9 minute read
AIDING THE UCAS PROCESS
The personal statement is sure to be a hot topic amongst your pupils looking to transition into higher education, but, you’re not off the hook either. How can you write a reference for pupils and provide support if they turn to you for help?
One of the most important documents to get pupils into higher education, alongside exams, is their personal statement. The document that can leave even the calmest pupils breaking a sweat, it is a critical supporting document needed to get them into their desired course. 4,000 words or 47 lines – whatever comes first. You can be there to lend a helping hand.
LINK
As a teacher you will be required to assist your pupils with building their personal statement. Bare bones to a fully-fledged personal statement, the best way to help get pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – is to start off with the necklace approach.
Creating a link between the introduction and conclusion, the necklace approach looks at how you can start the statement, adding structure and paragraphs to the main body and a conclusion to link the piece together, a bit like a necklace. When starting with a reference to why a pupil wants to be on a specific course ensure they link back to this original statement in the conclusion.
The UCAS website also has a fantastic personal statement tool that you can signpost pupils to for information on how to extract any ‘waffeling’, edit any content that doesn’t need to be included, plus a bank of successful (and not so successful) past personal statements.
REFERENCE
Next, you need to look at writing your reference. Even if a pupil has fallen short for whatever reason, it is important to highlight this fact but reiterate what potential the pupil does have. Focusing on the positives is the best route to follow.
No doubt your pupils will turn to you for assistance editing their statement, so take this time to have a conversation on what they would like to highlight about their achievements and what will be expected of them from their chosen course or organisation.
When writing your reference be mindful to think about how capable a pupil is at submitting coursework, their attention to detail and commitment or spotlight what they are like working in groups. After reading your pupils personal statement, make sure not to be repetitive – this is a chance to further evaluate and highlight the attributes of this young person.
PROMOTION
Additionally, whether your pupil was head of year, captain of their local football team, led whole school assemblies to raise funds for charity or overcame a personal challenge, take this time to promote a specific moment in your pupil’s school career that will make them stand out from the crowd.
Large or small achievements can be included alongside recognising outstanding pieces of coursework that a pupil has submitted. Regardless of their school experience, the young person in your classroom has the chance to shine and pave the way in their next chapter.
FIND OUT MORE
For advice on how to perfect your statement of reference for pupils, visit the UCAS website: www.ucas.com
EXPLORE SUSTAINABILTY WITH QMS
FARMING FOODSTEPS
EXPLORING THE RED MEAT JOURNEY
Discussions around the sustainability of red meat production are happening in homes and workplaces with increasing frequency, and Scotland’s classrooms are no different. The subject spans the curriculum and is relevant when teaching the journey of food, land use, environmental science, contemporary food issues, geography and health & wellbeing.
Farming Foodsteps is an interactive education resource developed to support practitioners to teach pupils about sustainability and the wider red meat food system.
The resource is split into five lessons exploring the red meat journey from farm to fork. The ‘To Field’ lesson focusses on sustainability and the environment and includes a lesson plan, presentations, a STEM for Sustainability activity, a Glorious Grass activity which explores the importance of grass within the Scottish livestock system, as well as a range of teaching videos and links. In addition, the ‘Mission Sustain’ game has been designed to bring the subject of livestock farming sustainability to life. Developed by industry experts, the player is put in the shoes of a livestock farmer and faced with life-like decisions and challenges that will impact their virtual farm’s environmental, social and economic sustainability.
The Health & Education team at Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) have developed these resources with teachers in mind. Lesson plans (linked to CoE), editable PDF worksheets, quizzes and interactive resources, that all bring learning to life.
Mr Clark, Geography Teacher
Scan the QR code to visit Farming Foodsteps
Taking action on CLIMATE CHANGE
For the fi rst two weeks of November the UN Climate Change Conference will take over Glasgow, uniting the world to tackle climate change
After years of planning and a change of dates due to the coronavirus pandemic, the UN Climate Change Conference UK 2021, more commonly referred to as COP26, is here. Whether you’re a climate change expert or a novice, understanding what the event is and why it’s important can help to teach pupils the impact they have on the planet and how they can make a change.
WHAT IS COP26?
COP26 stands for the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties, these are countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change: an agreement that came into force in 1994 and established an international treaty to combat dangerous human interference with the climate system. This year’s event was originally due to take place in 2020 with more than 200 world leaders attending.
The meeting of world leaders will aim to make progress since the last conference which took place in Madrid in 2019 and saw each nation agree to cut their carbon emissions by the time COP26 starts.
COP26 will be the biggest summit the UK has ever hosted with upwards of 30,000 people involved, and is being described as the most signifi cant climate event since the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is hoped that there will be further decisions on how to cut carbon emissions and act on climate change.
Because the summit will be held here, it is especially important for the UK. As one of the nations most responsible for climate change due to historic pollution, people around the world want to know how the country is responding, as well as how the conference itself is chaired and organised.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
The summit will give signifi cant heads of state the opportunity to refl ect and build on the measures implemented and commitments made through the 2015 Paris Agreement and further strengthen their ambitions to tackle climate change. It comes as activists warn of the detrimental consequences that will incur if the planet exceeds 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming: since 1880 warming has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius.
COP26 should result in major decisions for countries around the world, but it is also a key moment for raising awareness of climate change and the small changes that everyone can make on a daily basis, from recycling to using public transport to get to school.
HOW CAN I INCLUDE THIS IN MY LESSONS?
The importance of COP26 and climate change can be incorporated into any subject or lesson.
Interactive education resources like Farming Foodsteps from Quality Meat Scotland are a great way to engage pupils. The resource covers the sustainability of red meat production from farm to fork. Spanning the curriculum, it is relevant when teaching the journey of food, land use, environmental science, contemporary food issues, geography, and health and wellbeing. To fi nd out more visit www.qmscotland.co.uk/ farmingfoodsteps.
There are also resources to help structure your lessons on climate change available from WWF (www.wwf.org.uk); Climate Change Education in Schools (www.campaigncc. org); Climate Change Connection (www. climatechangeconnection.org) and more.
FIND OUT MORE
To learn more about COP26 visit the summit’s website: ukcop26.org
TEACHING CLIMATE CHANGE WITH GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE
Curious About: Our Planet
Join Glasgow Science Centre for a free online festival and discover the impact climate change is having on our unique and beautiful planet. Explore the far reaches of our world and the brilliance of our biodiversity through an interactive programme of virtual talks, creative resources, and exhibitions.
Whether you want to get your class involved in citizen science projects, take up a climate action challenge, or explore a day in the life of a climate scientist or wildlife conservationist, you can join the conversation and discover how you and your school can contribute to a more sustainable future.
This event is ongoing and will be available on the Glasgow Science Centre website (www.glasgowsciencecentre. org) so you can use resources again and again, or download them to explore the topic further.
Our World Our Impact
As the world’s biggest climate change conference – COP26 - comes to Glasgow in 2021, Glasgow Science Centre are inviting you to get involved. The Science Centre will play an exciting and key role in the most signifi cant climate conference of our time. Join the team from October 2020, as they embark on their biggest climate change campaign to date: Our World Our Impact. Bringing the conversation into your school, a series of interactive online events, discussions, videos, challenges and more are available now. Join the discussion as they explore fi ve major climate themes: climate justice; our planet; food; energy, transport and travel; and our green futures.
An example of content that will be most useful for secondary schools is the Our Fairer Futures learning pack which provides everything you need to engage your pupils in a discussion about energy transition in the classroom. The pack is linked to the curriculum for excellence at levels 3 and 4, however it is designed to give facilitators fl exibility to adapt to youth group engagement, or to adult learners as well as being delivered in a school environment. The digital pack and other resources are freely available online.
