QR Code

Nonsuch HP now has its own QR code. If you have a smart phone with a QR code reading app, you can point it at the code and our blog's home page will load automatically - this should also work from the plasma screens that the our blog is regularly displayed on. If you know of any other interesting codes or uses for them, please let us know.

The Mumsnet Mafia

Two interesting articles with a similar parenting themes have appeared over the weekend. Bagehot in the Economist examines the phenomenon that all three of the party leaders, plus many of their significant advisers, all have children aged 9 or under. This is partly because they are all younger than their predecessors, generally in their early 40s, and have chosen to have their children later. All have committed to spend quality time with their families, and Bagehot asks how else they might be affected.
"The Tory party of ten years ago was slow to grasp the importance of social policies," he writes. "For today’s leadership, children are the “ultimate nudge”, he says, a reference to the Cameron camp’s zeal for “nudging” people into changing behaviour. At its simplest, parenthood exposes even the affluent middle classes to public services, from hospitals to day-care centres or libraries."

Meanwhile The Guardian has an interview with Justine Roberts, the founder of the Mumsnet parenting website. This site has attracted a huge amount of political attention and media interest, as its forthright contributors are seen as having considerable influence on political opinion, particularly with the current obsesssion with the "Squeezed middle" group. Gordon Brown's refusal to reveal his favourite biscuit in an online interview caused a brief controversy in 2009, but more recent issues, such as criticism of the recent EastEnders baby-swap plot, and the Riven Vincent case, show that the site's influence is continuing to grow. What's your opinion?

Nonsuch HP's Internet Safety Policy

Updated: May 2021

Nonsuch HP is obviously very concerned about that its readers and contributors keep safe when using the internet and social media and recommends sites such as: 

Think U Know

Internet Matters

UK Safer Internet Centre

Net Aware from the NSPCC

These include the latest advice and guides on how to use social media safely and keep settings up to date.

We have therefore set up a Safeguarding Policy to protect our readers which is published below. Please take time to read it.

PS: You may enjoy clicking on the picture to see some of the safety signs in more detail...

The Nonsuch HP Blog: Safeguarding Policy
nonsuchhp.blogspot.com

Since it was created in May 2009, the Nonsuch HP Blog has been very successful at creating interest in historical and political topics and sharing useful information and resources. Clearly as the blog is a public website accessible by all it is important to ensure the safety of everyone using it to prevent personal details being passed on to a third party. These are the steps we have put in concerning safeguarding:

1. We do not publish pictures or specific details of students or their names on the blog. If a student’s work is highlighted on the blog (such as a powerpoint or a poster) it will not contain personal information about its author.

2. We do not post articles focusing on individual students and their activities.

3. Students who comment are published anonymously and must not include personal information about themselves.

4. All comments are read and can be deleted by members of staff.

5. Student comments should not reveal extra personal information about their authors. Students who are members of Google or Blogger may show links back to other blogs they follow if they choose but that is the limit of information that can be provided.

6. All students are strongly encouraged not to reveal information about themselves to anyone who makes contact with them via the internet.

Clearly the internet is a continually-changing environment and we will continue to monitor and adapt the blog if further changes are required in the future.

Twitter:

www.twitter.com/nonsuchhp


Nonsuch HP has an occasional presence on Twitter. The steps mentioned above will also be applied to any posts or comments made where relevant. Furthermore…

1. We will accept students as followers of our Twitter feed, but will not follow their personal accounts ourselves.

2. We will not use the Twitter feed to express personal or private opinions, but to raise awareness of historical or political issues.

3. We encourage students to use Twitter (and all other forms of social media) responsibly and to refrain from making any comments that are derogatory towards other users

History Pin

This interesting site blends old photographs with Google Street View, to provide context to historical events, such as this picture of cyclists during the 1926 General Strike in the City of London. People are invited to download their own old photographs to create an interactive local "personal" history site, so start rummaging through your grandparents attic!

The site is created by "We are what we do" - which aims to encourage people to carry out simple ideas to benefit each other, such as spending more time with someone from a different generation. If you find any good ideas here worth sharing, let us know - there is a whole section devoted to schools, for example!

PS: Here are further comments from History Today.

First DotCom

Today also marks the 25th Anniversary of the first ever "dotcom" domain name being registered. It was "Symbolics.com" and it still exists. You can find out more about this here and a list of the first 100 sites here.

PS: It's Science Week this week at Nonsuch and the theme this year is "The History of Science", marking the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society. There is a super timeline of significant scientific milestones here and the more about the Royal Society here. Watch out for events across the school!

Virtual Revolution - Enemy of the State

This series is a fascinating analysis of the effect of the Internet on our society. It looks at the history of the Internet as well as how it might affect the future. The programme on Saturday night concentrated on its effect on global politics both negatively and positively and that between citizens and between citizens and the state. Great examples are used from China, Iran and Estonia. Famous and more obscure experts are used to inform the debate including Bill Gates, Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Al Gore. Well worth watching. Here is their website and you can catch the episodes here on iplayer.

PS: The website is pretty impressive! There is all sorts of content on there. You may also find the easiest way to watch the programme is through the 3D Documentary Explorer which allows you to flick through content in the way you can browse album covers on iTunes. Clever stuff.