Dear Colleagues,

Well, another electoral campaign has been declared! The country awaits the verdict of the people in the general election on 8 June.

This month, amongst other things, we bring you:

- News from AQA

- PSA Local Government Briefings

- The announcement of the academic line up at the PSA-PES Seminar on 'Parliament, Globalisation and Ideology'

- Information about this year's Applying to Study Politics workshops

Last month we brought you news that OfQual had approved Pearson/Edexcel's new AS and A level Politics qualification. This as you are all aware will be first taught from September 2017. 

OfQual approval of AQA's qualification is still currently pending. The fifth submission from the exam board was received by OfQual on 21 April. For further information about the current status of all qualifications please see here.

The PSA has recently held two media briefings on the upcoming UK Local Government Elections. 

Exactly one month before voters in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the Liverpool City Region, Greater Manchester, the West of England, West Midlands and the Tees Valley head to the polls on 4 May 2017, the Centre for Cities and the Political Studies Association held a joint media briefing at the Institute for Government.

Paul Swinney (Principal Economist, Centre for Cities), Professor John Curtice (University of Strathclyde) and Professor Tony Travers (Director, LSE London) presented an in-depth look at: what powers the mayors will have to effect change; the 2015 General Election baseline for each mayoral area; the latest polling; the runners and riders in each contest; prospects for turnout based on previous non-London Mayoral contests; lessons from London’s Mayoral contests; wider implications for British politics, and more!

Download: Podcast | PSA press pack from John Curtice and Tony Travers | Centre for Cities press pack

Also, ahead of the newly announced snap general election, the Political Studies Association (PSA) presented an in-depth look at the 4 May local council elections which are set to provide an unprecedented window into voter intentions on 8 June. Leading political science experts covered the latest predictions and polling on the local council contests in England, Scotland and Wales.

The speakers were Professor Colin Rallings (Plymouth University), Professor Michael Thrasher (Plymouth University), Professor John Curtice (University of Strathclyde) and Professor Roger Scully (University of Cardiff). The briefing was chaired by Professor Angelia Wilson (Chair, Political Studies Association). 

Download: Briefing Pack | Slides | Podcast

Following on from the success of last year's PSA-Parliament Education Service Seminar Day, we will again be collaborating in order to bring you an event on the theme of: Parliament, Globalisation and Ideology.

Whilst we are confirming the parliamentary participants, the academic speakers are: Natasha Underhill from Nottingham Trent University and Victoria Honeyman from Leeds University. 

Natasha will be speaking on the issue of globalisation and the nation state and Victoria will be speaking on the interconnection between globalisation and ideologies. 

This event will take place on Tuesday 13 June at the Houses of Parliament in central London from 9am to 4pm. 

In order to book a place please complete the Booking Form via this link and email this back to David Carr via teachertraining@parliament.uk.  For more information please email me via: josh.niderost@psa.ac.uk. 

As with previous years the PSA will again be holding Applying to Study Politics Workshops across the country over the coming months. These events enable students who will be applying for university in Autumn 2017 an opportunity to gain a better understanding about the reality of studying Politics at undergraduate level and its benefits.

This takes place through a series of talks including an academic lecture; a talk on admissions and career options; a talk by current students; and often a guest speaker who works in the political sphere and can give a practitioner’s view point.

We are still confirming the exact schedule and are expecting to hold events across the UK. The Edinburgh event will take place on Tuesday 27 June. The King's College London event will take place on Wednesday 28 June. For more information and to register for this workshop please email me via: josh.niderost@psa.ac.uk. 

Watch this space for details of the other workshops!

Thursday 18th May, 4-7pm

Arnolfini, 16 Narrow Quay, Bristol, BS1 4QA

Register via eventbrite here. 

Are you interested in Brexit, concerned in how it might affect you, and keen to discuss your own views and priorities?

From the impact of Brexit on every day practical concerns about jobs, travel, and public services, to broader social and economic issues such as the environment, human rights and international trade, we want to discuss the priorities that matter to you, regardless of the way you voted in the referendum or whether you voted at all.

CoVI are hosting a series of workshops to engage with millennials across the UK as part of think tank Common Vision’s #BREXITWATCH project. These discussions will feed into research and analysis on what young people want to see from the Brexit negotiations, and presented to the Government and other politicians and decision makers, in the run up to the June 2017 General Election and beyond.

The next event is in Bristol, and open to any young person aged 16 to 30(ish).

The event is free to attend (with free food!)

For further details see here.

Corbyn! Trump! Brexit! Politics has never been more unpredictable, more alarming or more interesting. TALKING POLITICS is the podcast that will try to make sense of it all. Each Thursday, in Cambridge, Professor David Runciman (Head of POLIS, Cambridge University and PSA member) will talk to the most interesting people around: novelists, comedians, historians, philosophers - and even a few politicians - and ask them what they think is going on... Democracy is feeling the strain everywhere. What might happen next? How bad could it get? As the crazy stuff happens, TALKING POLITICS will be on it. It’s the political conversation everyone is having. See here for more details. 

Pearson currently have exciting opportunities for qualified teachers to join their Assessment Associate Team, as Examiners for their GCE A Level Government and Politics qualification.

If you have any queries regarding the role, please contact the AA Recruitment team on aaresourcing@pearson.com. For more infromation about Examiner opportunities at Pearson please click here. 

The PSA Blog features contemporary content from academic members of the PSA in response to news or fresh research findings. 

Andy Mycock (Huddersfield University) writes about: Inspiring the ‘devolution generation’ in Greater Manchester.

Ben Worthy (UCL) poses the question: Theresa May’s snap election: historic or Pyrrhic?

Finally, Professor The Lord Norton of Louth (Hull University) states: We need to talk about the Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011 to understand Theresa May’s election plans. 

Follow the PSA on Twitter or search for the #PSAschools hashtag for real time updates on all our schools' activities, news and campaigns.

As a PSA Teacher Member you have full access to the Schools’ Area of the PSA website.  Here you can find all the latest information about the following initiatives we offer to schools:

•         Free Speakers Programmes for Schools sessions
•         Free professional development resources
•         Free subscriptions to leading publications, including Political Insight
•         Priority registration to PSA schools' events
•         Priority registration for student career workshops

Don't forget, members can access the Teachers' e-News archive online here.

We're always keen to hear from you, so please keep in touch or let the PSA know how we can serve you better. If you feel any colleagues would be interested in this e-Newsletter, please forward them a copy.

With very best wishes,

Josh Niderost

Programme Development and Outreach Officer

020 7321 2545
PSA Head Office, 113a Jermyn Street, London, SW1Y 6HJ.