Launched by the All-Party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group (APDAWG) and the National School Dog Alliance (NSDA), the award celebrates schools that have successfully integrated dogs into school life to enhance student well-being and educational outcomes.

Schools from all educational stages – including early years, primary, secondary, all-age and special schools – are encouraged to nominate their school dog for the award, which will be presented at a special ceremony at the Palace of Westminster in summer 2025. The winning school will receive a trophy, together with a fantastic prize pack for their dog, including treats and a bespoke training package. Runners-up attending the awards ceremony will receive goodie bags for their school and their dog.

This exciting initiative is supported by children’s charity Kidscape, which provides practical support and advice to challenge bullying in both schools and communities. It is sponsored by protein ball manufacturer ‘It’s The Dogs’.

Dr Helen Lewis, Chair of the NSDA, commented: “This new award shines a spotlight on the innovative and responsible ways schools are integrating dogs into their learning environments and celebrates best practices in utilising school dogs across the UK.”

She continued: “For schools, this recognition is much more than a trophy. It is a demonstration of their willingness to take innovative approaches to improve student well-being and confirms that their school dog’s involvement in the daily life of their school is managed safely, ethically and with the welfare of both students and the dog in mind.”

Dr Marc Abraham OBE, vet and co-founder of APDAWG, added: “More and more schools are discovering the benefits a school dog can bring – whether in improving student well-being, fostering social and emotional development, or in strengthening human-animal relationships.

“By recognising schools that are leading the way in this area, we hope this new award will inspire others to take on a school dog and that the awards ceremony will be a joyful occasion during which we can all celebrate the value of dogs in education.”

BAE Systems launched the nationwide educational event in 2005, engaging and inspiring around 1.3 million pupils since then. The RAF joined as a partner in 2008, with the Royal Navy adding its support in 2015.

Designed to spark excitement and interest in STEM subjects, the programme offers a highly interactive experience for primary and secondary school students aged 10 to 13 years old, demonstrating practical applications of scientific and technological concepts in real world scenarios.

This year’s series launched today at St Mary’s College in Hull and will go on to visit more than 500 schools up and down the country, bringing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to life as around 130,000 pupils use the technology to create songs and accompanying music videos with the help of a robot dog called Lexi.

The scheme is so successful that the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and BAE Systems have now agreed to continue delivering the roadshows until at least 2030.

Tania Gandamihardja, Group Human Resources Director at BAE Systems, said: “As one of the UK’s leading advanced engineering and technology companies, we have a long history of nurturing young talent and helping to educate young people on the value of studying STEM subjects.

“I’m proud of the part our schools’ roadshows have played in that over the last 20 years and delighted that we have secured this new funding to take us up to a quarter of a century of inspiring young minds in this way.”

The roadshow has visited over 5,000 schools across the length and breadth of the UK in the two decades since its launch, covering topics such as electricity, space, magnetism, energy, maths, waves, physics and biomimicry.

Maria Stead, Head of School at St Mary’s College in Hull, said: “We are very excited to be able to host this STEM roadshow at St Mary’s and to work with such an innovative and important local and national company.

“As we move into an ever-greater technological future, we want our students to be at the forefront of all such developments and therefore being part of a day like today is an amazing opportunity. We know our youngsters will take a lot from the experience and that this will help to shape their future paths.”

Together, BAE Systems, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy employ thousands of engineers across the world and are committed to engaging with young people through initiatives like the STEM roadshow to encourage and support a highly skilled workforce of the future.

Commander Chris Pinder, Royal Navy STEM Programme, said: “The Royal Navy relies on STEM expertise to design, build, deploy and maintain our world-class ships, submarines and aircraft around the world.

“Galvanising the engineers and scientists of the future is essential and the additional funding to maintain this excellent programme is hugely welcome.”

SaveMyExams surveyed 1,000 UK students, uncovering that 8 in 10 have felt the pressure of exam anxiety. While many students face this emotional burden, only a small proportion are seeking help to manage it. The data reveals that just 14% of students receive exam revision support from their parents, while a significant 7 in 10 choose not to seek help at all.

In response to these concerning findings, SaveMyExams has launched a unique ‘Exam Anxiety Relief Kit’. This comprehensive kit equips students with a variety of practical tools designed to help manage stress and anxiety during revision and exam periods.

The survey’s findings align with the aims of Children’s Mental Health Week, which seeks to encourage conversations about mental health, raise awareness, and reduce stigma. The research clearly demonstrates that exam stress is rapidly becoming a significant mental health concern. An overwhelming 85% of students reported experiencing exam anxiety, with one third admitting that anxiety is a constant presence in their lives.

A quarter of teenagers also revealed that their anxiety levels were above an 8 on a scale from 1 (very calm) to 10 (unmanageable anxiety). These figures underline the urgent need for enhanced support and increased awareness of the mental health impact caused by exam pressures.

Only 14% of students reported receiving exam revision support from their parents, while a staggering 71% admitted to suffering in silence, choosing not to seek any help to manage their anxiety. Among the 29% who did seek support, half revealed that talking to friends was their primary method for relieving exam anxiety. Meanwhile, 20% turned to physical exercise as a coping strategy. Almost 30% of teenagers also shared that they had started using breathing exercises or meditation to combat their anxiety during the exam period.

Constance Mantle, CEO at SaveMyExams, comments on how children can use educational tools when revising to help relieve exam anxiety: “Children’s Mental Health Week is the perfect time to highlight the need for greater support. The fact that so many teens are experiencing exam anxiety is worrying. We know that anxiety can impair cognitive functions like memory retrieval and problem-solving, which directly impacts exam performance. This can have serious negative consequences on students’ future ambitions, but more significantly their mental health.“

Why Farmers Need to Understand Commodity Market Trends

The world of commodities trading might seem far removed from that of farming. One is an active vocation, involving getting out into the fields, growing things, and ultimately selling them. The other is a more abstract pursuit, which largely involves dealing with charts and numbers.

But the link between the two is obvious. When the price of a given commodity changes, it can have ripple effects that might push up production costs – or push down the amount you’re able to charge for the goods you produce.

The deeper your knowledge of market trends, the better your decisions will tend to be. If you feel that the long-term future of a given crop is promising, then you might invest in machinery to assist in growing it. For example, when the price of wheat is pushed up by a war in Ukraine, owning the right machinery might allow a farmer in the UK to capitalise.

We might also consider the potential impact of international trade barriers, which might be thrown up in a new age of tariffs. This might create problems for certain kinds of farmer – but opportunities for others. Being aware of what’s going on, and what the implications are, can make a big difference.

Tools and Resources for Tracking Market Trends

Staying on top of market trends can be a daunting thing – at least, to begin with. You don’t need an exhaustive understanding of all of the arcane terms involved. You can rely on the information you get from farmer co-operatives and agricultural advisors – or, you can look for instruction from books, and platforms like Youtube.

In the modern age, the proliferation of smartphone apps makes it possible for rural workers to stay on top of market trends, which can ultimately be empowering. Look at commodity trading software platforms, and set up alerts for when the price of the relevant commodities takes a dive – or soars to new heights.

The Broader Economic Impact of Educated Farmers

When farmers understand the state of the market, they’re able to make better decisions – not just for themselves, but for the wider economy. Supply chains become more stable, and disruption more quickly and efficiently dealt with. In the modern, globalised world, farmers in the UK are more exposed to events in distant countries than ever before – and being able to understand the shape of the challenge can be vital.

The consultation, which runs for 90 days, includes a proposed reduction of 400 (FTE) academic staff and the possibility of School and subject closures and School mergers.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Larner said: “The precarious financial position of many universities, particularly in the context of declining international student applications and increasing cost pressures, and the need to adapt to survive are well documented.

“We know here at Cardiff University that it is no longer an option for us to continue as we are. Our new strategy, co-created with our community, lays out an ambitious future for our University where it is collaborative, innovative, and delivering value for Cardiff, Wales and the wider world.

“Securing that future, in the context of tightening finances, means we need to take difficult decisions to realise our ambitions to enhance our education and research, and improve the staff and student experience.

“We have worked diligently to create initial proposals for a slightly smaller University, refocused around our core and emerging strengths – a University ready to leverage new academic opportunities, prepare students for an adapting world and meet changing market demands as they arise.

“At the same time as putting forward these proposals to reshape our current activities, we will be working on a new model for flexible lifelong learning, new opportunities in transnational education, and new approaches to learning and teaching.

“Our proposals aim to create a more focused, higher quality research environment for staff and students that is world-leading with cynefin, place and co-creation at its heart.

“We also want to ensure a consistently excellent education experience for students of all backgrounds and experiences.

“I want to stress that these are proposals and our final plans will be shaped by our community – both internal and external – through formal consultation. The scale of the challenge will remain, but the way that we address it will certainly be refined and developed over the next 90 days.” ​

The proposed changes include:

• a reduction of academic headcount by c.400 FTE (7% of total workforce), using compulsory redundancy, only if absolutely necessary​
• ceasing subjects and programmes in Ancient History, Modern Languages and Translation, Music, Nursing, and Religion and Theology
• increasing student and staff ratios across the University, while at the same time revising our approaches to learning, teaching and assessment, and simplifying bureaucratic processes
• bringing complementary disciplines together through proposed school mergers. The creation of the School of Natural Sciences (merge Chemistry, Earth Sciences and Physics), School of Data Science, Computing and Mathematics (merge Computer Science and Maths), School of Human and Social Sciences (merge Social Sciences, Geography and Planning) and School of Global Humanities (merge English, Communication and Philosophy, Welsh, and remaining elements of History Archaeology and Religion and Modern Languages)​.
• Professor Larner said: “I know that these proposals impact some staff more than others and they will cause a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety for those potentially impacted.

“We have done everything that we can to avoid reaching this position, but ultimately we know that annual rounds of cuts demoralise our staff, affect our students, and limit our ability to retain and grow new partnerships with our community here in the UK and elsewhere. We need to act now to ensure that we are able to deliver on the aspirations of our new strategy and have a viable university for the future.

“These academically-led proposals aim to reverse our deficit trend and create headroom for new revenue-generating activities to be established,” she added.

A related process to reshape the professional and support services to support our academic aspirations has already begun. ​

Staff briefings were held on Tuesday 28th January and will continue throughout the week. The business cases for each School will be made available through the University’s staff intranet. Current students and other key external stakeholders will be updated on the proposals.

The consultation will run for three months and final plans for approval are expected to be considered by the University Council in June 2025.

Elective home education is where parents choose to homeschool their children. Every parent has the right to make this decision, but it can sometimes be met with misinformation and stigma if they choose to do so. NELC alongside partners including the Police, Health providers, Early Help, Children’s Social Care, and other key stakeholders came together to discuss the complex issue and to listen to lived experiences from parents who have chosen to go down the home education route.

The session was met with insightful conversation, Jennifer Steel, Service Director of Education, Inclusion and Integration at North East Lincolnshire Council said:

“Bringing together people is the first step in creating meaningful partnerships across the different services and sectors.

Hearing from the parents who are electively home educating their children is vital in understanding what us, as a service, can do to support them and how we can improve our offer to ensure every child’s educational needs are being met.

Every child is different, and each family will have an individual set of circumstances that we need to try and understand. Today was the first step in opening the conversation and will shape our approach to EHE going forward as a local authority.” 

Portfolio Holder for Children and Education, Councillor Margaret Cracknell said:

“I’d like to commend all partners who attended the round table discussion, but I’d especially like to thank the parents who took the time out to come and share their own experiences.

Education is a crucial part of every child’s life and it’s important that those who choose to home educate their children can do so with the support they need.”