Teens face up to life’s hard knocks
A series of games and videos aims to help teenagers to get better at dealing with life’s hard knocks. The SuperMe programme has been put together to promote resilience and help young people understand how they can shape their own futures. Online games score players on learning from mistakes and persistence, while videos feature celebrities including England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Richard Bacon talking about overcoming adversity. SuperMe has been produced for Channel 4 Education and will be available via YouTube, Facebook and E4.com. For details, see www.playsuperme.com.
Guidance on ‘drop-down’ days revised
The PSHE Association has revised its guidance on the use of ad hoc teaching sessions after fears that PSHE is increasingly being pushed to the margins of school timetables. The guidance urges schools to teach the subject through dedicated lessons, rather than through “drop-down” days, where they are fitted into gaps in the timetable. These “drop-down” days should be used to add value rather than deliver the core curriculum, the association says. Full guidance is available from www.pshe-association.org.uk.
Personal finance numbers tot up
A record number of pupils have registered for qualifications in personal finance, according to the ifs School of Finance. The education charity claims that 25,000 14 to 19-year-olds signed up this year to take GCSEs, AS-levels or A-levels in personal finance - the most in a single academic year since the qualifications were first offered in 2005. Rod McKee, head of financial capability at ifs, says the increase reflects a growing awareness among young people of the importance of understanding their own finances.
