ART (www.almostrandomtheatre.co.uk) is a theatre that began life in Oxford in 2012. We are passionate about what we do and want to share this with as many people as possible.

This includes your school and best of all we won’t even charge you for our services (although it would be nice if you contributed towards petrol)!

We visit schools and put on either extracts/whole plays that fit with the curriculum or we can perform and host a discussion that would provide a social benefit to your students. Wherever possible we will take actors with teaching experience too!

To take advantage of our services today please get in touch via email on art.theatre.uk@gmail.com or phone/text 07429 144607

To see what other people think of our work just click this link http://www.almostrandomtheatre.co.uk/testimonials/ to see newspaper articles and the TV interviews!

We are also on Facebook and Twitter, just click on http://www.almostrandomtheatre.co.uk/contact-details/ for links to our social media site.

We look forward to hearing from you

Chris Sivewright

For ART

This one day course is packed with essential, practical content. In 3 lively sessions we look in detail at effective differentiation, marking and feedback in practice and give numerous techniques and strategies that you can apply on your return to school. Discover how to engage students, enrich their learning and save teachers’ time.

This day is interactive and energising. Topics include:

• How to use Assessment for Learning strategies to aid differentiation
• Lesson planning to maximise learning for all pupils
• What Ofsted inspectors are looking for and how to meet the highest requirements
• Marking and feedback as key components of effective AfL
• Self-assessment, self-evaluation and peer assessment
• Top tips on how to use marking to motivate
• How to use questioning techniques more effectively

Venues and dates:

Basingstoke: 9th May 2014
Birmingham: 20th June 2014
Leeds: 19th September 2014
London: 10th October 2014

To book please:

email bookings@smartees-learning.com

call 0118 9797 551 or

visit www.smartees-learning.com

This programme may also be delivered as an INSET day within your school or federation. Please email us for details.

A set of 12 sports motivational charts, each poster in full colour on 135qsm art paper, size 500 x 345mm. 24 photos of world stars, plus researched motivational factors 1-11 in order of importance.

Topics covered: desire, aggressiveness, determination, emotional control, mental toughness, coachability, responsibility, leadership, self confidence, conscientiousness, trust and 10 commandments for sportsmen and women.

To see the full set of the 12 posters click here

Freight and packing + VAT added at cost.

School, college, university, LEA orders can be invoiced.
Order by fax, phone, email or via paypal on the website.

Contacting us:

Phone/fax 01263 823373
Mobile 07500 557393
Email sales@sportspectrum.co.uk
Website www.sportspectrum.co.uk

Brochure (32 page illustrated) on request.

First 200 orders will be sent 6 paper printed action posters free.

Summer term calculator offers for the
maths department!

We hope that you’ve had a restful holiday and that you won’t mind an early reminder about essential maths kit for GCSE exams and for the rest of the summer term. (prices are ex vat)

We’re listing our most popular calcs below

There’s also an opportunity to order our Maths Packs @ only 69p each when you order a minimum of 50 scientific calcs. Normally priced from 89p to £1.10. (Please see our website for details)

Also available is the ever popular Trident geometry set comprising:

metal compass and half pencil, 45 and 60 degree set squares, 180 degree protractor, metal sharpener, 15 cm ruler, eraser, black ink ballpen, all packed in a robust tin…. only 99p (300+) £1.10 (100+) £1.15 (1-99)

Our Value Maths Set is another helpful product for classroom or exam use.

Consisting of a metal compass, half pencil, 15 cm ruler, metal sharpener, eraser, HB pencil, 180 degree protractor, two quality black ink ballpens, all packed in a clear, exam friendly zip up wallet. Ideal to hand out for exams.

We’re always pleased to hear from existing and new customers and can take your orders by phone, email, fax or post….and if you just need information about a product we’ll always do our best to help.

Please check our website for more details and other products at: www.signposteducational.co.uk

or contact us on: signpost@talk21.com

Signpost Educational Ltd. PO Box 999, London E14 6SH
Tel: 020 7515 1797 Fax: 020 7515 4420

With exams rapidly approaching, we’ve been providing lots of free revision content for maths teachers to help your students fulfil their potential this summer.

Head over to our Doddle Maths Preview site, where you’ll find:

• Revision flashcards on fractions, presenting key processes and definitions in a memorable and digestible format;
• A targeted quick test on pie charts, helping you to ensure understanding of this key GCSE topic;
• A revision skills quiz, that looks at different revision techniques and using past papers effectively.
  

Check out the revision contenton our Maths preview page!

Looking for new resources for September?

Schools subscribing to Doddle Maths benefit from 1,600 resources across KS3 and KS4, self-marking, diagnostic homework quizzes, and meaningful tracking in our online markbook.

See how Doddle fits with your Maths department’s needs – talk to a Doddle Educational Consultant.

Joe
Doddle

This book provides an invaluable resource for busy teachers of AS, A2, IB and even first year university students of economics.

Here, there are 13 sets of explained true/ false questions which are designed to secure and strengthen an excellent understanding of key principles in economics. In doing so, many of the questions asked have been set with a clear aim of stretching and challenging students to deliver A and A* grades in their final examinations. A further objective is also to develop the skills needed to tackle multiple choice question papers set by the AQA and Edexcel examining boards. This is achieved by prompting students to interrogate every word in the question. Many of these questions turn on a single phrase or word.

Model answers are provided, which allows students to mark their own papers, if required, again making best use of teachers’ time. They also provide students with a permanent feedback record, which will prove invaluable during their final examination preparation period.

Each of the test papers covers an area of the syllabus which may be set on a weekly basis as a topic test. They can also be used very effectively as a researched homework activity.

However, these materials will work equally well as a revision tool in the second term by helping keep students’ knowledge of micro-economics fresh once the teacher has moved on to macro-economics. This will be particularly important to many teachers now that January modular exams at A level have ended. Indeed, teachers will notice that some questions contain a synoptic element for precisely this reason.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/economics/T1824

ISBN: 978 1 86083 871 2; Order code: T1824emn

The volume is available as…

• Photocopiable book, £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the book and the CD £31.94 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?products_id=793

This one day course is packed with essential, practical content. In 3 lively sessions we look in detail at effective differentiation, marking and feedback in practice and give numerous techniques and strategies that you can apply on your return to school. Discover how to engage students, enrich their learning and save teachers’ time.

This day is interactive and energising. Topics include:

• How to use Assessment for Learning strategies to aid differentiation
• Lesson planning to maximise learning for all pupils
• What Ofsted inspectors are looking for and how to meet the highest requirements
• Marking and feedback as key components of effective AfL
• Self-assessment, self-evaluation and peer assessment
• Top tips on how to use marking to motivate
• How to use questioning techniques more effectively

Venues and dates:

Basingstoke: 9th May 2014
Birmingham: 20th June 2014
Leeds: 19th September 2014
London: 10th October 2014

To book please:

email bookings@smartees-learning.com

call 0118 9797 551 or

visit www.smartees-learning.com

This programme may also be delivered as an INSET day within your school or federation. Please email us for details.

Exams are here! But it is not too late to hold a last minute revision and exam preparation workshop to give students’ one final push!

Our Advanced Study Skills workshop is designed for Year 12 & 13 students. It shows them how to learn, how to revise and how to prepare for exams by focusing on effective revision strategies such as:

Memory Techniques
Understand and Condensing
A – Maps
Exam Preparation
Motivation and Self – Belief – You can do this!

We also can create bespoke workshops that are tailored uniquely to your students’ needs.

There are just a few dates left in the summer term so don’t miss out contact me today on 01903 872849 or email carrie@learningperforamnce.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Battlefields of WW1? – Of course!

Germany 1918 – 1991 – Naturally!

But also the –

Protestant Reformation 

French Revolution 

Troubles in Northern Ireland…….

and more.

Whatever your course, we have study tours to help you deliver the required content in a meaningful and memorable way.

There is still time to book for October half-term for most destinations; so

take a look at what we can offer you:

Great History Tours

Travel House, Llwynmawr, Llangollen LL20 7BB Ph: 01691 886161 e: info@culturetrails.co.uk

Work in social care and early years services

Employers need to encourage over 90,000 new workers into social care and children’s services each year for the foreseeable future. Yet many people have a negative perception of what it’s like to work in care or are unaware of the range of careers available.

Two new resources are available to help explore work in care with students.

• A Question of Care: a Career for You
• Ambassadors for careers in care

Students interact with short films

A Question of Care: a Career for You is a free interactive online tool exploring whether students are potentially suited to careers in care.

Students watch short films representing situations in different care settings and are asked to make judgments about what they see. This informs online feedback and generates an automatic personal profile describing the extent to which their answers suggest they have the values needed for care work.

The challenge can be completed alone or used as the basis of one-to-one or group discussions. It takes about 20 minutes to complete individually or 45 minutes as a group. Visit the challenge at www.aquestionofcare.org.uk

Care workers share their experiences

Ambassadors are enthusiastic individuals currently working in social care or early years settings. They are specially trained and available to share their experiences with students at schools, colleges, job centres, or careers fairs.

Ambassadors might lead a discussion, show a presentation or facilitate specially designed games or challenges to help students explore the world of care work. They may talk about different entry routes such as Apprenticeships or how to turn a job into a career. Search for the right ambassador to talk to your students.

The UK sector skills council, Skills for Care and Development has developed both resources with co-investment from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) through the Employer Investment Fund. For more information contact sscinfo@skillsforcareanddevelopment.org.uk

What is the most effective way of saving significant sums through efficiencies made within the school?

Last month a simple four question research programme within schools revealed a way through which most schools can make considerable savings on their postage bills.

There was nothing particularly dramatic about the find – it simply involved abandoning the use of franking machines and stamps with the schools instead opening accounts with Royal Mail and paying a postage bill at the end of the month.

Not only does the system avoid all the costs of franking machines (including the hidden costs inherent in most of the contracts), but it also attracts a significantly lower cost of postage than using stamps. Royal Mail makes no charge for the service.

Of course, moving across from postage stamps or franking machines to a Royal Mail account isn’t going to save tens of thousands of pounds – but in a sense that is the point of school efficiency programmes.

Yes, on occasion some schools will find really big savings by rearranging timetables, changing the supplier of school meals, etc. But much of the time the huge savings that can be made come from a collection of smaller, simple changes.

This is not to suggest that schools are inefficient per se but rather shows that the focus on smaller individual issues will always reveal opportunities for the more effective use of time and lower costs. As such the move to RM invoicing is a perfect example.

Which is where the School of Educational Administration and Management comes in. Founded in 2005 with support from the government and the University of Northampton, the SEAM has worked with thousands of schools to establish which processes work in saving schools money. The postage account system is just one of many.

Now many of our findings are reported in one volume: “The Efficient School.”

This book reveals not only many of the projects that schools have introduced in recent years in order to achieve efficiencies but also the vital processes which these schools use to ensure that objections to change are overcome and that changes, once implemented, are maintained and developed.

As such the report explores not only areas in which savings can be made but also the way in which the whole issue of changing well-established processes and habits can be handled in a school.

The Efficient School is available in copiable form (as a printed volume or on CD) so that it can be distributed to all interested members of staff.

ISBN: 978 1 86083 811 8 Order code: T1803emn – please quote with order.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1803.pdf

• Photocopiable book, £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the book and the CD: £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
• Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

• 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?products_id=784

Helping dyscalculic pupils and students move towards an enhanced understanding of basic maths

One of the central issues that research into dyscalculia has thrown up in recent years is the fact that the key to helping dyscalculic individuals overcome their disability is through working with them in a multi-sensory way. In other words if they can manipulate the calculations they undertake physically, they come to understand the calculations much more rapidly.

Thus a dyscalculic child who doesn’t understand the essence of fractions can be helped by approaching the topic via the cutting up of sheets of paper in many different ways and seeing how these fractions of the original combine, both physically and mathematically.

The same is true for the four basic functions and, of course, for percentages. Physical manipulation of the numbers and parts of numbers is, once again, the key to overcoming dyscalculia. Over the years the Dyscalculia Centre has produced a significant number of resources to help teachers of dyscalculic pupils and students on their journey to numeric literacy.

But it is clear that there are many students who do not need to engage in the full course of multi-sensory maths, but simply need guiding through the elements of maths that remain hard for them to grasp. For these students and their teachers we have produced Dyscalculia Practice Activities. The activities, all of which are practical and which can be conducted in a small group at school (or copied for parents to use with their children at home), cover the whole range of maths from the essence of number to fractions, shapes and decimals.

The book contains 90 sets of activities, with each set containing around ten or more individual tasks for the student or pupil to undertake with the teacher. The intention is that you locate the areas of difficulty that the child has and then focus on the activities relating to these until the pupil or student is confident in the topic.

Dyscalculia Practice Activities is available as a printed copiable volume or as a CD which can be put on the school’s learning platform for use other staff.

Dyscalculia Practice Activities by Tony Attwood
Publisher’s reference: T1782emn
ISBN: 978 1 86083 820 0
Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/dyscalculia/T1782.pdf

Prices

• Photocopiable book: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the book and the CD: £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
• Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the book…

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Road, 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=29&products_id=757

What are the most effective methods of teaching and learning in the classroom?

There is a fundamental difference between the technology used in teaching (the whiteboard, the ipad, etc, etc) and the actual method of teaching.

And yet, over recent years, much of the focus has been on the technology – perhaps because many companies selling the equipment that emerges from the technology have invested huge sums in advertising their products.

Meanwhile the issues surrounding the actual method of teaching and the methods of learning that students employ have remained largely untouched.

To put this another way, it is possible to deliver a lecture to a class using your voice on its own or your voice plus a diagram drawn on a chalkboard, displays on an interactive whiteboard, a whoe video, or anything else.

But whatever technical additions are used, it is still a lecture.

Which is fine as long as the lecture is the best method of teaching the particular subject that you have in mind. If it isn’t then the lesson will still be limited by the fact that it is a lecture.

Now of course, very, very few teachers ever deliver a lecture in class these days because we all know that lectures are fairly ineffective ways of teaching. But that still raises the question: what are the most effective ways of teaching?

And as we ask that question, what implication does this have for the various methods of learning that the students then adopt?

These are the questions posed and answered by the volume “Methods of Teaching”. The book has articles which can be shared with teaching colleagues, policy statements on methods of teaching, a review of methods of learning, and 22 articles on methods of learning that can, over time, be provided to students to help them organise their own learning.

There are also eight active learning assignments for the students, plus a series of articles on memory which will explore the ways in which teaching and learning can be organised in such a way that the topics and issues under consideration will be retained in the memory for years to come.

The third edition of “Methods of Teaching” is probably the most powerful book on teaching and learning available today. It is available both as a photocopy master and on CD (so that it can be put on the school’s learning platform, or printed out from the disk).

Cat No: 978 1 86083 830 9 Order code: T1784emn – please quote with order.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/education/T1784.pdf

• Photocopiable book, £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the book and the CD £36.94 plus £3.95 delivery
• Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report…

• 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=31&products_id=313

EASE YOUR WORKLOAD
teaching the
ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL PERFORMANCE

USING THESE VIDEO CLIPS AND ON SCREEN AUTOMATICALLY MARKED ASSESSMENTS CAN DEVELOP ABILITIES IN ANALYSING PERFORMANCE BY IDENTIFYING SKILLS, STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES AND WAYS OF IMPROVING PERFORMANCE IN:

FOOTBALL, NETBALL, BASKETBALL AND SWIMMING

All video clips are under the direct control of the operator, allowing the closest possible examination of the finer points of performance.

FOR CLASS WORK OR INDIVIDUAL CATCH-UP AND REVISION

REVISION VERSIONS ARE INSTANTLY AND VISIBLY MARKED

PRACTICE TEST AND TEST VERSIONS REVEAL RESULTS ACCORDINGLY

CLICK HERE TO SEE SAMPLE ILLUSTRATION:

at http://felpress.co.uk/uploads/tx_mhbooks/Basketball_01.gif

ALL PRODUCTS COME WITH A SINGLE SITE LICENCE FOR UNLIMITED USE

(Number of video clips per sport shown in brackets)

BASKETBALL (41), NETBALL (42), FOOTBALL (47) SWIMMING (41)

EACH SPORT PRICE: £30

ALL FOUR SPORTS COMBINED PRICE: £90

Orders to: sales@felpress.co.uk

Visit: www.felpress.co.uk for all products and sample CDs

ANN BUCKLES
Customer Relations
Feltham Press

One of the great problems that teachers find when looking at new resources is the issue of quality. The advert might say that they are great, but the reality can occasionally be a little different.

For this reason I’d like to tell you about the careers lesson plans, worksheets and form time activities for Key Stage 3 and 4 from Teaching Resources UK.

Of course, we are going to say that ours are great too.

There are almost 100 resources available from our careers section (with many more across citizenship, enterprise, PSHE and work-related learning too). They include worksheets, activities, teacher guidance and PowerPoint presentations. In short, everything you need to teach careers from year 9 options through to post-16 opportunities!

And, because the lessons are ready made and available to download in an instant, you could be saving hundreds of hours of planning and preparing by becoming a member.

Now, back to the original issue of quality, our lessons have been written by subject experts and ASTs who have many years experience in this subject. But we don’t stop there – if you want to see a little more before deciding to subscribe, you can join our free membership service. This will give you access to a selection of lesson plans that you can download straight away and judge the quality for yourself. You will also receive regular emails with the latest careers news as well as lesson ideas.

To find out more join now at www.teaching-resources-uk.com/Join

WMCT is one of the longest established touring theatre companies in the UK, performing our fully interactive plays and pantomimes to primary and special needs schools throughout the whole of the British Isles since 1973!

The duration of each performance is manageable for pupils with SEN. All our shows incorporate music, high comedy, movement, lighting, set and costume, with a script using language at a level appropriate for pupils with SEN and those working at P levels.

Our actors are confident and experienced in working with and performing to a wide range of pupils with SEN, including opportunities for managed audience participation.

Approximately 30% of our performances are in special needs schools, including SLD, MLD, PMLD, COMPLEX NEEDS, ASC, BESD, VI and HI.

Our current production for the summer and Autumn terms 2014 is our exciting new show “The Firebird” a wonderful interactive story based on a famous Russian legend.

We would like to offer you a preferential rate for one of our last few remaining performances.

Please see below a small selection of some of the outstanding reviews from special need schools who saw our most recent production. I very much look forward to speaking with you soon.

Kind regards

Jill Coffman
West Midlands Children’s Theatre, touring since 1973

‘Book the best, copied by all the rest`

TEL: 01902 335533/336622

WEBSITE: www.wmct.co.uk

EMAIL: jill@wmct.co.uk / jillwmct@gmail.com 

“Thank you so much for the fantastic performance. We felt you incorporated a lot of educational ideas such as spelling, counting – engaging all age ranges and abilities. We feel your performance was imaginative and amusing storytelling – a pleasure to watch!” Stone Hill School, Doncaster.

“Fabulous show! It was totally engaging and appropriate for special needs pupils and the ones who were involved in the acting loved it. It was visually exciting and audience participation was great. We would love to have you back!” Icknield School, Andover, Hants

What is the most effective way of teaching how instructions are stored in a computer, Boolean logic, number systems, etc, etc?

It is a simple fact that teaching Boolean logic and its uses in circuits and programming is not the easiest task at KS3 and KS4.

Especially when at the same time one is teaching how numbers can be represented in binary and binary operations.

Or, come to that, how hardware and software components make up computer systems and how they communicate, and how instructions are stored and executed within a computer system.

However, there a solution, for now there is the TOM Simulator.

The unique thing about the simulator is that it gives students hands-on experience of all these things within a computer that they can control and see the logic of, while avoiding the complexity of a real hardware system.

TOM is a transparent computer so students can see what’s in the memory and in the various registers, thereby making these concepts easy to teach.

But, of course, that is only the start, for the mechanisms of interrupts, memory mapped output, stacks, recursion are all visible, not just something that happens out of sight on a chip.

Thus the TOM Simulator takes us from an abstract concept presented on paper or whiteboard into a unique transparent computer. It also allows the whole class to write programs on the very first day whilst developing an understanding of how a modern computer works.

The TOM program also includes a number of components each designed to teach the fundamentals of computing via simple interactions. This enables students to interact with information on the screen and to gain a clear understanding of precisely how a computer achieves its task.

There’s more information on our TOM program on our website at http://www.keylinkcomputers.co.uk/tomsimulator.html.

Alternately for more information call us on 01926 850909 or email us at sales@keylinkcomputers.co.uk.

We all make decisions all the time. And then, having made them, we defend them – no matter how awful they were.

No matter how bad that decision looks in retrospect, it takes a very confident and self-possessed individual to say, “yes I got that one wrong.”

Instead the blame is put elsewhere. It was “not my fault”. It “couldn’t be helped”. “Events conspired against me.” We blame the environment, the individuals around us, and society, but rarely do we blame ourselves and the decisions we took.

Yet the fact is that it is quite possible to improve our reaction to the society in which we live, and through that our decision making – if only we can practice.

Which is why the copiable volume, “Life Games” exists.

The volume contains 50 different decision-based games that can be played in the classroom with anything from eight to 40 players from Key Stage 3 to the sixth form.

Each game is presented in the form of a single page of copiable teaching notes – normally with a separate set of student notes also provided. Each also focuses on a theme, ranging from the working of the media to lifestyle balances, from government decisions and consequences to healthy eating, from stress to addiction.

In short, there are enough activities in this volume to provide more than a year’s worth of citizenship and PSHE education, taught and explored in a way that the students will find refreshing, engaging and meaningful.

Life Games is available as a photocopiable book or on CD Rom, and individual activities can thus be readily copied and distributed to students as required. The copies can also be shared with colleagues or given to supply teachers, without any fear of the original book being misplaced.

An extract from Life Games, ISBN 978 1 86083 718 0, order code T1730EMN, is available at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/pshe/T1730.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://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=558
• By phone with a school order number or a credit card to 01536 399 011

When ordering the book please quote the reference T1730EMN.