Tag Archives: adverse childhood experiences

The Line⤴

from @ EduBlether

On the back of thinking about all the small things that lead to successes in a school, I thought it would be apt to consider the other side of this. One of the seemingly small things that add to a considerable amount of disruption and wasted learning time, in all of the schools I have ever worked in, is the line. I’m going to discuss the various problems I see with this accepted norm, and then I will try to consider some alternatives.

One of the main issues I have with this is the wasted teaching and learning time that could be better spent doing anything else. The time it takes between a bell ringing and children getting into a classroom is huge. Let’s do some quick maths on this. A conservative estimate (based purely on my own experience, with admittedly no scientific rigour applied), would be that it takes at least 5 minutes once the bell has gone to have a class ready to come in at the start of the day, after break and after lunch (at least!). So this is potentially 15 minutes each day, which is about 70 minutes across the week, taking in to account the half-day! That is over 44 hours across the school year.

I don’t want you to think I am ever condoning counting minutes and seconds and making sure every possible part of time is accounted for. This would be dangerous for a large number of reasons. But when there are so many other issues, it begs the question, why are we wasting our time on a bizarre and old fashioned custom that gives nothing back?

Ordinarily, children have been playing in an unstructured and child-led way, then a bell goes (quite abruptly) and they have to stop immediately and form a line, one behind each other. We often scorn them for not being straight enough or for continuing conversations. Quite militaristic when you think about it? But this is quite difficult for a lot of children to do (I think I would struggle to be honest) especially if they have been engaging in high energy play. What are we achieving by standing in line? Efficient management of people cannot be an argument here due to the amount of wasted time. Compliance?

I don’t like the idea of continuing to do something one way just because it is the way we have always done it. I want to know what the alternatives are.

Comment below with any suggestions on alternatives to lining up.

The Magic-Weaving Business⤴

from @ edublether.wordpress.com

Sir John Jones is the most inspirational speaker there is on the educational speaker circuit at the moment. He is funny, passionate and down to earth kind of guy. It was a joy to hear him speak and I would recommend you read his book.

Adverse Childhood Experiences⤴

from @ Engage for Education

Today Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills, John Swinney, will host an event  bringing together Government Ministers and key stakeholders with an interest in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

More than 80 experts working across Scotland in all of the main sectors affected by ACEs will take part in discussions aimed at understanding what is already working well, highlighting where further action is needed and exploring opportunities for collaboration to drive progress.

Read his blog post  below about what ACEs are, why they are important and what we are doing in Scotland to tackle them.

What happens to us as children can have a huge impact on the rest of our lives.

When young people have adverse or traumatic experiences growing up this impacts on their emotional and physical development, their capacity to learn, and thrive.

 

The experiences we have during our childhood shape who we are and how we interact with the world, especially if those experiences are harmful, and without the right support the effects can last a lifetime.

 

The first adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) study was done over 20 years ago in the US but recently this long-standing evidence base has been gaining increasing international interest. The impacts of ACEs on children, adults, services and wider society are clear to see.

 

A recent study in Wales showed that those who had experienced ACEs were more likely to develop heart disease and type 2 diabetes, have high-risk drinking, smoking or drug use and were more likely to have been in prison.

 

We are determined to make Scotland the best place for children to grow up and we need to make sure we’re doing all we can to prevent adverse childhood experiences occurring in the first place, and where they do happen, to reduce their negative impact.

 

By making sure children and adults get the right support, at the right time, we can support their resilience and prevent a cycle of adversity being passed down from generation to generation.

 

Adverse Childhood Experiences are not a new thing, but the way we tackle them in Scotland is changing.

 

Today I will be joined by half the Scottish Cabinet at an event I am hosting to hear from people working across the main sectors affected by ACEs.

 

It marks the start of the journey to create a united approach across the whole of Scotland to ensure we are doing all we can to prevent ACEs and respond to them in the most effective way when they do happen.

 

I am looking forward to honest and direct conversations with experts from across the board to find out what is already working well in preventing and responding to ACEs, but also where we can improve.

 

Some of these conversations might be difficult but one thing we can all agree on is that the end result, improving the life chances of our children and young people who have had the toughest start in life, is the most important thing we can do.

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Family visitor centre opened at HMP Low Moss⤴

from @ Engage for Education

Yesterday, I opened the new family visitor centre in HMP Low Moss in Bishopbriggs.

It is the fourth new centre to have opened at a prison in Scotland this year and will allow the children and families of those in custody an opportunity to relax and play before visiting their loved ones, as well as providing support, information and impartial advice relating to housing, finance and travel issues, children and health matters.

The Scottish Government is supporting these new centres, and seven existing ones, with £1.8 million in grant funding over three years as we recognise the very real benefit they offer to families.

Being a parent is the most amazing experience, but it can also be one of the most  challenging. These challenges are much greater for families living in difficult or adverse circumstances, not least those affected by imprisonment.

At a time when a child really needs additional support from non-imprisoned family members, those family members may themselves be physically, emotionally and mentally unable to offer extra support.

The children of imprisoned parents are often described as the forgotten victims of parental incarceration. Loss of income, loss of housing, shame, stigmatism, relationship breakdowns, victimisation and an array of negative impacts on children are all prevalent side effects.

Evidence tells us that by the age of 5, children from less advantaged circumstances are between 11 and 18 months behind in their vocabulary skills and between 6 and 16 months behind in their problem solving abilities than children from more advantaged circumstances. The impact of this disadvantage can be seen throughout a child’s life into adulthood. 

Our vision for our children and young people is a simple but ambitious one – we want Scotland to be the best place in the world for children and young people to grow up. Ensuring that all of our children get the best possible start in life is key to us achieving that ambition. 

I am encouraged and excited about how, on a national level, we are making the links between children and families, health and justice – by working collaboratively and delivering programmes like this one in Low Moss and across other prisons in Scotland.

 

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