Daily Archives: 08/08/2018

Sixth form

Living in London: A guide to student accommodation

You’ve finished sixth form or college and now you’re heading to university for the time of your life. Whether you’re planning to study a subject allied to medicine, which was most popular amongst women with 226,420 applicants, or looking for a business and administration degree which most men were drawn to, totalling 154,720 submissions — there’s a lot you must consider when making the move.

Using the largest survey of its kind that questioned 6,000 students regarding their accommodation, we bring you the following analysis of what’s the best alternative — halls or house shares? However, it must be made clear that students that lived in halls are overrepresented (57%).

Looking at halls

Most first-year students believe that halls of residence are the only option on their list. Moving into student accommodation is all part of the student lifestyle and there are many benefits of this, including the ease of making friends within the university and that many halls are on campus or close by.

But, are they glad about their initial decision? The survey suggests that 55% of undergraduates and 61% of postgraduates were. However, a sharp increase in dissatisfaction showed that 19% of undergraduates were dissatisfied with their accommodation which was 7% increase on results from 2012.

The survey suggested that 15% of postgrads weren’t fond of their halls. One of the biggest factors to this was the cost; according to 27% of people. Common complaints surrounding university halls were related to plumbing, water and heating problems at 25% but it must be made clear that these problems should be fixed by the accommodation itself.

There are two types of accommodation you can go for in London.  Using University College London (UCL) 2018/19 accommodation fees as a guideline, a singled catered room would range from £173.88-£180.67 per week. If you wanted to go self-catered, this would be priced around £165.69-£242.62 depending which of course is dependent on building type and location.

Looking at house shares

House shares are becoming a more thought about option for students around the UK. However, with the finer financial details coming into play — saving as many pennies as you can has become vital for prospective students.

The survey found that 55% of undergraduates and 60% of postgraduates were happy.  But were the expectations for students upheld when they moved into their flat? Well, looking at results from 2012-2014, dissatisfaction increased by 4% for undergraduates and 5% for postgraduates.

Two main issues that were a common trend in the survey were problems with landlords and the condition of the property. London’s landlords are notorious for charging extortionate rates for small living spaces, which is probably why ‘people’ came up as a common student complaint, small spaces mean that you might be too close to comfort with people — all of the time.

Four in ten students pay less than £125 each week according to the survey (which also excludes bills). The majority of students from this survey, accounting for 31% said that they paid £126-£150 each week. This was soon followed by 26% that said that they paid £100-£125 each week.

If you’re from a fellow EU nation, you might find yourself paying a higher £140.43 but this is still less than those who are from outside of the EU who pay £150.35.

The end result

Although Oxford to London coach providers, Oxford Tube has provided you with these eye-opening statistics, it’s important to understand the financial position you will be in. You also need to consider how you’re going to afford everything — if you’re getting out a student loan, will this cover it?

It’s important for you to make the best decision that can support your lifestyle. You don’t want to miss out any important necessities — work with the mindset of what your financial situation will be.

Remember to carry out in-depth research into what accommodation will be better suited to you. Alternatively, if you go for a flat share — are you prepared to pay for bills that may not be included in your weekly rent, and put up with the landlords?

University campuses are usually close to the university accommodation — so make sure if you do go for a flat share, you’re close by — check out the London bus times to be extra vigilant. Of course, all of this does come down to personal preference but making sure that you’re happy with what you have is vital.

 

https://www.ucas.com/file/147881/download?token=EDbV_k7w

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_universities_and_higher_education_colleges_in_London

https://www.ucas.com/corporate/data-and-analysis/ucas-undergraduate-releases/2018-cycle-applicant-figures-january-deadline

https://www.spareroom.co.uk/flatshare/flatshare_detail.pl?flatshare_id=9735022&search_id=622712044&city_id=&flatshare_type=offered&search_results=%2Fflatshare%2F%3Fsearch_id%3D622712044%26&

https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/studentaccommodationsurvey15.pdf

https://www.mystudenthalls.com/?s=London

https://www.savethestudent.org/accommodation/national-student-accommodation-survey-2017.html#about

 

Nursery

What is the easiest way to give applicants and colleagues a feeling for work in a nursery and all that it can involve?

These videos relating to the work of nursery schools can be purchased outright, or bought through our video on demand service.  In each case you can watch a clip from the video on our website by following the link provided.

A Day in the Life of a Day Nursery

This Detailed description of the work of a day nursery is an excellent guide to the demonstration of competencies which explains to the viewer the philosophy of good child care and its relationship with the everyday tasks of caring and nurturing the development of children in her/his care.

This 90 minute DVD is an ideal video to show to parents who are contemplating sending their child to a nursery for the first time, and to volunteers and first-time applicants for jobs who need an introduction to what nursery school life is about.

You can read more about the video and also see an extract from it here.

The Road Home

This film demonstrates the importance of one to one attachment for the emotional development of babies and young children and reflects on what happens when that attachment is not available.

The video will be of great benefit to anyone who is working with children who have not been able to form attachments in their lives thus far.

You can read more about the video and also see an extract from it here.

Getting the Feel of Things

In this film two two-year olds explore unfamiliar objects with their senses.  They move slowly and thoughtfully, absorbing what they find, and present what is for many people an unusual view of young children.

You can read more about the video and also see an extract from it here.

Cognitive Development

This American film gives a fairly comprehensive overview of current psychological theories of development, covering Piaget’s work and the work of behaviourist psychologists.

The ideas of Bruner and Kagan are contrasted with Piaget via examples from different schools which have adopted different approaches.  You can read more about the video and also see an extract from it here.

Through the Eyes of a Child

This video shows approaches to ways of helping people enter a child’s world. Small happenings, such as going on a bus, an encounter with a dog, and playing in the garden are seen through a child’s eyes,

You can read more about the video and also see an extract from it here.

The Psychology of the Pre-School Child – Part 1

Five children aged from three and a half to five years talk about their interests and fears, their attitudes to parents and grownups, the dreams they have and their desires to be older than they are. They demonstrate early defence mechanisms and various elements of sibling rivalry.

You can read more about the video and also see an extra from it here.

The Anna Freud Nursery School

This video looks at the running of a nursery school for children age 2 to 5 showing the principles and practise underlying the daily running of a group of 13 children aged 2 1/2 to 5 years.

You can read more about the video and also see an extra from it here.

Young Children in Brief Separation (five films in this series each featuring a different child)

At 17 months John is a placid, easy to manage child.

He spends nine days in a residential nursery. The nurses are young and friendly, but the system of care does not allow any one of them to substitute for the absent mother.

This film represents  a microcosm of the human dilemma of how to give appropriate care to those in need, whether they be infants, the aged, the mentally ill, or prisoners, all of whom need stable, supportive relationships.

You can read more about the video here.

Please note this video is not available on video on demand.