Working together to build healthy and happy schools
The Wellbeing Zone
The Wellbeing Zone is packed with free resources to support mental health and wellbeing – from advice on coping with anxiety and exam stress, to fun activities and mindfulness.
We spoke to 16-year-old mental health campaigner and one of the winners of the ÃÛÌÒapp World Changer Awards, Avani Bhalla, for her view on young people’s wellbeing today and what more can be done in education to help.
The ÃÛÌÒapp School Report provides an in-depth, independent look at the education system, from the people who work at its core – and is the latest step in our mission to collaborate, listen and learn from each other to drive forward positive change.
We’ve partnered with Persona Education for a pioneering pilot, which will test how effectively life skills can be developed and recognised using digital methods, while assessing how students, teachers and employers value social-emotional skills, and the related digital badges.Ìý
We're passionate about creating a culture of positive wellbeing and mental health and are committed to working together with teachers and senior leaders to help build healthy, calm and happy schools.
Together we can drive positive change, encourage conversation, and create an environment that fosters wellbeing for pupils as well as staff.
Within ÃÛÌÒapp, we’ve been working with Time to Change to break down the stigma around mental health and wellbeing, and change the culture and conversation.ÌýHear from our Senior Vice President, Sharon Hague on what we've been doing within our organisation.
In an ever-changing world of mounting pressures, how can learners – and educators – attain happiness and success in life, and in their careers? Get an insight into the conversation that took place at the Festival of Education.
In uncertain and stressful times, it is natural to feel a certain amount of concern or worry. Practising mindfulness can help you stay calmer and more positive. We have a number ofÌýfree resourcesÌýto help introduce you to mindfulness techniques that are suitable for employers, Clinicians,Ìýparents and young people.
If you feel that you or someone you know (be they a parent, child, teacher or young person) are at immediate risk of causing harm to themselves or others, it’s important to seek immediate professional help by calling 999.  
However you or someone you know might be feeling or going through, it’s important to know you’re not alone. There’s lots of information and support services in the UK to help.
There can be many stresses on those who work in education - a challenging student, stress & depression, personal financial worries and so many more. That’s why Education Support offers free, confidential help and support.Ìý
When it comes to low-stakes assessment, the consensus is that itÌýis assessment which is not pass or fail,Ìýdoes not cause added stress or anxiety for pupils (Bain, 2004) (children can make mistakes without a penalty) and aims to get children to retrieve information.ÌýThis blog looks at how Abacus can be used for low-stakes assessment.
Colin Leith, ÃÛÌÒapp Subject Advisor in Business & Economics, considers the role of the GCSE business qualification today, and throughout its history, in our latest #BeInBusiness blog.ÌýÌý
“If you want to create a business when you are older, make sure you don’t listen to other people’s opinions. In business in general people will tell you it is impossible. You have to think the impossible is possible.â€ÌýÌýÌý
Those are the words of Deraj, a GCSE business student from Hamstead Hall Academy in Birmingham – suggesting that entrepreneurial skills often mean going against the grain and taking a leap of faith. It’s clear that to Deraj, being in business is not an abstract concept. It’s real and relevant.ÌýÌý
It is this entrepreneurial spirit that many GCSE business teachers are looking to build on. While starting a business will involve an element of risk, a solid foundation of research and applied study of the subject leaves you with every chance of success.ÌýÌýÌý
A changing landscapeÌýÌý
When I first started teaching in the early 1980s Business Studies didn’t exist as a school subject. As an Economics and History teacher I was asked to offer O level Commerce, a new departure for the school I was in at the time. I wouldn’t describe the Commerce qualification as entrepreneurial; it certainly didn’t encourage learners to challenge orthodoxy. A year or two later, however, the Hampshire Business and Information Studies (BIS) project was launched, and this encouraged teachers to approach the subject in a different way (including using computers in their teaching). It was this, I believe, that started the revolution in Business teaching. In some schools, BIS was regarded as a challenge to more traditional subjects, and this may have allowed it to innovate at a faster pace.ÌýÌý
So, the study of business has evolved considerably over the years and more recently, prompted in part by the work of the Peter Jones Foundation, the role of enterprise education has emerged as an important feature of both formal qualifications and enrichment activities in schools, and business and enterprise educators have become increasingly aware of the importance of ensuring that their subject reflects the lived experience of their learners outside the classroom.ÌýÌý
Start studying business early to encourage inclusive thinkingÌýÌý
One of Deraj’s Business teachers at Hamstead Hall, Aki Atwell, advises that for teachers to ensure the future diversity and inclusion of learners in GCSE Business, it is important to encourage enterprise education early on. By introducing enterprise education from as early as Year 9, teachers are able to help build interest in the subject, particularly among learners who might believe business isn’t for people like them.ÌýÌý
“It encourages students of all abilities because enterprise can lend itself to all abilities. The balance between males and females within the classroom choosing business studies is important. Sometimes we have had it previously where the subject of business has been heavily taken up by males, but we are seeing more of a balance through the examples of businesses we introduce into the subject.â€ÌýÌýÌý
Can GCSE business help break down stereotypes?ÌýÌý
In business and more broadly in society, discrimination and inequality are becoming less acceptable, and people are increasingly realising that businesses need to be representative of the communities in which they operate. Having said that, there are still challenges: women still earn less than men in the workplace, and there is an even wider pay gap for black women.Ìý Ìý
One contributor to the breaking down of stereotypes is in the careful choice of case studies chosen by Business teachers, ensuring that both male and female leaders are represented for example. According to the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency), in 2019-2020 with 48% of Business Management students were female, and educational materials used in schools should reflect this more or less equal split between the sexes.ÌýÌýÌý
The future of GCSE businessÌýÌý
GCSE Business can certainly play a part in both reflecting and shaping a world which strives to embrace diversity and inclusion in both its educational and its work environments. It is the responsibility of all educators to try and ensure that the world learners experience in classroom case studies allows them to imagine a future for themselves in a world of equal opportunities.ÌýÌý
To find out more about ÃÛÌÒapp’s #BeInBusiness campaign and their commitment to diversity and inclusion in business and education, as well as free resources, please visit: and follow and #BeInBusinessÌý
The GL Assessment report: ‘Read All About It’ (26/2/20) found thatÌý20% of all 15-year-olds have a reading age of 11 and below, and 10%ÌýhaveÌýa reading age of 9 and below.