News

Episode one of The Big Hospital Experiment airs tomorrow, on BBC Two, at 9pm. The programme follows a group of young people as they embark on a radical social experiment – volunteering on the NHS front-line to deliver patient care. Read more.

A research grant has just been awarded to an OU researcher to demystify contraception.

Dr Victoria Newton, Senior Research Fellow in the OU’s Health and Wellbeing priority research area has been awarded an Early Career Research Grant of £246,000 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council for a project titled, Reproductive Bodylore: the role of vernacular knowledge in women’s contraceptive decision-making. Read more.

Charlotte Bailey received excellent GCSE grades and was on track to receive a full scholarship from Yale University for their Young Global Scholars programme. Sadly, when she began her A levels, Charlotte began to be bullied by students and teachers. Read more.

Learning outcomes for Zambia are low - more than 80% of children are unable to read and write at the end of their first year of learning and the country has one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more.

The Open University and Sport England have partnered to deliver a free online course to educate and develop sports coaches, officials, instructors and activity leaders. Available on the OU’s free learning platform, OpenLearn – ‘Coaching Others to Coach’ launches on 8 July and can be studied by anyone at any time. Read more.

The first Open University international development programme to operate in Myanmar reached a milestone with its third and largest yet residential school, for 228 academic and support staff from 21 Myanmar universities.

Heather always wanted to be a mental health nurse, having worked as a carer for a number of years. When she was given the chance by her employer to study for an Open University course in Health Care Practice, she grabbed the opportunity. Earlier this year, Heather was awarded the Care Apprentice Award at the National Care Awards, as Carers Week begins, she talks about her journey with The OU.

The Open University is calling on higher education institutions, NHS employers and the government to address barriers to the nursing profession, which are contributing to the UK’s chronic shortage of nurses.

The Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies Faculty has announced its commitment to a new multi-million pound Government funded consortium within the UK Aid Connect programme to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) led consortium, in which the OU is a partner, includes Frontline AIDS, Internews Europe, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Women’s Refugee Commission.