June 30

The Association for Citizenship Teaching and the English Secondary Students’ Association are holding an Active Citizenship Education Conference at The Barbican Centre, London EC2. Teachers and students can have their say on the key stage 3 review for citizenship and DfES research into school councils. They can also attend workshops on: teaching about democracy; participation training for young people; linking schools with the wider community; students as young leaders; citizenship and assessment.

www.tcp-events.co.ukcitizenshipconference

Toys on tour

Until August 27

The touring Must-have Toys exhibition, from the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood, has now reached Northampton Museum and Art Gallery. It brings together favourite toys from the last 100 years. Trends, crazes and manufacturing techniques are also traced. Plastic, for example, was first used in babies’ toys in the 1830s. Related activities will be run during the summer holidays. Free admission.

Tel: 01604 837390

Display of valour

Until January 7, 2007

Some 125,000 men and women served in the air or on the ground at Bomber Command, during the Second World War. An exhibition at the Imperial War Museum North, in Manchester, explores the Bomber Command’s key campaigns, the extreme danger and hardship faced by aircrew and the impact it had on Germany. The Against the Odds: The Story of Bomber Command in the Second World War exhibition includes art, photos and documents, as well as film, sound and exhibits, such as Group Captain Leonard Cheshire’s Victoria Cross. Visitors receive an “identity card” and can find out their fate.

They also discover how little space airmen had to work in during an operation and how bomber-crew slang is still used today.

Tel: 0161 836 4000

www.iwm.org.uk

Handwriting skills

The National Handwriting Association (formerly the Handwriting Interest group) aims to promote interest in the acquisition of handwriting skills as a vital component of literacy. It runs workshops, in-service training days, lectures and an accredited course, as well as developing assessment techniques and teaching programmes for pupils with handwriting difficulties.

www.nha-handwriting.org.uk