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A pioneering program at Wimbledon High School stresses developing digital skills

At Wimbledon High School, focus has been put on developing critical digital skills. Head Jane Lunnon says a programme entitled Futureproof has been rolled-out at the school that teaches skills such as how to use Google properly and how to spot fake news.

Wimbledon High School is preparing students for the workplace and academic life with excellent digital literacy – including problem-solving, communicating, understanding algorithms, powering up your Google search, handling information and spotting fake news.

Wimbledon High School writes about the course: “When you’re rushing to finish a research task or scrolling through social media, how do you know that the ‘facts’ you are seeing are true? Can you evaluate the source for accuracy? Is the information reliable? Stop and think. Who is writing this text? What’s their position? What do they have to lose or gain from publishing this information. What or who were their sources? Be a bit suspicious. Try to cross-check facts with another site or source if the topic is contentious or they don’t make sense.”

How do you know that the ‘facts’ you are seeing are true? Can you evaluate the source for accuracy? Is the information reliable? 

The course will also teach skills related to using Google. “Most people know that having done a search you can narrow down to see certain types of media or results – maps, images and so on. The real tool for proper searching is the Google Advanced Search.” Fact-checking is another vital skill taught on the programme.

Read more at: https://ie-today.co.uk/Article/future-proof-your-digital-skills-today

All schools should have counsellors to address the increase in children with mental health issues

Every school should have a school counsellor to help address the increase in children with mental health issues, the Children's Commissioner has said. 

A new report by the champion for young people has found that only a "small fraction" of children who need mental health support were able to access services last year. 

While services overall have improved, more must be done to ensure that children can get the help that they need, Anne Longfield said. 

She called for better lower level mental health services to "ensure easy access before conditions deteriorate".

Tom Madders, Campaigns Director at YoungMinds, said despite some improvements children's mental health services remained "overstretched and inconsistent".

"We get calls every day to our helpline from parents whose children have been waiting for mental health support, or been turned down because thresholds for treatment are high," he said. 

"This can have damaging consequences - in some cases, parents tell us that their children have started to self-harm, become suicidal or dropped out of school while waiting for the help they need."

Read more at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/11/22/schools-should-have-counsellors-address-increase-children-mental/