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A peer-mentoring scheme was implemented in a secondary school using a physical activity (PA) intervention to improve mental health outcomes of students who were at risk of developing mental ill health. These students are referred to as mentees. The evaluation was a qualitative design using focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The participants reported an increase in PA in both peer mentors and mentees. By the end of the project many of the mentees recognised that they had increased their levels of PA, they were more aware of the benefits of PA and the relationship between PA and their mental health. In addition, mentees reported feeling more confident and were more confident in forming social relationships. Peer mentors reported developing many leadership skills during the project. These included improved communication, confidence, empathy for others, relationship building and improved self-awareness. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Qualitative data were primarily collected from nine case study schools. Each visit included interviews with peer mentors, mentees and the Wellbeing Champion.

Mentees developed improved social confidence and were generally more positive after completing the intervention. Mentors developed leadership skills and greater empathy for their peers.

There is limited research on school-based PA interventions using peer mentoring to improve students’ mental health.

The study was based around the following three research questions: What factors affect teacher well-being and mental health? How does teacher well-being and mental health impact on the progress of students? What resilience strategies are used by highly effective teachers with poor mental health to ensure that their students thrive? The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The research study was qualitative in nature and involved ten primary schools in England. Teachers and head teachers were interviewed. Each school visit also included a pupil discussion group with children from Years 3. In total, the research team interviewed 35 education professionals and 64 pupils.

Teachers reported a number of work-related stress triggers including busy times of the year, such as assessment periods, the pressure of extra curricula activities, the unexpected, keeping up with the pace of change and changes in school leadership. Children were attuned to their teacher’s mood and could usually pick up when they were feeling stressed, even if teachers tried to hide it.

No studies have used pupil voice to explore pupil perspectives of the impact of teacher mental health on their learning and progress. This is the first study of its kind.

The research demonstrates the role of activity systems based in Cultural Historical Activity Theory as a means of analysing characteristics and efficacy of specific provisions of coaching in education.

Three examples of coaching in education were selected, involving 51 schools in England. The three examples were re-analysed using activity systems. This drew on existing evaluation evidence, gathered through interviews, questionnaires, focus groups and recordings of coaching.

In each example, the object of the coaching was to address a specific challenge to secure the desired quality of education. Using activity systems it is possible to demonstrate that coaching has a range of functions (both intended and consequential). The individual examples illustrate the potential of coaching to support change in complex and diverse education settings.

The use of existing data from evaluations means that direct comparisons between examples are not made. While data were collected throughout the duration of each coaching programme no follow-up data was available.

The analysis of the examples of coaching using activity systems provides evidence of the efficacy of specific coaching provision in achieving individually defined objectives related to sustaining and improving specific educational practices.

The research offers insights into how coaching in education might be better tuned to the specific needs of contexts and the challenges experienced by the individuals working in them. In addition, it demonstrates the value of activity systems as an analytical tool to make sense of coaching efficacy.

In the UK and elsewhere, accounting vocabularies and practices have come to permeate everyday life through their involvement in the management of hospitals, schools, universities, charities, trade unions, etc. This has been accompanied by an increase in the power of accountancy and the institutions of accountancy which increasingly function as quasi‐legislators. Such developments call for a (re)consideration of the role of accounting academics/intellectuals. Argues that, in a world where major business and professional interests are organized to advance sectional interests, to promote stereotyped images and to limit public debates, accounting academics/intellectuals have a responsibility to give visibility to such issues and thereby mobilize potentialities for gaining a fuller understanding of, and encouraging more democratic participation in, the design and operation of major social institutions. Suggests that, despite the constraints on academics, there are considerable opportunities to create, develop or become active in public policy debates through networks that comprise politicians, journalists, disaffected practitioners and concerned citizens – all of whom are potential allies in furthering a process in which accounting and its institutions are problematized and accounting professionals are rendered more accountable.

The purpose of this paper is to consider the likely needs and priorities of the 1960s baby boomers in later life (defined as those born in this country between 1960 and 1969 inclusive), based on their characteristics outlined in the accompanying paper.

A non-systematic search of academic and grey literature plus key policy and statistical data from sources including the Office for National Statistics to identify studies and data relevant to people born in the 1960s in the UK.

The 1960s baby boomers are characterised by high levels of education and technological proficiency and a youthful self-image. They have longer working lives and display greater levels of consumption than previous cohorts. These attributes will likely make this a highly demanding group of older people. Maintaining their health and function is important to this group so there is a scope for products that enable active and healthy ageing. Relatively high levels of childlessness may give rise to innovative housing solutions. At the same time, products that help the baby boomers stay independent at home will help alleviate pressure on social care.

There has been little examination of the needs of the 1960s baby boomers in the UK. Given that they stand on the brink of later life, it is timely to consider their likely needs as older people. In view of the size of this cohort, this group’s requirements in later life provide a significant opportunity for businesses to fill the current gaps in the market. Moreover, in the context of increasing neoliberalism, innovations that reduce the dependence of this large cohort on the state and facilitate self-reliance will benefit individuals and society.

The 8.3 million babies who were born during the 1960s in the UK are 48-57 years old. With growing concern about population ageing, and the oldest of this large cohort on the brink of later life, it is timely to provide an overview of selected characteristics of this cohort in order to help predict likely needs and choices for services and products in later life. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A synthesis (non-systematic) of the academic and grey literature plus data from various sources including the Office for National Statistics was used to construct a picture of the 1960s baby boomer.

Characteristics with the potential to signify lifestyle changes among this, compared with previous, cohorts of older people include: a higher probability of living alone in old age due to high rates of childlessness and divorce; a possibly larger proportion of their lives spent with one or more chronic conditions, although the prevalence of disability affecting activities of daily living is lower than for previous cohorts; high levels of home ownership; increased rates of employment at older ages; but reduced wealth compared with previous cohorts.

The term baby boomer is generally used to denote people born in the undifferentiated surge of births that occurred in the USA between 1946 and 1964. In the UK, post Second World War spike in births was followed by a separate, broad surge in births across the 1960s but there has been very little analysis specifically of the 1960s cohort in this country. This paper addresses that gap, by bringing together the available evidence and data on this specific cohort in the UK.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of exercise on the mental health problems of older women.

The paper is based on information from academic literature, government publications and publications from other relevant bodies. It is a scoping study and is not a systematic review because of the constraints of the resources.

There is growing evidence about the value of exercise for the mental health of older women but few evaluated examples of how this can be achieved.

There is a gap in the literature about this topic with few evaluated examples of how more older women can be encouraged to take more exercise.

Policy makers, practitioners and older people themselves would gain from a greater emphasis on exercise as a means of improving quality of life and for reducing healthcare budgets through fewer referrals to services.

Greater emphasis on exercise for older women would increase their quality of life through a reduction in mental health problems.

There is limited research which links mental health, exercise and older women, especially regarding the barriers to exercise that older women with diagnosed mental health problems may face.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate younger workers’ perceptions of older colleagues, including whether there is evidence of ageism.

Convenience sampling was used to recruit ten individuals who were both below the age of 35 and employed at a multigenerational workplace in England. The study is qualitative, involving semi-structured interviews that were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis.

This study found that whilst some younger employees valued working with older colleagues as they believe that their differing characteristics are complementary, others felt that it leads to intergenerational conflict due to contrasting approaches towards work. Positive perceptions of older workers included their increased knowledge and experience, reliability and better social skills; however, ageism was also prevalent, such as the perception of older workers as resistant to change, slower at using technology and lacking the drive to progress. This study also provided evidence for the socioemotional selectivity and social identity theories.

This study has a small sample size and participants were only recruited from London.

In order to create working environments that are conducive to the well-being of employees of all ages, organisations should place an emphasis on reducing intergenerational tension. This could be achieved by team building sessions that provide an opportunity for individuals to understand generational differences.

There is minimal evidence from the UK focussing on the perceptions of specifically younger workers towards older colleagues and the basis of their attitudes. Only by gaining an insight into their attitudes and the reasoning behind them, can efforts be made to decrease ageism.

The Age Partnership Group (APG) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) recently commissioned a number of studies under the general heading: ‘Extending Working Life’, as part of a national guidance campaign. The campaign aims to raise employers' awareness of flexible employment and retirement opportunities prior to the implementation of age legislation towards the end of 2006. In general this legislation will ensure that employers will no longer be able to recruit, train, promote or retire people on the basis of their age. As part of the DWP framework, the Institute of Gerontology at King's College London was asked to examine recurrent misconceptions about pension ages and retirement ages. These take the form of misunderstandings, confusions, and in some instances even fictions that are perpetrated via the media and sometimes by those organisations that hope to clarify matters around pensions. This work was aimed at a professional audience. Therefore the focus of this article is predominantly on practical rather than theoretical issues. However, the policy and practice implications that arise, when the most basic topics associated with pensions and retirement are not properly understood, are profound. These can affect people on the verge of pension age, as well as those who are attempting to plan for retirement and also their employers. Without a clear understanding of the facts about entitlement to a state pension, for instance, individuals and their employers may not pursue the opportunities open to them. In this article, the most salient of these misconceptions are examined and redressed. This was undertaken through an extensive literature review, which examined not only a wide range of media reports (from the press, internet and radio) but also encompassed government documents and academic papers. The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) in particular gave guidance and advice.

The perspectives of people with dementia and their care partners regarding “extra care” housing are currently unknown. The purpose of this paper is to report findings of a consultation study exploring the perceived barriers and facilitators of a relocation to extra care housing, from the perspective of people living with dementia, and their care partners.

Fieldwork consisted of paired or 1-1 interviews and small focus groups with potential users of an alternative model of extra care support for people living with dementia in the South of England. The consultation took place between June and August 2013. The interviews and focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were analysed thematically.

Benefits of extra care were identified as the opportunity for couples to remain living together for longer, creating a supportive, dementia-friendly community, and a reduction in the strain experienced by the care partners. Barriers centred on a sense of loss, stress and uncertainty. Living and caring at home was perceived as preferable to shared care.

The findings presented here have limited generalisability for two reasons. First, the shared care approach consulted on was very specific. Second, the participants form a purposive sample and as such are not representative of a wider population. Despite best intentions, the voice of people with dementia, are underreported in this consultation. Only one person with early on-set dementia was interviewed and the remaining two people with dementia were interviewed alongside their care partner.

The findings cast doubt on the viability of extra care facilities, designed for couples living with dementia, if extra care continues to be conceptualised and marketed as a preventative lifestyle choice. The findings indicate the value of consulting with people with dementia, and their care partners, when designing new forms of housing with care specifically for people living with dementia.

The findings of this consultation exemplify the wish of couples living with dementia to remain together, in what they perceive to be “home”, for as long as possible. Couples living with dementia are therefore unlikely to wish to move into an extra care facility as a lifestyle choice option, early into their journey with dementia. This raises questions about the suitability of extra care, as a form of housing with care, for couples living with dementia.

This paper contributes to the body of literature, exploring the feasibility of new and innovative alternative care and housing options, for people with dementia. This paper is one of the first to explore extra care as a housing and social care option for couples with dementia.