Feb202017

News story: Justine Greening’s vision for the teaching profession

HM Government
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In a speech at the Chartered College of Teaching’s inaugural conference, Education Secretary Justine Greening set out her ambition for a high-status teaching profession, backed up by high-quality continued professional development and pledged her support for teachers as the body of experts who are key to driving social mobility.

Addressing an audience of over 450 teachers, Justine Greening described the launch of new the College of Teaching as a historic moment for the teaching profession. Commenting on the launch she said:

Teaching deserves all the hallmarks of the other great professions – with a high bar to entry, high-quality initial training and a culture of ongoing self-improvement.

So it’s crucial that, like other experts, teachers now have a professional body with a shared commitment to ever-improving standards, disseminating evidence on what works, and driving progress for the profession as a whole.

And I especially want to see a new generation of teachers becoming part of the Chartered College of Teaching – to help safeguard and shape the profession’s future.

The Education Secretary also outlined plans to strengthen the teaching profession so that every child has access to an excellent teacher, including:

  • making absolutely clear that QTS will not be scrapped – instead, the government will work with the sector to develop and introduce a newly strengthened QTS from September 2019, so that all school leaders will want all their teaching staff to achieve it
  • announcing the first round of bidding for the £75 million Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund – to enable new, high-quality continued professional development (CPD) provision to be delivered where it can make the most difference, including in the 12 opportunity areas
  • new, fully revised gold-standard national professional qualifications (NPQs), developed in partnership with the teaching profession, to be implemented from September this year. £10 million from the Teaching and Leadership Innovation Fund will be made available to incentivise take-up of the new NPQs for high-potential professionals working in the most challenging schools

Underlining the importance she placed on ensuring teachers have the right support and skills so they are able to help all young people fulfil their potential, the Secretary of State said:

Teachers are the great drivers of social mobility in our country. We know that the single biggest in-school influence on a child’s life chances is the quality of teaching they receive.

It is important that all teachers are supported with the right framework that will allow them to become the best professionals they possibly can be.

I want to work with the profession to make sure this happens, with a golden thread through every teacher’s career from initial training and QTS through continued professional development, especially in those early post-QTS years, through to specialism or leadership.

Great teaching transformed my life, and I want to make sure that happens for today’s generation of children in our schools. I will do all I can to ensure teachers have the right support that will enable them to spread opportunity for children and young people – particularly those who need it most.

Feb202017

Press release: New British Deputy High Commissioner for Lagos arrives Nigeria

HM Government
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Laure Beaufils looks forward to working with a variety of Nigerian partners to further progress on the UK/Nigeria relationship.

The British High Commission in Nigeria has announced the arrival of Laure Beaufils, appointed as British Deputy High Commissioner for Lagos, Laure is the first female to head the UK mission in Lagos. She arrived Nigeria on Monday, 20 January 2017, and already looks forward to the tasks ahead.

Commenting upon arrival, Laure said “I’m delighted to be in Lagos and leading the UK mission here. I look forward to working with a variety of Nigerian partners to further progress the already strong UK/Nigeria relationship”.

Laure Beaufils has been head of the UK Department of International Development in Rwanda since August 2014 where she managed a $100 million portfolio of programmes focusing on economic development, governance and social sectors. Prior to holding this position, she worked in various positions in the UK Government. She was the lead strategic adviser working for the British Prime Minister in his role as co-chair of the UN Secretary General’s High Level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda.

She ran DFID’s department for Overseas Territories. She led a team working on climate change, and also worked for the UK mission to the UN, as first secretary responsible for development. Prior to joining the UK civil service, she worked with the UN and civil society organisations. She also worked with the private sector as a financial auditor. She has lived and worked in Rwanda, Ethiopia, India, Cambodia, France, the UK and the USA.

Feb202017

Charity group launches Belt and Road first-aid project

East Asia
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The Chinese Red Cross Foundation (CRCF) Monday launched a first-aid project under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing.

The project will offer first-aid resources, including ambulances and medical professionals, and public health services along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a 3,000-km network of roads, railways and pipelines linking Kashgar in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and southwest Pakistan’s Gwadar Port.

The first emergency medical center under the project will be built in Gwadar Port, according the CRCF.

The project is sponsored by the CRCF Silk Road Bo’ai Fund, a non-profit program which aims to contribute to the Belt and Road Initiative by providing humanitarian services. The fund was also launched Monday.

As part of the fund, a project on helping children with congenital heart disease in Afghanistan was announced by the CRCF on the same day.

Feb202017

HRH The Duke of York brings Pitch@Palace On Tour to Wales

Welsh Government
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Pitch@Palace offers entrepreneurs the chance to get their Tech business idea in front of a global audience of influencers who can catapult it to the next level.

Pitch@Palace was founded by The Duke of York in 2014 to support entrepreneurs with the amplification and acceleration of their business ideas by connecting them with potential supporters including CEOs, investors, elevators and key business partners.

Pitch@Palace On Tour comes to Cardiff’s Tramshed on Friday Feb 24 at the invitation of Cardiff Start, a community support hub for technology start-ups and business professionals, based in or around Cardiff. The  Welsh Government is principal sponsor of the first Pitch@Palace event in Wales which is also supported by Innovation Point.

Selected entrepreneurs will pitch their business ideas to His Royal Highness and invited guests and compete to progress to the next stage Pitch@Palace Boot Camp with the most successful then pitching at St James Palace to an audience from the world of entrepreneurship, tech, media and investment.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said: 

“Technology driven businesses with bright ideas have the potential to create a real positive impact on our lives and on the economy. They operate in a highly competitive environment and young start ups particularly can benefit significantly from high level support and expertise to move to the next level.

“The Welsh Government provides a wide range of business support for these enterprises and our sponsorship of Pitch@Palace opens up potentially new opportunities and experiences for Wales based tech companies and I wish all participants the very best of luck.”

Supporting the Economy Secretary’s views, Cardiff Start Co-Founder and Pitch@Palace host, Robert Lo Bue, said: 

“The tech start up scene in and around the Welsh Capital has exploded in recent years. Our community alone has over 2100 members sharing opportunities and experiences every single day. 

“We are very fortunate in Wales to have a supportive Government and a collaborative environment where individual enterprises actively work together to create the ideal ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs.

“Attracting Pitch@Palace to Wales is quite an accolade and an acknowledgement of the rapid  growth and success of the sector in Wales.”

There are two main Pitch@Palace events held in the UK every year, each with a different theme, focusing on various areas of the UK Tech industry. The current theme is Human Tech and the potential impact of technology in our everyday lives – focusing on three areas:

  • Tech supporting our everyday needs – Health, Education, Environment
  • Tech making our lives more efficient – Connecting up homes via the Internet Of Things, Improving Communications, Wearable Tech and Robotics
  • Tech augmenting our experience of the world – through Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence.

Pitch@Palace has to date:

  • helped over 247 businesses grow and create 643 jobs; 
  • 66% of start ups  have increased employment;
  • 65% of competing start ups subsequently raised funds;
  • £247m+ of economic activity has been recorded.

The judging panel at Cardiff Pitch@Palace includes: David Buttress, CEO, of Just Eat, Yasmin Crawford, owner of Tramorgan and James Henderson, Fund manager of Inspire Wales.

The selected companies pitching are:

  • Kraydel
  • Salubrious Ltd
  • Helpfulpeeps
  • BrainWaveBank Limited
  • Learnium
  • Harness
  • Paperclip
  • Alkosens
  • Medivation Limited
  • Vision Game Labs Ltd
  • Volunteer Space
  • Recall Alert CIC.

Feb202017

Scotland’s exercise blackspots revealed

Scottish Conservatives
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20 Feb 2017

Brian Whittle

Scotland’s most and least active areas have been revealed in an official Holyrood survey. 

The report, which will be presented to the Scottish Parliament’s health committee tomorrow, will show a huge disparity in how active residents.  

As a result, the Scottish Conservatives have urged the SNP to provide the necessary action to make Scotland an active nation.

The study of more than 3000 people highlighted the percentage of non-participants in regular sport or physical activity based on postcode.

 Aberdeen proved to be the least active area in Scotland with statistics revealing that 35 per cent of respondents from the Granite City don’t participate in regular activity – 23 per cent behind leaders Falkirk.

 Kilmarnock also collated worrying results, 25 per cent of its respondents putting their name under the non-participation brackets. 

Scottish Conservative sport spokesman Brian Whittle said:  

“This report reveals the SNP’s inability to promote the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle.

“It’s hugely important to participate in regular activity, and it’s known to come hand in hand with living a healthy and happy life.

“It’s sad that the SNP has failed to make the most of Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games’ potential to make Scotland a healthy and active nation for years to come.

“There are of course various barriers preventing participation in regular activity – lack of time, money and self-confidence to name but a few.

“The SNP seems to only talk about making so many improvements. Now people are realising it has no idea how to address these issues.

“That’s why we urge the SNP to read over the Scottish Conservatives’ long-term consultation, a document that we believe will go a long way in tackling the obvious inequality of access across Scotland.

“The Scottish Government claims it wants to shed Scotland’s unhealthy image.

“However, the only way to start making Scotland a healthier and more active nation is to start knocking these barriers down.”

Click here to read a copy of the report: www.parliament.scot/S5_HealthandSportCommittee/Meeting%20Papers/Public_Papers_21_Feb_2017.pdf

A copy of the Scottish Conservative healthy lifestyle strategy: http://www.scottishconservatives.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Scottish-Conservative-Healthy-Lifestyle-Strategy.pdf