WELS news

Kamal Ibrahim, a postgraduate Social Work student at The Open University, has been appointed as a co-researcher on a new OU research project.

Natalia Kucirkova, Professor of Reading and Children’s Development in the WELS School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport (ECYS) has won the UK Literary Association (UKLA) Academic Book Award 2021 by unanimous vote for her title ‘How and Why to Read and Create Children’s Digital Books: A Guide for Primary Practitioners’.

Petra Vacková is an award-winning postgraduate research student currently undertaking a PhD within the School of Education, Childhood, Youth and Sport (ECYS). We caught up with Petra to find out more about her research, which has been recognised by her supervisors and peers with two academic awards in the past year.

The Teachers' Reading Challenge is back, with a launch event focussing on 'Reading and Recuperation'.

Dr Mimi Tatlow-Golden, Senior Lecturer in Developmental Psychology and Childhood in the WELS School of Education, Childhood, Youth & Sport (ECYS), has praised the government’s announcement of an online and pre-watershed TV ban of advertising for foods high in fat, sugar, and salt (HFSS).

The latest addition to The Open University’s selection of nursing and healthcare practice programmes has received approval from the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC). Our new Foundation Degree in Nursing Associate Practice provides an alternative qualifying route, further expanding our offer to suit even more aspiring nurses and employers.

Professor Kwame Akyeampong has been appointed co-chair of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP), hosted by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the World Bank.

Enhancement of the support currently offered to families with a parent or primary carer in prison is the goal of the ‘Families First’ project, a two-year study led by the OU's Children’s Research Centre, in partnership with charity YSS.

Second year Education Studies (Primary) student Aimee has been awarded an MBE in recognition of her work with children with special educational needs and disabilities through the Covid crisis as well as services to teaching assistants.

Building on a partnership that delivered the hugely successful Pan Commonwealth Forum (PCF9) in Edinburgh in 2019, two MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) were developed by WELS colleagues to support the professional development of inclusive education for teachers and teacher educators in Africa.