Lockdown sparked surge in ‘unruly pupils falsely accusing teachers’
- Union chiefs have warned that lockdown has led to a rise in pupils submitting “malicious” complaints against teachers who have told them off.
- School leaders have also reported a surge in bad behaviour following the pandemic.
- The NASUWT union warned that tutors are increasingly having to break up fights and confiscate mobile phones.
- Union heads warned that pupils who have been disciplined had submitted complaints about staff as an act of revenge, with the teacher then suspended from duty until the claim is investigated – potentially taking up to two years.
- For the full story, please visit the Telegraph website.
Influencer who created AI of herself tried to stop it from ‘going rogue’
- Snapchat influencer Caryn Marjorie created an AI version of herself where her subscribers could pay $1 a minute to talk to ‘her’.
- The 23-year-old has 1.8 million followers on Snapchat and created the AI to be a virtual girlfriend for people who felt lonely.
- She used OpenAI’s GPT-4 API and worked with deepfake start-up company Forever Voices to create the chatbot.
- When using the tool, Fortune reporter Alexander Sternlicht reported that when prompted it could encourage “erotic discourse”.
- Marjorie wanted CarynAI to be “flirty and fun” but did not anticipate it to have sexually explicit conversations with those using it.
- For more please visit the Standard’s website.
Covid support in place for A-levels and GCSEs as exams begin
- GCSE and A-level students across the UK are being told that their grades will be protected from Covid disruption.
- Extra measures are in place to aid pupils, but support varies across different parts of the UK.
- Students in England have not been given information prior to testing about the topics they are likely to be examined on and grades are expected to fall within the scope of results from 2019.
- Some adjusted measures from last year are still in place, GCSE students will be given formulae and equations in some subjects and will not be expected to know unfamiliar words in language exams.
- In Wales and Northern Ireland, many students have been given information in advance as to what will appear on their examinations.
- For more, please see the BBC News website.
Gap in support for young people who have suffered abuse – NSPCC
- The NSPCC sent out Freedom of Information requests to 174 local authorities in England and Wales and received 119 full or partial responses.
- The charity has warned that children and young people who suffered sexual or domestic abuse risk not getting the necessary help due to a gap in support from local authorities (LA) in England and Wales.
- Half of LA’s record the number of children in their area who have suffered domestic abuse or sexual abuse or both.
- Less than a quarter provide dedicated support for children and young people in the form of an independent and specially trained advisor.
- Their findings come as the Victims and Prisoners Bill is due to have its second reading.
- It is hoped the Bill would ensure young victims of abuse are offered specialist support when required regardless of whether abuse is reported to police and involves criminal proceedings.
- For more on this story, please visit the Yahoo News website.
