This one is a must look for January! Free support from the BPS...

We know you're probably up to your eyes in tinsel and present wrapping but this information just came through from the British Psychological Society about supporting school and college teachers via a forum.It's called the PS List. We thought the information ( below in bold) might be useful to you. It has come directly from the British Psychological Society.

PSLIST GENERAL INFORMATION

PSList is a private and professional email Discussion List for teachers of psychology and neuroscience in schools and colleges, with students up to the age of 18 (in England and Wales this would include GSCE and A-level) and for those with similar professional interests.

The List is intended to be used for the dissemination of good practice, and to assist subscribers in resolving problems related to all aspects of the teaching of the psychology and neuroscience in schools and colleges.

Emails sent to the PSList server are distributed to all members of the group, and replies are also redistributed. By default, PSList will send subscribers email messages individually, as they are received and processed. However, to minimise the amount of incoming mail, users may prefer to receive either a weekly digest (a compilation of all postings to the List in one large message) sent each Friday, or an just an index (a list of all the topics sent to the list during the week along with information about who sent each message and how to retrieve it). PSList email is also compiled into a searchable archive, allowing users to see if questions have already been asked and answered. All necessary details will of course be emailed to users upon joining.

Organisations such as Universities and Learned Societies may also wish to use the PSList to announce relevant schools events or services, though advertising for profit is not allowed.

Subscription and use of this service is entirely free.

A key feature of PSList it that it is is private - it is not intended for school pupils themselves (though this is not to say that a teacher could not submit a question on behalf of a pupil). Subscription thus requires a letter (on paper carrying the School/College/ University letterhead) to be sent to the List Owner

Dr Peter K Robinson

Associate Dean, School of Psychology

University of Central Lancashire

Preston

PR1 2HE

United Kingdom

The letter should clearly state the name of the intended subscriber together with his/her email address (a telephone number is also useful in case there are problems with the email address).

By restricting subscription in this way it is felt that subscribers may feel free to discuss relatively sensitive issues, such as examination performance or difficulties in teaching certain elements of the syllabus, with no fear of students “listening in”. There is, however, no intention to encourage or allow discussion of any “active” assessments. Of course the private nature of the List also ensures that subscribers will not be bombarded with “junk mail” from advertisers.

If you have any queries about PSList please feel free to email the list owner pkrobinson@uclan.ac.uk