Ethnic disproportionality in the identification of speech language and communication needs (SLCN) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD): 2005-2011

The Better Communication Research Programme (BCRP) was commissioned as part of the Better Communication Action Plan, the government’s response to the Bercow review of services for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs. There has been a long standing general concern about the progress and achievement of some minority ethnic groups in England and one element within the general concern has been the specific issue of disproportionate representation among pupils designated as having SEN. This study seeks to determine whether these patterns of disproportionate representation are still present in the most recent data, whether the patterns can be explained in terms of other factors associated both with SEN and ethnicity, such as poverty and socio-economic disadvantage, and to what extent disproportionate ethnic representation varies across local authorities

Evaluation of the national roll-out of parenting programmes across England : the parenting early intervention programme (PEIP)

Background: Evidence based parenting programmes can improve parenting skills and the behaviour of children exhibiting, or at risk of developing, antisocial behaviour. In order to develop a public policy for delivering these programmes it is necessary not only to demonstrate their efficacy through rigorous trials but also to determine that they can be rolled out on a large scale. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the UK government funded national implementation of its Parenting Early Intervention Programme, a national roll-out of parenting programmes for parents of children 8–13 years in all 152 local authorities (LAs) across England. Building upon our study of the Pathfinder (2006–08) implemented in 18 LAs. To the best of our knowledge this is the first comparative study of a national roll-out of parenting programmes and the first study of parents of children 8–13 years. Methods: The UK government funded English LAs to implement one or more of five evidence based programmes (later increased to eight): Triple P, Incredible Years, Strengthening Families Strengthening Communities, Families and Schools Together (FAST), and the Strengthening Families Programme (10–14). Parents completed measures of parenting style (laxness and over-reactivity), and mental well-being, and also child behaviour at three time points: pre- and post-course and again one year later. Results: 6143 parents from 43 LAs were included in the study of whom 3325 provided post-test data and 1035 parents provided data at one-year follow up. There were significant improvements for each programme, with effect sizes (Cohen’s d) for the combined sample of 0.72 parenting laxness, 0.85 parenting over-reactivity, 0.79 parent mental well-being, and 0.45 for child conduct problems. These improvements were largely maintained one year later. All four programmes for which we had sufficient data for comparison were effective. There were generally larger effects on both parent and child measures for Triple P, but not all between programme comparisons were significant. Results for the targeted group of parents of children 8–13 years were very similar. Conclusions: Evidence-based parenting programmes can be rolled out effectively in community settings on a national scale. This study also demonstrates the impact of research on shaping government policy

An appetite for learning : increasing employee demand for skills development

Raising the demand for skills amongst individuals in the workforce is critical if the UK is to meet its 2020 Ambition. This edition of Praxis highlights a number of policy interventions that the evidence suggests can work, and proposes a policy framework for describing and understanding these. The paper aims to stimulate wider debate about the policy interventions most likely to address the barriers to learning faced by the UK workforce. To this end the UK Commission welcomes readers' responses to the following questions, prompted by this paper

Parenting early intervention programme: 2nd interim report

Centre for Educational Development, University of Warwic

INQUIRE: a case study in evaluating the potential of online MCQ tests in a discursive subject

There has been a wealth of investigation into the use of online multiple-choice questions as a means of summative assessment, however the research into the use of formative MCQs by the same mode of delivery still remains patchy. Similarly, research and implementation has been largely concentrated within the Sciences and Medicine rather than the more discursive subjects within the Humanities and Social Sciences. The INQUIRE (Interactive Questions Reinforcing Education) Evaluation Project was jointly conducted by two groups at the University of Oxford-the Said Business School and the Academic Computing Development Team to evaluate the use of online MCQs as a mechanism to reinforce and extend student learning. This initial study used a small set of highly focused MCQ tests that were designed to complement an introductory series of first-year undergraduate management lectures. MCQ is a simple and well-established technology, and hence the emphasis was very much on situating the tests within the student experience. The paper will cover how the online MCQs are intended to fit into the Oxford Undergraduate study agenda, and how a simple evaluation was executed and planned to investigate their usage and impact. The chosen method of evaluation was to combine focus groups with automated online methods of tracking, and the paper discusses the findings of both of these

Administering LAAIs: an education and training workshop

This is the second of two articles that focus on the inter-collaborative work, between education and practice, to enhance theoretical and practical delivery for mental health nurses when administrating long-acting antipsychotic injections (LAAIs). By designing two questionnaires, we were able to evaluate knowledge gain and the satisfaction level of the course delivery by the mental health nurses. These appear initially to identify that such educational strategies can make a positive impact in clinical practice

A survey of software development practices in the New Zealand software industry

We report on the software development techniques used in the New Zealand software industry, paying particular attention to requirements gathering. We surveyed a selection of software companies with a general questionnaire and then conducted in-depth interviews with four companies. Our results show a wide variety in the kinds of companies undertaking software development, employing a wide range of software development techniques. Although our data are not sufficiently detailed to draw statistically significant conclusions, it appears that larger software development groups typically have more well-defined software development processes, spend proportionally more time on requirements gathering, and follow more rigorous testing regimes

Children with language impairment : prevalence, associations and ethnic disproportionality

Language impairment (LI) is one of the most common types of special educational needs (SENs), not only as a child’s primary need but also as a secondary domain associated with other types of SENs. LI is a risk factor for children’s later development, being associated with enhanced behavioral, emotional, and social difficulties, in particular peer problems and emotional difficulties; literacy difficulties, including both reading and writing; and reduced levels of academic achievement. Risks arising from LI in early childhood may also have an impact through adolescence and into adult life. This study uses national data from the UK government’s annual census of all students aged 5–16 years attending state schools in England at four time periods between 2005 and 2011, over 6 million students at each census. We analyze the data on students with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN), the Department for Education’s category for students with LI, to examine the overall prevalence of SLCN and the variations in prevalence associated with child factors namely, age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic disadvantage, and having English as an additional language, and with contextual factors, namely the school and local authority. We also examine is proportionality of identification of SLCN for different ethnic groups compared with White British children. We discuss the implications of our findings with respect to the current debates regarding the varied terminology for LI, including SLCN, and of a needs-based compared with diagnosis-based approach to assessing and making provision for children and young people with SENs

Employee demand for skills: evidence and policy review : UK Commission for Employment and Skills Research Report no. 3

This report presents the results of a detailed review of evidence and policy relating to the factors that influence the engagement of the individual in skills development. It incorporates a broad range of formal and informal learning activities, delivered in a range of institutional settings and through different media, including work-based, classroombased, distance learning and community based learning. The review is deliberately broad in its focus, drawing on evidence and policy relating to people in different positions within the labour market - in or out of work, new entrants into employment, younger and older workers, people with and without qualifications and/or with higher and lower skills. However, a key focus for the research was the barriers and factors affecting access to skills development opportunities among lower skilled and lower qualified people. The review was undertaken by WM Enterprise and the Employment Research Institute, Edinburgh Napier University for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UK Commission)

Preventing yellow fever epidemics in Asian megacities: how can cities control mosquito-transmitted diseases?

The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us of the ever present threat from infectious diseases, this includes the ones we know about already and future unknowns. The mosquito-transmitted disease yellow fever has claimed thousands of lives over the centuries and it hasn’t gone away. It is still endemic in tropical areas of Africa and Latin America, where it is kept at bay through constant surveillance, mass vaccination campaigns and some natural immunity within local populations. Despite this there are serious outbreaks from time to time. The Aedes mosquitoes capable of transmitting the virus from person to person, are now widespread in warmer countries worldwide, moreover they thrive in urban areas. With increased international movement, the fear is that infected travellers could unwittingly introduce the virus into countries where people have little or no immunity. Densely populated Asian megacities are a major concern. There are simple measures citizens can take to protect themselves and their homes from the bite of infected mosquitoes, but city leaders must be at the forefront of a coordinated response bringing together diverse stakeholders to ensure a robust and sustainable defence