The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has announced today that Non-Executive Chair Adam Singer has stepped down from his post on retirement after seven years and that Marion Leslie has been appointed as Interim Non-Executive Chair. The UKHO’s independent Non-Executive Chair is responsible for leading the organisation’s Board and ensuring its effectiveness in all aspects of its role.

Marion Leslie becomes Interim Non-Executive Chair after 6 years as a Non-Executive Director at the UKHO. Marion has substantial experience in applying scrutiny both in the development of business strategies, cases, plans and targets, and in assessing the UKHO’s success in delivering on its approved corporate plan.

Adam Singer, who has held the role of Non-Executive Chair since 2014, played a key role in supporting the UKHO’s development into a modern, world-leading hydrographic office through his close work with the organisation’s Executive Leadership Team and the Ministry of Defence.

In her new role as Interim Non-Executive Chair, Marion will be responsible for ensuring that the Executive Board as a whole is effective, which includes carrying out assessments of the performance of the Board and making recommendations on areas of development. Additionally, Marion will advise about the high-level business issues affecting the UKHO and act as a source of advice and guidance to the Chief Executive.

Away from the UKHO, Marion is the Head Financial Information at SIX Group Ltd and a member of the SIX Executive Board. She is also a member of the BME Board of Directors.

Marion was also included in the World Federation of Exchanges Women Leaders List 2021 and was named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in European Finance by Financial News in 2020. In 2017, she was nominated in the Cranfield University Female FTSE 100 Women to Watch Board Report and in 2014 was the winner of the Award for Achievement at the Women in Banking and Finance Awards.

The UKHO’s Chief Executive Peter Sparkes said:

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Adam for his many years of dedicated service to our organisation and for the highly valued work that he has delivered in recent years guiding UKHO’s Board as we look to deliver on our corporate goals. The whole team at UKHO wishes him all the very best for the future.

We now look forward to working with Marion as we continue with our vital work in supporting safe, secure and thriving oceans.

Commenting on her new appointment, Marion said:

I am delighted to have the opportunity to support the UKHO as it continues to create world-class products and services for safe navigation and maritime decision support, both for Defence and for the commercial world. It is a wonderful organisation with deep expertise and I feel privileged to be part of the digital journey.

Reflecting on his time as Non-Executive Chair, Adam commented:

UKHO is arguably the UK’s most important but under-praised asset. UKHO’s navigational products not only guide the Royal Navy, but also ensure that over 10 billion tons – yes you read that right – of goods are safely transported by ship every year. It’s hard not to be thrilled by what UKHO’s meticulous, enthusiastic, knowledgeable staff accomplish. For me it’s been an absolute blast, and a serious honour to have been part of this.

To mark the start of Bees’ Needs Week 2021 (12 – 18 July), Environment Minister Rebecca Pow is calling on everyone – from individuals, farmers, gardeners, or managers of urban spaces – to take five simple actions to care for bees and other pollinators.

Bees and other pollinators are an essential part of our environment and play a crucial role in food production – they contribute the equivalent of more than £500 million a year to UK agriculture and food production, by improving crop quality and quantity – and are also vital to our wider, natural ecosystems.

Five simple actions everyone can take to help pollinators and make sure their populations are sustained are:

1. Grow more flowers, shrubs and trees
2. Let your garden grow wild
3. Cut your grass less often
4. Don’t disturb insect nest and hibernation spots
5. Think carefully about whether to use pesticides

Bees’ Needs Week 2021 will see Defra and several green organisations including the Royal Horticultural Society and Bumblebee Conservation Trust, working together to encourage everyone who can to do simple things at home, at work, and in other private and public spaces to help our precious pollinators thrive.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said:

Bees and other pollinators are not just a welcome and much loved sight in our gardens, parks, villages and countryside – they are vital to a healthy environment, driving our economy and boosting biodiversity.

Everyone can help them flourish by leaving patches of garden to grow wild, growing more flowers, cutting grass less often, not disturbing insect nests, and carefully considering how we use pesticides.

This is also one of the key messages of our recently launched ‘Plant for our Planet’ campaign – aimed at inspiring the public to support nature recovery by engaging in a variety of green activities to move us to a more sustainable future as we build back greener after the pandemic, and step up our efforts in tackling the climate crisis which is the focus of the COP26 summit.

Actions that we can take for pollinators and biodiversity will enable us to tackle and adapt to climate change – I encourage everyone to get involved.

There are thousands of pollinator species in the UK – from wild pollinators including bumblebees and many solitary bees, moths, flies and butterflies, to honeybees. But their populations are under threat from risks such as habitat loss and fragmentation, invasive species, pests and disease, climate change and inappropriate pesticide use.

Natural England Chief Executive, Marian Spain, said:

Without nature we could not live. Pollinators including bees especially show us this; holding the environment together by moving pollen between plants, enabling whole systems to be sustained and replenished, and ensuring vital food supplies for wildlife and people.

The importance of connecting with nature for our health and happiness has never been clearer. With such a growing public interest in the environment, I hope everyone can help support our wonderful and wild insect pollinators.

From changing the way you garden, to asking your council to leave long grass on road verges, parks and schools grounds, to using citizen science to learn even more about bees and other wildlife, we can all take part in Bees’ Needs Week and beyond.

The public are also being encouraged to take part in the citizen science initiative – the Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) insect counts – which is an easy and important way to monitor your local bee and pollinator populations so we can keep track of and better support our wonderful pollinators. To sign up, visit the new website or download the FIT count app (Android and iOS).

Through the National Pollinator strategy we are working with farmers, conservation organisations, researchers and businesses to provide improved habitats for pollinators on farmland, in urban areas and in gardens; address pressures on them, including by supporting Integrated Pest Management; support monitoring and research; and raise awareness across society.

This year’s Bees’ Needs Week follows the recent launch of Defra’s new campaign Plant for Our Planet, aimed at inspiring the public to get planting, helping us to build back greener from the pandemic and step up our efforts to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss. To get involved download our partner pack here.

Case studies

Natural England, a key supporter of Bees’ Needs Week, is working on a variety of new and existing projects to protect our pollinators. These include:

• Porton to Plain project: connecting nature between the world’s largest areas of chalk grassland, Salisbury Plain and Porton Down. Seven miles of land have been committed for a butterfly highway along the verges and embankments of the new A303 Stonehenge tunnel scheme, covering some 150ha (200 football pitches), contributing towards a national Nature Recovery Network.
• Kent Downs: this site comprises four distinct networks which contribute towards nature’s recovery focused on creating species-diverse habitats. The networks, which will contribute towards the national Nature Recovery Network, has been built by farmers and the local community over the last 20 years and includes several projects aimed at providing a better home for our pollinators. An example of one of the projects is the East Kent Valleys project where a large network of newly created species-rich grasslands has transformed the area into an insect rich landscape, allowing butterfly species such as dingy skipper, wall brown, green hairstreak and small copper to colonise.
• Lower Derwent Valley Wildflower and Pollinator Verges project: comprises three local community projects in parishes surrounding the Lower Derwent Valley National Nature Reserve working on 4km of grass verges and green spaces to provide improved habitats for pollinators. This activity has stimulated interest from further afield with more local parishes coming forward for advice to create similar areas in the wider area.

• Over 450 fish found dead in Langley Brook
• Pollution caused by trade effluent
• Total financial penalty of £21,264 (fine plus prosecution costs)

The Environment Agency has successfully prosecuted Edima Holdings Ltd, a Tamworth potato processing company, for causing a pollution which killed over 450 fish.

Cannock Magistrates Court fined the company £6,500 in a case heard on Wednesday 7 July 2021. A total financial penalty of £21,264 was imposed on the company which included a contribution to prosecution costs of £10,000.

The court heard that the company operate under the name ‘Mike’s Potatoes’ from premises at Langley Brook Farm, Middleton, Tamworth.

The company pleaded guilty to an offence under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations, 2010. The company had previously been cautioned for a similar offence.

The Environment Agency mounted an investigation after a member of the public reported seeing two dead fish and milky froth on the water of the Langley Brook in September 2016. Officers found more than 450 dead fish along the brook.

The source of the pollution was traced to a trade effluent lagoon at Edima Holdings Ltd. A pipe pumping into the lagoon was split, and a crude attempt had been made to repair it. This was discharging into a ditch then into the brook.

Officers gave advice on remedial action needed to prevent further pollution, but a month later, the Environment Agency received a report of pollution at Middleton Hall Lake on Langley Brook. Following this report, the company agreed to the necessary work.

During the Sentencing Hearing, District Judge Grego took into account the previous caution that the company had received and found the offending was highly reckless.

He found that the emergency response plan was so vague it rendered it pointless and praised the quick action of the Environment Agency in responding to the incident.

It was accepted that the offending was not financially motivated and the impact that the pandemic has had on the business was also taken into account.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency, following the hearing, said:

This was a serious case of pollution that resulted in a large number of fish dying.

We take all such cases seriously and this prosecution sends out a message to companies that they must take their environmental responsibilities with equal seriousness.

If people have concerns about pollution incidents they should call the Environment Agency’s 24/7 hotline on 0800-80-70-60.

Notes to editors: Edima Holdings Ltd was charged with one offence contrary to Regulations 12 (1) (b) and 38 (1) (a) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations, 2010.

Today’s review is part of a series of research that examines different subjects across the curriculum. It draws on the evidence from the education inspection framework (EIF) and other literature to examine the contributions that can make a high-quality music curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and the impact of school leaders’ decisions on music provision.

In England, all pupils should study music until the end of key stage 3. This expectation is reflected in the national curriculum and is at the heart of the EIF.

However, the number of pupils taking up music at key stages 4 and 5 continues to decline. Key stage 3 music provision has also been reduced and trainee primary teachers are offered shrinking amounts of musical training. And with reduced lesson time, this has been accompanied by lower levels of staffing to support a school’s rich musical life.

Therefore, it is more important than ever for schools to find ways that put high-quality music at the core of the curriculum.

Our review starts from the assumption that a central purpose of a good music education is that it enables pupils to perform the work of others, explore their own creativity through composing work and, through wider listening and engagement, come to a broader understanding of musical culture and meaning.

There are various ways that schools can construct and teach high-quality music curriculums. Our report identifies some common features that schools may want to consider in developing their music education, including:

• Curriculum content that might reasonably be mastered in the time available, remembering that sometimes less is more.
• Plentiful opportunities for pupils to return to and consolidate their short-term learning, with repetition of key curricular content and gradual introduction of new ideas, methods and concepts.
• Curricular scope that includes enabling pupils to develop technical control over the sound they are producing through the voice or instrument.
• Extensive listening opportunities to help develop pupils’ musical understanding.
• Space and time for pupils to explore the constructive components that build musical compositions and use these effectively to compose their own music.
• Opportunities to gain knowledge of how music over time and across cultures has been a conduit for human expression.
• High levels of guidance for beginners, remembering that pupils in every key stage are sometimes novices, with increasing freedom as pupils gain greater competence.
• Judicious use of summative assessment to identify pupil misconceptions or inaccuracies.
• Adequate curriculum time and regularity to allow musical learning to take place.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, Amanda Spielman said:

Music touches the heart of our humanity and its sense of wonder has influenced human societies throughout history. For many pupils, the music they love will be part of the narrative of their lives.

Music is part of the curriculum but simply ‘doing’ music is not enough. We shouldn’t be satisfied with just having music on the timetable. We need to be ambitious about what we expect for music in the classroom and make sure that time is well used. So I hope the review provides helpful guidance for schools on designing and developing a high-quality music curriculum.

Ofsted plans to publish a report on the quality of the music curriculum taught in schools in 2022. We will gather the evidence for this through subject ‘deep dives’ during inspections under the EIF.

To find out more about Ofsted’s curriculum work, read the principles behind the research reviews and subject reports.