Resources

ITL shares with you, a selection of resources that may be helpful to you during COVID-19. We hope you find them beneficial and wish you the best of luck with your online learning!

Key Updates during COVID-19

Some helpful information about GCSE and A level grades for Summer 2020.

OFQUAL Grading 2020: Information for students: Click here for a YouTube video setting out information for students expecting GCSE, AS or A level results in summer 2020.

OFQUAL Guidance for Teachers, Students, Parents and Carers: Summer 2020 grades for GCSE, AS, A levels

Online Learning & Developing New Skills:

With a number of online courses being made available, our aim is to assist you in the right direction with the most reputable online course providers. These free high quality courses are an exceptional way to spend time, learn new information, new skills and earn a new qualification. ‘MOOCS’ are massive open online courses that are interactive and aim at unlimited participation and open access. Below are a few relevant MOOC versions:

Coursera

edX

FutureLearn

Class Central is a leading search engine for free online courses and MOOCs. The founder compiled a January 2020 list of courses from Ivy League Universities you can take online for free right now.

Harvard Extension School has made a series of free courses and their Digital Learning Portal accessible. Their Portal features online learning content from across the University.

MyBnk’s mission is “to empower young people to take charge of their future by bringing money to life.” MyBnk My Money Cast offers a weekly financial education livestream for 16-25 year olds. This 30 minute show focuses on personal finance news and features experts, special guests and Q&As.

First-ever financial education textbook lands in schools – funded by Martin Lewis. Free Download

Talks, Podcast and Book Recommendations:

You Inside Out (UIO) is a highly informative platform where former journalist and longstanding advocate for girls and women, Sonja Lewis, tackles the most relevant topics that teen girls face in this podcast.  In addition, Sonja Lewis offers assistance in reclaiming the sacred space of the teenage years via her Wait A While initiative 

Curio is a news app which allows one to “listen to the best journalism.” It offers articles from The Economist, The Guardian, The Financial Times, The Washington Post and more.

Unmissable Talks offers an online range of different talks, conferences and debates that are happening in London and available for free!

The University of Oxford has its own page of free podcasts with a range of interesting topics such as English Literature, Maths and Business.

The BBC has a wide range of free podcasts available on their website, thanks to BBC Radio 4. We would also like to highlight their short stories podcast which provides you with “your weekly fix of brand new short stories written especially by today’s best writers.”

The TED website and app have the recordings of all of the talks that haven been delivered as well as videos on a wide range of topics. Irrespective of your interests, there are definitely speakers that will be of interest to you.

Wellness:

Buzzfeed has made their own wellness oriented lifestyle brand, Goodful. Goodful provides information about self-care, mental and physical health, food and nourishment to help you live a healthier and happier life. Here are specific links to their meditation playlist and healthy recipe ideas.

It is essential that we prioritise physical fitness now more than ever before. There are so many resources available encouraging users to get up and get active even from your bedroom. An extremely enjoyable way to exercise is with PopSugar Fitness. They offer “fresh fitness tutorials, workouts, and exercises that will help you on your road to healthy living, weight loss, and stress relief.” Lots of energetic and fun dance classes and dance cardio workout classes are available!

Another way to get active is with Joe Wicks aka “The Body Coach.” His fitness videos are encouraging and a great way to get active alone and with your families. He presents a live workout every Monday to Friday called “P.E with Joe” that aims to keep students fit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HelpGuide provides guidelines on How to Sleep Better. Improving our sleeping pattern is essential especially when factoring in our increased exposure to devices and blue light due to online learning. A key tip is to try to spend time away from screens and doing other activities such as walking, reading, cooking, meditating etc.  

Mental Health and Support:

There are several free services available to tackle any mental health issues you may be experiencing; as well as to receive any support you may need.

Samaritans is a charity that offers free confidential listening services 24 hours a day. They are also available via email and can be contacted about all sorts of concerns you may have.

Mind focuses specifically on mental health. Mind has their own online support community where you can “listen, share and be heard” insightful videos, which you may also enjoy. This video: How to relax | 8 relaxation tips for your mental health, focuses on reducing the impact of stress and it resonates with everyone.

Finally, the NHS Mental health and wellbeing page, has tips, audio guides and links to mental health support that is specific to what you may be experiencing.

Additional Resources:

Go Think Big – Helping young people achieve their career dreams. 

Therapy for Black Girls – An online space dedicated to encouraging the mental wellness of Black women and girls.

The Tapping Solution – A guide to Emotional Freedom Techniques. 

Stem4.org.uk – Supporting positive mental health in teenagers. 

Black Girls Breathing – A safe space for black women to actively nurture their mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Mindful – Insight, information, and inspiration to help you live more mindfully. 

Mindfulness for Teens – This website provides information, tools, and resources to help you get started in practicing mindfulness. 

Yoga Ed. – Yoga & Mindfulness Made Easy.

Truly Pilates for Teens – Pilates home workouts for teens.

Brent Howard Pilates for teens – online Pilates classes.

Black Lives Matter:

In response to the Black Lives Matter movement, a member of Women & Girls Network’s Young Women’s Team created an educational guide called “Why We Shout Black Lives Matter.”

This guide is inspired by the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag/organisation and is a collection of information from various organisations, activists, educators and change makers. This guide is for a UK audience (Yes, racism happens in the UK too) and was created to inform, educated and promote on “Why we shout Black Lives Matter”.

 

BLACK LIVES MATTER GUIDE

Race and Protest in Britain – A Young Person’s Perspective by Sanum Khan via A Facing History Blog: https://facingtoday.facinghistory.org/race-and-protest-in-britain-a-young-persons-perspective

Ready or Nought, it’s Time to Face Race in the UK by Aneira Roose-McClew and Amran Farah via A Facing History Blog: https://facingtoday.facinghistory.org/ready-or-nought-its-time-to-face-race-in-the-uk

BLAM UK CIC has put together a collection of the guides and research on how to be antiracist that will enable us to ” learn, decolonise and dismantle together.” https://blamuk.org/our-guides-and-research/

Dedicated to Books by or About People of African Descent
AALBC is the oldest, largest, and most popular online bookstore dedicated to books written by, or about, people of African descent in the United States and around the world. https://aalbc.com/

Video Resources:

For parents:

  • Do you struggle to understand your teenager?
  • Do you have difficulties engaging effectively with your teenagers?
  • Would you like some advice on how to have a calm and relaxed conversation with your teenager?

Dr Lisa Damour – advice on engaging effectively with teens.

Support for Parents Through COVID-19 – Find Out More