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In this paper, we present insights from the qualitative data collected during a process evaluation of a reading intervention project carried out in primary and secondary schools in West Yorkshire, England. Commercially available reading interventions, financed by the Strategic School Improvement Fund, were delivered by school staff to disadvantaged pupils over a period of four half-terms, and a team of university-based researchers carried out qualitative interviews with members of school staff in order to discover factors that affect the sustainability of school-based reading interventions after the initial funding period, and identify good practice in planning for and meeting sustainability objectives. The data from the interviews enabled the researchers to compare and contrast the experiences of the staff following the different interventions. The findings presented in this paper have generated some helpful guidance about the process of implementing reading interventions in schools successfully, and factors such as staff training, fidelity of implementation and organisational context are discussed.

This paper responds to the Commission on Religious Education's proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales. Qualitative data were collected from nine English primary Religious Education (RE) teachers to establish their responses to the proposed National Entitlement from their perspectives as RE practitioners. Findings show that teachers were supportive of the high ambitions the National Entitlement has for RE, that they saw opportunities for pupils' social and personal development as well as advancement in substantive knowledge, but that they were concerned about content-heavy curricula and structural barriers to implementing the National Entitlement. In response, the paper examines 'cumulatively sufficient' curricular design and 'pedagogical reduction' as strategies to activate the National Entitlement, and raises questions about 'instrumental purposes' in the conceptualisation of Religion and Worldviews. The paper recommends sharper account of the originality of Religions and Worldviews in order to advance the cause of the National Entitlement.

This paper investigates the influence of a professional Religious Education (RE) conference on a small group of English Primary teachers' emerging identities as teacher-researchers. It is framed by analysis of agency as a means of examining how teachers can become capable producers of knowledge as active partners in dialogue with critical others. The paper argues that attending the conference played a role in increasing teachers' professional identify and agency because it provided a novel context of action in teachers' professional lives. Teachers were made aware of a much broader professional community to which they had legitimate membership where knowledge exchange and professional validation was intensified. The conference enabled reflexive thinking that disrupted teachers' 'taken for granted' habits and beliefs by offering new ways of seeing, being and acting, and in which they could forecast teacher-research as a feasible, relevant and purposeful aspect of their professional lives.

The paper notices that faith-practitioners' involvement, as visiting speakers or study-visit hosts, is a recommended teaching strategy in secular RE. It examines problems of authentic representation of religious traditions in secular RE and evaluates the extent to which faith-practitioners' involvement as a learning strategy can address authentic representation of religions as a learning principle. Empirical data for the paper is drawn from four qualitative interviews with faith-practitioners from different Christian denominations about their preferred representations of Christianity during secular RE study-visits to their churches. The paper finds that faith-practitioners' preferred representations can be categorised as insider-institutional (denominational) and insider-personal. Together, these types of representation can complement authenticity in the representation of religions in RE because they offer particular, rather than generalised, accounts of religious traditions.

This article investigates the social benefits of initial vocational education and training (VET) for individuals in different European contexts. Drawing on data from the European Community Household Panel, results show that initial VET is associated with positive changes in social outcomes for individuals across Europe. Health benefits were mainly found in egalitarian contexts such as Sweden whereas benefits in terms of civic participation were mainly found in countries that reward participation in civil society such as Sweden and Austria or where participation in voluntary activities may be seen as an insurance to avoid falling into unemployment, for instance in Italy, Greece, and Spain. Overall, the benefits of initial VET for individuals are possibly where there are institutional factors that support the formation of these benefits. (Contains 2 tables and 5 notes.)

Objective: To determine whether an early intervention using a psychological debriefing format is effective in preventing psychological distress in child road traffic accident survivors. Design: Randomised controlled trial. Setting: Accident and Emergency Department, Royal United Hospital, Bath. Subjects: 158 children aged 7-18. Follow-up assessment completed eight months post accident with 132 (70/82 of the experimental group and 62/76 in the control group). Main outcome measures: Self-completed measures of psychological distress; fulfilment of diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Results: Children in both groups demonstrated considerable improvements at follow-up. The early intervention did not result in any additional significant gains. Conclusions: Although children in this study made significant improvements it is unclear whether these are better or worse than natural recovery rates. The specific intervention did not result in additional gains although the structured assessment provided for both groups may have been helpful in reducing subsequent pathology.

In this paper, we present insights from the qualitative data collected during a process evaluation of a reading intervention project carried out in primary and secondary schools in West Yorkshire, England. Commercially available reading interventions, financed by the Strategic School Improvement Fund, were delivered by school staff to disadvantaged pupils over a period of four half-terms, and a team of university-based researchers carried out qualitative interviews with members of school staff in order to discover factors that affect the sustainability of school-based reading interventions after the initial funding period, and identify good practice in planning for and meeting sustainability objectives. The data from the interviews enabled the researchers to compare and contrast the experiences of the staff following the different interventions. The findings presented in this paper have generated some helpful guidance about the process of implementing reading interventions in schools successfully, and factors such as staff training, fidelity of implementation and organisational context are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Semi-structured interview scales for psychosis are the gold standard approach to assessing psychotic and other symptoms. However, such assessments have limitations such as recall bias, averaging, insensitivity to change and variable interrater reliability. Ambulant, real-time self-report assessment devices may hold advantages over interview measures, but it needs to be shown that the data thus collected are valid, and the collection method is acceptable, feasible and safe. We report on a monitoring system for the assessment of psychosis using smartphone technology. The primary aims were to: i) assess validity through correlations of item responses with those on widely accepted interview assessments of psychosis, and ii) examine compliance to the procedure in individuals with psychosis of varying severity. Methods A total of 44 participants (acute or remitted DSM-4 schizophrenia and related disorders, and prodromal) completed 14 branching self-report items concerning key psychotic symptoms on a touch-screen mobile phone when prompted by an alarm at six pseudo-random times, each day, for one week. Face to face PANSS and CDS interviews were conducted before and after the assessment period blind to the ambulant data. Results Compliance as defined by completion of at least 33% of all possible data-points over seven days was 82%. In the 36 compliant participants, 5 items (delusions, hallucinations, suspiciousness, anxiety, hopelessness) showed moderate to strong (rho 0.6-0.8) associations with corresponding items from interview rating scales. Four items showed no significant correlation with rating scales: each was an item based on observable behaviour. Ambulant ratings showed excellent test-retest reliability and sensitivity to change. Conclusions Ambulatory monitoring of symptoms several times daily using smartphone software applications represents a feasible and valid way of assessing psychotic phenomena for research and clinical management purposes. Further evaluation required over longer assessment periods, in clinical trials and service settings.

AUTH Why you should read this article: • To enhance your knowledge of the similarities and differences between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) • To assist you in developing effective treatment and management plans for people with BPD and/or ASD • To understand the complexities involved in diagnosing and managing people with co-morbid BPD and ASD One of the main issues that people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and/or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience is that they find emotional and relational interactions challenging. This article reviews the available literature on the similarities and differences between BPD and ASD, and aims to raise awareness of the complexity of co-morbid presentations. This is important because, if a person's diagnosis is inaccurate or incomplete, their treatment may be ineffective or inappropriate. The authors provide practical guidelines to assist front-line mental health practitioners in diagnosing BPD and/or ASD, thereby enabling them to develop appropriate and effective management plans. These guidelines were drawn from the available literature and the authors' experience in clinical practice. When BPD and ASD co-occur, a formulation approach should be used to provide person-centred care, rather than an assessment approach that simply defines the issues a person is experiencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]