[EDUCATION] What should the role of a school be in today’s society? 🏫

It is easy to assume that schools should have one sole function of providing formal education to support and assist children throughout their academic and professional careers. However, as laid out by guidelines from the Department for Education (2014,p.4), schools also have a duty to “promote the spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of their pupils”. This clearly demonstrates that a school should not simply be seen as an institution for education in the traditional sense, but rather that they can perform additional functions outside of academia. For this education scoop, we’re going to look into the ways in which the curriculum is structured to ensure that schools fulfil more than just an academic responsibility for their students!

💡 Things to consider

• What is SMSC development? Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural (SMSC) development can be described as a theme which is present throughout the curriculum, with the intention of targeting students’ personal development. The goal of including this within the curriculum is to provide schools with a guideline for the kind of education they should seek to deliver, and the kind of society they should aspire to create for their students to function within.

• How are SMSC values reflected in the pupils? Different ways in which SMSC development can be shown by the pupils of a school include: having knowledge and respect for people’s different faiths, feelings and values (spiritual); having the ability to recognise right and wrong, act within legal boundaries and understand consequences (moral); participating in a range of social settings and engaging with different communities (social) and finally, showing appreciation for the various cultural influences which exist in modern Britain (cultural).

• Finding a balance: It can be argued that the teaching of SMSC values is as important for students’ personal development as academic teaching is for their intellectual development. As such, it is necessary for educational institutions to find the right balance for both types of learning to co-exist within the curriculum. Thanks to the many frameworks put in place by regulatory bodies such as the DfE and Ofsted, schools today are provided with a great deal of support to enable them to take action and adapt their curriculums to best teach their pupils and equip them with both the scholastic and societal skills to be a functioning member in their community, and the wider world!

🔎 Find out more

• https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a758c9540f0b6397f35f469/SMSC_Guidance_Maintained_Schools.pdf

• https://www.smscqualitymark.org.uk/what-is-smsc/

[CHEMISTRY] The Future of Green Chemistry 💚

Green chemistry, also known as sustainable chemistry, is the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous substances. It is a relatively new field, but it has the potential to revolutionise many industries.

Some of the current trends in green chemistry include the development of new catalysts, the use of renewable feedstocks (to produce a wide range of chemicals, including plastics, fuels, and pharmaceuticals) and the design of products that are biodegradable and non-toxic.

💡 Things to consider

• The development of new chemical processes: Green chemists are developing new chemical processes that are more efficient and less polluting than traditional processes. For example, they are developing new ways to produce hydrogen and ammonia, two important industrial chemicals.

• The use of nanotechnology: Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter at the atomic and molecular scale. Green chemists are using nanotechnology to develop new catalysts and materials that can be used to produce chemicals in a more sustainable way.

• The integration of green chemistry into other industries: Green chemistry is increasingly being integrated into other industries, such as textiles, electronics, and agriculture. This is leading to the development of new products and processes that are more sustainable and less harmful to the environment.

🔎 Find out more

• https://teachers.yale.edu/curriculum/viewer/initiative_09.05.08_u

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👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…

• 6th November - University of York Open Lecture: Brain and Heart: The dynamic connection

• 6th November - St Mary’s University: Finalising your Personal Statement webinar

• 7th November - Nottingham Trent University: English Language and Linguistics Workshops Nottingham Trent University

• 7th November - Queen Mary University of London: Wonderful World of Maths Taster Day

• 7th November - University of East Anglia: China Think Panel Politics/International Relations Webinar

• 7th November - University of East Anglia: Computer Science Webinar - Developing Secure Software

• 8th November - Studying English at Cambridge Part 1 Webinar

• 9th November - Queen Mary University of London: Discover Economics - Empowering Women Workshop

• 11th November - University of Exeter Webinar for Y13: Ace The Transition to University