Family members are treated like every other child in the inclusive childminding settings. Payment support is available for them too, such as universal credit, tax free childcare and childcare vouchers. It is only the funding which is not allowed. It is unfair to potentially move a settled child from their learning setting just because they are family and will not receive the 15/30 hours funding in the family members setting because of this reason.

There are approximately 20,000 students who did A levels as external students. Some are homeschooling, some re-sitting, often because of a tragedy in their lives. Since they were not in a school or College, CAG doesn't work for them as centres are understandably saying they cannot give them a grade. But it means that unlike every other A level student, they have been left with nothing. Government have said they can re-sit in the autumn. That means they can't go to university this year. But they could be given predicted grades NOW. Most of these students cannot afford to take a gap year. They watch their friends move on and, through no fault of their own, they are left behind. Again. Ferdaus, for example, got a place at Kings College to do medicine. He re-sat due to family illness last year. "I was very very anxious during the confirmation [of results] period. I'm depressed. It's not even limbo. It's nothing. I'm in a black hole." Israt didn't do A levels last year as her father was dying. Now she's left with nothing and says she's 'never felt so low or suicidal.' Another BAME student from a working class family had mental health problems and didn't get the grades they knew they could. Re-sitting was a financial burden on them and their family. Had got a uni place. "I'm a future psychologist. We're all future 'somethings' but our futures are being held hostage for another year. I'm devastated. I can't do this again." Please sign the petition, circulate and contact your MP urgently.

The expertise of teachers has been completely devalued by the unjust and incomprehensible reduction of subject grades and consequently, thousands of students nationally have suffered. Across the board, this reduction has been aimed at secondary schools, academies and sixth form colleges, whilst independent and smaller schools have received a disproportionate rise in top grades. This is blatant discrimination. It is a biased and unjustified action suggesting qualifications are now based on postcode and affluence, not ability. Potentially, highly knowledgeable and hard-working students, completely committed to their subjects, have had their futures obliterated by a skewed, unfair and inscrutable system. Furthermore, to lodge an appeal to the system that discriminated against them is simply unacceptable and students should not feel this is a reasonable way to receive their due results. We urge the Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, to reinstate teacher assessed grades for A level with immediate effect.

Thousands of school students have had their final results unfairly downgraded. Many received a mark lower than what their teacher predicted - even though no-one sat an exam this year!Those in deprived areas were twice as likely to have their grades lowered. There’s a simple, fair solution: no student should get a grade lower than the one they earned on their mock exam. But today we need to prove to John Swinney that tens of thousands of us in Scotland think this is a better, fairer idea.

Nature Premium Ticks All the Boxes We are campaigning for a positive, long-lasting change for our children, environment, economy and society. A Nature Premium would… MAKE CHILDREN HAPPIER & HEALTHIER AND SET THEM UP TO LEARN Supporting good mental health:  Increased self-worth  Increased resilience  Supporting eudemonic wellbeing  Improved social functioning  Reduced stress  Reduced eco-anxiety Supporting good physical health:  Reducing obesity levels  Increasing daily activity levels  Building muscle co-ordination  Increasing Vitamin D levels  Building immune systems  Natural active play builds core skills especially when the play is child-led. Supporting learning:  Engages children with learning  Has a positive impact on behaviour  Leads to a greater understanding of nature  Makes lessons more enjoyable  Fulfils an Ofsted Framework requirement to create an enriched curriculum  Support children’s creativity, PISA criterium 2021-22 FALL IN LINE WITH GOVERNMENT POLICIES & STRATEGIES  DEFRA – 25 Year Environment Plan  Dept for Education - The DfE Planning Guide for Primary Schools and the supplementary guidance ‘Implementing protective measures in education and childcare settings’  The Ofsted Education Inspection Framework 2019  Children’s Act 2004  HM Treasury commissioned Dasgupta Review 2021  DEFRA commissioned National Food Strategy 2021 LEVEL UP REMOVING THE INEQUITY OF ACCESS TO NATURE Improves social inclusion, and it is fair to all:  Increased diversity in the countryside  All children treated equally  Build children’s understanding of how they fit into the British countryside.  A ring-fenced funded, statutory requirement would empower schools to teach nature.  Learn to respect nature and the Country Code ENCOURAGE SAFER LEARNING OUTSIDE Reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection:  Children learn to manage their own risk  Children understand good hygiene  Children learn how to stay safe in the countryside  Children see how time passes, seasons change, see that change can also be good  Children can be more dispersed than inside SHOW INTERNATIONAL STATESMANSHIP As Britain led the Industrial Revolution, we can now lead the Nature Revolution:  UNCRC Article 12/29/31  OECD children’s wellbeing indicator set  UN decade of ecological recovery  World Economic Forum Global Risks 2020  UN Sustainability Development Goals  COP26  Net Zero target  Plans for a green industrial revolution to Build Back Greener TRANSFORM A GENERATION TO BE STEWARDS FOR THE PLANET The Nature Premium would establish:  Children and Young People engaged with caring for their environment  Whole school communities empowered to live sustainably  Families inspired to learn with and from their children about nature  Communities taking responsibility for local biodiversity  A skilled and knowledgeable generation contributing to a new greener economy  Inspiration to focus on career paths in both heritage and new ‘green’ industries

The four statues: Drake, Blake, Nelson and even a nameless white man as a ‘representation’ of Imperialist. Racist. Power. All have strong roots in the slave trade. Down with honouring white supremacy and people who subjugated nations and enslaved people! Deptford Town Hall opened in 1905 as the town centre, but since it was taken over by Goldsmiths in the late 1990s, it’s no longer open to the local community. Not only are community members denied access to the building, but we must also endure glorified emblems of slavery on the front of the building. The four statues are of: Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 1596), a pioneer of the slave trade making at least three royally sponsored trips to West Africa to kidnap Africans and sell them. Elizabeth I awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. Robert Blake (1598 – 1657), an admiral who served under Oliver Cromwell throughout the English Civil War. He fought the Dutch to secure the (slave) trade triangle between the Caribbean, West Africa and England. Cromwell was responsible for trafficking the first waves of enslaved people to and from the Caribbean; installing the plantation system in Jamaica; and the massacres in Drogheda (1649). Horatio Nelson (1758 – 1805), was a naval flag officer whose leadership was during the Napoleonic Wars (1803 – 1815). Nelson spent a large part of his career in the Caribbean and developed an affinity with the slave owners there, using his influence against the abolitionist movement in Britain. The fourth statue, understood to be a ‘representative’ figure, rather than a specific person, from the period when the building was constructed. It shows a modern admiral, with sextant and binoculars. Deptford was strongly connected with the transatlantic slave trade, with many ships built, fitted and repaired in the local docks before heading out to Africa. Olaudah Equiano was initially trafficked to Deptford; he fought to become a freedman and was one of the key figures in the abolitionist movement. Here is a man we want to remember. Original text and text that is on the placards here: https://www.gold.ac.uk/about/history/dth-statues/

Racism is a stain on humanity and must be eradicated. Many feel the main starting point in doing so is through education and learning. In light of George Floyd’s death and Black Lives Matter protests across the globe, I have been considering how we as a society can move forward and challenge racism, how I can teach my children about Black History and it occurred to me that I did not learn enough about Black History when I was at school, especially Scotland’s role in the slave trade. Having left school ten years ago, I have reached out to younger peers and colleagues who are still at school or have left school more recently to gather their views and, sadly, the consensus is that Black History is still not well represented in schools.

In light of recent events where we as a global community have witnessed innocent black lives taken in acts of racial discrimination, we have to ask ourselves why the response of many people is still to discriminate. It is the responsibility of the educational system to highlight the history of British colonisation and involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade to understand how and why racial prejudice, divisions and unequal opportunities exist for black people in Scotland and Britain. It seems that a lack of understanding of the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement comes down to a lack of education, and we cannot let this be a failing of our educational system, nor let it feed into peoples ignorance. The police brutality demonstrated in recent events unveils a universal racist system that does not afford black people the same privilege as that of white people and an understanding of this must be achieved through education. This is as much relevant in the UK as structural racism has been evident in Grenfell, disproportionate deaths related to COVID19 and the tragic incident involving Mark Duggan, to name a few.

School can be tough for some children at the best of times – particularly those who are living in poverty, have experienced trauma, spent time in the care system or have additional learning needs. For some of these children, lockdown will have been a welcome respite from the challenges of school. For many, home learning has been an uphill battle without the support they would have in school. For most, the pandemic has stirred up strong emotions that are hard to live with, for them and their families. Schools will have their hands full just managing the logistics of a safe school return. We are calling on governments to give schools the funds, guidance and resources they are going to need to support the children who will struggle the most when they go back to formal education. All children deserve an equal chance to settle and thrive once schools re-start.

This is the final year for hundreds of students at Cardiff University, a critical time for any student, not least in a pandemic where libraries are closed and normal support and resources unavailable. The University claims to have made provisions in light of the Covid-19 crisis including extending the dissertation deadline until May 12th, however the exam schedule for the School of History, Archeology and Religion (SHARE) released on April 22nd shows that exams have been scheduled very close to this date, making this extension essentially meaningless. Many students are now facing having to complete their dissertations and sit an exam on the same day. We don't believe this is fair, and ask the University to reconsider their close scheduling to help us to be able to achieve the grades we are can.

This is important because schools are unable to ensure social distancing due to the size of corridors and classrooms in most cases. There a number of staff and students whom have underlying health issues themselves as do members of their families. There are teaching staff whom are shielded In some of the communities in Inner London Boroughs, students and adults may live in extended families -this putting older relatives at risk. Some schools saw a high fall in attendance from both staff and students so this may impact on running the school anyway. The surfaces for the virus to cling to in schools are numerous and it is impossible to keep up with the cleaning required during the day to ensure that students and staff do not come into contact with surfaces upon which the virus may present We are continuing to deliver the curriculum by various online platforms. Most teaching staff would rather be teaching in school due to the issues arising form working at home - but many have families to support, so surely it is better to be safe than sorry.

It is important because we are also in need of financial help during this crisis.