Daily memo 14 - 18 August 2017
Welcome to the Parent Zone Daily memo. Here are the stories that have grabbed our attention in education, social care and the digital world...
Friday 18 August
Image: Parent Zone
Numbers game
Pupils with ‘gibberish’ new GCSE grades could miss out on jobs, say employers. Read more.
Aiming high
Former City lawyer now runs the 6th form in one of the country's most deprived boroughs and 95% of students have won places at Russell Group universities this year. Read more.
App-iness
Three ways mobile phone apps can have a positive effect on young people. Read more.
Fiction friction
Fake or misleading stories about Muslims have been shared hundreds of thousands of times online. Read more.
Image: Komposita, CC0
Friday funny
As it's nearly the weekend, one that made us giggle. The average person spends 10 years reading idiots’ opinions online...possibly. Read more.
Thursday 17 August
Image: Flickr
A Level playing field?
Early reports suggest there is a rise in the number of students getting top grades in their A-Level results today. Read more.
Also, read our guide on what you can do if your child didn't get the grades they needed today.
What about us?
BTEC results are also released today, yet they don't get as much attention. Why? Read more.
Clean slate
Here are 5 top tips on how parents can help their child through the clearing process today. Read more.
Facebook faces up to hate
In response to what happened in Charlottesville over the weekend, Zuckerberg said Facebook will remove all threatening posts immediately. Read more
Image: Public Domain
Hand in hand
Smartphone separation anxiety: There is actual science behind why we feel sad without our phone. Read more.
Wednesday 16 August
Image: public domain
Number of teens seeking counselling for exam stress surges
A 68% increase in two years, says Childline. Read more.
A fairer future?
More than half of last year’s Oxbridge’s entrants came from state schools. Cambridge offered 62.5% of places to state schools pupils. 93.2% of pupils overall are educated in the state sector. Read more.
Whoops
A robot shelf-stacker was almost as successful as the suicidal robot security guard. The future isn’t here – yet. Read more.
Tweet of hope
Obama’s tolerance Tweet becomes most liked ever. Read more.
Diddy data
The implications for children in the new Data Protection Bill (the post-Brexit adaptation of the GDPR). Read more.
Tuesday 15 August
Image: Thomas Morris
The great indoors!
One online champion has said more children should spend time online this summer instead of playing outside. Read more.
Steps into STEM<
Yesterday we mentioned how teachers felt STEM subjects were designed primarily for boys. Today read this piece on how parents can encourage all their children to take an interest in STEM. Read more.
Logged out and locked up
A man becomes the first paedophile to be convicted of child grooming via Live.Me streaming app. Read more.
Big B(r)other
Facebook knows what you’re doing… even if you don’t have a profile on the social network. Read more.
Image: Public Domain
Let's get critical!
Here are some steps to follow in knowing if a viral video is actually just fake news. Read more.
Monday 14 August
Image: Public Domain
A boy's club
A third of teachers believe STEM subjects (Science/Technology/Engineering and Maths) are catered towards boys more so than girls. Read more.
Time is called on screen debate
One celebrated educationalist has said we should focus less on how much time young people spend online, and instead shift attention to how they're using the web. Read more.
Snapflat
It looks like Snapchat's 10 seconds of fame might be over sooner than we thought as Facebook and Instagram continue to poach its users. Read more.
#Fake
Making a fake Instagram account with thousands of purchased likes and followers is a lot easier than it seems. Read more.
Let's get quizzical
New research has found that completing even one Facebook quiz could be putting your privacy at risk. Read more.
Image: MIki Yoshihito
Prioritise Prevent
One person has argued that the prevent strategy is about relationships, therefore it should be integrated into pastoral care in schools. Read more.
