Has your solution to assessment ‘without levels’ been to develop your own set of Excel spreadsheets?

Lots of schools have taken this route, because it gives them the sort of flexibility and control, which they want: but it’s not without its own problems.

Your own Excel spreadsheets can involve a lot of time consuming manual work, if you don’t have someone who can write appropriate macros or progam the worksheets using VBA.

Your school will usually be very dependent on the person who set up the spreadsheets, and vulnerable if that person leaves.

So, wouldn’t it be great to have all that flexibility and control without the associated problems?

Our Online Primary Progress toolkit has, we believe, enough flexibility to support almost any assessment policy. It’s also a modern online database system, professionally programmed, so you don’t have to worry about maintaining it.

We have designed it with two simple aims – to create a tracker which is easy to use and which can be customised to a school’s precise needs.

For instance, you can import your own curriculum, edit the National Curriculum Programme of Study statements or use the NAHT model. You can give statements different weightings or set some as KPIs or non-negotiables.

You can you set your own assessment grades, assess pupils at either Statement or Subject level or both; enter assessments at any time and set your own reporting dates.

You can filter results by groups such as boys/girls, pupil premium, SEN, first language, ethnicity or create your own groups and filter results by these.

You can report on subject attainment and progress, percent attaining an agreed level in Reading, Writing & Maths combined, or meeting your own Age Related Expectations, plus percent of statements achieved, if you assess at that level.

In addition to the standard reports by year group, class and individual pupil, we can extract data from the database and create free customised reports to your own specification.

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

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

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

Roger Watson

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

In this ever changing world is it possible to meet the growing needs of year 6 pupils in the limited time available in the timetable?

“Adolescence is a critical period in human development – we must provide our young people with all the support they need to ensure a smooth transition to adulthood.” Dr Stephanie Burnett Heyes University of Birmingham

There is no doubt in the teaching and research communities that the vast amount of physical, emotional and life changes that a year 6 pupil goes through in the build up to leaving primary school and starting secondary school has an enormous effect on their future lives and learning.  Supporting pupils through the transition is essential; however it can be difficult to bring sensitive issues and topics to life in the classroom.

A few of the PSHE association guidelines for KS2 suggest covering the following topics:

Examining what affects physical, mental and emotional health.

Exploring and critiquing how the media present information and how the media impacts our judgements and self esteem.

To be aware of the different types of relationships and recognise those which can be unhealthy.

Understanding the differences and similarities between people and considering the factors that influence these.

How their bodies may change.

To listen and respond respectfully to a wide range of people.

We believe it is possible to cover these areas and more by utilising a creative format.

“In 80% of primary schools, outside speakers made a valuable contribution to the PSHE education programme.” OFSTED Report on Personal Social and Health Education.

The team at Tip of the Iceberg Theatre Company have been delivering theatre in education projects for 20 years. The ethos has always been to respect every young person as an individual and to empower them to learn about themselves and then relate that to the world they live in, therefore developing a foundation for a healthy mental attitude for life. Each show and the follow up workshops are developed alongside schools, teachers, pupils and experts on the topics to ensure that the experience is informing, involving and inspiring to those that take part.

“Changing Britain” is designed to explore all aspects of life changes that year 6 pupils have highlighted as key issues and that they requested support with. Our infamous vlogger “Big Sister” presents tonight’s episode which follows the life of a range of year 7 pupils as she delves beyond the surface asking “How do changes really affect us and what can we do about them?”.

Download a flyer with further information here:

http://www.tipoftheiceberg.biz/pics/Changing%20Britain%20Year%206%20Flyer4email.pdf

Tip of the Iceberg weave topics into the lives, experiences and personalities of the characters so they don’t appear too didactic for the audience, however, there are many areas that can then be drawn on further in our workshops and discussions.

At the heart of great PSHE and pupil support is looking at self-esteem and strategies to develop positive mental health and wellbeing. Our follow up workshops help pupils to relate the topics to their own lives and experiences in a fun, nurturing environment.

The play lasts 30 minutes and the workshops are adapted in length to suit the number of pupils and the school timetable.  We offer half and full day packages, however our delivery is bespoke to your needs and requirements.

For more detailed information and how we can work in partnership with you please don’t hesitate to contact us.

E: tourbooker@tipoftheiceberg.biz or admin@tipoftheiceberg.biz

Tel: 01707 527140 or 07519 593711

It could be argued that the possession of good problem-solving skills is all that it takes for pupils to achieve high attainment across the subjects, not least because every subject area requires pupils to use problem-solving skills at some point or another. Yet, despite this, the curriculum doesn’t cater for lessons specifically in problem-solving.

Which is why we have developed CRAMES – creative games that will help children to develop their problem-solving skills in only five minutes a day, making them ideal to use at the start of the day, between lessons, at the end of the day, and whenever else there might be a spare five minutes.

CRAMES are user-friendly activities that get children thinking creatively, ranging from ‘What if?’ and ‘How many ways …?’ questions to ‘describing things from a different point of view’ and ‘choosing which you would rather be’.

Furthermore, CRAMES focuses on a variety of themes and thinking methods, from fluency, synectics, flexibility, imagination, originality, and risk taking, to elaboration, curiosity, lateral thinking, problem solving, and evaluation.

You can order CRAMES for just £13.99 in a number of ways, including:

• on our website

• by phone on 01449 766629

• by fax on 01449 768047

• by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

• or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.
Brilliant Publications,
Mendlesham Industrial Estate,
Norwich Road,
Mendlesham,
Suffolk,
IP14 5ND.

website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

…why now is a better time than any to get 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance

According to an article in the Guardian, schools are being forced to do things that they would prefer not to do in order to save money, from axing a subject and closing the library, to stopping all school trips and asking parents to help with tidying up and maintaining the school.

Which is why now is a better time than any to get 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance.

With 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance Cover, not only can you claim back the huge costs of supply cover, but it also offers the additional benefit of making cashflow forecasting easier. Giving you complete budget certainty!

What’s more, Staff Absence isn’t all that is covered under this policy. Our 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance Cover also includes cover for Staff Wellbeing, Occupational Health, Maternity and HR & Management. Thus it is likely that with our insurance you will be able to release funds into your budget for services that you are already paying for.

Scroll down to see a summary of what’s included in the policy or simply fill in this form to get an Instant Staff Absence Quote and join the 800+ UK schools that already have 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance Cover. Alternatively, please do call us on 0113 2161144 or email sales@schoolsuk.com.

A story written by Carolyn Kelly, a Play Therapy UK registrant, for a little boy who just couldn’t ask for help. It starts:

Once upon a time there was a sailor called Mallory Twitch who lived on a little red boat in Pebbletown.  Mallory Twitch was a very talented sailor and his skills were admired by everyone who saw him.

All the sailors moored their boats in the safety of Pebbletown Harbour.  But Mallory Twitch kept his boat anchored outside the harbour because Mallory Twitch did things his own way.  He spent every morning sailing and every afternoon eating cheese and chutney sandwiches. 

But there’s much, much more to play therapy than being able to tell a story.  Every child is different so different therapeutic stories must be produced individually.  Some children in therapy will choose sand tray or clay or puppets or music or other media so the therapist must be trained to communicate with the child (not just observe) in all of these.

It’s essential that schools only employ or contract Play Therapists that are on a register accredited by the Professional Standards Authority and clinically supervised, to quality assure their work. www.playtherapyregister.org.uk

Otherwise the school is taking a big risk.

Overall 20% of the UK’s children have issues that are effectively treated by play therapy.  Investing in training a member of your teaching staff will soon be repaid through less disruption in classes, motivated pupils, better learning, reduced staff stress, happier parents and a better deployment of the pupil premium funding.

If you want to know the rest of Mallory’s story, how play therapy is already working in over 2000 primary schools in the UK and the training that is available in 13 centres all over the country, please email Monika at mokijep@majemail.com

www.playtherapy.org.uk

This is what Times Table Plates provide at a one off cost of less than £2 per item.

There is much interaction between the children, even those with no previous interest in their tables, and instant recall is  very strong both in the classroom afterwards and for the rest of their lives.

Why not look at the website www.timestableplates.co.uk  and email or phone  to ask questions or request a sample.

With best regards

Bob Norfolk
Times Table Plates

01273 960950
rnorfolk@hotmail.com

Computers and consoles are becoming a central part of pupils’ lives, and so game-based learning – the integration of gaming into learning – has never been more popular in schools.

Game-based learning encourages active engagement from pupils through interactive learning and instant gratification.

Our platform provides 85 educational games, each featuring a range of puzzles and questions that have been designed based on criteria from any National Curriculum and covering subjects including:

English – covering spelling, grammar, and sentence structure.

Maths – including topics such as addition, subtraction, time tables, shapes, and angles.

Science – explaining the basics of the solar system, speed, time, and elements.

Internet Safety – internet security, viruses, and staying safe online.

All of our games are available in additional languages to help EAL students on request.

We can help your establishment in promoting and supporting learning through our platform by enabling:

• Instant tracking of pupils’ answers, understanding and progress, allowing you to easily identify their strengths and weaknesses and plan lessons accordingly.
• Customisable multiple choice questions, giving you the ability to quiz individuals on specific topics, match our content with your lesson plans, or edit a game’s difficulty levels based on pupils’ needs.
• Social elements to encourage interaction between pupils and creating an incentive for learning to beat the class’s high score.

Read More

For more information about how EDArcade can help students through game based learning, please contact us on 01909 776 915 or by email at mail@edarcade.com with the subject “GBL2017”.

Kind regards,

Sam Warnes
Creator of EDArcade

T: 01909 776 915
F: 01909 568 350

E: mail@edarcade.com

W: www.edarcade.com

The reason that you should get a noticeboard for your school is the same reason that (I feel as if) I know everything there is to know about Hepatitis A

At my local doctor’s surgery there is a notice which says “Please switch off your phone!”, so when I am waiting to see the doctor, keeping my brain occupied can be something of a challenge. In hindsight, I should probably bring a book along with me, but each time I forget.

This aside, it doesn’t take long for my eyes to start wandering around the waiting room and before I know it I’m reading anything and everything that my vision will allow – from posters about the risks of contracting an illness abroad, to the surgery’s ‘out-of-hours’ policy.

The thing is, the notices in the surgery’s waiting room never change, so for the past ten years (at least) I have been reading the exact same poster about Hepatitis A.

Long story short, when one waits, one reads. Which is precisely why you should get a noticeboard for your school – because parents will read anything and everything in their sight while waiting to pick their child up from school – making it a highly effective school-to-parent communication system.

Indeed, if your school is thinking about buying a (new) noticeboard, Greenbarnes has a range of styles which you can see on our website. Alternatively, please do call us on 01280 701093 and we’ll be pleased to discuss our boards, send you a brochure, and give any advice and guidance that you may require.

What is the single most effective way to help your pupils to develop their emotional intelligence?

It is vital that children work to develop their emotional intelligence, for emotional intelligence is what guides thinking and behaviour and enables one to adjust emotions to different environments, people and circumstances.

Yet emotional intelligence can be incredibly difficult to teach to children, which is why Brilliant Publications has produced 50 Fantastic Assembly Stories for KS2.

50 Fantastic Assembly Stories for KS2 covers a range of topics, from listening, cooperation, and learning from experience, to determination, courage and honesty.

This wonderful collection consists of 50 assembly stories (set in Mill Lane Junior School – a fictional school), each of which provides a moral dilemma for the character(s) to consider or tackle. The impact of the way in which the character deals with the dilemma is significantly greater as pupils are able to relate to the character and the character’s dilemma.

Thus, children will be interested to find out what the characters do in different situations, whether it is confronting a bully or admitting that they have made a mistake.

The stories can be used at specific times of the year, when issues arise, or whenever you are suddenly called upon to do an assembly. They can even be introduced into the curriculum where appropriate.

To order 50 Fantastic Assembly Stories for KS2 for just £17.99, simply visit our website.

Alternatively, you can purchase the Assembly Book Bundle for just £59.96 which consists of 50 Fantastic Assembly Stories for KS2,  Brilliant Class-led Assemblies for KS2, Brilliant Stories for Assemblies, and More Brilliant Stories for Assemblies.

Other ways to place an order with Brilliant Publications include:

• calling us on 01449 766629

• sending a fax to 01449 768047

• sending an email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

• or by sending your order in the post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.

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

website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

The answer turns out to be very simple: respect for the views and ideas of others is enhanced primarily through understanding.  Prejudice and antagonism thrives where knowledge is lacking.

Nowhere is this more apparent than with religious differences.  Even a small amount of knowledge gained in a 45 minute session can work wonders in dispelling ignorance and encouraging respect.

But, most powerfully of all, such understanding tends to last not just through school days, but a lifetime. Years of potential prejudice can be wiped away in just one session.

It is to enhance respect and understanding that Rabbi Douglas Charing, Director of the Jewish Education Bureau, has been visiting schools throughout the country for many years.

He offers lively and informative presentations on many aspects of Judaism, including Festivals such as Passover and Chanukah, and life-cycle events. Story and song are also included.

There is no limit to the number of young people who can attend the session, but experience shows that the session works best with between 50 and 100 children present. Separate presentations are available for key stage 1 and key stage 2 children.

The cost of the visit depends on your school’s location and whether you require one or more sessions with different groups; however, for most schools the cost of a KS1 session and then a KS2 session is around £95 per hour plus travel costs.

To make a booking or for further details of cost and availability, phone our hotline on 0345 567 4071 or email rabbi@jewisheducationbureau.co.uk

Rabbi Charing is also available for school-based Inset.

www.jewisheducationbureau.co.uk

Activity books that will support your pupils on the journey: from decoding texts to reading comprehension and critical thinking

In order for your pupils to become confident in their comprehension abilities, they must first be confident in their ability to decode texts. Indeed, once decoding has been mastered they will be well on their way to becoming confident in their reading comprehension abilities.

Towards the end of primary school an ability to think critically about texts will also be established where pupils will be pondering questions, such as: “what does the writer really mean?” and “why has the writer chosen to use these words?”

With Brilliant Publications’ Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension series for Years 1 to 6, you can support your pupils on this journey, all the way from decoding and comprehending texts to thinking critically about those texts.

The passages in the Reading Comprehension series provide children with a variety of engaging texts, ranging from newspaper articles and dialogues, to plays, stories and poems – all specially written for the purpose.

Activities range from simple factual recall and vocabulary work to open-ended questions – enabling the reader to provide a more personal response. There are also detailed suggestions for integrating writing, speaking and other literacy tasks with the passages.

The texts and activities gradually increase in difficulty as your pupils progress through the book (and through the series), encouraging children to develop their ability to read for meaning and use a range of strategies to engage with the text.

You can order the Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension series for just £95 at https://www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/brilliant-activities-for-reading-comprehension-series-pack-2nd-edition-518.

Alternatively, you can buy the books separately as printed versions (£19.99 each) or as e-book versions (£13.99 each), letting your pupils start their journey straightaway, at the following links:

• Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension, Year 1
• Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension, Year 2
• Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension, Year 3
• Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension, Year 4
• Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension, Year 5
• Brilliant Activities for Reading Comprehension, Year 6

Or, if you’d prefer, you can order any of these resources by:

• calling us on 01449 766629

• sending a fax to 01449 768047

• sending an email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

• or by sending your order in the post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.

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

website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

There comes a time with all technology when more modern equipment supersedes it. Years ago we used blackboards with chalk. Several generations later we were using Interactive whiteboards (IWB) with projectors. Believe it or not these have been in circulation in schools for around twenty years.  However time moves on and schools are now moving over to Interactive Touchscreens. These have all the benefits of IWBs plus many more:

• Use up to 75% less power
• Crystal clear viewing in any light conditions
• Useable in any rooms and are not wall dependent
• No shadows
• No need for unsightly projector fittings.

There are several brands of ITS on the market but only one is so confident of its product that it offers a SEVEN YEAR warranty. GeneeWorld  offer a guaranteed seven year warranty.

Genee is already a world renowned  brand in the education market as the leader in visualiser technology. They have used this knowledge of classroom technology and interactivity to design a board that can not only interact with legacy software, but has its own bespoke Spark software for giving you the very best results. To watch a 12 minute video of these products go to http://www.arkel.co.uk/genee.

Arkel Computer Services is a specialist Geneeworld partner and can offer you best prices for all Genee products. If you have a requirement for an ITS, visualiser or any other Genee product please call Arkel on 01858 432495 or contact sales@arkel.co.uk

Prices of Interactive Touch Screens start from: £1340

However, for your guidance we have listed the price of some of the more popular products below:

We also offer a full installation and fitting service in your area. Please call 01858 432495 for prices which will vary according to quantity and size of the boards.

Genee Visualisers                                                          From £128

All prices are subject to delivery charges and VAT.

Arkel also offer all other forms of IT hardware and technical support. For a better idea of the scope of how we can help , go to: www.arkel.co.uk or call us on 01858 432495 or email sales@arkel.co.uk

Arkel Computer Services Ltd., 38 Granville St., Market Harborough, Leics. LE16 9EX

There’s a theatre show touring the country that schools are raving about!

“Absolutely brilliant – it kept very close to the book and was even better in parts. Everyone was truly amazing, with brilliant characterisations. You brought the West End to Nottingham!”

Highfields School in Newark was enthusing about David Walliams’ Gangsta Granny that’s now touring through until July prior to its West End summer season. It’s your chance to for your pupils to enjoy what Viscount Beaumont’s school in Coalville called “Excellent – much funnier than the book and very clever. The children loved it!”

GANGSTA GRANNY is the most popular book by the UK’s bestselling children’s author, David Walliams. It is now an acclaimed new play suitable for pupils at infant, junior and middle school level (ages 4 to 12) and it will help you cover part of the National Curriculum.

See venue details, photos, reviews and a trailer of the show plus download free teachers notes at www.birminghamstage.com

Special school ticket prices apply at all tour venues and many give free tickets to teachers on duty. Schools can also claim back the VAT on their pupils’ tickets to reduce costs further.

“How do you entertain a thousand deafening under ten-year-olds for two hours? The answer is this cracker of a show, brilliantly adapted and directed, which comes with a smashing cast. It’s totally grantastic!” * * * *  The Mail on Sunday

It’s Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing – staying with Granny! There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake to eat and Ben knows one thing for sure – it’s going to be so boring! But what Ben doesn’t know is that Granny has a secret – and Friday nights are about to get more exciting than he could possibly imagine, as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny!

“Kids adore David Walliams’ books and they loved this show. It has an infectious exuberance that answers the writing’s zest and theatricality. Every comic opportunity is grasped!”  * * * * The Daily Telegraph

Gangsta Granny follows Birmingham Stage Company’s hugely popular shows including Horrible Histories, Tom’s Midnight Garden and James and the Giant Peach.

We look forward to seeing you at this amazing children’s adventure!

STOP PRESS: David Walliams writes “The BSC’s Gangsta Granny is truly brilliant, so I’m hugely excited that next they’re bringing Awful Auntie to the stage. It promises to be a thrilling show and a total hoot – Wagnar and I can’t wait to see it!” BSC’s new tour of David Walliams’ Awful Auntie starts this autumn full details at www.birminghamstage.com

We are contacting you regarding our free books for schools offer: http://www.BooksForEducation.co.uk.

How2Become Ltd, an award-winning careers and educational specialist, is currently working in partnership with over 100 schools, colleges and universities across the UK, including the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Kent, to provide free KS1 and KS2 books of your choice for students and your school.

As a careers and educational publisher of 12 years, we have a vast range fo books we feel will help your students:

• KS2 Maths Revision Series
• KS2 English Revision Series
• KS2 Science Revision Series
• KS1 & 2 History Revision Series
• 11+ Kent Test Revision Series (the UK’s only publisher)
• Plus 100s more

We are offering to send you £300 worth of FREE books:

There is no catch – over 100 schools have already taken up our offer – simply select £300 worth of books and we will send them to you (we even cover the postage costs); we are simply trying to grow the awareness of our books amongst students, parents, and teachers.

To take up this free offer, or to find out more, simply contact our education coordinator, Gemma Butler, at: mailto:g.butler.how2become@gmail.com?subject=I would like to claim my free books and resources

Full details of all our resources can be found at http://www.BooksForEducation.co.uk.

Kind regards,

Joshua Brown
Operations Director
How2Become Ltd
www.how2become.com

Many schools have found it difficult to get to grips with the new Primary assessment system and the numerous changes imposed by the Government haven’t helped.

But if your school has grasped the challenge that there are almost no rules and that how you assess is largely up to you, are you now finding that your current tracker doesn’t let you implement your assessment policy as you would like?

For instance, can you import your own curriculum? If you want to use the National Curriculum Programme of Study statements or the NAHT model, can you edit the statements, deleting some and re-wording others? Can you give statements different weightings or set some as KPIs or non-negotiables?

With no levels to rely on, can you set your own assessment grades, allowing less able pupils to show progress while letting the ablest shine?

Do you have the flexibility to assess pupils at either Statement or Subject level; enter assessments at any time but set your own reporting dates?

Do you want to be able to filter results by groups such as boys/girls, pupil premium, SEN, first language, ethnicity or create your own groups and filter results by these?

Now that you have realised how much flexibility you can have under the new regime, won’t you need a tracking system which is equally flexible and will fully support your assessment policy?

Our Online Primary Progress toolkit can, we believe, support almost any assessment policy.

We have designed it with two simple aims – to create a tracker which is easy to use and can be customised to a school’s precise needs.

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with your current tracker, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit?

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

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

Roger Watson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kind regards

Monika Jephcott
Chief Executive Play Therapy UK

There is tremendous pressure on the curriculum these days, but in our Multi-Faith society it is essential to know what makes others tick religiously.

Even a small shot of knowledge can dispel a little ignorance and encourage respect, leading to a more harmonious society.

Rabbi Douglas Charing, Director of the Leeds-based Jewish Education Bureau, has been visiting schools throughout the country for many years.

He offers lively and informative presentations on many aspects of Judaism, including Festivals such as Passover and Chanukah, and life-cycle events. Story and song are also included.

Your pupils will be engaged and stimulated and enjoy a lasting experience by an inspiring educator.

To make a booking or for further details of cost and availability, phone our hotline on 0345 567 4071 or email rabbi@jewisheducationbureau.co.uk

Rabbi Charing is also available for school-based Inset.

www.jewisheducationbureau.co.uk

>
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youcansay provides schools with insights that help in finding ways to improve aspects of pupils’ health and well-being.

• desirable behaviours such as activity and exercise
• avoiding negative influences like lots of unhealthy snacks
• building emotional well-being, self awareness and regard for others

Take children who have nothing to eat before their first lesson. A bad start to a day of learning. I do not know what your school might find, but surveys suggests that between none and a third have nothing to eat before their first lesson.

Evidence from youcansay surveys.
Pupils missing breakfast are more likely to: feel poorly, feel angry, loose control, self harm, worry about not fitting in, worry about home life, spend a lot of time looking after a disabled parent, think they are too fat, and to have tried cigarettes.

Pupils NOT missing breakfast are more likely to: have a positive attitude about themselves, feel they will be successful, say they can think clearly, have someone to talk to, enjoy school work and look forward to secondary school.

Surveys are immediately available or can be tailored; we have a large questionnaire resource.

They are done online so are easy to implement and control.

Each school participating in a youcansay survey is fully supported.

It is usually repeated annually so that trends can be recognised and the outcomes of your strategies can be measured.

We use powerful methods to process and analyse the results with relevance, accuracy and speed, making them available without delay.

Results can be built into PSHE lessons, or similar, in which pupils are accustomed to dealing with sensitive issues.

You could be getting results about your school well before Easter.

youcansay surveys are affordable, costing as little as £125 for a primary school survey

To see more information on surveys which could be used in your school please click here

If you would like to talk about the questionnaires, their benefits and how they work please do call on 0118 978 1078, you can also contact us by emailing service@youcansay.co.uk

Adam Dotchin

Since the beginning, the maths curriculum has favoured the methodical thinker. So, what does this mean for our creative children?

It is apparent that maths is not as suited to our creative thinkers as it is to our methodical thinkers – particularly when we consider that there can only be one answer to a maths question, and the steps taken to get to this answer are often stringent and methodical.

Which is perhaps why some pupils find mathematical concepts incredibly difficult to grasp.

Fortunately, with the Open-ended Maths Investigations series you can now both inspire and engage your creative thinkers by introducing an optional element of creativity into their maths lessons.

The activities in the series encourage pupils to apply higher order mathematical strategies creatively and effectively – enabling pupils to develop proficiency in a wide range of problem-solving strategies.

Indeed, the investigations are designed to allow pupils to bring their own thinking and learning strategies to the task. Some pupils will work systematically and logically. Some will draw pictures to make sense of situations and yet others will plunge in using a trial and error approach, fixing up any mistakes and refining their thinking as they go along.

Furthermore, the Open-ended Maths Investigations can be used in isolation, in sequence, or dipped into as teachers require, providing a great supplement to every maths scheme of work.

The Open-ended Maths Investigations series is matched to the following strands of mathematics: number, money, measurement, space, chance and data, and patterns and algebra.

You can order the Open-ended Maths Investigations for Primary Schools Bundle for just £40. Or you can buy the books separately as printed versions (£15.99 each) or as e-book versions (£10.99 each), letting you start your pupils investigating straightaway, at the links below.

Open-ended Maths Investigations for 5–7 Year Olds

Open-ended Maths Investigations 7–9 Year Olds

Open-ended Maths Investigations 9–11 Year Olds

Alternatively, you can order Open-ended Maths Investigations:

• by phone on 01449 766629

• by fax on 01449 768047

• by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

• or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.

Computers and consoles are becoming a central part of pupils lives, and so game based learning – the integration of gaming into learning – has never been more popular in schools.

Our platform features 85 educational games, each featuring a range of puzzles and questions that have been designed based on criteria from the National Curriculum.

Our content covers a range of core and non-core subjects, including:

English – covering spelling, grammar and sentence structure.

Maths – including topics such as addition, subtraction, time tables, shapes and angles.

Science – explaining the basics of the solar system, speed, time and elements.

Internet Safety – internet security, viruses and staying safe online.

Game based learning encourages active engagement from pupils through interactive learning and instant gratification. The large selection of games allows pupils to learn at their own pace and in their own way.

Read more

We can help your establishment in promoting and supporting learning through our platform by enabling:

• Instant tracking of pupils’ answers, understanding and progress, allowing you to easily identify their strengths and weaknesses and plan lessons accordingly.
• Customisable multiple choice questions, giving you the ability to quiz individuals on specific topics, match our content with your lesson plans, or edit a game’s difficulty levels based on pupils’ needs.
• Social elements to encourage interaction between pupils and creating an incentive for learning to beat the class’s high score.

For more information about how EDArcade can help pupils through game based learning, please contact us on 01909 568 338 or by email at mail@edarcade.com with the subject “Arcade17”.

It is perhaps a pupil’s understanding of punctuation and grammar that indicates their readiness to progress in literacy. Not least because punctuation and grammar are the keys to a well-polished end product.

Which is why Topical Resources has devised the Punctuation and Grammar Series for Year 1 to Year 6 pupils – so that (if you wish) you can create a whole-school Punctuation and Grammar Programme.

The Punctuation and Grammar Series consist of punctuation and grammar activities which will enable your KS1 and KS2 pupils to gain a comprehensive understanding of Grammar and Punctuation.

Simply visit our website to download the Punctuation and Grammar Series for just £60+VAT (£10+VAT per PDF workbook). Or, for more information and to see sample pages, please email sales@topical-resources.co.uk or visit the individual resource links below.

• Punctuation and Grammar Activities for Year 1
• Punctuation and Grammar Activities for Year 2
• Punctuation and Grammar Activities for Year 3
• Punctuation and Grammar Activities for Year 4
• Punctuation and Grammar Activities for Year 5
• Punctuation and Grammar Activities for Year 6

www.topical-resources.co.uk
sales@topical-resources.co.uk

How do you make the most of your interactive whiteboard technology to aid teaching and learning?

How do you support the busy teacher when delivering the curriculum?

Ready to use interactive whiteboard lessons and activities… designed, aligned and written by Primary School teachers.

What are the benefits? The lessons and activities … Promote quality teaching and learning Are easy to use Colourful and fun Incorporate all educational targets Provide depth, breadth, continuity and progression Encourage all learning styles Increase pupil/teacher participation and motivation Maths, Phonics and Grammar fully editable.

Try before you buy?

Download FREE samples at http://www.edpax.com/free-resources/

What factor is responsible, more than any other, for children slipping behind in literacy?

It is a fundamental fact of teaching literacy that each child progresses at his/her own unique rate.  Each child has his/her own personality.  Each has different levels of paying attention. Every child is different.

In order to resolve these various problems it is very helpful – indeed one could say essential – to have a highly accurate and rapid system of placing children according to their current literacy ability, while precisely noting the progress they are making.

Unfortunately, this creates a second problem because analysing exactly where a pupil is in terms of developing literacy skills is even more time-consuming.

The way around all this is to implement an auto-placement approach which allocates each pupil’s ability level and reveals exactly what the child needs to be focussing on.

Then, if the child can have one-to-one tuition in a way that is utterly engaging and responsive to their immediate literacy needs and within the school’s budget the issue is resolved.

All of this can all be done using Lexia’s Core5 Reading Skills software.  The analysis, the comparisons with other children, the progress, the remedial work – all of this is tracked and provided by Core5.

If you want to read the case studies involving UK schools which are already using the system please click here. You will then also find on the right of the page the route to having access to the full program for 30 days without any payment or commitment.

If you want to know more about the program, then again we have all the information you’ll need available here. Alternatively, if you would like to talk first, call 0191 482 1939, or email info@lexiauk.co.uk

Rob Kay

LexiaUK Software Consultant.

This year Early Years Resources is celebrating 25 years of supplying cutting edge educational resources for Nurseries and Primary Schools throughout the UK and worldwide.

Our team consists of experienced teachers and specialists buyers have sourced innovative and “hard to find” products which will help you to develop pupils’ skills, specialising in the following subject areas:

• English – focusing on communication; equipping pupils with a strong command of spoken and written language and nurturing a love of literature
• Mathematics – teach the key mathematical aims; problem solving, fluency and reasoning in a fun and exciting way
• Science – broaden pupils’ scientific view of the world through exploring, asking, analysing and observing

We have over 6000 exciting and innovative products, to view our range of products visit our website or view our digital catalogue.

Ordering from us is easy, simply email sales@earlyyearsresources.co.uk with the items needed, quantities required and your delivery address. We will then provide with a quote including shipping costs.

Great reasons to shop with us

• Delivery worldwide
• Quick and helpful quotation service
• 25 years of supplying educational resources to schools worldwide
• Over 6000 resources including Outdoor, Furniture and Art and Craft equipment
• Resources selected by our team of experienced teachers and specialist buyers

For any other information, feel free to contact us on (+44) 0161 865 3355 or email sales@earlyyearsresources.co.uk.

Who possesses the ability to inspire even the most reluctant of readers?

It is no surprise that some schools choose to host their own World Book Day activities so that each activity can be readily adapted for the different ages and abilities of pupils – ensuring that each and every pupil gets as much out of their World Book Day as possible.

And, of course, this doesn’t just apply to World Book Day, but also to your school’s own Story/Reading/Book Week (if this is something that your school organises).

However, there is also a lot to be said for inviting professional storytellers into the school who host World Book Day workshops, for they have the extraordinary ability to inspire even the most reluctant of readers.

To achieve the best of both worlds it seems there is a need for World Book Day workshops which can be readily differentiated for the wide range of ages and abilities of pupils in the school – which is precisely what Snail Tales does.

Snail Tales is home to professional storytellers who have devised not one, but a choice of two World Book Day workshops: Storytelling on World Book Day and World Book Day for Writing. Our workshops are also suitable for schools that organise their own Story/Reading/ Book Week and we are available to make a visit to your school at any time of the year.

Unfortunately, our World Book Day workshops have sold out for World Book Day 2017 (and the subsequent weeks), so please be sure to book well in advance for World Book Day 2018. World Book Day 2018 really is just around the corner…

You can ask us to pencil you into our diary for World Book Day 2018 or for your school’s own Story/Reading/Book Week (whenever this may be) by completing our online booking form.

Alternatively, if you have an immediate question or want to find out which workshop we would recommend for your school, please do either call us on 0203 287 6245 or visit our Contact Us page.

There are many ways of introducing
Shakespeare at KS 2.

We asked Literacy Co-ordinators which
approach was best…

In a recent survey of methods of teaching Shakespeare at Key Stage 2 it was found that most respondents were highly committed to introducing Shakespeare in primary school.

But when it came to the issue of how this should be done, numerous answers were given.

Two of the most popular approaches were to use context to make sense of unfamiliar words, and/or to use a dual text edition.

Shakespeare Comic Books has produced a resource which meets many of the views expressed by those who completed our questionnaire – a highly illustrated approach with original text and a modern English translation. Combined, these make the play more rapidly accessible, particularly at Key Stage 2.

You can get a feel for the book here. Then just click on the small pictures that run down the web page to the right of the cover picture, and you’ll see exactly what individual pages of the resource look like.

Also available is the Macbeth Teachers’ Book with 50 + photocopiable worksheets  Normally this retails at £22, but for a very limited period we are offering a free copy of the teacher’s book to any school purchasing five or more comic books.

All you need to do to get the free copy is to indicate that you will be willing to complete a short questionnaire after you have used the books in two sessions with your pupils or students.

The questionnaire will only take five minutes to complete at most and can simply be emailed back to us once completed.  This offer is only available for a limited number of schools, and we do reserve the right to stop the offer the moment we have sufficient schools participating.

“If you would like to take part in this offer and complete the questionnaire simply indicate on your order – PLUS FREE TEACHERS BOOK FOR COMPLETING QUESTIONNAIRE”

There are more details of how to order on the website.  And If you would like to know more please do email us at info@shakespearecomics.com or call 01691 770165.

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.”

Circus skills workshops are brilliant fun for all ages and abilities and offer an excellent educational experience, whether exploring the “circus topic”, exploring  forces in science, as an activity day, a reward, or part of your school fete or fair.

The founders and facilitators at Fantastiko Circus Workshops have been sharing their skills for over 15 years and pride themselves on delivering the best circus package to suit each school and their pupils. Our workshops offer focused fun and bring the magic of circus straight in to your school (or our circus tent marquee).

Skills range from simple feather balancing and bucket stilts to the more advanced tight wire and unicycle, and we tailor our workshops to suit different ages from reception all the way up to year 6 – and adults love joining in too.  Fantastiko deliver a complete circus package and our offers include everything from; a one hour visit, circus days, ongoing schemes of work, circus science sessions and even a range of themed entertainment.

The workshops are designed to help pupils feel energised and positive as they work together and learn new things, we also offer personalised certificates to add to their sense of achievement.

“We learnt loads and now I believe I can do anything” Year 5 pupil St Albans

“The evaluation forms for the circus workshop have all said it was excellent! Everyone had a great time.” Young carers group.

Take a look at our website www.circusworkshops.biz

Prices start from £210+Vat for a half day.

Contact us for more details about the different workshops and entertainment we offer including:

• KS1 Circus theme topic
• Theme/fun/reward days for the whole school.
• Assemblies, school fetes and fundraisers.
• A range of costumes and outfits add to the experience (jesters, ringmaster etc)
• We also offer stilt walkers, balloon modellers, face painters and children’s entertainment.

Call or email Drew or Lisa to find out more.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Tel: 07539229256

Email: info@circusworkshops.biz

Help your pupils make the connection between what they learn in the classroom and the future world of work

Too many children fail to see the purpose of education and become disengaged with their learning. But pupils who have been inspired to explore careers possibilities are typically more motivated and focused in their lessons. Panjango aims to inspire and excite children about the world of work from an earlier age, starting in primary schools, by showing them the real world applications of their learning in life after school.

Panjango is a world of experiential learning which gamifies learning, links the curriculum to the real world and equips young people with the knowledge, skills and experience they need to find their purpose and fulfil their potential. For children of primary age, making a connection between what they learn in the classroom and how it relates to the world of work isn’t easy. But Panjango offers a free, easy-to-use platform to help any teacher bring the curriculum to life through a wide range of interactive, contextualised challenges.

Panjango features 120 occupations and more than 1000 challenges covering the Maths, English and Science curriculum from levels 3 to 7. A filtering system allows teachers to tailor lessons and present the challenges most relevant to their class – filtering by level, subject and even individual topics. For example, teachers could choose to display ratio or geometry challenges in Maths, grammar or transcription challenges in English, or evolution or forces challenges in Science.

Panjango has already received praise from some prominent people in the education world. For example, leading education author and Primary Head Teacher of the Year, Richard Gerver, said:

“Panjango is a dynamic and original resource to inspire children and educators, ensuring that our kids don’t just survive but thrive in their future. Panjango offers a radical new approach to the delivery of careers education – a powerful, immersive experience which helps young people understand why their learning is important and how it is used in practical settings in the world of work. The resource has the potential to significantly enhance the learning outcomes of young people by bringing learning to life, making if fun, interactive and meaningful.”

To check out Panjango, register now for free at panjango.online. We hope you enjoy using Panjango as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it!

Jon & Joseph

Founders of Panjango

Revised for the 2016 SATs requirements:

Spelling Practice Activity Books and Weekly Spelling Lists

for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, & Year 6

The simplest and most effective way to create a unified tracking approach to your pupils’ progress in spelling is by first implementing a KS2 spelling policy.

In doing this, everyone knows what has gone before and what comes next, enabling pupils to progress in their spelling more rapidly and schools to respond to the demands of the English Programmes of Study more efficiently.

Which is why we have revised our popular KS2 Spelling Series to meet the 2016 SATs requirements…

The KS2 Spelling Series consists of Key Stage 2 Weekly Spelling Lists and Spelling Practice Activity Books for Year 3, Year 4, Year 5, and Year 6.

Furthermore, the KS2 Spelling Series now includes diagnostic assessments which will give an indication as to where a pupil should begin, four words following a specific rule to be introduced every week, and two words from the relevant Y3/4 or Y5/6 word lists to learn each week.

It will introduce concepts of spelling which will be tested in the Punctuation & Grammar part of the Year 6 Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling test (paper 1), including: suffixes, prefixes, the use of the hyphen and the possessive apostrophe with plural words, contractions and other carefully organised words for revision.

The KS2 Spelling Series can be downloaded for just £50+Vat (£10+VAT per PDF workbook) by visiting https://www.topical-resources.co.uk/category/spelling-programmes/.

For more information (or to see sample pages), please email sales@topical-resources.co.uk or visit the individual resource links below.

• Key Stage 2 Weekly Spelling Lists 
• Spelling Practice Activity Book Year 3
• Spelling Practice Activity Book Year 4
• Spelling Practice Activity Book Year 5
• Spelling Practice Activity Book Year 6

 
www.topical-resources.co.uk
sales@topical-resources.co.uk

IT`S A CHEEP, CHEEP THRILL… 

See chicks hatch in your school or nursery

       life cycles

       science

       literacy

       numeracy

We supply everything you need for a worry free hatch, which includes…

• Embryo eggs only 1-2 days from hatching
• An incubator, cool egg shape with 360° viewing
• Brooder box to raise your chicks in
• Heat lamp, drinker and feed for the chicks
• Comprehensive manual a handy guide
• Full telephone support, 7 days per week 8am to 8pm
• Delivery and set up
• Collection
• The ethical rehoming of the chicks.

Please visit www.thehappychickcompany.co.uk for more information or call us on 01733 700853.  Prices start from £259 – but get £10 off when you quote SCH0217 with order.

Successful creative writers have confidence in their creative writing abilities – so how can you boost your pupils’ creative writing confidence?

Children don’t typically need any encouragement when it comes to creative thinking. In fact, sometimes their creative thinking can be a little too…. creative. Yet the boundaries of structured writing can sometimes hinder their usual creative thinking and thus, their creative writing skills.

Clearly, writing structure cannot simply be ignored so it is important to teach children how there can be harmony between creative thinking and writing structure – thus increasing their creative writing confidence.

With this in mind, Brilliant Publications has produced the Boost Creative Writing Series – a series of books which provide additional reinforcement of key skills.

The structured planning sheets in the Boost Creative Writing books provide pupils with non-prescriptive writing scaffolds and cover a range of writing genres, from stories and poems to book reviews and newspaper reports.

Furthermore, the Boost Creative Writing Years 5-6 (ages 9-11) includes a handy Tips for Writing booklet that can be copied and bound to make a useful reference booklet for pupils, or sheets can be given individually as and when required.

For more information and to see sample pages, simply visit www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/boost-creative-writing-series-pack-509.

You can order the Boost Creative Writing Series;

• by visiting the website

• by phone on 01449 766629

• by fax on 01449 768047

• by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

• or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.
Brilliant Publications,
Mendlesham Industrial Estate,
Norwich Road,
Mendlesham,
Suffolk,
IP14 5ND.website: www.brilliantpublications.co.uk
email: orders@tradecounter.co.uk

phone: 01449 766629
fax: 01449 768047

After a year, working with the new ‘no levels’ regime, are you developing your own assessment policy?

Most schools have spent the past year, trying to get to grips with the new Primary assessment system.

It hasn’t been easy and the numerous changes imposed by the Government haven’t helped.

Perhaps the biggest problem for schools has been grasping the idea that there are almost no rules. After years when the government prescribed in detail how schools must assess their pupils, it’s been quite a wrench to realise that how you assess is largely up to you.

For instance, you can import your own curriculum. If you want to use the National Curriculum Programme of Study statements, you can edit them, deleting some and re-wording others. You can give statements different weightings or set some as KPIs or non-negotiables.

With no levels to rely on, you can work out your own set of assessment grades, allowing less able pupils to show progress while letting the ablest shine.

You may want the flexibility to assess pupils at either Statement or Subject level; enter assessments at any time but set your own reporting dates.

You will most likely want to be able to filter results by groups such as boys/girls, pupil premium, SEN, first language, ethnicity or create your own groups and filter results by these.

Now that you realise how much flexibility you can have under the new regime, won’t you need a tracking system which is equally flexible and will fully support your assessment policy?

Our Online Primary Progress toolkit, we believe, can support almost any assessment policy.

We have designed it with one simple aim – to create a tracker which is easy to use but can be customised to a school’s precise needs.

So, if you aren´t 100% satisfied with your current tracker, why not check out our Online Primary Progress toolkit (www.primaryprogresstoolkit.co.uk)?

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

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

Roger Watson

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

Computers and consoles are becoming a central part of pupils lives, and so game based learning – the integration of gaming into learning – has never been more popular in schools.

Our platform features 85 educational games, each featuring a range of puzzles and questions that have been designed based on criteria from the National Curriculum.

Our content covers a range of core and non-core subjects, including:

English – covering spelling, grammar and sentence structure.

Maths – including topics such as addition, subtraction, time tables, shapes and angles.

Science – explaining the basics of the solar system, speed, time and elements.

Internet Safety – internet security, viruses and staying safe online.

Game based learning encourages active engagement from pupils through interactive learning and instant gratification. The large selection of games allows pupils to learn at their own pace and in their own way.

Read more

We can help your establishment in promoting and supporting learning through our platform by enabling:

• Instant tracking of pupils’ answers, understanding and progress, allowing you to easily identify their strengths and weaknesses and plan lessons accordingly.
• Customisable multiple choice questions, giving you the ability to quiz individuals on specific topics, match our content with your lesson plans, or edit a game’s difficulty levels based on pupils’ needs.
• Social elements to encourage interaction between pupils and creating an incentive for learning to beat the class’s high score.

For more information about how EDArcade can help pupils through game based learning, please contact us on 01909 568 338 or by email at mail@edarcade.com with the subject “Arcade17”.

The first and perhaps the most important step in inmproving your pupils’ performance in literacy is to build their confidence and self-esteem up to a point where they are comfortable with making mistakes (so that they can learn from them).

The second step is to create a whole-school programme so that everyone knows what has gone before and what comes next, making it easier to respond to the English Programmes of Study.

Furthermore, a whole-school approach offers unified tracking of your pupils’ progress.

With this in mind, Brilliant Publications has produced Daily Sentence Structures – a practical guide which provides a straightforward way of teaching pupils to use a range of sentence structures in their own writing, whatever their age and ability.

The sentence structures in the resources vary from short, dramatic sentences to complex, compound sentences. Each has been broken down into a series of 15-minute sessions that build on each other. By completing the daily sessions, pupils will have at their fingertips a system for creating imaginative and interesting writing in as little as six weeks.

Daily Sentence Structures covers many of the writing requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum, including: using grammatical structures, making meaning clear and creating effect, using a range of sentence starters to create specific effects, using commas to mark phrases and clauses, sustaining and developing ideas logically, varying sentence structures and using semi-colons and dashes.

Pupils’ confidence and self-esteem will increase, leading to better results across all subjects, and the systematic approach appeals especially to boys who will enjoy applying logic to their writing and being able to create ‘instant paragraphs’.

The price of the book is £17.99. You can find more information about Daily Sentence Structures by visiting www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/daily-sentence-structures-667.

And, as always, you can order Daily Sentence Structures in a variety of ways, such as:

• by visiting the website
• by phone on 01449 766629
• by fax on 01449 768047
• by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
• or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.

What is the most effective way of enhancing children’s reading, problem solving, and writing abilities without it costing a penny?

There are two oddities in that headline, I know.  The notion that one activity can boost children’s performance in all those areas mentioned, and that this can be done at no cost at all.

But there is no catch, no trick and there are no hidden charges.  There is a method and it is free to use.  Indeed the benefits actually go beyond those mentioned in the headline – I didn’t mention them all because I didn’t want you to think this was far too good to be true.

The answer to the question in the headline is to be found within the imagination. Our imaginations allow us to hypothesise, to hold the concept of number, to solve problems without actually doing them, and to think what might be as well as what actually is.

Children whose imaginations are stretched tend to achieve far more than might otherwise be expected.

For example, when children listen to a story, ​they can become enthralled not just by the words but by what their imaginations do to the story.  The imagination provides extra details to make their own personal vision of story.​

Put simply: when children have many opportunities to make what we may call this “imaginative investment”, they become more rounded people.  They enhance their intelligence and become more able to engage in the world around them.

Which only leaves one question: how can we develop this skill?

The answer turns out to be quite simple – a two part activity in which children learn to tell stories to each other in small groups, and which then also encourages those parents who wish to, to take part in the activity at home.

We have set out the whole project in a free report which we’d be delighted to send you.  It sets out how the project can work, step by step, without any need to spend anything on equipment or other resources.

For a free copy of the report, “Enhancing reading, problem solving and writing through storytelling at school and at home” please email stories@snailtales.org. If you could write “Enhancing reading report” in the subject line that would be helpful.

If you would like to know more about what we do, there are details on our website or you can call us on 020 328 76245.

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

This reduces stress on teaching staff caused by disruptive or ‘difficult’ pupils.

You can find a fully qualified therapist on www.playtherapyregister.org.uk , accredited by the Professional Standards Authority.

If you have a limited budget or are not sure if play therapy would work in your school you can have up to 100 hours of therapy for your pupils at virtually no cost by using our trainee placement scheme.  They will carry out assessments, parent interviews and provide measured outcomes as part of their service, as well as the therapy.

We have about 300 trainees from 13 training centres in all parts of the UK so hopefully one will be available for your school.

Email me personally at jefferyht@majemail.com for details.

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

Kind regards

Jeff Thomas – Registrar Play Therapy UK

Between 28 January and 4 February thousands of schools across the UK will be organising events in support of National Storytelling Week – but even if you have not yet made arrangements for a specific activity that week (or indeed one of the weeks following NSW) it is still easy to set up a day that the children will remember for years and years to come.

Indeed it is generally the long term impact of just such a day that is the prime reason why the popularity of this annual event has grown year by year.  For, as more and more research has shown, children who have the chance to experience live storytelling can make huge gains in all their subsequent school work.

As a result one of the most popular events this year is proving to be a half or full day visit to the school by a highly experienced storyteller.

The exact arrangements for the day will depend on your particular wishes and what you want the children to get out of the day. The most popular approach involves starting with an assembly followed by performances and/or workshops for smaller groups of children at a time.  But we can adjust our approach to suit your requirements.

As an extra bonus a free optional after-school training session for teachers is also available, and the whole arrangement can last for half a day or a full day.

You will find a lot more about our storytelling programme on our website at www.snailtales.org/storytelling    Then you can ask us to pencil you into our diary by completing our online booking form.

Or, if you have an immediate question, please do either:

• call 020 328 SNAIL (020 328 76245)
• or visit our Contact Us page

I very much look forward to hearing from you.

Come and see our birds of prey at Ford Castle and enjoy adventurous activities, with March prices starting from only £124 + VAT per student!

A grade-1 listed building steeped in history, with majestic views of the Cheviot Hills, Ford Castle is far from just a beautiful setting. Surrounded by vast private grounds we encompass a wide range of challenging on-site and additional off-site activities, and are proud to call ourselves unique in every aspect.

The Northumberland countryside is the perfect setting to lead excursions exploring the local ecosystems, habitats and so much more. Bring your class closer to nature and couple educational excursions with stimulating crag climbing, canoeing or falconry sessions, with March dates starting from only £124 + VAT per student.

All our prices are fully inclusive, covering: comfortable accommodation, three delicious meals a day, and plenty of stimulating on-site activities – with additional options of excursions and off-site activities available.

Should you be interested I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have, and help piece together a sample itinerary and prices, uniquely tailored to your educational requirements. You can contact me on 01388 741 354, or by emailing Holidays@ford-castle.co.uk to request a call-back.

Allow us to plan your next Ford Castle adventure!

Annette Best
Ford Castle Adventure Ltd

Tel: 01388 741 354

Email: Holidays@ford-castle.co.uk

Website: www.ford-castle.co.uk

Of course you’ll already have a wide range of resources available in books, worksheets, downloads and the like.

But having a huge array of indexed resources covering the whole of the maths syllabus at KS1 and 2, means that no matter what comes up, no matter what issue some members of the class are finding difficult, you’ll have resources ready at hand.

What’s more, because all these maths resources are available on line, you can simply download what you want and use it.  And even better, the chances are that every time you go back and look again, you’ll find some new resources added.

In total we have over 9000 maths worksheets separated into year groups and categories as defined by the latest Primary Framework and placed in categories such as decimals, division, reasoning, problem solving etc.

We’re also increasing our range of “Teaching for Mastery” pages, and have a significant range of assessment papers and SAT Booster pages with a similar layout to the actual tests.  And we’re updating all the time – all our money pages already feature the new £1 coin.

In English we once again have thousands of worksheets categorised by everything from nouns to prepositions, suffixes to punctuation.

There are also seasonal worksheets (from Shrove Tuesday to Halloween) and comprehension worksheets differentiated by the level of knowledge and ability required.

Of course you will want to see and try out these resources first, so we also offer a free trial that has absolutely no commitment at all.

The worksheets are ipad and tablet compatible, can be saved onto pen drives and can be displayed on whiteboards as well as printed out.

For your free No Obligation trial or indeed just to see what our materials look like please just click here.

Or if you have any questions please email jo@urbrainy.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Jo

How can you encourage your pupils to adopt a positive attitude to learning Times Tables?

Mighty Fun Activities for Practising Times Tables is a three-book series which uses superheroes to motivate children to practise the skills needed to solve multiplication, division, and word-based times table problems. Superheroes appeal to even the most reluctant of learners and will instil a positive and competitive attitude towards learning. The aim is for children to become excited and motivated enough to want to learn and practise times tables. These enjoyable worksheets will help children to: recall and apply times tables rapidly increase mathematical fluency understand and use a variety of mathematical language make connections between times tables understand the relationship between multiplication and division and develop mathematical reasoning. The books contain reproducible sheets of practical and written activities which are designed to be used as flexible teaching aids. You can dip in and out of the books in any order to support the learning of any times table. The activities work equally well as stand-alone 5 to 20 minute lesson reinforcements or as regular times table learning. For more information or to order the three-book series for just £40, visit Mighty Fun Activities for Practising Times Tables.

If you need your superhero now you can buy ebook versions for instant access on the links below:

Book 1 – 2, 5 and 10 times tables (£11.99)

Book 2 – 3, 4, 6 and 8 times tables (£11.99)

Book 3 – 7, 9, 11 and 12 times tables (£11.99)

Alternatively, you can order

• by phone on 01449 766629

• by fax on 01449 768047

• by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

• or by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.

 Two of the biggest challenges faced by all primary schools are budgets and meeting the needs of the curriculum. Anyone working in education knows that they are not new, and that all schools work extremely hard and creatively to overcome them.

The very real and modern challenge causing difficulties within primary schools as we begin 2017 is finding the time and new ways of helping pupils to develop emotionally in order to be happy, and therefore achieve in this rapidly changing world.

Many schools inform us that on a day-to-day basis in their classrooms and playgrounds it is aspects of technology, social media, cultural and societal pressure and stress that are having the most negative effects and that are their greatest challenges.

We at Tip of the Iceberg feel it is essential to work with schools to educate children about how they relate to the wider world in a nurturing and non stressful environment, helping them to embrace their knowledge and resilience.

Children learn these key life skills through imaginative and creative play – remember saying in the playground?  “Let’s make up a game?” This helped to teach us strategies for developing relationships, understanding status and power, building independence and the ability to think and rationalise. It is reported that this type of play is happening less and the time and opportunity for fun and creative learning is decreasing too.

As the last term ended, thousands of schools were enjoying Christmas celebrations, watching a pantomime, having fun and enjoying a creative experience in their school. Is it possible to increase the benefits and justify the budget and funding by delivering even more educational benefits?

In audience research pantomimes can work on lots of different levels for all ages and abilities, which is why we believe it can also be an excellent format to cover aspects of the curriculum and PSHE topics.

“Tell me, I’ll forget. Show me, I’ll remember. Involve me, I’ll understand.”
Ancient proverb.

Over the last 10 years alongside pupils, schools and PSHE practitioners Tip of the Iceberg Theatre Company has developed its Pantomime Plays. A unique highly interactive pantomime format performance, designed for a whole school (reception to year 6) that supports the learning and hard work of teachers that goes on throughout the rest of the year.

The pupils experience all aspects of a classic pantomime, which are brilliantly involving, with recognisable characters and plots, however each individually written show has an educational twist and every scene includes a different key learning element. Topics that the plays cover include literacy, bullying and friendships, health and wellbeing, living in wider world.

The feedback from staff and pupils has been amazing and there is an extensive teaching resource pack that supports the project so that the experience can continue long after the theatre company have left.

“In twenty years at this school you are the best company we have ever worked with.  The kids love it, they talk about it for ages and they learn so much.  See you again next year.”

Camrose Primary School, Harrow.

If you would like to find out more about our unique educational experiences please take a look:

www.pantomimeplay.co.uk

www.tipoftheiceberg.biz

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like any further information on the Pantomime Plays or any other of our shows and workshops.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Lisa Schulberg
(Creative Director)
e. admin@tipoftheiceberg.biz
t. 07519 593711

What can you really achieve in a week?