The perfect summer scent

Summer Scents

Surround yourself with the most summery of scents this month with our top picks of the most delightful floral fragrances around.

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1. SHAY & BLUE, £55 A unique floral freshness of snowdrops and cyclamen, black tulip and plum. www.shayandblue.com; 2. OYLMPEA BLOSSOM, £83.50 A floral and fresh scent composed by Paco Rabanne for a radiant and confident woman www.pacorabanne.com 3. CHLOÉ ROSE TANGERINE, £82 A fresh, fruity signature Eau de Toilette www.chloe.com; 4. ROSE, £30 Paul Smith Rose is a fresh, modern, addictive and sensual rose fragrance www.boots.com; 5. DKNY Be Delicious Coconuts About Summer, £47 A warm floral fragrance that adds an extra dose of all things holiday to the iconic apple scent www.next.co.uk.

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6. MIU MIU L’BLEU, £100 This fresh floral Eau de Parfum captures Lily of the Valley magnified by a subtle scent of Honeysuckle www. miumiu.com; 7. HERBAE PAR L’OCCITANE, £65 A a green, fresh and floral fragrance www.uk.loccitane.com; 8. GABRIELLE CHANEL, £120 A floral, solar and voluptuous interpretation www.chanel.com; 9. CLASSIQUE, £56.10 A beautiful floral oriental fragrance that is both aphrodisiac, regressive, warm and smooth www.jeanpaulgaultier.com; 10. BRONZE GODDESS, £65 The texture of the Tiare Flower along with creamy coconut, amber, sandalwood and vanilla www.esteelauder.co.uk

Ageism and TV: Could Anne Robinson's Countdown role be a turning point?

Newly appointed Countdown presenter Anne Robinson joked in a recent interview that she’s the oldest woman on TV who’s not judging cakes. The announcement that Anne, 76, would be taking over the long running show from Nick Hewer, 77, has prompted the realisation that we don’t see many older women in prime-time presenting jobs. In the last year we saw Sue Barker, 64, leave A Question of Sport after 23 years following ‘a major shakeup’ of the program. And Jenni Murray left Radio 4 after 33 years hosting Woman’s Hour.

In 2006 and 2007 we saw two of our most highly experienced newsreaders, Moira Stuart and Anna Ford, quit the BBC after careers spanning 26 and 18 years, respectively. When Ms Ford left, she claimed that nobody over 60 was employed as a newsreader. The broadcaster Libby Purves spoke out last year about women being subjected to ‘lookism’ in the workplace, with women under more pressure to appear attractive and youthful while their male counterparts are allowed to grow old with no questions asked. Evidence suggests that women face a ‘double jeopardy’ of discrimination as we get older where our ageing is seen much more negatively than men’s. A key facet of ageism in society is a limiting set of expectations of how people should look and behave at older ages, and for women that intertwines with the enduring pressure to ‘look good’.

Why do a person’s value, skills and experiences seemingly become invalid at a certain point in time, just because they have reached a particular age?

But while the ‘rules’ on ageing are particularly unfair for women, ageism is of course harmful for everyone. Why do a person’s value, skills and experiences apparently become invalid at a certain point in time, just because they have reached a particular age?

The problem is that while we’re all growing older, on average, we just haven’t woken up to the opportunities that those longer lives offer us and society. We haven’t shifted our thinking about ageing, and this is reflected in our societal structures and institutions. about the age diversity of their workforces which in some sectors is notoriously young. We need for media to refrain from characterising older people as incompetent, elderly and frail, and from stoking intergenerational tension. Instead, we are crying out for greater and more realistic representation of the huge diversity of people and experiences that exist in society – at all ages.

Ultimately, we need a fundamental culture shift on ageing, to overturn this culture of pity and dislike towards older people and ageing, which continues to be cultivated in many realms of public life. This ingrained ageism has a profound effect on our self-esteem, our ambitions for the future, and the way we experience day-to-day life. It affects our ability to get and retain jobs, and our access to healthcare.

Let’s hope that the appointment of Anne Robinson on one of our best loved TV shows is a sign that attitudes are slowly but surely shifting. And here’s looking forward to seeing many more brilliant women over 50 on our screens. n

Emma Twyning Head of Communications www.ageing-better.org.uk

Boosting the nation's skills

Further measures to boost the nation’s skills, level up opportunities and get more people into better paid jobs have been announced.

The measures come after the Prime Minister delivered his levelling up speech, where he underlined the need to escalate the value of practical and vocational education through the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, which will boost skills and open up opportunities for more people at every stage of their lives. The Government’s successful Skills Bootcamp training programmes will be expanded across the country, offering an extra 16,000 fully funded places for adults to upskill or retrain.

The expansion covers a range of digital and technical training including in green skills, such as solar energy installation, sustainable agriculture, nuclear energy, and green transport, along with coding and software development, so more adults have the opportunity to access the skills and training they need that leads directly to a job. A consultation has been launched on the future of the National Skills Fund, which has already supported thousands adults to upskill and retrain through Skills Bootcamps, and access to almost 400 free courses through the Free Courses for Jobs programme.

The consultation will ask for views on how the fund should be adapted for the future, so it continues to meet the future skills needs of individuals and employers, levelling up opportunities across the country.

Eighteen areas across the country will also be the first to lead work to build stronger partnerships between local employer groups, colleges and other providers through the Skills Accelerator programme, so the training on offer meets the need of local communities and fills skills gaps in key sectors of the economy including construction, digital, clean energy and manufacturing. This will mean more people can get the training needed to secure great jobs close to home.

New careers guidance has been published for all schools and colleges, to make sure that every young person is aware of all the options available to them, including apprenticeships and technical education opportunities instead of concentrating on the traditional university route.

A further consultation has been launched on plans to simplify funding for adult skills training, while giving colleges more freedom to decide Since April, adults without a full qualification at Level 3 (A level equivalent) have been able to access almost 400 free courses, through the Free Courses for Jobs offer, ranging from engineering to healthcare to conservation, to help them gain in-demand skills and open up job opportunities.

In January the government set out vital reforms to post-16 education and training in the Skills for Jobs White Paper, which will ensure everyone no matter where they live can gain the skills they need to progress and secure a great career at any stage of their life.

The measures announced today build on the work already underway to transform further and technical education, including the roll out of new T Levels, working with employers to create more high-quality apprenticeship opportunities, establishing a system of Higher Technical Education and a network of Institutes of Technology, backed by up to £290 million. n www.gov.uk

ANSWERS

You’ve found the answers! The puzzles are on page 30 & 31

Have fun this summer

With the school summer holidays almost upon us, parents and carers will be looking for ways to keep their children occupied – and importantly, to have some fun. We know how important it is that children and young people are physically active – without it, many will not enjoy the health and social benefits associated with living active lives.

Our Active Lives Children and Young People Survey shows the pandemic has been disruptive, but children and young people have been adapting their habits and trying new things. There are some key ways you can deliver your activity to appeal most to parents or carers and their children, and craft messaging that will highlight this. We’ve summarised this below, together with some example social media posts, a link to free images you can use, activities you can encourage parents or carers to do with their children, information on some of the funds we have that you can consider applying for, and more.

Simple ways to help children and young people get active this summer We’ve prepared some advice and ideas for activity providers based on the insight we have on children and young people’s activity levels and attitudes about being active. Our research shows that children and young people’s activity levels are lower than they were before the pandemic and this is even more pronounced for those from less affluent families and from some culturally diverse communities. On top of this, we know that some groups of children and young people have also been feeling less confident when taking part, aren’t finding sport and being active as easy and aren’t enjoying being active as much as they used to. All of this is important to consider when designing and running activities and tailoring messaging for parents or carers. Here are some of the things to bear in mind:

Focus on the fun and enjoyment What we know Enjoyment is the biggest driver of children and young people’s activity levels, and there’s an established link between them feeling positive about taking part in sport and physical activity, and then doing so. Feeling confident when taking part, and finding sport and being active easy (competence), could be low for children and young people who’ve had lots of disruption or not been able to do an activity for a long time because of the pandemic.

How you can help Focus on providing activities based around being fun and informal. Tailor your messages to emphasise what your activity will be like – enjoyable, a chance to have a good time with friends, helping to build confidence. If parents/carers know it’s going to be something fun, their child(ren) are likely to know that too. Create a friendly, safe and positive environment and ease children and young people into activities without focusing too much on developing skills and/or fitness. Actively involve them in helping to shape activities where you can – listen to their needs and try to act on their feedback.

Try to make it family-friendly What we know Family has a major influence on participation. We know there are strong associations between the attitudes and behaviours of parents/ carers and those of their children – the more active a parent/carer is, the more active their child(ren) are. And the more positive a parent/ carer feels towards sport or activity, the more likely their child(ren) are to be active.

How you can help Think about ways you can make activities fun and family-friendly, that focus on opportunities for active play or a chance to try an activity that might be new or different. Messaging should centre around activities that are easy to access, don’t take a long time to do, are low cost or free, or that can be done flexibly in a range of places – for example at home or at the local park with little or no equipment, or just walking, scooting and cycling.

Offer a choice What we know While the pandemic has created many barriers to being active, choice has been key in helping to maintain older girls’ activity levels and enjoyment in particular.

For some children and young people, the past 16 months have been a chance to do things differently – so some have enjoyed being active more than usual, using the extra time to take ownership of what they do and trying out new things in a way that feels safe, supported and free from pressure or judgement.

How you can help Consider providing a range of different opportunities and activities that cater for a range of abilities, and tailor your messaging to bring this to the fore. Think about ways of reducing any pressure or judgement so that children and young people can work at a pace and in an environment that suits them. For example, this may mean less focus on performance or competition, or being more relaxed about any kit that they need to wear. Create opportunities to connect with friends in a relaxed, informal environment.n www.sportengland.org

A good education is about more than academics

With a planned return to something more akin to a normal school year set for September (school assemblies, no bubbles etc), the summer is the perfect time to take stock of lessons learned from the past two school years.

There is plenty to reflect on (the strength of the school community, the use of technology in the classroom, the dedication of pupils, parents and teachers supporting learning) but perhaps the most important lesson is that a good education and a good school experience is so much more than ‘good academic progress’.

When the pandemic dictated a move to remote provision, schools responded in a variety of ways. At Arnold Lodge School, we have used a variety of approaches (depending on the subject, age and stage) covering live lessons through to pre-recorded lessons to work through with teacher support.

As our classes are small (on average around 14), children were able to receive a high level of support from their teachers and keep ‘on track’ with their learning. Our exam classes, for example, kept pace with the coverage of their course and did not need to ‘catch up’ when we came back to site. Whilst academic learning continued during remote provision, so much of the richness of the school community was lost as the pupils and staff could not be together. Whole school assemblies, lunchtime chess club or dance class (or fencing…or choir…or the school drama production) and, perhaps most importantly of all, time with friends on the playground.

The pandemic reminded us that a good education is so much more than just learning and that we should celebrate the opportunities for learning throughout the school day rather than just the things you can measure with a test. As we look to September, at ALS we will be emphasising the ‘world beyond the test’ as much as possible. After all, a good education is about more than academics.

If you would like to find out more about ALS and what we can offer your child, join us for our Open Day on Saturday, 9th October. Contact a member of our friendly admissions team on admissions@ arnoldlodge.com to reserve your place. n David Preston, Headteacher, Arnold Lodge School. 15-17 Kenilworth Road, Leamington Spa, CV32 5TW, 01926 778050. www.arnoldlodge.com