What is the most effective way of making a lesson proceed exactly as you want it to?

There are, of course, many answers to this question – but one of the simplest ways is to have a starter activity which engages the pupils as soon as they enter the room, preventing any form of distraction and of poor behaviour developing.

The right starter can set the tone for the rest of the lesson. The pupils are engaged in work right from the start and will then carry on.

An appropriate starter can also demonstrate your expectations of the pupils and set a routine. As soon as the pupils enter your classroom they will start work.

Additionally, the activity can recap the main ideas or key words from the previous lesson and pass on ideas and skills that you might otherwise not have time to teach.

All in all you get the right sort of activity and motivation, and challenge the pupils in an enjoyable way that makes them look forward to the next starter activity.

To help with this approach we’ve developed Geography Starters – a set of starter activities – crosswords, puzzles, wordsearches, etc – designed for pupils at KS3.

It is provided in a photocopiable format so that sheets can be copied and given out to pupils as required – and obviously re-used as much as you wish. Answer sheets are provided.  It is also provided on CD Rom so that it can be put on the school network, or copied and shared with colleagues.

Sample pages are available to view on www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/geography/T1717.pdf

Order details:

Formats (please specify if you are ordering by post, fax or phone)

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

Methods of ordering

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House Mailings plc, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH
• By fax on 01536 399 012
• By phone with a credit card or with an official school order number on 01536 399 011
  
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=544

In each case please quote our reference T1717EMN

There are three basic problems with recording APP evidence.

One is that recording the evidence takes time – it is yet another job amidst a thousand other jobs.   The job has to be done – but the only way to cut the time spent is to be more efficient in the process, thus reducing the amount of time taken over APP by half – or even more.

The second issue is consistency – making sure that the APP evidence is always recorded in the same way across all the children and across time.  It is very easy to look back at the end of the year and find that one has gradually changed one’s approach during this time.

The third point relates to remembering the details.  Of course most of these are recorded – a regular routine job.  But occasionally, and in particular with oral work where there is no written work to record against, the details might be missed.

We’ve been working on mechanisms to overcome all three problems, and we have come up with a set of approaches.  Each one solves the issues, but each does it in a slightly different way.   Our experience shows that some teachers like one approach, some another – hence we offer all three as alternatives.

(There are also some colleagues who like all three approaches – and that works ok too because they all maintain the consistency that is essential in APP.)

These are the three approaches:

• Stampers in a range of sizes to suit your style; each prompts you to fill in subject, level, AF, date and context/comments consistently across all work.
• The APP Evidence Copy Record Pad which allows you to build a bank of evidence to help in summative assessment – one copy stays on the pad, one goes into the pupil profile.  This is ideal for recording oral and observed Assessing Pupils’ Progress evidence.
• The Sticky Note Pad is a portable solution enabling you to jot down Assessing Pupils’ Progress evidence at any time.  (The pad fits in a pocket or bag, so can be carried around and is always handy.)

Prices for these tools to record APP evidence start from just £2.95 (+ vat).

There are more details at www.superstickers.com/app and you can order in any of these ways:

• By freephone on 0800 318192
• By freefax on 0800 027 2833
• By post  to Motivation in Learning, 4 Balloo Avenue, Bangor, CO. Down, BT19 7PJ
• On the internet at www.superstickers.com where we are pleased to welcome all orders, including online school orders on account.

Left to their own devices during playtimes and lunchtimes, some children will play in a very positive way.  They will work together, mutually acknowledging the rules of their own games, helping and supporting each other and gaining much from the experience.

Unfortunately not all children do this.  Some become isolated, some race around letting off steam and occasionally colliding with innocent by-standers, some become the victims of bullies, others become bullies.

A straightforward way to enhance positive play in the school grounds is to teach the children one game a week which they can then work on together.  Some games will catch on and become continuing favourites.  Others by the nature of things will fade after a few days.

But two great benefits will emerge from teaching children one game a week.  Firstly the initial playing of the playground game by a group of children is always a highly rewarding experience. The sorting out of the rules, agreeing the fundamentals and, above all, working together are all fundamental to the development of the social aspect of each child’s life.

Secondly, although the suggested games will not motivate and engage all children, they will enthuse many, leaving teachers on duty a much smaller number of potentially problematic situations to deal with.

As a further benefit, extracts from the book can be given to parents so that they can encourage their children to play these games when friends come around at weekends or after school, or to give a greater structure to birthday parties.

PSHE in the Playground is a photocopiable book (also available on CD so that it can be loaded onto the school’s network) which incorporates enough games to last a full school year and includes games that are suitable for both key stage 1 and key stage 2 children.  Most games can be taught to children in a matter of minutes.

Because the book is copiable only one copy needs to be purchased for the book to be used by all teachers in the school throughout the year.

An extract from PSHE in the Playground, ISBN 978 1 86083 726 5, order code T1691EMN is available at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/primary/T1691.pdf

Prices

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

You can purchase the report…

• By post from First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Rd, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• On-line with a credit card at http://tinyurl.com/npqers
• By phone with a school order number or a credit card to 01536 399 011

When ordering the book please quote the reference T1691EMN.

Listening to Music Revision Activities is one of those books that does what it says – it covers everything in the syllabus and does it in a way that starts from the premise that the lessons have already been taught but the memory has faded just a bit.

What is also nice is the way in which the sections follow a set pattern so that you know exactly what to find and where to find it. Being photocopiable means one can just find the page needed, run it off, and there it is, revision preparation done.

The main body of the book describes the history of western music from 1200 today, and world music, and for each category sets out the characteristics of the music and the instruments used. There is also a section on listening activities followed by page after page after page of revision quizzes – in fact over 100 pages of photocopiable worksheets in all.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/music/T1656.pdf

ISBN: 978 1 86083 589 6   Order code: T1656emn

The volume is available as…

• Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the Ring Binder and the CD £26.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the book or CD…

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
• On the phone with a school order number at 01536 399 011
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=36&products_id=479

The first ever labels appeared in…

Here’s a most curious thought. The first ever items to be labelled were fruit and veg in shops.

Here’s a second odd thought. Those labels were only introduced in the 1880s – before then nothing bought in a shop had a label on it. Up until that point you were expected to know what everything was, and to go to the counter to ask the price.

So there were no labels anywhere until the later part of the 19th century, and it wasn’t until well into the 20th century that people began to use labels on personal belongings as a way of indicating ownership.

The big step forward with labels came around 1932 when R Stanton Avery developed the first ever self-adhesive, pressure-sensitive label.

This was still not much use to anyone who wanted to label their own possessions, because the labels had to be bought in long runs. But it was great for anyone who had new products arriving in their shop each day. The new labels were ideal for sticking on fruit, so fruit sellers could boast on every box and on every grapefruit that their product was the best quality.

After the Second World War schools sent out the first messages to parents insisting that all clothing worn at school was to be labelled, and parents responded by writing on labels that were then sewn into the garments.

Indeed, it wasn’t until the inkjet printer turned up in the 1980s that the notion of having our own pre-printed personal labels on clothing arrived.

And for a while that was thought to be the end of the affair until the iron-on label appeared – the ultimate time-saving label. It arrives with the name printed on it and can be ironed straight onto the garment.

There’s more detail on iron-on labels at www.simplystuck.com/IronOn.aspx

Best Grades at GCSE Art and Design

Best Grades at GCSE Art and Design will help your students make the most of their course and achieve higher grades than they might otherwise manage.

It is full of information on what examiners are looking for, with particularly helpful advice on presentation and how to pick up extra points at different stages of the course. There is a complete section on the different syllabuses of the UK examining boards – with a particular focus on the 2D exam which most students opt for.

Best Grades at GCSE Art and Design is packed with ideas for projects, tips on techniques and materials, and information on where to get ideas from. It is illustrated with examples of the author’s work and that of her students and makes it very clear to the students how they should work and how to make the most of their abilities.

You can see a full list of the topics at http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/art/T1569.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1569EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 779 1

Prices

Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £26.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.
You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1569EMN

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=420

Citizenship through Assembly

Citizenship through Assembly provides 100 ideas for assembly topics with practical suggestions as to how these could be presented. Many of these topics could, if desired, be further developed in the classroom and used to develop discussion on actions and their consequences. Topics suggested include racism, smoking, success, bullying, adulthood, democracy, consideration, leadership and many more. There are also notes on key beliefs in the major world religions, key dates in the calendar and short biographies on some exceptional people whose lives are held up as an example to us all.

Citizenship through Assembly by Paul Smythe is available as a copiable book or on CD with an unlimited photocopy license for use within the school. So you only need to buy one copy per school and are free to share it with your colleagues. Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1577.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1577EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 616 9

Prices

Photocopiable report: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £26.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.
You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1577emn
By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=423

Unique experience in practical mathematics

Booking opens on Monday February 22 for Techniquest’s inspirational mathematics programme Mathamagic.

This specialised mathematical exhibition and presentation in Cardiff Bay covers many areas of the KS3 mathematics curriculum, and encourages pupils to want to learn more.

Mathamagic runs for four weeks during the summer term and places tend to book up quickly. Pupils enjoy solving multiple challenges, developing their application of mathematical skills, communication and reasoning. They have to develop their own strategies to deal with the tasks set.

All groups visiting Techniquest also have time to explore the main exhibition area with more than 120 different interactive structures and puzzles.

For more information click http://www.techniquest.org/news/index.php?id=177 To book call 029 20475475.

Clear Vision is pleased to announce a new online interactive resource for RE, Citizenship and community cohesion, for KS3&4 (12-16 years):
Us and Them: Buddhism and community

*Price £40 before 1st April*

Five online sections link Buddhist teachings on

community-building
identity
the self
karma

to topics such as

identity and belonging
volunteering and charities
speech and communication
democracy
waste, recycling

Unlimited site licence £40 + VAT before 1st April
(Normal price £49 + VAT)

NB Us and Them will be available in March. Buy now to use up your budget and we’ll supply full access code in March.

Download the new Clear Vision catalogue as a pdf to print out click here

or look at all our products online at www.clear-vision.org/teachers

Other new and featured products
The Life of the Buddha interactive KS2&3 (8-14 years) Unlimited site licence £49 + VAT
New Wheel of Life poster in modern illustrated style, with notes £10 + P&P + VAT

Thanks for your time.

Free school resources
An innovative way to teach Literacy through Sustainability

One of the current problems facing teachers is finding resources that:

1. are time-saving and easy to use
2. link to the curriculum
3. engage and inspire students.

Nationwide Education’s new Sustainable Communities programmes (for 12-14 and 14-16 year olds) offer free innovative, cross-curricular online resources, which have been developed in consultation with teachers and students.

They use the theme of ‘sustainability’ as a relevant and thought-provoking stimulus for meeting the objectives of the Literacy curriculum. They explore such topics as community cohesion and environmental issues through role play and drama, discussion and debate, presentations, informative writing and persuasive writing.

The programmes are vibrant, highly stimulating learning tools for use on interactive whiteboards and PCs in school or at home. They include interactive quizzes and activities, fact sheets, work sheets, a glossary and comprehensive guidance for teachers and parents.

Access all the resources for free at: www.NationwideEducation.co.uk

Who’s got all the really great ideas?

The last time I looked I seemed to still have a brain, but by and large it was full of targets, initiatives and evaluations. What it wasn’t full of was great ideas.

I suspect someone has been ransacking my head.

I don’t think I am the only one facing this problem. In fact it is a common observation among many teachers that it is getting increasingly difficult to keep coming up with great ideas of one’s own. Especially if the pressure is on to do so.

(And it’s not just an age thing!)

So a while back I asked some colleagues to help me out – and they did. And I have been sharing the results ever since.

Model Learning will send you one of the results of these brain storming sessions (called iDEAs) every half term.

If I may explain… An iDEA is a very visual Powerpoint document that contains a single practical idea for teaching or management that can be immediately used.

After you’ve received the Powerpoint document, you can return to the website to download a poster version for your walls.

The iDEAs are very easy to use. Some teachers use them directly with their classes. Others use them in one–to–one coaching, as a resource for supported experiments and also for twilight training sessions.

I’ve been offering these free iDEAS for over a year now, and they really are completely without cost and without obligation.

Sign up for your regular free iDEAS at www.modellearning.com/ideas.aspx and you’ll find out why others value them so much.

(The other option is to eat more fish).

Ian Harris & Oliver Caviglioli
Model Learning

How can we help students manage their stress so they achieve their best?

One of the biggest problems with revision is that even saying the word ‘revise’ causes some pupils to put up emotional barriers and struggle to know what to do. Sometimes their reaction is to put off doing revision and this in the end causes stress. For others, they worry and get stressed about disappointing parents and fail to focus effectively because of it.

As a result some students can become deeply worried about revision, and the latest in a series of reports from MIND says that one British child in ten suffers depression.

SUMO4Schools is a programme which equips students with skills to manage their emotions, thinking and future, and through this can overcome the debilitating issue of stress and anxiety concerning exams. The programme is made up of six inspiring principles which teach the pupils how to create and live a successful life.

The ‘Carpe Diem – Seize the Day’ principle is based on the saying ‘Life rewards actions not intentions’ and it helps pupils to stop, think and reflect on their response to challenges and then teaches them how to move on and take healthy actions. This is why SUMO4Schools has created the SUMO ‘Managing Stress & Revision Day’ which enables the learners to:

Manage their stress to perform their best
Unpack procrastination habits
Move on to develop good study and revision habits
Motivate themselves to fulfil their potential
Create a revision action plan.

Three ways to bring the SUMO ‘Managing Stress and revision Day’ or the full SUMO programme to your school:

SUMO Presenters can come and deliver a full day to 30 borderline pupils or cover the whole year group in six periods – £750 +VAT

Group Coaching- we can also deliver high impact two hour sessions to small groups of 12 or one to one work for disengaged, underachieving students – £395 + VAT

Do It Yourself - by buying the Teaching Resource Programme pack. The pack includes a DVD, animated PowerPoint, worksheets and CD ROM for use on the school Intranet – £395 + VAT.
To book call Helen on 01925 268708.

There are more details of all three approaches on our website at www.sumo4schools.co.uk

Email: secondary@sumo4schools.co.uk
Mobile: 07590 055 336

The start of each day in the classroom defines how that day continues

Of course, as with all broad statements about teaching, it is possible to find exceptions, but as a general rule of thumb this one is not bad.

The start of each lesson defines how that lesson continues.

And although it can be argued that the start of each lesson is important, I believe that the first activity of the day is doubly important. If the children are started off with something truly invigorating and stimulating, it is more than likely that this is how the day will continue.

For this reason we have developed a whole stream of mentally stimulating focus activities for the children first thing – incorporating regular challenges for gifted and more able children.

The aim throughout is to foster the development of a range of thinking skills and to reinforce independent learning via a wide range of educational activities.

The result is that you get the children’s brains working very well while still managing a calm start to each day. Because all the activities are fully prepared you have no preparation to do.

All these resources are available at www.GoodMorningChildren.com. For £12 per classroom per year you can access all the resources on the site – far more than enough to give you materials for every working day of the year.

Better still, you can use the materials on a free trial basis. Just visit the site, click on the free trial link and fill in the form. You’ll also find testimonials and many other details about our work.

Or if you have any specific enquiries you can contact us by phone on 0870 446 1020 or by email at enquiries@goodmorningchildren.com.

But please do note that if you want the free trial, you do have to apply for that on-line.

What is the simplest way to ensure children’s items never get lost?

The answer must be that each item of each child’s property (clothing, pencil case, satchel etc etc) is labelled.

That bit is simple – as is the idea of asking parents to put the labels on all property.

But then the problems arise.

Maybe, the child is given something new, and labelling is forgotten. Or perhaps the parent doesn’t have time to sew on a name tag.

Whatever the cause, many of us find that by the spring term a lot of clothing and property is once again not labelled.

The solution however is simple. By using iron-on labels for clothes and stick-on labels for shoes and other personal belongings there are two huge advantages.

First application of the label to the item is simplicity itself. And second, the items are so low cost, parents can readily afford to take a second batch of labels to make sure the property is fully labelled each term.

There’s also further benefit for you: the system requires hardly any work at all by you.

We supply you with free packs to give to the parents. They then place their orders on line, on our order form, or via the phone. Your school gets a credit for every pack of labels ordered – and without having to collect in any money or do any selling. All you do is hand out the packs.

Over 4000 schools now use this system, and I do hope you will consider your school joining with us.

There’s more information on www.simplystuck.com/ps.aspx

Jo Hutchinson

Success at the British Schoolgirl Ski Races

The Cheltenham Ladies’ College Ski Teams achieved their best ever collective set of results at the British Schoolgirl Ski Races in Flaine in January. The A and B Ski Teams won 1st and 2nd places in both the Giant Slalom and the Combined. Annabel Lawrence, currently in Year 8 at College and from North Yorkshire, won 1st place in the Individual Slalom in the Child 1 Age Group. Daphne Parayre, in Year 13 and from London, finished 4th in all three of her individual races of Giant Slalom, Slalom and Combined in the Junior 1 Age Group.

The College Ski Teams train at the Gloucester Ski and Snowboard Centre under the guidance of Chantelle Goddard-Jones, Coach of the slalom team at Gloucester. Selections for the ski races in Flaine, France were made following a series of trials at the Gloucester dry ski slope. Around 142 British girls competed in 46 teams during the week of 25th January 2010. There were 28 teams in the British based non-registered skiers category in which the seven girls from College competed in both team and individual races. None of the girls from College are registered skiers but many achieved faster times than registered skiers, who regularly compete for schools and clubs.

Mrs Rachel Guest, PE Teacher, said, ‘these ski races are a fantastic introduction to the competitive world of ski racing. The girls should be very proud of these excellent results and thanks must go to Chantelle for all her hard-work and commitment.”

Daphne has been invited by the English Schools’ Ski Association (Esskia) to attend a training camp in Geilo, Norway. Annabel has been given a week of training with the DHO (Downhill Only) during half term.

We are hoping you may be able to help us in researching teachers’ needs regarding educational resources. Marketlink Research, an independent market research company specialising in the education sector, has been commissioned by a non-commercial organisation providing educational resources to schools to undertake a national programme of research about teachers’ needs from resources.

The study will help to shape the development of resources to support teaching and learning. We are writing to invite your school to be part of this process.

All opinions expressed will be kept confidential and non-attributable, and as a way of thanking you for your participation you can choose to be entered into a free prize draw to win £500 cash.

To take part in the study, please click on the link below. It should take around 10 minutes to complete the survey.

http://www.marketlinkresearch.co.uk/educationalresources.htm

If you are unable to launch the survey by clicking on the link above, please cut and paste the entire Web address into the address field of your browser.

Thanking you in advance for your help, I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Suzanne Brown
Research Executive, Marketlink Research
Tel: 020 8740 5550
Fax: 020 8749 4450

Meeting your Sustainable Schools targets? Free resources to engage students

One of the current problems facing schools is finding resources that:

fulfil the Government’s Sustainable Schools targets
link to the curriculum
engage and inspire students.

Becoming a Sustainable School not only involves the building itself and school ethos but also the education of students. The topic of ‘sustainability’ also provides a relevant and thought-provoking stimulus for cross-curricular learning.

Nationwide Education’s new Sustainable Communities programmes (for 12-14 and 14-16 year olds) link to the PSHE, Citizenship, Geography, Science and Literacy curricula. They have been developed in consultation with teachers and students, and offer an innovative way to help students learn about the environment and sustainable living.

All resources are free to access online and designed to be convenient and time-saving for busy teachers.

The programmes are vibrant, highly stimulating learning tools for use on interactive whiteboards and PCs in school or at home. They include interactive quizzes and activities, fact sheets, work sheets, a glossary and comprehensive guidance for teachers and parents.

Nationwide Education also contains a wealth of resources for ages 4 to 18 in the areas of Financial Capability and Safety.

Access all the resources for free at: www.NationwideEducation.co.uk

Ready made PSHE resources, lesson plans, work sheets…

What none of us particularly likes doing is taking a gamble on ordering worksheets etc without really knowing what you are going to get.

So we’ve produced ready made resources, lesson plans, work sheets, activities, assessments, interactive games and video clips for PSHE KS3 and KS4.

And then we have made them available free of charge on the website. You can download these resources immediately from our website free of charge and try them out for 14 days. Then if you don’t want to use them you just drop us a line saying so.

The teaching resources help schools to promote the wellbeing of pupils and provide relationship and drug education lesson plans and ideas.

Worksheets deal with subjects such as personal identity, healthy lifestyles, risk, relationships and diversity. The PSHE teacher guidance will also help you teach issues such as drug, alcohol and tobacco use and misuse, diet and the balance between work, leisure and exercise.

Topics covered within the PSHE KS3 and KS4 teaching resources include:

Alcohol, a series of lessons looking at the effects and consequences of alcohol and alcohol abuse; Drugs, (students take part in a ‘TV chat show’ style discussion about how drugs affect lives); Teenage pregnancy, (topics range from stereotyping teenage mothers through to exploring the social impacts of teenage pregnancy); and Healthy eating.

In the relationships module we focus on relationships of all different sorts, and on the emotion of love itself. In the Cannabis section we explore the links between cannabis use and mental health issues, this module is topical and grabs the students’ attention.

When dealing with financial capability, activities are based on personal finance concepts and are designed for use during form periods and tutorials as well as in PSHE lessons.

You can find more details, and sign up for the free trial at http://www.teaching-resources-uk.com/2009

Rackets smashing hard

INTENSITY ruled the courts at a school in Peterborough last week, as a collection of schools from across the county attended a badminton competition.

Following a previous competition, the proceeding schools met at the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough. This school was only opened in September 2007, and was the largest to be created by the Government’s Academy programme. It accommodates 2200 students ages 11-18.

Last Friday, selected students from Witchford Village College (WVC) attended the county level badminton tournament.

These students created a KS3 boys team and girl’s team, with the same for KS4. Despite the KS3 boys winning against Neale Wade, the KS4 boys winning against Bottisham and the KS4 girls winning against Stanground, it wasn’t enough to get through to the next round.

However, the teams were congratulated by Mr Mappledoram, head of PE at WVC, and were told that they did well to play against the best players in the county.

In the future, WVC’s badminton stars hope to do an even better job than before, with all the training and hard word that they will put in. The next competition is where they can prove that they really have got what it takes.

Managing stress and behaviour for staff and pupils

In a recent survey by the Teachers’ Support Network, 42% of teachers said they had been depressed in the previous two years. 63% put it down to work and 33% said it was the combination of work and personal issues.

In fact nearly 36,000 teaching professionals report suffering from stress, anxiety and depression each year. Those working with young people have been recognised by the Health & Safety Executive as the ones suffering the most with depression and stress.

Thus the question being asked is, “Can we implement an emotional health programme which can influence and improve the quality of life for both the teachers and the pupils?”

My colleagues and I think the answer is yes through using the SUMO programme.

SUMO is an innovative life enhancing programme which is based on Paul McGee’s best selling book SUMO ‘Shut Up, Move On. The Straight Talking Guide To Creating and Enjoying A Brilliant Life’.

McGee has been helping businesses and public sector organisations deal with stress and change for over 15 years and in the past 3 years has also started supporting teachers and pupils.

The programme is based on 6 principles which, when implemented by teachers and pupils, can really improve their levels of stress and improve behaviour.

How can you implement this into your school:

Lead Practitioner training:

On March 23rd & 24th in Birmingham, there is a Lead Practitioner training course. The first day is an introduction to the principles which is a great day for staff to learn how to SUMO and cope with the stresses of teaching. The second day is designed to help you implement the SUMO programme in your school.

Day One cost: £220 + VAT. Day One & two cost: £400 + VAT

Internal Staff training.

We have created a fun, interactive and innovative staff twilight and full day training. The staff gain skills of how to improve their own stress levels but also how to manage the stress and behaviour of pupils.
The benefits you will gain by attending the SUMO Training day.

You will gain:

The tools to manage stress on a personal level and within the school, an improved understanding of how to manage emotions and behaviour in school, and a greater awareness of how to help learners create healthy learning, thinking and behavioural habits

The tools to improve student responsibility

A renewed motivation to work with pupils and see a transformation.
To find out more, including how you can use the training in school and the differences you will notice both from day one and over time, as well as the comments from others, please click here

Booking Details:

For a booking form please click here

For a training quote please email secondary@sumo4schools.co.uk

Having a SUMO staff training session will not only raise motivation but equip your staff with tools to manage their own stress and the stress of the pupils. It will support them in their desire to teach well.

Please call Helen to book a staff training event on 01925 268708.

Email: secondary@sumo4schools.co.uk
Mobile: 07590 055 336

Get your students thinking with this multiple choice quiz.

This CD Rom contains 600 multiple choice questions based on AS Level Philosophy of Religion and Ethics. It comprises 3 separate tests of 200 questions each on the Foundation, Philosophy of Religion and Ethics Modules. Students are awarded points depending on how many attempts they require to get the correct answer. In many cases hints are given as well as brief comments on the correct answer.

The order of questions is randomised each time students play as are the multiple answers to questions. This ensures students have to actually read the answers rather than memorise their location on the screen.

The program runs on Windows and a demo version can be downloaded from http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=39&products_id=445.

The CD Rom is sold for £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery (incl VAT) for use on a single computer only, but a full site license allowing for unlimited use within the school is available for a further £50 incl.VAT.

Publisher’s reference: T1611EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 745 6

You can purchase the report…

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=39&products_id=445
Please quote the order ref: T1611EMN with your order.

Please call or email us at sales@firstandbest.co.uk if you wish to buy a site license.

How can making one change to a classroom radically improve teaching and learning?

Everyone involved in teaching and learning is concerned with the visual environment. We write clearly so that the child can read. We recognise the importance of adjusting the lighting in the room to compensate for gloomy days (lights on) or brilliant sunshine (blinds down).

We ensure that computer screens can be read easily, and we take steps if there is any problem.

But when it comes to hearing, we have a different attitude – a misplaced sense of indifference or helplessness.

There’s a feeling that little can be done to combat extraneous sounds. For instance, cutting down noise from outside the class is either impossible (have you tried shushing a playground or diverting a flight path recently?) or probably involves expensive sound proofing. And as for cutting out the sound of computers or scraping chairs emanating from inside the classroom, where does one begin?

And yet the problem with noise and hearing in the classroom goes much deeper: after all, ear infections are sometimes cited as the most common health complaint among young people, making difficulties with hearing much more prevalent than problems with seeing.

When these are combined with the fact that most classrooms have been built with no consideration for acoustics at all, it is easy to understand how, at any one time, about a quarter of the average class will be struggling to make proper sense of all that the teacher says.

Of course, if your school is not under a flight path the problem is somewhat reduced, but for most of us there are plenty of sounds interfering with those that we want the children to hear.

There is, however, a solution – and that is Soundfield, a remarkably low cost sound system which can be adjusted to the particular needs of each individual room and which ensures that every child can clearly hear the teacher’s voice, making it a simple, one-step solution to more effective teaching and learning.

There are more details and a free trial available at www.soundfield.info

An NFER report commissioned by the then DfEE to assess the use of data in teaching and learning (Research Report No 671, 2006) reached the conclusion that “School-devised systems and Excel spreadsheets are the most popular data management tools” in Primary schools.

But the question then arises, why do Primary teachers prefer these tools?

Seemingly the answers are because these systems are perceived as easy to use and produce outcomes that are easy to interpret.

The systems are also used to track individual pupils and are thought to give schools the flexibility they need to input internally generated data, such as interim assessments and targets.

This is probably still true today. But such systems do have their limitations:

First, they tend to be inflexible – if you have a class sheet but want to look at a vulnerable sub-group, it may not be quick and easy to extract that data.

Secondly, colour coding can help you to interpret the data, but it often has to be applied by hand.

Likewise a good graph can summarise a page of data and make it understandable, but you have to be quite an expert to produce anything more complex than a simple bar chart in Excel.

Which is why, once we start thinking about overall efficiency in school, the issue is not always one of having the cheapest and simplest system – especially if one then has to do extra manual work at the end to get the most important information out of the system.

The ideal, of course, is one that allows you to ask almost any question in order to analyse the behaviour or results of specific groups, such as the special needs children, summer born children, Turkish born boys, children from bi-lingual families…

In short, what can make the whole analysis and decision-making process more efficient is a system where coding is automatic and graphs can be produced by pressing a button.

One company “Primary Progress Toolkit” believe that they have produced just this, and a small but growing band of schools seem to agree. When shown the Toolkit, one head who had devised a system which was good enough to be used by other local schools, said: “Yes, that’s what I would have liked my system to be, if I had the time and the skills to produce it”.

It seems to me that if you want more information from your data, without creating more work for yourself, it is worth a look. The details are at… www.primaryprogresstoolkit.co.uk. You can ring 01279 652183 for a demonstration.

World Maths Day is a FREE online maths event which Unites the World in Numbers! It is the largest online global maths event and world record breaking in the number of correct maths questions answered over a 48 hour period!

In 2009 World Maths Day was a huge success with almost 2 million young people from 200 countries competing over 48 hours to successfully answer 452,681,681 maths questions correctly.

How the event works

Students sign into www.worldmathsday.com and play a 60 second live mental arithmetic game against someone else in the world, of the same age, who is playing at the same time. Each student will play 500 games over the 48 hour period. They gain points for every correct answer and the highest scores go onto a live leaderboard. It is hugely motivating for students and schools will collapse their normal timetable to host the World Maths Day event in their schools. We are looking for the top student in each age category, top school and top classes.

World Maths Day 2010 is set to be our biggest event to date, involving more than 2.5 million young people from across the globe competing against each other in Live Maths games in real time.

We hope to have all countries of the world represented and over 40,000 schools involved.

To many teenagers, now is everything. The insult, pain, hurt, pleasure, fun, laughter of the moment dominates the student. The sense that the fun should stop or that the pain will go away is simply not there. Now is everything.

Which is why it can take some students time to understand history in its fullest context – as an ever changing evolving set of events.

History as an evolving tableau in which events and people come and go, and in which these events (and the responses to them) are as real as the hurt and pleasure they experience… that is hard to grasp.

Which is why there is a need for interactive history maps – maps which change across time to show the patterns of activity. Maps which show the growth of the Empire, the spread of the plague, the invasion of the country…

The maps are animated for use either with a whiteboard or for hands-on learning. The combination of the maps, animations and hotspots means that they are excellent for presenting broad overviews of a topic, as well as for accessing in-depth knowledge and understanding.

In short, interactive history maps help to open the door to a deeper understanding of how history works and what history means. They slip into existing lessons, are simple to use, and come with full teaching notes.

There are nine different TimeMaps available…

The Rise of the Roman Empire £29.99
The Fall of the Roman Empire £24.99
The Rise of Islam £19.99
The Norman Conquest £29.99
Medieval England and Her Neighbours (1087 to 1215) £24.99
Medieval England and Her Neighbours (1215 to 1453) £29.99
The Black Death £19.99
European Exploration and Discovery £24.99
The Atlantic Slave Trade £24.99
Prices exclude VAT and £4.50 postage.

You can order by…

By post TimeMaps, 1 Main Street, Horsley Woodhouse, Derbyshire, DE7 6AU
By fax 01332 781539
By phone 01332 781106
By email enquiries@timemaps.com
If you have any questions please do call us on 01332 781539

Reach for the Stars Induction Programme

Running an induction programme for the new intake of year 7 pupils is one of the key ways of ensuring that the enthusiasm and excitement of the newcomers is developed in their first few weeks at school.

One feeling is that if the programme itself has a vitality of its own and incorporates subject matter that excites most young students then it really can have an effect that lasts all through the year, and even beyond.

What’s more, if the induction programme can deal with to the learning habits that underpin Personal, Learning and Thinking skills then it not only results in a positive attitude towards the school in general, but also can have many other benefits too.

One such programme is the “Reach for the Stars” Induction Programme.

Based on the theme of Astronomy, this blended package of resources enables the school to introduce a common approach to learning through a uniquely designed Induction programme for new students and their teachers.

Because the package is ready made it saves hours in terms of design time and preparation, and can gather baseline data for progression in PLTS.

What’s more, it is based upon the building learning power foundations developed by Professor Guy Claxton and can help as part of a whole school approach to foster deeper and more profound learning.

To read more about this unique package and its many benefits please visit http://www.tloltd.co.uk/productpage.php?categoryid=5&productid=32

One of the problems which can occur with Form Time is the issue of finding a variety of engaging subjects and topics that will interest the students, and have a meaningful educational impact. One can do it for one’s own specialist subject, but in other areas it can be difficult.

The other issue is the format. Good Form Time resources need to be available on a free trial offer, and they need to be in a format that can be shared with colleagues so that everyone can have a look first, and then have equal access to the materials.

It was with these parameters in mind that Form Time activities from PDC were developed.

Within the materials there are over 100 activities for KS3 and KS4 classes. They cover a wide range of topics – and indeed some of them are detailed enough also to be of use by colleagues in schools who teach subjects such as PSHE or careers, or who handle work experience, media studies, business studies, enterprise, gap year projects etc etc.

They are all available on the internet link below and you and your colleagues can try them out for yourself for 14 days without having to commit to buying. Because they are internet based everyone can share the resources if you do decide to go ahead.

Of course, if you think they are a load of old tosh, then you just cancel within 14 days and nothing is lost. If you want to continue using them, you just hold on to the materials, and we’ll send you the invoice.

Here are the details of some of the topics covered…

Alcohol, Active Careers, Credit Crunch, Critical Consumers, Democracy, Diversity, Economic ideas, Enterprise, Gap year activities, Human rights, The media, Options in year 9, Prejudice, Revision, Professional skills, Stock Exchange, Preparing for work.

You can find more details, and sign up for the free trial at http://www.teaching-resources-uk.com/2010

College choir sings in international concert

ANTICIPATION and excitement resided in 20 lucky students from Witchford Village College that were chosen to sing in the production of Peace Child Alpha Omega which took part on the 30th January at 7:30pm at the Ely cathedral.

After weeks of practising and being coached by Mr Berthon, head of music and Mr Parnell, who was organizing the music for this performance, these students sat at the centre of this event singing to over 180 people.

Other participants in the concert included Ely Choral Society, Southfields Primary School, a number of singers from Turkey and Estonia, professional actors and Gemma Craven who narrated the story.

Skye, a student involved, said to press club, “It was great fun and an amazing and unmissable experience as it was the first time I had sung to such a big audience.”

The story revolved around four teenagers trapped in the cathedral during a bomb scare who discussed the problems of the world and their own attitude to faith. One other member of the choir said, “It was a unique opportunity to bring together children and adults in what was both a celebration of music and song and a thoughtful introduction to matters of importance to the whole world.”

Peace Child has been performed in countries all over the world and Witchford Village College was proud to be a part of this international event.

Dance show at Churston Ferrers Grammar School

This December we hosted our second ever dance show, a sequel to ‘Dance Around the World’ in 2006. ‘Step in Time’ was again linked with the school’s Humanities Specialist status, but this time with an historical slant.

Through 40 separate dance routines, Step in Time was a show taking the audience through history in the form of dance. Starting with Creation, to the Future, over 140 students, throughout the school, either choreographed or performed in different acts, not forgetting the equally important students and teachers backstage and at the front of the house. Many students also took part in the preparation of the show, by helping with advertisement, costume and set design.

The show opened with an assortment of performances from a range of eras. A captivating performance of classical ballet in the creation era; moving on to a special number ‘Walk the dinosaur’ by members of staff; to Egypt where a group of sixth formers learnt a traditional belly dancing piece. Original costumes were hired for the Tudor era, where Queen Elizabeth took to the stage for an American line dance. Following this era, was the ‘Commedia dell’arte’ where performers took on the roles of mimes, and students learnt traditional Cachuca and Gavotte dances. To end the first half, leg warmers came out for the 20th Century musicals.

The aroma of mulled wine and mince pies filled the sixth form center during the interval, where the audience took a break to listen to the school Jazz Band.

Starting the second half, the girls from the 20s and 30s donned their tassel dresses, before Churston’s version of Strictly Come Dancing took to the stage. We were lucky enough to have a guest appearance from Eden Park Primary school, performing a tribute to Michael Jackson, followed by an upbeat and brightly coloured tribute to Abba.
Bringing the audience up to date, the contemporary dancers filled the stage and upped the tempo.

One performer commented “I can’t believe the amount of talent there is. It’s been so much fun and a constant great atmosphere.”

The end of the second half drew to a close, with an emotional procession by our Churston Combined Cadet Force, reflecting on current issues and our hope for peace.

Audiences were delighted by the energy, enthusiasm and skill of the whole event, as one attendee said – “I’m amazed, I would never have thought there was such talent here, it had the professionalism of a West End Show!’

The performances to full houses and roaring of applause left performers ecstatic, meant we were able to donate money to the Rowcroft Hospice and fulfilled director of the show, Mrs. Susan Gunn-Johnson’s vision.

The Director of the show – Susan Gunn-Johnson – said ‘It was a thrill for me to watch the show, not simply because of the quality of the performances, but because it transformed a concept which had been in my head into a reality on stage and showed just what students can achieve and how far they can develop ideas. I hope too that everyone will have had a taste of the real excitement that is generated by working together on a production. The show programme demonstrated just how many students and staff gave of their time, talent and energy and I can not thank them enough.’

More information and pictures can be seen on www.churstongrammar.com

…by providing students with individual practice examination questions for homework, in the classroom under mock examination conditions, and then, leading up to the examination, a whole paper, without replicating that which has been used before.

APT has, therefore, produced a set of up to 5 board specific practice examination papers for each A level unit that enable students to be assessed as they progress through each unit, as well as at the end.

They also include:

a comprehensive explanation of the assessment objectives examiners look for when marking students answers and how to demonstrate these.
highly detailed mark schemes and model answers written by experienced examiners.
These ‘Qualified Questions’ are available for the following A Level Units:

AQA AS Unit 1: Planning and Financing a Business £55 (+VAT)

AQA AS Unit 2: Managing a Business £60 (+VAT)

AQA A2 Unit 3: Strategies for Success £60 (+VAT)

OCR AS F291: An Introduction to Business £55 (+VAT)

OCR A2 F293: Marketing £60 (+VAT)

These papers (which are in the same style and format as actual exam questions) are only available direct from APT, and are not replicated in any other publication – so you can be certain that they are completely new.

The packs are licensed for unlimited use year after year in the purchasing institution.

You can purchase these Qualified Questions
By post to APT Initiatives Ltd, Millstone Lodge, Eaton Upon Tern, Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 2BX
By phone with a school order number to 01952 540877
By fax to 01952 540877
On line at:

AQA AS Unit 1: http://tiny.cc/qGYyE

AQA AS Unit 2: http://tiny.cc/SoR3I

AQA A2 Unit 3: http://tiny.cc/TGq1m

OCR AS F291: http://tiny.cc/R0VWT

OCR A2 F293: http://tiny.cc/iC5jt

The Swaminarayan School was ranked second in the table of top independent schools published in the Daily Telegraph this month.

Considering the fact that The Swaminarayan School in Neasden has been in existence only since 1992, this achievement is nothing short of extraordinary.

The school has always achieved excellent examination results and has been at the top of the Brent performance tables for a number of years. In January 2008 it was listed fourth in the table of top independent schools published by the Daily Telegraph. The GCSE results for summer 2009, however, have surpassed all previous records with many students achieving a string of A* and A grades.

· 54% of the grades were either A* or A
· 86% of the grades were A*, A or B
· 100% of the students achieved 5 or more A* to C grades
· The average performance score per student was a staggering 609!

Mr Savjani, Headteacher of the school said:
“The Year 11 students did exceptionally well last summer with some outstanding performances. For example,

· Tanuj Srivastava gained 8 A* grades at GCSE and 4 A grades at AS level
· Kavit Gopaldas achieved 9 A* and 3 A grades
· Alpa Raghwani achieved 6 A* and 7 A grades

The secret is teamwork – pupils, parents, teachers and governors all pulling in the same direction.”

For further information, contact the Headteacher Mr Mahendra Savjani on 020 8965 8381.

Is it possible to imagine an activity enrichment week beyond all other activity enrichment weeks?

In the view of some the answer is Disneyland – and I have looked at this idea with interest because I have been there and watched a number of school parties making the rounds.

The one thing we sometimes forget about Disneyland is that more than anything else it is an environment that has at its centre, not just the rides and the experiences , but also the notion that pupils and students will bond together.

Disney, through the very nature of its design, is a safe environment away from home and there are several activities (apart from the major attraction of the two Disney Parks) to keep the visitors together, interested and active.

It is also a place that appeals to all tastes and attracts all ages. It is not just a childrens’ or teenagers’ park, but is also used by families, and indeed by adults of all ages.

The other particular benefit is that it is all there for you – it doesn’t require a lot of preparation time by the school.

Here are the details that Disneyland have sent me regarding forthcoming options.

A four day trip to Disneyland Resort Paris departs on 24th May and 28th June 2010. Accommodation is offered either at The Davy Crockett Ranch (from £219) or the Thomas Cook’s Explorers Hotel (from £209).

The inclusive terms are typically 3 nights bed and breakfast accommodation, return luxury coach travel, 2 day hopper passes for both parks, one in 10 free supervisory places and all VAT and taxes. They also provide a Tutor Resource Pack from which material can be taken to customise study material. Just contact us for more detail on this.

The activities listed at the Davy Crockett Ranch include: Indoor tennis court, outdoor sports area, swimming pool, amphitheatre, archery and miniature… Actually the full list goes on for about half a page so it is worth contacting them if you would like more details.

For more information call 01825 740676, alternatively have a look at the website: www.thetraveladventure.co.uk/sites/142/news/3377/Enrichment_Week_Offer.pdf

They also add….

“To keep up-to-date with our special offers go to…” www.thetraveladventure.co.uk/news/item.htm?ipg=7487&pid=3377

Have you heard about the students who forgot the date of their GCSE maths exam ?

They turned up for school OK, but without pens, pencils, calculator, ruler or compass !

It’s easy to assume that the existing stock of exam desks will always be enough for the new group of students who’ll be using them.

Finding out on the morning of the GCSE English exam that there are eighteen desks short or that some of them are too damaged to be used is too embarrassing to think about……..

But there is a solution…..

Central Educational Supplies have large stocks of exam desks and can deliver in days…. Sometimes even next day.

You can find details of their range at:

www.centraleducational.co.uk

Informing students about careers in Science.

A while ago I wrote about a series of career cards for Science and got a mixed response. Some quite reasonably replied that careers were handled by the careers department and not by Science. Some readers forwarded the email on to careers. And some said that they had made the cards available to some of their students.

I’m writing again because we’ve now got three sets of cards available. The Science cards I wrote about last time, plus Engineering cards and Maths cards.

In each case they show a range of personality attributes and abilities that are required for a successful career in the area under review.

The value of the cards in terms of Science is that they raise an awareness of Science outside the classroom – that Science is more than just a school subject but rather that Science is an area of employment as well.

With the cards the students can compare themselves with the personality profile given on the cards in relation to each job. Indeed in one school I saw this happening in small groups, with some interesting discussions emerging as to what the personality of each student really was.

As in…

Student A: Technical skills – I’d give myself an 8 for that.

Student B: Oh come on, you can’t even hold a pencil straight.

Student A: It doesn’t mean that.

Student B: Well, what does it mean….

I know this is not a pure Science debate, but it leads on to the issue of skills and the value of Science in our society, which is not a bad motivational pitch.

There are more details at http://www.loopgames.co.uk/page2.htm

Let’s face it, nowadays none of us is short of targets, initiatives and evaluations to chase.

But practical solutions to achieving them are far harder to find.

In fact it is a common observation among many teachers that it gets increasingly difficult to keep coming up with great ideas of one’s own. Especially if the pressure is on to do so.

So my colleagues and I have been working on something that will help.

We will send you a free iDEA every half term from Model Learning.

If I may explain… An iDEA is a very visual Powerpoint document that contains a single practical idea for teaching or management that can be immediately used.

After you’ve received the Powerpoint document, you can return to the website to download a poster version for your walls.

The iDEAs are very easy to use. Some teachers use them directly with their classes. Others use them in one–to–one coaching, as a resource for supported experiments and also for twilight training sessions.

We’ve been offering our free iDEAS for over a year now to demonstrate the quality of our work, and they really are completely without cost and without obligation.

Sign up for your regular free iDEAS at www.modellearning.com/ideas.aspx and you’ll find out why others value them so much.

Ian Harris & Oliver Caviglioli
Model Learning

You may well not be in Scotland but…

Recently the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) contacted each local authority and each individual school in Scotland to discuss school music. I believe what they said applies as much to England as it does to Scotland.

The EIS letter said that music in schools helps to develop children’s confidence and ability to work in a group. They added, “Developing an understanding of music is beneficial to pupils in many ways, and can have a profound effect on the personal and social development of children.”

Now I mention this because these are exactly the foundations on which Rhythmicity work in primary schools is based.

If you take a look at our website http://www.rhythmicity.co.uk/primary_index.html you will see exactly how we work to have the profound effect on the personal and social development of children that the EIS mentions.

You’ll also see a series of photos of Rhythmicity in action, and be able to read details of what teachers in your area have said about our work.

You can get in touch with us via the website, or if you prefer you can call 0845 543 8450.

Also you can write to us at Timberdyne House, Rock Cross, Kidderminster DY14 9SD or email info@rhythmicity.co.uk

One of the problems which can occur with Form Time is the issue of finding a variety of engaging subjects and topics that will interest the students, and have a meaningful educational impact. One can do it for one’s own specialist subject, but in other areas it can be difficult.

The other issue is the format. Good Form Time resources need to be available on a free trial offer, and they need to be in a format that can be shared with colleagues so that everyone can have a look first, and then have equal access to the materials.

It was with these parameters in mind that Form Time activities from PDC were developed.

Within the materials there are over 100 activities for KS3 and KS4 classes. They cover a wide range of topics – and indeed some of them are detailed enough also to be of use by colleagues in schools who teach subjects such as PSHE or careers, or who handle work experience, media studies, business studies, enterprise, gap year projects etc etc.

They are all available on the internet link below and you and your colleagues can try them out for yourself for 14 days without having to commit to buying. Because they are internet based everyone can share the resources if you do decide to go ahead.

Of course, if you think they are a load of old tosh, then you just cancel within 14 days and nothing is lost. If you want to continue using them, you just hold on to the materials, and we’ll send you the invoice.

Here are the details of some of the topics covered…

Alcohol, Active Careers, Credit Crunch, Critical Consumers, Democracy, Diversity, Economic ideas, Enterprise, Gap year activities, Human rights, The media, Options in year 9, Prejudice, Revision, Professional skills, Stock Exchange, Preparing for work.

You can find more details, and sign up for the free trial at http://www.teaching-resources-uk.com/2009

I think most people would agree that being able to touch type brings huge benefits to pupils and students both at school and indeed in the world of work. Certainly, as one who learned to touch type early on, I’ve found the skill invaluable.

And yet touch typing is not part of the curriculum, and in many schools this means the skill does not get taught – it falls between all the departments.

There are many courses around that teach young people to touch type, but the problem is that most of them tend to demand payment up front without much chance to see how effective the programme is.

Of course, there are one or two free programs around, but they tend to be rather restricted and don’t give the child the ability to develop full touch typing skills – even though they claim to.

So it’s good to come across a comprehensive course that offers schools the chance to use it for 30 days free of charge. It’s called the ‘Three for Free’ 30-day Trial from Type&Test Ltd

The idea is that you find three volunteers who cannot type but would like to learn. You then get a licence for each of them for 30 days, and at the end give the course provider some feedback.

If you do go on to order after the trial there are extra discounts available from the company by way of saying thanks.

If you are interested in joining in the evaluation trial just click here www.typeandtest.com/three-for-free-typequick-for-students-30-day-trial and complete and submit the request form.

Students in Bebington High Sports College are provided with the opportunities to transfer their leadership skills further through the delivery of extra-curricular clubs at their local primary schools.

Liaison between Bebington High and its local feeder primary schools enables 6th former leaders to identify where their strengths lie and create a primary link that supports both the primary needs of staff to run more extra-curricular clubs and the opportunity for the 6th formers to gain and achieve the volunteering hours required to pass their Community Sports Leadership Award.

From the moment students arrive at Bebington High Sports College they are offered the opportunity to gain confidence and train to become leaders, through the leadership programme which runs at the school. Students are encouraged to climb the five steps of the “Leadership ladder”, whilst at school, each step getting more advanced until they become full leaders, upon entry into the 6th form students are enrolled on to the CSL award.

Liaison between Bebington High and its local feeder primary schools enables 6th former leaders to identify where their strengths lie and create a primary link that supports both the primary needs of staff to run more extra-curricular clubs and the opportunity for the 6th formers to gain and achieve the volunteering hours required to pass their Community Sports Leadership Award.

At present two female leaders from Bebington High are teaching football at Brackenwood primary, one male leader is teaching football at Church Drive primary, whilst another teaches Tag Rugby at both Brackenwood and St Andrews. Fifteen more leaders are due to start teaching clubs, respectively in running, basketball, netball, dance and multi-skills from 25th January 2010. After delivering a six week session, leaders will then repeat the sessions at another primary school, therefore creating almost a carousel of sports clubs providing local primaries with specialist expertise.

Students gain enormous satisfaction from the experience, as the experience develops many aspects of leadership skills and qualities such as organisation, communication and confidence. Session plans are produced and checked by Miss Shaw of Bebington High prior to delivery to ensure the sessions have the relevant activities and progressions within their clubs for young children to develop and improve in performance levels.

Bebington High Sports College have high aspirations for their students and believe that the leadership ladder helps students with the skills which will in turn prepare them for their future adult life.

www.bebingtonhigh.com

RECORD GCSE RESULTS FOR SCHOOLS IN LONDON
HARLINGTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL NAMED AMONGST MOST IMPROVED IN CAPITAL

We were delighted to be informed by the DCSF that we are amongst the most improved schools in London. The number of students achieving 5 or more A* – C passes including English and Maths improved by 13%, ranking Harlington as the 9th most improved school in the capital. In addition to this, the progress made by students in the 6th form resulted in Harlington achieving the highest ranked Value Added score in Hillingdon for A Levels.

Louise Edwards is a student in the Harlington 6th form. She said “As a student it is important to be part of a school that is able to provide me with the necessary support to excel in my studies. Throughout my school career I have seen Harlington continually progressing. A combination of my own incentive along with the commitment of the teaching staff has allowed me to obtain my goal. In August I achieved eight A* and three A grades for my GCSE results. Now, in the sixth form I believe the school has helped me to become closer to my aspirations and prepare me for the future. ”

Liz Horrigan, Acting Headteacher said, “Staff and students at Harlington were delighted to receive this acknowledgement. We are immensely proud of our students’ achievements which are a testament to the strong teamwork and the continued raising of academic aspirations. Working in partnership with London Challenge and Education London has enabled the development of co-operative and supportive networks of colleagues who share good practice raising standards throughout the school. Both staff and students should be proud of these results and our continued commitment to the pursuit of excellence. ”

Schools Minister Diana Johnson said:
“Congratulations to London schools that today top the nine regions across the country. What a journey from a decade ago. “

Professor David Woods, Chief Advisor to London Schools, said:
“These are record results for London schools, and a great tribute to the work of Heads, teachers and the school workforce as a whole, who continue to demonstrate that there are no limits to aspiration and achievement.”

Liz Horrigan,
Acting Headteacher
Harlington Community School
Pinkwell Lane, Hayes, Middx, UB3 1PB
www.harlington.hillingdon.sch.uk

The Tower Poetry competition is open to all sixth form students in the UK.

It was first launched in 2000, and as Peter McDonald (Director of Tower Poetry and one of this year’s judges) said, “Our purpose is to ignite in teenagers the desire to experience poetry as a poet – something that can greatly enhance the young person’s grasp of the form.”

Each year entrants have to write a single poem on a nominated theme. For the 2010 competition, the theme is “Promises”. Entries close on 11th February 2010.

The prizes and prestige that relate to this competition which is organised through Christ Church College Oxford cannot be over-estimated.

There is information about the competition and entry forms at www.towerpoetry.org.uk/prize

Despite heavy snowfall and reports of thousands of school closures across the country, it has been business as usual for Staines Prep School this term.

With only one day of the new term lost due to bad weather, staff and pupils continued to fulfil a full timetable of studies.

Year 6 pupils not only braved the elements to attend school, but even in the snow made it safely all the way to central London for a much anticipated visit to the Science and Natural History Museums.

Having negotiated icy pavements and coped with Underground problems, the children spent the morning absorbed in the wonders of our natural world. They got up close and personal with life-sized dinosaurs and used a ‘Creepy Crawly’ exhibit to enjoy an intriguing insight into the lives of insects.

The afternoon was all about exploration and discovery. Pupils and staff experienced science and technology at first-hand, taking part in 50 interactive exhibits. Everyone was then treated to a science show entitled ‘Stronger by Design – Structures’. As part of the show they participated in a series of exciting demonstrations, including sitting on a chair of nails. All walked away in complete amazement before wrapping up on their return journey home.

Headmaster Peter Roberts said: “We wanted to give children continuity and didn’t want to cause disappointment by having to cancel excursions. We were also aware many parents would have difficulties finding alternative childcare if the school was closed. So a huge effort was made by staff, parents and pupils to keep the school running as normally and safely as possible during the recent challenging weather conditions.

“The children were certainly glad to be at school, particularly at playtimes. It was great to see them working together to make snowmen and snow sculptures – even if I had to dodge a snowball or two!”

For further information please visit the website www.stainesprep.co.uk or contact the Registrar on 01784 450909 or by email registrar@stainesprep.co.uk

For Press enquiries please contact Coreena Brooks 07973 666772 or email cbrookspr@googlemail.com

From Hylands School, Chelmsford

Table Tennis is big news at Hylands School this term! Four pupils have recently earned Hylands a place into the English Schools Table Tennis Zone Finals on Sunday, 24th January in London as winners of the Essex Schools Team Event .

Brandon Crouchman and Scott Dowsett both Year 10 along with Jack Crook and Tom Barker, Year 11 pupils will be up against some fierce competition in this Essex Schools Under 16 boys Tournament. They will be competing against schools with Table Tennis in their Curriculum but if successful, they will go on to the South of England Finals.

Brandon & Scott regularly travel all around the country competing in various table tennis leagues and events which they enjoy immensely. They are both aiming to reach as high as they can as national competitors.

Both boys have won many trophies and awards with their batting skills. Brandon is the Under 14’s, under 16’s and under 18’s Singles Winner in the Chelmsford closed Tournament and Scott was the runner-up. Brandon and Scott also won the doubles trophy in the same competition.

Other competitions include: the Grantham Two Star Tournament (under 15’s) which Brandon won in 2008 and he was also the winner of the Bats One Star National Tournament with Scott reaching the semi finals.

Hylands Organise Primary Athletics Competition

Hylands are leading the way in many sporting ventures; on Friday, 15th January Primary pupils from the surrounding Chelmsford area were invited to take part in an Athletics competition at the Athletic Club, at Melbourne. The Winners are going on to the County Final Competition.

Hylands are also organising an inter-school competitive cycling competition for years 7 and 8 and on 11th February a Dancing Festival.

The Table Tennis Club will be practising for this forthcoming event at their after school club on Tuesdays at 3.15 p.m.

For more information and details of other Hylands events please visit our website on www.hylands.essex.sch.uk

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Raising Grades through Study Skills

The benefits of learning how to learn for students can be overwhelming, for the natural way in which most students come to learn their work is stunningly inefficient.

Those of us who are both parents and teachers will have watched our offspring supposedly revise for GCSEs and A levels when in fact all they are doing is “reading through” the notes – surely the most ineffective way of “revising” ever invented.

The fact is that where students can be given an awareness and experience of a range of effective methods of learning that are available to them it can make all the difference – whatever the age of the child. Suddenly those pupils and students who have struggled to learn by “reading through” or attempting to learn by heart, find that a different approach can make all the difference.

Learning becomes enjoyable, and topics and facts can be learned in half the time previously taken.

The problem is that many students don’t get much of a chance to learn about learning – at least until near the end of their studies. But when they do, the motivation and self esteem that can be gained from the resultant rapid success itself becomes a factor in motivating them to ever higher goals.

It was as a result of watching my three daughters revise for their exams that I decided to gather together all I knew about various methods of learning, collecting all the various approaches to teaching study skills that were used in many different schools. The resultant work can either be used as separate lessons on how to learn or introduced as an additional part of mainstream lessons.

Raising Grades through Study Skills is therefore based around the students experiencing different learning techniques and thus realising that there is not just one way of learning and that different people can benefit from different approaches.

The book comes in a loose leaf ring binder or can be bought on CD Rom, allowing you to develop and modify parts of the text that you wish to personalise for the school. The text includes all the activities that the pupils will need to develop their study techniques, and includes an unlimited photocopy licence for use of the materials by pupils within the school.

The book comes with an unlimited photocopiable licence for the school, and costs £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery for either the book or CD. If you wish to buy both together the price is £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery.

You can order in four different ways. In each case please quote our reference T1329emn. Sample pages can be viewed prior to ordering on http://pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1329.pdf

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House Mailings plc, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH

By fax on 01536 399 012

By phone with a credit card or with an official school order number on 01536 399 011

On line with a credit card at http://bit.ly/41jsi

For a campaign resource pack and to take part, register now at…

www.getreal.uk.com/really-good-school-dinner.html

Celebrities including JLS, the Saturdays and Les Ferdinand join an all-star cast in a filmed appeal to schools, children and young people, urging them to join a United Nations campaign this month and help fight world hunger.

The Really Good School Dinner, a partnership campaign between the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the School Food Trust, goes live later this month. The celebrity ‘10p snowball’ video appears on YouTube and on the campaign website.

Every day, around 14,400 children in the developing world die from hunger –an injustice that many young people in this country care deeply about. The Really Good School Dinner provides an easy way for them to help children in some of the world’s poorest countries.

This unique campaign goes live for one week, 25 – 29 January 2010 and is open now for registration.

Last year, around 500 schools signed up to take part in the Really Good School Dinner. Once a school is signed up on the campaign website, pupils pledge to eat school lunches every day between 25 and 29 January and to donate an extra 10p each time.

School Food Trust Chief Executive Judy Hargadon said: “This campaign highlights two hugely important issues: the importance to children’s well-being in the UK of eating a healthy school lunch and the increasing problem of world food insecurity.

“The enthusiasm by participating schools during the first Really Good School Dinner was amazing. Taking part is easy, good fun and addresses these important issues, so I encourage schools to join in and help make this Really Good School Dinner an unprecedented success.”

Each 10p is enough to buy a meal in WFP’s School Meals Programme and helps guarantee an education for some of the poorest children in the world. Without this help, many children have to stay at home and work to feed themselves.

As the world’s largest humanitarian aid agency, the World Food Prgramme provides school meals for 22 million children in some 70 countries. It relies entirely on donations to continue its work…

Caroline Hurford, spokesperson for the World Food Programme, commented: “Thanks to the Really Good School Dinner, more than 100,000 children have already eaten healthy school meals. We’re hopeful that we can feed even more children following the next campaign. The fullest physical and intellectual development must be the right of every child.”

Participating schools receive an information pack including lesson plans, international recipes, case studies, campaign posters and more.

Schools can email info@sft.gsi.gov.uk for more information.

The Mathematics Department celebrated Number Day during the last week of the autumn term.

Number Day is a national event that aims to get everyone involved in Maths by taking part in fun, maths-based activities, whilst raising much needed funds for charity. This year our chosen charity was CLIC Sargent – caring for children with cancer.

All students from Key Stage 3 & 4 took part in a maths quiz during their maths lessons. Teams of students competed against each other to gain the most correct answers in each class and gave a voluntary contribution to the charity.

Prizes for the winning teams from each year group have been kindly donated by Exmouth Sports Centre (LED Leisure), the Savoy Cinema and Subway.

College staff also raised money by buying raffle tickets for 2 Christmas hampers donated by the Maths Department Staff.

An incredible total of £694.58 was raised. A big thank you to everyone who took part.

For more visit the College website: www.exmouthcollege.devon.sch.uk

ZigZag Education is an exciting community of over 5000 secondary teachers, FE tutors, examiners and educationalists working together on great new teaching resources. People in the community take different roles; from writing to reviewing, proof reading and checking, or just making suggestions for new resource titles.

It is also a fantastic opportunity for teachers to receive up-to-date news about developments in new qualifications, view and comment on new resources before they are published and for teachers/authors to find out about what resources are likely to be popular.

Resources urgently needed: for example geography course companions, revision guides, practice exam questions, case studies, etc. matched to the new GCSE and A Level specifications.

Register now at

www.PublishMeNow.co.uk

Free homework diaries for the next academic year 2010/11 are available for all UK secondary schools while stocks last – and order lines close at the end of January 2010. Schools can order up to 500 copies each, without any charge at all.

The Wise Choices? Europa diaries, which are funded by the European Commission, are aimed at 14-18 year olds.

They are a week-to-view calendar and have articles in the front on a range of topics covering citizenship, the EU, health issues, financial matters, the internet, climate change, energy and sustainable concepts. Teacher’s notes accompany each box of 25 diaries.

Please note: the diaries are free and the distribution is free and they come highly recommended by teachers who received them in this academic year. The only commitment is to fill in a feedback form to say what you thought of the diaries and how useful they were to you.

To order visit: www.europadiary.eu and type in your unique code: If you don’t have your code, please email ann@iamtomorrow.co.uk with your school name. You can order for a whole year group – up to 500 student copies.

28 day free trial of “Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany” for the interactive whiteboard

To obtain a full understanding of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany it is important for the students to be offered a narrative approach which takes them through the timeline of events.

Through using animated maps, interactive diagrams and dynamic texts, issues can be brought to life in a way that it very difficult through more traditional media.

In this way students can gain a wide-ranging overview of the period, or drill down to more detailed coverage including:

the rise of the Nazi Party
the Nazi regime and its impact on German society,
the expansion of the Third Reich
Germany in the Second World War.

The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany is designed for use by individuals, small groups or whole classes with interactive whiteboards.

It is a product that the Education Guardian (who made it their Critics’ Choice) described as “high quality, factually excellent, simple and easy to use”.

It both sparks interest and reinforces learning, benefiting students of all abilities and interest levels.

The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany comes with a wide array of teacher materials designed to support its use in the classroom and beyond.

The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany is available on PC CD-ROM and Mac CD-ROM.

You can order the CD on a 28 days free trial…

Online http://timemaps.com/contact/freetrial.php

By post Time Maps, 1 Main Street, Horsley Woodhouse, Derbyshire, DE7 6AU
By fax 01332 781539
By phone 01332 781106

Prices and formats

Single user licence for school £49.50 (suitable for one teacher using an interactive whiteboard)
Site network: £99.50
Platform: Windows 98, 2000, XP | MAC OS

The Schools Minister in England Vernon Coaker has said that although school surplus balances have fallen for the first time since 2002-03 there are still schools holding back money that they should be spending.

Just over 7,000 schools have surpluses over the allowed limit and if these are carried forward into 2009/10 they are in serious danger of having the surplus clawed back.
The official statement says that, “While it is clearly sound financial management for schools to retain a small surplus from year to year, we expect revenue funding to be used to support the education and well-being of pupils in school now.

It is however important that schools spend their funds wisely while ensuring best value for money.”

In the first official statement about claw back in this financial year the Minister said, “Local authorities have the power to claw back excess, uncommitted surpluses and redistribute the proceeds back to local schools in consultation with Schools Forums. To help, schools now have three year budgets to enable them to plan ahead on a much more certain and predictable basis, leading to improved financial management and better outcomes for pupils.
“Last year we made it clear that we expect schools and local authorities to work to reduce the level of balances by the end of 2010-11. If we do not see a substantial reduction of total revenue balances and in particular the excessive balances held by individual schools, the Government will consider further action from 2011-12 to bring the total down to ensure the funding is being spent on improving outcomes for children and young people.

“Although the number of schools with deficit balances has risen slightly by 153 to 1,848 schools on the previous financial year, it remains below the number of schools in deficit a decade ago. In addition, around 50% of these deficit balances were under £25,000. We’ve made it clear that where a school is in deficit, it must agree a recovery plan with the local authority to eliminate the deficit, normally over three years.”

The figures released show:

• Surplus balances in 2008-09 are down by around £118 million to £1.92 billion on the previous financial year.
• Excess surplus balances above the cut off point have fallen by £97 million to £495 million, and a record low number of schools (a little over 7,000) have an excessive surplus.
• As expected given the current financial climate, the number of schools with deficit balances has risen slightly by 153 to 1,848 schools on the previous financial year. However, it remains below the number of schools in deficit a decade ago.
• Around 50% of the deficit balances in 2008-09 were under £25,000.
Each individual school is responsible for their own financial management. They can often go into deficit or have a surplus due to individual circumstances like an increase or fall in pupil numbers – or similarly in staffing numbers.
There is a range of support available which schools should use to help them make the right financial and investment decisions, including:

The published data can be found at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/. A copy of the Written Ministerial Statement can be found online at: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/pns/newslist.cgi .

Securing Our Future – Using Our Resources Well sets out four main areas in which finances in the schools sector could be run more efficiently:
Greater value for money from sharper procurement, collective buying and better use of technology;
Greater efficiency through the wider adoption of partnerships and shared services between schools;
Stronger strategic financial planning – including through greater use of School Business Managers and more effective financial management skills;
More effective use of external advice, already available, in strengthening financial management – and setting out a clear future role for central and local government and expert School Improvement Partners in supporting frontline delivery.

The discussion document is published at: http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/default.aspx?PageFunction=productdetails&PageMode=publications&ProductId=DCSF-01097-2009&
Tony Attwood