
Child literacy scheme achieves 'excellent results' in first year
Ms Child said: "We are incredibly proud to see such fantastic results from the first year of formally delivering the Thinking Reading programme in secondary schools..."The government said 30 students across Year 7 in Guernsey had taken part in the programme, with many advancing to a reading age of 12 "thanks to its rigorous, research-based and highly personalised approach".The Literary Intervention Team, which includes 17 teachers across Guernsey and Alderney, support over 300 children each year, it added.Nick Hynes, Director of Education, said schools had "made significant progress" in recent years."Scientific evidence shows that while some children face greater neurodevelopmental challenges, almost all can learn to read with systematic, high quality support," he said. "The results are clearly showing that by shifting our focus from reactive to preventative approaches, we are reducing future reading problems and ensuring more children can succeed from the start."
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BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Fundraiser success builds on plans to track Asian hornets in Sark
A Channel Islands group tracking Asian hornets has reached a fundraising goal to buy equipment to help deal with the invasive species. The Sark Asian Hornet Team said its tracking project would see insects being captured, having transmitters attached to them and then being followed to nests by a tracker. Coordinator Peter Cunneen said the team had reached a goal of £2,500 to buy a tracker and five transmitters in a bid to try and prevent the insects attacking pollinators such as bees. Mr Cunneen said a tracker had been dispatched and members were hoping to get it up and running as soon as they got it. 'Remarkable success' Mr Cunneen said the hornets were a particular threat to Sark as the island was "so rich with pollinators, it's absolutely abundant".He added that, as well as environmental concerns, a second reason for getting the equipment was a public health said: "The consequences of disturbing an Asian hornet nest don't bear thinking about. "I did it once and I wouldn't want to repeat the experience."Mr Cunneen said "Attaching a transmitter to a hornet, the hornet flies back to its nest, you can then read... where that particular nest is.""The National Bee Unit have been testing it in the UK and the success has been quite remarkable.""The objective initially was to get the tracker and the tracking system."But now we can look at next year and decide whether or not we want to get a second tracker."Also, looking perhaps at having our own independent destruction equipment or acquiring a drone." After tracking the insects, Mr Cunneen said the local team would record their location, tape off such areas, and "once we maybe have a few nests, then the Guernsey Asian Hornet Team will come over and they will destroy those".Mr Cunneen said Sark was facing both hornets coming over from Jersey and said: "We have more nests, we have more migrating Queens in the spring."I think our threat is greater than Guernsey's."We have to control it in Sark and, of course, if we don't, then it's a threat to Guernsey."


The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Ambitious plan underway to bring bird of prey back to English skies
Golden eagles could be reintroduced to England after more than 150 years, following a study identifying sufficient suitable habitats. The species was eradicated from England in the 19th century due to its perceived threat to livestock. Environment Secretary Steve Reed is overseeing ambitious plans, with a forthcoming Forestry England feasibility study expected to confirm England's capacity to support a thriving population. Any reintroduction scheme would likely mirror methods used for red kites and sea eagles, considering factors like prey availability and public engagement. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that next steps for reintroduction would be set out in due course.


BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Met Police urged to drop facial scanning at Notting Hill Carnival
Civil liberty and anti-racism groups have called on the Metropolitan Police to drop plans to use live facial recognition (LFR) technology at this year's Notting Hill a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, 11 organisations described LFR as "a mass surveillance tool that treats all Carnival-goers as potential suspects and has no place at one of London's biggest cultural celebrations".They said the decision to reintroduce the technology at Carnival was "deeply disappointing" and argued it could be "less accurate for women and people of colour".The Met Police says LFR is accurate and balanced across ethnicity and gender, and insists it will help keep people safe. The groups - which include Liberty, Big Brother Watch and the Runnymede Trust - highlighted an ongoing judicial review brought by Shaun Thompson, a black Londoner who says he was wrongly identified by the system and letter states: "There is no clear legal basis for your force's use of LFR. No law mentions facial recognition technology and Parliament has never considered or scrutinised its use."Notting Hill Carnival is an event that specifically celebrates the British African Caribbean community, yet the [Metropolitan Police] is choosing to use a technology with a well-documented history of inaccurate outcomes and racial bias." The letter also raised concerns over a 2023 National Physical Laboratory study, which found the NeoFace system used by the Met was less accurate for women and people of colour depending on the algorithm that has been study's authors found the system could show bias at lower thresholds, though at the higher settings the Met says it uses, performance was found to be equitable across ethnicity and thresholds are confidence levels the system uses to decide a match - lower ones flag more people but risk more mistakes and bias, while higher ones are stricter and more said there was no legal obligation for the force to avoid the lower thresholds, and argued policing resources would be better spent on safety measures at the Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, who is leading this year's policing operation at the carnival, said LFR had led to more than 1,000 arrests since the start of 2024 and that independent testing showed the system was "accurate and balanced with regard to ethnicity and gender" at the thresholds used by the Met. Notting Hill Carnival takes place next weekend and has previously attracted up to two million people. It has come under increased scrutiny after two people were murdered at last year's event. Mr Ward said the force had received the letter and would respond in due course."Carnival's growing popularity and size creates unique challenges. Around 7,000 officers and staff will be deployed each day," he said."Their priority is to keep people safe, including preventing serious violence, such as knife crime and violence against women and girls."It is right that we make the best use of available technology to support officers to do their job more effectively."Mr Ward said the LFR cameras will be used on the approach to and from Carnival and not within the event boundaries. He said they will "help officers identify and intercept those who pose a public safety risk before they get to the crowded streets".BBC News has contacted the carnival's organisers for comment.