recommendation would be defi nitely to go for it. You will not regret it. Even the effects on your own health and for your own family will be absolutely phenomenal. I have not looked back, and you won’t either.”

Find out more Could a flexible, rewarding career in nutrition and wellbeing be right for you? Discover the benefits of becoming a registered nutritional therapist at the website ion.ac.uk/tg

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Believe in yourself with My Key Life Coach If you want to make a difference in the world, show the world something different.

If you want to make a difference in your own world, do something different hy keep comparing yourself and your kids to everyone else? As a master coach and transformational life coach, Minh K Le has helped hundreds of working professionals and parents stop the comparisons to others and fi nd their true authentic self, especially in

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these unprecedented times.

With a background in coaching, consulting, mentoring, and training, Minh uses his 20+ years of experience from travelling the world in a corporate capacity to work with people who are ready for change and want to live the life they’ve dreamed of. He supports

clients through their entire change journey, holds them accountable when they need it most, and gives the gentle nudge to get them moving forward.

Minh’s secret to life is this: be yourself, believe in yourself, irrespective of everyone else. What works for one person doesn’t always work for others. The way to discover what does work for you is to simply go out and try, learn from the challenges faced, and move onto the next experience a better and more educated person. There is no losing in life, only learning.

How well do you know yourself?

Are those assumptions you thought of others true? Whose life are you really living?

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Learn how to overcome the roller coaster of being attached to results, to stop the comparisons to others, and to stay focused during the most difficult challenges and hardships.

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12SECTION 2 EDUCATION ESSENTIALS ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Keep your child active with smarTrike smarTrike’s mission is to encourage parents to go outside and explore the world with their children n a world where time is of the essence and screens are all around, smarTrike’s products promote active childhood, early age engagement with surroundings, and a continuous learning experience, all while providing modular products that adjust to your child’s skills and needs.

SmarTrike’s STR pushchair trike is a stroller-certified foldable tricycle that starts as a stroller and grows with a child into a fully independent three-wheeled trike. It offers unmatched comfort, safety features, clean and innovative design, and a six-stage multiconfiguration system to help children – irrespective of skillset or learning difficulties – learn trike riding and acquire critical skills from an early age. Now, with the back-to-school season in full force, the STR pushchair trike is the ultimate solution for your child on their way to school.

From the age of six-months, you can take your child on strolls, with their legs resting on the detachable footrests, UV-protective canopy

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shielding them from the sun, and the five-points harness holding them tightly to the padded, comfortable seat. With a patented One-hand Touch Steering Technology that allows parents (or older siblings) to steer their toddler’s trike effortlessly with one hand on the parent handle, using smarTrike’s STR pushchair trike is a fun-packed family experience.

From an early age, your child starts to grow more aware of their body’s position and movements and become more proficient in their interaction with static and moving objects around them. This increasing awareness level, plus their ability to navigate the local environment without support, will spike their confidence and motivate them to function independently on everyday tasks at home and in school.

When your child is ready, you can remove the footrests and unfold the second footrest to start teaching them to balance on the trike. After they learn how to distribute their weight evenly on the trike, simply close the foldable footrest, attach the pedals, and teach them how to pedal while retaining control of the trike’s movement with one hand on the push handle. Once they grow confident enough, you can teach them to grip the handlebars fi rmly and steer the trike.

Giving your child the STR trike to work on at their level, will require them to learn how to maintain balance while sitting, and move both hands and legs simultaneously in a coordinated manner to produce movements.

They’ll also develop physical skills like core strength, gross and fi ne motor skills, motor-planning skills, hand-eye coordination, speed, and flexibility that’ll give them an edge

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The STR pushchair trike allows your child to acquire cycling skills at their own pace

in the playground, classroom, and life as they grow older.

Also, kids brim with joy and confidence whenever they advance from one stage of the STR pushchair trike to another.

They’ll start to trust more in their abilities, believing that they can do anything they put their mind to.

But no rush! The STR pushchair trike allows your child to acquire cycling skills at their own pace.

While they are learning to steer the trike, you can walk alongside them, having the push handle within reach. Once their skills allow, you can remove the parent handle, high back support, harness, and safety bars to transform the trike into an independent tricycle for them to ride solo.

While riding around the community or park, your child will meet and mingle with other kids.

Since trike riding is an activity that becomes more enjoyable when people join in, they will fi nd it easy to share their wheeled toy and engage in fun games like role-playing and trike racing. The STR trike provides a platform for kids to build peer relationships that will help them build social skills and emotional intelligence, as well as encourage them to go and play outside instead of sitting in front of screens inside.

Not only does trike riding require and improve physical

fitness, but it also stimulates the brain and supports cognitive skills development. As your child continues to ride their trike, they will develop essential cognitive skills, including sustained attention, executive function, memory, sensory integration, and logical reasoning, that they’ll need as early learners, adolescents, and adults.

Using smarTrike’s STR pushchair trike to get your child physically active at an early age will instill them with a healthy lifestyle that’ll reduce their risk of mental health problems and modern lifestyle diseases and boost their health and wellbeing as they grow older.

Find out more Visit smartrike.co.uk to find out more. smarTrike are offering 15% off every STR pushchair trike purchase with code DT15.

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SECTION13 1 EDUCATION ESSENTIALS ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Back-to-school basics for positive mental health Adults work hard to keep their own emotions in check, but investing time in your child’s mental• health is just as important •

ur children are facing a mental health crisis.

Impacted by school closures, disrupted • friendships, future uncertainty and the strains of lockdown family dynamics, the pandemic has taken its greatest emotional toll on our nation’s young people. According to data by The Royal College of Psychiatrists, during the pandemic 400,000 children and young people sought help for mental health issues, and over 18,000 of those needed emergency or crisis care. As the world opens back up, your child’s most important back-to-school essentials include mindfulness, breathwork and skills in confl ict resolution.

“Historically, children and young people have not been taught emotional regulation, conflict resolution or how to effectively

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communicate their feelings,” says Dr Sarah Weldon, a consultant clinical psychologist. “This means that most young people rely on the adults around them to develop these skills, which can be diffi cult if parents have experienced trauma, are working long hours in stressful environments or have their own mental health issues to contend with.” Early intervention helps protect your child’s mental health and allows them to better prepare for future emotional obstacles.

Equipping them with a framework for their feelings and ways in which they can manage them can improve their relationships inside and outside of the classroom, but also in later life. Simple techniques such as encouraging children to recognise and name their emotions, then analyse how these emotions are triggered, can help children identify situations which are likely to cause them stress or emotional harm. Working with your child, you can then help them to develop ways to avoid those outcomes and steer themselves out of the anxious or stressful situation. These ‘selfsoothing’ skills can be crucial for

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playground arguments, schoolwork disappointment or the breakdown of friendships.

One of the best techniques for situations of acute panic or stress is the five senses technique. This mindfulness method asks the subject to focus on their senses and the environment around them to quieten their anxious mind. They are asked to identify things they can see, touch, taste, smell and hear in the moment. This brings the subject’s attention to their physical body, withdrawing from

any buzzing worries or concerns in their brain. This method, combined with encouraging children to take a deep breath and count to five in crisis situations, can help defuse issues at school and at home.

“Encouraging children to use these techniques are simple yet effective ways of managing emotions such anger and anxiety in a classroom environment,” says Dr Weldon.

“These skills can be reinforced by the use of apps, and by discussing emotions and the helpful ways to manage them, so children can start

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to think about breaking the cycle.”

Mobile apps such as SafeSpot, BlueIce and Headspace for Kids are great resources for supporting your child’s emotional regulation.

Young people can check the apps themselves, or work through the content with a parent or care provider. Netfl ix also has a ‘choose your own mindfulness adventure’ with kids’ meditations and bedtime stories to help children unwind.

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Affordable, flexible finance for private school fees Secta’s innovative range of finance plans enable parents to spread the cost of school fees over many years his eases the fi nancial pressure for many families with children currently in private education, and it also presents an opportunity for families who would like to give their children the benefits of a private education.

A Secta Flexiplan provides a facility with sufficient funds to cover many years of private school fees, giving parents the comfort of knowing the school fees are covered. It operates like an overdraft, enabling parents to draw down funds when they are needed, and interest is only paid on the amount they drawdown.

To the right is an example of how a Secta Flexiplan could be used to fi nance five years of private education. This example is based on one child, annual school fees of £15,000 per year, and with

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the Secta Flexiplan being repaid over a period of 10 or 20 years.

However, the amount borrowed, the term over which it is repaid, and the monthly repayments can be adjusted to suit individual circumstances and preferences.

SECTA PRODUCT FEATURES � Interest rates from 3.85% � Repayment terms from five to 30 years � No early repayment fees.

Drawdown

Monthly repayments

Monthly repayments

(10 year term)

(20 year term)

Year 1

£15,000

£155

£94

Year 2

£15,000

£324

£192

Year 3

£15,000

£510

£294

Year 4

£15,000

£719

£399

Year 5

£15,000

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£957

£509

£957

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This is an indicative quote and does not constitute an offer or advice. Interest rate and solution terms will depend on your circumstances and the amount of the loan. Before you make a loan application, Secta will carry out a full review to establish your needs and preferences and if you meet the criteria, they will give advice and make a recommendation to you. All loans are subject to status. Please note that their product calculators show an indicative rate only and may not be suitable for you.

Find out more Visit sectafinance.co.uk for more information.

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14 EXTRACURRICULAR

The making of a modern pentathlete: investing in extracurricular activities Why choose one activity when you can excel in five? Olympian Jo Muir tells us how horse-riding set her up for life odern pentathlete Jo Muir began her impressive sporting career at her local pony club, at age 11. The self-confessed hyperactive child loved horses, as many little girls do, but had the talent and determination to turn that passion into a profession.

She started gradually adding more sports, competing in her fi rst pentathlon at age 14, and continued to perfect her skills in each discipline throughout her school years. When she mounted her horse at the Tokyo Olympic Games in August 2021, she put 15 years’ worth of training into practice on the world stage. She believes that commitment to her various disciplines has equipped her with skills she wouldn’t have picked up in the classroom. “Of all my sports I think horse-riding

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has been the most important to me,” said Jo. “Riding’s about being compassionate – you have respect for the horse, you work hard, you need discipline and focus. Normal working life and school might not teach you that.”

The modern pentathlon combines horse-riding with fencing, shooting, cross-country running and swimming. For Jo, this meant a busy schedule of extracurricular sports clubs, often with back-toback training at weekends and

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sacrifices to her teenage social life outside of sport. The benefits in her adult life are evident, beyond her appearance at the Olympics. She believes that aside from being the gateway to her other activities and athletic success, horse-riding has been the best sport for making lifelong friends.

The social side of horse-riding is one of its biggest benefits for children entering the sport, but the activity also fosters responsibility, empathy and caring qualities

in young people. The tasks of brushing the horses, muckingout stables and looking after the associated kit teaches children to respect animals and equipment.

The sport also demands that the rider have mutual respect and

In the Spotlight smarTrike smarTrike’s STR pushchair trike is a stroller-certified foldable tricycle that starts as a stroller and grows with a child into a fully independent three-wheeled trike.

It helps children learn trike riding and acquire critical skills from an early age.

Find out more at smartrike.co.uk

trust with the horse, a skill that Jo believes benefitted her at the Games and also in her non-sporting life. “At the Olympics you don’t have long at all to get to know the horse,” says Jo. “If you get on and you are feeling nervous and tense, the horse will sense it. You have to quickly build a connection with the horse. You have to trust each other.” These skills developed within the stable and arena are easily transferable to friendships and working relationships in the outside world.

Although not the world’s least expensive extracurricular activity, even those who can afford to buy horses for their children often opt for ‘work-to-ride’ schemes. These allow children to ‘earn’ their time on horseback by helping with tasks around the stables. These chores equip young riders with a level of responsibility and knowledge, as well as encouraging them to work hard for the reward of riding.

Learning the basics of trotting, cantering and galloping in lessons can lead to a range of competitive events within the sport including dressage, showjumping and polo.

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