As the Chancellor what economic decisions would you make? What would your Budget for the country be? Which taxes will you levy on society? Where would you choose to spend the money you’ve raised? Here is a chance for the young people in your school to have their say. Watch this video to find out more:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Chance to be Chancellor is a competition that is open to all 14-18 year olds across the UK and their decisions will form the Youth Budget 2012. For a chance to win the national competition, visit the Paying for It site.

Saving Squad is a free online resource for 7-11 year olds, designed to improve young people’s financial capability and promote the benefits of saving money. Children create an avatar and solve real world money and numeracy based problems in order to earn points and unlock games.

The resource also includes lesson plans and ideas for teachers and parents/carers as well as guidance and discussion topics. It looks very useful… could you use the site in your classroom?

MoneySmartWorld have a wide range of money worksheets, curriculum based lesson plans, practical money management workbooks, story books and informative articles specifically designed to help young people learn about money. Their resources are designed for all ages.

As well as the paid resources, there are also lots of free resources to download, so take a look!

Here are links to some of the main education-related news articles this week:

• Universities in England will be able to charge tuition fees of up to £9,000 per year from 2012, as the government transfers much of the cost of courses from the state to students. But Muslim student leaders say some of these changes to tuition fees in England could breach Islamic rules on finance, which do not permit interest charges.
• The shadow education secretary, Andy Burnham, has said that the principles behind comprehensive education need to be “rehabilitated”. Meanwhile, grammar schools could soon be given the green light to expand under the Government’s flagship education reforms.
• New research in Wales has claimed that secondary schools there are performing worse since league tables were abolished.
• The Secretary of State for Education has allocated £110 million to establish an education endowment fund (EEF) designed to raise standards in underperforming schools. However, this article in the Guardian reports that this might be at the expense of the previous government’s plan to extend free school meals to all primary school children living below the poverty line.
• Ministers want to find out whether primary schools are drilling rather than teaching pupils.
• Some of the most deprived secondary schools in the country could see their budgets soar by up to £1 million due to the pupil premium, the first research has revealed.
• Some councils are taking drastic measures to cope with unexpected cuts to Government grants for IT, leaving schools without money to spend on computers.

Image – GHCA’s Computer Lab

• Scientists have discovered that schoolchildren who struggle to grasp mathematics could benefit from having their brains zapped with electricity.
• England’s chief schools adjudicator has warned that thinning down the admissions code for allocating school places fairly could risk weakening it.
• A poll has suggested that parents believe England’s school admissions system is an unfair and confusing process, with many admitting they will go to any lengths to secure a favoured place for their child.
• The number of “super primaries” across England is set to explode as local authorities struggle to deal with the sudden jump in pupil numbers.
• Isabel Nisbet, chief executive of Ofqual, has said that official targets on the number of good GCSEs teenagers should get should be scrapped.
• Read this interesting report about Alex Wilson, who is using blogging as a creative way of showcasing pupils’ work.
• Primary school teacher, Llew Davies, has been voted teacher of the year.

Visit Teaching Events to find educational events to use in your classroom.

Learning about money is an important part of life and education… here are links to some sites and resources which may be useful to you:

• This BBC report shows schools in Northern Ireland where lessons in personal finance are compulsory for all children.
• The following Youtube video shows five tips to teach younger children good money habits:

www.childrensmoneyworld.com

www.moneysmartworld.com

Do you have a favourite resource when teaching children about money? Please let us know about it by suggesting it in the comments… thank you!

Image – £20

Here are links to a selection of this week’s education news headlines:

• A review of special educational needs and disability by Ofsted revealed ‘a range of concerns about the current system and how well it is serving children and young people.’ Articles commenting on the findings appear on the BBC (here and here), Guardian and TES sites.
• Plans by the government to raise the bar for trainee teachers in England could worsen the shortage of science and maths teachers, according to a report by Buckingham University.
• An article on the BBC site tries to explain why parents struggle with new methods for teaching Maths.

Image – Finances

• A league table of universities shows that only 14 British universities appear in the top 100.
• A former government adviser has claimed that the exams system is ‘diseased’ with exam boards making profits through textbooks which hint at exam questions.
• Teaching unions are considering joint national strikes over public spending disputes.
• The Guardian are running a special event offering advice for schools teaching with technology on a tight budget.
• The School Library Commission says that good libraries are vital to successful schools and that their importance has been neglected.
• This Guardian article reports on the freedom that children are given in today’s society. What proportion of your pupils are allowed to walk to school on their own?
• This BBC video shows lessons in personal finance which are compulsory for all school children in Northern Ireland.

Visit Teaching Events to find educational events to use in your classroom.

Here are links to a selection of articles from this week’s Education news:

• Headteachers plan to boycott SATs tests – The National Association of Head Teachers is boycotting next month’s SATs tests for 10 and 11 year olds. There is also a ‘Q&A‘ about the boycott.
• School governors attack the SATs boycott – The National Governors’ Association says that a boycott of the tests will damage schools. Parents have also commented that the boycott has come too late.
• Behaviour ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ – Statistics compiled from school inspections in England showed that 74% of schools were rated good or outstanding for behaviour.
• Getting children to behave in class – This BBC report outlines a number of strategies adopted by schools to encourage good behaviour amongst their pupils.
• Teach children how to manage money – A petition is calling on the next government to bring back plans to introduce formal financial education lessons for pupils.
• Scotland’s secondary curriculum will not be delayed – The Scottish Education Secretary says that the introduction of a new curriculum in secondary schools will go ahead in the new school year as originally planned.
• Some schools struggled to open due to transport chaos – Flight cancellations due to the volcanic ash disrupted many lessons as teachers and pupils struggled to return home after their Easter holidays.
• Stranded teachers using webcams to continue lessons – A teacher from Oxfordshire who was stranded in Spain because of air restrictions used an internet cafe to take lessons.
• Students use extra-curricular activity to improve job chances – Undergraduates are using these activities, including the creation of their own radio station, to give them ‘employability’.
• Jamie Oliver to continue work on improving school meals – The celebrity chef plans to spend millions of pounds of his own money, enabling schools to bid for new kitchens and other equipment.
• What else can a primary teacher do? – The Guardian reports on alternative career choices for primary school teachers.

Image – Newspaper

Following on from my previous post about free teaching resources from My Money, the site has just announced two competitions for UK schools.

The competitions aim to get pupils engaged in personal finance education in an exciting way by combining their knowledge of personal finance with their opinions on the value and importance of money. They then produce a piece of artwork to represent their knowledge and opinions.

www.mymoneyonline.org

The competitions are supported by specially created lesson plans, which lead pupils from specific personal finance education curriculum learning materials into producing a competition entry.

Competition prizes include Nintendo DSs, iPod Touches, digital cameras, books, cash for schools and a private tour around the Bank of England and the British Museum! The closing date for the competition is 2nd April 2010.

Find out more on the My Money site.

My Money is a £10 million investment by the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) to deliver joined up lessons on personal finance in schools until 2011. As you may be aware, one of the key outcomes of the Every Child Matters agenda is for young people to achieve Economic Wellbeing. A major contributor to this is their ability to have the skills, knowledge and attitudes to manage their personal finances successfully.

The My Money Mathematics Resources were launched recently and comprises six themes built around different practical aspects of money. They are:

Money…

• what is it? – local trading schemes leading to currency exchange
• earning it – the world of work and take home pays
• spending it – buying and running a car
• investing it – savings accounts and investing in shares
• risking it – gambling and fruit machines
• being enterprising with it – setting up an ice-cream business (geometric investigation)

Mathematical demand increases throughout each theme, from National Curriculum Level 1 (Entry Level 1) to National Curriculum Level 8 (GCSE Grade B+) but can be easily extended to challenge the brightest pupils. The activities have been designed to give teachers the freedom to create their own units of work, as recommended by National Strategies, but individual activities can also be used within discrete starter–main–plenary lessons.

Download the resources here.

Support Your School is a new recycling scheme whereby schools across the UK can raise funds for their school by recycling used inkjet cartridges and unwanted mobile phones. The scheme is completely free for schools to join and participate in, and at a time of under funding for lots of organisations, gives schools a new, ethical way to fundraise.

www.supportyourschool.co.uk

The scheme also helps teachers and schools supporters with a fully integrated website where you can download support materials and manage your accounts in as easy and transparent way as possible. They have a special platform for 6-11 year olds called the RecyKids Area, where young people can learn about recycling and take part in activities that help educate them about the importance of being eco friendly.