Pineapples and computers aren’t the only things that are difficult to grasp

While the French sometimes have their own way of doing things… just as the English…

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 … it is French grammar that is perhaps the most difficult of concepts for children to grasp –  not least due to the gender classification of words. But despite this, there is very little guidance in the Programmes of Study about how grammar should be taught:

“Pupils should be taught to understand basic grammar appropriate to the language being studied, including (where relevant): feminine, masculine and neuter forms and the conjugation of high-frequency verbs; key features and patterns of language; how to apply these, for instance, to build sentences; and how these differ from or are similar to English.”

Which is why we have picked apart this statement to produce the resource
Getting to Grips with French Grammar’.

Getting to Grips with French Grammar provides a model of progression for each key element (gender, verbs, sentence building and forming questions) by breaking them down into four progressive stages which teachers can build into their planning and teaching.

The resource also provides a number of assessment exemplification tasks which demonstrate how grammar can be taught and assessed alongside other elements of language, rather than in isolation.

For more information and to see sample pages, visit www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/getting-to-grips-with-french-grammar-at-key-stage-2-745. Alternatively, you can contact us by phone on 01449 766629 or by email at orders@tradecounter.co.uk.

You can order Getting to Grips with French Grammar on our website either in PDF for £10.99 or as a hardcopy book for £15.99. There is also the option to buy both the hardcopy and PDF together at a discounted price of £19.29.
Brilliant Publications,
Mendlesham Industrial Estate,
Norwich Road,
Mendlesham,
Suffolk,
IP14 5ND.

website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

“Since Tom started using Education Quizzes, he has really started to sparkle.”

We have made Education Quizzes free for a whole year so that students like Tom can sparkle too

Despite all the revision tips, tricks and techniques, the best way to help your pupils to retain the knowledge that they have learned in their History lessons is by presenting them with the opportunity to use this knowledge on a regular basis.

However, since there is more than one topic area to cover in History, it can sometimes be a long period of time until a topic is revisited, by which time your pupils will have forgotten much of what they had previously learned.

Which is why we have produced an extensive library of History quizzes and made them free to use for a whole year, so that your students can test and revise their knowledge as frequently as they need and want to.

What’s more, Education Quizzes is ideal to set as homework tasks as it involves little to no PPA time – giving you more time to focus on planning and preparing future lessons and assessing the work of your students from lessons which have gone before.

To get a better idea of what Education Quizzes is all about, simply visit www.educationquizzes.com. And to sign your school up for Education Quizzes for free for a whole year, go to www.educationquizzes.com/schools-uk-registrations/.

If you have any queries, you can easily contact us by sending an email to admin@educationquizzes.com.

What is the most effective way of helping students with literacy issues – without it costing a penny?

When the developers of an approach to enhance student literacy start making dramatic claims for its effectiveness, it is reasonable to be cautious.  After all, virtually all producers of educational materials express the view that their approach is the one that will work wonders.

So how can you decide if any of these claims are true without wasting a lot of time?

We think there are two ways.  One is for us to quote verbatim and in detail what teachers who have used the approach say.  Not the classic two or three word phrases such as “Absolutely brilliant”, but detailed comments about the literacy gains made with their students in their schools.

The other route is to allow you and your colleagues to see and use the approach in your school with your selected cohorts, free of charge.

If it doesn’t work, then I will apologise personally because I will have wasted your time.  If it does, you will have found the route to remarkable gains in literacy achievements of the type that other schools are now enjoying.

The approach is called Lexia Strategies® and you can find the detailed commentaries from numerous teachers  on our website.  You will also find access to a completely free trial of the resource that these teachers are writing about.

What you will find here is an approach to improving literacy skills that works quickly and which is geared to each child’s individual level of attainment and specific needs.

It is also an approach which can be utilised both at home and at school. It is also a method that provides enjoyable lessons for the student which is, of course, the greatest motivational factor of all.

You can now go straight to the free trial on our website but if you want to know more about the program, we have all the information you’ll need available here. Alternatively, if you would like to talk first, call 0191 482 1939 or email info@lexiauk.co.uk.

Rob Kay; LexiaUK Software Consultant

Nurturing Enthusiasm This Summer

How to capitalise on holiday and Saturday STEM events – delivered at no cost to the school

There is an easy way to offer truly extraordinary experiences for your able, ambitious or enthusiastic students and those from your feeder schools.  And, most importantly, it requires no extra work for your staff and costs the school nothing.  In fact, it can generate additional income.

As a school, you aim to provide the best learning opportunities for all students.  As a parent you want to give your children the best start in life.  This is why Saturday and holiday workshops from Thinkers in Education prove to be so highly valued by schools and families throughout the UK.

You can host leading workshops, as recommended by every host school for over a decade, without affecting the timetable, adding to teacher workloads or taking a cut of the budget.  The workshops are an exceptional addition to existing STEM and G&T programmes and the performance reports generated for every student can prove invaluable help during an Ofsted inspection.

Participants benefit from activities that are typically unavailable until they reach higher education and develop vital thinking skills that give them an advantage in education and beyond.

The schemes offer effective promotion too, as parents are always impressed by the additional support made by host schools – particularly those parents in the process of selecting a high school.

For details of 3-5 day Holiday Schools click here and for the Saturday Workshops click here.

To request an event, you simply choose the start date and we send you the literature to distribute to parents to book a place.  They pay for their child to attend, as they would for a school trip, or the school can choose to subsidise the cost or use Pupil Premium funding.  It costs from £22 to £28 per pupil per day and you can choose for payments to be made directly to Thinkers in Education via PayPal or AmazonPay – so the school does not have to manage finances or paperwork.

Once 25 or more pupils have enrolled, we will confirm the event and run the entire day on the date of your choice.  If minimum numbers are not achieved – we will contact you to discuss options.

The presentation team, all with full DBS checks, will simply need access to a hall or large room in which the workshop takes place from 8:30 to 15:45.  They will greet parents, supervise students from arrival to departure and deliver an unrivalled STEM experience.

With an exciting range of workshops to choose from, all developing valuable thinking skills and offering fantastic hands-on practical activities, you can easily provide for your most ambitious and more able students from year 5 to year 12.

For further information, call us on 01603 520866 or email events@thinkersineducation.co.uk

Two of the best dual power calculators for KS 3, 4 and GCSE maths exams……

The Casio FX 85GT+ and the Logik LK 83XP are excellent choices for your GCSE maths students.  They both benefit from battery power with solar power back-up  to provide extra reassurance for your students  in exams. Both calcs have a “natural display” function which enables students to enter expressions and data as shown in textbooks.

The LK 83XP has similar features to the FX 85GT+ but without the “verify” and “recurring decimal” functions. Both calcs have a three year warranty and are available at short notice from Signpost Educational Ltd.,

In addition,  with orders for 100 or more of either  calc  (or a combination of both) you have the option of obtaining the popular “Trident geometry set”   for  just 95p (ex vat) instead of the usual price of £ 1.39 (ex vat) or more.

For more details & prices please see:

    www.signposteducational.co.uk    

 or email to: info@signposteducational.co.uk    or phone: 020 7515 1797

Signpost Educational Ltd  PO Box 999  London E14 6SH

Free activity: A world without mobile phones?

Develop your KS2 pupils’ speaking and listening skills with a free activity from Brilliant Activities for Speaking and Listening

Mobile phones image

Download a pdf copy to print for your pupils.

You can find more activities like this one in Brilliant Activities for Speaking and Listening.

Brilliant Activities for Speaking and Listening contains activities designed to develop the spoken language skills of KS2 children while providing full coverage of the National Curriculum requirements for Spoken Language.

The reproducible activities include: interpreting facts and figures, working out the correct order in which instructions should be given, discussing and debating issues (bullying, junk foods…), role-play, thought tracking, hot seating, retelling stories and responding to and interpreting poems.

For more information or to order Brilliant Activities for Speaking and Listening for £17.99, please visit www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/brilliant-activities-for-speaking-and-listening-ks2-713. Alternatively, you can contact us by phone on 01449 766629 or by email at orders@tradecounter.co.uk.

Results of the Minibus Survey 2017 by the Teachers.

We have been running regular surveys relating to school use of minibuses by schools for six years, and during this time we have perceived an increasing tendency for schools to change the way in which minibuses are funded and are used.

This year for the first time, as well as asking senior management for their thoughts on minibuses and their use, we asked heads of department and subject coordinators in secondary and primary schools to tell us whether they had access to a minibus and how it was funded.

The responses summarised here are those from that particular survey to subject coordinators and departmental heads.

What we found was that 20% of our respondents had access to a minibus that was reserved for their particular department or subject area.

This is, as expected, still far smaller than the number of respondents who booked out the school minibus (68%).  7% of respondents felt they had no need for a minibus while 3% had no access to a minibus but would welcome it, and 2% shared a minibus owned or leased by another school.

In terms of ownership 39% of respondents said that the school had purchased its most recent minibus outright, while 30% stated that the school’s most recently acquired minibus was leased.

The use of a minibus shared with another school has risen greatly and has now reached 14% of the schools represented by our respondents while another 21% said that they thought this could be an approach which could benefit their school.

As we found in the past, the number of school minibuses on the road which are over five years old is large and rising – 39% of respondents said that they had a minibus in their school in this age group.

But where the big change came from our past surveys was with the view of future arrangements for minibuses.  6% felt their school was thinking of a secondhand minibus, 11% were considering leasing, and 51% believed the school had no plans for expanding their minibus fleet.

Although sharing a minibus with another school is growing in popularity, our respondents working outside of senior management did not see this as an option, although it is being more widely considered by senior management themselves.

The primary use of the minibus was transporting pupils or students to sporting activities (34%) while the second most popular was taking students to places of interest (22%).

60% of respondents could see the benefit from having another minibus in the school, but despite the huge growth in the notion of learning outside the classroom 34% declared that there was no need to have another minibus in the school.

In this survey schools were split fairly evenly between those which already leased or were thinking of leasing a minibus (38%) and those which have not considered the idea (27%).  Interestingly only 2% of schools said that they had looked at leasing but decided against it.

We invited our respondents to tell us about the way in which minibuses were used and the results were incredibly varied including using the minibuses to support staff in charity events such as the 3 Peaks challenge, as emergency & support vehicles for cycling events, to transport plants etc to the school’s ‘creation’ at the RHS garden Show at Malvern, and as a removal van to transport benches to the local church, sporting equipment for events and even pianos for carol singing!

Several schools spoke of allowing local groups to use the minibuses at weekends and during the school holidays, and one of enabling a group of disadvantaged children to go sailing.  One school spoke of transporting recyclable resources from local factories and another to help parents get to school for parents’ evenings.

We also had a most interesting report from a school that hired the minibus from a local fleet hire company.  However in this case the school was charging the students for use of the minibus for a trip, which of course would only be possible where the visit was not a part of the formal school curriculum in a state-funded school.

As might be expected. 63% of respondents felt that access to another minibus (either by buying it, leasing it, or sharing it) would be helpful to the school.

However 40% of such respondents stated that they were unable to raise the money.  2% of respondents indicated that the school would not take on a lease as a matter of policy, but 14% indicated that they had not previously thought about leasing a minibus.

In terms of gaining a business or commercial sponsor for the minibus, 37% of respondents thought that this could be a good idea – but it was not one that they had pursued – while 32% thought it would not be right for their school.

If you would like more information on the leasing of minibuses please contact us on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk or go to http://www.minibusleasing.co.uk/

If you would like to read our short report on how schools are arranging the sponsorship of minibuses by local businesses and other organisations please email Sam@schools.co.uk

Politics Summer School 2017 – Additional dates added 21st-25th August

This is an exciting time for UK politics, no matter where you see yourself on the political spectrum. Brexit offers significant challenges and opportunities to both left and right, while the election of Donald Trump looks to usher in a new era of global economic and military relations.

At the Politics Summer School we will be exploring the underlying reasons for the radical shifts of recent years, and equipping students with the knowledge and analytical tools to begin to develop their own opinions as to where we will go next, and how they might be a part of those changes.

With seminars and workshops on both political science and theory, including the nature of democracy, representation and freedom, human rights, populist movements and political economy, this Summer School offers a fast-paced and fascinating look at a discipline which is in a state of very rapid development.

This five-day Summer School for students aged 15-18 offers a stimulating combination of practical activities, (including an extended Mock Parliament), and seminars on key topics in political philosophy, as well as workshops on political campaigning and briefings on key policy areas.

This event is well suited to anyone who is interested in a political career, or who would like to know how to get more involved or informed about the world around them. It is particularly recommended for anyone considering Politics, PPE or related disciplines at university.

Course highlights for 2017 include:

  • Seminars on key concepts in political theory such as liberty, equality, and representation. We will engage with some classic texts and thought experiments, as well as looking at how we can apply theories and philosophies in contemporary contexts.
  • A full day Mock Parliament in which participants form parties and take the roles of MPs and Ministers, debating and voting on bills, taking account of constituency opinions, party lines and personal views.
  • A look at the wider European picture – in the past few years ‘outsider’ and populist political movements have gained in momentum and popularity all across Europe. We will be asking what has prompted this shift in the political landscape, and whether any of these movements represent a genuine long term challenge to ‘business as usual’.
  • A critical look at the new world of ‘post-fact’ politics and how we might successfully navigate it both as individuals and as democratic societies.

Students interested in current affairs should also consider our International Relations, Economics and Philosophy Summer Schools – details of which can be found at http://www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/

Practical Details:

The cost of the five-day course is £475 and it will be held at the University of London in Bloomsbury on the 24th-28th July, and additional dates now added on the 21st-25th August – please check the website for current availability. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

There is bursary funding available for those who would otherwise have financial difficulty in attending – please see our website for details.

To book a place please visit http://debatechamber.com/project/politics-summer-school/ call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

 

Summer Schools 2017

The Debate Chamber Summer Schools offer students age 11-18 the opportunity to find out more about some fascinating subjects, prepare for university applications, meet like-minded peers and get to grips with some tough intellectual challenges.

The material will be challenging (for the older age-group, about the level of difficulty one might expect in the first year at university), but the atmosphere will be relaxed, with plenty of discussion, debate, and opportunities for students to shape the direction of classes. It is an environment conducive to getting to grips with new ideas.

Working in small groups (usually around 14 students per group) over several days offers participants a real chance to get to know tutors and fellow students and to explore the topics or questions that particularly interest them.

Highlights of Summer 2017:

The five-day Computer Science Summer School, new for 2017, will explore modern developments in the field and provide students aged 15-18 with a practical programming tool-kit for use in future projects.

The Law Summer School for 15-18s, in three distinct five-day Parts to allow time for more cases, more analysis and more debate on some of the most intriguing legal questions. Students can choose to focus on Criminal Law, Civil Law or International Law.

The Philosophy and Critical & Cultural Theory Summer Schools will look at some of the biggest questions in metaphysics, ethics and political theory, giving an opportunity to engage with the work of some fascinating thinkers, and also to develop students’ own skills of reasoning and argumentation.

For students interested in the Social Sciences or Humanities, we have Summer Schools in Economics, International Relations, Politics and History, while Arts enthusiasts should take a look at the English Literature, Classical Civilisations or Art History Summer Schools (all for students aged 15-18).

For aspiring scientists and mathematicians we also have the Physics, Mathematics and Medicine Summer Schools.

Last but not least, we also have a smaller number of courses available for younger students (ages 11-14) in Law, Medicine, Creative Writing, Critical Thinking and Law.

Practical Details:

All the Summer School events will be held at University of London venues in Bloomsbury, Central London, and will take place in July and August 2017. Please note that these courses are not residential, and accommodation must be arranged independently if required.

You can find full details of schedules, dates, costs, student reviews and tutors at http://www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/.

There is a limited amount of bursary funding available for students who would otherwise have financial difficulty in attending – please see our website for details.

To book a place please visit www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/, call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

What can your school do to help the children celebrate 1000 years of England?

Most countries have a national day, celebrating the founding of the nation.  Unfortunately our nearest equivalent (St George’s day) suffers from the fact that little is known of St George, although we do know he wasn’t English and the dragon story isn’t true.

What’s more, it is curious that the oldest dates most people remember from English history are dates when the country was invaded – 55BC and 1066 – rather than dates which commemorate our coming together as one nation.

But next January will be the moment in which we can celebrate 1000 years of England, as the country became united under one ruler: the start of the long journey ultimately to the United Kingdom and what we now call “British Values”.

For 7 January 1018 was the date on which King Knut consolidated his power across the whole country, and England was effectively born.

And so to celebrate this date we have developed a programme that sensitively highlights the issues of today by exploring them through stories within the context of the very beginning of England, 1,000 years ago.

Through the stories we tell, children can invest their imagination in creating the story world with their mind’s eye.

And since it is quite possible that most children’s parents don’t know about the creation of England in 1018, the power of the story will be ever greater. For children love nothing more than educating their parents!

Storytellers from Snail Tales are travelling the country sharing the legends of the Anglo-Viking period, from Alfred’s burnt cakes to Knut’s wet feet – tales which reveal how England was forged by the great Anglo-Saxon and Viking leaders.

The storytellers will also run workshops on life in Anglo-Viking England to help your children understand how Knut united the various tribes that made up the country.

We’ll also supply an activities pack marking England’s 1,000th, including: recommended music; Who Made England? book from The History Press; a special commemorative coin from the Royal Mint; and a special discount on tickets to your nearest performance of our theatre tour celebrating Knut, The First King of England in a Dress.

If you would like one of our storytellers to come to your school to engage in the activities above, please do click here to find out more.  Alternatively you can email us at stories@snailtales.org or phone us at 020 328 76245.

General Election FREE Worksheets

Download our series of free work and discussion sheets to get your pupils ready for the General Election. Topics covered include democracy, what happens in a general election, the main jobs of Parliament and much more.

The worksheets are ideal for English and History lessons and will help promote British Values.

Worksheets

Download your worksheets HERE

The Team
Gresham Books
www.gresham-books.co.uk

Free local speaker and resources about animal welfare and the environment

Many pupils are passionate about the welfare of animals though, if surveys are to be believed, many of them do not know how their bacon, eggs and milk are produced!

Food production is a growing topic of debate whether you are talking about the ethics of how we treat animals, how we produce healthy food and how we can feed a growing population.

Finding time to discuss topics such as animal welfare and sustainable food production is doubly valuable – it gives pupils an important understanding of a range of ethical and environmental factors and it encourages great debates!

To help you to engage your pupils in such discussions, we provide a free speaker service and a pack of resources including a film and discussion activities, which can be adapted for pupils of different ages, abilities and levels of confidence.

To enquire about a speaker or to order a free resource pack, please email education@ciwf.org.uk. It will be very helpful if you write “PSHE mailshot” in the subject title.

To view or download the resources directly, including films, please go to our PSHE/Citizenship webpage.

Yours faithfully

Phil Brooke
Education Manager
Compassion in World Farming

PS We’ve had some wonderful evaluations from teachers for our talks and resources:

“Students were engaged throughout … Tutors reported a high level of interest and informed/considered discussion”

“Brilliant – outstrips any resource on any related topic I have ever seen”

“Even the least amenable groups were interested and involved – a tribute to the quality of the presentation”

Links and contacts:

Email: education@ciwf.org.uk

Tel: 01483 521 965

Education website: ciwf.org.uk/education

PSHE/Citizenship webpage: ciwf.org.uk/pshe

Speaker service: ciwf.org.uk/speakers

What can be done to help students on the autistic spectrum overcome their anxieties?

For many young people on the autistic spectrum, everyday events can become very challenging and can generate high levels of anxiety.

Of course, everyone suffers from a certain amount of anxiety, and indeed this is both normal and helpful.  For anxiety raises our awareness of and prepares us for responses to unusual and challenging aspects of the world we experience.

But when everyday events cause too high a level of anxiety this can be debilitating and can become a major difficulty for some students on the autism spectrum as they prepare to live independent lives.

However, such overly high anxiety levels can be reduced by offering such students an understanding of what they perceive as worrying and challenging experiences, through preparatory activities in the classroom.  These activities make the challenges of the world beyond seem more manageable, and ultimately, more every day.

To help in this regard SEN Press has produced the “Life and Times” pack of materials covering the specific topics and issues most likely to generate anxiety among students.

Part one of the pack considers six Everyday Challenges, such as travelling alone, leaving school and going to college, shopping for mum, learning to speak up, etc etc.

The second part of the pack deals with Making Sense of Money, again in six separate sets of activities.  These include a variety of everyday issues, what something is worth, keeping money safe, making ends meet, and the cost of everyday items.

Finally in Scary Things we cover a series of individual topics that really can heighten the anxiety levels of students: bullying, the dark, getting lost, injections and more.

There is a CD Rom and teacher’s book for each of these 3 elements, with ebooks, whiteboard resources, worksheets, and two copies of each of the readers covering all the topics mentioned above.

If purchased individually these materials would cost £383 + VAT.  However when purchased together as the “Life and Times” set of resources they are available for just £195 + VAT.

This offers you a complete set of resources that can help young people on the autistic spectrum overcome their anxieties about the everyday world around them.

There are more details here or you can call 01582 833205 or email info@senpress.co.uk.

To place an order please email orders@senpress.co.uk

Results of the Minibus survey 2017 by the School Decision Makers.

This year’s minibus survey of secondary schools showed once again that minibus use in schools is continuing to expand, with 38% of our respondents saying that they have two or three minibuses in the school which are for the exclusive use of the school.  A further 15% of schools said that they had more than three minibuses being used by the school, while 30% of schools had one school minibus.

As a result the minibus is clearly now a mainstream part of a school’s facilities with 83% having their one of their own.  A further 4% shared a minibus with another school leaving just 13% of schools with no minibus facility.

We then asked about the schools about the ownership of the minibuses.

45% stated that they owned the minibuses outright, with just 4% having bought the last minibus with a loan.  However, there has been a further continuation of the rise seen in the last three years of minibuses that are being leased – 50% of respondents told us that the most recent minibus acquired was acquired on a lease.

The number of minibuses shared with another school has also risen, and now 11% of schools are involved in this sort of arrangement.  A further 13% of respondents stated that they had not considered sharing a minibus but felt this could be of interest.

Thus, although the sharing model is still only used by or being contemplated by around a quarter of schools, the majority do not see this as the way forward.  But it is interesting that 13% of respondents said they had not come across this model of ownership before.

In past surveys we have expressed concern about the age of the school minibus fleet, which is why we have sought to let schools know about the options of sharing and of leasing.

While these two options continue to grow, our research shows that 57% of schools with one or more minibuses have one such vehicle on the road that is over five years old.  This is up from around 50% two years ago.  This is understandable but worrying, given the propensity for older vehicles, which might be driven by a number of different people, to break down while being used for carrying pupils and students.

When we asked about the plans for the future, the trend towards leasing became clear once again.  35% of schools said that they were interested in getting another minibus with the leasing of the minibus now being the main option.  The notion of buying a secondhand minibus appears to have almost vanished from the agenda, with only 2% of respondents mentioning this as an option.

The most common reason – in fact one should say the only reason – given for not getting another minibus when one was needed was finance, but half of those who stated this, also said that they had not considered leasing as a way around the problem.

This year we also asked about the use of the school minibuses with respondents being asked to indicate as many replies as were relevant.

The most common usages were:

  • Transporting pupils/students to sporting activities (swimming, matches etc) – 93%
  • Departmental visits to places of interest – 91%
  • Transporting pupils/students to other education sites – 70%
  • Transporting pupils/students to lessons or events relating to music or other arts – 68%.

One new innovation that we found this year mentioned by schools in our survey was that of schools loaning out the minibus to another organisation (for example, a local scout group) for their events during the summer.  We also had reports of secondary schools loaning the minibus to small feeder primary schools for their day trips.

Other uses besides the mainstream uses mentioned above included transporting students and their instruments to musical events, as well as taking students and teachers to the airport for a school trip, and as a support vehicle, for example with the National Three Peaks Challenge in June 2016.

Next we asked about sponsorship of minibuses. This appears to be an area where many respondents (31%) felt this could be of significant in the future, but the number actually engaged in this remained low. Certainly there is an interest in this area as over 50% of the respondents to our survey asked for a copy of our report on sponsorship.

Overall we saw a continuing growth in interest in the use of minibuses as a way of developing educational options – something that we noted in our previous survey of the use of minibuses as part of Learning Outside the Classroom programmes.  This was combined with other innovative use, and a growth in awareness of leasing as an alternative method of financing minibuses.

While the option of sharing a minibus between two schools (typically a secondary and a primary) remains modest, it too is growing, often meeting the need of the secondary school for an extra bus for part of the week, with the primary school having use of it on specific days.

If you would like more information on the leasing of minibuses please contact on 01753 859944 or email minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk or go to http://www.minibusleasing.co.uk/

If you would like to read our short report on how schools are arranging the sponsorship of minibuses by local businesses and other organisations please email Sam@schools.co.uk

Win by Working Scientifically

How to develop the scientific skill set and win fantastic prizes for the science department

Overcoming the misconceptions and reservations many students have about studying science can be a challenge.  In fact, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) still indicates a significant STEM skills deficit in the UK.

To make a real difference, students need to be fully engaged in a hands-on project they see as relevant.  One in which they are actively solving problems.  One in which they develop a sense of personal achievement.

The Real STEM Competition is designed to achieve this for up to 72 pupils in a day and is delivered on the school site – so there is no travel required.  Six teams of six pupils compete in a double lesson session that is repeated for a different group after break or lunch – minimalising disruption to the timetable.

A specialist team run the event and as the lead presenter is a hugely experienced science teacher there is no need for school staff to be present – allowing class teachers to supervise other lessons, effectively saving the cost of a cover teacher for the day.  Of course, teachers can always choose to observe their students compete and then apply the proven strategies to future lessons.

‘Space Pioneers’ is the exciting theme for this year’s competition – which reinforces and expands upon KS3 & KS4 curriculum content within a thrilling scenario of the mission to Mars.

Every competitor will build advanced electronic sensors, using semiconductor components, to represent features of a Mars Lander.  Then they will conduct redox reactions using microchemistry (the reduction of Copper Oxide with Hydrogen) to represent the analysis surface materials in areas of scientific interest around the landing site.

Most importantly, students will develop a wide range skills specified by the Working Scientifically criteria.  They will do so as part of a team, against tight deadlines and in a game-like context – which not only makes the experience relevant and challenging but maximises engagement.

Schools entering the competition will receive performance reports for every participant and a free copy of the Caving Conundrum activity, which applies the approach to the marble chip investigation.

Every participant will receive a certificate of achievement listing the skills developed and members of the winning team will be awarded a commemorative medal.  If the highest score is one of the top scores by Science Week 2018 the school can win a full-day workshop each term for a year, a further Double STEM Workshop or STEM Box 1 – full of fabulous activities to run with multiple classes.

The competition is a superb addition to upcoming activity weeks, holiday schools and transition days.  For further information or to enter your school – you can visit the website, email events@thinkersineducation.co.uk or call 01603 520866.

The Social School Award

Does your school use social media to connect, promote and engage with parents, the wider community and the global community?

If the answer to any of these activities is ‘yes’ then your school might qualify to go for the new Social School Award which launched last week at the Lancashire Association of School Business Managers conference.

Benefits to your school include

  • recognition, prestige and celebration for its innovative communication and engagement work in reaching out to the community and world using social media in different ways
  • being part of a realistic assessment process, designed by school social media education specialists, designed to challenge and help your school to do even better
  • being given examples of good practice from a range of school settings
  • the opportunity to get connected with other like-minded schools
  • receiving the Social School Award plaque, website graphics and press release.

To get started and find out if your school could qualify to apply follow the quick 5 step self-evaluation process at socialschoolaward.com/getstarted

Our contact details are available on the website but you can also email us via team@socialschoolaward.com or call 01772 657 100 .

Thanks in advance,

The Social School Award Team

Connect • Promote • Engage

Free Textbooks for the new A and AS Mathematics Syllabuses

Send for a FREE copy of each of the new Aiming High Books for A & AS Level Mathematics

The Aiming High Mathematics textbooks for C1&C2, C3&C4, M1, M2, M3&4 have been very popular with both mathematics teachers and students and have contributed to excellent exam results.

Four new textbooks have been produced for the new A- and AS- Mathematics syllabuses, based on the textbooks listed above:

PURE MATHEMATICS BOOK 1   – Topics 1-13   (An A-Level Mathematics Course)

PURE MATHEMATICS BOOK 2  –  Topics 11-20 (An A-Level Mathematics Course)

PURE MATHEMATICS BOOK 3  –  (An AS-Level Mathematics Course)

MECHANICS                                      –   (both AS- and A-Level Mathematics Courses)

The MECHANICS book has an unusual structure:
Topics 1-6 are for both AS-Level and A-Level students.
Topics 7-10 are just for A-Level students.
It took many weeks to get this structure right, but the result was well worth the effort.

Each head of sixth form is invited to send for a FREE COPY of each of these texts.
Just email me
at barbara.young@mathsisjugglers.com or ring me on 01428 717113

What can you do with these free texts?
You have my permission to use the material in these texts to supplement any other A-Level Maths texts that you are using, within your school only.  You can print off parts of these texts for your students use.
OR – you could purchase more of these texts for use with your students. A price list will be sent with the free textbooks.

Some information about Aiming High texts:

The original Aiming High A-Level texts were developed in the classroom with the enthusiastic aid of my students. Teachers’ can decide what they wish to teach but all the information students’ need is embedded in the text.  So, students who miss lessons, for whatever reason, do not miss any theory. All students, whatever their ability, are motivated to achieve the best grades they can.

Able students could – and often did – romp ahead of the rest of the class. Extension problems take students beyond the level of the basic techniques. If students want to aim for the higher grades, they are advised to tackle as much of the extension work as they can find time for. This includes A-Level examination-type questions. This is where the top grades are earned.

Kind regards,

Barbara (maths enthusiast, teacher, writer and publisher)

 

“Since Tom started using Education Quizzes, he has really started to sparkle.”

We have made Education Quizzes free for a whole year so that students like Tom can sparkle too

Despite all the revision tips, tricks and techniques, the best way to help your pupils to retain the knowledge that they have learned in their science lessons is by presenting them with the opportunity to use this knowledge on a regular basis.

However, since there is more than one topic area to cover in science, it can sometimes be a long period of time until a topic is revisited, by which time your pupils will have forgotten much of what they had previously learned.

Which is why we have produced an extensive library of science quizzes and made them free to use for a whole year, so that your students can test and revise their knowledge as frequently as they need and want to.

What’s more, Education Quizzes is ideal to set as homework tasks as it involves little to no PPA time – giving you more time to focus on planning and preparing future lessons and assessing the work of your students from lessons which have gone before.

To get a better idea of what Education Quizzes is all about, simply visit www.educationquizzes.com. And to sign your school up for Education Quizzes for free for a whole year, go to www.educationquizzes.com/schools-uk-registrations/.

If you have any queries, you can easily contact us by sending an email to admin@educationquizzes.com.

TutorPear.com launches GCSE Maths website to help students with free online resources

NEW GCSE MATH WEBSITE LAUCHED TO HELP STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH GCSE MATHS AND ALSO INCLUDES PAST EXAM PAPERS AND SOLUTIONS.

A new GCSE maths website has been launched to help students struggling with the subject which is also mobile and tablet friendly.

GCSE maths is a mandatory core subject as well as being one of the most difficult. It is also crucial in terms of progressing onto A ‘levels and onwards to University which makes it is the main subject students and parents worry about.

Topics covered on the website include Numbers, Algebra, Geometry and measure, Probability and Handling data. The lessons have been structured in a way that make it simple and easy to follow. Past exam papers are available as far back as 2010 and the exam boards covered include AQA, EDEXCEL and Cambridge. The past exam paper section includes both mark schemes and examiner reports.

Other features of the free service includes a news section which is updated with the latest news on GCSE and iGCSE maths, a syllabus section on the Pearson, EXEXCEL and Cambridge GCSE variants and a blog section with hints and tips on how to prepare and succeed in GCSE Maths exams.

CONTACT INFO

Email: learn@tutorpear.com

Web Address: www.tutorpear.com

Strawberries and cream!

Hello! Simon from Easy Peasy Plays here. With summer rapidly approaching, I just wanted to remind you that time’s running out to claim your £10.00 Amazon voucher 

Our Very Own Graduation

 

“Our Very Own…” range of plays are specially created to be fun-packed and easy to stage, with no lines to learn! Told with simple actions, brief narration, and super-simple songs, they’re the perfect showcase for your children – even if you’ve never put on a musical before!

Every play includes everything you need for the perfect show – book, CD, backing tracks, performance licence, karaoke videos… even a full money-back guarantee, so you’ve got nothing to lose!

And for a limited time, when you order any summer play we’ll send you a £10.00 Amazon voucher – woo-hoo!* Just click here for full details, but don’t delay – time’s running out…

Amazon voucher with every summer play

Any questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch – we’re always happy to help.

Very best wishes for an easy peasy day!

Simon Horton

Simon and the team at

Easy Peasy Plays

* Terms and conditions apply. Click here for full details.

For, and on behalf of, Easy Peasy Plays.
Easy Peasy Plays is a trading name of Popcorn School Ltd, a limited company registered in England and Wales under number 8534985 and whose registered offices are located at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU.

 

What is the most effective way of giving rapid help to those who struggled with this year’s tests?

The end of the early summer testing season can often be something of a relief, and at such a moment looking forwards to future tests might not be what’s on your mind.

But when it comes to preparing for tests and exams if you have any children who have particularly modest levels of achievement in literacy, they are the ones who obviously suffer.  The question arises, what is the most effective way of supporting them?

In discussing this with many teachers we found three issues that were on almost everyone’s list of desires for the future.

First there is the wish to find an approach to improving literacy skills that works quickly and which is geared to each child’s individual levels of attainment and specific needs.

Second it should be an approach which can be utilised both at home and at school, and finally it should be enjoyable for the child, for if the child enjoys the work that will be the greatest motivational factor of all.

Now I appreciate that delivering on these three wishes might well sound like a dream.  And yet in a study in 2016, at-risk pupils across nearly 3,000 schools made substantial and rapid progress using our approach.

During this time, the percentage of pupils working two or more years below their expected level was reduced by almost half.  (These results are taken from the Lexia Core5 Half Year Progress Report 2016.)

To achieve such success, our approach starts with a highly accurate and rapid system of placing pupils according to their current literacy ability.

Then, through giving the pupil one-to-one tuition in a way that is utterly engaging and responsive to her or his immediate literacy needs and within the school’s budget, the literacy issues are resolved and the child’s attitude towards reading changes.

The analysis, the comparisons with other pupils, the progress, the remedial work – each and every element of each pupil’s learning journey is tracked and evaluated by the Core5 program from Lexia UK.

If you would like to read the case studies involving UK schools which are already using the system please click here. You will then also find on the right of the page the route to having access to the full program for 30 days without any payment or commitment.

If you want to know more about the program, we have all the information you’ll need available here. Alternatively, if you would like to talk first, call 0191 482 1939, or email info@lexiauk.co.uk.

Rob Kay; LexiaUK Software Consultant

What’s the best way of solving the problem of students who turn up for lessons or exams without a pen, pencil, ruler .. ?

It’s not easy to ensure that every student comes to school or college properly equipped for lessons or exams.

But NOW there’s a simple, effective and low cost way of solving the problem: The “STUDENT ESSENTIALS” set

Consisting of, three quality black ink pens, two  full length HB pencils, a 15 cm ruler, metal sharpener, eraser, all contained in a clear “exam friendly” PVC wallet with a zip slider.

From just 85p each ex vat it’s a simple and effective way of improving productivity and helping students succeed in their lessons and exams.

More details can be found at: www.signposteducational.co.uk

or you can contact them on: Tel: 020 7515 1797    Fax: 020 7515 4420   email: info@signposteducational.co.uk

Signpost Educational Ltd   PO Box 999   London  E14 6SH

Orders are usually delivered within 1-3 working days.

Your trial of a portable outdoor PA system, perfect for School Sports Days & Summer Fayres

Have you got an outdoor event coming up this summer? Will everyone hear everything that is being said?

With an easy to use SoundRanger portable PA system – everyone across the school field, children, parents, helpers and staff will hear everything easily and clearly.

Your special event will take on a really professional atmosphere as everyone will hear all of your results, information and announcements.

Built-in rechargeable batteries give you all the power you need, without mains leads trailing across the playground or field.

When you are not speaking, you can play music from your phone, that’s easy too!

Karen from Aldershot said … “Sports Day with a megaphone days are GONE! It was used today for the PTA Summer Fayre …………… oh my wow, the difference is amazing!!’

But don’t take Karen’s word for it – try the system for yourself with no charge.

Simply tell us about your event and we will put together the best SoundRanger system for you and arrange for you to try it on a 30 day Free Trial.

Set up takes just 15 minutes and then you can use it straight away.  After your event, you can of course use the SoundRanger system in your school hall as well!

There is more information about the SoundRanger systems on our website here:  www.connevans.co.uk/catalogue/3215538/

To hear what Karen heard and arrange a free 30 day trial simply call or email and leave the rest to us!

The SoundRanger Compact 4 is so reliable and robust, it has been used by the British Army to play battlefield sound effects to their recruits on assault courses!

Please reply quickly as these systems are understandably very popular during the summer!

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best wishes

Phil Boswell
Director

As of 2016 we are very proud to be … by Appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Manufacturer and Supplier of Audio Equipment  https://www.royalwarrant.org/directory?query=connevans

 

What’s the simple way to help maths lessons be more productive, both for teachers and students…….?

Every now and again I get to chat with  teachers and one of the topics that often crops up is why many students don’t  bring a pen, pencil, ruler etc to their lessons.  They tell me that this leads to wasted time and a measure of disruption,  even before teaching has begun.

In an attempt to solve this problem there’s  now a  product called the “Value Maths set ” which, as the name suggests, contains all the basics that students need for their  maths lessons.

Consisting of  two quality black ink ballpens, a full length HB pencil, eraser, 15 cm ruler, 180 degree protractor, metal compass and half pencil,  and a metal sharpener, all packed in an  A5 size, clear PVC “exam friendly” wallet with a zip slider.

From just £ 1.25 each (ex vat) the “Value Maths set”  is a convenient and cost effective solution to the problem of students who haven’t brought the correct kit to their maths lessons.  Ideal to give (or sell !) to students at the start of a lesson or at the start of a school day………  also very useful for exams.

Full details of the “Value Maths set”   can be found on the website:

     www.signposteducational.co.uk

You can order by email:  info@signposteducational.co.uk    by phonetel: 020 7515 1797  or  fax:  020 7515 4420

Signpost Educational Ltd.,   PO Box 999   London   E14 6SH

PS.  You’ll also find details of  Casio and Logik calculators on the website.

Something to consider ahead of the new times tables test

What is perhaps the most important factor to consider when preparing lessons ahead of the new primary times tables test?

A child’s ability to transmit information from the short-term memory to the long-term memory depends largely on the format in which the information is received, making this perhaps the most important factor to consider when preparing lessons ahead of the new times tables test.

However, there is often a misconception that a single lesson cannot respond to the learning needs of all pupils simultaneously, which is why we have produced a number of free activity materials that you can use with your class in order to quash this misconception, including:

Ups and downs – an activity for learning 2x table

Mind the gap – an activity for learning 5x table

Either way – an activity for learning how to find factors

Count up and count down – an activity for learning 10x table

You can find more stimulating and imaginative activities like this in the volume: Fun Games and Activities for Teaching Times Tables, which has been especially designed to help you to prepare your pupils for the new times tables test.

Fun Games and Activities for Teaching Times Tables will ensure that your pupils are fluent in the times tables, not least so that they can rapidly and accurately recall and apply them at any given time.

You can order Fun Games and Activities for Teaching Times Tables on our website either in PDF for £12.99 or as a hardcopy book for £17.99. There is also the option to buy both the hardcopy and PDF together at a discounted price of £21.89.

For more information, please do visit www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/fun-games-and-activities-for-teaching-times-tables-746. Alternatively, you can contact us by phone on 01449 766629 or by email at orders@tradecounter.co.uk.


Brilliant Publications,
Mendlesham Industrial Estate,
Norwich Road,
Mendlesham,
Suffolk,
IP14 5ND.

website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

We would very much welcome your input on current practice in working with students on the autism spectrum.

We are endeavouring to understand more about how special needs teachers such as yourself teach the concept of money to students on the autism spectrum.

We have therefore produced a very short questionnaire (it will not take more than three minutes to complete) and we’d be very grateful if you could complete this and email it back to us.

In return, if you would like to see what other special needs teachers in the UK feel about teaching money to students on the autism spectrum, we will be pleased to send you the results of the questionnaire once all the replies are in.

In the meanwhile if you have any questions about this survey, or about the organisation behind it, please do email me at info@senpress.co.uk or phone 01582 833205

Link to questionnaire: http://schoolsco.polldaddy.com/s/money-autism-spectrum

What’s the simple way to help maths lessons be more productive, both for teachers and students?

Every now and again I get to chat with teachers and one of the topics that often crops up is why many students don’t  bring a pen, pencil, ruler, etc to their lessons.

In an attempt to solve this problem there’s now a product called the “Value Maths set ” which, as the name suggests, contains all the basics that students need for their maths lessons.

Consisting of  two quality black ink ballpens, a full length HB pencil, eraser, 15 cm ruler, 180 degree protractor, metal compass and half pencil, and a metal sharpener, all packed in an A5 size, clear PVC “exam friendly” wallet with a zip slider.

From just £1.25 each (ex vat) the “Value Maths set” is a convenient and cost effective solution to the problem of students who haven’t brought the correct kit to their maths lessons.  Ideal to give (or sell !) to students at the start of a lesson or at the start of a school day………  also very useful for exams.

Full details of the “Value Maths set” can be found on the website:

     www.signposteducational.co.uk

You can order by email:  info@signposteducational.co.uk  

by phone tel: 020 7515 1797  or  fax:  020 7515 4420

Signpost Educational Ltd.,   PO Box 999   London   E14 6SH

“Since Tom started using Education Quizzes, he has really started to sparkle”

We have made Education Quizzes free for a whole year so that students like Tom can sparkle too

Despite all the revision tips, tricks and techniques, the best way to help your pupils to retain the knowledge that they have learned in their English lessons is by presenting them with the opportunity to use this knowledge on a regular basis.

However, since there is more than one topic area to cover in English, it can sometimes be a long period of time until a topic is revisited, by which time your pupils will have forgotten much of what they had previously learned.

Which is why we have produced an extensive library of English quizzes and made them free to use for a whole year, so that your students can test and revise their knowledge as frequently as they need and want to.

What’s more, Education Quizzes is ideal to set as homework tasks as it involves little to no PPA time – giving you more time to focus on planning and preparing future lessons and assessing the work of your students from lessons which have gone before.

To get a better idea of what Education Quizzes is all about, simply visit www.educationquizzes.com. And to sign your school up for Education Quizzes for free for a whole year, go to www.educationquizzes.com/schools-uk-registrations/.

If you have any queries, you can easily contact us by sending an email to admin@educationquizzes.com.

What is the single most important attribute that every 21st century citizen needs?

Of course it is hard to give an absolute answer to such a question, but if one were to search for the key attribute that every citizen of the 21st century needs, I think there would be a strong case for “imagination” to be nominated for the “most important attribute” award.

For, without imagination, how could our society survive?  Change happens ever more quickly bringing with it both opportunities and problems, and only those with a really strong ability to imagine possible solutions will be able to adapt and make the most of their lives.

Therefore the use of the imagination is at the heart of almost everything we teach at primary level.  A love of reading, for example, both fosters and is fostered by the imagination.

History relies on imagining the narratives of the past. Science requires imagining outcomes, and how to test for them. PSE is related to empathy, which is imagining yourself in another’s shoes – and so on.  Imagination is within everything.

The development of the imagination is closely tied to humanity’s development of storytelling. It was by sharing tales of their experiences that early human beings grew the abilities to plan and adapt – abilities which helped them survive changing climates.

But how can one enhance the imagination of young people?

A clue comes from a study by UCL’s Institute of Education, which found that children with a love of reading outperformed their peers in all subjects.

And this is why Snail Tales exists: to help schools like yours nurture a love of storytelling among the children you teach, developing their imaginations and thus making them more rounded human beings, which increases attainment in literacy, numeracy, and enhances a huge range of key skills.

To this end we run a series of training courses in schools, ranging from after school sessions to INSET days on storytelling in the classroom and work with individual year groups.  For more details please see our website, call 0203 287 6245 or visit our Contact Us page

A book: a free sample

When English literature books are offered at a very low price, you’ll want to see a free sample first.

Sometimes an offer of the key texts of English literature at an astoundingly low price can seem what you have been waiting for.

But then you might pause and think, “how can they be this low in price?”  You might wonder about the quality of the print, the size of the print, the quality of the binding, the book’s ability to withstand the slings and arrows of outrageous teenage use…

Which is why we offer all schools a free sample book.  No strings, no hidden postage cost.  A sample book delivered to you free, so you can see the quality of our publications.

From Jane Austen to the Brontës, from Dickens to Conan Doyle, from DH Lawrence to William Shakespeare, Wordsworth Editions has over 450 titles in print, covering over 230 works of classic literature and over 50 popular children’s books.

And not only does each volume naturally have the full text, but with all of our classics there is also a set of exclusive introductions and notes.

As for the price, that is just £1.50 each after discount with free delivery, and no minimum order as long as you order direct from us.  However this price offer only lasts until 31 May.  All orders received after that date have a slightly higher (but still very modest) price.

We are also adding new titles to our range regularly – with the most well-known works of HG Wells being the most recent to be included on our list.

To get an overview of the sort of titles we can offer please do visit our website.  However if you would like to see a list of around 50 of the most popular titles available direct to schools at the special price of £1.50 that is available here, rising to £1.87 for orders received after 31 May.

Then if you want to see the full list of our titles in print along with a ready to use order form, should you need it, we have a page with those details as well.

For a free sample of one of our classics, email education@wordsworth-editions.com with your name and the school address, and we’ll put it in the post to you, with our compliments.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Image removed by sender.

What’s the best way of solving the problem of students who turn up for lessons or exams without a pen, pencil, ruler etc ?

When this happens it’s  frustrating, often disruptive and always time-wasting but is there a solution ?

Well, we think there is.  It’s called the “Student Essentials set,”   a low cost but effective solution to the problems caused by students who turn up for lessons or exams without the basic kit.
The “Student Essentials set” consists of three quality black ink pens, two full length HB pencils, a 15 cm ruler, metal sharpener and eraser, all packed in an “exam friendly”  clear  PVC wallet with a zip slider.  From just 85p each  (ex vat) the “Student Essentials set” is ideal to give or perhaps sell to your students so they’ll have what they need for almost all their lessons.

Find out more from Signpost Educational Ltd.,  on 020 7515 1797 or visit their website:

www.signposteducational.co.uk or contact them on:  info@signposteducational.co.uk

Signpost Educational Ltd.,  PO Box 999  London  E14 6SH

 

Free software, but at what cost?

There’s no doubt that money is, and should be, a key consideration when it comes to purchasing any new software for the school, especially whilst trying to find tangible value in your services as cost-saving becomes a key theme for Secondary Schools.

When software companies announce the launch of free modules, it can be easy to overlook many of the associated costs that aren’t always apparent; training, support, lack of integration, and increasingly, unintuitive software that takes more time than it saves and is eventually left unused.

Show My Homework was created by a former Assistant Headteacher who was on a mission to provide his own school with powerfully simple software that not only made an impact but delivered real value and cost benefits.

Unlike other systems available, Show My Homework comes with free training, a guided setup, support for the whole school, including students and parents, and your own dedicated Account Manager to help you achieve the goals you set out.

Focused on providing students with quality learning, we ensure that teachers have the tools needed to be able to spend more time where it matters, by creating, sharing or reusing colleagues’ homework in a click. This allows you to benefit from the very best homework set in the school, available across the school and accessible to TAs and NQTs, so you can get the same quality teaching whilst easing teacher workload.

And it doesn’t end there. This year alone we were named the Education Company of the Year independently from the Assignment Report, awarded Highly Commended for ICT Leadership & Management Solutions at the Bett Show, and Winners of the ERA Secondary ICT award.

I’d love to come to the school to show you our software, how we’re working with 1 in 3 UK Secondary schools, and how it could work for you too. It would give yourself and the rest of the SLT the chance to ask any questions in person too. If you’d like me to arrange this, please just enter your email address here and I’ll sort the rest. Alternatively please give me a call on 020 3794 9138.

Kind regards,

Luke Sherman
Community Manager

We work hard to ensure that you only receive emails that are relevant to you delivered to your email address.  If you would prefer to receive emails at a different or additional address or if you have any other comments please let us know by replying to this email.  If you do not wish to receive further emails from us please click on this link  If you choose not to do this we will take it that you are willing to receive emails from us until such time as you indicate that your preferences have changed.

A great way to teach the days of the months

Rob, from Easy Peasy Plays here, with something you may find really helpful for teaching children about the days of the months

30 Dyas has September free song

It’s a completely free set of 3 songs, to use in your school on most devices that can access the internet – just click here! Hope you enjoy using it!

Kind Wishes

Rob

For, and on behalf of, Easy Peasy Plays.
Easy Peasy Plays is a trading name of Popcorn School Ltd, a limited company registered in England and Wales under number 8534985 and whose registered offices are located at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU.

Amazon gift cards are on us!

Want an Amazon voucher on us? You got it!

Our fantastic summer plays are the perfect showcase for your childreneven if you’ve never put on a musical before!

One of our biggest sellers is Our Very Own Graduation – perfect for the end of the year! Told with simple actions and brief narration, and packed with enormously entertaining, super-simple songs, all our Early Years plays are guaranteed to be full of fun and easy to stage, so you’ve got nothing to lose!

And for a limited time, when you order any summer play we’ll send you a £10.00 Amazon voucher – woo-hoo! Just click here for full details, but don’t delay – time’s running out…

EASY PEASY PLAYS – That’s summer sorted!

 

Full terms and conditions apply. Click here for details.

For, and on behalf of, Easy Peasy Plays.
Easy Peasy Plays is a trading name of Popcorn School Ltd, a limited company registered in England and Wales under number 8534985 and whose registered offices are located at 20-22 Wenlock Road, London, N1 7GU

Could your students make every step count for injured and disabled people?

Every Step Counts when you’re learning to walk again. If you’ve been injured whilst playing sport or in a road accident, rehabilitation care can be life changing; it means regaining independence. But if you’ve been injured and can’t access rehabilitation, then there’s a real danger that an injury can become a permanent disability.

Every single day Handicap International physiotherapists help hundreds of injured and disabled people back on to their feet. Our teams have delivered over 85,000 rehabilitation sessions to injured and disabled people affected by the war in Syria. In Nepal we provided 16,000 rehabilitation sessions in the weeks following the devastating earthquake of 2015. Nirmala, 9 (right) lost her leg in the earthquake; we fitted her with a prosthetic leg and our rehabilitation team have been supporting her ever since.

If you would like to see your students make every step count, order you fundraising pack here.

Every Step Counts

This summer term your students can step up to the challenge and change lives forever. From a ‘race for rehabilitation’ on sports day to an Every Step Counts sponsored walk; by getting active and raising funds your pupils will enable injured and disabled people around the world to regain their independence. Everyone can take part in an Every Step Counts walk and it’s a fun and meaningful way to show support for children who desperately need rehabilitation care. Why not walk to Nepal where Nirmala lives. It’s 4,500 miles, but say we call that 4,500 steps, well that’s not far at all. An impressive 25,000 steps and you’ve walked ‘around the world’.

If you would like to see your students make every step count for people in desperate need of rehabilitation care please order your fundraising pack here.

For more information call John at Handicap International on 0870 774 3737 or email
schools@hi-uk.org

Thank you for your support!

John

P.S. Do you have a colleague that might be interested in getting involved? Please forward this email to them.

John McGeachy
Supporter Engagement Officer
Handicap International UK
9 Rushworth Street, London SE1 0RB
Email: schools@hi-uk.org
Tel: 0870 774 3737
www.handicap-international.org.uk/challenge-yourself

About Handicap International
Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Handicap International is an independent charity working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster. We work tirelessly alongside disabled and vulnerable people to help meet their basic needs, improve their living conditions and promote respect for their dignity and fundamental rights. It is a UK registered charity (no. 1082565).

Photos are © L. Veuve / Handicap International

Free speakers and resources from Compassion in World Farming

Many pupils are passionate about the welfare of animals though, if surveys are to be believed, many of them do not know how their bacon, eggs and milk are produced!

Food production is a growing topic of debate whether you are talking about the ethics of how we treat animals, how we produce healthy food and how we can feed a growing population.

At the same time, most of the major faiths teach kindness to animals and for some religions it is a major part of their belief system. This is a subject which can engage children, encourage debate and develop respect for the beliefs of others.

Finding time to discuss topics such as animal welfare and sustainable food production is doubly valuable – it gives pupils an important understanding of a range of ethical and environmental factors and it encourages great debates!

To help you to engage your pupils in such discussions, we provide a free speaker service and a pack of resources including a film and discussion activities, which can be adapted for pupils of different ages, abilities and levels of confidence.

To enquire about a speaker or to order a free resource pack, please email education@ciwf.org.uk. It will be very helpful if you put “RE mailshot” in the subject title.

To view or download the resources directly, including films, please go to our Religious Education webpage.

Yours faithfully

Phil Brooke
Education Manager
Compassion in World Farming

PS We’ve had some wonderful evaluations from teachers for our talks and resources:

“ I think the pack is super, very well organised and presented  … most impressed, both with the philosophical reaction sheets and with the world religions ones. The questionnaire (Personality Test) looks excellent, too.”

I like (the video Farm Animals & Us) because

its emphasis is on choices and how they affect animals
it shows how animals have intelligence
it uses humour – the school as a factory is brilliant
contrasts between intensive and traditional farming methods effectively made

(How Do Animals Matter – opinions, religious and secular)

Lots of useful questions and summaries
Should help students to sort their own views and promote an understanding of other perspectives

Links and contacts:

Email: education@ciwf.org.uk

Tel: 01483 521 965

Education website: ciwf.org.uk/education

Religious Education webpage: ciwf.org.uk/re

Speaker service: ciwf.org.uk/speakers

Mentoring Male – accredited mentoring work with boys and young men

An opportunity for staff/students:
Mentoring Male – accredited mentoring work with boys and young men

How to effectively engage young males with education and provide routes into employment and socially responsible adulthood is a concern of many professions.

Education is also a recognised social determinant of health; boys and young men are consistently outperformed by girls and young women in schools and universities. Health improvement also means action on increasing educational opportunity.

Mentoring offers an evidence-based approach to work with young men – helping young men to achieve their academic and vocational potential, addressing concerns related to problematic behaviours – and providing go-to support and signposting to other services.

The Unit Award in Mentoring Boys and Young Men is a Level 2 award providing your staff/students with an understanding of mentoring work. The unit considers:

  • the rationale for work with young males
  • a strengths-based approach to work with young males
  • the role of the mentor
  • qualities desirable in a mentor
  • primary tasks of a mentor
  • dealing with disclosure/safeguarding
  • setting boundaries in mentor-mentee relationships
  • building and sustaining mentor-mentee relationships
  • goal setting and outcomes

The outcome is that your staff/students will have received training enabling them to mentor boys throughout the school. This not only strengthens the school pastoral system but helps to raise the overall achievement of all boys and young men involved. This training and delivery thereof successfully delivers many of the new Ofsted framework for inspection.

The workshop covering the award criteria is 4 hours long. Each staff/student undertaking the award will be provided with their own copy of the Mengage course book: Mentoring Male: A guide to mentoring work with boys and young men. A Level 2 certificate will be issued upon completion.

The workshop costs £1295 for up to 10 staff or up to 15 students.

Mengage is committed to your school’s development; if this is something you would like to discuss or you have other concerns regarding the health or education of young men, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Liam Kernan

Mengage Ltd

01905 570180
liam@mengage.co.uk
www.mengage.co.uk

Enquiry code: 4m – Please quote this code when contacting us.

What is the best way to discover the very latest thinking on dyscalculia, dyslexia and ADHD in schools?

If you are thinking about  CPD to boost your SpLD support this term, do give  SpLD Central on June 29th some consideration. Hosted by Crossbow Education at Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire, this CPD accredited conference lines up some of the best speakers in three major areas of SpLD.

The focus in the morning will be on Dyscalculia, with two keynotes from Prof Steve Chinn, recognised by many as the leading expert on dyscalculia in schools. After lunch Fintan O’Regan will consider a range of systems and strategies to address successful learning, behaviour and socialisation outcomes for children on the ADHD spectrum; Rachel Ingham, Judy Capener, and Sue Francis will give you some insights into different aspects of literacy that are particularly relevant for dyslexic learners; Dominic Griffiths, senior lecturer at MMU, will talk about embedding reasonable adjustments at post-16, and SEN advisory team leader Beccie Hawes (Author of “Getting it Right for Dyslexic Learners”) will give you a roadmap for helping SpLD students navigate that difficult journey from Y6 to Y7. For an overview of the conference programme, click the following link or paste it into your browser: http://www.spldcentral.com/workshop-details.aspx

We have a reputation for Excellence at Crossbow (4 prestigious awards in the last five years – 3 national and one international), and our conference is no exception. We also have a reputation for providing good value, and at £139.95 + VAT for a day with speakers of this calibre it’s a lot less than you would pay Forum, or Capita, or other providers. And here’s the best bit: if you and your partner schools can put together a group booking, you get one free place for every three you book. The conference website is www.spldcentral.com – have a look now and make up your own mind. You can book online, and you can pay by card or we can invoice your school.

What do you get on the day?

  • Two keynotes in the morning (1 hr 10 mins each)
  • Two afternoon presentations (1 hr each) from a choice of six – each session is repeated after the break
  • An excellent 3-course sit-down lunch, coffee at registration, two refreshment breaks, and pastries
  • A marketplace of top specialist SpLD suppliers (not just Crossbow!) and plenty of time to spend looking at their resources: 1hr 20 mins at lunch, two 30 min refreshment breaks, plus time at registration.
  • A bound conference book to keep with all the handouts and room for your notes
  • Your CPD certificate.
  • Free transport to and from Stafford station, and plenty of parking if you come by car.

The date for your diary again: Thursday June 29th.
The venue (Google it – it’s super): Yarnfield Park Conference Centre, Stone, Staffordhire  ST15 0NL.

Email: bookings@spldcentral.com

Or if you want to speak to speak to someone ring 0845 269 7272 and ask for Bob or Ionë

The mission of SpLD Central is to give school leaders, SENCOs, SEND advisory teams and SpLD  professionals a memorable day of CPD that will really change lives. “It was the best CPD event I have ever been to and one of the highlights of my professional career” (2016 delegate).

Get a free travel first aid kit from Quick First Aid

From field trips to sports days, staff and pupils will be outside and active for the next couple of months. Make sure that your first aid kits and medical supplies are fully stocked and ready for the term ahead and take advantage of our free travel kit offer with every order over £75*.

Quick outdoor kit

If your order is over £125* we will pop in a box of chocolates too!

Our service includes FREE next day delivery on all orders placed before 3pm.

We’ve got some great deals on cold packs and plasters, cleansing wipes and sick bags so order online or call our friendly sales team on 01482 488488.

Bring on the sunshine!

Regards,

Emma

QuickFirstAid.co.uk

emma@quickfirstaid.co.uk

Facebook.com/quickaid

Can this calculator take over from the Casio FX 83GT Plus …..?

The Casio FX 83GT+ is the UK’s best selling scientific calc…and deservedly so. It’s been setting the pace in many UK schools and is the first choice for GCSE exams for many students.

But now there is an alternative…… It’s the Logik LK 83XP which has almost all the features of the FX 83GT Plus (no verify or recurring decimal) and with one big advantage…… it’s dual power. This combination of battery and solar power prolongs battery life and gives extra reassurance when used in exams.

The LK 83XP has a THREE year guarantee* and is suitable for all exams where a calculator is allowed. Features include: 252 functions, “textbook (true) display,” check, correct and replay, stats. calculations, prime factorisation, hard plastic keys, slide on case etc.

It’s a calc which can see your students all the way from year 7 to GCSE and at a surprisingly modest price. (*excludes LCD damage)

Further details on: www.signposteducational.co.uk

or phone 020 7515 1797 or email: info@signposteducational.co.uk

Signpost Educational Ltd., PO Box 999 London E14 6SH

Instant Downloadable Resources

www.msl-online.net

What is the quickest way to download learning support resources at reduced prices?

Simply visit our dyslexia friendly online store selling printable downloads of specialist reading, writing and spelling resources, suitable for ages 8 – 80.

MSL has specialised in supplying structured, multi-sensory materials for learning support since 1994 and many schools, colleges, learning support centres, teachers, parents and dyslexic adults have come to us through recommendation.

Handwriting Rescue materials

Structured Literacy resources

Dyslexia Games and Association Cards

Sample pages and FREE Placement & Progress Tests to assist in the selection of suitable resources are all easy to access at our new and exciting online store of printable downloads for learning support.

Secure purchases can be made using Card, PayPal and BACS.  Download links for Card and PayPal payments will be sent to the nominated email address instantly and BACS payments within 12 working hours (usually much quicker).

Please note that all rights are reserved for MSL Downloadable Resources and no part of the publications and resources may be shared or circulated without the prior permission of Multi-Sensory Learning.  The licence for MSL Downloadable Resources is limited to the purchasing individual and/or educational establishment only.

What’s the best way of solving the problem of students who turn up for lessons or exams without a pen, pencil, ruler .. ?

It’s not easy to ensure that every student comes to school or college properly equipped for lessons or exams.

But NOW there’s a simple, effective and low cost way of solving the problem: The “STUDENT ESSENTIALS” set

Consisting of, three quality black ink pens, two  full length HB pencils, a 15 cm ruler, metal sharpener, eraser, all contained in a clear “exam friendly” PVC wallet with a zip slider.

From just 85p each ex vat it’s a simple and effective way of improving productivity and helping students succeed in their lessons and exams.

More details can be found at: www.signposteducational.co.uk

or you can contact them on: Tel: 020 7515 1797    Fax: 020 7515 4420   email: info@signposteducational.co.uk

Signpost Educational Ltd   PO Box 999   London  E14 6SH

Orders are usually delivered within 1-3 working days.

Your Sample Teacher Planner..

I wanted to follow up my recent email and see if you’d like to receive a sample of our Budget Teacher Planners?

Available in B5 or A4 our planners include the following:

  • Durable twin loop wire binding
  • Double sided fold out dated year planner
  • Undated diary pages printed in black
  • 6 period day layout
  • Attendance & assessment registers.

Simply let me know where to send a sample and I will get one straight out to you.

Alternatively, for a tailored quote let me know your requirements and I will send you over a proposal.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards

Olaf Surtees
Education Planning Consultant
PENSTRIPE
+44 (0)113 231 0995
www.penstripe.co.uk

Debate Chamber Summer Schools for students aged 11-14

These Debate Chamber Summer Schools are for intellectually ambitious 11-14-year-old students who want to push back the boundaries of their knowledge, or who are curious about the ways in which their knowledge can be applied to the real world to help shape the future. Our hope is that students will leave our Summer Schools feeling inspired to pursue their passions, empowered to make well-informed career decisions, and optimistic about the meaningful contribution they can make to this world.

Led by a team of expert tutors, our courses focus on developing intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and the desire to explore academic material in a more sophisticated way than is often available at school. Classes will be discussion-based, creating a comfortable environment for students to share ideas amongst their peers and to progress from their existing knowledge toward more challenging material. Working in small groups over several days means there is plenty of space for each voice to be heard, as well as the opportunity for students to get to know their tutor and benefit from their specialist knowledge.

Young Doctors

The Young Doctors Summer School offers a fun and interactive insight into the world of medicine, allowing students the opportunity to explore some of the theoretical and applied skills required to be a doctor. Over the course of two days, an expert team of medical tutors will teach students how to identify a patient’s primary symptoms, order appropriate tests, draw conclusions and present their findings. The Summer School is split into two parts, each covering a different area of medical practice – students can attend whichever part best suits their interests.

‘Really enjoyable! The tutors were really insightful and great at helping and answering questions. The practical activities were really good fun and allowed you to trial some of the techniques you had learnt. I would strongly recommend the course.’

Young Lawyers

The Young Lawyers Summer School offers an exciting and challenging introduction to the legal profession and is aimed at students who wish to take their first steps towards a legal career. Over the course of four days, students will work alongside a team of expert tutors who will facilitate the debate of numerous case studies from criminal, family, contract and human rights law. On the final day, dressed in wigs and gown, students will participate in a lively mock crown court trial in which they will question their witnesses to build a case in front of the jury.

 ‘The Young Lawyers course was amazing! I made friends very quickly and enjoyed learning about law. I learnt loads and have now learnt different types of law in detail I didn’t know. I enjoyed it very much.’

Young Thinkers

The two-day Young Thinkers Summer School offers bright students the opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills and participate in lively debates covering a range of philosophical questions: What is truth? How do we gain knowledge of the world? Are we free? What is right and wrong? The seminar style of this Summer School ensures a collaborative and inclusive academic environment.

‘This course, while mind-bending in the extreme, was very enjoyable and in fact one of the most enjoyable things I’ve done all holiday.’

Young Writers

The Young Writers Summer School is aimed at students who enjoy the creative challenge of writing stories and wish to share their passion and enthusiasm with like-minded peers.  Over the course of four days, students will explore a range of prose, poetry and reportage through games, activities and structured exercises. Our team of expert tutors are keen to share their enthusiasm and expertise for story-telling and provide students with a range of creative skills for future projects.

‘If you want a chance to learn more writing techniques and get inspiration for your stories, you will love this fun, friendly Summer School.’

Bursaries

Debate Chamber is committed to ensuring that financial circumstances do not prevent any student from attending our events. Students are able to apply for bursaries covering up to 100% of the course fee through our website.

How can my students attend?

All the Summer School events will be held at University of London venues in Bloomsbury, Central London, and will take place in July and August 2017. Please note that these courses are not residential, and accommodation must be arranged independently if required.

You can find full details of schedules, dates, costs, student reviews and tutors at http://www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/. There is a limited amount of bursary funding available for students who would otherwise have financial difficulty in attending – please see our website for details.

To book a place please visit www.debatechamber.com/summerschools/, call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Take part in Fred Theatre’s schools’ survey today and win an Amazon voucher

Will you spare a few minutes to help us help you?

Fred Theatre’s annual schools’ survey is now online, and we’d welcome your participation. Your answers will assist in planning our future offer to schools.

The survey takes no more than five minutes to complete, and the results will aid us in understanding your needs better.

As a small thank you, we’re giving away four Amazon vouchers worth £15 each. Recipients will be selected at random from those completing the survey, and we’ll be in touch with the winners in June.

To take part, please click on the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/LQ3Z3ZD

The survey is online until Friday 12 May, so click and take part today.

If you’d like to contact Fred Theatre about any aspect of the survey, or our upcoming plans for schools’ productions, please email us at: admin@fred-theatre.co.uk

Thank you.

How IT skills help autistic students

Why is it that some autistic students respond so well to learning IT skills – and how can we use this to help them?

For many years Cambridge University’s Autism Research Centre has been studying the established link between parents working in hi-tech, scientific and mathematical industries and an increased incidence of children on the autism spectrum.

As a result of this research more and more IT companies in the UK and beyond have actively begun recruiting an autistic workforce for its highly technical and concentration skills.

Of course, while such a life may only be relevant to some autistic students, many autism experts agree with Professor Grandin at Colorado State University, herself autistic, who believes that without “the gifts of autism” there would probably be no Nasa or IT industry.

The fact is that very many autistic students can benefit from being able to work in an IT environment. As Richard Mills, director of Research Autism, said, “The computer age totally changes the world of autism.”

Indeed researchers at Nottingham University and Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh have found that people with autism value the increased control over their interactions that is afforded by the filter of a computer screen.

In short, they can observe interactions, choose when to be sociable, and make contact with other people who have autism.

Presenting information visually in the precise and predictable computer format suits the autistic mind, says Baron Cohen, and can provide “a tool or platform for developing further skills”.   And, of course, it is a tool that helps them to take control of their adult lives.

It is to help students on the autism spectrum benefit in their move towards adulthood that SEN Press has developed a series of Value Packs which include whiteboard resources, worksheets, readers and a CD Rom of our ebooks.

Each pack is based on a theme of key benefit to autistic pupils such as Work Experience, Making Sense of Money, Relationships, etc.  As a result the students gain two benefits – the growth in their own confidence and ability that can arise as a result of working with IT, while at the same time benefiting from the subject being studied.

Full details of all our Value Pack on Teen Issues Work Experience and Making Sense of Moneycan be found by clicking the link to our website.

Alternatively if you require further information please call 01582 833205  or email info@senpress.co.uk

Gapforce School Expeditions

Please may I introduce our company to you as a possible provider for your future Overseas Expeditions and Trips.

To give you a little background, we have 28 years’ experience running Educational Travel Programs throughout Central & South America, Africa and Asia. Our principal difference lies with our highly trained UK Expedition Leaders who can create unique and exciting itineraries from 7 – 28 days, based on your specific needs and budget.

We work with a number of leading UK and International Schools and I would be delighted to provide sample itineraries and references for the work we have done recently if you are interested.

Destinations currently popular with our school clients are:

  • Costa Rica
  • Galapagos
  • Tanzania
  • North India
  • Sri Lanka
  • Borneo
  • Vietnam

Whether you are planning an overseas trip for the first time, wanting to compare quotes with your current provider, or simply after fresh ideas then I would be delighted to hear from you.

To receive a free sample quote please complete our short quote request form here.

Alternatively, if you would like to arrange an initial discussion to learn more about our trips then feel free to call me on 0207 384 3028 or email me back directly.

Thank you for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.

James Catterall
Schools Manager, Gapforce

Enclosed outdoor classrooms can provide a solution for more space in schools

Schools are always faced with quite a few problems to overcome but one of the most pertinent dilemmas they are currently faced with is how they can get more space. This is usually because they are having to accommodate more pupils, they are having temporary building work undertaken at the school or they just need somewhere outside of the main school hubbub for more personal one to one pupil tuition.

Or a school could be looking for new office space, a new library or IT suite, nurture room, outdoor classroom learning facility, art studio, science lab, multi-sensory room, community room, before and after school club building etc. The list can go on and on.

But if a school is already bursting at the seams and has already used up every square inch of available space and assuming there is not the budget or capital funds available for extensions, what are they to do?

We believe that we may have the solution. The Hideout House Company has a range of school classroom buildings which are all below 30m2 (in this case there is no need to apply for building regs) and which are built on a modular panel system so that they can easily be adapted to a school’s specific needs and specification. And they are designed with aesthetics in mind so that they are actually quite nice to look at in a school setting!

Manufactured out of cedar, these buildings have an in-built longevity as cedar is a premium, high quality timber which once sited, requires very little ongoing maintenance and typically lasts a lot longer than traditionally used wood such as softwood pine. Available in octagonal, square and rectangular shapes  other options include for insulation, double glazing, bi-fold doors to the front elevation and an attractive atrium roof to allow in lots of natural daylight from above. A school can also choose between carpet, decking or laminate flooring.

Unlike their open-sided gazebo style outdoor classroom counterpart, they can be used all year round as they are totally enclosed.

And because they are built on site, there is usually no problem with poor access issues which can be the case in a lot of schools and which sometimes hinders the pre-fab classroom system (in this case a crane is usually required to winch the unit into position which can be both disruptive and expensive).

Installation times typically range from 3 days to a week so there is hardly any long term lasting disruption to the school’s working day and with prices starting at £10K ex VAT for these enclosed outdoor classrooms, they are also financially extremely viable.

In certain cases, they may also fall under Permitted Development Rights so planning permission may not be required but it is always prudent to contact the local planning authority first before any work is undertaken.

For more information, please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or visit www.hideouthouse.com

What’s better than Facebook

The answer is, of course, a real book!

A book that gives school and college leavers a snapshot of their final year and can be cherished for many years to come, if Facebook and Whatsapp go the way of MySpace and Friends Reunited…

The final year at school or college is always pivotal in everyone’s life. Why not make a record of it that lasts and lasts with fantastic quality yearbooks from Babyshark from only £3 each?

Unlike many online retailers that you can’t talk to, we are the online yearbook company that actually wants to talk to you. We can even arrange free Yearbook Design Workshops, so get in touch now!

Click here or email hello@babyshark.co.uk to request a free sample.

Babyshark image

Kind Regards

Andrew Baker

Babyshark image

Director

01924 849926

Unit 12
Emley Moor Business Park
Leys Lane
Emley
Huddersfield
HD8 9QY

Registered in England No. 6913248

7 good reasons why a yearbook can’t be replaced by Social Media… Click here to find out!

To find out more about how easy it is to create yearbooks…
Visit our website:   BabyShark.co.uk 

 

Consolidate school software costs now for 2017/18

With further budget cuts announced and increasing pressure on School Bursars and Business Managers to make ends meet whilst maintaining the quality of teaching within the school, it’s no surprise the stress that many are now under.

Show My Homework was created with the vision that affordable, high impact software should be available to all Secondary Schools by a former Assistant Headteacher who oversaw homework and technology in two Secondary Schools.

For the price of a paper planner, you can get:
Online Homework Management (setting & submitting)
Powerful Reporting for Parents’ Evening, Ofsted, usage and quality control
A school-wide Homework Calendar
Online Timetables for easy organisation
Resource-Sharing
in seconds for staff
Online Storage for all of your teachers’ files and school policy documents
All results stored in an Online Gradebook
Mobile Apps
for anytime access
Full Support, Training and a Dedicated Account Manager included

In 2017, we’ve already been recognised independently from the Assignment Report as The Education Company of the Year, by the Bett Awards as Highly Commended for ICT Leadership & Management Solutions, and by the ERA as winners of Secondary Resource including ICT.

I’d love to show you how we can help you make savings not cuts, as we have for the 1500 schools we’re already working with in the UK, by coming to the school and showing yourself and SLT how the software works, as well as providing you with a bespoke licence based on your school size and affiliations.

If you’d like me to get in touch, please just enter your email address here and I’ll get back to you, or give me a call on 020 3794 9138.

Kind regards,

Dan Nixon
Sales Manager