After the first year or two of learning a foreign language, the initial buzz of excitement may well have left some pupils.

The children have learned some vocabulary and can use and manipulate some set phrases and psychologically they really don’t want more of the same. It is, in fact, time to move on.

So part of the aim at this stage must be to encourage children to realise that they can manipulate the language and use it to communicate with others. From this point on they can feel ownership of the language and realise that they can use it.

In short they need to be empowered with the knowledge that they can indeed manipulate the language, something that is achieved through activities which incorporate competition, surprise, movement and secrecy.

Such activities are the cornerstones of “More Fun Ideas for Advancing Modern Foreign Languages in the Primary Classroom.” The resource contains 77 activities which help pupils learn to manipulate the language, improve their decoding skills and discover how the new language functions at sentence level.

And so, out of this recognition comes the empowerment. It enables creative communication and gives young learners a feeling of ownership of the language being learnt.

The inherent rationale behind each activity is that it is enjoyable and interactive, challenging children’s understanding of the language and furnishing them with a purpose for their learning.

With activities ranging from the Human alphabet and Foreign language detectives to Secret signal and Be the teacher, you will never be stuck for ideas.

The activities support the Year 5-6 objectives for the KS2 Framework for Languages.

A contents page and a number of free resources are available on our website.

You can order More Fun Ideas for Advancing Modern Foreign Languages in the Primary Classroom in any of these ways:

• On our website
• By phone on 01449 766629
• By fax on 01449 767122
• By email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk

PS. The Amazing May Sale runs on our website from 20–24 May 2013 with a discount on everything.

According to the government document “Improving Efficiency in Schools,” the average secondary school ought to be able to save around £100,000 a year in efficiency savings, while the average primary school should be able to save around £25,000 a year.

And to be clear, those are not one-off savings. The report stressed that these savings ought to be achievable this year, next year and every year.

To achieve these terrific savings, the report said, all the schools have to do is take a look at how other, more efficient, schools are handling matters, and copy their practices.

Yet if it were as easy as that, surely by now, most schools should be feeling extremely well off, as inefficiencies are removed and the savings mount up in school bank accounts, simply waiting to be used on other educational ventures.

Sadly, as we know, this is not true. And it is not true for one very simple reason: efficiencies arise not just by copying other schools (although this can help somewhat) but mostly through the introduction and maintenance of what might be a called “an efficiency mindset” throughout the school.

The process of achieving an “efficiency mindset” has been explored and examined in detail by school managers and administrators over the past five years in a number of schools – schools which as part of this exploration really have made incredible efficiency savings.

Now for the first time the way in which schools are making savings is described in one volume: “The Efficient School.”

This volume 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 introduce to ensure that objections to change are overcome and that changes, once implemented, are maintained and developed.

As such 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 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 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

It is a sad fact of life that many young people go into their first interviews without much of an idea as to what questions they are likely to be asked and what answers they ought to give.

Which is why this book exists. It starts with the most obvious question: “Why do you want this job/course?” and moves onto the variations, such as thinking about “Why do you want to work for this company”, “Why do you want to study here?” and so on.

The book works on the premise that any interview is a two way process, allowing the candidate to get an idea of what the company or college is like, as well as being a chance to impress potential employers and lecturers.

Each of the 101 Ways is an exercise or an activity as well as providing information on what to do in different situations. Thus 101 Ways will enable your students to prepare thoroughly for first job or college interviews and help them to manage any nerves.

Students can dip into chapters that will help them brush up on specific bits of preparation, or use it as a workbook from start to finish as a complete guide to being successful at interviews.

This book has been written by an experienced recruiter who both trains recruiters and helps inexperienced interviewees of all ages. Each chapter covers a different aspect of the interview process with 101 practical and thought provoking tips that have been proven to work.

Teachers may also use this book as a class resource in Careers, English, Drama, PSHE, Citizenship or other lessons to prepare pupils for interview practices or the real thing. Each chapter is followed by a series of suggested exercises, mostly working in pairs or small groups, which develop the key themes of that chapter.

You can see some sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/careers/T1633.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1633EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 683 1

Prices

• Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £9.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £9.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the Ring Binder and the CD £16.94 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1633EMN

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=47&products_id=461

This book of original monologues and duologues covers the requirements for speaking monologues in Drama at KS4 and KS5 and provides useful material for pupils working towards entry into drama college. English teachers will also find it useful in respect of the speaking and listening requirements at KS4 and the study of Shakespeare.

The monologues/duologues should be performed in one lesson with drama activities, discussion work and some written work available as an extra resource for that lesson. Many activities could form one part of a second lesson or presented to pupils as homework. All of the activities can be drama room or class based.

The activities section includes a wide variety of tasks which will stretch your students: creative drama activities and writing opportunities for English coursework requirements; specific role play, hotseating tasks and group discussions that do not require pen and paper; chances to turn monologues i nto scripts, to write monologues and duologues and to write television scripts thinking about action, camera angles and other techniques; writing reports; researching the internet; and exploring drama techniques such as movement, direction and timing.

Cat No: 978 1 86083 767 8 Order code: T1728emn – please quote with order.

Sample pages can be viewed at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/drama/T1728.pdf

• Photocopiable book: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• CD with school-wide rights: £19.95 plus £3.95 delivery
• Both the Book and the CD: £26.94 plus £3.95 delivery
• Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the report from the publisher:

• 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=28&products_id=554

There is one thing that every single child has and which all children love to use. It is also the ultimate stimulus to creative writing.

It is their thoughts.

Thoughts can be set down in a Thinking Journal, which in itself encourages children to consider their thoughts in ways that they have never done before.

What we find is that almost all children love having their own Thinking Journal and want a personal book to record their thoughts and those of others.

The Thinking Journal thus becomes a place where children can write about their own thinking and learning in an honest and open way. The journal can also provide a means of structuring a really effective learning conversation between home and school as children can invite their parents to write in it and teachers to look at it.

The journal also offers an opportunity for children to express their opinions, fears, confusions, questions and concerns, as well as being a place of safety – there are definitely no wrong or right answers within a journal.

Finally Thinking Journals build self-confidence and give practice in self-expression – for as they write, the children’s concept of themselves as thinkers and writers grows immensely.

Thinking Journals are the obvious place to record the range of conversations that arise from thinking homework activities – a place of reflection, somewhere to ask further questions and to let children and families grow as thinkers and learners.

What’s more, when used in conjunction with the ideas in our Let’s Think Homework resource, children and their families will quickly enjoy capturing thoughts and conversations, and the progress in children’s thinking will become evident in the pages of their journal.

Let’s Think Homework is a volume that has been written to provide ideas that are engaging and meaningful, offering regular opportunities for children to practise a range of thinking and learning skills.

There is more information on Thinking Journals and Let’s Think Homework in the web links below:

Thinking Journals

Let’s Think Homework

You can order …

• On our website at the above web links
• By calling us on 0844 332 0123
• Email us at info@thinkingchild.org.uk

The common approach of travel companies is to load prices during the school holidays.

Being different we do the opposite. We offer luxury coach holidays across Europe, which incorporate a discount when taken during the school vacations.

Below is a selection of some of our forthcoming holidays, all of which attract a 10% discount for members of the teaching profession:

23rd August – Belgian Grand Prix

26th July, 9th August & 19th August – Beautiful Bruges

 20th July, 19th August, 24th August & 26th October – Rome, Pompeii and Picturesque Capri

9th August, 19th August & 23rd August – Paris and Versailles

Of course these are just a few of the holidays we have on offer – and in all cases you will receive a 10% discount on the quoted price.

To see a complete list of all the tours available for breaks in 2013 and 2014 just click here.

Our coaches run from almost 500 regional pick up points, and you can select from a vast number of tours which are available during school holidays.

To claim a 10% saving, simply call us on 0844 324 8557, quote the reference ‘TEACH’, and provide us with the name and address of the school that you work for and your position within it.

Of course, because we are offering discounts where normally there are surcharges, some of the holidays do get booked fairly quickly. But if you find the one you want is already full, do search on other dates or other destinations – we’re adding new teacher discount holidays all the time.

The most obvious answer to this question is that, for as long as most test and exam papers still require handwritten answers, good handwriting is always going to make an impact and help deliver extra marks.

But there is more. For there is also the issue of the relationship between the brain and handwriting.

Handwriting requires a greater level of hand/eye co-ordination than typing on a keyboard, and thus, as well as helping with exam scores, good handwriting gives pupils the chance to develop their essential fine motor skills.

Unfortunately, there is no doubt that many young people today are brought up in homes where handwriting is limited to little more than the production of shopping lists – and indeed many people are now even typing these into their mobile phones.

It is for all of these reasons that MSL produced the Handwriting Rescue Scheme for fully cursive handwriting.

The scheme, which is available as a photocopiable program supplied on CD or as printed sheets, contains over 300 structured exercises designed to establish complete cursive letter formation.

And there is a particular bonus here, for tests have shown that the use of such material encourages the development of an automatic response to frequently used spelling choices. In other words, by practising their handwriting pupils also learn their spellings.

You can order The Handwriting Rescue Scheme in any of these ways:

• On our website
• By phone on 01604 505000
• By fax to 01604 505001
• By email to info@msl-online.net
• By post to Multi-Sensory Learning, Highgate House, Creaton, Northants, NN6 8NN

Innovation in curriculum D&T is firmly on the government’s agenda over the next couple of years. But of course, D&T is synonymous with innovation and invention. It’s a dynamic and exciting subject because it’s driven by developments in design and technology used in industry.

And it’s why I’m giving you a free copy of Serif DrawPlus X6. With powerful yet accessible design tools used in modern D&T practice, DrawPlus X6 enables every pupil to skilfully create high quality designs to communicate their ideas.

With new precision technical drawing and creative Stencil tools, DrawPlus X6 is ideal for CAD/ CAM work, packaging, logos, food labels, textile prints, circuit diagrams, flow charts and more – offering creative design tools for every D&T department.

For your FREE copy of DrawPlus X6 (worth £89), email edusales@serif.co.uk with your school details quoting ref: GVDT.

It’s yours to keep – no strings attached. Offer is limited to one copy per school.

Claire Macdonald
Education Business Manager
Serif (Europe) Ltd
Phone: 0800 376 6868
Email: edusales@serif.co.uk

With exams looming, it’s important to know that your students are revising effectively and focussing on the right areas.

To help your students prepare for their exams, we’ve produced a set of GCSE English revision flash cards that are free to download from our English Free Stuff page.

The flash cards refer to 20 key terms on poetry, helping your students build a comprehensive understanding of exam topics. The flash cards have a bright and attractive design to keep your students using them regularly, and refer to specific examples in texts.

Download the free flash cards from our English Free Stuff page.

Regards,

The Boardworks English team

P.S. Interested in Boardworks English resources? Select a sample presentation of your choice!

My Nametags for schools and nurseries

Help to combat lost property at your school or nursery by trying our new My Nametags sticker labels, with our compliments.

These new full colour name tags are perfect for labelling school uniform, nursery clothing, shoes, water bottles and wellington boots too.

Simply email us with your name, your child’s name (if applicable), the name of your school/nursery and your office address to receive two complimentary sets of personalised name labels. One set for you or your child, and one for your office.

My Nametags Colour Stickers

• Are great for your school or nursery as they are quick and easy to use.
• They stick on clothing and stay on in the washing machine.
• By simply sticking them to the care label or brand label of the clothing, more parents might actually label their child’s clothing.

School and nursery fundraising made easy
Our new website makes fundraising for your school or nursery via My Nametags even easier. Just contact us and we can give you your school ID number. You can also link to us from your website.

My Nametags order form pads
Please email us or phone us on 0800 321 3203 if you would like some free My Nametags order forms to give to parents.

Why not take the stress out of lost clothing and shoes by educating parents to use name labels.

Thank you

My Nametags

Contact Us
Email us: sales@mynametags.com
Phone us: 0800 3 213 203 (int: +44 20 8877 0062)
Fax: 0845 6 801 203

My Nametags Ltd
PO Box 43565, London SW15 1YL, England

Company registration number 5074693
Registered address: Unit 8 Carlson Ct, 116 Putney Bridge Rd, London SW15 2NQ

A TA who receives just one day of subject specific literacy training will have a greater impact on young people’s learning outcomes than one who has nothing. That might sound obvious but too many committed and inspirational people are employed as teaching assistants knowing they could be doing so much more.

The potential impact is far reaching – not only can they impact on literacy levels and attainment but are known to also influence behaviour, confidence and attendance.

Of course, any good quality TA training needs to include an understanding of the range of strategies for reading and writing, knowledge of phonics and equip them with practical ideas to help young people become independent readers and writers.

That’s why we’re offering this one day training package for Teaching Assistants, packed with vital information that will start to make a difference to their work immediately.

Sue Dixon, founder of Thinking Child, has designed this course from years of experience as a literacy consultant and trainer. She understands what is required on a core learning module and what TAs and schools require from limited time and budgets.

This starter day will include a review of the questions ‘How do we read?’ and include detailed work on reading strategies, including phonics and grammar. We’ll end as we began with a question ‘Why do we read?’

After this one day TAs will feel more confident and become more effective in the school.

Follow up training which looks at ‘Reading into Writing’ is also available. This is where the connections can be explored in more depth and be tailored to the work that TAs are deployed to carry out in your school.

This core day of valuable training can be delivered in your own setting with groups of TAs – up to a maximum of 20. All materials and handouts are included in the package cost of £750.

Individual Training Course places in Northamptonshire are also available in June/July 2013.

To book your course or find out more visit the website http://www.thinkingchild.org.uk/training/

Telephone 01604 491511

Email info@thinkingchild.org.uk

Magnificent on-location video footage and satellite images, explanations by experts and animated diagrams that simplify complicated processes make GeoBasics a valuable addition to any study of the Earth, its systems, and humankind’s impact.

GeoBasics features 8 educational DVD-VIDEO resources for class presentations to introduce, enthuse and visually clarify topics, and library reference for individual study and revision purposes.

Each DVD-VIDEO includes 23-minutes of chaptered video clips and downloadable PDF support material with Pre & Post-Programme Discussion Questions; Individual, Group and Internet Activities; Assessment Questions; Fast Facts and Vocabulary Terms – click here to view sample support material

GeoBasics is available as a complete set or as individual titles:

• Our Planet Earth
• Plate Tectonics
• Rocks and Minerals
• Oceans and Seas
• Geocycles
• Atmosphere, Climate, and Weather
• Energy and Resources
• Environmental Issues and Human Impact

Click on the links above for individual programme details, preview clips and online ordering, or click here for the complete set of 8 programmes

SAVE 25%* – quote promotional discount code: HHM403 or click here for a printable PDF information sheet and discounted order form

Orders / enquiries may also be made by phone, fax, email or post to:

Viewtech Educational Media
7-8 Falcons Gate
Dean Road
Yate
Bristol
BS37 5NH
————————————-
tel: 01454 858055
fax: 01454 858056
tel/fax: 01454 313272
email: info@viewtech.co.uk
http://www.viewtech.co.uk
————————————-

Viewtech Educational Media is the trading name of Viewtech Audio Visual Media Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under number 4205240. A member of the British Educational Suppliers Association. *Please contact us for terms and conditions. E.&O.E.

With exams looming, it’s important to know that your students are revising effectively and focussing on the right areas.

To help your students prepare for their exams, we’ve produced a set of GCSE Business Studies revision flash cards that are free to download from our Business Studies Free Stuff page.

The flash cards condense key information on the topic of Investigating Businesses into a short series of memorable points, helping your students build a comprehensive understanding of exam topics. The flash cards have a bright and attractive design to keep your students using them regularly.

Download the free flash cards from our Business Studies Free Stuff page.

Regards,

The Boardworks Business Studies team

P.S. Interested in Boardworks Business Studies resources? Select a sample presentation of your choice!

Today most things are portable.  Not desks and whiteboards, of course, but laptops, cameras, musical instruments, lenses…  

What is needed is a system in which there can be no question as to where anything is.  Whether an item has been loaned to a colleague or a pupil, you still need to know where it is and when it should be returned. 

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that some children may from time to time bring their own items to schools – especially musical instruments. This obviously reduces pressure on the school’s equipment, but it can lead to confusion.

In short, all this equipment needs to be properly logged – but ideally not by manually entering serial numbers.  

The solution comes through the use of Dantech’s ID Mini Mark labels which allow the school to identify and track each item. Each label can include a serial number and/or bar code thus making it possible to contain a lot of data in a small space.

These mini asset labels can therefore fit onto even small accessories.

Furthermore, because the data is engraved into the surface of the label they resist chemicals and cleaning materials.

Should anybody attempt to remove the asset label or switch the label onto some other equipment, the material will break into small pieces, thus announcing the fact that the label has been interfered with.

Use of these labels enables the school to maintain a detailed register which enables anyone to instantly view which equipment is available, the expected return date and the condition before and after it has been loaned.

Dantech Mini Mark labels can be provided with white text on black or silver material with black text. There is more information on our website at www.idmark.com/asset-labels/minimark-asset-labels.html

Alternatively call us on 01354 688488 or email us at sales@dantech.co.uk for more information.

Unfortunately, a £1 doesn’t go very far these days.  It might buy you a daily newspaper, depending on which one you want to read, but not a magazine.  It might pay for you to park your car for about 20 minutes, but it won’t get near to buying you a litre of petrol.  Perhaps you could afford a pint of milk but probably not a cup of tea in a decent tea shop.

But it is comforting to know that £1 can still go a long way.  That’s because a £1 will buy your pupils a vital skill – a skill that will be of enormous value to them (and to you) whilst they are at school and as they move on to further education.  It is a skill that once learned will last them a lifetime.

That skill is touch-typing.  By joining the ‘Type-Net for Schools’ scheme run by touch-typing training specialists Type&Test Ltd, you will have access to arguably the UK’s best online touch-typing tutorial for your pupils at around £1 per head – or less if you opt for one of our larger licences.

Type-Net for Schools, which already has over 130 member schools, provides high-quality interactive online typing courseware that needs no supervision, needs no organised lessons, and will teach your pupils to touch type in just a few weeks.

After a programme of short regular sessions at home or in school, your pupils will be typing at 40 words per minute or more, around twice that of hand-writing speed.  Not only will that make them much more efficient and confident computer users, benefiting them across the whole curriculum, it will mean that assignments are more likely to be delivered on time, and in a form that is always legible and probably largely free of misspellings.

So what would you and each of your pupils get for a £1?

1. High quality online courseware with up to 60 hours of varied content.
2. A 100% secure Google learning environment with no pop-up ads, security concerns or cookies.
3. An easy-to-access internet-based program for use in school and at home.
4. A Learning Management System that tracks every one of your pupil’s progress through the course.
5. Technical support and best practice advice to help you get the most from the courseware.
6. The freedom to charge parents for the program in order to generate income for your school.

Joining Type-Net is easy.  Just click here to arrive at our information and Order Form.  Complete the Order Form online, indicating the size of licence you require, click the submit button and then wait a few days before we set up your Learning Administration System and send you your instructions.  It is easy but support will be on hand should you need it.

It turns out that £1 can still go a long long way…….

A New Performance from
THE FLYING THEATRE COMPANY

dernières dates avant les vacances d’été!
email: education@flyingtheatre.com

What is BON VOYAGE!

An energetic and interactive French live theatre performance in your school 

Who will benefit from BON VOYAGE?

Designed for students up to and including Year 8 (some schools inc. Year 9).

Key Stage 2 and 3

why will students learn from BON VOYAGE?

We asked French teachers on our Bon Voyage tour last month:

Key vocabulary and repetition

“Great fun with lots of useful vocabulary repetition too”

(Holidays, travel, directions, the weather, family, food, numbers, hobbies and interests)

Applying classroom knowledge and skills to understand spoken French

“It brings the language to life. Mime, gesture and humour make the story very clear.”

“Pitched perfectly for our Year 8.”

“Even the Primary Schools we invited were amazed by how much French they understood”

Engaging interest in the French language

“It was really, really good. It was like watching a theatre and gong to the circus at the same time” (student)

“Really energetic performance.”

Gaining the confidence to speak spontaneously

“I particularly loved the audience participation .We will be booking you again.”

P.S. They also said “absolutely fantastic, as ever !”, and “awesome !” (Student) and “we thoroughly enjoyed your brilliant performance “

With thanks to: All Hallow RC High School, Moorside High School , The Marsh Academy, Treviglas College.

What is BON VOYAGE about?
http://www.flyingtheatre.com/bon-voyage-178.html

Bon Voyage Pierre flies in to the sunny south of France for a surfing holiday with his cousin, Lola. All Pierre wants to do is surf but getting there seems to be a struggle for our simple soul!

Lola tries to keep Pierre on track as they try out local transport and follow directions to the beach. Finally they arrive at Surfers Cove – but what’s happened to the weather, how can Pierre surf on an empty stomach and what happens if he is photographed riding a wave with his hair out of place?!

Sun, sea and surf are all Pierre dreams about. Will he ever make it to the water to catch the ultimate wave?

The National Curriculum’s recognition of the importance of learner’s enjoyment of learning:

“Learners who enjoy learning make progress and achieve”

The Flying Theatre Company The Old Vicarage Ainthorpe Whitby North Yorkshire YO21 2LB
01287 669156

We guarantee the lowest prices on: PCs, servers, laptops, netbooks, tablets, projectors, storage, workstations, consumables …

Let us know what you are looking to buy and we’ll come back to you with special prices to save you money.

Our latest special offers include:

HP Compaq CQ58-300SA D0X08EA AMD D/C E1-1200 2GB 320GB DVDRW 15.6TFT BT CAM Win 8 (option to add memory 2 GB or 4GB from only £13 + VAT).
£208 + VAT
www.technoworld.com/HP_Compaq_CQ58-300SA_D0X08EA/80285/product.aspx

Acer Aspire E1-571 NX.M09EK.001 Intel Core i3-3110 4GB 500GB DVDRW 15.6TFT CAM Win 8
£255 + VAT
www.technoworld.com/Acer_Aspire_E1-571-33114G50Mnks_NX-M09EK-001/75419/product.aspx

Asus Eee PC X101CH-BLK043S Atom N2600 1GB 320GB 10.1TFT CAM HDMI BLACK , we also have the same in colour White
£129 + VAT
www.technoworld.com/AsusEeePC_X101CH-BLK043S/62274/product.aspx

HP Pro 3505 MT B5H55EA AMD E2-3200 65W 4GB 500GB DVDRW W8 Pro
£240 + VAT
www.technoworld.com/HP_3505MT_B5H55EA/73292/product.aspx

Sony Xperia Tablet S SGPT121GB/S Tegra 3 1.3Ghz 1GB 16GB 9.4TFT BT CAM Android 4.0
£210 + VAT
www.technoworld.com/Sony_ExperiaTabletS_SGPT121GB-S/80484/product.aspx

Toshiba AT300SE-101 PDA0DE-002005EN Tegra T30SL Quadcore 1GB 16GB 10.1TFT BT CAM Android 4.1
£215 + VAT
www.technoworld.com/Toshiba_AT300SE-101_PDA0DE-002005EN/77111/product.aspx

To receive the special discount for schools for any of the above products, all you need to do is quote “eshot offer 51″.

For any quotes please contact us:

• By telephone on 08444 820 111 or 0208 200 2000
• Or by email at education@technoworld.com

With exams looming, it’s important to know that your students are revising effectively and focussing on the right areas.

To help your students prepare for their exams, we’ve produced a set of GCSE History revision flash cards that are free to download from our History Free Stuff page.

The flash cards condense key information about the Cold War into a short series of memorable points, helping your students build a comprehensive understanding of exam topics. The flash cards have a bright and attractive design to keep your students using them regularly.

Download the free flash cards from our History Free Stuff page.

Regards,

The Boardworks History team

P.S. Interested in Boardworks History resources? Select a sample presentation of your choice!

Is it possible for stories from 400 years ago to offer parallels with the lives of teenagers today?

The answer is undoubtedly yes.

Take, for example, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream – between them they offer extraordinary insights into the issues that that have been faced across time.

Unfortunately the language used in these masterpieces of literature is often a barrier when it comes to using the plays with pupils as part of our reference to the universality of the problems and issues that people face.

Overcome this problem and we have the perfect teaching resource through which the for-better-or-for-worse decisions that everyone has to face. Students can then explore the various courses of action that both they and characters can take.

In short the students watch the characters’ mistakes and learn from them, without having to interpret the language that Shakespeare used in writing the plays.

Working with Will is a scheme of work for PSHE teachers where the topics on the KS3 and KS4 curricula are explored.

Working with Will is also a scheme of work for English teachers and works as an introduction to text analysis in English literature lessons for key stages 3 and 4.

The 179 page volume contains three schemes of work – each of which can stand alone – with a series of lesson plans that can be used sequentially or can be dipped in and out of in any order. It also comes with a free CD containing the text of the book plus PowerPoints to use with the lessons.

The author offers workshops on Working with Will – please click here for more information.

You can see some sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/pshe/T1796.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1796EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 890 3

Prices

• Photocopiable ring bound book plus CD, £29.95 plus £3.95 delivery

Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the book… please quote the order ref: T1796EMN

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
• By fax to 01536 399 012
• Email sales@firstandbest.co.uk
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=769

Try My NameTags  new washable colour stickers for labelling school uniform, nursery clothing and shoes.

Ranging from the fresh and funky to the soft and sublime, there are new full colour designs to suit everyone; and they stay on in the wash too.  The brand new easy to use My NameTags web site makes ordering name tags a breeze.

My NameTags have been making parents’ lives easier since 2004, by making beautiful quality personalised iron-on and sticker name labels for clothing, toys and equipment. 

My Nametags can help towards your fundraising efforts.  Simply contact us for your school or nursery ID.

www.mynametags.com

E-mail: sales@mynametags.com

Phone: 0800 3 213 203

Although memory often plays tricks it does seem that once upon a time it was the case that the number of special needs that we had to deal with was much smaller than is the case today.

Dyslexia and other reading difficulties, hearing impairment, visual impairment… we have all been familiar with these for a long time.

But then other conditions emerged and quite often there was some controversy attached to both the condition and its diagnosis. Indeed I well remember ADHD being greeted with disdain and disbelief in the early days with some colleagues outside the special needs department calling it an excuse for poor behaviour.

However, the fact is that these conditions are real, that they do affect some of the young people whom we teach, and it is vital that as SENCos we need to have a full working knowledge of each condition.

That doesn’t mean that when a parent comes in and claims that his/her child has attachment disorder we have to accept the parent’s word – but if it is the first case of attachment disorder that we have been faced with, we really do need to read up on it quickly before meeting with the parent and discussing the child’s condition with colleagues.

Likewise when we are having pupils and students referred to us by colleagues, there is a further need to be able to consider and come to terms with an issue that may be quite new to us.

It is for this reason that we have produced the two volumes of Behaviour Solutions: A guide to syndromes and conditions.

Each volume gives an introductory guide to a wide range of conditions. Volume 1 focuses on a range of conditions that relate to learning difficulties, interaction and communication problems, emotional and behavioural issues and sensory and physical difficulties.

Volume two moves on to 25 conditions and issues not covered in the first volume, from Angelman Syndrome to colour blindness, self-harm to spina bifida.

One particular benefit is that the books come in a photocopiable format so that if you wish to circulate details of a condition to several colleagues, or indeed to provide information to concerned parents, this is easily achieved.

Full details of the volumes and their contents are to be found on www.behaviourmatters.com/syndromesoffer

Cost of these resources:

• £25 plus £2 postage and packaging (if one book purchased)
• £40 plus £4 postage and packaging (if two books purchased)

To order please contact us at:

Behaviour Solutions Limited
15 St. Mary’s Close
Abbotskerswell
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ12 5QF

Phone / Fax: 01626 366161
Email: dave@behaviourmatters.com

It sometimes comes as a bit of a shock to realise that there are some 90 different spelling and phonic rules in the English language.

They range from troublesome similarities (such as words like “coin” and “toy” with the same sound but different spelling choices), to the six different ways of pronouncing “ough”, not to mention the bizarre collection of words which utilise silent letters.

There is only one way in which dyslexic students can learn the spelling choices for the many different phonics and homophones, and that is through a structured reading and spelling programme.

Which is exactly what MSL has devised: the complete reading and spelling rescue programme.

This programme covers all the 90 different spelling and sound rules and adds in ten sections on issues such as word patterns, suffixes, prefixes, homophones and irregular final syllables, making 100 topics in all.

The 90 rules and associated topics can be seen on our website where you can see the structured order of teaching that we have introduced.

What we have then done is broken these 100 topics down into 20 modules, presented in an order which allows students to use the spelling rules as soon as they have learned them.

As a result of this structured approach, which includes placement & progress tests, you can introduce a dyslexic pupil or student to the sequence from the very start. You can also begin work at a point where the individual will be revising key points, before moving on to areas of weakness, where his/her knowledge becomes erratic.

A copiable version of each module costs £29.99, or you can order five modules together on a CD for £80 plus VAT. All 20 modules are available for £450.

You can order the Reading and Spelling Rescue Programme in any of these ways:

• On our website (where you can also see full details of the programme)
• By phone on 01604 505000
• By fax to 01604 505001
• By email to info@msl-online.net
• By post to Multi-Sensory Learning, Highgate House, Creaton, Northants, NN6 8NN

In the perfect parents’ evening everything runs without any hitches.

In the perfect parents’ evening every parent gets allocated a time slot which is just right for him/her.  And nearly everyone allocated a time turns up in the right place at the right time.

In the perfect parents’ evening no one over runs, and everything moves smoothly from the opening appointment to the final discussion.

And that leaves but one question: how do we create the perfect parents evening?

Here’s the answer:

A parent logs into Parent Teacher Online and then

1. Enters the time he/she wishes to arrive at the school,
2. Indicates the teachers he/she wants to see (our software will automatically create the shortest possible schedule),
3. Receives the interview schedule either digitally or as a printed file.

Which leaves the parent with just one remaining problem: to arrive at the school.  (Sadly, we don’t yet operate a nationwide transport system to help with this point, but we’re working on it.)

Our system takes an average parent 3 minutes to use, at the end of which each parent will have scheduled all of their appointments.

And here’s the bonus:

We are now offering a discount of 20% off the usage fee for the next 2 years if you sign up before the end of July 2013.

If you would like to know more just click here

If you would like us to contact you click here.

It is a sad fact that some methods of purchasing are deemed more newsworthy than others.

For example, if you type “school minibus” into Google and then click on the News option at the foot of the page, you will be taken to a range of stories about schools that are raising money to buy a school minibus.

There are tales of teachers doing a sponsored run to raise money for the bus, PTAs working for years raising money and so forth.

And although the stories are all about great deeds and hard work, what lies behind these headlines are years and years of students not having a resource that could really improve the quality of education (especially learning outside the classroom) that they receive.

What you will struggle to find, should you ever be inclined to do this sort of search, is any story that talks of a school that discusses the idea of having a school minibus, sets up the details, and then a couple of weeks later, takes delivery.

Of course you could argue that this is because no schools achieve this. No school can decide to have a minibus and then go and get it.

And yet this does happen, and its occurrence is increasingly common. For a growing percentage of schools choose to lease their minibus rather than buy it.

The prime benefit of course is that you get your new minibus now, rather than after years of fundraising.

What’s more, if you are doing fundraising in order to pay for part or all of the leasing cost, parents become much more willing to give for the simple reason that they know the money they give will be for a minibus that their children will be using – rather than one that will only be purchased in years to come.

Of course the newspapers won’t like it. “Ely school has just £1000 to go” as the Cambridge News put it or “Braithwaite minibus appeal gets yet another big boost from fundraise” as the Keighley Times wrote, are the sort of headlines papers insist on running.

“School signs form to lease minibus; delivery next week” is not going to make it past any editor.

However the truth of the matter is that leasing is by far the best option for most schools. If you would like to see the details, and talk about how you can arrange to have a minibus up and running within weeks, please do call us on 01753 859944, visit our website or email us at minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Benchmark Leasing Ltd
11 High Street
Eton
Berkshire
SL4 6AS

www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php

minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk

Tel: 01753 859944

Hamilton House runs four websites for teachers and parents:

The School Procurement Site [link to www.top5.org.uk  ] which contains details thousands of products and services for schools

UK Education News [link to www.ukeducationnews.co.uk] is a rolling news service which carries advertisements as well as stories. 

Teacher  News [link to www.teachernews.org.uk] a topic based service to teachers in schools

Parent News [link to www.parentnews.org.uk]  a topic based service for parents.

Advertising can be accepted on each site individually at the following prices:

• A standard advertisement in one site: £45 per year

Additional entries (School Procurement Site only)

• Each additional section: £10 per year
• Additional description (per section): £30 per year up to 100 words
• Logo per section per year: £20

Advertising on all four sites

• Advertising on all four sites: £120 per year

Changes to the text following confirmation: £10 per section/site/advertisement.

To book into this service please call 01536 399 000 or email sales@hamilton-house.com

A recent article in the TES (Is it time to scrap homework?) revealed that many people continue to hold strong views about whether homework is an imposition on home life or if it really does add value to a child’s education.

There’s no question that any politician in the UK will follow François Hollande’s initiative in banning homework as part of a reform of the education system.

But the action in France does raise the question: why is homework there?

Is it about reading a book, learning spellings and working through maths tables? Or should it go further? After all, what are its main characteristics and what effect is it having on children and families?

Are there indeed some alternatives that we could think of, which could be introduced and which could have even more benefit than homework, as we know it today?

We can contemplate this further by asking, “what does homework have to do with our efforts to create Thinking Children?”

These children have an ability to go beyond the learning of facts, and to be proficient in exam techniques – although such skills will still be required for the foreseeable future.

In short, the Thinking Child has the ability to be creative, generate ideas, problem solve, interrogate and not be afraid to ask questions.

Which is why we have produced, “Let’s Think Homework”. It is a volume that has been written to provide ideas that are engaging and meaningful, offering regular opportunities for children to practise a range of thinking and learning skills.

The ability to question, problem solve, be curious, be observant, predict, make connections, prioritise and think logically are just some of the many skills that can be enhanced through the activities in this book.

There are over 100 different possibilities for ‘Thinking Homework’. It is suitable for use throughout key stage 2.

It’s £29.99 with free delivery.

You can order …

• On our website
• By calling us on 0844 332 0123
• Email us at info@thinkingchild.org.uk

Every school is different, of course. But when a school finds that a change made to its procedure has a significant effect on its work, then it is worth taking note.

A testimonial from a school that has made a significant change in the way that it works, falls into this category for it does give a real insight into how a product or service can actually affect a school in real life.

In the example below we look at a school’s desire to re-build a website in order to meet the needs of everyone in the school – and to attract those contemplating choosing that school for their child.

The website in question is that of Hornsey School for Girls, London www.hsg.haringey.sch.uk here is what they said:

‘INCO have been able to provide us with a website that is both dynamic and unique to our school. When we approached them with our long list of requirements along with our design brief we were pleased with how quickly they were able to produce our new site.

As well as this, INCO have been exemplary at making lots of changes to our late requests, as well as developing the site to meet our needs further.

We have been extremely happy with our new site and have received lots of compliments from parents and outside agencies who have been able to easily navigate and find the information that they need.

I would happily recommend INCO to any other school or business that is looking for a new website and I look forward to working with them and building a long term partnership with them.’

All of which is good news – but there is more, because we also worked on the school’s prospectus. Here’s what they said in relation to this:

‘INCO designed our new school prospectus based on our ideas and in line with our school ethos and new logo. From the design stage to the photography and then onto to publication. INCO helped us step by step and kept us up to date with progress, delivering our fantastic new prospectus in time for our Open Events for prospective parents.’

You can find out more about INCO on our website: www.inco-education.co.uk

Alternatively email us at info@inco-education.co.uk or call us on 01902 784 800.

According to the government document “Improving Efficiency in Schools,” the average secondary school ought to be able to save around £100,000 a year in efficiency savings, while the average primary school should be able to save around £25,000 a year.

And to be clear, those are not one-off savings. The report stressed that these savings ought to be achievable this year, next year and every year.

To achieve these terrific savings, the report said, all the schools have to do is take a look at how other, more efficient, schools are handling matters, and copy their practices.

Yet if it were as easy as that, surely by now, most schools should be feeling extremely well off, as inefficiencies are removed and the savings mount up in school bank accounts, simply waiting to be used on other educational ventures.

Sadly, as we know, this is not true. And it is not true for one very simple reason: efficiencies arise not just by copying other schools (although this can help somewhat) but mostly through the introduction and maintenance of what might be a called “an efficiency mindset” throughout the school.

The process of achieving an “efficiency mindset” has been explored and examined in detail by school managers and administrators over the past five years in a number of schools – schools which as part of this exploration really have made incredible efficiency savings.

Now for the first time the way in which schools are making savings is described in one volume: “The Efficient School.”

This volume 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 introduce to ensure that objections to change are overcome and that changes, once implemented, are maintained and developed.

As such 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 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 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

Here’s a fairly straightforward and uncontentious point. The most effective way of getting young people to understand the facts relating to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs is to get them to talk openly about these substances.

Unfortunately that is not always as easy as it might seem at first sight, which is why we have developed the resource, Alcohol, Drugs & Tobacco — The Decision Is Yours.

This resource presents the facts about drugs, alcohol and tobacco and raises a wide range of issues which are presented through a set of worksheets. After this the students consider a short entry in each of the diaries of Johnny and Carla.

This in turn leads to further discussion topics, and more facts – including the comparative calorie levels of various alcoholic drinks when compared with pizza, cake and a burger.

In short everything in the pack leads to further discussion as we present the facts on the effects that alcohol, smoking and drugs can have on individuals, families, communities and your health.

All of the materials within the pack are photocopiable and thus further aid class discussion.

This resource is available as a hard copy or an ebook and free sample pages are available on our website.

You can order Alcohol, Drugs & Tobacco — The Decision Is Yours in any of these ways:

• On our website
• By fax on 0872 115 3933
• By email to sales@allresources.co.uk
• By post to All Resources, PO Box 4526, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 0TJ.

It never received huge levels of publicity, and in fact the event seems to have been removed from Ofsted’s own website, but back in July 2004 Ofsted actually did inspect Ofsted.

Undoubtedly this was a rigorous and demanding inspection. And in the end Ofsted concluded that Ofsted had improved schools, reinforced the national curriculum and provided effective advice to government.

In short, top marks all round.

Of course it all sounds a bit silly when put like that. But there is an important lesson to be learned here. For the fact is that people who are able to evaluate their own work and their own performance invariably become more highly motivated and more engaged in their own development.

The only problem is: how does one learn self-evaluation?

Indeed it is widely recognised that it is possible to evaluate and mislead oneself at the same time! Instead of development and improvement being a result of self-evaluation, self-deception creeps in and leads to a lack of motivation and development.

But, despite these difficulties, self-evaluation remains an incredibly powerful tool and Ofsted puts great store by the way the leadership of a school uses self-evaluation and review to improve teaching, because such self-evaluation, when used properly, really can work.

In the simplest of terms it provides a benchmark as to how much a school is improving.

One way of developing self-evaluation in your school while showing Ofsted that you are on top of this issue is to use the specially prepared video from Classwatch.

Such is the power of this video that is has led some commentators to suggest that they have learned more about their teaching in 30 minutes than in the previous decade.

With the Classwatch video system colleagues can observe a lesson remotely, and all teachers have an opportunity for self-evaluation. The lesson can then be reviewed and discussed with the teacher so that great lessons can be shared with other teachers in your school

In order to show just how effective this process can be we are currently offering the recording of a free lesson to the first 50 schools that contact us.

There is more information on our website at http://helloclasswatch.co.uk/FreeLesson

Alternatively you can call us on 0800 043 9510 or email us at info@classwatch.co.uk

I look forward to hearing from you.

Andrew Jenkins

TES Foundation now offer free tools, available to all schools, as well as our subscription-based online school management modules.

Want to get quotes quickly, anonymously and without the hassle?

Our Request for Quote Tool lets you compare prices from our thousands of registered suppliers, fast. There’s no commission to pay. Save money on the deal you would have done, or don’t buy. You can’t lose.

Want to see the suppliers other schools recommend?

As well as giving you a handy place to log your own suppliers, our supplier management module lets you connect to other schools and read reviews and recommendations from our thousands of school users. Beware of imitations…we’ve more suppliers and more schools than any other site, and it’s completely free to access, use and contact suppliers.

Want to ask questions in confidence?

Our forums are free and only for schools: no suppliers, no LAs, just school leaders exchanging ideas, tips and opinions. You can even set up your own forum for your cluster group or as a place to explore a topic in depth.

You can also choose to access our subscription-based tools for free, for a two-week period. Of course we hope you’ll go on to join the thousands of schools using our technology to save time and effort on the jobs you do everyday, but whatever you decide:

Our Request For Quote tool, our Supplier Management module and our Forums are free.

Register for our free tools now.

The chances are that for many young people today newspapers are either something that exist in other households but not their own or they are gossip columns with very little international news.

Which is why Newsademic exists – for it is an international newspaper written and edited for KS 3 and KS 4 students.

To date we have over 30,000 readers – which is why we know there is a demand for such a publication.

It is also why we are happy to offer a free two month subscription to the paper. We know that schools that see it, like it.

The publication supports the PSHE, History, Geography, Science, English and RE curricula though its focus is on international news events that shape and affect the world that we all live in today.

Newsademic carries no advertising. Neither does it feature articles about television, sport, computer games, pop music or celebrity culture.

The newspaper is distributed fortnightly as a PDF file by email or as a download. Although it can be read on screen it is designed to be printed out and read as a paper copy. An intranet licence allows all students to access an HTML searchable version of Newsademic via their school network. Two levels of activities, based on some of the featured articles, accompany each issue.

Annual subscription rates start at £24.00 and schools can photocopy any part of the newspaper as many times as they wish for use within their school.

To subscribe free of charge for two months please go to: www.newsademic.com/promo/h0112 

For more information visit www.newsademic.com

ARKHAM1982

There are all sorts of “difficult” topics that beset teenage lives: depression, alcohol abuse, personal hygiene, sex, bereavement, STDs, being overweight…

Talking to students about these issues can result in an increased awareness of the subject, but experience suggests that for many students the progress made after such encounters can be modest at best.

Where the greatest breakthroughs occur is in situations in which the students themselves will open up and engage in serious conversations themselves.

But the issue is, how does one motivate the silent student to speak? How does one ensure that the mocking or joking student who covers his/her inability to talk seriously about the subject will join in the discussion. How can we help these students put these vital topics into the context of their lives, and the world around them?

In short: how do we control the discussions?

The answer comes with setting the terms of the discussion in advance – and this is exactly what the Egar Choice Discussion Cards achieve.

The students are given the topic to discuss such as “What does smoking do to you and your health?” They then can choose an answer card which they then have to use as the basis for their answer.

There are both positive and negative cards in the pack – in the case of smoking ranging from, “De-stresses you” to “Makes you want more all the time”, and the students then have to put forward arguments to support the card they have selected.

As a result the debate continues in a controlled way, with all possible answers being aired, as they students come to see the logic, or otherwise, of the answers that can be given.

The Choice Discussion Cards cover a wide range of topics incorporating not just the topics above, but also such issues as gun culture, anger, crime, vandalism, love, bullying etc etc.

There are details of all the topics available on the following link http://www.egar.co.uk/choice-discussion-cards-HH1

If you wish to place an order please you can use the check out on the above link (schools can be invoiced on account) or by contacting us via the following methods. Please quote HH1 on all correspondence.

Contact: Sue Scott-Horne
Email: egar@egar.co.uk
Tel: 0844 800 3056
Canonbury Business Centre, Unit 10B, Shepperton House, 89 Shepperton Road
Islington, London, N1 3DF

How to get a 1 for Teaching and Learning is a one day course for Headteachers, senior leaders, ASTs, and teachers responsible for teaching and learning.

This practical, inspiring day covers:

• What Ofsted is looking for
• The leadership role
• What ‘outstanding’ looks like, sounds like and feels like
• Teacher knowledge and passion for their subject
• Teacher ambition for their students
• Progress – and how to assess it in a lesson
• Student motivation and engagement
• Teaching students to talk about their learning
• ‘Narrowing the gaps’
• The crucial role of literacy
• Planning for ‘typicality’
• Independent and collaborative learning
• Assessment for Learning and differentiation strategies

The day allows plenty of time for reflection, discussion and challenge. It is upbeat and optimistic, reinforcing the reason we came into teaching in the first place: not to satisfy Ofsted, but our enduring commitment to improving the life chances of our students.

Spaces are available on the following courses:

Oxford………………………… 26^th April 2013

Stratford-upon-Avon…….. 21st June 2013

Leeds………………………….. 1st July 2013

Find out more here
To make a booking please follow this link
or email bookings@smartees-learning.com

Kind regards

The Conference Team
Smartees Ltd

0118 9797551

Following a recent review of school leases, the current estimate is that well over 50% of leases signed by schools contain errors that result in the school paying more than it should.

Where this is as a result of mis-selling then the school may well be entitled to a refund.

So big is the problem that we are now able to offer a free investigation into any leases that your school holds. If any error is found in any lease, we will negotiate a suitable refund for the school. Our fee is paid out of that refund – there is never anything to pay up front – and of course if we find no errors there is nothing to pay at all.

The sort of leases that may well have overcharging within their contracts are those for photocopiers, printers, laptops, franking machines etc.

Typical problems that arise in leases include the over-charging for equipment, hidden commissions, incorrect calculations, unwanted insurance policies and incorrect documentation. Of course this list is far from all-inclusive – there are many other examples.

To stress the key point, it costs you nothing to submit a lease for checking and we only take a commission from what you claim.

To request an audit simply email me at Stephen@schools.co.uk and attach to the email a copy of your scanned-in leasing agreement/s and we will let you know if you may be entitled to a refund.

You will have no obligation to proceed – and if you do you will not be required to pay anything. Instead you will be told what percentage reimbursement the company will require in the event of their making a successful claim on your behalf.

Stephen Mister

I expect the answer is no! So why are so many children expected to use another type of keyboard – the computer keyboard – without any proper typing training?

Recent research by the BCS – the Chartered Institute for IT – suggests that, on an average day, a secondary school pupil spends around 3 hours on a computer. Many schools now expect their pupils to conduct research on a computer, to type assignments and to even to complete some assessments. According to some commentators, it will not be long before many exams take place on a computer.

Whatever may or may not happen to exams, it is clear that computers are already – excuse the pun – a ‘key’ tool in today’s classrooms. Yet the fact remains that whilst around 80% of schools think that teaching typing would be a good idea, only around 15% do so.

So why is that? When schools are asked why they don’t teach typing, most will say one or more of the following points:-

• They don’t have the space to fit it into the timetable.
• They don’t have the expertise to teach it.
• They don’t have the budget for it.
• It’s not on the Curriculum.

Type-Net for Schools is a recent scheme, taken up so far by 130 schools across the country, that solves at least three of the four objections made above.

Firstly, by using online courseware that students can use at home as well as in school, on a ‘little and often’ basis, the need to squeeze it into the timetable is not necessary.

Secondly, no supervision is needed as the Type-Net courseware is self-paced, interactive and intuitive, allowing pupils from the age of 10 upwards to use it unaided. Progress tracking exists so that the teacher can get involved if they want to.

Thirdly, at cost of as little as around 50p per pupil, it shouldn’t break the bank. Parental charging could be an option if a budget is simply non-existent.

We can’t do much about including typing on the Curriculum (although we have tried!) but if exams do become computer-based then the ability to touch-type quickly and with accuracy will become essential!

For more information about Type-Net for Schools, all you need to do is send an email to enquiries@type-net.org putting ‘HH/0413’ in the subject line. We will email you an Information Pack within seven days.

Type & Test
PO Box 479
Huntingdon
Cambridgeshire
PE28 0YB

So fundamental is the notion of Enterprise to our society that it is rather sad to think that many young people leave school – and indeed many leave university – without much of an idea as to what enterprise is all about.

One way or another they earn money, and generally speaking they spend it. But the whole basis of the system, and their part within it, can often remain a mystery.

It was because of the utterly fundamental nature of enterprise within our society, and the fact that so many young people don’t seem to grasp what it is all about, that we commissioned “Enterprise Education: The Course Book”.

Written by a teacher who went on to set up his own successful business this copiable volume starts from a detailed review of what Enterprise Education is, and then helps the students come to terms with what the world of business is all about.

The volume explores the notion of Enterprise and how it can be applied throughout the school, as well as examining the career implications of enterprise.

The volume then covers the setting up of a work-related programme before going into examples of enterprise opportunities including simulations, school generated projects and engagement with business.

At the end of the book there is a set of forms that can be used in terms of an agreement with companies over work experience, report forms, placement letters, etc etc.

Enterprise Education: The Complete Coursebook includes everything that is required for the successful implementation of the Key Stage 4 Enterprise Education programme, from classroom teaching materials to an in-service training programme, from work-based learning modules to simulations and live enterprise projects.

Enterprise Education: The Complete Coursebook is available as a book or on CD and includes:

• INSET activities – as a result of which staff will feel confident in their knowledge and understanding of the enterprise culture within industry and how it will impact on pupils who are exposed to it.
• Champions of Enterprise: Pupils can evaluate local business enterprises and draw their own conclusions as to which firms are truly involved in enterprise culture.
• Simulations: Mini-enterprises in which pupils can engage in an enterprise activity in a controlled environment.
• School generated projects: Pupils organise an actual event or act in the local environment in a planned and organised way.
• Real life situations: The Coursebook sets out programmes which ensure that the organisation, the school and the pupil all work together to generate a true understanding of enterprise.

The copyright licence allows the copying from either the book or the CD, so that all students can have pages relevant to their study at any time. It is also possible to place the CD on the school’s learning platform, so that students may access it at any time.

ISBN: 978 1 86083 8606

Price:

• £25.95 for the book or CD, plus £3.95 postage.
• £32.94 for the book plus CD, plus £3.95 postage.

You can order in four different ways. In each case please quote our reference T1790emn. Sample pages and a contents list can be viewed prior to ordering on http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/business/T1790.pdf

• By post to First and Best, Hamilton House Mailings plc, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH
• By fax on 01536 399 012
• By phone with a credit card or with an official school order number on 01536 399 011
• On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=51&products_id=552

www.tempopublishing.co.uk

24 St. Andrews Road, Bexhill-on-sea, East Sussex, TN40 2BQ. 01424 532758. Info@tempopublishing.co.uk

NEW KEYBOARD BOOK

PLAY IT AGAIN!

Selected pieces are also on the ABRSM music medals repertoire list

£8.00 per copy
Postage and Packing £1.50
Free for orders £40 and over
15% discount on orders of 10 or more
To order click here

 Available from tempo Publishing

 www.tempopublishing.co.uk

 sales@tempopublishing.co.uk 01424 532758 / 07564 291815

Help your Geography, Politics and Economics students learn about the complexities of fish stocks, overfishing and quota systems in sustainable marine management. As well as seeing programmes like Hugh’s FishFight, Eco-Fish the game will support the exploration of the balancing of sustainable resources on a global basis.

Eco-Fish is a really fun game which allows students to learn by accident as they play. On a tabletop or floor mat, the game supports a number of curriculum areas in one kit. As well as learning about the importance of protecting the fish in the sea, students will learn about:

As with our Enterprise Soapbox resource, Eco-Fish comes with a manual, lots of background information (based on the North Atlantic Cod Stock survey) and everything you need to keep students busy for a couple of hours…with extension ideas to help with a full-day session. None of the parts need replenishing so once bought, it can be used many times. It’s also brilliant for Primary Days and Summer School activity. You can also see it being used with business people and Senior Leadership Teams in the video below.

Call us on 0800 434 6424 for more information.
Visit the website here: http://www.innovativeenterprise.co.uk/EcoFish/Default.asp
Watch the video here: http://www.innovativeenterprise.co.uk/News/Default.aspx?Id=3

Imagine a father of one of your students visiting you. He’s rather disappointed with his daughter’s exam results and can’t readily reconcile how hard the teenager worked with the lower than expected grade. “What went wrong?” is the question he poses.

All too often, the answer is simple. The type of revision that has been done at home by this promising student has been ineffective, focusing on knowledge acquisition rather than understanding.

It is this observation that leads to the thought that the knowledge one needs to give to students is that knowledge is not quite as important as they think.

The typical weighting for knowledge in a GCSE Geography exam is only between 30 and 40% of the marks. But, despite this fact, left to their own devices some of my students would happily devote near to 100% of their geography revision time to the retention of knowledge.

Some, in pursuit of the magical A* grade, will recreate their notes into beautifully colour co-ordinated works of Post-It note art or elaborate mind maps that spread like trailing vines throughout their bedroom and threaten to take over their parents’ house. But still, despite all the work, these students will ignore the other 60-70% of the marks that are not knowledge based.

So, it may be argued that in the classroom the teacher no longer has to emphasise knowledge. As creatures of habit, students will still spend plenty of time on knowledge acquisition, leaving the teacher free to fill their revision sessions with activities that enable them to practise applying that knowledge and honing their skills.

“The Secret to Successful Revision” makes clear that students retain more by actively re-working their knowledge in different ways than by reading revision guides or following revision lessons. It deals with methods of revising geography which take into account the way exams are marked. It covers “command words” and “maximising marks on terms and definitions”, simplifying case studies, using data from graphs and maps, and much more.

The Secret to Successful Revision is published as a download so that you can receive immediately a copy onto your computer which you can print out for colleagues as often as you want.

There are sample pages from the book at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/authordownloadsamples/T1808samples.pdf and you can order it at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=76_112&products_id=776

The price is £10 plus VAT (the VAT can be reclaimed in most cases by the school).

The Secret to Successful Revision is published by First and Best in Education, part of the Hamilton House group. If you have any enquiries you can call 01536 399 011, or email sales@firstandbest.co.uk or write to us at First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Rd., Corby, Northants NN17 4HH.

The full range of First and Best books can be seen at www.shop.firstandbest.co.uk

First and Best in Education
Earlstrees Road
Corby
UK
NN17 4HH

Website: www.shop.firstandbest.co.uk
Email: sales@firstandbest.co.uk

Of course, it is possible that you absolutely adore keeping a check on the roadworthiness of the school minibus. Or it might be the case that someone else has taken the job on and is doing the checks for you.

If either case is true, then I’d like to offer my congratulations – because the truth of the matter is that in most schools looking after the minibus is actually listed within the school’s risk assessment as being down to your department.

But if you are the person with whom the buck stops, there is something you can do the lessen the load.

First off, it is fairly obvious that the newer the minibus, the less likely there is to be a problem. But, as we all know, few schools have the money to buy a new minibus – hence the ageing fleet.

However, where a minibus is leased the huge upfront payment for a new bus disappears. And. what’s more, there is an second benefit. And it is this…

Maintenance and servicing, (including tyres, clutch, battery, etc) can be covered within a leasing agreement.

So you get a double benefit. A new minibus, which is less likely to have problems plus the option of having a professional undertake all the standard maintenance and servicing.

This effectively reduces the onus that is put on the person who is nominated in the school’s transport policy to look after the minibus. Indeed, it was to overcome issues and difficulties such as this that we introduced full maintenance as part of our minibus leasing.

Not only do the schools that use our service get a new minibus without having to use current capital to buy it, they also get our certification that the bus has been checked by qualified engineers.

Given that the majority of school minibuses on the road are over five years old, this approach can be particularly valuable.

If you would like to know more take a look at our website – www.minibusleasing.co.uk/school-minibus.php.

Alternatively email us at Minibus@benchmarkleasing.co.uk or call us on 01753 859 944.

At this time of year many A Level AQA Geography teachers start pulling their hair out, frantically researching and preparing resources for the GEO4B Advance Information Booklet. This year, don’t be one of them!

The AIB for this summer’s exam kicks off with some interesting data on the issue of whether natural disasters are becoming more common. It then launches into a detailed consideration of the 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. There’s a variety of data – from graphs and maps to personal emails and a gallery of photos.

The essential Pre-Release Resource Pack from ZigZag Education guides teachers and students through the AIB, taking the pressure off teachers all over the country. It provides not only activities to walk students through the AIB and material to teach the background of the topic, but also a practice paper with full mark scheme, specific to the topic and ideal for a mock exam.

Deliver GEO4B with confidence! Order now at http://zigzag.at/UR49 (the pack will be ready to send to you by 15^th April 2013).

View a full inspection copy of the last resource pack before you order at http://zigzag.at/UR49 (click on the ‘preview’ button).

Here are a few comments from Geography teachers who have used previous years’ resources…

• “It’s worth every penny! It’s a timesaver and a lifesaver! Including an answer section helps to keep you on the right track and providing two mock exams and mark schemes is priceless!” (A Gates, Assistant Director of Humanities at Framwellgate School Durham & Happy Customer)
• “It targets all abilities of students, stretching the highly able, yet still providing easier tasks for all abilities… This is a ‘must buy’.” (A Norman, Geography Teacher at Greenhead College & Independent Reviewer)
• “The Poole Harbour resource was really effective for us; we gained 86% A/B grades from using your pack!” (Mrs Davison, Torquay Girls’ Grammar School, Customer)

ZigZag resources are available as ‘copy masters’ or in editable format and come with a site licence, allowing you to pay once and copy as often as you need, or put on your server for multiple use. All resources come with a quality-guarantee 10-day sale or return period.

The GEO4B Pre-Release Resource Pack is available as a photocopy master with site licence (£59). Also available in:

1. Easy-printing PDF files (add 30%+VAT), or
2. PDF with editable Word files (add 50%+VAT).

Order now at http://zigzag.at/UR49

ZigZag Education, Unit 3, Greenway Business Centre, Doncaster Road, Bristol BS10 5PY
t: 0117 950 3199 | f: 0117 959 1695 | GeographyUR49@zigzageducation.co.uk

Give your promotional code UR49 to get free postage!