Sheffield Hallam University

How England’s scrapped Sure Start centres boosted the health and education of disadvantaged children

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Sure, Health, Homelessness, Sheffield Hallam University, Learning, Partnership, Family, Child, Ageing, Save the Children, Research, Food, Sure Start, Organic, Housing, Heart, Parent, Tutoring

The Sure Start programme was launched in 1999, with centres set up in communities across England to offer support to the most disadvantaged families.

Key Points: 
  • The Sure Start programme was launched in 1999, with centres set up in communities across England to offer support to the most disadvantaged families.
  • The research found that access to a Sure Start centre significantly improved the GCSE results of disadvantaged children.
  • This builds on other research that has shown that Sure Start also had significant long-term health benefits.

How Sure Start worked

  • There was no set model for how Sure Start local programmes should deliver the services they offered.
  • The support offered was tailored to the challenges that local families were facing.
  • I was lucky enough to be the community development worker for a small children-and-families charity that led an early Sure Start local programme.

Learning from Sure Start

  • Drawing on the successes of Sure Start, the nursery was established with the motto “changing lives through relationships”.
  • It had the explicit aim of building trust with families so that we can understand their challenges and work on solutions together.
  • The university runs the nursery, and together with Save the Children provides additional support to parents.
  • I have always been convinced of the benefit of Sure Start’s approach, and the recent IFS findings add further evidence of its value.


Sally Pearse does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Pearson and British Esports Federation Launch First Internationally Recognised Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Primary, Secondary, Education, Sports, Other Education, General Sports, Continuing, University, Belfast Metropolitan College, BTEC, GEMS Education, Higher Nationals, Travel, AoC Beacon Awards, UTM, British Esports, HND, Sunderland College, Employment, PSON, Partnership, University of Salford, Ageing, Pleasure, Nottingham Trent University, Workforce, Creative, University of Chichester, York College, Digital, Real, Higher National Certificate, Key Stage 4, Queen Mary's College, Student, Gower College Swansea, University of Northampton, HNC, Growth, Sheffield Hallam University, ESAG, School, Higher education, Life, Vocational education, Level 4, Coventry College, Video game

British Esports, the UK’s national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world’s leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.

Key Points: 
  • British Esports, the UK’s national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world’s leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.
  • “This qualification is the perfect avenue to the top-up degree available from College of Esports for Level 6 and ultimately, Level 7.”
    For more information about the Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports, please visit the BTEC Higher Nationals in Esports .
  • These new qualifications, launching in 2024, complement Pearson and British Esports’ existing BTEC in Esports offering, including the Level 2 Skills in Esports BTEC for Key Stage 4 students, and the Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Esports for students aged 16+.
  • The BTEC Higher National qualifications are widely recognised by industry and higher education authorities around the world as the principal technical professional qualification at this level.

Pearson and British Esports Federation Launch First Internationally Recognised Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Belfast Metropolitan College, University, BTEC, GEMS Education, Higher Nationals, Travel, AoC Beacon Awards, UTM, British Esports, HND, Sunderland College, Employment, Education, PSON, Partnership, University of Salford, Ageing, Pleasure, Nottingham Trent University, Workforce, Creative, University of Chichester, York College, Digital, Real, Higher National Certificate, Key Stage 4, Queen Mary's College, Level 7, Student, Gower College Swansea, University of Northampton, HNC, Growth, Sheffield Hallam University, ESAG, School, Higher education, Life, Vocational education, Level 4, Coventry College, Video game

LONDON, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- British Esports, the UK's national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world's leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.

Key Points: 
  • LONDON, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- British Esports, the UK's national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world's leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.
  • For more information about the Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports, please visit the BTEC Higher Nationals in Esports .
  • These new qualifications, launching in 2024, complement Pearson and British Esports' existing BTEC in Esports offering, including the Level 2 Skills in Esports BTEC for Key Stage 4 students, and the Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Esports for students aged 16+.
  • The BTEC Higher National qualifications are widely recognised by industry and higher education authorities around the world as the principal technical professional qualification at this level.

Pearson and British Esports Federation Launch First Internationally Recognised Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Belfast Metropolitan College, University, BTEC, GEMS Education, Higher Nationals, Travel, AoC Beacon Awards, UTM, British Esports, HND, Sunderland College, Employment, Education, PSON, Partnership, University of Salford, Ageing, Pleasure, Nottingham Trent University, Workforce, Creative, University of Chichester, York College, Digital, Real, Higher National Certificate, Key Stage 4, Queen Mary's College, Level 7, Student, Gower College Swansea, University of Northampton, HNC, Growth, Sheffield Hallam University, ESAG, School, Higher education, Life, Vocational education, Level 4, Coventry College, Video game

LONDON, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- British Esports, the UK's national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world's leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.

Key Points: 
  • LONDON, March 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- British Esports, the UK's national esports federation, and Pearson (FTSE: PSON,L), the world's leading learning company, have launched a new suite of higher-tier BTEC qualifications in Esports - the first internationally available qualifications of their kind.
  • For more information about the Higher National BTEC Qualifications in Esports, please visit the BTEC Higher Nationals in Esports .
  • These new qualifications, launching in 2024, complement Pearson and British Esports' existing BTEC in Esports offering, including the Level 2 Skills in Esports BTEC for Key Stage 4 students, and the Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Esports for students aged 16+.
  • The BTEC Higher National qualifications are widely recognised by industry and higher education authorities around the world as the principal technical professional qualification at this level.

Gaza update: pressure mounts on Israel’s allies to stop supplying the weapons to prevent genocide

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 5, 2024
KCS, Liverpool John Moores University, Famine, San Francisco State University, Letter, Sheffield Hallam University, Supreme court, Weapon, Geneva Conventions, University of East London, Benjamin Netanyahu, Hermes, United Nations Security Council, Iron, Elbit Systems, IDF, Research, Food, World Central Kitchen, History, News, The Times, Politics, University, Catastrophe, Hope, WCK, Doctor of Philosophy, Fever, Lawyer, Safety, Atmosphere, International law, Economics, Government, Movement, IPC, UN, Assault

“If you aim at the driver’s side, you will hit the driver full-on,” Chris Lincoln-Jones told the newspaper.

Key Points: 
  • “If you aim at the driver’s side, you will hit the driver full-on,” Chris Lincoln-Jones told the newspaper.
  • It is also thought probable that they were launched from a Hermes drone, made by Elbit Systems – also an Israeli manufacturer.
  • The letter, which the newspaper reports amounts to a legal opinion, says UK arms sales to Israel breach international law and must stop.
  • One obvious way to do that is to stop selling them weapons.


Now many of the aid agencies operating in Gaza have suspended their activities. As Stavropoulou and Schiffling write here, the difficulty of getting aid to the population threatens to make the famine that is engulfing the Gaza Strip worse than it already is.

Read more:
More than 200 aid workers have been killed in Gaza, making famine more likely

UN resolution

  • We spoke with John Strawson, an expert in Israeli politics at the University of East London, who kindly answered our questions about the politics of the situation, especially the US decision not to use its veto to block the resolution after decades of faithfully supporting successive Israeli governments in the security council.
  • Expert Q&A

    Given that Netanyahu has indicated that Israel will not abide by security council resolution 2728 – and the US has said that it’s a non-binding resolution in any case – what does international law say about the enforceability of US resolutions?

  • There appears no reason why resolution 2728 is not legally binding and, if push comes to shove, the security council could order that UN members “take such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security”.

Starvation behind the ‘Iron Wall’

  • According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry the total has now passed 33,000 people.
  • Nnenna Awah, whose PhD research at Sheffield Hallam University is in optimising food supply chains, walks us through the different classifications of food insecurity.
  • Kaplan says it is the embodiment of Israel’s “Iron Wall” ideology, developed even before statehood was declared in 1948.
  • Kaplan says that Jabotinsky’s ideological heirs in Likud (including Netanyahu) have rejected more liberal Israeli compromise positions ever since.

Schools are using research to try to improve children’s learning – but it’s not working

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Education, Sheffield Hallam University, Learning, EEF, School, Mental health, Research, Human, Literacy, University, Student, Movement, Teaching, Medicine

The Department for Education encourages school leadership teams to cite evidence from research studies when deciding how to spend school funding.

Key Points: 
  • The Department for Education encourages school leadership teams to cite evidence from research studies when deciding how to spend school funding.
  • Teachers are more frequently required to conduct their own research as part of their professional training than they were a decade ago.
  • Independent consultancies have sprung up to support schools to bring evidence-based methods into their teaching.
  • This push for evidence to back up teaching methods has become particularly strong in the past ten years.

FDA Grants Breakthrough Device Designation to ORTHOSON's Bio-Structural Gel

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024
Biotechnology, FDA, Pharmaceutical, Health, Breakthrough, Intervertebral disc, Patient, I Am the Moon, Food, Degenerative disc disease, Back pain, Biomedical engineering, University, Doctor of Philosophy, Sheffield Hallam University, Medical device

ORTHOSON , a medtech innovator developing a portfolio of novel treatments for back pain, today announced that its Bio-Structural Gel product has been granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Key Points: 
  • ORTHOSON , a medtech innovator developing a portfolio of novel treatments for back pain, today announced that its Bio-Structural Gel product has been granted Breakthrough Device Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
  • ORTHOSON's Bio-Structural Gel follows the natural fissures of degeneration in the nucleus pulposus of the intervertebral disc, before gelling in-situ to form a highly-hydrated biology-supporting structure.
  • “Gaining Breakthrough Device Designation is a significant achievement that will prioritize our work with the FDA as we go through the regulatory process,” said Ken Reali, chair of ORTHOSON.
  • “We believe the Breakthrough Device Designation for our Bio-Structural Gel is a testament to our team's spirit of innovation and dedication.

MyKnowledgeMap Announces Electronic Practice Assessment Document Approved for SCPHN Programmes

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Medicine, Trinity College London ESOL, Assistant, Middlesex University, City University, Education, PAD, Chair, Brunel University London, Buckinghamshire New University, NMC, Learning, Student, Health Education England, Bournemouth University, HEI, Canterbury Christ Church University, Ulster University, University, Sheffield Hallam University, King's College London, University of Surrey, HEE, UNICEF, Knowledge, Nursing, University of Northampton, University of Bolton, Northern Ireland

YORK, England, Dec. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MyProgress is a workplace-based assessment and eportfolio tool designed specifically for medicine and healthcare education and is already used to support pre-registration nursing, nursing associate, and midwifery programmes around the capital at Pan London institutions, and at universities throughout the UK.

Key Points: 
  • Learning technology specialist MyKnowledgeMap is thrilled to announce the practice assessment document (PAD) it co-developed for SCPHN programmes has received NMC approval.
  • Nurses and midwives who take an approved SCPHN programme, and achieve the standards of proficiency, will join the SCPHN part of the NMC's register.
  • The introduction of the new standards requires all institutions with SCPHN programmes to obtain programme reapproval from the NMC for programmes starting no later than September 2024.
  • The developed practice assessment document has now been tested with practice partners and approved by the NMC following submission by one of the Pan London universities.

Maxeon Solar Technologies Wins Apex Award for "Sustainable Business" at United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore's Award Ceremony

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
United Kingdom, Sustainability, Sustainable business, Thought, Sustainable Development Goal 9, Corporate Knights, Sheffield Hallam University, United Nations Global Compact, Organization, Global Compact, Environment, Ecosystem, Business, Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, Sustainable Development Goals, Renewable energy

SINGAPORE, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MAXN), a global leader in solar innovation and channels, announced today that it has received the award of 'Sustainable Business' at the United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore's (GCNS) Apex Award ceremony celebrating the best companies in Singapore for sustainability.

Key Points: 
  • SINGAPORE, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MAXN), a global leader in solar innovation and channels, announced today that it has received the award of 'Sustainable Business' at the United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore's (GCNS) Apex Award ceremony celebrating the best companies in Singapore for sustainability.
  • The ceremony was held on November 3, 2023, in the presence of Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu.
  • Maxeon Solar Technologies' CEO, Bill Mulligan, said: "Maxeon is a mission-driven Company, and we are thrilled that our sustainability efforts have been recognized by the Global Compact Network Singapore.
  • Global Compact Network Singapore's Executive Director Esther Chang said: "Maxeon has been an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the Global Compact family since 2020.

Maxeon Solar Technologies Wins Apex Award for "Sustainable Business" at United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore's Award Ceremony

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, November 8, 2023
United Kingdom, Sustainability, Sustainable business, Thought, Sustainable Development Goal 9, Corporate Knights, Sheffield Hallam University, United Nations Global Compact, Organization, Global Compact, Environment, Ecosystem, Business, Ten Principles for the Establishment of a Monolithic Ideological System, Sustainable Development Goals, Renewable energy

SINGAPORE, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MAXN), a global leader in solar innovation and channels, announced today that it has received the award of 'Sustainable Business' at the United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore's (GCNS) Apex Award ceremony celebrating the best companies in Singapore for sustainability.

Key Points: 
  • SINGAPORE, Nov. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxeon Solar Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MAXN), a global leader in solar innovation and channels, announced today that it has received the award of 'Sustainable Business' at the United Nations Global Compact Network Singapore's (GCNS) Apex Award ceremony celebrating the best companies in Singapore for sustainability.
  • The ceremony was held on November 3, 2023, in the presence of Singapore's Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Grace Fu.
  • Maxeon Solar Technologies' CEO, Bill Mulligan, said: "Maxeon is a mission-driven Company, and we are thrilled that our sustainability efforts have been recognized by the Global Compact Network Singapore.
  • Global Compact Network Singapore's Executive Director Esther Chang said: "Maxeon has been an enthusiastic and dedicated member of the Global Compact family since 2020.