June 2015

The know zone

  • Know your boundaries
    Cherry Ridgway explains how comparable outcomes work for setting GCSE grades and looks ahead to the national reference tests, starting in 2017. More
  • Business class
    Anyone who has found attending parents’ evenings inconvenient will appreciate the new appointment procedures, seating arrangements and musical accompaniments suggested by Sean Hayes. More
  • CPD options
    As pressure grows on budgets, what can schools and colleges do to ensure their CPD opportunities for staff remain as rich and creative as possible? Here we highlight some key steps. More
  • A driving force
    Drive iQ aims to change the way that young people learn to drive in the UK. It is a state-of-the-art, award-winning online software programme that gives every young person a virtual experience of driving in all conditions and on all types of roads to help them acquire genuine experience when learning to drive. More
  • Balanced view
    Val Andrew outlines some basic tenets of sound financial planning to ensure that your school or college is running at maximum efficiency. More
  • The post-levels challenge
    Julie McCulloch explores the rationale for the overhaul of primary assessment and looks at how a new commission will aim to resolve some of the problems raised. More
  • The future of CPD
    Following their Shaping the Future of CPD event held earlier this year, the team at IRIS Connect have released a report unveiling important recommendations on the future of professional development from Sir Tim Brighouse, David Weston from the Teacher Development Trust, Philippa Cordingley from CUREE and many more. More
  • School holidays
    From September, all schools will be able to set their own terms and holidays. Newspapers have suggested that about 60 per cent of heads will use that power to help parents avoid holiday surcharges. What are you thinking of doing? Are you going to change your current set-up or will things remain the same in your school? Are you working with other schools in your local area to coordinate school holidays? Here, ASCL members share their views… More
  • Leaders’ surgery
    ASCL members concerned about leadership issues should call the Hotline on 0116 299 1122 or email hotline@ascl.org.uk More
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Drive iQ aims to change the way that young people learn to drive in the UK. It is a state-of-the-art, award-winning online software programme that gives every young person a virtual experience of driving in all conditions and on all types of roads to help them acquire genuine experience when learning to drive.

A driving force

Sophie Morgan crashed her car six months after passing her test. She is the ambassador for Drive iQ as well as being a BBC TV filmmaker and broadcaster. Sophie says, “I know if I had been given something like Drive iQ, I wouldn’t be in a wheelchair today. This is all the stuff they don’t tell you when you learn to drive – but it’s actually the stuff you really need to know in order to avoid crashes, improve observations and cope with distractions. Please, please tell every young person you know about Drive iQ. Completing it may save a life or a serious injury like mine.”

How does it work?

The programme, which is free to everyone, is aimed at all young people from the age of 14–25 years. Drive iQ is delivered in schools by teaching staff and about 900 schools are already involved. Drive iQ supplies schools with free resources for teachers so that they can run the software in personal, social and health education (PSHE) sessions and workshops.

The programme aims to mature the frontal lobe of the brain that is not fully developed in young people up until the age of 25 years. Much research has been carried out on the frontal lobe of a young person’s brain, which is responsible for such tasks as risk assessment, danger anticipation and emotions.

This is a call to action to every school in the UK. This programme is free, has had years of scientific research behind it and is available to every single one of your students. Don’t let them miss out. As Sophie says, it may be too late for her, but it doesn’t have to be too late for anyone else.

Are any partners involved?

The team at Drive iQ believes that no one road safety campaign alone can be enough to protect young people fully, so they collaborate with many other road safety organisations to arm every young person with all the education that is on offer.

Locally, the team works with Safe Drive Stay Alive – Surrey and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Head of Roads Policing, Suzette Davenport who is a huge supporter of Drive iQ among many others. But they also work very closely with all other emergency services, the PSHE Association and Road Safe.

Drive iQ is funded by Michelin, ingenie, Exxon Mobil and a2om, which ensures that the software will always be free for schools to use.

How can schools get involved?

To find out how Drive iQ could help your students, visit www.driveiq.com or email emma@driveiq.com

LEADING READING