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Involving young people in the co-production of whole-school wellbeing strategies is aligned with the United Nations rights of the child and current UK legislation. This exploratory participatory action research (PAR) project aimed to facilitate teacher-student collaboration in one high school to develop whole-school practice with a focus on assessment. Training videos were co-created focusing on students' assessment experiences and ways to improve wellbeing and performance. Reflexive thematic analysis of the data identified key facilitators and challenges to the PAR process, alongside insights into students' assessment experiences. The paper concludes that PAR has the potential to empower young people and open channels of communication between students and teachers. Implications for educational psychology (EP) practice and future research are discussed.

Schools have been identified as well placed to support students' wellbeing and encouraging the active participation of children and young people in school life is in line with current English legislation. Student-led research has the potential to create a positive, long-lasting impact. This evaluative systematic literature review (SLR) sought to identify the?features of?effective student?participation?in the co-production?of?whole-school?wellbeing?strategies, with a focus on Participatory Action Research (PAR) projects. Ten papers published between 2011 and 2021 were identified using the PRISMA framework and evaluated for methodological quality and appropriateness of focus. Several factors were identified as impacting on the success of PAR, including group composition, power balance, and sustainability. The paper concludes that carefully planned PAR projects can result in successful collaboration with students to develop whole-school strategies for a range of issues/topic areas. Further research evaluating the long-term impact of such projects on whole-school practice is warranted.

Computer Science (CS) degrees have some of the poorest continuation rates across HE. This study describes an intervention within a diverse CS student cohort to identify students who may be at risk of mathematical academic failure and the success of student mentor-led workshops in enhancing these students' mathematical ability. Diagnostic screening identified 46% (N = 92) of the cohort with low mathematical knowledge, with prior entry qualification being the only significant (p < 0.0001) reason for this gap. These identified students were invited to attend weekly mathematical workshops, with a positive correlation between attendance and attainment and females more likely to attend. The CS students were satisfied with having the mathematical workshops delivered by student mentors. In summary, this combined intervention of screening and mentor-led academic support successfully identified gaps within first-year students' mathematical knowledge, with the workshops addressing the diversity in mathematical understanding and helping reduce a prior qualification awarding gap.

If not supported appropriately, children of imprisoned parents face potential adverse outcomes, including difficulties with academic progress and mental health. This systematic literature review aims to explore ways in which children of imprisoned parents in the UK can be supported in school. Research databases and publication records from third sector organisations were searched. Eleven papers were included in the review and results highlighted a number of ways in which children of imprisoned parents can be supported in schools at a systemic, familial and individual level. Implications for schools, educational psychologists and future research are discussed.

The "given-new contract" entails that speakers must distinguish for their addressee whether references are new or already part of their dialogue. Past research had found that, in a monologue to a listener, speakers shortened repeated words. However, the notion of the given-new contract is inherently dialogic, with an addressee and the availability of co-speech gestures. Here, two face-to-face dialogue experiments tested whether gesture duration also follows the given-new contract. In Experiment 1, four experimental sequences confirmed that when speakers repeated their gestures, they shortened the duration significantly. Experiment 2 replicated the effect with spontaneous gestures in a different task. This experiment also extended earlier results with words, confirming that speakers shortened their repeated words significantly in a multimodal dialogue setting, the basic form of language use. Because words and gestures were not necessarily redundant, these results offer another instance in which gestures and words independently serve pragmatic requirements of dialogue.

In this article, Theo Woods shares the experience of one history department as they embarked on a substantial process of curriculum review and development. The department sought to address concerns that the range of history taught in their school, across the full seven years of students' secondary experience, was too 'traditional, White and Eurocentric'. Woods outlines the range of arguments that prompted her team to take action and the principles that they developed to underpin the construction of a geographically broad, culturally diverse and academically challenging curriculum. She also explains how they tackled the various challenges that they encountered, not least the development of their own subject knowledge. While the article includes an outline of their current curriculum structure, its essential value lies in the insights that it offers into collaborative processes of curriculum renewal and the range of resources that can support such an approach.

This systematic review synthesises the existing research evidence regarding the experiences of young people reintegrated to a mainstream secondary school (MSS) through alternative provision (AP), following permanent exclusion. Eight studies, including one international study, were critically appraised and synthesised following PRISMA guidelines. Three global themes were identified: outcomes of reintegration; factors that support reintegration (facilitators); factors that limit reintegration success (barriers). Findings were configured into a chronological reintegration journey model that outlines the facilitating and limiting factors at three specific stages of the reintegration process: AP support; reintegration planning; reintegration and MSS support. Bringing together multiple stakeholder perspectives from a variety of data sources, this model can serve as a framework for practitioners involved within the reintegration process. This review evidences variability in the methodological quality of the reintegration research evidence and outlines recommendations for future research.

'Co-production' is advocated within UK legislation outlining children and young people's right to be heard and to take part in the development of the services they use. This paper aims to explore understanding and knowledge around engaging with children and young people about how services can be co-produced within education. By using cycles of action and reflection, this research presents what children and young people think is important when working with, and receiving services from, educational psychologists, and explores the experiences of both children and young people, and educational psychologists, as they have worked and continue to work together to co-construct an educational psychology service.

Background: In this paper, we explore physical education from a relational worldview. Theoretically guided by an ecological dynamics framework, this perspective calls us to conceptualise 'education' in its etymological roots -- ex-ducere -- meaning 'to lead' an individual 'out' into the world. In doing so, an educator would employ a 'softer' pedagogy, seeking to guide the attention and encourage exploration of a less experienced individual toward the perception of things that can support, or regulate, their behaviours. This pedagogical approach could help learners to self regulate in the environment, becoming more responsive to emergent opportunities for action available. Theory: This is a pedagogy of exploration, search, discovery, invention and adaptation that is devised from three of the contributing theories to ecological dynamics: ecological psychology, dynamical systems theory and complexity sciences. Throughout this paper we show that this progressive view contrasts with the more traditional perspectives of physical education, grounded in established pedagogical approaches that are often pre-occupied with instilling idealised ways of moving in learners, typically at the expense of appreciating how the environment reciprocally shapes behaviour. Practical Implications: In an effort to support educators with integrating an ecological conceptualisation of PE into their practice we outline three cornerstones. We bring these ideas to life by concluding the paper with the presentation of three practical examples that transcends the physical educational journey from primary/elementary school through to secondary/ high schools. We exemplify how an ecological approach to PE can move us closer to achieving the aim of enabling children to lead a physically active life beyond the school gates.

This study examines potential negative human resource consequences of leadership development. Applying theoretical perspectives on job demands and resources, we argue that leadership development may result in potential negative outcomes by introducing new and different demands on workers, requiring adjustment and adaptation. We further argue that the pervasiveness of this risk increases as leadership training is distributed across an organisation. We examine the effects of the implementation of a leadership development programme across a whole organisation (N = 9471), analysing data on incidences of withdrawal (absenteeism) and conflict (formal grievances) over a four-year period. We analyse data using fixed-effects modelling, and our findings indicated that increases in the proportions of leaders undertaking development in nineteen service units of the organisation over this period predicted increases in absenteeism and grievances raised by staff. Implications for theory in leadership development, and the management of development initiatives are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heart failure (HF) with preserved or mildly reduced ejection fraction includes a heterogenous group of patients. Reclassification into distinct phenogroups to enable targeted interventions is a priority. This study aimed to identify distinct phenogroups, and compare phenogroup characteristics and outcomes, from electronic health record data. Methods: 2,187 patients admitted to five UK hospitals with a diagnosis of HF and a left ventricular ejection fraction ≥ 40% were identified from the NIHR Health Informatics Collaborative database. Partition-based, model-based, and density-based machine learning clustering techniques were applied. Cox Proportional Hazards and Fine-Gray competing risks models were used to compare outcomes (all-cause mortality and hospitalisation for HF) across phenogroups. Results: Three phenogroups were identified: (1) Younger, predominantly female patients with high prevalence of cardiometabolic and coronary disease; (2) More frail patients, with higher rates of lung disease and atrial fibrillation; (3) Patients characterised by systemic inflammation and high rates of diabetes and renal dysfunction. Survival profiles were distinct, with an increasing risk of all-cause mortality from phenogroups 1 to 3 (p < 0.001). Phenogroup membership significantly improved survival prediction compared to conventional factors. Phenogroups were not predictive of hospitalisation for HF. Conclusions: Applying unsupervised machine learning to routinely collected electronic health record data identified phenogroups with distinct clinical characteristics and unique survival profiles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Air pollution has been recognised as a potential risk factor for dementia. Yet recent epidemiological research shows mixed evidence. The aim of this study is to investigate the longitudinal associations between ambient air pollution exposure and dementia in older people across five urban and rural areas in the UK. Methods: This study was based on two population-based cohort studies of 11329 people aged ≥ 65 in the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (2008–2011) and Wales (2011–2013). An algorithmic diagnosis method was used to identify dementia cases. Annual concentrations of four air pollutants (NO2, O3, PM10, PM2.5) were modelled for the year 2012 and linked via the participants' postcodes. Multistate modelling was used to examine the effects of exposure to air pollutants on incident dementia incorporating death and adjusting for sociodemographic factors and area deprivation. A random-effect meta-analysis was carried out to summarise results from the current and nine existing cohort studies. Results: Higher exposure levels of NO2 (HR: 1.04; 95% CI: 0.94, 1.14), O3 (HR: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.70, 1.15), PM10 (HR: 1.17; 95% CI: 0.86, 1.58), PM2.5 (HR: 1.41; 95% CI: 0.71, 2.79) were not strongly associated with dementia in the two UK-based cohorts. Inconsistent directions and strengths of the associations were observed across the two cohorts, five areas, and nine existing studies. Conclusions: In contrast to the literature, this study did not find clear associations between air pollution and dementia. Future research needs to investigate how methodological and contextual factors can affect evidence in this field and clarity the influence of air pollution exposure on cognitive health over the lifecourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background High-quality antenatal care is important for ensuring optimal birth outcomes and reducing risks of maternal and fetal mortality and morbidity. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the usual provision of antenatal care, with much care shifting to remote forms of provision. We aimed to characterise what quality would look like for remote antenatal care from the perspectives of those who use, provide and organise it. Methods This UK- wide study involved interviews and an online survey inviting free- text responses with: those who were or had been pregnant since March 2020; maternity professionals and managers of maternity services and system- level stakeholders. Recruitment used network-based approaches, professional and community networks and purposively selected hospitals. Analysis of interview transcripts was based on the constant comparative method. Free-text survey responses were analysed using a coding framework developed by researchers. Findings Participants included 106 pregnant women and 105 healthcare professionals and managers/ stakeholders. Analysis enabled generation of a framework of the domains of quality that appear to be most relevant to stakeholders in remote antenatal care: efficiency and timeliness; effectiveness; safety; accessibility; equity and inclusion; person- centredness and choice and continuity. Participants reported that remote care was not straightforwardly positive or negative across these domains. Care that was more transactional in nature was identified as more suitable for remote modalities, but remote care was also seen as having potential to undermine important aspects of trusting relationships and continuity, to amplify or create new forms of structural inequality and to create possible risks to safety. Conclusions This study offers a provisional framework that can help in structuring thinking, policy and practice. By outlining the range of domains relevant to remote antenatal care, this framework is likely to be of value in guiding policy, practice and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-leadership is a concept from the organisational and management literature broadly combining processes of self-goal setting, self-regulation and self-motivation. Research has typically focused on the impact of self-leadership on work performance outcomes, with little attention to potential benefits for learning and development. In this paper, we employ a longitudinal design to examine the association of a number of processes of self-leadership with higher educational attainment in a sample of business students (N = 150). Self-reported use of strategies related to behavioural, cognitive and motivational aspects of self-leadership were measured in the first semester of the academic year, and correlated with end-of year grade point average. We found that in particular, self-goal setting, pro-active goal-related behaviour, behaviour regulation and direction, motivational awareness, and optimism were all significant predictors of educational attainment. We discuss implications for educational research and for teachers and tutors in practice.

Behavioural difficulties, whether externalising or internalising, concern educational policy makers, practitioners and educational psychologists (EPs). The present configurative systematic literature review (SLR) aims to explore EPs' representations of their behaviour management practices and application of psychology within behaviour work, in peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2017. Four research databases, Google Scholar and a University Online Library were systematically searched. A total of 29 papers were found, 12 of which met the study inclusion criteria and were deemed to be of at least medium methodological quality and relevance. A synthesis of the studies' accounts and outcomes revealed a range of EP practices at individual, group and organisational levels, exemplifying the core functions of the role. EPs draw upon single or multiple integrated psychological paradigms and commonly adopt a social constructionist and relational approach to their work, which can be seen to empirically validate existing models of EP professional practice. Links to EP practice and implications for further research are considered.

'Motivation' is a significant concept for teachers and students during programmes of learning which lead explicitly to high stakes assessments and examinations. This systematic literature review surveys current research evidence to find out how secondary school teachers use motivational strategies specifically in respect of student academic assessment and performance. Six research studies were identified describing the behaviours secondary school teachers engaged in to improve student performance in assessment. Taken together, the studies presented show the importance of teacher behaviours to students' academic performance, with both positive and negative impacts. The review highlights a need for further research on teacher knowledge of the effects of teacher behaviour upon the motivation of students. The review recommends collaboration between teachers and students specific to the context of learning programmes that lead to high-stakes assessments, in order to provide a locally sensitive knowledge base for teachers' practice.

After spending a year working on the development of a new online Master's programme in higher education, members of the development team were interviewed to reveal their thoughts about the nature of the programme. The dialogue of each interview was summarised as a concept map. Analysis of the resulting maps included a modified Bernsteinian analysis of the focus of the concepts included in terms of their semantic gravity (i.e. closeness to context) and the degree of resonance with the underpinning regulative discourse of the programme. Data highlight a number of potential issues for programme delivery that centre around the use of appropriate language to manage student expectations in relation to the process of learning and the emotional responses this can stimulate, as well as the tensions that can be foregrounded between the demands of teaching and research within a university environment.

This paper discusses the first iteration of Game Changers Programme hosted by Coventry University's Disruptive Media Learning Lab (DMLL), an open game design initiative. The Programme had the goal of facilitating new models of teaching and learning, new practices in cross-faculty learning/ collaboration to make game design and development more culturally open and accessible to staff, students and the broader informal communities surrounding the University. The paper will discuss the theoretical foundation of the GameChangers Programme, grounded in a conceptualisation of design as a holistic, modular and creative process, and in an ethos of sharing, collaborating and remixing. The paper will present the outline of the Course and the Community that constituted the core elements of the Programme, and discuss a plural showcase of a variety of outcomes from the GameChangers Community, focusing on the Programme's cultural impact and on how the Programme as a whole disrupted established notions of game based pedagogy, and the customary hierarchical relations between producers and users of learning games.

Background Problems in intrapartum electronic fetal monitoring with cardiotocography (CTG) remain a major area of preventable harm. Poor understanding of the range of influences on safety may have hindered improvement. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective, we sought to characterise the everyday practice of CTG monitoring and the work systems within which it takes place, with the goal of identifying potential sources of risk. Methods Human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) experts and social scientists conducted 325 hours of observations and 23 interviews in three maternity units in the UK, focusing on how CTG tasks were undertaken, the influences on this work and the cultural and organisational features of work settings. HF/E analysis was based on the Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety 2.0 model. Social science analysis was based on the constant comparative method. Results CTG monitoring can be understood as a complex sociotechnical activity, with tasks, people, tools and technology, and organisational and external factors all combining to affect safety. Fetal heart rate patterns need to be recorded and interpreted correctly. Systems are also required for seeking the opinions of others, determining whether the situation warrants concern, escalating concerns and mobilising response. These processes may be inadequately designed or function suboptimally, and may be further complicated by staffing issues, equipment and ergonomics issues, and competing and frequently changing clinical guidelines. Practice may also be affected by variable standards and workflows, variations in clinical competence, teamwork and situation awareness, and the ability to communicate concerns freely. Conclusions CTG monitoring is an inherently collective and sociotechnical practice. Improving it will require accounting for complex system interdependencies, rather than focusing solely on discrete factors such as individual technical proficiency in interpreting traces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of personality traits of the Big Five model on training outcomes to help explain variation in training effectiveness. Design/Methodology/ Approach: Associations of the Big Five with self-reported learning following training were tested in a pre- and post-design in a field sample of junior medical practitioners (N = 99), who attended a training workshop on self-awareness. Associations are reported of personality traits with post-training learning measured immediately following the workshop and one-month later controlling for pre-training learning. Findings: Conscientiousness was related to post-training learning at both times. None of the remaining Big Five factors were associated with post-training learning. Research Limitations/Implications: The study contributes to the literature on personality and training outcomes, clarifying the associations of traits with outcomes in a pre-and-post design. Although the study sample has limitations, the findings have implications for numerous lines of future research, in particular in understanding the role of training in relations of personality and job performance. Practical Implications: Practitioners should consider ways to encourage training participants to approach training conscientiously. Personality assessment might help people reflect on their approach to learning to adapt it during training. Originality/Value: No study has previously examined the role of personality traits in training outcomes using a pre- and post-design. The role of conscientiousness in workplace learning is underlined by the findings. While dimensions such as openness and extraversion may encourage people to participate in training, conscientiousness may make the difference in promoting internalized individual development and change following training.

This paper reports data from a study investigating distributed leadership (DL) and its relationship to social justice and democratic values. The research comprised a case study of a UK secondary school, which describes itself as having a finely distributed leadership culture, and involved teaching staff, non-teaching staff, senior leaders and students who took part in an arts-based method of data generation (collage creation) and interviews. The study examined participants' meanings and perceptions in relation to leadership and social justice. Our analysis of the data highlights contrasting image patterns (hierarchical and holarchic); a dominant view of DL as the exercise of pro-active agency, but also awareness of ways in which this is unequally spread across the school; and the value of seeing DL as comprising multiple features each of which may be distributed differently. This paper concentrates on participative and cultural justice. It suggests that work on further delineating multiple aspects of DL would be valuable, and that attention needs to be given not only to developing flexibility of institutional structures, but also core cultural values (social justice and democracy) and holarchic social environments in which relationships are fluid, supportive and encourage belonging and independent thinking.

Objective: To investigate the hypothesis that risk factors in addition to an abnormal fetal heart rate pattern (aFHRp) are independently associated with adverse neonatal outcomes of labour. Design: Observational prospective cohort study. Setting: 17 UK maternity units. Sample: 585 291 pregnancies between 1988 and 2000 inclusive. Methods: Adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated from multivariable logistic regression. Main outcome measures: Adverse neonatal outcome at term (5‐minute Apgar score <7, and a composite measure comprising 5‐minute Apgar score <7, resuscitation by intubation and/or perinatal death). Results: Analysis was based on 302 137 vaginal births at 37–42 weeks inclusive. We found a higher odds of Apgar score at 5 minutes <7 with suspected fetal growth restriction (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.16–1.53), induction of labour (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.25–1.58), nulliparity (OR 1.48, 95% CI 1.34–1.63), booking body mass index ≥30 (OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.02–1.37), maternal age <25 (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10–1.39), black ethnicity (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.03–1.43), early‐term birth at 37–38 weeks (OR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02–1.25), late‐term birth at 41–42 weeks (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.01–1.28), use of oxytocin (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.14–1.41), maternal pyrexia (OR 1.87, 95% CI 1.46–2.40), aFHRp and presence of meconium (aFHRp without meconium: OR 2.40, 95% CI 2.15–2.69; meconium without aFHRp: OR 2.20, 195% CI.94–2.49; both aFHRp and meconium: OR 4.26, 95% CI 3.74–4.87). The results were similar when the composite adverse outcome was considered. Conclusions: A range of risk factors, including suspicion of fetal growth restriction, maternal pyrexia and presence of meconium, are implicated in poor birth outcomes in addition to aFHRp. Interpretation of the fetal heart rate pattern alone is insufficient as a basis for decisions about escalation and intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article sets out theorisations of developmental democracy and spiritual awareness formulated in previous work by the authors. These are used to explore collegial leadership in a case study Steiner school, with the aim of illuminating and illustrating the transformative demands of developmental democracy and its interconnection with spiritual awareness. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for imbuing democratised educational leadership with spiritual energy and fashioning and leading a school environment that reflects the model of developmental democracy. (Contains 11 notes and 1 figure.)

In 2014, the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child presents an opportunity for school psychology to evaluate its achievements relevant to the Convention, as well as its current and future strategic adherence to the Convention's principles. With analysis of key school psychology documentation from the UK, it is shown that for school psychologists the achievements and strategy relating to the international Convention have been directly, albeit implicitly, supported from "top down", by the post-ratification governance processes and structures of national level agencies which operate school psychology preparation, statutory professional regulation, and non-statutory professional quality enhancement. On account of their use of a scientist-practitioner model, school psychologists are positioned to make a unique contribution to enacting the Convention's agenda and from recent Convention evaluations five priority areas for strategic development in relation to the Convention are identified. An account of the authors' commissioned work following a non-accidental child death in the UK illustrates how school psychologists can make significant contributions to Convention priorities from "bottom up" as a result of significant contemporaneous events at local or national level. Implications of the "top down" and "bottom up" linking of school psychologists' work with the CRC agenda are discussed with reference to both the national and international school psychology communities and regulatory bodies.

Informal participation in science is being recognized as an important way of developing science learning both for children and adults. Mobile learning has particular properties that have potential in informal science settings, particularly outside traditional educational settings. Mobile technologies provide new opportunities for learners to engage with science on the move. This paper reviews the impact of participation in informal science settings on some members of the public using the experiences of the iSpot project as a case study. iSpot aims to create and inspire a new generation of nature lovers by getting people to explore, study, enjoy, and protect their local environment. It facilitates an inquiry learning approach to identification of wildlife with support provided by a community developing round the resource. The iSpot project described here provides evidence of the ways in which informal participation in science can be enhanced by the use of technology. We draw on the findings of two case studies within the project--iSpot Mobile and iSpot Local. These demonstrate particular ways in which location-based activity and mobile learning can be developed and have an impact on the informal learning of science.

Background and scope: Solution focused brief therapy (SFBT) is a strengths-based therapeutic approach, emphasizing the resources that people possess and how these can be applied to a positive change process. The current study provides a systematic review of the SFBT evidence base and a critical evaluation of the use and application of SFBT in clinical practice with children and families. Methods: Between 21 December 2010 and 12 May 2011 forty-four database searches (including, PsychInfo, ISI Web of Knowledge, ASSIA, British Education Index, Medline and Scopus), web searches and consultation with experts in the field were used to identify reports of SFBT studies published between 1990 and 2010. Studies were then screened according to trialled qualitative and quantitative assessment frameworks and reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of 38 studies were included in the review. Of these, 9 applied SFBT to internalizing child behaviour problems, 3 applied SFBT to both internalizing and externalizing child behaviour problems, 15 applied the approach to externalizing child behaviour problems and 9 evaluated the application of SFBT in relation to a range of other issues. Conclusions: Although much of the literature has methodological weaknesses, existing research does provide tentative support for the use of SFBT, particularly in relation to internalizing and externalizing child behaviour problems. SFBT appears particularly effective as an early intervention when presenting problems are not severe. Further well-controlled outcome studies are needed. Studies included in the review highlight promising avenues for further research. (Contains 4 tables and 2 notes.)

Objective: We aimed to explore the experiences and perspectives of pregnant women, antenatal healthcare professionals, and system leaders to understand the impact of the implementation of remote provision of antenatal care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Methods: We conducted a qualitative study involving semi-structured interviews with 93 participants, including 45 individuals who had been pregnant during the study period, 34 health care professionals, and 14 managers and system-level stakeholders. Analysis was based on the constant comparative method and used the theoretical framework of candidacy. Results: We found that remote antenatal care had far-reaching effects on access when understood through the lens of candidacy. It altered women's own identification of themselves and their babies as eligible for antenatal care. Navigating services became more challenging, often requiring considerable digital literacy and sociocultural capital. Services became less permeable, meaning that they were more difficult to use and demanding of the personal and social resources of users. Remote consultations were seen as more transactional in character and were limited by lack of face-to-face contact and safe spaces, making it more difficult for women to make their needs – both clinical and social – known, and for professionals to assess them. Operational and institutional challenges, including problems in sharing of antenatal records, were consequential. There were suggestions that a shift to remote provision of antenatal care might increase risks of inequities in access to care in relation to every feature of candidacy we characterised. Conclusion: It is important to recognise the implications for access to antenatal care of a shift to remote delivery. It is not a simple swap: it restructures many aspects of candidacy for care in ways that pose risks of amplifying existing intersectional inequalities that lead to poorer outcomes. Addressing these challenges through policy and practice action is needed to tackle these risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This aggregative systematic literature review aims to explore available research evidence published between 2000 and 2018 on what educational psychologists (EPs) offer to schools and pupils following a critical incident (CI) and the reported efficacy of such services. Rationale: CIs are sudden and unexpected, impacting upon all areas of life, including school communities. Since the 1990s, CI response has become part of what many educational psychology services across the UK and USA offer (Posada, 2006). The North West Association of Principal EPs commissioned this research as a way of gaining greater insight into CI response. Methods: Two research databases and Google Scholar were searched and a total of 77 papers was found, 11 of which met the inclusion criteria; ten of these were evaluated as being of at least 'medium' level methodological quality. Findings: A synthesis of the research revealed a range of practice within three main areas: strategies and actions, models to frame response, and psychological intervention. Despite similarities, differences of approaches between services were highlighted, particularly around engagement with direct work. Implications: EP services should ensure that CI response is comprehensive, sensitive and co-produced with service users. The EP role in responding to a CI needs to be clearly communicated with others. Limitations: Limitations are discussed including the dearth of evidence from 2015 onwards and the limited 'objective' evidence summarising the impact of the effectiveness of EP CI response. Conclusions: Some educational psychologists may engage in direct work following a critical incident, whilst others focus intervention on supporting school capacity to support school recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study assessed views, understanding and current practices of maternity professionals in relation to impacted fetal head at cesarean birth, with the aim of informing a standardized definition, clinical management approaches and training. Material and methods: We conducted a survey consultation including the range of maternity professionals who attend emergency cesarean births in the UK. Thiscovery, an online research and development platform, was used to ask closed‐ended and free‐text questions. Simple descriptive analysis was undertaken for closed‐ended responses, and content analysis for categorization and counting of free‐text responses. Main outcome measures included the count and percentage of participants selecting predefined options on clinical definition, multi‐professional team approach, communication, clinical management and training. Results: In total, 419 professionals took part, including 144 midwives, 216 obstetricians and 59 other clinicians (eg anesthetists). We found high levels of agreement on the components of an impacted fetal head definition (79% of obstetricians) and the need for use of a multi‐professional approach to management (95% of all participants). Over 70% of obstetricians deemed nine techniques acceptable for management of impacted fetal head, but some obstetricians also considered potentially unsafe practices appropriate. Access to professional training in management of impacted fetal head was highly variable, with over 80% of midwives reporting no training in vaginal disimpaction. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate agreement on the components of a standardized definition for impacted fetal head, and a need and appetite for multi‐professional training. These findings can inform a program of work to improve care, including use of structured management algorithms and simulation‐based multi‐professional training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents an original application of Q methodology in investigating the challenging arena of emotion in the Higher Education (HE) workplace. Q's strength lies in capturing holistic, subjective accounts of complex and contested phenomena but is unusual in employing a statistical procedure within an interpretivist framework. Here Q is used to capture the emotional tone of the working lives of academic and support colleagues in one UK Higher Education Institution (HEI). Research design and data analysis were underpinned by the concept of "appraisal," which has an established history in stress and emotion scholarship across a range of disciplines. Four distinct illustrative workplace accounts are presented and analysed in terms of their relevance for individual emotion and wellbeing. The utility of this application of Q methodology in surfacing and comparing differing experiences of university life is discussed and the implications for institutional research and practice are considered.

Background: There is still relatively little research on the social context within which bullying develops and remains stable. Aim: This study examined the short-term stability of bullying victimization among primary school students in the United Kingdom and Germany (mean age, 8.9 years) and the individual and social network factors that contributed to remaining a victim of bullying. Sample: The sample consisted of 454 children (247 males and 207 females). Methods: Participants completed questionnaires on bullying victimization at three assessment points over a 9-week period. Other measures consisted of self-reported demographic, peer, and family relationship characteristics. Social network indices of density, reciprocity, and hierarchy were constructed using friendship and peer acceptance nominations. Results: Relative risk analyses indicated a six-fold increased risk of remaining a victim at consequent follow-ups, compared to a child not victimized at baseline becoming a victim over the follow-up period. Individual characteristics explained substantially more variance in the stability of bullying victimization than class-level factors. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses revealed that being victimized by siblings and being rejected by peers predicted remaining a victim over a 9-week period. Conclusions: Bullying victimization among primary school students proved moderately stable over a 9-week period. Individual characteristics were more influential in predicting the stable victim role than class-level factors. Our findings have implications for the identification of stable victims in primary school and early preventative bullying programs.

In the last few years, digital games have become increasingly popular with both "hardcore" and "casual" audiences. At the same time, it has been argued that games can be powerful learning environments, since they are seen to encourage active and critical learning through participation in affinity groups and semiotic domains but there is a need for further empirical evidence to explore how this participation occurs and how prevalent it actually is. In addition the effectiveness of games within education indicates mixed results, though it has been suggested that this may indicate that learning through immersive worlds involves a more complex understanding of learning, one that is not so easy to tie to specified learning outcomes. It would seem the area would benefit from research that seeks to develop our understanding of how player involvement and learning come together in this context. This paper presents the preliminary results of a survey carried out in order to explore these issues. The initial findings suggest that how a player identifies as a gamer relates to what they think they gain from their gaming experiences with respect to learning. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence identifies educational psychologists as appropriate specialists to deliver interventions to promote the emotional well-being of children and families. A role for practitioner educational psychologists in providing specific therapeutic interventions has also been proposed by commentators. The present study reports an evaluative case study of a narrative therapy intervention with a young person who self-harms. The analysis of data suggests that the narrative therapy intervention was effectively implemented and resulted in attributable gains in emotional well-being, resilience and behaviour for the young person. The authors discuss the role of the educational psychologist in delivering specific therapeutic interventions within a local authority context and school-based setting. Consideration is also made of the development of the evidence base for the effectiveness of narrative therapy intervention with young people who self-harm. (Contains 2 figures, 3 tables, and 2 notes.)

Child protection and safeguarding are important aspects of work for all professionals working with children. The current article outlines the international context of school psychologists' work in relation to child protection and safeguarding and describes the United Kingdom context in more detail. Given the relatively recent broadening of the UK legislative focus, to include safeguarding in addition to child protection, a review of current practice is needed. A UK survey was commissioned and undertaken in order to identify the current and potential contributions of school psychologists in relation to child protection and safeguarding. This mixed methods survey included an initial focus group with school psychologists, a questionnaire survey of all school psychology services in the UK, and site visits to four selected school psychology services. The research found that school psychologists undertake a wide range of child protection and safeguarding work at universal, targeted and specialized levels. This work includes partnership with a wide variety of other professionals. Future development of school psychology's role in child protection and safeguarding in the UK is discussed, and implications for school psychologists in other countries are considered. (Contains 7 notes.)

Bullying is widespread in European schools, despite multiple intervention strategies having been proposed over the years. The present study investigates the effects of a novel virtual learning strategy ("FearNot!") to tackle bullying in both UK and German samples. The approach is intended primarily for victims to increase their coping skills and further to heighten empathy and defence of victims by non-involved bystanders. This paper focuses on the defender role. Applying quantitative as well as qualitative methodology, the present study found that "FearNot!" helped non-involved children to become defenders in the German sub-sample while it had no such effect in the UK sub-sample. German "New Defenders" (children who are initially uninvolved but are nominated as defenders by their peers after the intervention period) were found to be significantly more popular at baseline, and to show more cognitive empathy (Theory of Mind) for the virtual victims as compared to permanently non-involved pupils. Moreover, gender interacts with becoming a defender in its effects on affective empathy, with emotional contagion being particularly associated with New Defender status among girls. The findings are discussed in relation to previous research on anti-bullying intervention strategies and cultural differences in bullying prevalence rates and intervention outcomes.

Digital games can be powerful learning environments because they encourage active learning and participation within "affinity groups" (Gee, 2004). However, the use of games in formal educational environments is not always successful (O'Neil et al., 2005). There is a need to update existing theories of motivation and engagement in order to take recent game-related developments into account. Understanding the links between why people play games, what keeps them engaged in this process, and what they learn as a result could have a significant impact on how people value and use games for learning. This paper examines key research that relates to motivation, engagement, and informal learning through digital games, in order to highlight the need for empirical studies which examine the activities that occur in and around everyday gaming practice.

Against a background of increasing student eligibility for "access arrangements" in examinations for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), this article examines the processes within schools that structure a student's access to the provision of reading support, including staff and student viewpoints. Dominic Griffiths, who is a Senior Advisory Teacher with Tameside Local Authority Education Psychology and Learning Support Team, and Kevin Woods, who is a Senior Lecturer in Educational and Child Psychology at the University of Manchester, report upon a series of four case studies, each based within an urban secondary school offering some form of reading support to students in GCSE examinations. Each case study incorporates student interviews, observations of reading support in action, and interviews with staff who manage and provide reading support in examinations. Quantitative findings show an association between students' preferred mode of reading support and the location in which it is provided. Qualitative analyses revealed key themes relating to the dynamics of provision and use of reading support, including "student worthiness", "relationships" and "unfair advantage". Recommendations are made for a more central role for student consultation within processes for providing reader support to GCSE examination candidates.

Enabling children and young people to act as researchers is increasingly viewed as useful in supporting their increased "participation" within settings where they live, work or receive services. This paper reports upon a project conducted by two educational psychologists (EPs) with two primary school class groups, in which the children and their teachers were provided with direct teaching and guidance to develop and undertake their own school-based research projects. The work of each class group produced significant developments of educational provision across the whole school, showing that the EPs' work had directly enabled the children to "make a positive contribution". In addition, teachers and psychologists observed several social, cognitive and personal benefits to the children brought about by their engagement in the processes of questioning, data gathering, analysis, knowledge generation, and dissemination. The authors emphasise the potentially valuable contribution of EPs in promoting children and young people's understanding and application of research skills, and in working directly alongside teachers within the classroom. Furthermore, the project represents a successful example of EPs and teachers engaging in joint direct work with children. (Contains 1 table.)

Background and purpose: Many holistic anti-bullying interventions have been attempted, with mixed success, while little work has been done to promote a "self-help" approach to victimisation. The rise of the ICT curriculum and computer support in schools now allows for approaches that benefit from technology to be implemented. This study evaluates the cross-cultural effects of a computer-based anti-bullying intervention on primary school-aged children's knowledge about bullying and relevant coping strategies. Programme description: FearNot! is an interactive computer-based virtual learning environment designed for use as an anti-bullying intervention. It includes interactive virtual agents who assume the most common participant roles found in episodes of bullying. FearNot! was used by children over three consecutive weeks to allow its effectiveness to be evaluated in a longitudinal "in situ" programme. Sample: Two comparable samples were drawn from the UK and Germany. In the UK, 651 participants (aged 8-11) were recruited from primary schools in Hertfordshire, Coventry and Warwickshire, whereas the 535 German participants (aged 7-10) were sourced from Grundschulen in the Bayern and Hessen regions. Because of lack of parental consent, late joiners and absences/missing responses, data from 908 participants (UK 493; Germany 415) were analysed. Design and methods: A quasi-experimental, pre/post-tests control group design employed pre-published and bespoke questionnaires to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted. Results: UK students possessed higher coping strategy knowledge scores than German participants, but German children's scores improved over time and as a result of the FearNot! intervention. Conclusions: Overall, while not effective at increasing children's coping strategy knowledge in this study, the FearNot! intervention could prove a useful classroom tool to approach the issue of bullying as part of a wider initiative. Cultural differences at baseline and reactions to the intervention are discussed. (Contains 8 tables, 2 figures and 8 notes.)

Background: Anti-bullying interventions to date have shown limited success in reducing victimization and have rarely been evaluated using a controlled trial design. This study examined the effects of the FearNot! anti-bullying virtual learning intervention on escaping victimization, and reducing overall victimization rates among primary school students using a nonrandomized controlled trial design. The program was designed to enhance the coping skills of children who are known to be, or are likely to be, victimized. Methods: One thousand, one hundred twenty-nine children (mean age 8.9 years) in 27 primary schools across the UK and Germany were assigned to the FearNot! intervention or the waiting control condition. The program consisted of three sessions, each lasting approximately 30 minutes over a three-week period. The participants were assessed on self-report measures of victimization before and one and four weeks after the intervention or the normal curriculum period. Results: In the combined sample, baseline victims in the intervention group were more likely to escape victimization at the first follow-up compared with baseline victims in the control group (adjusted RR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.02-1.81). A dose-response relationship between the amount of active interaction with the virtual victims and escaping victimization was found (adjusted OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.003-1.18). Subsample analyses found a significant effect on escaping victimization only to hold for UK children (adjusted RR, 1.90; CI, 1.23-2.57). UK children in the intervention group experienced decreased victimization rates at the first follow-up compared with controls, even after adjusting for baseline victimization, gender and age (adjusted RR, .60; 95% CI, .36-0.93). Conclusions: A virtual learning intervention designed to help children experience effective strategies for dealing with bullying had a short-term effect on escaping victimization for a priori identified victims, and a short-term overall prevention effect for UK children.

Many countries have established systems for identifying, and providing for, the range of students with disabilities during their formal educational assessments. Most systems include the provision of variously termed "special access arrangements" (SAAs), such as the provision of extra time or practical assistance with some aspect of an examination. There is, however, a paucity of outcome monitoring data relating to such systems, particularly that relating to the student and parent perspective. Using a combination of focus group, questionnaire and interview methods, the present study reports the views of 86 students with disabilities, their parents and teachers, upon the students' educational assessment experiences. Findings indicate four specific areas for development of current practice: individualization of assessment of needs; utilization of student and parent voice; consideration of test anxiety factors; improved communication between schools, parents and students. From this, the researchers propose a revised system for needs identification and provision for students with disabilities during their formal educational assessments, highlighting a proactive role for school psychologists. (Contains 6 notes, 2 tables, and 1 figure.)

Objectives: Bullying is a form of systematic abuse by peers with often serious consequences for victims. Few studies have considered the role of emotion recognition abilities and empathic behaviour for different bullying roles. This study investigated physical and relational bullying involvement in relation to basic emotion recognition abilities, and empathic styles in children. Using the framework of the Social Information Processing model, it was expected that victims would have poor emotion recognition abilities, and that bullies would demonstrate low levels of empathy. Methods: Full datasets were collected from UK children (N = 200) aged 9-11 years who completed a bullying instrument, the Bryant Index of Empathy measurement, and the DANVA (Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy) to assess emotion recognition abilities. Children were classified into physical and relational bullying roles (bully, victim, bully/victim, neutral) for analytical purposes. Results: While physical victims, bullies and neutrals differed little in their emotion recognition abilities, relational victims were particularly poor in recognising negative emotions of anger and fear in faces. No differences were found in empathy scores, according to bullying roles. Conclusions: Children who are relationally victimised are poorer in understanding emotional information than bullies and non-involved children. Practice Implications: Clinicians and future interventions may consider the importance of emotion recognition training for these vulnerable children. (Contains 1 table.)

There have been mixed results concerning any association between self-esteem and smoking prevalence in young people. The aim of this paper was to investigate cross-sectional and longitudinal relationships between self-esteem and the uptake of smoking in childhood, and how various sub-components of self-esteem are related to smoking. A sample of children taking part in the Liverpool Longitudinal Study of Smoking (LLSS) completed the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) and a smoking survey annually for four years from age 8. Results showed that low scores on the SPPC related to trying smoking. Concurrent associations were found with three specific domains of the SPPC, with scholastic competence at age 10, and physical appearance and behavioural conduct at ages 10 and 11. However, self-esteem levels were not predictive of subsequent smoking. These patterns of results highlight the need for longitudinal research in this area, and considering different domains of self-esteem. (Contains 5 tables.)

In this paper I'll share a personal overview of pedagogy in general. This will include a listing of my personal choices of the major events, from about 1950 onwards, that have had an impact on how I try to facilitate learning. The events occurred in Canada, the United States, UK and Australia. Some were publications; some were local, provincial/state and national initiatives; some were organizations; some were networking. I'll suggest the implications and usefulness of each. I'll also overview idealized career paths of persons who a) neglected pedagogy and focused on subject-discipline research; b) implemented pedagogy and did subject-discipline research; c) implemented pedagogy; d) implemented pedagogy and did research in both pedagogy and subject-discipline research; and e) implemented pedagogy and focused on pedagogy-based research. From this personal overview of activities in different countries, the evolution of a rich set of pedagogical ideas and a brief look at career paths of persons using pedagogy in different ways, some suggestions are given about personal actions you might take.

Scientific advice to the UK government throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been informed by ensembles of epidemiological models provided by members of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza group on Modelling. Among other applications, the model ensembles have been used to forecast daily incidence, deaths and hospitalizations. The models differ in approach (e.g. deterministic or agent-based) and in assumptions made about the disease and population. These differences capture genuine uncertainty in the understanding of disease dynamics and in the choice of simplifying assumptions underpinning the model. Although analyses of multi-model ensembles can be logistically challenging when time-frames are short, accounting for structural uncertainty can improve accuracy and reduce the risk of over-confidence in predictions. In this study, we compare the performance of various ensemble methods to combine short-term (14-day) COVID-19 forecasts within the context of the pandemic response. We address practical issues around the availability of model predictions and make some initial proposals to address the shortcomings of standard methods in this challenging situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]