Daily Archives: 19/04/2016

Lunch times, playtimes and school clubs, Play

Five ways to make lunchtime supervisors feel valued and supported (and why this is important to creating positive playtimes)

A famous quote and an absolute favourite of mine is, “I was raised to treat the janitor with the same respect as the CEO”. However it seems that many others do not live by this principle where lunchtime supervisors are concerned.

This became apparent when playtime expert Therese Hoyle reported in an article that she is frequently approached by lunchtime supervisors who tell her that children often say “I don’t have to do what you tell me as you’re not my teacher, my mum even says I don’t have to do what you say”.

Other common concerns raised by lunchtime supervisors are that the children do not respect them, they aren’t communicated with enough (no one tells them what is going on), and they aren’t clear on the incentive and sanction system or any changes that are made to it.

So the question is, how can you ensure that your lunchtime supervisors feel valued and supported, and how can this enhance your pupils’ playtimes?

Therese Hoyle has compiled a list of five simple ways in which you can support your lunchtime supervisors and which will gain them respect from both children and their parents.You can read this article in full in our brochure which contains a wealth of information for creating positive playtimes, as well as an extensive range of playtime activities, games, and equipment.

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If the catalogue hasn’t arrived in your school for any reason, please do click here, enter your details, and we’ll get another in the post to you right away.

You might also be interested in joining in with Positive Play Week (9 -13 May 2016). More information about the week, including how your school can get involved, can be found at www.positiveplayweek.co.uk.

As always, you can place an order with Edventure in a variety of ways, including:

  • on the website www.edventure.co.uk
  • by faxing us to 01323 50 10 41
  • by calling us on 01323 50 10 40
  • by emailing us at sales@edventure.co.uk      
  • by post to Edventure Ltd, Hargreaves Business Park, Hargreaves Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6QW.

If you quote HH0515 on your order delivery will be free. Without quoting the code the charge is £3.95.

Geography

COASTAL EROSION RESOURCE – KS3

The KS3 National Curriculum requires an understanding, through the use of detailed place-based exemplars, of key processes in physical geography relating to coasts. This means an understanding of how human and physical processes interact to influence and change landscapes, and how human activity relies on effective functioning of natural systems.

This Coastal Erosion Resource looks at erosion at Beachy Head on the south coast and forms an enquiry. The question to be answered is

‘We wish to consult with you on the future of our home. What should we do?’

The question relates to the old lighthouse ‘La Belle Tout’ which has been turned into a guest house. Due to coastal erosion the lighthouse was on the verge of collapsing into the sea, as the coastal management strategy along this stretch of coast is ‘to do nothing’.

Both coastal erosion processes and coastal management strategies are drawn upon. There is a clear link between human and physical processes as the bed and breakfast guest house provides employment and the impact of physical processes means the guest house could be washed away due to coastal erosion.

A Powerpoint Presentation with 34 slides £29.99 (£35.99 including VAT)

Once purchased, the CD can be freely copied and networked throughout the school!

To see sample pages please email info@classroom-resources.co.uk quoting the order code H6042.

You can order the Coastal Erosion Resource – KS3 CD-ROM in any of these ways:

  • On our website
  • By phone on 0117 940 6409
  • By fax on 0117 940 6408
  • By email (quoting a school order number) to info@classroom-resources.co.uk
  • By post to: Classroom Resources, 9 Logan Road, Bristol, BS7 8DU

Classroom Resources Ltd
9 Logan Road,
Bristol,
BS7 8DU

www.classroom-resources.co.uk
info@classroom-resources.co.uk

Maths, Special Needs

Understanding what dyscalculia is can allow schools to help sufferers improve their maths and obtain reasonable results in their examinations

It is a strange but true fact that while most of us working in schools have come across dyslexic children and adults, many teachers have not had direct contact with anyone who is dyscalculic.

And yet dyscalculia is not only a genetic issue, as is dyslexia, it is also as common within society at large as dyslexia.

So why is it that we don’t come across dyscalculic children as often as dyslexic children?

The reason is probably that many schools recognise that they have a small number of children who are poor at maths because they have missed some schooling or failed to grasp specific lessons.

The nature of the subject, which is of course utterly cumulative, means that some children fail to grasp certain concepts simply because they failed to grasp what went before.

This is, of course, utterly different from English, where the fact that I might not be able to spell “was” does not mean I won’t be able to learn “because”.  In maths, however, if I can’t do division I will struggle to understand fractions.

Furthermore there can be social reasons why children do poorly at maths.  Missed time at school can be more detrimental in maths than in most subjects, and there seems to be a greater tendency for parents to suggest to their children that they never understood maths at school, so it just “runs in the family”.

In short there are many reasons why dyscalculia might not be seen as a special need but rather as a consequence of parenting, poor attendance, etc.  As a result specialist tuition and support may not be given as early as it might be with dyslexia.

Understanding Dyscalculia: An Introduction for Schools examines the five main causes of dyscalculia and sets out the methods of working available which can help pupils overcome their dyscalculic problems. The book contains short sections which can be photocopied to give out to other members of staff in school, to worried parents, and to governors, so that everyone can share in the awareness of what dyscalculia is, and how it can be tackled.

Above all the book shows that once we understand and accept the causes of dyscalculia we can adopt appropriate methods of teaching to overcome the problem. Research suggests that most children who gain appropriate help in school can overcome their dyscalculic difficulties and achieve an acceptable grade in secondary school examinations, thus allowing entry into further and higher education.

The book, which is available in copiable form so that it can be shared with colleagues throughout the school, is published by the Dyscalculia Centre, a leading provider of teaching materials for dyscalculic individuals. The Centre also publishes a range of books for special needs teachers working with dyscalculics, and provides on-line testing facilities for pupils and students who are thought to be dyscalculic.

There is a sample chapter available on-line at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/dyscalculia/T1628.pdf

Cat No: 978 1 86083 614 5;  Publisher reference no: T1628emn

Prices

  • Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £24.95. plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Both the Ring Binder and the CD £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Prices include VAT. 

    You can purchase the book…

PSHE, School News

THE ANNUAL BULLYING SURVEY 2015: UK BULLYING STATISTICS 2015 – KEY FINDINGS

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THE ANNUAL BULLYING SURVEY 2015: UK BULLYING STATISTICS 2015
– KEY FINDINGS
50% of young people have bullied another person,
with 30% of them doing it at least once a week.

69% of young people have witnessed somebody else being bullied,
with 43% of them seeing it at least once a week.

43% of young people have been bullied,
with 44% of them being bullied at least once a week.

Appearance is cited as the number 1 cause of bullying,
with 51% saying they were bullied because of attitudes towards how they look.
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“Bullying, and girl bullying in particular, has to be addressed. We have to begin to understand and learn its real nature,” says Dr Sam. She is the author of Girl Bullying and a child psychologist who works with children and young people and their families, helping them overcome the effects of traumatic events. “There’s a crisis going on in our schools and especially in cyberspace that needs our attention – now”.

Her new book, Girl Bullying, offers a comprehensive explanation of the hows and whys of girl bullying. It includes strategies to support behaviour change for everyone involved – including the whole school community and shows schools how to create a truly embedded anti-bullying ethos. By exploring the roles of anti-bullying policies, education and socialisation as well as those of staff, parents, pupils and social media, Dr Sam reaches into the corners of the subtleties of girl bullying and exposes its dynamics.

“This book needs urgent reading. Dr Sam dissects the issue of girl bullying with chilling clarity and takes us from understanding the issue through to her compelling rallying cry for action. The author is an expert who writes with extraordinary power in a style that is as illuminating as it is readable. We finish the book knowing that here is an issue in multiple guises that we need to address. ‘Girl Bullying’ is a book that all of us working in schools should read and act upon.”

Geoff Barton, Head Teacher, King Edward VI School

This is your opportunity to purchase Girl Bullying at a 20% discount* (normal price £12.99 you buy for £10.39) simply visit our web site www.crownhouse.co.uk and use promotional code Bully20.
*Offer expires 31/05/16
Maths, Numeracy

Exercising a unique approach to teaching the four basic functions of maths (plus decimals, fractions and percentages).

It is a fact that some pupils grasp mathematical concepts more readily than others while at the other end of the scale there are some pupils who fail to grasp them, no matter how many times they are revisited and revised.

Of course, the problem for pupils who are unable to grasp the four basic functions of maths is that moving on to the more advanced mathematical concepts that will feature in their exams is quite simply not a viable option.

Such pupils are said to be dyscalculic, or to have maths dyslexia, which can only be overcome if they are taught using a unique approach known as multi-sensory learning.

Which is why we produced Maths and Dyslexia.

Maths and Dyslexia offers a wide range of information on methods of teaching, study skills, placement and progress tests, and worksheets for teachers working with pupils who experience difficulties with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Much of the information in this volume is based on research that suggests that many pupils with dyscalculia fail at maths because they have not understood a basic concept required for the more advanced topics.

Once the four basic functions of maths have been understood by your pupils using the methods outlined in the volume, it is then possible to move on to teaching more advanced mathematical concepts, such as decimals, fractions and percentages, in the same way.

You can order Maths & Dyslexia for £29.99 (VAT free) in a variety of ways, including:

Administration

What is the most effective way of coping with the continual change that is now an inevitable part of school administration?

If ever a job has changed in the last 10 years it is that of the bursar and school business manager.

Even the title of the job has been varied, for as one correspondent to the School of Education Administration and Management put it recently, “My pay slip calls me the ‘Administrator’, it says ‘Bursar’ on the door to my room and the head introduces me to visitors as the School Business Manager.”

In a world where even the job title can be variable throughout the day, what chance is there for the bursar (or SBM or Chief Administrator) to cope with the ever changing nature of the school?

The fact is that change is everywhere. The government makes change its watch-word.  Independence from LA control puts more pressure on school administrations, and quite often the boundaries as to who actually has the final sign off on new procedures becomes rather confused.

As a result, stress rises and a sense of progressive improvement is replaced by a sense of making do. With few people seeming to know how schools are supposed to react to something as huge as the raising of the compulsory education leaving age over the next few years, it is not surprising that there is often a sense of the school not quite knowing what is coming next.

However, it is only by recognising change as an inevitable part of running the school’s administrative systems and by accepting that the drive towards efficiency and effectiveness is part of the bursar’s job that these various parts of the school process can be brought back into balance.

Hence the new edition of the Bursar’s Survival Guide.

The aim of this comprehensive report is to develop school improvements and efficiencies through changes in administrative procedures.  Such action inevitably enhances the personal standing of the bursar and those in the bursar’s department and reduces stress levels throughout the school’s administration.

The report opens with a single example idea, one idea that takes only a few minutes to implement but which could reduce the school’s non-salary expenditure by 10% at a stroke, without changing the quality of the goods and services provided.

After that the volume considers 57 separate topics that affect the role of the bursar and the bursar’s department in the school, and analyses each one in a way that is (in most cases, if not all) different from the way in which standard text books on bursaring and financial control approach the topic.

Quite simply The Bursar’s Survival Guide will help to ensure a smoothly run bursar’s office generating excellent results in all aspects of its work in the years to come.

You can see some sample pages at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/bursar/T1795.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1795EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 885 9

Prices

  • Photocopiable book £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • CD £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
  • Book plus CD £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1795EMN

Building, furniture, maintenance, energy etc, Lunch times, playtimes and school clubs, Primary

What problem do the majority of primary schools have in common? And how can we solve it?

This increasing demand for primary school places that we have seen since 2009 continues to be a challenge for schools, many of which are simply running short of space. Expansion is obviously not always a viable option, and consequently many schools are having to be increasingly resourceful in finding ways to make the best use of the space available.

One space-saving solution that we have come up and that is proving popular with schools is Benchmark.

Benchmark is a table with built in seats which can seat up to 20 students and which can, within seconds, be folded up and wheeled away.

Imagine that you have six of these in your school hall (enough for 120 children). The total amount of space taken up by the tables once packed away is… 1.5m x 2.4m… not much more than a double bed, and taking up far less space than a conventional table and chairs or bulky ‘stool-type’ tables.

This can leave schools with as much as 56% more storage space than before freeing up the space for storing other things and keeping your hall clutter-free.

Furthermore, the amount of setting up and tidying away time is minimal, making the benches ideal for breakfast clubs and afterschool clubs as well as lessons.

Of course, with such an innovative product there are many other interesting features. Around 100 colours are available and colours can be mixed and matched. And the lift-assist spring system makes packing up and opening out the tables the simplest thing you could imagine.

What’s more, there’s no compulsory maintenance contract (you can have one if you want) – but there is a 15 year guarantee no matter what.

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For more information click here.

Or please call 01752 306 200 or email ideas@versadesign.co.uk.

See us at Acadamies Show – London Excel next Weds 20th