Win £500 or a Greenhouse for your School

WHO ARE YOUR GARDENING STARS?
Win £500 or a Keder Greenhouse for your school

Applications for RHS Young School Gardener of the Year 2014 are now open!

If you know a young person, aged 5-16, who has a passion for gardening and has made an outstanding contribution to their school and community, then nominate them today.

The winner will receive £500 worth of National Garden Gift vouchers, a selection of gardening tools and more.

Two new categories have also been added for 2014:

RHS School Gardening Champion of the Year – a chance to nominate an inspirational adult within your school who has a passion for encouraging gardening in your school. The winner will receive £500 worth of National Garden Gift vouchers, RHS membership for a year and a free place on a training course. Nominate here.

RHS School Gardening Team of the Year – showcase your entire gardening team and the difference they have made to their school environment. The winning team will receive a fantastic Keder Greenhouse and £500 worth of National Garden Gift vouchers. Nominate here.

Nominate your gardening champions today! Entries close 2 May 2014.

For further information please visit www.rhs.org.uk/ysg.

Help us harness the power of gardening to do good
The RHS Campaign for School Gardening supports more than 4 million childr en to discover the joys of gardening. This amazing programme is just one of several charitable initiatives supported by our RHS member community. By joining the RHS you can help support the gardens of tomorrow as well as enjoy days out the whole family will love at more than 150 gardens, improve your skills and transform your own green space with personalised advice and The Garden monthly magazine. This is yours from just £40.50. Visit rhs.org.uk/join/3648.

T&C’s: See website for full T&Cs. Introductory membership offer from £40.50 is 12 months’ membership for the price of 9 by Direct Debi t for new members. Price and offer are valid until 31.12.2014. 

New Canteens for old!

What is the simplest way to accommodate more students in the canteen, while reducing behavioural problems through the lunch break?

Generally we tend to think that the canteen is a space about which not much can be done.

The concept that extra students could be fitted in, and that in doing this we would actually reduce behavioural problems, (as opposed to aggravating them) by having more students in one place could come as a surprise.

Answer to above question: With modern canteens designed for functionality and aesthetics.

Most school canteens are fairly old, and very few have been designed to consider the impact that the layout of tables and chairs has on behaviour – whilst at the same time increasing the number

Yet this can follow when the tables and chairs in a canteen are replaced – (and perhaps one should note that once the furniture in a school canteen reaches ten years of age, it is often ready for replacement).

There are other bonuses too, when tables and chairs in the canteen are replaced. Furniture that does not chip, 100% stackable, moveable and light, cleaner hygienic modern surfaces; and the provision of a separate quiet area for staff and senior students.

All of this means that, aside from the benefits of better behaviour, students begin to see this as a dining experience, and when you come to show parents around the school, the canteen becomes one of the “must see” parts of the school.

To find out more about our innovative, budget sensitive solutions please see details below.

“Discount of 5% is being offered for installations planned for Dec/Jan/Feb which is our quiet time “

NEW CANTEENS FOR OLD!Free canteen design, cad drawings and no obligation
quotation at your schoolPhone, fax, or email as below or request a CatalogueLance Tunley
Sales manager
lance@magentafurniture.com

MAGENTA FURNITURE
01280703388 / 707142(fax)
www.magentafurniture.com

 

 

Enterprise Education The Course Book

So fundamental is the notion of Enterprise to our society that it is rather sad to think that many young people leave school – and indeed many leave university – without much of an idea as to what enterprise is all about.

One way or another they earn money, and generally speaking they spend it. But the whole basis of the system, and their part within it, can often remain a mystery.

It was because of the utterly fundamental nature of enterprise within our society, and the fact that so many young people don’t seem to grasp what it is all about, that we commissioned “Enterprise Education: The Course Book”.

Written by a teacher who went on to set up his own successful business this copiable volume starts from a detailed review of what Enterprise Education is, and then helps the students come to terms with what the world of business is all about.

The volume explores the notion of Enterprise and how it can be applied throughout the school, as well as examining the career implications of enterprise.

The volume then covers the setting up of a work-related programme before going into examples of enterprise opportunities including simulations, school generated projects and engagement with business.

At the end of the book there is a set of forms that can be used in terms of an agreement with companies over work experience, report forms, placement letters, etc etc.

Enterprise Education: The Complete Coursebook includes everything that is required for the successful implementation of the Key Stage 4 Enterprise Education programme, from classroom teaching materials to an in-service training programme, from work-based learning modules to simulations and live enterprise projects.

Enterprise Education: The Complete Coursebook is available as a book or on CD and includes:

  • INSET activities – as a result of which staff will feel confident in their knowledge and understanding of the enterprise culture within industry and how it will impact on pupils who are exposed to it.
  • Champions of Enterprise: Pupils can evaluate local business enterprises and draw their own conclusions as to which firms are truly involved in enterprise culture.
  • Simulations: Mini-enterprises in which pupils can engage in an enterprise activity in a controlled environment.
  • School generated projects: Pupils organise an actual event or act in the local environment in a planned and organised way.
  • Real life situations: The Coursebook sets out programmes which ensure that the organisation, the school and the pupil all work together to generate a true understanding of enterprise.

The copyright licence allows the copying from either the book or the CD, so that all students can have pages relevant to their study at any time. It is also possible to place the CD on the school’s learning platform, so that students may access it at any time.

ISBN: 978 1 86083 8606

Price:

  • £25.95 for the book or CD, plus £3.95 postage.
  • £32.94 for the book plus CD, plus £3.95 postage.

You can order in four different ways. In each case please quote our reference T1790emn. Sample pages and a contents list can be viewed prior to ordering on http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/business/T1790.pdf

 

 

Outdoor Solutions before the end of the financial year

We tend to think of the school as being a fixed entity with
established buildings, and designated teaching areas. But…

Teaching and learning can and does happen anywhere; in the classroom, the hall, the playground… Indeed the only thing that ever limits the use of any space is our ability to imagine the possibilities.

So if you have a playground, and it is raining, or there is strong direct sunlight, or it is very windy, the area’s use as a teaching and learning environment might be thought to be restricted.

But if you were to put up a canopy, you could, for a very modest sum, give yourself an extended classroom, an al fresco dining area, an adventure play area…

This is the route down which numerous schools have recently gone, in developing ever more varied use of their facilities. And there really is no limit to the ways in which an area could be used.

True, there’s no telling what the British weather is going to do next, but the fact that canopies can be used in so many ways, means that there are virtually no days at all in the school year when such a facility cannot be used in some way or other.

There are over 150 different designs of canopies available. Some of course are designed for very specific purposes, such as the bicycle shed, but many others do have multiple uses.

Which is why before we do anything else, we always offer to come to your school, without cost and without any obligation, to see the site and discuss the ways in which a canopy could be added to your existing buildings.

To get an idea of the huge range of options available we’ve collected together photographs of over 30 different installations that we’ve undertaken recently. They are on

http://www.cambridgestylecanopies.co.uk/canopies.php – just click on any photograph that looks interesting and you will see it enlarged.

We’ve also got a separate page for cycle shelters http://www.cambridgestylecanopies.co.uk/cycle-shelters.php

If you’d like to discuss how a canopy could be used in your school, or have us come to look at your site and advise on the options, please either

Phone: 01353 699009
Email: cambridgestyle@aol.com
Or write to: Cambridge Style Canopies, 62 Main Street, Pymoor, Ely, Cambs CB6 2DY

Why Ofsted love teacher observation and the presentation of evidence

The government is in no doubt. Teachers, they suggest, learn best from observing other professionals.

The only problem is that for many teachers it can be a bit daunting to have one’s own lessons videoed for colleagues to see. And thus many teachers find that the best way to start this process is to have oneself videoed specifically for oneself to view.

In this way one begins with self-observation, and then moves on to being open to observation by one’s peers – although that does not mean that all or even the majority of one’s lessons should be seen by colleagues, at least in the early stages.

What should happen is that really effective lessons can be shared with colleagues. In this way the question, “why did this lesson work so well?” can be asked and teased out from the evidence.

Now we do have to admit that one reason why “observation by one’s peers” is favoured by inspectors is because it makes their life easy by giving them something to measure.

They can look and see if teacher observation is going on, and if it is they tick the box. If it is going on a lot, then they can tick a lot of boxes, and everyone is happy.

Recognising this, Classwatch has produced a video system whereby the lesson can be reviewed by the teacher who taught it and then, when desirable, shared and discussed with colleagues.

The system comprises two cameras (allowing excellent room coverage), a Classbox recorder and high definition audio. All images and audio are recorded to the Classbox and access is strictly password protected.

And there’s a bonus too. We are currently offering the next 50 schools who contact us a free lesson recording so you can see how Classwatch can work for your school.

To book a free lesson recording or to find out more, click here or email us at info@classwatch.co.uk. Alternatively, for more information call us on 0800 043 9510.