Emma Field

Regional Head of Marketing at a leading firm of accountants & business advisors

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@HeatherTomli @RabbiRomain I don’t work with the elderly at all, nor have I promoted assisted dying - I’ve literally just asked your thoughts on the ‘very few’ who do suffer greatly, but you’ve chosen not to address that, just make unfounded, inaccurate accusations.

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@HeatherTomli @RabbiRomain And what about the ‘very few’ who do suffer greatly, despite access to good hospice or palliative care?

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@EdConwaySky Hi @EdConwaySky - any plans for a children’s or elderly friendly version of this book that includes some of the amazing visuals? I think my Dad (& my son!) would love it, but his mind isn’t quite up for heavy text anymore. Would be brilliant to see!

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@TfL You’ve double charged me for multiple journeys into London & I can’t get refunds as your contactless website’s been down since 12th September. You need to fix this! It’s not acceptable!!

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

Something has really changed recently in our schools. A level of scrutiny which was impossible a couple of years ago is now routine.

A child does something wrong. The teacher gives them a behaviour point which they get on their app, although they may not know for sure immediately since they aren’t allowed to look at their phone. Getting a behaviour point is in itself a punishment, they are designed to be aversive and kids tell me they dislike getting them. Their parent also gets an alert to let them know - something which many parents describe as highly stressful, since they get alerts at work about something they can do nothing about.

That behaviour point is now saved on the app. In some schools, behaviour points are projected onto the whiteboard in ‘default’ setting, so everyone can see. They are usually in red. Over time, they are added up, meaning that there is a mounting pile of behaviour points. You can get positive ones too, and sometimes you can buy things with the positive ones, or they cancel out the negative ones.

Some parents punish their children for behaviour points, I know of parents who take away consoles or stop children from doing after school activities as a consequence. Schools may also have sanctions, particularly if you get too many in a day.

The punishments make no difference to the mounting total, however, because they don’t clear the slate. This means that everyone has a total and towards the end of the school year those totals can be linked to rewards and privileges. You might be excluded from the school trip because you had a really bad start to the year.

Sometimes the whole year totals are also used. I’ve heard of schools doing assemblies to let a whole year group know that they are the worst year behaviour-wise, and that as a consequence no trips and events will be organised for them as a year. Some year groups are the worst every year.

All of this has become possible in the last few years due to the introduction of apps. I know they have an effect on how anxious kids are, because I hear about it. I know feeling constantly monitored is part of why some kids become increasingly distressed by school. I know it is an unprecedented level of sharing of behavioural information with parents in real time and parents say they can’t opt out because the apps are also used for communicating important information about school.

What I would like to know is the evidence that these systems work. This is a level of monitoring of children’s behaviour which was not possible before - so what is the payoff? Are we seeing better behaviour across the country as apps are introduced?

There is definitely a downside - so where’s the evidence for the upside?

[MHA Caves Wealth @MHACavesWealth]

The nation waited with bated breath as the #UK #election results started rolling in yesterday evening.

The market has responded positively to the news of the change in UK government: https://t.co/p5StJ0JFiq

#UKElection #Tax

[Baker Tilly @BakerTillyInt]

Baker Tilly network firm MHA in the UK has announced a merger with Irish accountancy and advisory firm Roberts Nathan.

Read our press release here: https://t.co/GD5fRTyVeT

[Emma Field @e_field1]

Happy #InternationalWomensDay! To celebrate, MHA are hosting an 'Inspire Inclusion' networking breakfast, 12th March in #Reading for professionals & their junior, female colleagues. Full info here https://t.co/odUQmbxoWx

#InspireInclusion #IWD2024 @TValleyChamber @TheBusinessMag

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@CapitalMoments Try £8k+ for 'Third Party Only' car insurance for a nearly 18 year old, female college student, on an 8y/old, 1.4l Vauxhall Corsa, parked on a driveway in Buckinghamshire!
How on earth are young people meant to start making their way in the word? Completely priced out of driving!

[Financial Times @FT]

The housing crisis is still being underplayed https://t.co/EpvCZpzwSv | opinion

[Ethan Blagg @ethanblagg]

Enjoy some insane drone footage of Iceland’s volcano. The drone didn’t survive, but the footage did. Skilled piloting by @airbazoo

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@ElanderNews Insidious scope creep & completely unacceptable to allow anyone ‘reasonable force’ to enter your home.
A relative recovering from stroke was cut off mid-winter via smart meter after supplier went bust & new one had incorrect payment info; very distressing & took ages to resolve

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@miss_mcinerney At least resources such as a book bought via Amazon can be signposted to parents, if not shared directly.

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@miss_mcinerney Providers may need to permit to the sharing documents/ resources used in lessons aimed at children as part of any supply agreement. They can keep their copyright to ensure no other commercial use / sharing beyond a defined group, but not at the expense of keeping parents informed

[Emma Field @e_field1]

@CarouselBus It would be amazing if the bus times worked with the Great Missenden to Aylesbury trains for kids at Aylesbury College!
Buses arrive at the station at 8.08am, 8.42am & 9.08am / trains depart at 8.09am, 8.40am & 9.10am - so not enough time to make the connections 😊

[@TheBusinessMag @TheBusinessMag]

.@MHAaccountants to host online finance directors course https://t.co/PdSp1ZCDyR

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Treasury select committee says UK tax system — with over 1,100 separate tax reliefs and one of longest codes in world — is too complicated. In other words, MPs who made tax system too complicated complain it’s too complicated.

[Ed Conway @EdConwaySky]

Having a mortgage in the late 1970s was roughly equivalent, pain-wise, to interest rates of around 2% today. A classic example of how headline figures can be desperately misleading.

[The Yorkshire Post @yorkshirepost]

"For our young family - and sadly millions like them - it could spell complete economic ruin."

https://t.co/MRCUJSoL7G

[Ed Conway @EdConwaySky]

Oof
After today’s higher-than-expected inflation, traders in financial markets are now betting that UK interest rates will rise well above 5% later this year, perhaps close to 5.5%.
Not long ago they thought they’d peak BELOW 5%.