Ensuring your school website is compliant with the new Privacy Directive

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive from the EU is not necessarily something you might consider as bedtime reading, but it does have an impact on your school.

For that is the formal name of what is becoming known as the Cookie Law – a regulation which came into effect on 26th May this year.

Cookies are typically used to enable users to log in to a website, to display content relevant to the user, to remember a user’s preferences, for Google Analytics, etc. If you have a video of your school on your website and it is hosted by someone such as YouTube, then that will probably have cookies within it.

The Information Commissioners Office has powers to fine website owners up to £500,000 for serious breaches in the law – but fortunately the chance of a school being fined anything in the first couple of years of the implementation of the regulation are slight.

However… (and this is the point that some schools have found when they have been wrapped over the knuckles in relation to issues such as having pupil data on memory sticks or laptops) the embarrassment factor that can arise from being caught out publicly is rather large. Indeed the resultant publicity can, at a stroke, counter all the good that a well-designed website does the school.

To help you ensure that everything is in order on your website we can undertake a “Cookie Audit” review for you for £75.00. We’ll undertake a review of your site and let you know if you are compliant with the Directive.

What’s more, if you are not compliant we will advise you on the necessary steps to take to correct this.

You can find out more about the cookie law and also our Cookie Audit Review on our website at www.inco-education.co.uk/cookie_audits.php

Or contact us by email at info@inco-education.co.uk or by calling 01902 784 800.

Alphabet of a Teenager – The entire PSHE curriculum in one sitting

Michael nervously opens his GCSE results. He remembers everything that’s happened up until this very moment. What did he feel like on the day that he first arrived at School? What went through his head when he was offered a cigarette by one of his peers? What did his Mum and Dad think when he did no revision for his exams? Why now, because of what he’s experienced, does racism make his blood boil furiously?

Has he done enough to claw his way back up and achieve exam results that he can be proud of? In this 50 minute play, packed full of stories and teenage angst and adventure, find out how it is possible to cover the entire PSHE curriculum in less than an hour.

The curriculum that we adhere to is the non statutory programme, as set out by the Department of Education. This includes coverage in the production of the following topics:

  • Drugs and Alcohol Education
  • Emotional Health and well-being
  • Sex and relationship education
  • Nutrition and physical activity
  • Personal finance
  • Safety
  • Careers education
  • Work-related learning

The production gives a broad overview of the curriculum and our post show workshop programme allows each of these elements to be explored in far greater depth and instigates debate of sensitive subject matter amongst the students.

How does it do this?

The story is told by one single actor and follows his journey through Secondary education right the way through from his first day in Year 7, to receiving his GCSE results in Year 11. Told through his eyes, this piece is not only interactive but will also appeal to students because the story is told to them at their level, making the content easy to relate to.

The notion that students will be able to say ‘I know how that feels’ or ‘Yes, something similar happened to me’ helps build the ethos of the entire production. We want students to relate to the material and feel like they are not alone in the trials and tribulations that they are facing.

Something like choosing the subjects that are right for you at GCSE and using your personal identity blue print to make these subject and career choices is incredibly important but not necessarily easy for students to access. The play light heartedly shows them the journey across the misty fields towards their goals and ambitions and if they’ll let it, may even help to shape their destiny.

Teachers’ resources:

As with all of our productions, full post show support is offered with our Teachers’ resource pack. This is full of information about the production itself, including a full copy of the script. It also contains several lesson plans including worksheets to develop the themes within the play further.

From September there will be an audio version available to download online. This will be made available to staff in the school and parents at home too, should they wish to listen to an audio version of the play. Part of our pre-performance check contains a letter that you can distribute to parents, informing them of this resource. There will be a small charge to download this.

For more details please see http://keystagetheatre.co.uk/alphabet-of-a-teenager/
Key Stage Theatre
01483 306899
07730878190

The fascination of watching your colleagues at work

Perhaps one of the most interesting experiences that a primary teacher can have is that of witnessing the day to day activity of a colleague in the classroom.

Quite often it is not the overall structure and approach to a lesson which grabs the attention, but the way in which the smaller moments and events are handled.

One obvious example is the way in which teachers organise times of transition. What do you do with children who finish tasks before the others are ready to move on? Everyone has a few favoured activities for such moments – but it is often the case that alternatives are welcome. And this is what can be observed when visiting a colleague’s classroom.

These are the types of activities that we have now gathered together: the activities that teachers across the country use to cover short periods of time within the school day.

They cover a wide range of different subject areas including English, maths, thinking skills, science and PSHE skills. Each activity has an estimated time for completion, anywhere between 3 and 10 minutes and answers are also included.

These resources can be used as class activities, as homework or for those gifted and talented children who finish the other set work first.

There is more information and free sample pages available on our website by clicking the links below:

Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers aged 5-7 years

Timely Task for Fast Finishers aged 7-9 years

Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers aged 9-11 years

You can order these resources in any of these ways:

  • On our website at the above web links
  • By phone on 01449 766629
  • By fax on 01449 767122
  • By email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
  • By post to Brilliant Publications, c/o Trade Counter Distribution, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.