Can you get a ‘customised’ Primary School assessment system for less than many off-the-shelf systems?

Yes you can! – with support from our Primary Progress toolkit. Our system is flexible enough to allow schools to create their own assessment policy, and for Multi Academy Trust leaderships to compare their schools’ progress and attainment.

Schools can:

pick their own subjects and curriculum statements/objectives (we can import these or provide a default set to edit).

agree their own grades, which define pupils’ steps to mastering the curriculum.

use a quick & easy way for teachers to record their assessments

set Age Related Expectations for years/classes and individual pupil Targets, for each term/year (the toolkit has a simple way to set these).

analyse progress and attainment to see which pupils are making expected progress and which need support to get them on track

the toolkit provides multiple reports e.g statements achieved, subject attainment, combined subjects, ARE, individual pupil, whole school overview of attainment and progress, EYFS)

The MAT can get:

a dashboard giving access to all the individual school toolkits, together with overview reports which summarise results at MAT level and compare schools’ performance.

The annual subscription costs just £750 per school, including setup and induction training. There is a 5% loyalty discount (max. 20%) and discounts for small schools (<100 on roll). MAT subscriptions are individually negotiated.

So, if you aren’t 100% satisfied with your current assessment tracking system, or if you have set up a system in Excel and are finding it time-consuming to maintain, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at primaryprogresstoolkit.info

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, please email me at statsed@gmail.com. Roger Watson

We can give you free access to a demo site, where you can try out the toolkit for yourself.

Statistics for Education Ltd, 5 Bridge Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, CM23 2JU
Tel: 01279 652183; Email: statsed@gmail.com

‘WE HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW TO DEBATE’ – DO YOU AGREE OR DISAGREE?

Recently it seems that too many disagreements turn into aggressive clashes rather than constructive debates. Which poses the question, ‘Have we forgotten how to debate?’

Disagree – contrary to what some people say, we haven’t forgotten how to debate

It could be argued that a high proportion of the population can’t have forgotten how to debate if they were never taught how to debate in the first place, by their own families or when they were at school.

Fortunately, the topic of debating is now woven into the curriculum, but I do wonder whether this is enough to ensure the next generation is safe from having these unpleasant and discomforting aggressive clashes with their friends, family, neighbours and strangers.

Whilst we can’t single-handedly change the curriculum to include a Debating Programmes of Study, we have produced a resource, entitled Teaching Values through PSHE and Citizenship, containing a wealth of activities and worksheets for discussions and debates.

Section One focuses on what attitudes and values the children believe should determine behaviour towards others, on the qualities they admire in other people, on what they consider to be good manners and on what they consider when making decisions.

Section Two focuses on the rules that govern peopleʼs lives and the responsibilities they have as family members, as neighbours, at school and as citizens. It includes activities that encourage children to discuss what sort of country they want to live in.

Section Three looks at human rights, exploring issues of stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination, sexism and racism. There are also activities on respecting other peopleʼs religions and cultures and on global concerns.

Visit our website for more information or to order this resource for £19.99 as a printed book, £13.99 as an e-book, or both for a discounted price of £24.19.

Alternatively, you can place an order:

  • over the phone on 01449 766629
  • by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
  • by fax on 01449 767122
  • or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND

WHY RECYCLED PLASTIC PLAY EQUIPMENT IS THE WAY FORWARD

The standard go-to material for playground play equipment, especially trim trails, has always been timber in either a round or square edged profile. The reason being? There was nothing else available on the market bar metal which doesn’t really suit school environments and is more commonly used in public play parks for example.

Timber does have its disadvantages though, especially rounded timber posts which suffer from radial cracking and which causes the timber to split quite badly especially when the seasons and ambient temperature change as it dries out from the core. And if it has not had the correct protection or treatment when dug into the ground, timber will rot below ground and thereby limit its intended life span.

But there is now a far better solution and that is to use recycled plastic play equipment as this material has so many benefits and advantages over timber. These are listed below:

  • It is virtually maintenance free which is a huge advantage to a school and can save quite considerably with on-going maintenance costs and time spent fixing faulty play equipment – especially if the warranties have expired
  • It doesn’t splinter, crack or have “shakes” like timber does – so no nasty incidents with children getting their fingers caught or splinters
  • It doesn’t rot or decay and requires no other type of protection when digging into the ground
  • It is incredibly durable and will therefore last a lot longer (typically five times) than traditional timber made trim trail play equipment
  • It is very eco-friendly as it is made out of recycled plastic bottles which of course is a big topical environmental issue at the moment
  • It is UV resistant so will not discolour over time
  • It is very hard to vandalise with graffiti and is also very resistant to any algae or insect infestation which can happen with timber

These are all very good reasons why a school should consider using recycled plastic for their next playground project.

The Hideout House Company offer a comprehensive range of playground equipment made out of this material as well as picnic tables, planters and adventure trails. An outdoor classroom is also under consideration. The company can also help with design, safety surfacing and installation.

If you would like to know how we can help your school develop its playground, then please contact the Hideout House Company on 01865 858982 or email: info@hideouthouse.com.

What is a fun way to bring your computing curriculum to life and really engage and inspire all of your students?

I’ve often heard colleagues in schools suggest how difficult it can be to teach computing and to keep their students engaged.

Often there is a large range of ability in the class, from the very bright students who have made raspberry pi weather stations in their back gardens, right through to those who struggle to grasp the basics.

Despite these challenges, both teachers and students love the idea of using robots in their lessons.  Anything that can move around, flash lights, and play sounds will help bring topics to life. Unfortunately, due to lack of funds and time it isn’t always possible for schools to purchase and use their own robotics kits.

To make it easier and more affordable to bring robots into your classroom we have designed a range of hands on robotics workshops. We bring all the equipment to you and have a range of fun themes to choose from, including: robot wars, robot farming, and maze solving.

Students are encouraged to learn by doing and trying out their own ideas. They are given plenty of guidance when needed, but at the same time we tend not to “teach from the front”. We like to give students the opportunity to be creative and make their own mistakes.

We are currently offering an extra hour free for a half day booking, which is £300.

Or a free Arduino board with a full day booking for £400.

(Please note some travel expenses may apply depending on which area you are in, please get in touch for details.)

If you are interested please hurry as we can only run this offer until the end of May 2018. We are nearly fully booked for summer and are now also taking bookings for the new academic year.

For more information and to book please contact me directly on 07703 294 942, email: zan@zobotics.tech or visit the website: www.zobotics.tech

Scroll down to get your FREE pdf download of  ‘Ideas to get your pupils forming Simple Sentences’  from the popular resource, ‘Daily Sentence Structures’ 

Children typically know exactly what they want to do and say at any given time, which can be very time-efficient when it comes to creative writing. Yet some pupils lack the confidence to apply their creativity in a way which responds to the demands of the English programmes of studies. Which is why we have produced Daily Sentence Structures.

The Daily Sentence Structures approach raises attainment in writing across all abilities and covers many of the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum, including: grammatical structures, creating effect, using commas to mark phrases and clauses, sustaining and developing ideas logically, varying sentence structures, and using semi-colons and dashes.

The exercises have been broken down into 15-minute sessions making them ideal for use at the start of the day before lessons commence, at the beginning of a lesson as a warm-up activity, or at the end of a lesson in the rare occasion that you have 15 minutes to spare.

For more information or to order Daily Sentence Structures for £18.50 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-book, or both for a discounted price of £22.40, visit https://www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/daily-sentence-structures-667.

Alternatively, you can place an order:

  • over the phone on 01449 766629
  • by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
  • by fax on 01449 767122
  • or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND

Click here to get your free pdf download of  ‘Ideas to get your pupils forming Simple Sentences’

Debate Chamber Summer Schools 2018

The Debate Chamber Summer Schools offer students 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 our older age-group, about the level of difficulty one might expect in the first year at university), but a relaxed atmosphere, with plenty of discussion and debate, creates the perfect environment for getting to grips with new ideas. Working in small groups (usually around 14 students per group) over several days means a real chance to get to know tutors and fellow students, and to explore the topics or questions that particularly interest each individual.

We offer a wide range of subjects, including medicine, law, science and mathematics, but here I would like to take the opportunity to highlight a few of our most popular events, all aimed at students with a keen interest in understanding more about current affairs, society, and the world around them.

Humanities and Social Science Highlights for 2018:

The International Relations Summer School for students aged 15-18. This course will introduce the central theories involved in the academic study of IR – realism, liberalism and constructivism – and will look at a range of detailed case studies in order to apply, test and explore these theories. Topics covered will include military intervention, international law, development aid, feminism and IR, and regional sessions looking at China and the Middle East, and at the European response to the migration crisis. Students will be encouraged throughout to consider their own responses to international affairs, and to engage actively with material through strategic exercises, policy briefings and debates.

See more details about the International Relations Summer School – https://debatechamber.com/project/international-relations-summer-school/

The Economics Summer School for students aged 15-18. Focusing on political economy and macro-economics, the five-day Economics Summer School will include seminars on a diverse range of topics, from financial and currency markets to an analysis of economic inequality and its potential remedies. We will also be looking at development strategies in emerging economies, and on the impact of Brexit on the UK and other economies. The focus throughout will be on debate and discussion, and on encouraging and supporting students to engage critically and actively with the material.

See more details about the Economics Summer School –https://debatechamber.com/project/economics-summer-school/

The Politics Summer School for students aged 15-18. This five-day course will look at both political theory and political science, giving students a great introduction to undergraduate level study. It will include seminars on questions of political philosophy – including human rights, representation, and civil liberties – workshops on what we as citizens can do to influence policy areas that we care about, and political science workshops on the emergence of populist movements and changing voter behavior in both the UK and US. The Summer School will conclude with a full day Mock Parliament, with participants taking the role of MPs, forming parties, making policy and debating legislation.

See more details about the Politics Summer School – https://debatechamber.com/project/politics-summer-school

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 2018. 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 https://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 https://www.debatechamber.com/, call us on 0845 519 4827, or email info@debatechamber.com. Places will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

What is the simplest way to make Assemblies engaging, relevant and also varied… day after day after day?

There undoubtedly are some teachers who can create ceaselessly varied and engaging assemblies which are also relevant to the moment, and to such colleagues all I can say is, “I salute you.”

And I say this because I know just how hard it is to undertake every other duty one has in the school, and keep coming up with assemblies that really will inspire the children and develop their thinking.

It was as a result of this thought that some of us began to build a collection of assembly stories that could meet the social and emotional needs of children.

Stories that would encourage a whole school focus on the values we wished to present.  In fact what we produced, and have been developing ever since, is a set of over 350 assemblies which are instantly available, and fully scripted, with new assemblies being added every month.

Then we divided the assemblies into 12 categories along with an index which allows you to choose your assembly by topics as diverse as community, citizenship, saints’ days, black history, social and emotional stories, and so on with each assembly having its own supporting presentation material and a set of ready-to-use key word cards.

The result is The Assembly Box.

You can read a full example of one of our assemblies by following this link. Additionally you can see the complete list of the 12 main categories and from there you can go into each category and see the details of all the assemblies on offer.

All the details are available at http://www.assemblybox.co.uk where you can also order online.  The complete set of all of our assemblies costs £149 (+ VAT). If you have any questions please email enquiries@assemblybox.co.uk

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

The Casio FX 85GT+ and the Logik LK 83XP are excellent choices for your

GCSE maths students.  They  benefit from battery power with solar power back-up  to provide extra reassurance for your students. Both calcs have a “natural display” function which enables students to enter expressions and data as shown in textbooks.  As you might expect,  the build quality of these calcs is excellent and both benefit from a THREE year warranty to provide peace of mind for teachers and students alike.   (excludes damage to the LCD).

The Logik  LK 83XP has similar features to the Casio FX 85GT+  but without the “verify” and “recurring decimal” functions. Both calcs  feature  prime factorisation, random numbers, algebraic logic, multi-line replay, standard deviation, log / anti-log, hyperbolics etc and have a three year warranty and are available at short notice from Signpost Educational Ltd.,

The  Logik LK 83XP  is available from £ 5.25 each  ex vat while the  Casio

FX 85GT+  starts at £ 7.75 each ex vat.

In addition,  with orders for 100 or more of the LK 83XP   you have the option of obtaining the popular  “Value Maths set”   for  just 95p  (ex vat)

Normal  price  £ 1.25 (ex vat)

For more information & prices plus other products please visit:

    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

PS.  orders are usually delivered within 1-3 working days

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

It’s quite possible that many people who are not familiar with the world of education…and schools in particular, would find it hard to believe that some students turn up for their lessons without the basic necessities such as a pen, pencil, ruler etc.

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 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 lessons 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

The message of who you are and what you represent always connects directly to how you look. 

When it comes to “presence” – that most indefinable of concepts – many would agree there is neither start, nor end.

For “presence”, meaning the way your cricketers look on the training field as much as in the match, from the way they appear when getting off the coach to their behaviour in the nets, comes both from a conscious attempt decision to “look good” and the state of mind that lies behind that decision.

It is something we see time and again with the top cricketers.   But how on earth does one convince young players that the way they look, the way they approach training, and the way they play, are all interlinked?

Some get it straight away: they practice hard and play well, always looking the part.  But for others, realising the link between how one looks and how one plays the game is a longer journey.

Our view is simple: the way young cricketers look, be it in training, on the way to a game, or within the match itself, deeply affects how well they play, simply because there is a direct link between a person’s look and a person’s state of mind.

In fact, one could argue that getting students to appreciate that the way they look is as important as the way they behave, is a way of helping to turn a modest player into a good player, and a good player into one of the best of players.

One only has to look at the pride with which the best players wear their team’s colours to see how it works.

Click on the image below to access our full catalogue.

catalogue image

I look forward to hearing from you.

Simon Lambourne
Owner/Director, Chiltern Leisure Limited

What is really going on in the Middle East?

Is the fighting about land, power, religion? Why are Russian, Turkish, and Iranian soldiers in Syria? Who is fighting whom? And what about ISIS (Daesh), Hamas, Hezbollah?

The talks are given by two speakers together:

  1. Sami Hussein, an expert in Middle East affairs, former adviser to the British and American governments, gives balanced explanations of these complex questions in a simple, easy to understand way.
  2. A historian, also knowledgeable in current affairs, who explains the background and history of what is happening today.

We can offer talks at your school on mutually agreed dates, and will adapt to size of group and length of session.

Cost: free.

For more details and descriptions of other talks: www.middleeastedu.co.uk/talks

To book or for more details: office@middleeastedu.co.uk

Middle East Education is a Registered Charity, and a non-profit-making Limited Company

Generating income whilst effectively maintaining the pupils’ interest in PE and sport

Many schools report that increasing the accessibility and variety of PE and sport offered in school allows them to create new and exciting lessons, with the added bonus of attracting local teams and programmes to rent the schools facilities out of schools hours, generating much needed additional income!

Kate Jones, Project Manager at Sport Surfaces UK explains,

“It can be hard to maintain the heightened interest levels generated at the start of any new facilities or sports programme.

To help we have developed a website that shows how a schools PE and multifunctional sports facility can be enhanced by following a few simple steps; including careful planning in the development phase of a new sports hall floor, the innovative use of new sports equipment and the careful maintenance and use of existing equipment. All of which make a huge difference to long-term pupil engagement and participation.

Over the years we have seen an increase in schools introducing new sports, dance or other activities, with particular emphasis on supporting and including the least active children. Research has shown that exercise is directly linked to brain development and academic performance, as well as tackling obesity, so the focus has to be on inspiring and encouraging all pupils in take part in regular physical activity”.

If you would like to learn more on how you can plan, deliver and maintain your sports facilities, to encourage more children to get active whilst also making your facilities the first choice for local sports teams, please go to www.sportssurfacesuk.com or give us a call on 01244 321200, we would love to hear from you.

 

Get your FREE copy of “SCOTT’S STORY: TACKLING CHILD MENTAL HEALTH”

‘I WAS HUNGRY AND YOU FED ME, THIRSTY AND YOU GAVE ME A DRINK; I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU RECEIVED ME INTO YOUR HOMES.’ (MATTHEW 25:35)

Children are typically able to show understanding and compassion towards children with physical disabilities, yet this same understanding and compassion cannot always be seen towards children with an ‘invisible disability’, such as poor mental health.

Which is what makes it so important to not only make children aware of poor mental health, but to also make children aware of how poor mental health can affect a child’s behaviour – so they can know to show understanding and compassion towards them.

Which is why Brilliant Publications is giving away one of the 50 assembly stories from the popular Modern Christian Assembly Stories volume, to whomever is interested.

This particular assembly story is entitled Scott’s story: tackling child mental health, and shows the struggles and behaviours of a young boy who is dealing with poor mental health.

Alongside the assembly story we have also provided some teacher notes which include links to PSMC and propose a range of questions that you can ask your pupils to get them involved. There is also a short explanation as to what the Christian view is on the topic, as well as a link to a passage from the bible (Matthew 25:35) and a prayer that you can incorporate into the assembly, if you choose.

Click here for the FREE assembly story and accompanying teacher notes

For more information or to order Modern Christian Assembly Stories for £18.50 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-book or both for £22.40,please visit

www.brilliantpublications.co.
uk/book/modern-christian-assembly-stories-710
.

Alternatively, you can contact us by phone on 01449 766629 or by email at orders@tradecounter.co.uk

What is the easiest way of making cricket ever more popular at school?

We make choices.  All of us, all the time.  And as we get older, so most of the time our choices become increasingly rational.  And that fact emphasises the reality that teenagers in particular are highly emotional beings.

Quite simply they can choose x rather than y for reasons that are, quite often, unfathomable.

We may notice this when a pupil or student chooses to focus on (for example) athletics or volleyball, or even disco dancing, rather than say, cricket, even though he or she is potentially one of the best cricketers the school has had in the past ten years.

It is clearly not talent that directs such a person away from his/her natural talent and into something else.  Rather it normally is emotion, feeling, friends, gossip, parents, TV programmes, what someone said on Facebook…

So how can we challenge such pressure?

One approach which has been adopted by a growing number of schools is to ensure that these young people feel good about themselves each time they practise and each time they play cricket.

In this regard, having the opportunity to wear professional cricket teamwear both when training and when playing a competitive game is singularly helpful.  True, it doesn’t directly affect their performance, but it does affect their mental attitude towards the game.  And that can and will affect performance.

Such an approach also encourages those with more modest levels of natural ability to extend themselves, and this is why Chiltern Leisure exists – to bring cricket teamwear to schools in which quality of presentation is deemed important.

The range includes wide choices of cricketwear, in-house personalisation, with delivery on-time, every time.  It even includes training and leisurewear designed to be worn on the way to and from matches and on tours.

Our online catalogue runs to 24 pages of cricket wear; there is an index on page two.  Plus, bottom right the zoom button, for a close-up view of anything that grabs your attention.  For a printed copy of the catalogue or if you have any questions about any of the products we offer, please do call 01844 338941 or email enquiries@chiltern-leisure.co.uk

You can make an appointment to meet at our showroom near junction 8a (Oxford Services) of the M40, where we can show you samples of cricketwear and discuss your precise needs.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Simon Lambourne
Owner/Director, Chiltern Leisure Limited

How many provisional items do you have in next year’s budget?

There should be some items in a budget that are provisional – money that will only be spent if there is evidence that it will be very worthwhile.  One of the most important should be to prove the effectiveness of play therapy, if you are not already using it.

Play therapy not only helps pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues, it reduces stress on teaching staff caused by disruptive or ‘difficult’ pupils.  It also improves their learning capabilities: better listening, better concentration, etc.

Our trainee placement scheme could help with your budget because your school can have up to 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at virtually no cost.  This will show you how well the Integrative Holistic model works in your school.

About 1700 primary schools are already using Play Therapy UK therapists to support pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues.  Between 75% and 84% show a positive change.

Is there a snag?  Of course, there always is.  We have about 300 trainees from 13 training centres in all parts of the UK this year. So it depends upon one being available in your area.  But it’s worth applying.

If you have any budget left over this year for training, a good investment would be to fund a member of your staff to train as a Registered Certified Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills. You’ll recover the cost very quickly.

Email me personally at mokijep@majemail.com  for details of both opportunities.

More information on play therapy at:

www.playtherapy.org.uk

www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

Kind regards

Monika Jephcott – Chief Executive Play Therapy UK

Free Active School Review Tool

We all know that inactivity is a major issue amongst our young people – a report issued recently showed that in the worse parts of the country 44% of 11-year olds were overweight or obese, this reduced to 25% in the slimmest borough, but still these figures are alarming.

Active 30 – how will it benefit my school?

A primary school child sits for an average of 4 to 5 hours per day – this can be detrimental to their health. Activity not only makes them fitter and healthier, but it can considerably boost cognitive learning and academic performance too.  Small bursts of regular activity throughout the day will contribute to:

  • Higher grades
  • Improved behaviour
  • More focus
  • Happier and healthier children

As you’ll be aware, Primary Schools are being asked to ensure that every child gets a minimum of 30 minutes of structured activity every day as part of Active 30 – but where does a busy school even begin! 

Download your FREE Active School Review Tool…

This fantastic new tool can be used to review, assess and implement a successful active schools programme, or add to your existing programme: 

  • Activity Planner: illustrates how active each year group is throughout your school day and highlights the areas of the curriculum that are currently sedentary and have potential to be more active
  • Activity Review: asks you to rate your school using a RAG traffic light system to assess what is currently happening around activity
  • Action Plan: requires you to think about what you want to implement and how you can prepare for this.

Get your free copy TODAY!

Simply reply to this email with your school name, and we will send you a free copy of the Active School Review Tool.

Find out more…

If you’d like to find out more about how imoves can help your school become more active by upskilling your teachers, then get in touch:

You can also create a free trial account where you can try 5 active lessons for free – register here >

Girls have been outperforming boys in all the main attainment indicators for almost 100 years. 

So what can we do?

When the DfE released its figures to show that girls are outperforming boys in all the key attainment indicators at key stage 4, the question was obviously raised, “what do we do about it?”

But when one thinks about it, it is not just the fact that boys are doing worse at schools than girls, but there is something else going on.

For we live in a country in which 68% of MPs are male, and only 32% of members of the cabinet are women.  Which means not just that that male opinion continues to dominate social policy and law making, but also this comes from the minority of boys who keep up with girls in formal education.

Of course data like this needs to be considered carefully.  We need to think about what it is like to be a boy in school today, and to think about how we can create boy friendly facilities to start overcoming the recurring fact that boys in general under achieve.

In short we need to be aware of the invisible barriers that not only exist but which also reduce the chances of a boy achieving less than he could, just because he is a boy.

And what is perhaps particularly worrying as we do this is the recognition that 98 years ago an educational pamphlet was circulating among teachers with the cover reading “The Boy Problem”.  It seems we’ve been fighting this issue since the end of the first world war, and it is still there.

To help overcome this dilemma we have evolved a day long course which can be delivered to up to 25 staff in your school (although higher numbers are possible by special arrangement).

This course focuses on two overarching themes which relate to this issue and which might be summarised as “The Boy Problem” and “Boys Don’t Cry”.  You can find out more about this course on our website at  http://mengage.co.uk/ensuring-boys-matter/

If you would like to discuss your specific situation or find out more about the course, please contact me on 01905 570180 or on 07788 725318, or if you prefer email me at liam@mengage.co.uk

Liam Kernan

When students judge totally by first impressions then the first impressions need to be good

As you will have noticed, for many young people today’s world is flip, flip, flip.  Flip through comments on Facebook, and even shorter notes on Twitter.  As for Instagram…

As a result the 350,000 words of Bleak House and four hours of Hamlet are in a different reality.  The entire concept is incomprehensible when everything is reduced to an instant.

So how do we persuade pupils and students to read the classics?

Our research shows that one key point is that pupils and students do judge books by their covers.  And so in response we have produced our range of classic novels with covers that will appeal to teenagers and at the price of just £1.88 each.

And just in case you think the price means we’ve compromised on the text in some way we’ll send you a free copy (we don’t even charge for delivery) so you can see what the quality really is.  Just email us at the address below.

In total we have over 400 titles in print, including over 230 works of classic literature, all with the full text, nearly all with exclusive introductions and notes, and with no minimum order.

If you would like to see a list of around 50 of the most frequently used set texts which are available direct to schools at the special price of £1.88 that is available here.

To see the full list of our titles in print we have a page with those details as well.  Plus there is currently a 25% discount on all the prices shown.

If you would like a free without obligation sample of one of our classics, just 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

Image removed by sender.

Classroom chairs with a TWENTY  year warranty…

… can save your school or college hundreds or possibly thousands of pounds  AND eliminate time wasted in trying to repair damaged chairs. 

Improvements in  design and manufacture  have  meant that the quality and durability of student chairs have improved significantly during the past few years.  The result is that it’s now possible to obtain classroom  chairs with a TWENTY  year warranty.

That’s up to TWENTY years with NO replacement costs and NO repair bills…which,  in a large school or college can save  hundreds of pounds.

Designed not only to be comfortable, durable and virtually vandal proof but also to encourage good posture, the “Postura Plus” chair is available in sixteen attractive colours and six sizes,  making it ideal for use across different departments and in both primary and secondary sectors.

For a limited period, until March 20  2018 it’s possible to order Postura Plus chairs at 2017 prices ……. a saving of at least 50p per chair on what are already very competitive prices.  Please note that to take advantage of this  offer you must take delivery before 30 March 2018.  So, if you have been considering adding to your stock of Postura chairs or perhaps introducing them for the first time here is an opportunity to do so and save money at the same time.

For more information about these chairs please visit the website  

www.centraleducational.co.uk 

 If you’d like to discuss their suitability for your organisation or to chat about a possible order please call 020 7515 1797 and ask to speak to Martin Evans who will be pleased to help.

Central Educational Supplies Ltd can also be contacted by email on

info@centraleducational.co.uk       or fax:  020 7515 4420

Central Educational Supplies Ltd.,  PO Box 999  London, E14 6SH

Helping Your School’s Budget

Play therapy not only helps pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues, it reduces stress on teaching staff caused by disruptive or ‘difficult’ pupils.

Our trainee placement scheme could help with your budget because your school can have up to 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at virtually no cost.

About 1700 primary schools are already using Play Therapy UK therapists to support pupils with emotional, behaviour and mental health issues.  Between 75% and 84% show a positive change.

Is there a snag?  Of course, there always is.  We have about 300 trainees from 13 training centres in all parts of the UK this year. So it depends upon one being available in your area.  But it’s worth applying.

If you have any budget left over this year for training, a good investment would be to fund a member of your staff to train as a Registered Certified Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills. You’ll recover the cost very quickly.

Email me personally at mokijep@majemail.com  for details of both opportunities.

More information on play therapy at: www.playtherapy.org.uk and www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

Kind regards

Monika Jephcott – Chief Executive Play Therapy UK

Analysing progress in the Primary Progress toolkit 

Being able to analyse pupils’ progress during the year is an important requirement: can you do this satisfactorily in your current tracker?

Our Primary Progress toolkit now provides three main ways of doing this:

– the new whole school Overview Report will calculate progress between two assessment dates, which you can set, using a scoring system where progress between two steps in your grade system equals one point. You can also set what you consider to be high, medium or low progress, which you can change during the year, using two drop-down selectors,

– you can also set termly Age Related Expectations for each year or class and the ARE report will show you how the year/class as a whole is progressing towards those expectations. This also appears in the whole school Overview Report,

– finally, you can set individual pupil targets,because for some the class/year Age Related Expectations will be inappropriate. From these the toolkit will calculate overall year/class targets which appear in the Subject Attainment report, so that you can see how each year/class is moving towards these targets. The individual targets are also displayed when you look at individual attainment, so again you can see how individual pupils are progressing towards their targets.

Together, these facilities provide a pretty comprehensive and powerful way of tracking in year progress.

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with the way your current assessment system tracks progress, or if you have set up a system in Excel and are finding it time-consuming to maintain, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at https://www.primaryprogresstoolkit.info/analysing-results

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, please email me at statsed@gmail.com.

We can give you free access to a demo site, where you can try out the toolkit for yourself or we can set you up with a month’s free trial, using your own data, assessment grades etc.

Roger Watson

Statistics for Education Ltd, 5 Bridge Street, Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, CM23 2JU
Tel: 01279 652183; Email: statsed@gmail.com