The impact of technology on education

Technology has been changing the way that lessons are taught for a number of years now. The introduction of new digital teaching resources has opened up a world of possibilities for teachers and students alike.

We currently live in a time of constant technological advancements and have seen rapid progression over the last few decades, but how has education been impacted by these changes and what can we expect to see in the future? Together with print management software providers United Carlton, we take a look at how technology is changing education now and how these advancements will impact teaching in the future.

How is technology changing education now?

The old blackboard and chalk has been abandoned in favour of digital solutions. A variety of learning establishments have adopted technology, including universities, high schools, colleges and nurseries. As technology advances further, it is proving more useful in providing pupils with a well-rounded learning experience. Pupils are now exposed to technology from a young age, which allows them to learn essential skills for the working world.

Research by Barbie Clarke of the Family, Kids and Youth research group showed that 68% of primary schools and 68% of secondary schools had adopted electronic tablets in the classroom. 9% of these participants reported that there was a device available for each student in attendance. Of the remaining schools, 45% reported that they would consider introducing such devices in the future. A study conducted in 2014 found that there were 430,000 tablets being used in educational establishments, with this figure expected to grow to more than 900,000 by 2016. The results of this study were never released however, and it was not updated for 2018.

But what impact is this technology having on lessons exactly? Regardless of the subject, lessons are now a lot more interactive and as a result, pupil participation in lessons has increased. Electronic devices have been shown to allow pupils to retain more information when compared to textbooks. These devices are also highly adaptable, so they can be used to cater to a number of different learning styles. Teachers also benefit from this, as they can search for the materials that they need using the internet, which helps them to plan lessons.

Webinars or online lessons are also becoming more common. Teachers can now connect with their students remotely. This method is mainly used by colleges and universities, however it can be used with younger children to help them with a specific subject. Online exams are also becoming more prevalent, which demonstrates the shift that we have seen over the last few years towards digital methods of teaching.

How will technology change education in the future?

It has been suggested that in the future, artificial intelligence (AI) devices could play a big role in education. Sir Anthonly Seldon from the University of Buckingham said that the introduction of AI over the next ten years will have a huge impact on teaching methods. He predicts that although teachers will still be present in classrooms, they will take on the role of assistant while the lessons are taught by AI devices. This would shift the focus away from teaching and mean that teachers would only be present to monitor classroom behaviour and help out if needed.

Seldon said “It will open up the possibility of an Eton or Wellington education for all”.

It is predicted that AI technology will allow students to learn based on their individual needs, as these devices are able to learn how quickly a student can learn so that they get the most out of their lessons.

As technology continues to advance and spread, it is clear that it will have significant effects on the way that the education system works and on its future development!

 

Exploring the three major monotheistic religions

Now the exams are over for this year, start the course for next year’s GCSE students with a simple introductory talk on the three monotheistic faiths, or a detailed analysis of their differences and similarities, from an expert with knowledge of Arabic (very rare in this country) and Islam, or Christian or Jewish speakers.

These talks are free.

Please email us at office@middleeastedu.co.uk with choices of possible dates and topics .

See our website: www.middleeastedu.co.uk for details of possible topics, speakers, feedback, etc.

Dates are available this term and throughout the next academic year.

How can one tell if a school is functioning near to its fullest potential? 

It is an interesting question, and one that is perhaps not asked very often.  Although discussions about school improvement and school efficiency have been going on for a long time very few educators raise such questions as:

How can we tell if we have reached the school’s potential?  If we haven’t how can we reach that potential more rapidly?

In short, asking the question: could the school, given the local conditions, financial restrictions and the like, be doing better, and if so, what steps can we practically take to get there?

One way to answer this is to consider what it is that schools which are functioning to their fullest potential have, which other schools don’t?

And one answer to that, which many would give, is that a fully functioning school working at the highest level has a very highly empowered staff.

Which of course is helpful, but much as it leads to an answer to the question, it also raises another question: how do you know that your staff are fully empowered?

My view, and that of my colleagues, is that this is a very difficult question to answer, not least because we are all used to dealing with our colleagues in our school, and it is often tempting to assume that colleagues are as empowered as they can be.

You encourage them to come forward with new ideas and thoughts, there is open discussion in staff and management meetings… is there really any more that could be done?

My colleagues and I have been working on this issue for some time, and I’m happy to share our findings and conclusions with you. You can see what we have discovered on our presentation.

Why do we have holes?

A new survey by the Institute of Hole Technology considers the universality of the hole and what we can do with them.

There is a gigantic hole in the universe. Not a black hole, but a gigantic region without galaxies or stars or anything else.  Which is considered by those who know of such things to be a bit odd.

There are also holes in my favourite pair of tennis shoes making them unbearable in wet weather.  That’s not odd but it is annoying.

And every single road I drive along on my way to school each day is covered in holes.

Indeed so bad is it where I live that I wrote to the local council and suggested that if they lowered the level of all the roads in the area by four inches they would get rid of all the holes without having to do any road repairs at all.

Sadly they chose not to reply to my email.

But what, I hear you cry, does this have to do with your school?

The answer is the arrival of Tarmax, an instant and permanent repair product for all types of damaged and eroded pathways and roads, to any depth and for any size of hole.

Now this is important, because technically anyone who damages a car or bike or person while driving or walking over any road owned by the school could make a bit of a fuss.  So could the parent of a child who slips in a hole and suffers as a result.

Especially since Tarmax is such a simple product to use, so it can be used almost anywhere and instantly: driveways, footpaths, car parks, ramps, floors…

What’s more, not only does Tarmax reduce accidents, but it reduces congestion while you wait to get the hole repaired, for once applied the path or roadway can be used at once.

There is no mixing, primer, heat or any of 101 other things that you might expect, and you don’t have to wait for certain weather to apply it. There are more details, including a new special offer for you at https://www.maxam.co.uk/the-schools-tarmax/

Or to simply ask specific questions relating to your own premises please call 0800 0922 923,  or email: john.edwards@maxam.co.uk

Looking forward to doing my very best for you.

Make sure your nursery is at the front of the queue

At last!  Parliament is listening to the needs of Early Years. A report ‘Mental Health in Childhood’ was published on 26th June by an All-Party Parliamentary Group.  This is expected to influence over the next few months government funding and policies to transform children’s mental health.

When they are, there is expected to be a rush to train or recruit play therapy practitioners who meet the report’s recommendations, to work with young children showing signs of social, emotional and behaviour problems.

To get ahead, you can take advantage, at virtually no cost, of the APAC/Leeds Beckett University placement scheme for trainees.  During the Autumn term we expect to have 200 new trainees available for a placement.

The scheme will provide 100 hours of therapy for your children at no cost for one year.  They will provide a complete service including briefing your staff, assessments, parent interviews and communications as well regular activity and outcome reports meeting all professional and data protection requirements.

The only ‘costs’ to your school are the provision of a suitable room with equipment and materials which you probably already have and a few hours of staff time for referral and review meetings.

We have thirteen training venues throughout the UK so whilst we cannot guarantee that a placement will be available in your area, there’s a very good chance, especially if you apply now.

Of course, as an alternative, you can guarantee a trainee by funding a member of your staff.

Please contact me at mokijep@majemail.com for more information on placement and training opportunities.

Do your colleagues know you’re here?

One of the nice things about UK Education News is that there is no tracking going on – those of us running the service don’t know who you are, where you are, what you are reading etc.

What’s more, as you will have seen, the site is also totally and utterly free, and we intend to keep it that way.

But the fact you are reading this means that you are on UK Education News, and hopefully enjoying the service that we offer.  And so we’d like ask you a favour.

Could you send an email to one or two of your colleagues that says something like the example below.   (You might find it a bit cheesy so please do write something of your own; I’m sure you’ll do an infinitely better job that I can).

———————-

To colleagues in the school:

I’m not sure if you read the free rolling news service UK Education News.  But I do, and find it quite interesting.   And the people who run the service have suggested that those of us who use the free service might pass a note on to one or two colleagues and friends to tell them about it.

It’s a site that carries education news headlines from the BBC, Guardian, Telegraph etc.  You can simply click on a headline and then read the full story.

The service is at www.ukeducationnews.co.uk

I think it is quite good, and it really is free, so I’ve agreed, just this once, to pass this message on.

———————-

Now that may be far too horribly cheesy for you to pass on, but if you could rephrase it in any way you want, and pass it on that would be good.

And please do remember, there is no tracking going on.  We don’t know who goes on the site and we’re not asking for your email address nor that of your colleagues.

If you don’t want to pass this on, that’s OK too.  Although it is nice if you can.

Tony Attwood
Editor, UK Education News.

Education Quizzes – A Great Resource for All your Students!

What would you say if you were offered something worth 1,000s of pounds for less than £100? You’d think there was a catch, right? But that’s exactly what Education Quizzes is offering to schools and there’s no catch at all.

For a yearly cost of just £95 plus VAT, every student and teacher in your school can use the Education Quizzes resource as often as they like. We have 3,264 quizzes, each one written by teachers. They follow the National Curriculum and cover 18 subjects from KS1 all the way up to GCSE.

The quizzes can be used to test students, as homework assignments or as a valuable revision tool when exams are coming up. The usual price is £35 per year for each user but, no matter how many students are in your school, all of them can use Education Quizzes without having to pay a penny themselves.

Still not sure? Then sign up for a free one-month trial. We’ll send your school an invoice but, if you don’t find Education Quizzes useful, simply ignore it. We’ll cancel the account after 30 days and you’ll never hear from us again.

To find out more, visit the Schools page at Education Quizzes, email admin@educationquizzes.com or call us on 01406 371799.

Why are Russian and Turkish troops and Hezbollah fighters in Syria? 

Why is Iran so interested in keeping its own and Hezbollah fighters in Syria?
Why is Israel stopping Hamas members entering Israel?

For answers to these and other topical questions, book a balanced talk by a Muslim expert together with a Jewish speaker, both with a deep understanding and knowledge of the current situation.

These talks are free.

Please email us at office@middleeastedu.co.uk to discuss available dates and your specific agenda.

See our website: www.middleeastedu.co.uk for details of possible topics, speakers, feedback, etc.

Dates are available this term and throughout the next academic year.

This whole new development must be making Beelzebub rather annoyed.

I can’t imagine there are many parents who still use the phrase about the devil finding work for idle hands, not least because the hands of the young are virtually never idle, being endlessly active on their phones.

And in a sense this is the heart of the problem.  When even TV (the curse of previous generations, at least according to earlier generations of parents) is considered passé, how does one encourage more reading of the classics from an era which was pre-TV?

But I believe we should, and indeed I still retain the belief that reading as a natural and normal enjoyable hobby will always be with us, not least because none of the previous dire warnings about the end of literature have come to pass.

Cinema, television, video machines, the internet, computer games: each has offered a new threat to an interest in reading by the young but as one entertainment is replaced by another, books and reading still remain.

Indeed I am told that the age of the average Facebook user is now rising so fast that by 2021 most users of the “platform” (as I have been trained to call it) will actually no longer be with us, and the service will be primarily used by mediums as a way of contacting those who have passed over.

The printed book, however, still going strong after six centuries, will remain.

And this is where Wordsworth Editions come in, as we have a wide range of books from as little as £1.88 each (with no delivery charge and no minimum order) covering authors from Wilkie Collins to Joseph Conrad, Conan Doyle to Mary Shelley.

Books ranging from those that are perfect introductions for teenagers who have forgotten about reading print, to the absolute classics of English literature.  If you want to see our selection of 50 essential texts please do click here.

We also have our offer of a free book just in case you have not come across Wordsworth Editions before.  (Or indeed just in case the notion of books from as little as £1.88 each with free delivery seems just too good to be true.)

So, to receive a free sample of one of our classics without any obligation please do 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.

What is the best way to support students on the autism spectrum with teen issues and relationships?

For many teenagers on the autism spectrum the world of feelings, emotions, relationships, and indeed the whole range of issues related to being a teenager, can be extremely difficult.

While many young people develop their ability to handle these topics and cope with such issues as sexuality, personal hygiene, body image, social drinking, fashion, self-confidence, and so on, for the student on the autism spectrum this can be difficult.

The same is true with everyday situations such as going to the pub, responding to suggestions that a friend is gay, speaking in public, having a tattoo, etc, etc.

As a result your SEN students can require a bit more support if they are to become able to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout adolescence and adulthood and deal with all the issues that can make the teenage years problematic.

Which is why we have devised the “Relationships” series and its companion “Teen Issues” series of resources.

These are comprehensive resources offering guidance to teenagers with a reading age of around seven. The approach is one of being sympathetic to the way that autistic teenagers and others with related special needs typically view the world.

Each series consists of:

  • Two copies of each of six story books which support the ASDAN Transition Challenge and Towards Independence Life Skills courses.
  • A CD-ROM providing electronic versions of the six books, making it ideal for interactive whiteboard presentations and for students who would also benefit from listening to the text. It is also possible to edit and save the text to make your own story, create differentiated texts, and personalise the text.
  • Supporting resources for teachers including page-by-page notes for all the stories and assessment resources (feedback sheets and student record sheets).
  • An extensive range of activity worksheets and interactive activities that encourage reading comprehension.

Each of the two series come in packs costing £139 plus VAT (save 10%). Individual elements from the two packs are also available separately. There is information on the contents of each pack through these links:

 Relationships Series          Teen Issues Series

Alternatively, please email info@senpress.co.uk or call me on 01582 833205.

Do your colleagues know you’re here?

One of the nice things about UK Education News is that there is no tracking going on – those of us running the service don’t know who you are, where you are, what you are reading etc.

What’s more, as you will have seen, the site is also totally and utterly free, and we intend to keep it that way.

But the fact you are reading this means that you are on UK Education News, and hopefully enjoying the service that we offer.  And so we’d like ask you a favour.

Could you send an email to one or two of your colleagues that says something like the example below.   (You might find it a bit cheesy so please do write something of your own; I’m sure you’ll do an infinitely better job that I can).

———————-

To colleagues in the school:

I’m not sure if you read the free rolling news service UK Education News.  But I do, and find it quite interesting.   And the people who run the service have suggested that those of us who use the free service might pass a note on to one or two colleagues and friends to tell them about it.

It’s a site that carries education news headlines from the BBC, Guardian, Telegraph etc.  You can simply click on a headline and then read the full story.

The service is at www.ukeducationnews.co.uk

I think it is quite good, and it really is free, so I’ve agreed, just this once, to pass this message on.

———————-

Now that may be far too horribly cheesy for you to pass on, but if you could rephrase it in any way you want, and pass it on that would be good.

And please do remember, there is no tracking going on.  We don’t know who goes on the site and we’re not asking for your email address nor that of your colleagues.

If you don’t want to pass this on, that’s OK too.  Although it is nice if you can.

Tony Attwood
Editor, UK Education News.

Clearing the confusion –  Pupils’ Emotional Well-being and Mental Health responsibilities

If you are completely clear about your school’s responsibilities for your pupils’ emotional well-being and mental health and the best ways of meeting them regarding:

  • Therapeutic as compared to educational support
  • The need to use practice based evidence
  • Ensuring that the therapeutic support of pupils is covered in your updated Data Protection policy

Congratulations – read no further!  If not:

Therapeutic as compared to educational support

There are the two different responsibilities for primary schools each requiring rather different sets of skills:

  1. Pupils with social, emotional, behaviour or diagnosable mental health issues that are impairing their learning capabilities and their future life prospects.  These make up on average 20% of all pupils in the UK.  They require individual therapeutic help.
  2. Teaching good mental health for all pupils as a part of the curriculum.

Unfortunately, some schools are using programmes that meet ii) to put a ‘tick in the box’ for i).  Even worse some others are using school staff with inadequate training by on-line or videos and with no clinical supervision to carry out therapeutic work on the basis that it’s a low cost option.  This can be dangerous for the children.  If there is a complaint against someone who is not on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA) or registered with the HCPC for working with children the complaint will come directly to the school – with possible devastating consequence.  You wouldn’t send pupils to an unregistered doctor, dentist or nurse would you?

For more information about managing this risk contact Monika on: mokijep@majemail.com

The need to use practice based evidence

The Green Paper of Transforming Children’s Mental Health referred to the need for evidence based practice but didn’t specify what this should be.  The existing medical models of evidence bases are not suitable for psycho-social interventions.  There is a crisis of reproducibility.  However, the Integrated Holistic model, developed in the UK has an evidence base of over 59,000 measures collected over 12 years clearly showing the positive outcomes of between 74% and 84% that have been achieved year on year for a large variety of presenting conditions. As observed by teachers and parents.

For more information about practice based evidence or the Integrative Holistic model contact Jeff on: jefferyht@majemail.com

Ensuring that the therapeutic support of pupils is covered in your updated Data Protection policy

In updating your school’s Data Protection policy to meet the requirements of GDPR have you included therapeutic data, who processes it, how consent is managed and whom it can be shared with?  Do you have efficient systems in place to deal with requests from data subjects or their proxies and for notification of breaches of confidentiality or loss of data?

If not, we have a check list and model Data Protection policy available at no cost.  Contact Jeff: jefferyht@majemail.com

Hope that this has been helpful.

Kind regards

Monika Jephcott – Chief Executive Play Therapy UK
www.playtherapy.org.uk

Jeff Thomas – Registrar Play Therapy UK
www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

Free worksheet series from Brilliant Publications 

 “Can you see the wind?”

On a windy day go outside with the children and watch streamers blowing. Ask the children whether they can see and feel the effects of the wind on their faces and clothes. Watch the trees and plants move in the wind. 

This is just one of the activities that can be found in the series of worksheets that we are giving away, free of charge, from the popular volume “Science and Technology for the Early Years (2nd Edition)”. Other activities include:

  • Creating a tiny garden from the worksheet Look down
  • Creating an outdoor themed mobile and drawing or painting a picture of the sky from the worksheet Look up
  • Catching the wind in a plastic bag from the worksheet Can you see the wind?
  • Making a travel agency in the role-play area and making and writing postcards from the worksheet Where do you go for a holiday?
  • And much much more!

To request the free worksheet series, simply visit:
www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/pages/render_page/105  

Science and Technology for the Early Years (Edition 2) contains 120 science and technology activities for use in the Foundation stage, along with ideas for designing resource areas to stimulate purposeful play. The activities are clearly laid-out with the Purpose, Resources and Safety points given, as well as ‘Challenges’, which can be used to… read more.

Assessment is an integral part of the book and the activities are linked to the seven areas of learning and development and the Early Learning Goals of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (September 2012), as well as… read more. 

You can order the Science and Technology for the Early Years (Edition 2) on our website for £18.50 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-book or both for a discounted price of £22.40.

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.

What is the biggest obstacle to concentration in the classroom? 

The prime answer to that question is simple: it is a rise in temperature.

Of course, some classrooms have a problem with being too cold, but normally that can be adjusted.  However when we have the issue of rooms getting too hot, there can be a greater problem – especially if the windows won’t open, or when the outside is just as hot as the room.

Worse, in such situations, you will probably have 30 or so bodies producing heat in the room, and indeed by the time everyone’s sweltering, it is increasingly difficult to deal with it.

But there is a quick, easy and inexpensive answer – and it is not just a solution to rising heat during the summer, it is also one that effectively deals with blinding sunlight. Plus also it even acts as insulation, keeping rooms warm in winter months.

This answer involves using Maxam High Reflective Solar Film.

This film, which is very simply applied over the glass, allows a degree of natural sunlight into the room whilst greatly reducing the heat and glare.  It also protects against interior furnishings fading from UV rays.

And there is one further advantage; it makes it much, much harder for anyone to look in from the outside, giving privacy and deterring theft.

Since 1990 Maxam High Reflective Solar Film has been successfully fitted by Site Managers in thousands on schools across the UK. If you too would like to find out more how your premises could also benefit, please click here.

Alternatively if you’d just like to ask a question, receive a sample and information in the post or get a quote, please email me: john.edwards@maxam.co.uk or call 0800 0922 923

Fred Theatre HQ is audition central over the coming weeks

Here at Fred Theatre’s office in Stratford-upon-Avon we’ve reached the latest milestone on the road to preparing for our 2018-19 schools’ tours: casting!

We have four great productions setting out from autumn: A Christmas Carol, Jekyll and Hyde, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet. Over the next few weeks we’ll be auditioning a whole host of actors as we search for the perfect team of six to take on a variety of roles across all four shows.

SIGN-UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS

In order to keep you up-to-date on each production’s progress, we’re launching a newsletter that we’ll be mailing out to schools from late summer. Written for students, teachers and even parents, FRED’S NEWS will be full of accessible insights into the production process and the plays themselves.

All schools making a booking will receive the newsletter by email, in PDF format, and are encouraged to distribute it to students by email or by photocopying.

If you’ve not booked yet but would like to receive examples of the newsletter, email us and we’ll add you to the distribution list (details below).

WHY BOOK WITH FRED THEATRE?

Very many schools across the country are recognising the benefits a live performance can bring to their students. Fred Theatre is committed to helping these schools by providing top quality, competitively priced, in-school performances of GCSE texts.

Here’s what’s coming up and when:

Back for a second run, A CHRISTMAS CAROL is available for in-school performances from 8 October to 14 December 2018. 

Our highly popular production of MACBETH, Shakespeare’s classic tale of ambition, will be touring for the third time next year and is available for in-school performances from 21 January to 15 March 2019.   

Our new adaptation of JEKYLL AND HYDE is available for in-school performances from 22 October 2018 to 15 March 2019.

And, ROMEO AND JULIET is available, due to demand, for in-school performances from 18 February through to Easter.

All our in-school shows are 90 minute adaptations, fresh and exciting re-tellings of the familiar and much-loved stories. Each features a cast of six professional actors. We concentrate on the text and producing a faithful representation of the original—just a little shorter!

All we need to perform at your school is a space approximately 5m x 5m with room (of course) for the audience.

So, why not give your students the advantage of a live performance and reserve with Fred Theatre today?

To find out more, simply e-mail Helen in our office, helen@fred-theatre.co.uk, or call us on 01789 777612. We’ll collect a few details from you and respond with potential dates and a quote. And, that’s the same address to sign-up for the newsletter.

Robert Ball
Artistic Director
fred-theatre.co.uk

PS: We also offer workshops related to the themes of the text and our productions. Helen has more information on these too.

Do your colleagues know you’re here?

One of the nice things about UK Education News is that there is no tracking going on – those of us running the service don’t know who you are, where you are, what you are reading etc.

What’s more, as you will have seen, the site is also totally and utterly free, and we intend to keep it that way.

But the fact you are reading this means that you are on UK Education News, and hopefully enjoying the service that we offer.  And so we’d like ask you a favour.

Could you send an email to one or two of your colleagues that says something like the example below.   (You might find it a bit cheesy so please do write something of your own; I’m sure you’ll do an infinitely better job that I can).

———————-

To colleagues in the school:

I’m not sure if you read the free rolling news service UK Education News.  But I do, and find it quite interesting.   And the people who run the service have suggested that those of us who use the free service might pass a note on to one or two colleagues and friends to tell them about it.

It’s a site that carries education news headlines from the BBC, Guardian, Telegraph etc.  You can simply click on a headline and then read the full story.

The service is at www.ukeducationnews.co.uk

I think it is quite good, and it really is free, so I’ve agreed, just this once, to pass this message on.

———————-

Now that may be far too horribly cheesy for you to pass on, but if you could rephrase it in any way you want, and pass it on that would be good.

And please do remember, there is no tracking going on.  We don’t know who goes on the site and we’re not asking for your email address nor that of your colleagues.

If you don’t want to pass this on, that’s OK too.  Although it is nice if you can.

Tony Attwood
Editor, UK Education News.

Why quizzes are one of the most efficient ways of embodying learning,

… and how you can avoid having to write them

From childhood onwards the majority of people appear to enjoy quizzes – as long as they don’t come with the fear of being made to look foolish if one gets an answer wrong.

Which is rather handy since taking quizzes is a really good way of both gaining more knowledge and ensuring that knowledge already gained is not forgotten.

That in turn just leaves the problem of setting and marking the quizzes – which is exactly why Education Quizzes exists. To help children learn more facts and make them ever easier to recall when needed.

For the past two years we have worked with teachers across the UK to create over 3000 different tests in 18 different subject areas – and these are available free of charge for a limited period.

Each test is available online, so they are always simple to administer. Better still the children can see their mark at once, and see which questions they have answered wrongly.

You can have access to all our tests totally free of charge for one month, using the tests as often as you wish. And to make it really simple there is one login across the school for all the tests, so there are no complicated passwords to remember.

To find out more and have access to all our tests free of charge, please visit our website. You’ll be logged in and able to explore the tests within a couple of minutes.

If you have any questions please do email admin@educationquizzes.com or call 01406 371 799.

From the moment it cracks or breaks, what is the fastest and most cost effective way you can fix a window?

There are several things you probably want to do when a school window is broken, of which probably the most important is to quickly and safely fill the space where the glass used to be.

But there can be problems.  A question of finding the time and tools and having a temporary covering that doesn’t damage window frames. Something that doesn’t involve drilling, sawing or hammering, but which is fixed silently thus avoiding disruption to classes.

A replacement that doesn’t advertise the fact that a window has been broken.

If this solution also works brilliantly in PVC frames, keeps out the wind and rain, lets natural daylight in and can be put in place within a couple of minutes with no specialist skills, then better again.  In fact ideal.

However you might still have a question, such as “is it strong enough to protect the room until such time as the replacement glass can be installed?”  And here again the answer is a resounding yes.

For this material has 1/3 the tensile strength of steel with the highest BS security rating.

In fact it is so good and so quick to install, that many schools now use it to protect windows that are suffering from cracks and minor holes but really don’t need the expense of a completely new pane of glass, thereby preserving valuable resources.

It may sound to you as if some of these claims are almost too good to be true, but the fact is that Maxam175 Glass Repair Film is used to repair around half a million broken windows every year in towns and cities all across the UK, in buildings just like yours!

We invite you to see what it looks like in action, find out how others like you rate it, and read more about how quick it is to install without any tools or technical knowledge by clicking here.

And if you’d like a sample and brochure in the post or you have a specific question please email me on john.edwards@maxam.co.uk or call 0800 0922 923. I’d be delighted to help you further.

Make sure your school is at the front of the queue before the next term starts

The government is taking a number of steps to transform children’s mental health.  The details are planned to be finalised over the next few months.  When they are, there is expected to be a rush to train or recruit play therapy practitioners that meet the new requirements by being on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

You can take advantage, at very little cost, of the APAC/Leeds Beckett University placement scheme for trainees, which meets the requirements of the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists.  As the largest play therapy training organisation in the world we are currently training over 600 therapists.  During the Autumn term we expect to have 200 new trainees looking for a placement.

The scheme will provide 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at no cost for one year.  They will provide a complete service including briefing your teaching staff, assessments, parent interviews and communications as well regular activity and outcome reports meeting all professional and data protection requirements.

The only ‘costs’ to your school are the provision of a suitable room with equipment and materials (about £300) and a few hours of staff time for referral and review meetings

We have thirteen training venues throughout the UK so whilst we cannot guarantee that a placement will be available in your area, there’s a very good chance, especially if you apply now.

Of course, you can guarantee a trainee by funding a member of your staff.

Please contact me at mokijep@majemail.com for more information on placement and training opportunities.

Kind regards

Monika Jephcott – Chief Executive APAC and Play Therapy UK

www.playtherapy.org.uk

www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

What is the most effective way of showing students that science has a dramatic and exciting role to play in the everyday world.

Imagine a group of your students searching a vehicle found at a crime scene.  Given such a chance most students instantly become immersed in this new world, excited and engaged in the scenario evolving around them.

And the moment they find human remains that later need identifying using DNA tests, there is no tearing them away from their activity.

As such, placing students inside the sort of police drama they most likely see on TV,  is an approach which can change a student’s entire attitude towards what science is. And it can do this within a day.

Suddenly the students see science as interesting, relevant to the real world, and exactly the sort of thing they want to be involved in.   Students who haven’t spoken to their parents about school work in years are suddenly can’t wait to reveal what they have been doing.

This is what the “Thinkers in Education” workshops achieve, delivering a wide range of experiences that identify the strengths of each participant while developing an enthusiasm for science and a skill set that will be advantageous in education and the workplace.

Within the workshops there is a strong focus on higher order thinking, team building and communication within science – all assessed and given as immediate feedback to the students and performance reports for the school.

It is a proven formula that can change attitudes and improve performance levels in one day. Moreover, the reports generated can help support your assessment and provide additional evidence for Ofsted Inspections.

Spectacular Saturdays and Holiday Workshops are two of the easiest ways to introduce the students to science beyond the classroom. They offer you a chance to host leading STEM workshops at very little cost to the school, without affecting the timetable or adding to your workloads.  Plus, they have been recommended by every school that has taken part since 2001.

You simply choose the date(s) and provide the venue.  We send you the literature to distribute to parents so they can book a place.  If, after 21 days, you have 25 or more pupils enrolled, we will confirm the event and run the workshop on the date of your choice. If not, there is no commitment and we release the date.

Parents pay for their son or daughter to attend, as they would for a school trip, or the school can choose to subsidise the cost and use Pupil Premium funding if appropriate.  Parents can book and pay online, so there is no extra work for the school.

To find out about the Holiday Schools click here. Or to request an information pack you can email:  info@thinkersineducation.co.uk

Of course, workshops are also available during term time – enabling you to run highly effective transition days, activity weeks and challenge days to fit within the year plan.

If you would like to discuss options with an advisor, please call 01603 520866.

Help your SEN students to make sense of money with the Making Sense of Money Set

It is pleasantly surprising when a new topic is added into the curriculum with very few teething problems, such as the introduction of financial literacy to the maths and citizenship curriculum in 2014.

However, there does seem to be a lack of resources that explore and explain finances in a way that students with SEN can easily understand.

Which is why SEN Press has devised the Making Sense of Money Series which contains a wealth of resources about dealing with money in everyday situations, including:

  • Six story books which support the ASDAN CoPE Award. Titles include, “Money In, Money Out”, “Everyday Money”, “What’s it Worth?”, “Cash and Cakes”, “Keeping Money Safe” and “Making Ends Meet”.
  • A CD-ROM providing electronic versions of the above titles, making it ideal for interactive whiteboard presentations and for students who would also benefit from listening to the text.

    It is also possible to edit and save the text to make your own story, create differentiated texts, and personalise the text with your students’ names to enhance engagement.
  • An extensive range of activity worksheets and interactive activities that encourage reading comprehension. Activities include, Words and Pictures, Picture Search, Keyword Flashcards, Wordsearch, Spot the Difference, How Well Did You Read?, Missing Words, Quizzes, and Drag and Drop.
  • Supporting resources for teachers including page-by-page notes for all the stories and assessment resources (feedback sheets and student record sheets).

The complete set of resources containing two copies of each of the six readers, the complete teacher book, and the CD Rom is available for £139 plus VAT (save 10%).

You can see more details and sample pages from the readers, and details for ordering individual items as well as the full pack on our “Making Sense of Money” web page.

If you have any questions or need more information, please email info@senpress.co.uk or call 01582 833205.  We’ll be delighted to hear from you.

As Orwell suggests in “1984”, for the sake of their future survival, teenagers need a broader vocabulary

If George Orwell were alive today would he still make 1984 a book about the way people are controlled through the language they experience?

It is an interesting question, I think, especially when one remembers the way in which Newspeak was created as a language of restricted grammar and limited vocabulary, designed to limit freedom of thought and personal identity.

Now of course there isn’t such a centralised plan in the UK today, but it can be argued that students who don’t get to experience classic literature are being restricted to a lower level of self-expression which does nothing to enhance their chances when they leave school.

Indeed the issue is now that a significant number of children leaving primary school do so with a noticeable “Word-Gap” which can affect self-esteem and behaviour as well as their life-chances beyond school.

And it appears that the most effective way to reduce the word-gap is by giving pupils and students the experience of reading a wide variety of quality texts.

This is where Wordsworth Editions comes in, as we have a wide range of books from as little as £1.88 each (with no delivery charge and no minimum order) covering authors from Wilkie Collins to Joseph Conrad, Conan Doyle to Mary Shelley.

If you want to see our selection of 50 essential texts please do click here.

We also have our offer of a free book just in case you have not come across Wordsworth Editions before.  (Or indeed just in case the notion of books from as little as £1.88 each with free delivery seems just too good to be true.)

So, to receive a free sample of one of our classics without any obligation please do 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.

What is the best reaction you can have to the daily assembly?

Imagine a child going home after school and volunteering to his/her parents the story of what happened during the day (rather than waiting to be asked, and then offering the shortest of answers).

And imagine further that what the child chooses to talk about is the school assembly, with parents also bringing up the subject when they attend a parents evening, talking to you about how certain assemblies have really made an impact on their child.

Of course, you may well find this happens from time to time, with the parents spontaneously mentioning assemblies, but even if so you will know that there is a constant pressure to find more and more assemblies that grab attention and give children insights into the moral, personal, and social world in which they live.

It was to provide such assemblies that my colleagues and I began to contemplate what made certain assemblies have a really strong influence on the children we teach.

We knew of course that we needed to create assemblies that were original, and which also met the social and emotional needs of the children who attend them and offered a focus on the values that the school wishes to present to the children.

As a result we have produced a set of over 350 assemblies with each one categorised and indexed, each of which is instantly available and fully scripted.

You can read a full example of one of our assemblies by following this link. Additionally you can see the complete list of the 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