New initiative to teach Scottish pupils of the dangers of gambling

  • A programme is being developed for schools in Glasgow to help educate young people about gambling harms, as part of efforts to tackle it as a public health issue.
  • This follows findings from a report by the University of Bristol that Glasgow has the most betting shops in the UK (one for every 3264 people) and that the UK’s most deprived areas have more than 10 times the number of betting shops than other more affluent parts.
  • There have been additional concerns over the popularity increase of online gambling, especially over lockdown.
  • A two-day summit organised by the Glasgow City Council is to take place on the 13th-14th of September, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and health experts to explore the scale of gambling harms, as well as prevention, education, and treatment.
  • The programme is currently being developed with pilot research in some Glasgow schools, focusing on early intervention and education of young people to understand the harms that can be caused by gambling.
  • Full story, here.

Concerns about bullying and ‘falling behind’ as children return to school

  • Research commissioned by youth charity The Diana Award and Nationwide Building Society reveals significant concerns about returning to school amongst young people (24%) and their parents (36%).
  • The stats come in advance of the second annual ‘The Big Anti-Bullying Assembly’ from The Diana Award and Nationwide Building Society and involved 1,000 parents of 6-16-year-olds and 1,000 young people aged 6-16 across the UK.
  • Over half of parents surveyed (58%) believe that Covid-19 has had a negative impact on their child’s social development and nearly a third (30%) are worried about how their child will adapt to real life interaction when they return to school.
  • 40% of young people confirmed they have been subject to bullying behaviour in the past and almost a third of young people (31%) were worried about being bullied.
  • Cultural events in the past 12 months (such as Black Lives Matter) have had a clear impact on parents and young people with almost half (48%) of parents having conversations with their child about racism and a third (33%) having discussed sexuality, disability (32%), homophobia (24%), politics (21%) and transphobia (14%).
  • Full story, here.

Study finds extremist views are witnessed in classrooms by teachers

  • A report by the University College London (UCL) found that most teachers have heard students express extremist views including racism, homophobia, and conspiracy theories in classrooms across England.
  • The study collated views from 96 teachers across schools in England, with the majority saying they have heard pupils express far-right extremist views in the classroom, as well as Islamophobia and extremist views about women.
  • Nearly 9 in 10 say they have heard conspiracy theories being discussed by students – including the theories about microchips in the Covid vaccine.
  • Staff are concerned about students’ exposure to hateful content and misinformation online, which it is feared has increased throughout the pandemic.
  • However, schools maintain that they are unable to tackle extremism in young people due to a lack of resources and training, as well as limited space in the curriculum.
  • This follows the introduction of materials from Education Scotland aiming to embed anti-racism and race equality into the curriculum, decolonise the material taught in schools and explore issues in Scottish history.
  • Full story, here.

School spending to remain lower than in 2010 with poorest areas suffering biggest cuts

  • According to an Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) think tank study, school spending per pupil in England will remain lower than in 2010 following a decade of education budget cuts.
  • The government has committed an extra £7.1bn funding for schools in England for 2022-2023 after cuts in real term spending per pupil over the past decade were not reversed.
  • The study also showed that disadvantaged pupils in the poorest parts of England have suffered from the biggest cuts over the decade and are receiving the smallest increase in extra spending.
  • Funding allocated for the most privileged schools will increase by 8 to 9 per cent between 2017–18 and 2022–23 compared to 5 per cent for the most deprived schools.
  • Concerns remain over post-Covid catch-up funding, as schools in England outstripped most European countries in length of closure during the pandemic.
  • Full story, here.