Get your FREE COPY of BON APPÉTIT !

Since children are typically very vocal about what they like and dislike (especially when it comes to food), Bon appétit ! has proved to be very effective at teaching children French language.

If you would like to order sets of French Information Books with a teaching guide, at a discounted price, simply choose from the following bundle options: 

French Information Books – Level 1                             £27.99 

French Information Books – Level 2                             £27.99 

French Information Books – Level 3                             £27.99 

French Information Books – Level 1, 2 and 3             £67.00 (SAVE £16.97) 

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

Schools across the UK are saving thousands of pounds and teaching hours by using a classroom SoundField system from Connevans.

Are you missing out on a potentially huge money saver?

There is a simple and free way to see for yourself how you can save your teachers’ voices and all the costs associated with voice strain.

A SoundField trial gives you and your colleagues the opportunity to try the equipment within your school.

The teacher will never have to raise or strain their voice, you will quickly find that all the children become more engaged and the children with poorer hearing and attention will hear perfectly.

Simply tell us a convenient time to visit and we will bring the SoundField system to you and show the relevant teacher how to use it. Set up in the classroom takes just 15 minutes.

There is more information about the popular, easy-to-use Swift Digital SoundField system here … www.connevans.co.uk/product/3109896/

The Swift Digital SoundField system is designed by Connevans, the UK’s leading manufacturer of Classroom SoundField systems used in classrooms all over Europe.

To see how easy the Swift Digital is to use and to arrange a free three-week trial, simply call or email and leave the rest to us!

Email: phil@connevans.com     Phone: 01737 247571

As a special school trial offer there is a 10% discount on the Swift Digital.

If you would like us to have a look at your school hall or offer free advice regarding simple equipment to help ensure the school is complying with the Equalities Act for visitors who are hard of hearing, we will be pleased to help.

Aesop’s Fab Fables is a great introduction to the joy of live theatre, the wonderful world of Aesop, and an interactive experience designed to stimulate creativity.

Fred Theatre has built an excellent reputation with its tours for high schools based on GCSE texts. Now we’re using our expertise to offer this new production to younger audiences.

Here’s what happens…

Our team of three professional actors will travel to your school. Over the course of a day they will work with individual classes, the pupils assisting with creative preparation for the show. This might include creating elements of the set, or writing their own short stories. Once the team has spent approximately half an hour with each class, all classes come together to experience Aesop’s Fab Fables. Performed by the actors, this is a young person-friendly 45 minute show based on three of the classic stories.

We feel this approach works as a great introduction to live theatre as it breaks down the barriers between performers and audience, stimulates creativity, and rewards the pupils who will see the fruits of their labour employed in the show.

 Aesop’s Fab Fables is available for in-school performances throughout the summer term of 2018.

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.

I look forward to hearing from you, and I welcome any feedback you may have on this production or any of the work we do here at Fred Theatre.

Robert Ball
Artistic Director
fred-theatre.co.uk

A child’s brain makes 1,000,000 new connections every second.

Neuroscience and psychology help us understand more about development of early school skills and how children learn.

Experienced teachers are well-versed in effective teaching and learning methods but new ideas about how the brain works are emerging and alternative teaching ideas are being discovered through scientific enquiry.

The Wellcome Trust are funding the Science of Learning Zone, a website for education providers to connect with education researchers, neuroscientists and psychologists. The aim is to bridge the gap between research and practice in education.

On Monday 5th February we are starting the Early Development fortnight, which we think will be of particular interest to primary school staff.

What? Website which brings together researchers and teachers to discuss Early Development
Why? Find out why some techniques are more effective and what evidence there is to back them up.
When? 5th – 18th Feb (Early Development topic). Accessible at any time, different topics follow until 1st July 2018.
Where? Online. Visit learning.imascientist.org.uk/welcome-learning-zone
Who for? Teachers & other education professionals

Teachers and educationalists can read what other teachers are asking, join in with conversations and ask their own questions about the evidence that underpins learning in the classroom.

Find out more about about Early Development and the Science of Learning Zone.

If you have any questions, please call 01225 326892 or email katie@mangorol.la

Kind regards,

Katie Marshall, BSc (hons) Biochemistry, PGCE Secondary Science

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of here

Mangorolla CIC

Quite clearly, it might be that your school doesn’t require a new IP CCTV system, or a CCTV system, full stop. Which is why we’ve compiled a list of questions for you to ask and answer before your school invests.

1) Is your current CCTV system fit for purpose? (if applicable)
2) Does your local authority require you to follow a security protocol in your school?
3) Does your school’s area have higher than average crime and violence rates?
4) Are there loitering ‘hot spots’ in your school where incidents tend to happen more often?
5) What’s the biggest threat in your school? (e.g. violence, vandalism, trespassing, truancy etc)

If after answering these questions you believe your school would benefit from a new IP CCTV system and you would like to discuss this with a member of our team, please do get in touch either by: sending an email to cctv@gaia-tech.com, calling 01248 675 800, or filling in the contact form at this link. Alternatively, you can visit our website for more information.

Don’t forget to ask about our special offer when you get in touch:

What is a managed service?

A managed service is an all-encompassing service by which we take on the responsibility of looking after the IP CCTV system so that you and your colleagues can focus on teaching. It includes, installation, support, maintenance, extended warranties, hot swap, an annual visit to clean the cameras, and so on and so forth. For more information, visit www.gaia-security.co.uk/solutions-as-a-managed-services/

The Government has just published a Green Paper “Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision”. It forms part of the Government’s work to transform mental health support, ending what the Prime Minister has referred to as the “burning injustice” of inequality which those with mental health problems experience. The Paper focuses on earlier intervention and prevention before issues escalate, particularly in and around schools and colleges.

The proposals include covering the costs of a significant training programme and will provide up to £15-20m each year, from 2019 to cover costs until all schools and colleges have had the chance to train a lead, this being the Head Teacher or SENCO.  However, the proposal is that any therapy required, which may attract additional funding, is carried out by an NHS service or CAHMS.  Play Therapy UK (PTUK) believes that for the majority of the cases (mild/moderate conditions) this would best be carried out by a trained member of school staff.

PTUK knows a great deal about working therapeutically with children in schools We have the largest evidence base (over 44,000 measures) showing how effective play and creative arts are when used therapeutically in primary schools – 78% to 84% children show a positive change.

We propose to respond accordingly to the consultation taking into account your views.

To help schools prepare for the changes implied in the Green Paper we are providing a free of charge advisory service. This will keep you in touch with progress of the legislation and give you practical advice on the steps to take.  Just email me if you are interested. jefferyht@majemail.com

Jeff Thomas
Registrar – Play Therapy UK

jefferyht@majemail.com

www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

www.playtherapy.org.uk

While most children learn to read English using a story-based approach, it is uncommon for children learning French at Key Stage 2 to be given the opportunity to learn to read French in the same way. But if you make the stories humorous in either language then the vocabulary and grammar will be easier to remember, your pupils will be more engaged in the learning process, and their confidence will increase as they manage to read a complete story.

Which is why we have produced the Learn French with Luc et Sophie story-based scheme for Key Stage 2.

The storybooks included with the scheme are humorous and based on sibling rivalry with which many children will relate. The stories have also been carefully written to ensure progression of vocabulary and language structures.

Aimed at specialist and non-specialist teachers, the teacher books included with the scheme provide structured but flexible lesson plans based around each story. And that is not all …

… find out what else is included in the packs, as well as seeing sample pages and listening to sample audio files by clicking the links below:

You can place an order for Learn French with Luc et Sophie: Part One, Years 3–4 (£37.99) and/or Learn French with Luc et Sophie: Part Two, Years 5–6 (£37.99) in a variety of ways, including:

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

The notion of school improvement has been with us for so long that it can seem unlikely that anyone would ever come up with a new approach that really works.

And yet this has happened, because of late there has been growing evidence to the effect that physical activity improves mental activity. Indeed a study from the University of British Columbia showed that very modest levels of exercise boost activity in the part of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning.

Meanwhile there has also been lots of evidence generated showing that increasing children’s activity throughout the day improves pupil focus, behaviour, wellness, and academic performance, as well as health and fitness.

Thus, when you give children short bursts of mild physical activity within a lesson they return to learning more focused. And indeed this is one of the reasons why the additional 30 minutes of structured activity has now been introduced as a compulsory measure in schools in England.

If that short period is spent on modest levels of physical activity the amount of learning that subsequently takes place increases considerably.

And that is before we even think in terms of encouraging regular activity in children in order to reduce the chances of obesity.

The new government directive requires all primary schools in England to provide 30 minutes of structured physical activity each day to all children in the school in addition to the weekly two hours of PE, and it is to support this practice that the PE and Sport Premium funding has been doubled this year.

To see how this approach can be implemented by making classrooms more active and the benefits it brings your pupils, we’ve now made available online a series of free trials of activity sessions. Each session can be implemented within classroom lessons.

These are available on the Free Trial Lesson page of our website. And if you have any questions please do phone 0114 2661061 or email enquiries@imoves.com.

The Government has just published a Green Paper “Transforming Children and Young People’s Mental Health Provision”. It forms part of the Government’s work to transform mental health support, ending what the Prime Minister has referred to as the “burning injustice” of inequality which those with mental health problems experience. The Paper focuses on earlier intervention and prevention before issues escalate, particularly in and around schools and colleges.

The proposals include covering the costs of a significant training programme and will provide up to £15-20m each year, from 2019 to cover costs until all schools and colleges have had the chance to train a lead.

To help you prepare for an application for this funding we are providing a free of charge advisory service. This will keep you in touch with progress of the Green Paper and give you practical advice on the steps to take.  Just email me if you are interested. jefferyht@majemail.com

PTUK knows a great deal about working therapeutically with children.  It has the largest evidence base (over 44,000 measures) showing how effective play and creative arts are when used therapeutically in primary schools – 78% to 84% children show a positive change.

Jeff Thomas

Registrar – Play Therapy UK

jefferyht@majemail.com

www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

www.playtherapy.org.uk

Once upon a time, as a young inexperienced teacher, I felt I knew it all, and that all my elders and betters were getting staid and stuck in their ways.

So I decided to show them what real innovative, active, modern PE lessons were all about by taking my class outside and telling them to run across the playing field and back, as fast or as slow as they liked.

I had no idea why I said this but it felt modern, different, radical and very much me.

Being a lively and cheeky bunch the class then asked me if there were prizes for the winners and without giving it any thought I said there would be a prize for coming in last. I refrained from saying what the prize was, since I didn’t have any idea.

It didn’t take very long for everyone to realise that I had made a fundamental miscalculation, since the best way to stand a chance of winning was going to be to stand still. Or (when I changed the rules and said everyone had to keep moving forwards towards the winning post) to inch forward at such a slow pace that the race would have taken a week to complete.

Feeling something of a turnip I took the class back inside, noticing the look I was getting from the deputy head on the way back in.

Then suddenly the gods smiled on me. “I want you now to write a story called ‘The silliest race in the world’. It can be about anything except what we have just done.”

And the results were rather good, thus not only extending the children’s creative writing but giving me an explanation of sorts when asked to have a word with the deputy head – who to be fair was a very decent lady who said that she too had tried one or two whacky ideas in earlier days.

It’s not an approach I would recommend, but here’s one that can be quite a good idea. A team race to pick up a set of hoops on the ground with different coloured hoops counting as different values. Both teams go at once… not every child will realise at once the value of picking up the hoops with the biggest value first.

That was the sort of logic my original attempts were missing. I should have used the “50 Brilliant PE Challenges”.

There’s more information and ideas that actually do work at: https://www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/50-brilliant-pe-challenges-set-574

You can place an order:

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

Recently there has been growing evidence that physical activity improves mental activity.  Indeed a study from the University of British Columbia showed that regular exercise boosts the size of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in verbal memory and learning.

Likewise a report from the Harvard Medical School revealed that, “regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory and thinking skills.”

There has also been lots of evidence generated showing that more activity throughout the day improves pupil focus, behaviour, wellness and academic performance, as well as health and fitness.

Indeed as the research shows, when you give children short bursts of mild physical activity within a lesson they return to learning more focused.  And indeed this is one of the reasons why the additional 30 minutes of structured activity has now been introduced.

For, although common sense suggests that by taking time out of the day’s teaching timetable means the children will learn less, if that short period is spent on modest levels of physical activity the amount of learning that subsequently takes place increases considerably.

And that is before we even think of the benefits in terms of encouraging regular activity in children in order to reduce the chances of obesity.

The new government directive requires all primary schools in England to provide 30 minutes of structured physical activity each day to all children in the school, in addition to the weekly two hours of PE, and it is to support this practice that the PE and Sport Premium funding has been doubled this year.

To see how this approach can be implemented by making classrooms more active and the benefits it brings your pupils, we’ve now made available online a series of free trials of activity sessions.  Each session can be implemented within classroom lessons.

These are available on the Free Trial Lesson page of our website. And if you have any questions please do phone 0114 2661061 or email enquiries@imoves.com.

Ian Pickles

The new Childhood Obesity Strategy, which was made compulsory this term in England and is voluntary in the rest of the UK, has now been introduced by many schools, according to the latest research.

This new directive requires all primary schools in England to provide 30 minutes of physical activity on a daily basis to all children in the school, in addition to 2 hours of PE.

Research undertaken in November suggests that there are two main reasons as to why some schools have delayed implementation; these relate both to funding and to how the compulsory 30 minutes a day activity can practically be introduced into lessons.

Fortunately, since the announcement of the new strategy solutions have been found to both the issue of funding and to the issue of the practicality of introducing the activity to all pupils every day, no matter what the weather.

In terms of the funding, the PE and Sport Premium funding is being provided jointly by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport, and has been allocated to heads of primary schools in England.

By way of example, the average primary school with 250 children will receive £18,500 Obesity Strategy funding this academic year.  The release is in tranches with the 1^st  7/12ths already taking place in November and the 2^nd 5/12ths in May.  As for the additional activity, there are a growing range of resources that can be used in class as part of each lesson.  This means that children don’t require specialist PE activities each day nor do they have to go outside; the funding can instead be used to provide resources to use in the classroom as part of their lessons.

The government has also confirmed that these activities within lessons are to be counted as physical activity – which is extremely helpful during the winter.  This also avoids putting undue pressure on colleagues who take PE lessons.

Free trials of the lessons are available on the Free Trial Lesson page of our website. And if you have any questions please do phone 0114 2661061 or email enquiries@imoves.com.

Whilst pupils are continuously instructed not to bully, and given advice about what to do and who to tell if they are being bullied, it seems that there is much less advice for pupils who are neither the bully nor the bullied – the witnesses.

Yet, the witnesses are in perhaps the most powerful position of all when it comes to eradicating bullying, not least because their account of a situation is likely to be unbiased and can put ‘he said, she said, he did, she did’ situations to rest.

With this in mind, we are giving away a copy of one of the assembly stories from the volume, More Brilliant Stories for Assemblies, which touches on said theme.

In short: Ranpresh is terrified of ‘The Gang’ and gets attacked on the way home from school. Hannah is a witness but she is afraid to do anything about it. At last she finds the courage to be part of the solution rather than being part of the problem.

CLICK HERE to get a FREE COPY of the assembly story: THE WITNESS  

For more information or to order More Brilliant Stories for Assemblies for £17.99 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-book, or both for £21.89, please visit: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/more-brilliant-stories-for-assemblies-248

Alternatively, you can place an order:

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

When we consider that 50% of children were bullied last year, it’s not surprising that some schools use CCTV as part of their anti-bullying strategy and as a ‘transparent’ safeguarding measure – not least because CCTV is a significant deterrent of misbehaviour.

Yet, despite 90% of schools having CCTV installed, it is not always something that can be relied upon for this use.

This is because older CCTV systems are only capable of catching a few frames per second, thus proving to be a somewhat unreliable source of evidence as it has been known for older CCTV systems to miss incidents between frames.

Clearly, the problem with upgrading your current CCTV system is that it costs money which your school may not have to spare. Yet a CCTV upgrade with Gaia may not cost as much as you think and has also proven to save money in the long-term.

Due to advancements in technology, the installation of a new CCTV system will undoubtedly cost less than your current CCTV system did to install. What’s more, you are likely to see a reduction in the system’s running costs, not least because some maintenance can be carried out remotely.

OR

To discuss with a member of our team how your school can use CCTV as part of its anti-bullying strategy and as a ‘transparent’ safeguarding measure, not only for your pupils but also for staff and school visitors, please do get in touch by:

• sending an email to cctv@gaia-tech.com
• calling 01248 675 800
• or filling in the contact form at this link

Do you want to reward your children for all their hard work this terms as an end of term present?

Our Christmas themed Stationery set is the right answer.

The set contains ruler, rubber, pencil, pencil sharpener and notepad.

For a very limited time we can offer this set at a specially reduced price of just 60p per set.

For full details see our listing on our website

For more information or to place an order please use whichever medium is most convenient to you:

Telephone: (10am to 3pm) 01473 710080

Fax: 0845 463 4200

Email: sales@craftycrocodiles.co.uk

Postal: Crafty Crocodiles Ltd, Bermuda Road, RansomesEuropark, Ipswich, IP39RU

The first survey of schools in England, following up on the government’s new “30 minutes of activity a day” directive* for all pupils, shows that the policy is starting to make an impact, although some teachers who reported back suggested that they were not yet implementing the policy within lessons. it is just compulsory in England, but “has attracted considerable interest from the rest of the UK”.

When asked about the key barriers to implementing the 30 minutes of structured activity, over half of the schools that replied stated that it was a lack of time within the school day that was holding them back.

A quarter stated that a lack of teacher confidence and knowledge of how to integrate more activity into lessons was the major stumbling block.

This is particularly interesting, because a series of lessons has now been published which allow the 30 minutes a day activity criteria to be built into existing lessons in all subject areas.

In short, these lessons show exactly how all teachers can implement the new policy, in the classroom, exactly as the new directive requires.

Given that most of the teachers who responded to the survey agreed that additional exercise will not only reduce obesity among children but will also reduce mental health problems and improve academic performance, this approach could be very helpful.

You can find details of how schools are already implementing the new requirement for an extra 30 minutes a day activity for all pupils, outside of PE lessons, by visiting https://imoves.com/ and then scrolling down to our “Example lessons” section.

Or, if you would like to see a copy of the research into the implementation of the new policy, or if you would like to talk through how our approach works and how it meets all the government’s new requirements, just call us on 0114 266 1061 or email active@schools.co.uk

Ian Pickles

*This new directive is compulsory in England, but has attracted considerable interest from the rest of the UK.

A quick look in the sky reveals that the sun, like the moon, goes around the Earth.  That’s common sense.  We can see it.  Every day.  It’s obvious.

It is also common sense that the world is flat.  If it were curved we’d see it and feel it, and all those people and kangaroos in Australia would fall off because they would be upside down.

Of course, at this point one might appeal to the notion of gravity.   But where’s the common sense in that?  I can’t see gravity, I can’t feel it, I can’t touch it.  So why should I ever believe in it, just so that I can believe that the world is round?  Which it clearly isn’t.

It’s all a bit like believing that putting a load of gas in a sealed container, opening a tiny gap at one end and setting fire to the gas, will then send the container in the opposite direction.  That’s hardly common sense.

In fact, that’s so simple one might say that’s “not rocket science”, but unfortunately it is.  Exactly that.  Rocket science.  It turns out to be just about the simplest form of science that there is, which is all rather confusing.

Perhaps therefore, the best thing to do at this point is abandon common sense totally and head full speed for some scientific investigations.  And thus, we have produced 100+ Fun Ideas for Science Investigations.

Common sense will tell you that when you are offered a book called “100+ Fun Ideas for Science Investigations” it will include over 100 ideas for some rather interesting and entertaining science investigations that children can undertake in the classroom.

And at this point, at last, common sense holds sway, because that is exactly what it does contain.  For more information or to order 100+ Fun Ideas for Science Investigations for £13.99 as a printed paperback book, £9.99 as an e-book, or both for £16.99 please visit:

https://www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/100-fun-ideas-for-science-investigations-14

Alternatively, you can place an order:

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

We are the publishers so we supply it.  That’s not rocket science.

One of the most effective ways of helping your struggling readers and dyslexic pupils learn  is to teach via topics and for them to develop an understanding of each topic using active learning techniques such as activities or games alongside the text that has to be read.

At the same time, there needs to be encouragement to write; using notes to reinforce specifically what is being learned for each topic.

In this way, the reading, activities and note taking combine to reinforce key words and concepts while making the learning relevant and accessible.

Oaka topic packs contain full colour illustrations and use short words and simple sentence constructions that the pupils are likely to understand. Key points for each topic are covered in a clear, straightforward manner so any reading difficulty does not get in the way of understanding.

Many Oaka topic packs are endorsed by the ISEB (Independent Schools Examinations Board) and the packs are being used in over 370 UK schools.

To see more about how Oaka works, and to review our KS1 and KS2 resources, please click here.

Best wishes

Bambi Gardiner

Founder, Oaka Books

With budgets being tight and huge time demands on delivering the curriculum is it still possible to bring fun, entertainment and the arts in to schools this Christmas?

I attended a talk this week given by Rufus Norris artistic director of the National Theatre and he was referring to a close friend of his who was a primary school music teacher.  He pointed out that whenever prospective parents or local officials were taken on a tour of the school his class was always visited. When the teacher asked why this was the case the head teacher replied “Because I can guarantee in your classes the children are engaged, energised and learning”.  It would seem that the arts in schools is one of the greatest adverts for involved learning however it is the least resourced.

The answer to the above question requires creative thinking from both schools and those supplying products to them.  It is essential for any project offered to schools to meet a range of key targets including aspects of the curriculum, personal child development, and sustainability, whilst being fun, entertaining and memorable. If this is the case then the budgets allocated to bringing in outside companies is both worthwhile and justifiable.

For many primary school children across the country the first, and sometimes only, live theatre that they experience is the Christmas Pantomime, however in recent years this is one of the cutbacks schools are making as it can be difficult to validate this expenditure. Some schools have tackled the problem by taking pupils to a theatre and asking parents to contribute, yet this can be problematic for younger years and also a strain on budgets at home.

I have been delivering creative educational projects in schools for over 20 years with a constant ethos to combine the best performances which meet educational objectives and that have a lasting, positive impact on all those involved.

5 years ago a few local schools asked us to develop something new and original for Christmas that could also utilise budgets assigned to particular target areas.  Already aware of our history delivering effective PSHE plays and workshops,  it was pointed out to us that the standard pantomimes promoted negative behaviour and that it would be great to have all the fun of the show but with an educational twist.  That was the beginning of ‘Pantomime Play’.

Over the years we have developed our pantomime plays concept further, to make them justifiable within a range of budgets, and they are now a key educational resource in many schools.  The shows follow a pantomime format and include many well known pantomime characters and stories but every scene meets an educational objective and the project comes with a range of resources for cross curricular activities that link to the production.

For less than £2 per child (depending on the size of your school) there are a range of educational targets that can be met including:

• A range of areas within the PSHE association guidelines (specific to each play).
• Bringing in outside educators
• Cross curricular resources for reception to year 6. Downloadable with no usage restrictions.
• An exciting reward and treat for all pupils.

Many schools are using our shows as a fundraising option since we can perform for 250 pupils per show and up to 3 shows a day, so when charging parents, the costs are far less than hiring coaches and visiting theatres. Also local schools combine their bookings (one school in the morning and the other in the afternoon) to save even more.

Due to popularity and extra bookings in the final 2 weeks of term we have just put together another team, therefore we have some spaces available for this Christmas and we are offering them at a further discounted rate.

1 Show = £375 (£100 off. Usual price £475)

2 Shows = £500 (£200 off. Usual price £700)

3 Shows (All day) = £700 (£250 off. Usual price £950)

If you have already booked another show for this year then get in touch for next year as some dates go very quickly.

www.pantomimeplay.co.uk

www.facebook.com/pantomimeplay/

We are always happy to talk so please get in touch.

Email: info@pantomimeplay.co.uk

Phone: 07933078908 (Millie- Tour booker)

Phone: 01707 527140 (Office)

Lisa Schulberg
(Creative Director)

Not only are playtime games a great way to occupy children in their time away from lessons, but if organised in a particular way, they can encourage cooperation and communication, reduce instances of bullying and ensure pupils are more receptive on their return to the classroom.

For this reason, we have produced a guide to constructing a Positive Playtime Policy, along with a Positive Playtime Policy Template, which can easily be adapted to suit the unique needs of your school. Click here to get your free Positive Playtime Policy Template.

What’s more, Edventure has held or reduced the prices of its playtime games and equipment, which actively promote positive playtimes, this term – with numerous items on offer too. Click here to browse through the products on our website.

You can place an order on our website in a variety of ways, including:

• on our website – www.edventure.co.uk
• by fax to 01323 50 10 41
• by phone on 01323 50 10 40
• by email at sales@edventure.co.uk
• by post to Edventure Ltd, Hargreaves Business Park,
  Hargreaves Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6QW.

The government’s Childhood Obesity Strategy came about after the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health revealed that in some parts of the country 40 percent of children were diagnosed as overweight or obese.

As a result, the Strategy required all primary schools to provide 30 minutes of physical activity on a daily basis in addition to the 2 hours of PE.  However, two problems then arose: one was how to fund it, and the other was how to arrange these 30 minutes of physical activity .

Fortunately, since the announcement of the new strategy solutions have been found to both issues.  In terms of the funding, new money is being provided.  This funding is provided jointly by the Departments for Education, Health and Culture, Media and Sport, and is allocated to primary school headteachers. The funding is ring-fenced and therefore can only be spent on improving the quality of physical activity provisions in schools.

Use the calculations below to work out your school’s allocation:

Schools with 16 or fewer eligible pupils receive £1,000 per pupil

Schools with 17 or more pupils receive £16,000, plus an additional payment of £10 per pupil

Example: a Primary School with 250 children receives £18,500 this academic year.

As for the additional activity, there are a growing range of resources that can be used in class, as part of each lesson.  In all this means that children don’t have to go outside or have specialist PE activities each day; the funding can instead be used to provide resources to use in the class as part of their lessons.

The government has also now issued its “Definition of Physical Activity, Physical Education and School Sport” poster which again confirmed that it was not expecting the new activity to be of the traditional PE type.  The provision can come through activity in the classroom.

This confirms that activities within lessons are to be counted as physical activity and that the funding for PE and Sport can be used to fund resources that incorporate this and allow schools to meet the 30 minutes a day target.

It is with this in mind that imoves developed its “Active Learning” series which can work in all lessons.  You can see how it works, find all the details, and have a free trial of some of the lessons via our website, where you will also find many more details of our work.

If you have any questions please either phone 0114 2661061 or email enquiries@imoves.com.

Ian Pickles

Now before you get ready to email me back and suggest a transfer for such children from your school to mine, let me quickly add that that is not the point of this little note.

Rather my issue is with the children who always finish an allotted exercise in less than the time I expected them to take.  I set them some work, anticipate that it gives me six or seven minutes free time to sort out other pressing matters, and then find three bright sparks have finished the whole thing in three.

Which is why I was delighted when Peter Clutterbuck came up with the idea for a set of books called “What to give annoying children”. Unfortunately, the Editorial Director vetoed that title so we have to call them “Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers.”

But I must give you a word of warning.  Because, although the tasks are engrossing and do aid focus and creative thinking, I have found no less than seven occasions in which one of my class has got an answer before I did.

Naturally I blame the stress of the job, the long hours marking, the meetings, the overcrowded classes, the annoying parents, and just about everything else I can think of, but in calmer moments I’m sure my brain used to be faster than this.

And, before you suggest otherwise, I’ve still got quite a few years to go before being put out to graze.

You try it, and see what happens.  Follow one of the links below and then click on the link under the words “sample material” which is under the word “quantity” which is under the price which is… oh well, you get the idea.

Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers for 5-7 year olds: see how good you are

Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers for 7-9 year olds: so you think you’re really smart?

Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers for 9-11 year olds: ok so you are better at this than me

You can read more about Timely Tasks for Fast Finishers on our website – just hover over the cover for details or click on the cover to go further.

If you have any questions about the resources, you can email orders@tradecounter.co.uk.  But please don’t tell them you were faster than me.  My life’s hard enough as it is.

OUR BEST DEALS ON HOODIES FOR PRIMARY SCHOOLS

We wouldn’t buy inferior hoodies, so we don’t sell them.

We wouldn’t pay exorbitant prices, so we don’t charge them.

We would expect excellent service, so we provide it.

All of this because we don’t just want your order today, we want you to return to LeaversGear  and so to achieve that we are supplying “excellent quality”, “first class service”, “very competitive prices”.

The hassle of organising hoodies is a tiresome task and one which we aim to ease by taking the pressure off your shoulders, our design team work closely with you to ensure complete satisfaction when you receive your order.

FREE sample service. There’s no need to guess at quality or sizes anymore, all we ask you to return the samples when you’ve finished with them, using our supplied returns bag and free post label.

For an immediate, no obligation quotation please complete the very short enquiry form http://leaversgear.com/contact

We don’t just do hoodies and tee shirts, but much more, we can do any apparel for any purpose. Not just Leavers, but school trips, outdoor activities, sports teams.

At LeaversGear customer satisfaction is our goal, we hope you will give us the opportunity to prove it.

Kind Regards

<Leavers2.png>

www.leaversgear.com

E-mail:enquiries@leaversgear.com

Do you ever wonder how your pupils can remember the entire lyrics to a song, yet they have an incredibly difficult time remembering the alphabet, times tables, or anything else for that matter? Well the reason for this is that listening to music gives them earworms!

Earworms is the term scientists use to describe, quite simply, when a song gets stuck in our head. Along with other terms including stuck-song syndrome, sticky music, and cognitive itch.

For this reason we are giving away two Spanish songs from our new resource: ¡Me Gusta Cantar! – so that you can give your pupils earworms of the Spanish variety to ensure that the Spanish they learn will be remembered forever.

If after using these free resources with your pupils you are satisfied with the results and are still humming the song, you can buy the full volume for just £32.89 at www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/me-gusta-cantar-744. And if you have any questions, please email 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 767122

To answer that question one needs to find a programme that not only makes a major difference to pupils in a fundamental area of education, but which also generates improvements that can be easily measured and readily verified.

Just about the most obvious area of work that meets these twin criteria is literacy.

Clearly it is not difficult to identify children who are slipping behind in terms of literacy.  But if one can then, in a short period of time, ensure they have caught up, then the progress cannot be questioned.

What’s more, with this approach in place and the results proven, it is possible to move on from there and use the same method with other children who likewise have slipped behind.

The approach that can achieve this dramatic turnaround, and which is a perfect use of Pupil Premium funding, uses one-to-one tuition for selected pupils but without the costs generally expected with these sorts of initiatives.

To demonstrate that this initiative works, we offer a free trial of our approach within which every literacy misunderstanding and every concept not fully grasped is instantly spotted and leads to the child going back a step for remedial work.

Each individual’s literacy needs are analysed and each pupil is directed to an engaging set of activities which remedy any deficits before advancing through to the next set of skills.

This level of instruction is thus accurately reflective of the child’s current abilities, and each pupil gets a feeling of success and progress which of itself is highly motivational.

To enable you to see this process in action before making any firm decisions, there is more information about Core 5, the program which achieves these extraordinary results here.

You can also read a variety of case studies here. You can also find on the top right of the page the link to gain full access to the program for 30 days without any payment or commitment.

If you want to know more about the program, please do call 0191 482 1939 or email info@lexiauk.co.uk

Rob Kay

LexiaUK Software Consultant.

There is a lot to be said for the notion of an additional 30 minutes of activity each day for each child in primary school.  For such activity not only cuts down the chances of obesity but also results in dramatic improvements in behaviour and academic achievement.

Since the announcement of the additional 30 minutes a day was made we’ve been working on materials which deliver exactly this – without the need for the children to leave the classroom or bring in a specialist teacher.

And we’d like you to try 5 of them for free.

In fact we’ve develop a series of over 1000 curriculum-based active lessons and activities which meet the requirements of this new initiative.

All of these can be undertaken within normal lessons without leaving the regular classroom or, if you prefer, they can be taken in a hall or outdoors.

What’s more, these lessons are each complete in themselves, with curriculum-based lesson plans and supporting interactive movies, flashcards, music, and assessments.  All of which makes the whole process easy to plan, teach, and evaluate.

In effect it means that the complete requirement of 30 minutes a day additional physical activity can now be met by the school using these resources, integrating them easily into the normal teaching timetable.

And the improvement in grades and achievement comes as a bonus.  Which is why we are offering a limited number of schools the chance to use these materials without charge and without any obligation.

You can read more about imoves’ active lessons and choose the 5 lessons that you wish to try out, from literacy to science, from PSHE to PE, on our website.

You can, of course, sign up to the free use of the resources straightaway, but if you have any questions please do email enquiries@imoves.com or phone us on 0114 2661061.

Ian Pickles

If your school aims to provide a complete well-being service for all your pupils, and support for your parents a play therapy service is essential – not just an option.

It’s estimated that 20% of all UK children suffer from some type of social, emotional, behaviour or other mental health problem.  The earlier they get help the better.  But it must be safe and effective – not by unqualified, unregistered, unsupervised persons.  Play therapy has a success record of between 77% and 84% when therapy is delivered to Play Therapy UK standards.

Your school will also benefit by:

• Pupils more able to learn
• Reduced staff stress
• Happier parents

If you are not already using a therapist on the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists there’s two main ways:

• Employ or contract someone on:  www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

• Provide training for a member of your staff: http://www.playtherapy.org.uk/Training

You can find out a lot more about the skills required and the experiential methods of training that we use by attending a one day introduction to play therapy course (13 venues in the UK): http://www.playtherapy.org.uk/Training/TrainCrseAPACIntrod1day

Join over 1200 primary schools already using a PTUK therapist.

Phone: Dee Rose on 01825 761143 for more details and availability.

If you would like to have a chat about providing a play therapy service and the options in more detail please email Monika at: mokijep@majemail.com

According to the government’s own Childhood Obesity Report, nearly a third of children aged 2 to 15 are overweight or obese.  What’s more, with each passing year more children are becoming obese at earlier ages and staying obese for longer.

Schools are of course not responsible for the complete physical and mental well-being of the children taught in the school.  But recent publications issued by the government suggest that officials now see schools as being in a unique position not only to enhance the intellectual and physical condition of children, but also to help take the message of the dangers of obesity to parents.

As a result, although inspectors are not yet looking to schools to have a child physical and mental health policy in place, they most certainly can be impressed when they find that there is one.

Which is why we thought we would produce just such a document and offer it for free – and with the option that it can readily be adjusted to meet your own local situation.

Our position in evolving this policy stems from the fact that the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges stated in 2017 that “Physical activity is a ‘miracle cure’.”   This is based on the argument that extra activity is able to treat, prevent, and manage up to twenty different lifestyle conditions such as many cancers, diabetes, and heart disease as well as support mental health and wellbeing and prevent of the onset of dementia.

The “School Child Physical and Mental Health Policy Document” is available to all schools free of charge.

The policy comes in the form of a Word document, thus allowing you to amend any parts of it that you wish to meet your particular situation and conditions.

If you would like, without any obligation, a free copy of the policy document please simply email Active@schools.co.uk and write “Free Health Policy Document” in the subject line, and it will be emailed back to you.

If you have any questions about this Policy Document, please do email me on enquiries@imoves.com

Ian Pickles
imoves

It is clear that as part of the government’s Active Schools initiative there is the implication that schools should help encourage parents to make their children more active.

Certainly there’s no doubt that if parents can be convinced of the benefit of additional activity for their children, that can have an enormous benefit for the school.

At the heart of the evidence surrounding the Active School initiative is the fact that additional activity not only makes the children physically fitter, but it also dramatically improves children’s intellectual abilities while reducing disciplinary issues, improving sociability, and reducing mental health problems.

In short, active children are easier to work with in school, cause fewer problems, and get better academic results.

Given that set of facts which are clearly laid out in reports from the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges and others, if one can persuade parents to get their children to be more active, this can be the single simplest step towards increasing attainment in schools.

imoves works with schools in delivering activity sessions that can take place within lessons, and as part of our work we have produced a short document that explains to parents the benefits of activity and encourages them to be involved.

The document can be placed on your school’s website or forwarded to parents by email or in printed form, and is available from imoves free of charge and, of course, without any obligation.

What’s more, because it comes as a Word file you can, if you wish, amend it so that it relates directly to issues in your school and of course translate it into other languages.

For your free copy of “We’re becoming a more active school: how your child can benefit” simply email Active@schools.co.uk and write “We’re becoming a more active school” in the subject line.  We’ll send it back to you straight away.

The most effective way of ensuring progress in Foreign Languages among your KS2 pupils is by breaking the Programmes of Study into achievable, understandable objectives, creating a unified tracking approach which can then be used by any KS2 teacher to plan their lessons.

How do you translate the vague curriculum requirements such as ‘speak in sentences, using familiar vocabulary, phrases and basic language structures’ into a four year scheme of work?

And then, how do you record progress when the national curriculum does not provide much guidance?

It is with these questions in mind that we have developed Assessing Primary Languages – a resource that supports both specialist and non-specialist teachers of primary languages in interpreting the requirements of the KS2 Programme of Study and measuring pupils’ progress.

Classroom teachers and subject leaders will find this resource invaluable, not least because the tried and tested framework is a rigorous tool which can be used for planning, but also because teachers are given help with deciding what ʻsubstantial progressʼ actually looks like.

The framework is clearly laid out and breaks the Programme of Study into smaller areas which are then cross-referenced across four stages, so the task of assessing all aspects of the Programme of Study has never been easier.

Assessing Primary Languages also contains a large number of creative and adaptable ready-to-use activities, including those which can be used to support you in measuring your pupils’ progress for each area and at each stage.

To find out more or to order Assessing Primary Languages for £37.89 (exc. VAT), please visit https://www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/assessing-primary-languages-743. 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 767122

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 MAT managements to compare their schools’ progress and attainment.

Schools can:

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

agree their own assessment grades, which define pupils’ steps towards mastering the curriculum: we have schools who use 3 steps (e.g. emerging, expected, exceeding) 4 or 5 steps (e.g. below, towards, at expected, at greater depth), even 9 and 12 point numeric scales.

use a quick and easy way for teachers to record their assessments (the toolkit provides this).

set Age Related Expectations or Targets for each term/year (the toolkit has a simple way to set these).

analyse 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.

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.co.uk?

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.

Roger Watson

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

A new approach has been developed in the UK to minimise the disruption caused by pupils who have behaviour problems and for others whose learning is undermined by emotional problems.  The solution is the Integrative Holistic model of Play Therapy.  This now has a clinical evidence base of over 12,000 cases showing its effectiveness.  It is being used in 45 countries and over 1500 primary schools in the UK.

When therapy is delivered to the standards of Play Therapy UK, between 77% and 84% of the children show a positive change as observed by teachers and parents.

Training for SENCOs, Teachers and Teaching Assistants is available at 13 conveniently located venues in the UK.  Post Graduate awards by Leeds Beckett University.   Admission to the Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists,  accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, an independent UK government funded agency.  www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

Post Graduate Certificate in Therapeutic Play Skills – 15 days spread over 5 three day weekends to minimise time away from school.

One day Introduction to Play Therapy Course – find out more about the model, if it’s suitable for your school and our innovative training methods.

For more information: Email me personally at  mokijep@aol.com

Kind regards

Monika Jephcott – Chief Executive Play Therapy UK

Following the launch of the BBC documentary series, ‘No More Boys and Girls: Can Our Kids Go Gender Free?’, now is a better time than any to ensure that the message of gender equality is spread as far and wide as possible – not least because we are now fully equipped with the scientific backing that is required to persuade any sceptics.

For those of you who haven’t already watched it (highly recommended), the documentary series explores how gender stereotypes are affecting boys and girls alike, despite both genders being equally proficient, mentally and emotionally, as well as physically up until puberty.

A highly effective way of conveying this message to your pupils is in morning assemblies, 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 Comfort’s story: showing boys and girls they are equals, and challenges gender stereotypes, using football as the example.

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 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 £17.99 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-book or both for £21.89,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

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

With support from our Primary Progress toolkit, yes you can.

Our system is flexible enough to allow schools to manage their own assessment policy, and MAT management to compare their schools’ progress and attainment.

Schools can:

• pick their own subjects, statements/objectives (the toolkit can import these or provide a default set to edit).
• agree a set of assessment grades, which define pupils’ steps towards mastering the curriculum (the toolkit can cope with any set of assessment grades).
• use a quick and easy way for teachers to record their assessments (the toolkit provides this).
• set Age Related Expectations for each term (the toolkit has a simple way to set these).
• analyse which pupils are making expected progress and which need support to get them on track (the toolkit provides multiple reports)

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.

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with your current assessment tracking system, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at primaryprogresstoolkit.co.uk?

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, 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.

Roger Watson

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

There is one time of the year during which everyone expects something new: September.  Pupils have obviously advanced a year, there may perhaps be some new members of staff, there are new children in the school and this is the perfect moment to suggest a change.

Especially if the change involves the introduction of a new process to aid those children whose literacy attainments were particularly below average during 2016/17.

Indeed, if these pupils then make a great leap forwards in literacy, that change will have a dramatic impact on not just the children and their parents but also on the whole school. Word spreads that something new is happening in the classroom this term.

The approach that can achieve such a dramatic turnaround from the beginning of the academic year uses one-to-one tuition for selected children – but without the costs normally associated with these sorts of initiatives.

Of course, these are bold claims and you will want to see this validated.  This is why we offer a free trial of our approach. If you arrange a trial now, we can ensure this happens in the first half of the coming term.

Through our program, every literacy misunderstanding and every concept not fully grasped is instantly spotted and this results in the pupil being taken back a step for remedial work. After this, progress and advancement resumes.

Each individual’s literacy needs are thus analysed and the pupil is directed to an engaging set of activities which remedy any deficits before advancing through to the next set of skills.

Because the level of instruction is so accurately reflective of the child’s current abilities, the pupil then gets a feeling of success and progress which of itself is highly motivational.

To enable you to see this process in action before making any firm decisions, there is more information about Core 5, the program which achieves these extraordinary results here.

You can also read a variety of case studies here. You can also find on the top right of the page the link to gain full access to the program for 30 days without any payment or commitment.

If you want to know more about the program, please do call 0191 482 1939 or email info@lexiauk.co.uk

Rob Kay

LexiaUK Software Consultant.

According to the government’s new reports on children and obesity, increased activity not only reduces the chances of obesity but also increases intellectual attainment, while reducing disciplinary issues, improving sociability, and reducing mental health problems.

In fact, increased activity appears to be a wonder cure for both the physical and mental ills that beset some young people.

However, this demand for an extra 2.5 hours activity a week leaves two questions:

First, what is the best way to ensure that children get the extra activity each week that the government now wants?

Second, how can we do this without bringing in new equipment, specialist staff, or supervisors for outdoor activity?  In short, how can we do it as part of our daily work with the staff and equipment that we already have?

It is to help schools answer these questions that imoves has produced a free report for schools on the most effective ways of meeting this government’s objective of making children more active throughout the day, every day.

For the government’s warning (that we are now looking at the first generation of children who are, as things stand, going to be less fit than their parents were as children) is indeed a fundamentally frightening one.

The report, “The Active School”, which answers the question of how schools can help pupils gain all the benefits that accrue from extra activity, is available now, free of charge.

If you would like a copy simply send an email to Active@schools.co.uk and we’ll send you the report back straight away.

If you have any questions about this report, please do email me on enquiries@imoves.com

Ian Pickles
imoves

Carl Jung was the first to recognise that the psyche, like the body, can heal itself given a safe healing environment.  Another Carl – Carl Rogers added another dimension.

20% of your pupils are likely to have an emotional, behaviour or mental health issue that is preventing them from reaching their full potential at school, at home and in the world.

You will immediately be able identify the ones that cause trouble, disruption and stress but there are also those who are suffering inside.

But most children can’t or don’t want to talk about their problems.

Virginia Axline was the first to develop play as a non-talking non-directive therapy.  Oaklander added the creative arts as therapeutic media.  Barnes joined the two approaches together.

In Play Therapy UK we’ve developed our Integrative Holistic Model over the last 14 years including special features to make it effective for primary schools.  Between 77% and 84% of those receiving play therapy delivered to our  standards show a positive change, as observed by teachers and parents. Now with over 20,000 measures, the evidence base is highly reliable.

In 2013 our Register of Play and Creative Arts Therapists was accredited by the Professional Standards Authority, the first in the world to be recognised by a government funded agency.

You can experience how play therapy works, the skills required and how we train using mainly experiential exercises, by attending a one-day ‘Introduction to Play Therapy’ course held at 13 convenient venues throughout the UK. Phone: 01825 761143 to book.

More information: www.playtherapy.org.uk

If you would like to have a chat about how play therapy helps schools to achieve their academic objectives as well as supporting pupils’ emotional welfare and the options in more detail please email Monika at: mokijep@majemail.com

Many adult, adolescent and childhood psychological problems may be traced to attachment issues in early childhood.  How many of your pupils exhibit these problems through repeated angry outbursts, crying, clinging or withdrawal?  You will know the disruption they cause.

You can help them and their parents by providing a play therapy service – provided that it is delivered safely and effectively by practitioners on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

Play Therapy UK’s evidence base, built over the last 12 years using actual practice data from over a thousand schools, shows that between 77% and 84% of those receiving play therapy delivered to our  standards show a positive change, as observed by teachers and parents. Now with over 20,000 measures, the evidence base is highly reliable.

If your school is not yet using play therapy, there are two main options:

I ) Contact your nearest PTUK registrant to see if one is available provide a service for your school: www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

2) Invest in training one of your teaching staff as a Registered Practitioner in Therapeutic Play Skills.

Our partner the Academy of Play and Child Psychotherapy (APAC) is currently training over 300 practitioners in 13 conveniently venues throughout the UK.  Many are Teachers, Teaching Assistants, Learning Mentors and Nurses.  They’ll receive a Post Graduate Certificate from Leeds Beckett University as well as being registered. It’s a good investment that will typically show a good return within a couple of terms.

Perhaps you would like to experience how play therapy works, the skills required and how we train using mainly experiential exercises, by attending a one-day ‘Introduction to Play Therapy’ course held at 13 convenient venues throughout the UK. Phone: 01825 761143 to book.

More information: www.playtherapy.org.uk

If you would like to have a chat about how play therapy helps schools to achieve their academic objectives as well as supporting pupils’ emotional welfare  and the options in more detail please email Monika at: mokijep@majemail.com

Do you need a system flexible enough to allow schools to manage their own assessment policy, while consolidating their results so that MAT management can compare schools’ progress and attainment?

With support from our Primary Progress toolkit it’s easy to create such a ‘bespoke’ system.

Schools can:

pick their own manageable set of subjects, statements/objectives (the toolkit can import these or provide a default set to edit).

agree a set of assessment grades, which define pupils’ steps towards mastering the curriculum (the toolkit can cope with any set of assessment grades).

use a quick and easy way for teachers to record their assessments (the toolkit provides this).

set Age Related Expectations for each term (the toolkit has a simple way to set these).

analyse which pupils are making expected progress and which need support to get them on track (the toolkit provides multiple reports)

The MAT gets:

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

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with your current assessment tracking system, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at primaryprogresstoolkit.co.uk?

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, 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.

Roger Watson

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

There are government policies and government policies.  Some are welcome, some… well perhaps not so welcome.

But the objective of making children more active is one of those which it is hard to argue with – given the benefits that it offers both the school and the children.

For, it turns out, all the evidence shows that the extra activity the government wants us to ensure children get does more than simply making the children physically fitter.   Indeed it seems that increased activity also dramatically improves children’s intellectual abilities, while reducing disciplinary issues, improving sociability, and reducing mental health problems.

Which then leaves two questions:

First, what is the best way to ensure that children get the extra activity each week that the government now wants?

Second, how can we do this without bringing in new equipment, specialist staff, or supervisors for outdoor activity?  In short, how can we do it as part of our daily work with the staff and equipment that we already have?

It is to help schools answer these questions that imoves has produced a free report for schools on the most effective ways of meeting this government’s objective of making children more active throughout the day, every day.

For the government’s warning (that we are now looking at the first generation of children who are, as things stand, going to be less fit than their parents were as children) is indeed a fundamentally frightening one.

The report, “The Active School”, which answers the question of how schools can help pupils gain all the benefits that accrue from extra activity, is available now, free of charge.  If you would like a copy simply send an email to Active@schools.co.uk and we’ll send you the report back straight away.

Finally, you will no longer be affected by holiday price hikes!
We’re dedicating ourselves to providing teaching professionals and their families with a GUARANTEED discount when booking with the UK’s leading travel companies. Discounts are exclusive to our members and can be used as often as required, whether you’re booking a country cottage or an all inclusive luxury break we will ensure you never pay full price again!

Time to put your feet up!
You will no longer have to spend hours searching for the code that works or for the best deal available. As a member, you will have a guaranteed discount when booking your travel with any of our partners.

Our website www.tghd.co.uk will be launching soon but you can still visit and pre-register in order to be kept posted on our progress.

Please also like and share our facebook page www.facebook.com/TGHDUK as the more pre-registered members and facebook likes we get the better deals we can negotiate.

We look forward to providing you with the best travel discounts really soon!

www.tghd.co.uk

www.facebook.com/TGHDUK

Who’s eligible? Any teaching professional who has a QTS or teacher reference number.  You’re also eligible if you are employed by a local authority maintained nursery, primary, secondary and special schools and all primary, secondary, and special academy schools and free schools.

All trackers will show pupils’ attainment at various points in the year, but reporting on progress seems to be more of a problem.

Particularly if you want to have your own curriculum/objectives and your own assessment system, which defines pupils’ steps on the way to mastering the curriculum.

With our Primary Progress toolkit reporting on progress is easy. We can assign a value to any step on your attainment system and use those values to calculate progress.

We also make it easy to set Age Related Expectations for each term, so that you can see which pupils are making expected progress and which need support to get them on track.

The toolkit provides multiple easy to access reports – subject attainment, combined subjects, statements achieved, ARE, individual pupil, whole school overview, with group filters.

If you need reports in a format which the toolkit doesn’t provide, we can extract the data from the database and present it in a special Excel report, at no extra charge!

Our Online Primary Progress toolkit has been built with flexibility as its main aim. We believe it can meet any school’s assessment needs.  It’s also a modern online database system, professionally programmed, so you don’t have to worry about maintaining it. It’s not expensive and training and support are free.

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with your current assessment tracking system, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit at primaryprogresstoolkit.co.uk?

If you need more information, or would like to discuss your specific needs, email me at statsed@gmail.com or ring me on 01279 652183.

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

Roger Watson

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