Inspire a world of imagination this National Storytelling Week

By Dr Nicola Smith, Lecturer in Primary and Early Years Education and Laura Martin, Alumni Relations Manager School of Education, University of Birmingham After extended school closures continue due to Coronavirus, there is evidence to show that many older primary and secondary school children have lost their ‘reading stamina’ without the daily reading practice that … Continue reading “Inspire a world of imagination this National Storytelling Week”

President Biden’s first 100 days

By Christopher Featherstone, Doctoral Researcher, POLSIS, School of Government, University of Birmingham. President Biden’s path to his inauguration was very rocky and made history for the wrong reasons. Now he has made it to the White House, he faces more challenges, particularly in his first 100 days. COVID-19 No President wants to enter office during … Continue reading “President Biden’s first 100 days”

Read Grow Go: Discover the wonder of literature with the Jubilee Centre

By Catherine O’Leary, Research Fellow Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues, University of Birmingham As we face another period of time where many children across the nation are not in school, let’s take this opportunity to reflect back to The National Literacy Trust survey that took place in 2020. The survey determined the impact that the … Continue reading “Read Grow Go: Discover the wonder of literature with the Jubilee Centre”

Playing with Fire and Fish? No-Deal and the Wider Impacts for the EU and the UK

By Professor John Bryson Department of Strategy and International Business, University of Birmingham I have spent many days in Brussels working with the European Commission providing advice that shaped European policy outcomes. This included working on the Services Directives, service innovation policy and services and trade negotiations. Trade negotiations are complex. Each partner to the … Continue reading “Playing with Fire and Fish? No-Deal and the Wider Impacts for the EU and the UK”

Migration – A Personal Story

By Steve Gulati, Senior Fellow, Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham As the world observes International Migrants Day (18th December 2020), I found myself thinking about my own story and experiences, both personal and professional. In this extended piece, I reflect on the experiences of me and my family, as first and second generation … Continue reading “Migration – A Personal Story”

Brexit Uncertainty and EU Migrants

  By Dr Kelly Hall, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy and Professor Jenny Phillimore, Professor of Migration and Superdiversity School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham Brexit has undoubtedly created a huge amount of anxiety and uncertainty for EU migrants, with their rights to reside, run a business or access welfare placed under threat. Brexit … Continue reading “Brexit Uncertainty and EU Migrants”

The importance of children’s literature: Inspire a world of imagination this Christmas

By Dr Nicola Smith, Lecturer in Primary and Early Years Education and Laura Martin, Alumni Relations Manager School of Education, University of Birmingham After extended school closures in 2020 due to Coronavirus, there is evidence to show that many older primary and secondary school children have lost their ‘reading stamina’ without the daily reading practice … Continue reading “The importance of children’s literature: Inspire a world of imagination this Christmas”

Are we there yet? How the pandemic is affecting children and young people’s learning and how to support

By Dr Karl Kitching, Reader in Education Policy School of Education, University of Birmingham This article describes what we know about how the pandemic has affected children and young people’s learning, offers some support links to parents and schools, and invites parents to support their child’s participation in a new University of Birmingham survey. Are … Continue reading “Are we there yet? How the pandemic is affecting children and young people’s learning and how to support”

When is it Virtue Signalling, and when is it just doing the right thing?

By Aidan Thompson, School of Education, University of Birmingham. I am on my fourth edit of this blog, such has been the changing nature of the story of Marcus Rashford challenging the government to improve its provision of free school meals for children from underprivileged and low socio-economic backgrounds. I began writing this just after … Continue reading “When is it Virtue Signalling, and when is it just doing the right thing?”

Sustainable support for families experiencing food insecurity

By Dr Anita Soni and Megan Tucker School of Education, University of Birmingham. When Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization back in March, the focus was on health: how the virus would affect people, how hospitals would cope with an influx of patients needing specialist care, how healthcare workers could … Continue reading “Sustainable support for families experiencing food insecurity”