Educate issue 20 2013 by Educate Magazine

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Educate - The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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The Magazine for Parents and Pupils May – August 2013

May – August 2013

STATE OF THE ART New college building 2014 A place to succeed. A bright future.

www.educatemagazine.com

INSIDE

Teachers matter Shaping children’s lives

+ Grammatically speaking Literacy development

School sport Experts discuss

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StCatholic Vincent de Paul Primary School Pitt Street Liverpool L1 5BY “Serving With Love … Striving For Excellence”

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OFSTED Oct 2007 - ‘St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School is an outstanding school.’ Convenient City Centre Location Places Available Breakfast Club: open from 7.30am Range of After-School Extra-Curricular Activities

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Two Computer Suites Educational Visits in our Private Minibus Healthy Schools Award Activemark Gold Basic Skills Quality Mark Liverpool Hope University Articled School Status Archdiocesan Religious Education Inspection “an outstanding school”

Now available online.

For further details, contact the Headteacher: Mr P Stewart on

Visit educatemagazine.com

Fax 0151 707 8942 email: stvincentdepaul@merseymail.com

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Educate Contents Welcome... 52-53

104

Welcome to our latest jam packed issue of Educate. With government research clearly showing that good quality education early on benefits children in the long term we look at why a first rate education cannot be emphasised enough.

101 48-50

Educate meets up with Gerard Lonergan, headteacher of Gateacre School and finds out why it has become home to one of the most oversubscribed music departments in the country. We also speak to Stuart Jamieson, headteacher of Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning, and how they want to inspire learners today as leaders tomorrow.

Features

60-62

08-10

School eco-news Pillaging, marauding… and recycling

Teachers matter The effective provision of pre-school education

69-76 Educate Plus Career options at 16: Apprenticeships

Our roundtable discuss sport in schools and ask if enough is being done in schools to help ensure children are physically active and how can funding be used correctly to enhance the sport and physical education on offer in schools.

22-23 Meet the headteacher Gerard Lonergan, Gateacre School

99 Viewpoint Longer days and shorter holidays for pupils?

28-31 Educate’s roundtable Sport in schools

100-101

As summer is on the horizon we look at summer florals that make girls glow and boys bloom.

Grammatically speaking Have we really fallen behind in our grammar?

103

Finally, we talk to Ryan Doyle, freerunner and parkour world champion, hip hop rapper and budding film-maker and his Liverpool school days.

Book review This season’s must reads

Many thanks

52-53

104-105

Meet the headteacher Stuart Jamieson, Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning

Where can we go? Our pick of what’s happening

Darling buds Summer floral fashion

48-50

106 56 Dear Educate Help and advice

58 A week in the life Paul Cronin headteacher, St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School, Kirkby

My school days Ryan Doyle

ur r yo o f Vote

r e h c ar a e T e Ye h t f o

Published by Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 709 7567 Fax: 0151 707 1678 Email: post@merseymirror.com Executive Editor Kim O’Brien Advertising Sales Manager Andy Rogers Tel: 0151 709 7567 Photography Tom Murphy Editorial Alan Birkett, Lucy Oliver, Natasha Young, Rebecca Hatch Design & Production Mersey Mirror, 36 Henry Street, Liverpool L1 5BS. Tel: 0151 706 7411 Email: post@merseymirror.com Distribution Barbara Troughton Tel: 0151 733 5492. Printed by PCP. Educate magazine is published by Mersey Mirror. The contents of this magazine are fully protected by copyright and nothing may be reprinted or reproduced without permission. Disclaimer The information contained within Educate we believe to be correct at the time of printing, no responsibility can be accepted for errors or omissions. © Copyright Mersey Mirror 2009.

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Who gets your top mark?

Vote for your

Teacher of theYear Nominate online at www.educateawards.co.uk

Entries open to all schools throughout

Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens & Halton

Closing date for entries Monday 30 September 2013 For more information and to receive an entry pack email educateawards@merseymirror.com Follow us on Twitter @EducateAwards Associate Sponsors

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Teachers Matter Government research clearly shows that good quality education early on benefits children in the long term. The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education project for instance, has shown that high-quality, pre-school provision enhances children's all round cognitive, language and social development.

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The difference between those with an adequate schooling and those with good or great schooling is marked and significant. In countries such as Finland, Singapore and South Korea, teaching has been deliberately placed at the same social ranking as doctors and lawyers. The reasoning behind this is an attempt to transform teaching into an elitist profession in order to attract and subsequently train only the brightest and most passionate graduates. The result is that these countries achieve some of the highest academic results in the world. The Global Partnership for Education says: “The impact of investment in education is profound; education results in raising income, improving health, promoting gender equality, mitigating climate change, and reducing poverty.” They say that as children, our minds are like sponges; soaking up information at a rate we would find impossible as adults. It stands to reason then, that what we encounter during these early years has a significant and profound effect on the people we become in later life. As such, the importance of a first rate education cannot be emphasised enough. But what distinguishes a great experience from a mediocre one? Countless academic studies have shown that the single most important factor is the quality of the teachers. Resources and a solid curriculum are vitally important, but without the correct vessel

Minister has been placing a huge focus on educational issues in government of late in a drive to sustain the skill set of future workers for generations to come. There are many things that constitute a good teacher but one essential aspect is the ability to provide a vibrant, well-rounded experience in the academic world. One of Gove’s ambitions is to provide better routes for suitable candidates to come into teaching from other careers, which may mean a more diverse range of staff and therefore a more enriched experience for children. This might be a good way of considering alternative teaching cultures for our classrooms; someone who has seen more than academia may be able to provide a better insight into the real world. Gian Fiero, Professor in career progression at San Francisco State University is aware of the temptation to teach children to pass exams rather than immersing them thoroughly in the subject matter. On his own experience in education, he said: “It was about preparing them to excel on their standardised tests. Many schools were transformed into testing centres and learning had almost become secondary.” He believes the key to great teaching is to move away from this. Children need to know more than their multiplication tables; they need to be challenged in other ways through community activities, extra curricular projects and innovative technologies.

“Once you achieve a solid relationship, then all the learning aims you want flow much more easily.” Gerard Lonergan headteacher, Gateacre School

to deliver them, they become inhibited. Useful but not quite reaching full potential. It is with this in mind, that we look to teachers. The people who spend their lives keeping our children engaged and interested in learning. The people who have the power to inspire or dispirit the young minds in their charge. Education secretary Michael Gove understands the importance of recruiting good teachers into the profession. Recently, he delivered a White Paper called The Importance of Teaching, which emphasises the necessity to maintain the quality of teaching in our schools to ensure a worthwhile education. This is something David Cameron echoes and the Prime

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This is something reflected by Liverpool head Gerard Lonergan of Gateacre School in Hedgefield Road who maintains that exams are not the end point of education. Of course results are important, but school is about more than learning maths and English. He works hard to build strong relationships with his pupils because engaging them is the only way to ensure that they get the most out of

their time at school. “Once you achieve a solid relationship, then all the learning aims you want flow much more easily,” he says. So a great teacher can be a number of different things. Perhaps they are not rigidly concerned with reaching targets, but are also interested in promoting an understanding of other issues such as the community or the environment. Perhaps they have

a particularly innovative approach to learning, or have managed to incorporate technology into the classroom in an unusual way. Or maybe they simply have a great attitude. Being personable and engaging with pupils can be an invaluable way to promote a love of learning and building relationships like this is useful in helping students to realise their full potential.

Vote for your

Teacher of the Year

Who gets your top mark?

The Educate Awards, sponsored by Connex Education have a Teacher of the Year category, which is specifically designed to recognise outstanding teachers in the North West. Last year we were overwhelmed with the quality of the nominations; it seems our region has no shortage of amazing teachers. In the end, it was Mr McCole from St Cecilia's Catholic Junior School who took home the title for his inspirational attitude. As a previous winner of the Liverpool Marathon, Mr McCole transformed his school’s sport programs by incorporating his passion for exercise into the curriculum. Teachers like Mr McCole inspire us with their enthusiasm to go above and beyond the basics and make a real difference in areas that need it. If you know a teacher who has gone the extra mile, inspired you or has taken an innovative approach, you can nominate them for our Teacher of the Year award through our website: www.educateawards.co.uk. You should provide as much relevant information as possible to assist the judges in making an informed decision on the merits of the nominations received. For school pupils wishing to nominate a teacher, you may wish to consider drafting the nomination with fellow classmates and possibly involve another member of staff at the school.

Associate Sponsors

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The other categories for the awards are: Most Inspirational Primary School Most Inspirational Secondary School Community Partnership Award Outstanding Commitment to Sport in Primary School Outstanding Commitment to Sport in Secondary School Eco School Project of the Year The Communication Award Spirit of Enterprise Award Innovative and Creative Literacy Award SEN Provision Award Science Project of the Year Outstanding Arts in Primary School Outstanding Arts in Secondary School Career Aspiration Award WOW Recognition Award

Nominations for other categories are also made through the website. Visit www.educateawards.co.uk for more details. Follow us on Twitter @EducateAwards

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Primary News

Back on track Inspectors praise Southport school Ofsted inspectors have praised a Southport primary school - just 12 months after it was told to improve. Marshside Primary School was judged to be struggling early last year, but inspectors returned and declared that the school, now under a new senior leadership team, is ‘back on track.’ Headteacher Katharine Hall said: “We are pleased with Ofsted’s recognition of our progress over the last 12 months and for their confirmation that we are heading in the right direction. This inspection report paves the way for further improvement. “We are under no illusions about the task still facing Marshside to ensure consistently high achievement by our pupils. Children, staff, parents and governors are working incredibly hard. We are committed to achieving the best possible outcome for our pupils.” The latest Ofsted report states: “Good leadership and management, spearheaded by the headteacher, have been central to the school getting back on track and out of a category of concern. Much has been accomplished to turn things around and get the school back to this point. “Current leaders are working effectively to drive the school forward.

Headteacher of Marshside Primary School Katharine Hall with pupils Rianna, Matthew, Tayla and George. They keep a close eye on the school’s performance and are very clear about the direction the school must take to improve further. “No stone is left unturned to ensure

that all pupils, including those most vulnerable, are well cared for and supported. Pupils in all classes are happy. They feel safe, behave well and have positive attitudes to their learning.”

Dedicated to staying friends forever Pupils from St Oswalds Catholic Infant School, Old Swan have been taking part in their Annual Friendship Week. During the week all of the children from Nursery to Year 2 took part in a variety of learning experiences which helped to develop their understanding of being a good friend. The children have had a friendship packed week including activities such as - friendship circles, making friend poems and recipes for friendships, designing badges and magnets ‘Play 12

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together day’. Year 1 and 2 children also took part in ‘Big Foot’ theatre group workshops and over 120 children took part in a performance of ‘Mr Big’ a friendship story. Events also included whole school ‘friends ‘themed assembly with children from each class sharing their experiences and their creations, certificates were given to children who demonstrated’ special friend qualities during the week.

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Celebrating outstanding achievement Award Categories: Most Inspirational Primary School

Career Aspiration Award

Most Inspirational Secondary School

Spirit of Enterprise Award

Community Partnership Award

Innovative and Creative Literacy Award

Outstanding Commitment to Sport in Primary Schools

SEN Provision Award

Outstanding Commitment to Sport in Secondary Schools

Outstanding Arts in Primary Schools

Eco Project of the Year The Communication Award

Outstanding Arts in Secondary Schools

Teacher of the Year

WOW Recognition Award

Science Project of the Year

Entries open to all schools throughout Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley, Wirral, St Helens & Halton

Closing date for entries Monday 30 September 2013 For more information and to receive an entry pack email educateawards@merseymirror.com Follow us on Twitter @EducateAwards Associate Sponsors

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Primary News

Drivers beware

Drop everything and read Children and staff at St Nicholas CE Primary School were “clued” into books recently as they celebrated World Book Day. Instead of the usual dressing up event, children brought in clues to their favourite books and had a competition to see if their classmates could guess the title or character. Activities such as ‘drop everything and read, story swaps; a book treasure hunt and much more were enjoyed during the week. A charity readathon was also launched to raise money for children’s cancer charity, Clic Sargent. The children have set themselves a reading

challenge and they will collect sponsorship money to help children across the UK who have been diagnosed with cancer. Kim Limerick, literacy subject leader said: “We have wonderful readers here at St Nicholas and it has been such a fantastic week. The children have thrown themselves into our readathon challenge and we hope to raise lots of money. “The book clues were superb and everyone had great fun trying to guess which book they represented. It’s a delight to see everyone so enthusiastic about books.”

Madison Reed from Knowsley wants the world to slow down – well, outside her school at least. The five-year-old helped create a sign to warn drivers outside St Mary and St Pauls Primary in Prescot to watch their speed. The design was created in a competition supported by Knowsley’s travel plan advisor. Three winning entries have been made into permanent signs displayed outside the school in Bryer Road. The road safety campaign has also encouraged pupils to walk or cycle to school more often. Older pupils at the school have taken part in cyclist training to gain the skills and confidence to cycle on the road. The school has also had some financial help to install racks where bikes can be left and they’ve provided pupils with safety and security equipment.

Pupils are staying e-safe Pupils at St Michael and All Angels Primary School in Westvale, Kirkby have been learning about ‘e-safety’. Each year group took part in their own ‘e-safety week’ and explored the ways in which they access online sites, games etc and about the importance of staying safe on the internet. The year groups also delivered an assembly, which teachers are following up with an information session for parents. The school is also surveying parents to gather their views or concerns about their children’s internet use and offering further sessions on a variety of topics, from setting parental internet controls on home devices to staying up to date with the latest social networking sites. The children have created a variety of posters and leaflets, which are being displayed in a number of places around Kirkby. So, if you’re taking out a book in Knowsley library or going for a swim in Kirkby sports centre, catching a train to Liverpool or shopping in the town centre, keep your eyes open for their esafety information. 14

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Primary News

Champion of healthy eating Everton star supports healthy lifestyles Leighton Baines gave local young people a helping hand as they found out more about keeping fit and healthy. The Everton left-back paid a visit to Springwood Heath Primary School in Liverpool to support a special healthy lifestyle class and help pupils understand the importance of eating nutritious food. As the school children got to work planning a healthy dinner, Baines made his way around the group to talk about his favourite meals and a typical diet for a professional footballer. Once out of the classroom, the England international also took part in a coaching session with Year 5 pupils and Everton in the Community coaches to demonstrate how sport is a fun way to keep active and fit. Recent figures, released last December by the National Child Measurement Programme, show that one in three children in the final year of primary school in England is overweight or obese so Everton teamed up with Springwood Heath Primary School to back their efforts to promote healthy lifestyles. The school actively promote a healthy diet and regularly offer advice to parents on providing their children with a healthy

Leighton Baines talks to pupils about healthy lifestyles

packed lunch. Baines said: “As professional footballers, we have a whole team of people making sure we eat and train in the correct way to make sure we stay at the top of our game. “It’s important that children understand from a young age that they need to look after themselves by eating healthily and

initiatives like this show that keeping fit can be fun too. “Schools play a massive part in encouraging children to keep active and have a healthy diet and I’m happy to support this and hopefully make a difference.”

BREAKFAST BONANZA TO BOOST BRAIN POWER Roald Dahl, wildlife and Far Eastern culture are just some of the themes at a Liverpool primary school breakfast club. Funded by housing association Riverside, which donated

Breakfast fun for Kirkby Primary pupils 16

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£780 from its community chest fund, the ‘Breakfast Bonanza’ at Kirkby Primary School is proving to be the perfect start to the day. The breakfasts are held in the school hall and children, parents and staff are all invited to eat together. The parents can also take away recipes so they can reproduce the meals at home. Elaine Parr, extended school services co-ordinator at Kirkby Primary School, said: “Research has revealed that as many as one in seven children don’t have breakfast. Yet it is a wellknown fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. “Children who eat breakfast perform better, both mentally and physically, than those who don’t. There is also a direct correlation between those who skip breakfast and obesity.” Sophie Brown, community engagement officer for Riverside, added: “No child should be prevented from attending a social club or miss out on well-balanced and nutritional food because of financial barriers. “Often parents only attend school when there is a problem so it can be quite intimidating. Also some parents feel isolated on the playground if they don’t know other parents. The ‘Breakfast Bonanza’ addresses these issues in a relaxed social setting.” By allowing the children to have an input into what food is bought, how it is prepared and how the hall is decorated, it is hoped they will learn new skills and be able to help their parents prepare healthy meals at home in the future.

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Primary News

Once upon a time in Gateacre BUILDING A GREENER FUTURE

The pupils from Our Lady of Assumption Primary recently held a storytelling workshop with Year 11 drama students from Gateacre School. The students were dressed as famous storybook princes and

princesses whilst the read fairytale stories, played games and provided face painting to celebrate world book day. The pupils from Our Lady’s also dressed up as characters from their favourite story books.

Pupils at a Prescot primary school are building a greener future – with the help of hundreds of recycled plastic bottles. Evelyn Primary School’s latest ‘green’ initiative involves building an outdoor classroom made from recycled plastic bottles – following a successful project to create a greenhouse made from drinks containers. The school is one Knowsley’s leading ‘eco schools’ and has gained bronze and silver awards recognising their environmental efforts. They’ve also scooped the eco schools top Green Flag award twice, and are currently bidding for a third. From recycling in the classroom and reusing items for art projects, to switching off electrical items when not in use and composting fruit and vegetable waste - the children have proved their green credentials. Eco schools is an international award programme which encourages schools to reduce waste, encourage recycling and protect the environment.

Maisie’s winning twinning design Birkdale Primary pupil Maisie Bellerby has scooped a top design award as part of a competition run by the Mayor of Sefton. Last year budding artists were asked to design a special logo to mark 50 years of twinning between Sefton and Mons, Belgium. The design had to incorporate the Sefton logo, the Mons crest, mention the 50th anniversary (1964-2014) and any iconic images of Sefton and Mons. Hundreds of entries were received and after much deliberation by the Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton, Cllr Kevin Cluskey, 10year-old Maisie's design was declared the overall winner. Maisie's design will now be featured on all Mayoral letterheads, the Sefton Council website and used throughout 2013 through to the actual anniversary in 2014. During a class visit to Bootle Town Hall, Maisie was told she was the winner of the competition and received a Sefton goody bag from the Mayor of Sefton and a framed print of her winning design. Mayor of Sefton, Cllr Kevin Cluskey, said: "As with any art competitions we hold, the standard of entries was exceptional. "Maisie's colourful design really captured the twinning spirit we were looking for with both the Sefton and Mons crests used along with the flags of Great Britain and Belgium. "A big congratulation goes to Maisie but I would also like to thank all the other artists who took the time to enter the competition which proved to be a real headache to judge!"

Maisie Bellerby with the Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton, cllrs Kevin and Linda Cluskey, Maisie's mum Sarah Catterall and brother Edward and her winning twinning design Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Primary News

School in full song Knowsley school wins top singing award A Knowsley primary has won a top award for putting singing at the heart of school life. Ravenscroft in Kirkby is one of only two schools in Merseyside to gain platinum singing schools status. The award has been given by the not for profit organisation Sing Up that promotes singing in schools. The school has a ‘Good morning and good afternoon’ song, a line up song, singing stops on the playground and a singing club for younger pupils. The older pupils act as singing leaders, singing playground songs with the younger children, there’s a singing club and a large choir that sings in the community. “Every class has its singing leaders and our teachers sing something with the children every day,” said the head of Ravenscroft, Jeanette Hegarty. “The children sing off the cuff as they make their way around the school and praise each other’s efforts. They’re always ready to do solo performances too. “They love it and its all had an incredibly positive impact on their

behaviour, self confidence and self esteem.” Jeanette said the “infectious determination” of staff member Nicola Cochrane, had helped them become a singing school. Angela Ball, head of Knowsley’s music and performing arts service presented the platinum award to the children at a

school assembly. Also at the assembly were Knowsley MP George Howarth and Steve Rotherham, Labour MP for Walton in Liverpool. Steve’s been heavily involved in the campaign to help people affected by the Hillsborough disaster and the school has raised money for the campaign.

Pupils from Ravenscroft perform at the special assembly

Pupil SHINE on course This year’s SHINE programme is well underway in Sefton, with 25 girls from six state primary schools participating in the Saturday course for academically inquisitive girls. They are the second cohorts to join in on the SHINE programme (Support and Help in Education), which is funded by an educational charity aiming to heighten the aspirations of intellectually astute youngsters. The Year 6 girls from Bootle, Aintree, Formby and Crosby were chosen by their teachers as the most hard-working, dedicated and intelligent pupils, as well as those most likely to feel the long-term benefits from such a scheme. The SHINE programme is called ‘Dead on Time – Unlocking Murder Mysteries’, and it involves detective work using ICT systems, laboratory techniques and reconstructing cases using drama and film work. Specialist subject teachers as well as external experts, including a barrister, a Special Branch officer and renowned children’s author, Kate Maryon, teach all sessions. MTGS is the first school outside Manchester or London to be supported by SHINE, and this is the second out of three years for which they have received funding. They currently have two Year 7 pupils who attended last year’s programme, which was an unexpected but a very welcome outcome. They hope that this year’s cohort will demonstrate the same dramatic improvement in their SATS this May as last year’s cohort. Right: Pupils from Forefield Junior School, Crosby with author Kate Maryon.

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Primary News

Tough opposition Team crowned north west champions Merchant Taylors’ Junior Boys’ rugby team have been crowned the U11 north west champions after beating Stockport Grammar in the Association of Junior Independent Schools (AJIS) Cup Final. The team finished the tournament on a high with a resounding 35-7 win against the grammar school, making it their 12th win in as many away games this season. Team coach Mr D Youngson said: “We’re delighted to have won the cup,

and it demonstrates just how much hard work and commitment the boys have put in to training this year. “We’ve had a fantastic season with the final following other matches against Birkenhead Prep where we won 56-0, Manchester Grammar 47-0 and Liverpool College 49-0. The win marks the end of a very successful season for the boys and we look forward to carrying on with their rugby training as they move up into the senior school”.

The triumphant Merchant Taylors’ Junior Boys rugby team who were crowned U11 North West champions

Taffy’s tales Mosspits Primary school, Liverpool, celebrated national storytelling week with an extra special visit from Taffy Thomas the storyteller. Taffy, a professional storyteller lead storytelling sessions for Years 1-6 throughout the day, Taffy has a repertoire of more than 300 stories. He also brought along the ‘Tale Coat’ which Taffy said is a unique working piece of art. The coat was displayed on a tailor's dummy and then donned by the storyteller for his performance when pupils from Mosspits were invited to treat it almost as a jukebox by pointing to an image on the coat and saying, “We’d like to hear that story.” Deputy headteacher, Mrs Owens, said: “The children really enjoyed Taffy and his ‘Tale Coat’, he has so many wonderful tales that he kept the children enthralled throughout the day”.

TAKING UP THE CHALLENGE

Proud Year 2 pupils show off their latest publication 20

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Year 2 children from Lister Infant School recently participated in the Head for Business Challenge organised by Liverpool city council. As part of the challenge the children published a booklet highlighting activities children in Tuebrook can take part in. The pupils sold the booklet around the community; it proved such a success that they are publishing further editions. Deputy headteacher, Mrs Davies, said: “Thank you to everyone who has supported the Enterprise Project by buying the magazine they have made. If anyone has any ideas they would like us to include in the next edition, please contact the school”. The ‘Head for Business’ challenge was aimed at primary, secondary and special schools in the city. Teams were given a £100 start up fund to help establish their business. The enterprise challenge are focused around business planning, sales and marketing with volunteer business mentors supporting pupils through every stage.

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Meet the Headteacher Gerard Lonergan, Gateacre School

In 2005 Gateacre School was designated as a specialist college for humanities and arts. The school is home to one of the most oversubscribed music departments in the country and in recent years, Gateacre School pupils have performed in concerts and plays at many prestigious and high profile venues including: the Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Playhouse and LIPA.

Achieving greatness Rebecca Hatch

eadteacher Gerard Lonergan has a background in the arts. He briefly worked as the manager of a private art gallery before turning to teaching 27 years ago. Almost immediately he discovered life in the classroom to be his true vocation, but he still maintains that the arts are an essential part of the educational realm. “I’ve always felt that it was very important for all students to have a rich exposure to artistic experiences. If you don’t get that through your home background, I think it’s very important that school helps you access those things,” says Gerard. As such, he ensures that the school makes regular trips to concerts, exhibitions and the theatre. This stance helps to build upon Gerard’s visions for the school as headteacher. He firmly believes that whilst exams are important, they are not the be all and end all. “The end point is

what you do with it,” he says. In order to develop well-rounded individuals, it is essential to understand education as more than just a theoretical exercise. “For many students, they learn practical skills and applications of their education by taking part in other projects.” One way in which Gerard is encouraging this, is through extra curricular activities. The school participates in a multitude of community projects and Gateacre School has been so proactive in this area, that they were the winners of the Educate Awards Community Partnership title in 2012. “Gateacre School is in a community where a lot of people have challenging lives one way or another,” says Gerard. “It’s not an area of great wealth and it’s not terribly well supported with facilities by central government or by local planning; so the school is a very important focus in the community for helping a whole range of people access some of the more quality aspects of life.”

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Through working with the community as a whole, he believes the benefits will filter down through families and have an impact on their children which in turn, will better prepare them for what he is trying to do in school. It is a rather large and ambitious vision, but the figures suggest it is having a positive impact.

“

It's all about opening doors for students, giving them opportunities that they themselves would never have imagined they could access

”

Last year saw pupils leaving Gateacre with a rate of 47% achieving 5 A*-C grades including English and maths, and 71% achieving 5 A* - C grades overall. “The school has been on a gradual upward improvement strategy,” says Gerard. “We make sure that throughout

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the school, the quality of teaching is as high as it can be. We also make sure that in the lead up to exams, students are individually prepared through mentoring programs and additional activities over and above the teaching that they receive in lesson time.” It is this personal mentoring that Gerard cites as one of the reasons for pupil’s success within the school. He believes achieving well is all about the relationships built by teachers. Speaking about his primary goals upon coming to the school he says: “My first objectives were making sure that all the relationships within the school were based on complete respect for each other, no matter what their age, no matter what their background. Once you achieve that, then all the learning aims you want flow much more easily.” It is no surprise then, that Ofsted described the students as: “invariably courteous and polite, contributing to a safe, welcoming and harmonious community”.

It’s a solid theory. All to often it seems, children from poorer backgrounds with low aspirations are not nurtured and encouraged as properly as they should be. The outdated idea that money breeds intelligence is a major problem in some of the less affluent areas of the country. It can lead to a sense of acceptance in children that they are not destined to be great because they were not born great. The values Gerard brings to the school are based on re-enforcing the notion that everyone deserves a rich education, no matter what their background. “It’s all about opening doors for students, giving them opportunities that they themselves would never have imagined they could

access,” says Gerard. He illustrates with the example of a pupil who left Gateacre School for Cambridge university last year. “She is a student that comes from one of the local estates. All of the stereotypes would normally suggest that people like her don’t achieve the highest outcomes. Well, she is just proof that you can no matter what your background, if you’re actually prepared to do the right things,” he says. “The relationship we built made her realise that it was a possibility for her. “If you work hard you can do anything, go anywhere and nothing is out of your reach”.

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Primary News

Celebrating success Primary recognised as one of the best A Knowsley primary school is celebrating after being recognised as one of the best in the country. St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Huyton received a personal letter of congratulation from the minister of state for schools, MP David Laws, after pupils excelled at Key Stage 2 tests at the end

of last year. Every pupil at the school achieved Level 4 or above in both English and maths, and 60% even managed Level 5 or above in English and 56% in maths. The school has a long track record of out-performing the national average at Key Stage 2, but the results in 2012

Pupils from St Joseph’s Primary proudly show their letter from David Laws MP, the Minister of State Schools

were among their best ever. In the letter, Mr Laws wrote: “The overall percentage of your pupils achieving Level 4+, combined with excellent rates of progress in both English and mathematics place you amongst the top performing primary schools this year. “Mastery of English and mathematics is critical to success at secondary school and beyond, so these pupils now have a really good start for the next stage of their education.” The letter thanked staff, governors, parents and pupils for the part they have played in the achievement. Headteacher Charlie Newstead said: “Such achievements for our school are the result of the hard work and determination of the pupils and staff, combined with the support from parents in the education of their children. “Our school’s mission statement: “Everyone together with Jesus” recognises the important role played by all who contribute towards the success of our pupils. I am rightfully proud of everyone.” St Joseph’s put their success down to a close focus on teaching the basic skills of reading, writing and maths, something which was recognised when the school was awarded the Basic Skills Quality Mark in March 2012.

Bob ‘fixes it’ at a local park

Pupils join Bob the Builder at Webster Park 24

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Children’s favourite Bob the Builder was fixing it for Kirkby youngsters to bring a new-look play area to a local park. Bob and pupils from St Laurence’s Primary schools in Kirkby joined workers starting a £68,000 project to create a new toddlers’ play area at Webster Park in Cherryfield Drive, Kirkby. The children were asked what they wanted in the play area and were keen to see how their ideas had been included in the final design, which includes a roundabout, climbing frame, swings, see saw and natural play boulders. The project has been

spearheaded by the Friends of Webster Park in partnership with the council and funded by Ibstock Cory, the Big Lottery Community Spaces Fund and Knowsley Council. Cllr Eddie Connor, Knowsley’s cabinet member for leisure, community and culture said: “We have supported the ‘Friends’ group bid for the funding which is creating this exciting new play area. Our children had many great ideas, which have been reflected in the final design. When completed this new-look play area will be well used and a great addition to the park.”

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Students and parents are invited to tour the school, talk to staff and students and sample a wide range of activities.

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Primary News

Countess shines at school

Aintree Davenhill Primary school's multi-million pound revamp was officially opened by HRH The Countess of Wessex. The Countess toured the school recently to mark the opening of a rebuild scheme costing more than £5m. On arriving at the school, she met teachers, pupils and staff at Aintree Davenhill, the Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton, Cllrs Kevin and Linda Cluskey, other councillors, Sefton Council staff and architects and contractors involved in the building scheme. A tour of the school was carried out and the Countess also met the Friends of Davenhill group and other school volunteers. Deena Kelley, Aintree Davenhill headteacher, said: “We were absolutely delighted to welcome HRH The Countess of Wessex to officially mark the opening of the new look school. “During her visit, the Countess toured the new buildings and was amused and entertained by the children singing for her. “At all times during her tour, she made the children her priority, speaking to many more than we had planned for in the short time available. She was lovely with the 26

children asking them about their work, visiting the reception princess’s castle and helping a child solve a puzzle in the library. “After signing our visitor book the Countess was presented with a posy and letters by the head girl, Jessica Gillin and the head boy Joshua Cronin. “Visitors, staff and pupils all enjoyed the visit immensely and we are all very proud how the school now looks”. The old school building was built in the 1950s using an aluminium frame system but had major issues with heating costs and a poor layout. Following a grant of £2m from the primary capital initiative from the department for education, half of the school was totally rebuilt in 2010 in a scheme which still allowed the school to function. Cllr Ian Moncur, cabinet member for children, schools, families and leisure, said: “From the very onset this scheme has been a resounding success. “Young people in and around Aintree now have a school building completely rejuvenated and transformed into a modern learning environment”.

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INVESTING IN THE FUTURE Liverpool Community Health (LCH) NHS Trust is supporting children from St Sebastian’s Roman Catholic Primary School in setting up a social business aimed at encouraging young people to grow their own, healthy vegetables. The Trust has been working with a group of students from the school, as part of Liverpool Vision’s Head for Business School Challenge, which aims to help nurture the next generation of business entrepreneurs from within the city. Under the scheme, all participating schools received a £100 start-up fund to help them establish a sustainable, eco-friendly, socially responsible business enterprise, and over the coming weeks will be asked to participate in challenge rounds. The team of students from St Sebastian’s invested their start-up fund into the launch of a new venture, which involves them producing and selling their own ‘Sow&Grow’ kits. Designed entirely by children from the school, for other children, each ‘Sow&Grow’ kit contains everything you need to start growing your own healthy fruit & veg, including a packet of seeds, a plant pot, soil and instructions. Over the coming weeks, the school will also be looking for other community partnerships to help them sell their new product. Kate O’ Callaghan, a teacher from St Sebastian’s RC Primary School who is co-ordinating the project adds: “The students are all really excited to have the opportunity to partner up with local businesses like ‘The Big Apple Van’ stocking and helping to sell their new product to people all over the city. “Taking part in this competition has been a really fantastic learning opportunity for all of the students involved, and we’ve already had some great feedback about the Sow&Grow kits. “We’re very grateful to Liverpool Community Health for helping us to get our social enterprise off the ground.” Below: Children and staff at St Sebastian’s RC Primary officially launch their new product

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Educate’s roundtable

Attendees: Calum Donnelly, development manager (sport), Merseyside Sport Partnership Natalie Wray, Childwall Sports and Science Academy Gillian Griffiths, senior lecturer in PE, Edge Hill University

Sport in schools Calum Donnelly, development manager (sport), Merseyside Sport Partnership

Gillian Griffiths senior lecturer in PE, Edge Hill University

Natalie Wray Childwall Sports and Science Academy

According to the Department of Health, 30% of children aged two to 15 in England are overweight or obese. In light of this statistic, the government is aiming to see a ‘sustained downward trend in the level of excess weight in children’ by 2020. Is enough being done in schools to help ensure children are physically active and how can funding be used correctly to enhance the sport and physical education on offer in schools? Three sport education experts came together to discuss. 28

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What do you think of the level of sport that’s been offered to children in recent years and prior to the Olympics? NW: At Childwall Sports and Science Academy we’re very lucky that we offer a lot of sport, not only to primary schools that are incoming but also to our students and sixth form students. We’ve obviously got the National Curriculum, a range of sports out of school time and we have extended clubs that are running throughout the holidays as well. It’s not just a school nine to five; we’re actually turning up on a weekend and working throughout the holidays so we operate a long list of activities throughout the year. Students at our school and the attending primary schools are lucky that’s on offer because I know it’s not the same across all areas. Is that quite different to the general picture of things? NW: Yes. Because we’re what was a sports college, we’re the lead school that sets the standards for the secondary schools in our cluster and the primary schools as well. We’ve taken a lead and I was actually employed as sport development manager originally to increase the provisions of sport. CD: I think that investment has enabled national governing bodies of sport to merge with schools to provide a wider range of opportunities to young people and not just the direct opportunities through high quality PE or high quality out-of-school provision but also the professional development of teachers to provide the National Curriculum. That investment has helped that and obviously been of great benefit with more people taking part in high quality sport, more people taking part in after school sport and making actual addition from school to community. What do you think of the government’s efforts to keep the Olympic buzz going amongst young people and in schools? CD: I think there’s quite a lot on offer really. If you look at what Sport England have got in terms of their Olympic legacy they’ve got programmes targeting every market and they’ve invested significant money into school games opportunities. They’ve got a network of people across the country working at a local level and meeting the needs of schools, they’re bringing together the local and county festivals and large school competitions. Also they’ve invested into volunteers, there’s an Olympic programme where we’re working with several partners, county

sports partnerships, schools, educational and community partners to engage and to get them involved in volunteering and actually employing within the community to drive up participation. NW: From a schools point of view, during the build up to the Olympics there was a real buzz about the school. We were lucky enough to take part in unique opportunities. We had students who were torchbearers in and around Liverpool, we actually had students who went down to

“

If you look at what Sport England have got in terms of their Olympic legacy they’ve got programmes targeting every market and they’ve invested significant money into school games opportunities. Calum Donnelly London for the opening ceremony, our sports day was themed around the Olympics, and we had primary festivals. So from our point of view it feels like we’re battling to keep it, and I think that’s possibly reflected in the fact it’s taken the government seven months to say what their next step in funding is. GG: Yeah, they kind of withdrew funding and then they’ve kind of given it back and maybe in withdrawing that funding they’ve missed the opportunity and then the gap has occurred where they’ve thought ‘oh hang on’ but maybe it’s too late now. There didn’t seem to be plans to continue that particularly within the schools sector. CD: Withdrawing the funding was instantly replaced with the school games organiser network, where they’ve effectively sustained the network we had previously. Now they’re working very hard to keep that momentum going in terms of competition. Obviously while that’s been

going on, in the background they’ve gone on to give them that time to give the investment to do what’s right for the schools with all the systems in place but yeah, I do appreciate that. GG: Obviously I’m not involved at school level and we only get the overview, and that’s what it felt like because you’d say ‘what’s happening in schools’ and they’d say ‘well it’s kind of under the bed now.’ CD: The main thing is really participation in terms of competition and leadership, volunteering leadership. Those were maintained almost instantly but I suppose from the outside looking in it wasn’t necessarily at the forefront of every agenda was it, it took a back seat. NW: And I think in our school all those things were happening anyway so it didn’t feel like anything additional was happening as part of the legacy because we were already running leadership schemes with coaches in primary schools so there’s no difference in that sense. The government recently announced £150 million a year of funding will go directly to primary schools to improve sport from an early age. What are your views on this? CD: At the county sport partnership for Merseyside sport, the funding is welcomed, it’s fantastic news that it’s going into primary schools and it’s great that it’s going right down to the local level rather than being distributed nationally and then filtered down. It’s going straight to schools and it’s ring-fenced to sport. What we need to do really is work with our partners within education across Merseyside to look at what those local needs are. What are the needs and the demands in the local communities and what the pupils want? What do they need for high quality? NW: It’s brilliant that we’ve got this ring-fenced money so it can’t be used for anything else. My worry is that it depends on the headteacher, and how they want to spend it. It depends on their subject knowledge, the staff that are already in the school and how well educated they are. The big worry is, will private investors now take advantage of this by approaching schools, and what would be the quality and level that they may be offering? At the moment we have sports coaches, Liverpool South Central School Sport Partnership, who go into our primary schools and deliver so many days a week. They’re getting lots of different sports and activity. We’d better use that money probably through our partnership development manager to extend the amount of coaches going in there.

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Educate’s roundtable

GG: From my point of view, the issue boils down to the knowledge base in the school about physical education. What’s physical education and what’s school sport? There’s a huge difference between the two and peoples’ perception of what they should and shouldn’t provide and that’s where there’s an issue because nowadays the rhetoric of the government is PE and school sport are the same thing. Many people would argue the very fundamental difference and that needs targeting, working with and that’s going to get lost in this £150m. Give it to school sport but what do we do with it? I think that’s the real issue. CD: It’s like with any investment really, anywhere, there is an element of risk involved. But from our point of view we need to work at a sub-regional level and also within our local authority level to work with educational partners to ensure we have quality. Is it just a white van that turns up and delivers PE and school sport? How are we going to demonstrate that quality? For the headteacher, are they involved in sport? Do they have the knowledge and background in sport? Who do they turn to, to identify that quality happening? NW: Without sounding disrespectful to primary school teachers, unless they actually play sport themselves they’re not going to know what high quality PE is. GG: If there’s no blame laid at their door, it’s because they’ve got a lot of other subjects to learn about as well. They can’t deliver high quality PE, or only a few of them can, but I don’t think they’d mind anybody saying that. Maybe then, and it’s a contentious issue, do you put £150 million into teaching specialist primary educators? That’s exactly what I’d do. I wouldn’t bring coaches in, and that’s no disrespect to coaches, but my first starting point would be, let’s put in primary qualified physical educators. CD: So what you’re saying is that primary schools almost need a PE teacher themselves? GG: Yes. CD: I’ve worked in the past, and this is my personal view, where schools have had that and it’s been very effective. NW: There are key stage two and three teaching courses but there isn’t anything solely for primary teaching. GG: No, there isn’t. I’m working in a primary school at the moment which has got a stage two/three transition teacher in there who’s just stepped in to start teaching year ones and year

“

We had students who were torchbearers in and around Liverpool, we actually had students who went down to London for the opening ceremony, our sports day was themed around the Olympics. Natalie Wray twos and she said it’s a whole new ball game. She’s obviously saying she’s learning all the time, but with improving the training at university level or wherever you take it, that should improve I would imagine. CD: That’s actually a huge cultural change isn’t it, to go from where we are now to having a dedicated PE teacher within schools. GG: My thoughts are that years and years ago all children used to go out, play, run around, and have easy access to those things, which is changing due to many, many things in society and it’s not a natural thing that they get as much of that. So a lot of their ability was therefore developed there, not in the primary school and then continued in secondary. We don’t have that now. NW: There are good examples across Liverpool where we have coaches, and I say coaches again loosely, that have been working with the schools to form a partnership and the school’s obviously noticed the effect that’s having and has now employed them as full time primary PE teachers, and that’s happened twice with two different primary schools in our area. [The funding] works out to about £8,000 for an average school. An idea would be for schools to get together and employ somebody to possibly do two and a half days in each school.

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With concerns over childhood obesity going up, what should schools be doing to ensure that children get the amount of physical activity they need from a young age, and is enough being done already? NW: If you look at the school sports partnerships and the divisional pastoral data we saw a significant increase in students doing two or more hours. It’s hard for that to continue. GG: It’s part of the ethos though isn’t it? You need a head with the ethos to follow that through, and if that’s the case then it’ll hopefully continue. NW: That’s where they’re getting the links with the secondary school and getting the schools to see the importance of getting people into clubs at a young age and hopefully sustaining those sports through lifelong participation. CD: My understanding is you can’t obtain an outstanding Ofsted report without two hours of PE. Is it the schools’ place to make sure it is happening? GG: Listening at the PE conference last year there was a debate about A) why are PE teachers responsible for obesity? Should they be responsible? I’m not saying they shouldn’t, I’m just saying these are the debates that were going on. There are so many other things that influence it that it’s one of those big strategies that has to change the same across the board. The idea of obesity, people say partly it’s because it’s made worse by the fact that people don’t engage firmly in physical education. What’s happening is they’re not achieving the fundamental movement skills they should be achieving at set ages so they’re not feeling good about themselves or perceiving self-confidence in these. Some people don’t even know what those skills are and therefore that continues and develops that obese population and lack of participation. CD: And if we don’t provide those fundamental moving skills and high quality PE and school sport at an early age then we’ve lost them for life. NW: It’s difficult though isn’t it, as to where the blame needs to be laid because I can think of various clubs that we host and activities where the children would fall into that obesity category but they’re there every day of the week and in holiday clubs so it’s not the activity they’re doing. It’s possibly about educating what they’re eating, and their parents at home.

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GG: Absolutely. As I say, there’s so much involved in it isn’t there? It’s not just one or two different pieces. CD: PE and school sport isn’t an answer to tackling childhood obesity but it’s certainly a vehicle to help. How prominent do you think physical education needs to be within the curriculum before you take into account the extra curricular and after school sports? How much time should be spent doing PE? NW: We’re all people who enjoy sport and would have sport played every day. We offer three core PE lessons to key stage three each week. Not a lot of schools do offer three. That’s three 50-minute lessons. GG: Certainly at primary level the whole ethos of the school, it’s not just about having PE lessons. It’s having a physicality about the whole school ethos so, say you’re going from the classroom to the hall or wherever, saying ‘today we will hop there, we won’t just walk there’. And so the whole ethos of the school becomes physical with little things. That means that people are actually being physical all day and I think that is the best way forward. NW: So sometimes they might not realise they’re doing physical activity and they’ll be getting enjoyment from that in a different way. CD: Again this is a huge culture change but I think PE, although academically might not suit the needs of every single head, does need to be taken as seriously as English and maths because of the wider learning and the life skills they can take from that to become better

“

The concept of physical literacy isn’t just about being good at sport, but it’s about wanting to get out and go for a walk or get on your bike. It’s that whole movement for life.

So that’s the ideal but what’s the reality? NW: In reality headteachers with the ring-fenced money and with joined up thinking, could change the curriculum together couldn’t they? They probably won’t but they could. GG: Quite easily, they certainly could. You got community schools years ago that were of very community orientated perspectives and they did quite well and that was based on the head teacher saying ‘this is how I want my school, the same as yours is’. It just needs a couple of headteachers in the same area to say look, ‘do you see how we want to do this, what do you think?’, and why not?

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citizens, and obviously the benefits to education by allowing them that hour of physical activity and sport so they are now channeling that energy and that really acts as an outlet on a daily basis. GG: Well the concept of physical literacy isn’t just about being good at sport, but it’s about wanting to get out and go for a walk or get on your bike. It’s that whole movement for life. That ethos could start at school because they wouldn’t even know they were doing it, they would just do more movement than they would have done last year.

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Secondary News

College a step closer New build given the green light The green light has been given to Archbishop Beck Sports College to build a new £17m energy efficient school in Liverpool. The scheme is part of the Mayor’s Investment Plan for Secondary Schools, devised as a rescue package following the scrapping of wave six of Liverpool’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) project. The school will be built on the former Long Lane council depot in Fazakerley, which has better access and is less, constrained than the existing site in Walton. It will be environmentally friendly, with a solar panelled roof to generate electricity, and will also feature basketball courts, a theatre and recording and dance studios. Mayor Joe Anderson said: “This is another significant step in my commitment to deliver 12 new schools for young people in Liverpool. “A child only gets one education, and it is absolutely crucial that we make sure we give our young people the best possible start in life.

The new look Archbishop Beck Sports College “Improving schools is a priority and I am determined that we also make sure the construction project benefits local firms as well, so we maximise the benefits to the city.” Work will start in the summer and the school is set to be completed in time for September 2014. Assistant headteacher Bruce Hicks said: “We are absolutely delighted, as this school will offer a 21st century education

for the whole community. “We have held detailed discussions with the whole community, including parents and pupils whose opinions we have sought and acted upon in terms of the design.” As part of the Investment Plan for Secondary Schools, work is already well underway on Notre Dame Catholic College in Everton, which is set to open in September 2013.

Legend visits pupils A world-class BMX and skateboarder visited pupils at a Huyton school recently to inspire them and teach them life skills. Former British and European skateboarding champion Neil Danns, from Toxteth, held special assemblies at Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning, as well as skateboarding master classes with pupils at the ‘OurPlace’ youth facility in Huyton. The visit was part of Sky Sports’ Living for Sport project which uses sport stars and sport skills to inspire and improve the lives of thousands of young people. A group of pupils from Longview Community Primary School were also invited to the sessions. Neil coached the students in key life skills such as confidence, people skills and mental toughness. He also highlighted the importance of aspiration and setting personal goals. Neil said: “Skateboarding helped me to focus on the positive aspects of my life and gave me the motivation to be the best I could be. Through the Living for Sport project, I hope to inspire others to do the same. “Negative influences are all around us and it is easy to let these take your life in a direction you don’t want to go. Through sport, young people can meet new friends, learn respect for themselves and others and rise above the challenges that life can present”. Principal of Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning, Stuart Jamieson, said: “It has been a great opportunity for our students to meet such an inspirational sporting figure and we hope they will use this to fuel their confidence and aspiration and achieve their full potential”. 32

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Living for Sport is a free UK secondary schools initiative, delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, which uses sport stars and sport skills to boost confidence, change behaviour, increase attainment and improve life skills.

Neil Danns with students from Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning

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Secondary News

Broadgreen Health Ambassadors

All Saints, Jaguar and the Prince of Wales! All Saints Catholic Centre for Learning, Kirkby have been working in partnership with Jaguar Landrover to provide experience, training opportunities and apprenticeships. Jaguar approached All Saints as they believed that the school’s ethos and values together with the school’s drive to work with leading companies reflected Jaguar’s own philosophy. Earlier this year thirty Year 11 students attended a conference at Jaguar’s Halewood education centre where they met the Prince of Wales. Prince Charles was keen to speak with students about their engineering ambitions. Head girl, Elizabeth Murphy, presented the Prince with a framed copy of All Saints famous mural. He was keen to know more about the symbols and icons in the artwork and its importance. Perhaps it is already hanging in Buckingham Palace! Mr Bradley, principal of All Saints, said: “Established links with Jaguar Landrover will provide excellent opportunities for students over the coming years”.

‘Little Shop of Horrors’ Recently the Creative Arts Faculty at Childwall Sports Academy staged ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. This was the first time for some years that the faculty had produced a musical and the results were quite outstanding. The performances were staged before large and appreciative groups of governors, parents, friends and students of the school. Kieran Hoare, Julia Manley, Nick Mullin, Tom McIntyre, Lucy Treadell, Jenny Anderson and Emily Laing played some of the key roles. The performances resulted in a standing ovation from the audience who were fully appreciative of the outstanding talents of the young people of Childwall Sports and Science Academy. Principal, Dewi Phillips, said: “My warmest congratulations go to the entire cast and members of the Creative Arts Faculty for outstanding work in staging ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. “Enormous amounts of work went in to producing such high quality performances and for those who were in the audience were privileged to see the talents of so many staff and students at Childwall Sports and Science Academy.” 34

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Broadgreen International School in partnership with Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust have been working together since September 2012 to develop a Health Ambassadors project for sixth form students. The project is part of Alder Hey’s commitment to public health across the community. Year 12 students from Broadgreen International School have chosen public health priorities which they have an interest in and have supported the Schools’ Health Day by delivering key public health messages to Year 8 pupils in a fun and interactive way. This event seen over 200 students take part and learn about a variety of public health concerns. With wonderful support from Liz Grady, health promotion practitioner at Alder Hey, students have developed their own resources and materials which are appropriate for their particular age group. They then delivered the sessions. Liz Grady Health promotion practitioner said: “The students have worked extremely hard to develop age appropriate material and resources for each of their chosen topic. They remained professional at all times and engaged with the students well. “The session was well planned by the students and a lot of thought has been put into this project. I am extremely proud of all the health ambassadors and have seen them develop their own skills while taking part in this project. I look forward to working with them in the future and promoting health to our community”.

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Secondary News

Young Starship Enterprise Challenge

MERSEYSIDE CHAMPIONS

Growing for the community

The victorious U14 badminton team

Year 8 pupils with staff from One Vision Housing Friday 1st March proved to be a very successful day for a group of business-minded Year 8 pupils from St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School. The group took part in the Young Starship Enterprise Challenge, a competition aimed at encouraging young people to develop ideas for a new business. The team proposed the development of a community market garden called the ‘veg patch’ within the school grounds, offering a wide variety of fruit and veg. The aim of the project is to produce ethically grown and environmentally sustainable produce which is easy on the earth with virtually no food miles to travel. What’s more, it is hoped that the garden will be used to assist a more creative approach to the curriculum within the school. If that’s not enough,

the group wants to open up the use of the ‘veg patch’ to the local community, by inviting local primary schools to plant, nurture and harvest the home-grown greens. The competition is run by the ‘Airport Group’, a partnership of 14 housing associations across the North West and Pennine regions. The Sefton regional final took place at Atlantic House, home to One Vision Housing who made the group feel extremely welcome and helped calm last-minute nerves. After some tough questioning from the Dragons’ Den style panel of local business leaders – and an anxious wait - St Ambrose Barlow were announced as the regional winners. The students will be hoping to recreate their success at the national final which will take place at Old Trafford, Manchester in the coming months.

Picture this Archbishop Blanch School Year 13 student, Louise Taylor, was celebrating after winning an amazing £1000 as she took first prize in the Art in the City cxhibition which was held at the Metquarter, Liverpool Louise, her family and head of art at Archbishop Blanch, Mrs Cook, attended the awards presentation where Louise was presented with her cheque. The exhibition raised funds for the Prince's Trust and the prize was donated by Cammell Laird who will now display Louise's painting in their offices. Right: Louise Taylor with her winning piece of artwork 36

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Merchant Taylor U14 badminton team have been crowned Merseyside County Champions after beating Rainford High in the final of county heat of the National U14 Schools Badminton Championships earlier this month. The team includes Rachel Softley, Molly Goldberg and Emily Goldberg from Year 8, and Lizzie Tolman from Year 9. All four girls excel in competitive sport, and in addition to playing hockey and netball during the winter season Liz is ranked as the No 3 badminton player in England, Rachel plays badminton for Lancashire and Molly and Emily are excellent tennis players and naturally talented at racquet sports, despite having only played badminton for a short while. Lizzie and Rachel both come from strong badminton backgrounds (with both sets of parents meeting on the court in fact!) and train hard several times a week. Miss E. Jones, Head of P.E, said: “The team have only been playing together since the start of the school year, but their hard work and commitment to the sport means that they have quickly learned to compete together and form a strong, dynamic team”.

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ra 1 te 00 fo % p r as pu s pi l

Be part of THE remarkable success story...

St. Ambrose Barlow CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL is one OF the best performing schools in the UK. • 88% pass rate in 2012 (Highest performing school in south Sefton) • Small class sizes, giving great teacher/pupil ratios • Fantastic facilities, including state-of-the-art IT equipment • Subjects taught in ability sets • Caring, dedicated staff devoted to maximising the potential of every child • Happy, creative, inspirational atmosphere

Limited space available in some year groups We would like to extend a warm welcome to prospective new students and their parents to visit our school.

Please call 0151 526 7044 to make an appointment

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Secondary News

The award winning ‘Eleven’ students from Formby High School

Philosophical dancers Students inspired by Martin Luther King Junior Dance students from Formby High School will be gracing the national stage after being inspired by the philosophy of Martin Luther King Junior. The school’s sixth form dance company, Eleven, has been selected to take part in the prestigious U.Dance 2013 National Platform. The event, which takes place in Leeds from July 18-21, will see them perform

alongside the best dance groups from all over the UK. Eleven performed a captivating movement, Silence is Betrayal, which was inspired by the Martin Luther King Jr quote ‘If the body is restricted, the mind is not free’, taken from his 1967 speech condemning the Vietnam War. Yellow fabric throughout the performance to represent the restriction of the body and the fight against

Mayor see’s Bosco in 3D Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson recently paid a visit to St John Bosco Arts College, Croxteth were he toured the building and saw some lessons in action. A highlight of the tour was in the science department, Year 8 students who were looking at the spread of diseases and cells, students shared with the mayor an experiment they had completed showing the spread of disease and were then keen to look at cells together on a new piece of equipment called a Gaia 3D Viewer. This enables students to look at a range of pictures in 3D. Mr Anderson and the students looked at different diagrams and pictures, helping to show examples of what they had been learning. The equipment helps to bring the curriculum to life. Right: Joe Anderton, Mayor of Liverpool joins pupils at St John Bosco Arts Colege 38

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injustice connected the dancers. Dance teacher Victoria Harrocks said: “Silence is Betrayal took more than four months to create. I am extremely proud to have been part of the process in making it and Eleven are an inspiration to work with. “Their enthusiasm, determination and hard work have produced a high quality piece of work and I am delighted it has been awarded this recognition.”

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Secondary News

Students get ticket to ride! School joins forces and goes green Bellerive FCJ Catholic College launched a range of new bus services on Friday 26 April, in partnership with The Green Bus, a specialist school transport company. The initiative was based on the results of a transport survey conducted in the autumn term in which parents overwhelmingly voted in favour of seamless cross-city transport links being set up. The routes have been carefully chosen based on where learners live and travel to the school from each day Bellerive FCJ is the first school in the north of England to work with The Green Bus, which specialises in school transport and currently operates in Birmingham, Berkshire and Surrey. Paul Taylor, assistant headteacher at Bellerive said: “We wanted to offer our pupils a safe, reliable service which operates in an environmentally conscious way. Some of our pupils will save up to an hour of travelling each day while others will no longer have to rely on their parents driving them here so the benefits are substantial. “We have made a commitment to this initiative for these reasons and will be subsidising the cost of the annual ticket

Louise Ellman helps launch Bellerive’s for our pupils.” Ian Mack, managing director of The Green Bus added: “Bellerive is an excellent school, pupils travel from all over the city to attend it, which makes it ideal as our first school in the region. I am certain that our partnership will mean that many pupils have a much easier journey to school in the future. “We are delighted to be working with

Green Bus Merseyside operator Peoplesbus on this project and we hope it’s the first of many new services and routes.” The services will operate daily from next September onwards and have the backing of Louise Ellman, MP for Riverside and chairwoman of the Transport Select Committee. She visited the school in Sefton Park to help launch the new service.

Positive impacts There is no doubt that the fortnightly, ‘re-designing learning’ workshops are having an impact at Calderstones School, Liverpool’s. At the first ever, ‘Teach Meet’, three of Calderstones’ teachers, head of English, Dr Aisling Cowan; MFL teacher and new numeracy co-ordinator Lauren Murphy; and literacy coordinator Lucy Duffy took to the stage to promote and share innovative ideas and approaches to getting the best out of every student. Dr Cowan, said: “Presenting alongside my colleagues at the teach meet was a fantastic opportunity to share the innovative practice which is happening in our classrooms at Calderstones with schools across Merseyside. “The enthusiastic and extremely positive feedback we received from other teachers, as well as the great ideas from fellow contributors, made this an extremely useful and inspiring collaboration which we are keen to keep going!” Miss Murphy’s presentation using Tarsia (to make tasks designed to encourage discussion of language links and promote collaborative working) and, ‘concept mapping’, was also warmly acknowledged by the audience including Merseyside based independent trainer, David McDermott. The final presentation, from Mrs Duffy detailed the concept of, ‘boxing to argue’ an active writing framework devised to 40

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MFL teacher and numeracy co-ordinator Lauren Murphy engage boys with discursive writing. This strategy has proved very successful at Calderstones and is now being trialled in schools across the country. The, ‘re-designing learning’ workshops form part of deputy headteacher, Lee Ratcliffe’s 2020 vision for teaching and learning at Calderstones School. Staff are actively encouraged to sign up to present and share their ideas in 30 minute sessions which have so far included, ‘moving from good to outstanding’; ‘utilizing bloom’s taxonomy’; and, most importantly in the run up to the #Teachmeet, ‘using twitter as an educational / CPD tool'. A running commentary for the day, hosted by St Julie’s can be found on Twitter using the #TMLpool hashtag. Calderstones School hope to host #TMnorthwest in early September 2013. #Watchthisspace!

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Secondary News

Saudi bound Liverpool school opens campus in Middle East ONE of the best known names in Liverpool education is looking east by opening a school in the United Arab Emirates. Belvedere Schools Ltd, a collaboration between Belvedere Preparatory School and Belvedere Academy in Toxteth has partnered with the Al Fahim group, one of the largest conglomerates in the region, to establish the Belvedere British School in Abu Dhabi, which has opened its doors with 450 pupils. Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, in the city on business before speaking at the World Chambers Congress in nearby Qatar, visited to open officially the new campus. He was joined by Sheikh Abdullah Jalil Al Fahim, director of Al Fahim group and His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak Al Nayhan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Social Development, along with Dominic Jermey, the British Ambassador to the UAE. Mayor Anderson said: “As one of our most well known schools I am delighted to support Belvedere’s ambition in creating strong international partnerships in Liverpool’s name. “In Liverpool, the school has a reputation for high quality teaching and turning out young people who are ready to take on the world and Belvedere can become a beacon of excellence here in Abu Dhabi.”

From left to right: Dr Dhiya Al-Jumeily, Mayor Joe Anderson, His Highness Sheikh Nahyan Al Mubarak Al Nayhan, Sheikh Abdulla Abdul Jaili Al Fahim and Dominic Jermey - British Ambassador to UAE had meetings with His Excellency Jasem Richard Mathias, chief executive of al Darmaki, Deputy Director General Abu Belvedere Schools Ltd, said: “It has been Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority; a three-year project to take this from Sheikh Sultan, Minister of Tourism; and concept to reality. We are delighted to the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce. have had the support of Mayor Anderson He invited them to participate in the in officially opening the school and we International Festival for Business Global thank him for the efforts he has made in Leaders summit in Liverpool next year. supporting a Liverpool business reaching out internationally. We hope that this is Costs of the trip were met by the first of several such initiatives.” Belvedere Schools Ltd's partners in Abu While in the city, Mayor Anderson also Dhabi, The Al Fahim Group.

A RUNAWAY SUCCESS The innovative volunteering scheme at St Margaret’s CE Academy continues to gain momentum with students and members of staff participating in raising funds for various projects for both the school, and its charities – Vision for Children (Alder Hey) and the Congo Project. In March some of the sixth formers, Year 11s and staff braved the sub-zero temperatures to run the Liverpool half marathon in aid of charity. Year 10 students also volunteered to help distribute water to the runners at the nine mile and 12 mile water stations. A number of students also worked tirelessly packing bags at a local supermarket. The boys attracted a wealth of comments from the public about how polite, helpful, respectful and hardworking they are, just the attributes they need for life in the world today. 42

Pupils help to keep runners hydrated at the Liverpool half marathon

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Secondary News

Students put down roots Pupils mark opening of new academy Enterprise South Liverpool Academy (ESLA) moved onto its amazing 8.5 acre learning park recently. With the help of 60 children from three nearby primary schools – Garston Church of England Primary School, St Cleopas Church of England Primary School and St Charles’ Catholic Primary School – ESLA students have recently planted hundreds of saplings donated by the Woodland Trust. 580 Cherry, birch rowan and hawthorn trees and some prized royal oaks which were grown from acorns taken from the Queen’s estates now line the perimeter of the site. The trees, which are native to the UK, will form a flourishing woodland within 10 years. Academy chaplain Rev Andrew Colmer, who organised the tree planting, said: “We are planting trees for the current generation but also future generations. It will be fantastic for the students to watch the trees grow in the years and decades ahead. They symbolise sustainability and investing in the future, which is what we are doing with the young people who come to ESLA.”

ESLA learners and pupils from nearby primary schools hard at work planting the new trees. The learning park already has 50 mature trees, and there is a strong outdoor focus in the curriculum at ESLA,

in time there will be a forest classroom alongside an apiary, a horticulture farm and apothecary garden.

A Marvel-lous workshop To celebrate World Book Day, Gateacre School invited former editor of Marvel Comics Tim Quinn, to hold workshops for students of all year groups in a brief history of comic books, illustration techniques, and teaching students to creating their own comic characters. Starting his career as a ringboy/clown at Blackpool Tower Circus Tim then leapt back in time to work on BBC TV’s Good Old Days music hall series where he started writing scripts for top comedians. It was a small jump into the world of comic books where he spent many happy years as scriptwriter, illustrator and editor on such noted titles as The Beano, The Dandy, Sparky, The Topper, Buster, Whoopee!, Bunty, Jackie, Dr Who Magazine, and Whizzer & Chips before heading stateside to work for the mighty Marvel Comics Group on the world famous Spider-Man, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk. The students had an incredible day creating their own superheroes as well as being able to see original comic book artwork and learning not only the importance of a good drawing, but also a great story! 44

Students check out the artwork of editor and artist Tim Quinn on his visit to Gateacre School

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Secondary News

Better together Schools come together for Foundation Day Notre Dame Catholic College and St Julie’s Catholic High School have been celebrating the anniversary of the Notre Dame community coming to Liverpool by holding their annual Foundation Day. This year, the performing arts department at Notre Dame Catholic College organised the day with a focus on the long-standing link that the Notre Dame order has with education. Both schools gathered at the chapel in Hope University for a day of festivities that included dance, community singing and a musical interlude. In 1851, 162 years ago, Father Nugent invited four sisters of the Notre Dame order to the city and charged them with helping to educate the poor girls of the city. This was to become the foundation of the two schools we know today, and two years ago the decision was made to celebrate the anniversary with an annual event co-ordinated by each of the schools in turn. Headteachers Mr Anderson and Mrs Harrison were in attendance along with governors, form teachers, pupils and

Headteachers Mrs Harrison and Mr Anderson with pupils from both schools with a stained glass window to mark their aniversary of the Notre Dame community representatives from the Notre Dame success by all involved, and the order. participants are looking forward to taking The day has been widely hailed as a part again next year.

Mission into the Future Pupils and staff from Holly Lodge Girls’ College and ten international partner schools recently took part in a three day event as part of a multinational schools’ event. The event involving 11 European countries, started at Holly Lodge where students engaged in ice breaking activities designed by their Gold Duke of Edinburgh girls, which invloved the art department where Mr Graham, arts teacher, and students built kites from recycled materials. The pupils then descended on Crosby lakeside were there was a great spectacle as the students flew 50 of their hand built kites on the beach. Mrs Graham said: “Some of them broke free and disappeared it was that windy!! So if anyone finds a handmade kite on the beach please return it to Holly Lodge and they can reunite it with its owner!!!!. “The schools concluded their events at Crosby Lakeside, where students presented their own countries’ perspective on renewables. It was very interesting for pupils to see that some countries don’t have electricity in some areas! It was also interesting to see that renewables have a much greater place in some countries than others!

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Author visits winners

Author, Andy Briggs with some of the winning storytellers Christ The King High School, Southport recently held their inaugural ‘500 words’ short story competition. The competition, open to all pupils aged 11-14, offered the chance to write a story fit for a genre of their choice. Andy Briggs, the author of Tarzan: The Greystoke Legacy chose the winner from a shortlist of 10 pupils. Margaret Chandler in Year 9 won Andy and the judges over with her excellent story Cross Over. Rebecca Ritchie (Year 7) and Anastasia Couzens (Year 9) finished second and third respectively. Andy Briggs presented prizes to pupils during a visit to the school recently. The entries received over the course of the six weeks raised money for Queenscourt Hospice whilst also highlighting the outstanding writing talent throughout the school at CTK. The stories are available to access on the school’s website. Headteacher, Mr Lancaster said: “Christ the King would like to thank Tony of Formby Books for all his hard work”.

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Grammar in schools

Grammatically [gruh-mat-i-kuh ll-ee] Speaking [spee-king] vocabu

Prefix

lary

noun

k Spo

punctuatio

written

Spell

READ

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Social media

verb

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As the government introduces a new grammar test for primary school pupils, we take a look at whether we really have fell behind when it comes to grammar skills and if so, why?

s of this summer all year six pupils will have to sit a new English test as part of their SATs. The new spelling, punctuation and grammar test (or SPAG for short) replaces the old English writing test as the government attempts to ensure all primary school children leave school “with a sound grasp of essential English skills”. The new test will focus heavily on grammar skills, examining punctuation, spelling and vocabulary. A good grasp of how the English language works, including an understanding of the key terms such as noun, verb and prefix, will also be required. The introduction of the new test is a move that has split opinion. While few would argue against the importance of grammar there is some debate as to whether a test solely focused on it is the right way forward. Indeed, at the recent National Union of Teachers conference, held at the ACC Liverpool last month, teachers threatened to boycott the new primary test, labelling it “meaningless”. “The hoops that young children will have

“

We need to ensure that children are given a love of learning, reading, writing and maths

”

Curriculum will set education back generations. We need to ensure that children are given a love of learning, reading, writing and maths but this is not the right way to go about it.” Colette Ankers de Salis, senior lecturer in primary education at Liverpool John Moores University agrees. “In my opinion, the ability to be able to communicate clearly and well in both the written and spoken form is of high importance – it is no coincidence that our prisons are full of illiterate and semi-literate people,” she says. “Grammar lies at the heart of this, particularly with writing as the writer has to communicate with a ‘removed’ reader. “But if grammar ‘lies at the heart of something’ it implies it is part of something bigger. So while I would agree with it being in the ‘marking system of SATS’, I do not agree with it being removed and tested in isolation away from a piece of writing. This would be like ‘testing’ David Beckham on his ability to perform individual training exercises when

to jump through will leave many children feeling

the real test is how well he can apply his

a failure,” said general secretary of the NUT Christine Blower. “For those pupils who can take

skills in the context of a game. So yes, mark grammar as part of the writing tests but not

it in their stride, their experience of school and learning will be a much diminished one. “Primary school teachers are desperately

as a SPAG test.” The Department of Education believes targeting children early (whilst still in primary

concerned about what the school day will come to mean for their pupils. The proposed Primary

school) can combat the problem of poor grammar in the future.

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Grammar in schools

Indeed, Colette says in her experience many students have a poor grasp of grammar. “This can range from a lack of understanding of what a sentence is to writing ‘paragraphs’ that consist of a series of unrelated sentences,” she says.

“

They seem to enable children to rehearse their understanding of how speech sounds map onto printed characters in a way that benefits their normal literacy development

While the government aims to address this with earlier testing, there are some studies which claim falling standards in grammar are not a result of lack of teaching/education but rather the increased use of 'tech speak'. Tech speak involves using shortcuts and acronyms when sending text messages or using social media. According to recent figures, in the UK 15 million text messages are sent from our mobile phones every minute and one group of researchers believes this is having a detrimental effect on students' grammar skills. The study, undertaken by researcher Drew Cingel of Penn State University, found there is evidence of a decline in grammar scores based on the number of adaptations in sent text messages. According to the study, those who sent or received the most text messages performed the worst in the test. These findings have been disputed however by a recent study of primary and secondary

”

school children by researchers at Coventry University. The study found no evidence of any detrimental relationships between use of texting slang and children’s conventional literacy

can help improve grammar at home

abbreviations when using SMS, in fact it seemed to be adding value to the children’s conventional spelling abilities, because of the highly phonetic nature of the text abbreviations which are most commonly used. “They seem to enable children to rehearse their understanding of how speech sounds map onto printed characters in a way that benefits their normal literacy development.” LJMU's Colette Ankers de Salis says the key is for students to recognise when it is acceptable to use slang or tech speak and when it isn't. In other words, it's about knowing your audience. "One issue seems to be a lack of understanding of purpose and audience," she says. "I do not see texting or social media as a problem; it is an example of how language and communication evolves. What I have a problem with is people not knowing or understanding when, where and with whom ‘text-talk’ is appropriate and/or effective.” Tech speak aside, with SPAG tests set to become a reality this summer, what can be done to improve grammar skills in school children? It is, according to Colette, a huge question.

abilities. Lead author Dr Clare Wood, professor of psychology in education at Coventry University, says: “Our work examined children who used

How parents

mobile phones and assessed them over the course of an academic year in one study, and over just 10 weeks in another. “We found that not only was there no evidence of a negative association between literacy skills and the tendency to use texting slang or

“One way could be to look more closely at purpose and audience with young people and through this, develop more comprehensively an understanding of grammar,” she says.

Set tests

Encourage letter writing

Read with your child

The SPAG test will form two parts. The first looks at constructing sentences correctly, capitalising words and using the correct punctuation. The second is a spelling test. Set mock tests for your child at home to help them become more familiar with the tests.

They say it’s a dying art but letter writing is hugely beneficial in developing children’s writing skills. Encourage your children to write to friends and relatives and develop their understanding of the English language by having them include adjectives, verbs etc in their writing.

Reading can help children to gain a better understanding of grammar and a wider vocabulary. Read a range of different materials and genres with them regularly.

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HILLSIDE HIGH SCHOOL Excellence in the Heart of the Community

‘Hillside High is an outstanding school’ - Ofsted 2007

OPEN EVENING THURSDAY 3rd OCTOBER 6.45pm Contact the school for further details Hillside High School, Science and Language College Breeze Hill, Bootle L20 9NU

0151 525 2630 www.hillsidehigh.co.uk Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Meet the Headteacher Stuart Jamieson, Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning

‘Learners today, leaders tomorrow’ is a motto that is embedded in the day to day life at Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning. It’s a saying that encapsulates the school’s aim to not only guide pupils to success in their education, but to also put them on the right track to being the best in their field in the future.

Culture eats strategy by Natasha Young This ethos is down to principal Stuart Jamieson, who is certainly leading by example after carving out his own ambitions to become a leader and eventually realising his dream. “I began my career in education in 1988 when I was in a school in Humberside in inner-city Hull. Then eight years following that I was at what is now Christ the King in Knowsley and I was head of performing arts there,” says Stuart. “I knew quite early on in my career that I wanted to be a headteacher or principal and it was my hope that one day I could return to Knowsley. Obviously I haven’t come to Christ the King but to just a mile away at Huyton Arts and Sports and it’s interesting because some of the children I taught all those years ago have got children of their own now who actually come here.” Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning opened in 2009, bringing together the majority of staff and pupils 52

from Bowring Sports College and Knowsley Hey Arts College. Stuart then took the helm around two years ago and believes that being a principal is a “natural progression” for him. “The background that I’ve got in arts is natural to a lot of the enjoyment aspects in education but then as I moved, to a degree, outside of the classroom I saw the influence that I could have on training in general and raising standards,” he explains. Stuart’s key focus of leadership and driving up standards within the school is apparent amongst pupils and staff as he says: “You can say it can’t you but leadership also spells the words ‘idle phrase’ if you take those letters separately, and it’s about making sure the leadership is about the young people doing things that make a difference to themselves and others. I think what we’re trying to do is give them the voice and the example so that they don’t just say it but they turn up and do it as well.” He is also working in partnership with

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The Dean Trust, an academy trust which leads programmes aimed and schools and teachers aspiring to be outstanding. Continuing with his strong sense of ambition and vision for the future, he adds: “My key aim is to get this school to be outstanding, and on a career level I want to see as many people alongside me go on to get their own headships and go on to be the best in their field.” Despite a relatively short time at the top at Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning, it would seem much progress has already been made when it comes to instilling the idea leadership amongst young people, and Stuart says: “We’ve introduced the ROSS Programme, which is respecting others, self and schools. They go out and work in various primary schools and look at what being respectful of the self and school means, about how they relate to one another, about what’s acceptable and having that trust amongst each other really. We also have things such as a student passport whereby they’ve got to participate in at

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least 100 hours of activity from reading in assembly to supporting others in youth leadership sessions. “The other thing would be developing an independent study culture and having students being proud to stay and come along before, during and after school or weekends and holidays, to want to study and take responsibility for their own destiny. Most weekends there are young people in doing extra study and I think that will translate into results, particularly this summer.

“

Most weekends there are young people in doing extra study and I think that will translate into results

”

“One of my mantras is that culture eats strategy for breakfast because you can have all the strategies in the world but it’s about building that culture of daily habits and consistency of challenging with performance.”

Under Stuart’s reign the school has also worked to create stronger links with parents by hosting events, a ‘monthly matters group’ with seminars, and a weekly newsletter. Meanwhile connecting with the business community is aiming to help young people feel more

positive about the world of work, and inspirational people have also made visits to the school to inspire pupils to aim high. “We had Steven Gerrard in last summer when he came and opened his soccer foundation for a week and he wanted to come back to his roots in Huyton. Then we had Neil Danns, the

Olympic skateboarder, in recently,” says Stuart. “When you spread the culture for someone who’s like Steven Gerrard, like Neil Danns, who’s just come from nowhere but dedicated their life to being the best in their field it opens up the art of possibility, but actually it lets young people know there’s no tricks other than dedicated hard work, practice and consistency.”

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Local Education News

Culture Minister visits Liverpool hub Ed Vaizey MP meets students at Resonate Music Education Hub Young people at Resonate Music Education Hub, funded through Arts Council England, were joined by minister for culture, communications and creative industries Ed Vaizey recently for a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities and an opportunity to discuss how music education has impacted on the lives of Liverpool’s pupils. Ed Vaizey MP was instrumental in the recently published Government’s National Plan for Music Education, the driving factor behind Resonate’s new hub status and funding to provide music education to every child in Liverpool. “It is an honour to welcome Ed to Resonate and introduce him to the children and young people benefiting from this wonderful resource for the city,” said Mr Jonathan Dickson, head of service at Resonate Music Education Hub. “We have big ambitions for the future of music education in Liverpool: if every child is learning an instrument this will create lots of bands, groups, choirs and concerts. It also means that our pool of young musical talent will expand, and we know that Liverpool has a legacy of producing world-leading talent in music.” During his visit, Ed Vaizey MP met and performed with the Resonate singers, a junior vocal group, rocked out with students in Resonate’s rock pod and took part in a roundtable discussion with a group of children along with representatives from Resonate, Notre Dame Catholic College and Liverpool Philharmonic’s In Harmony. Culture minister Ed Vaizey said: “A high-quality music education can make a hugely beneficial contribution to the lives

Ed Vaizey MP with Resonate ‘Rock Pod’ student of young people. It is often a source of regret for adults that they didn’t learn a musical instrument when they were at school; now every child will have the opportunity to develop this lifeenhancing skill. Not only will this give them great pleasure, but it will help provide our fantastic creative industries with the next generation of talent, which is why government is investing more than £171 million of funding up to March 2015 in a network of music education hubs across England.”

Students cook up a storm Committee members from Christ Church Community Centre in Bootle visited Hugh Baird College recently to take part in a Chinese cookery lesson delivered by migrant women from the college’s integration programme. The participants, who are part of the college’s English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) department, spent the morning showing how a range of Chinese dishes are created, from preparation through to cooking – and, of course, sampling the food too! Following on from the cookery lesson,

the visitors from the centre took part in a Chinese calligraphy class with Hugh Baird College’s lecturer and local artist, Jane Adams. Betty Simmons, a committee member at Christ Church community centre, enjoyed taking part in the cookery class. She said: “I’ve found the lesson very interesting and have learnt lots of new things. The food that’s being made all looks lovely. The amount of preparation work is very time consuming – I’m not sure if I’d have time to do it myself at home, but I’d certainly give one of the smaller dishes a try.”

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

New role for nursery A nursery school in North Liverpool has been selected for an important new role aimed at further raising standards. Everton Nursery School and Family Centre, along with its four partner primary schools (All Saints Catholic Primary School and Anfield Children’s Centre, Barlows Primary School and Fazakerley and Croxteth Children’s Centres, Our Lady Immaculate Catholic Primary School and The Beacon CE Primary School) is one of only 150 schools in England to be granted teaching school status in the third wave. The designation by the national college for teaching and leadership entitles the school to lead the training and professional development for staff. Headteacher, Dr Lesley Curtis, said: “I am delighted for Liverpool and for nursery education to be part of the national college teaching schools programme, to share our work both locally and further afield . I am also delighted to gain National Leader for Education (NLE) status”.

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Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning

Traditional values at the heart of all our work There has never been a better time in the history of education in Knowsley for you as parents and carers to grasp the opportunity to have your children educated at a school here in Huyton at the centre of your community. Knowsley Council and the Governors of Huyton Arts and Sports Centre for Learning (HASCL) have taken the ground breaking and exciting decision to transform education in Huyton by partnering with The Dean Trust, which is an OUTSTANDING multi- academy organisation. The Dean Trust is leading the way in school improvement, with both of its secondary schools deemed â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Outstandingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; by Ofsted and its primary school one of the most improved in the country. This recently formed partnership has already embedded basic values of respect and good behaviour at HASCL which has rapidly become a place of real opportunity for learning.

Stuart Jamieson, Principal with Tarun Kapur CBE, Chief Executive, The Dean Trust

)L WHY[ VM [OPZ UL^S` LZ[HISPZOLK WHY[ULYZOPW ^P[O ;OL +LHU ;Y\Z[ HUK ILULĂ&#x201E;[ MYVT [OL developing â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;culture of excellenceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Believe, Achieve, Succeedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; has been embraced by all of the schools in The Dean Trust. They have proved the power of these words with record breaking examination results and praise in inspections. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The effectiveness of the federation leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement is outstanding.â&#x20AC;? Ofsted 2010/11 Leadership of more than one school.

Make the right choice... @V\ HYL ^HYTS` PU]P[LK [V ]PZP[ /\`[VU (Y[Z HUK :WVY[Z *LU[YL MVY 3LHYUPUN [V TLL[ V\Y Z[HMM NV]LYUVYZ Z[\KLU[Z HUK TLL[ RL` Z[HMM HUK NV]LYUVYZ MYVT ;OL +LHU ;Y\Z[ *VTL HUK ZLL [OL ZJOVVS PU HJ[PVU wL SVVR MVY^HYK [V TLL[PUN `V\

-VY M\Y[OLY PUMVYTH[PVU WSLHZL JVU[HJ[! 4Y :[\HY[ 1HTPLZVU VY 4Y ;HY\U 2HW\Y *), VU 2,@ +(;,: Open Evening for all years ;\LZKH` [O 4H` WT WT School Tour for all years ;\LZKH` Z[ 4H` >LKULZKH` UK 4H` H[ HT HUK HT Open Afternoon for all years ;O\YZKH` [O 1\UL WT WT

1VPU H ZJOVVS ^OLYL Z[HMM HUK NV]LYUVYZ HYL WHZZPVUH[L HIV\[ PTWYV]LTLU[ and where the future is secure and exciting! Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

p51-62_covers 03/05/2013 08:38 Page 56

Help and advice

Dear Educate

**************************************************** My daughter is in Year 6 and will currently be sitting the summer tests. I’ve heard there have been some changes to these exams and I’m anxious to make sure she is well prepared to sit them as she did struggle with literacy lower down the school. The new tests assess each child’s performance on a writing task and look at vocabulary, the grammar used in the sentences, spelling, punctuation and handwriting. Your daughter’s class teacher will have a good understanding of her current working level in these areas and will be able to reassure you about the content of the tests and how your daughter is doing in class. Every time there is a change to the format of the exams and the expectations upon pupils, extra stress is created for the pupils and their parents but your school will be able to reassure you that every child is being prepared to take part in the tests. At home, the best approach for parents to take is to encourage their children to read aloud at home and to discuss new words and spellings together. By creating simpler writing tasks out of everyday activities such as writing ‘thank you’ letters, shopping lists, a news report for the day, a daily diary or perhaps even stories to read to your daughter’s toys, you will be able to observe and gently correct any errors or misunderstandings yourself, or highlight them to the teacher in your daughter’s journal. If you think you’d like some help from a workbook, the ‘Aiming For’ series by Collins Education offer books to help students achieve a particular level by consolidating skills in each area.

My 9-year-old daughter is an avid reader and quickly works her way through any new books we buy and books on loan from the library. I’m starting to run out of ideas for suitable material. I’ve noticed a large teenage section in the library but I’m concerned about whether the content is appropriate. What should I do? Encouraging reading is a hot topic for parents and constantly searching for new material can be timeconsuming and expensive. There are some excellent websites which discuss the latest texts for particular age ranges and offer for parents a review of the novel with a summary of the content. A number of teen books deal with teen issues from relationships to terminal illness and may not be appropriate for your daughter, and the best way to ensure that she is reading suitable material is to check a review online or in the bookstore before you purchase. Reading together or sharing books will also allow you to discuss the ideas and content with your daughter and strengthen your bond. You can listen to her opinions on the

events and the characters and offer your own thoughts. She would also enjoy reading books you liked as a child and this can be an excellent introduction for her with some classic novels and some stretching vocabulary and ideas. For a list try www.goodreads.com and www.thebookpeople.co.uk.

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My son will be starting reception class in September at the local primary and some friends of mine whose children also attend have commented that budget cuts could affect resources and activities in the next 12 months. I’m keen to get involved and support the school in any way that I can and wondered if you have any advice on how to get started?

Parents’ enthusiasm and successful partnerships between parents and staff is vital to the life of the school. I’m sure that your school will welcome input from parents and there is usually a Parents’ Forum or a PTA (Parents’ and Teachers’ Association) which will hold regular meetings. It is likely that letters will be sent home with your child concerning these events and there will be meetings held to discuss fundraising events and to ask for volunteers and helpers. It may be the case that a number of events are already timetabled for the coming year, at which you could help and contribute your time and ideas, or there may be space in the calendar for additional activities. Some tried and tested fundraisers include fetes and fairs, bingo, film nights, quiz evenings, barn dances and balls and all offer an opportunity to involve parents and the local community. Whether you wish to contribute a particular skill such as baking, handling finances or publicity, any support is sure to be appreciated by staff and pupils alike. The government website offers further details and advice at www.pta.org.uk.

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The important role of supply staff within schools today

Paul Birchall Branch Manager, Liverpool

A couple of years ago the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) conducted research that highlighted the value that agency staff and supply teachers bring to schools. School budgets are not being increased and supply staff are proving a popular choice for schools as a way of also saving money. Year on year, Connex Education has seen a marked increase in supply to primary, secondary and SEN schools. Supply teachers are more often than not a solution to a crisis and an integral part of the supply chain into schools. Supply staff receive phone calls from Connex between 7am and 8am and arrive at school for 8.30am. A lot of the time, they could be going to a school they’ve never been to before which is situated across the city, or within another LA. Fighting rush hour traffic, supply staff will arrive at school and give it their all. Often they are thrown into the deep end and deliver lessons all day to children they have never met, within an environment they’ve never worked in before. Doing this is not for everyone…and can be quite daunting. Straight out of the door at 3.30pm? Not supply staff from Connex! In Primary settings for example, they will ensure all the marking is done and full handover notes are completed for when the class teacher returns. Most will stay past 4.15pm to ensure everything is done.

Compton House, School Lane, Liverpool L1 3BT (off Hanover Street) TEL: 0151 329 2727 FAX: 0151 329 2728 liverpool@connex-education.com

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Paul Cronin A week in the life of Paul Cronin, headteacher, St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School, Kirkby

ver wondered how a primary school headteacher spends their time? We catch up with Paul Cronin, headteacher at St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School in Kirkby to find out. Monday: My working day starts at 7am and the school opens to students at 7.30am every day for breakfast club. The week always starts with an assembly for the whole school. We use these assemblies to celebrate the success and achievements of our pupils. Sport is a strong feature in our school - we have over 30 sports clubs each week – and in today’s assembly we’re presenting medals to our Knowsley Cross Country runners. We’re also celebrating the success of our school choir, which performed at the Liverpool choir festival. I spend much of Monday dealing with various school issues, checking emails and speaking to parents. We have a staff meeting at 3.30pm for all teaching staff, which lasts until 5pm. And then it’s time for our evening keep fit class. We hold after school classes that the community can get involved in and this one is always a popular one. We also hold after schools clubs for the students until 5.15pm each day which helps parents who work until 5pm. Tuesday: Tuesday begins with a senior management meeting at 8am. I get to school for about 7am in order to sort a few things out before the meeting. There’s no danger of getting sleepy during the day though as I run a crosscountry running club every lunchtime. We have contractors on site at the moment undertaking some major building work so I have to check up on them throughout the day to make sure everything is going to plan. Tuesday night is family night from 6pm-7.30pm. Parents are invited to come along with their children and we play a range of games and activities. It’s always a fun evening. Wednesday: On Wednesday I have a lot of meetings

to attend. I’m chair of the Kirkby Collaborative of Schools and we have a meeting at 9am. Straight from that I head to the Kirkby Catholic Headteachers meeting followed by a Local Authority meeting. Then it’s back to the school. We have a junior chef in at the moment and all the children are engaged in cookery lessons, which are proving very enjoyable. And there’s reason to celebrate as our football team competes in the Kirkby School’s Football Cup and wins to become champions.

“ ”

We have sports clubs at school every day and today’s is Judo

Thursday: We have two classes out on school trips today – one to the Eco Centre in Southport and the other to Martin Mere wetland nature reserve in Burscough. Unfortunately I’m not going with them. Instead I start the day with a Kirkby Collaborative meeting at 8.30am. We’ve commissioned an artist to do some artwork at the school so I catch up with him during the morning to see how it’s coming along. It’s an exciting afternoon as we have press and TV teams in the school to report on our junior chef cookery classes. Friday: We have sports clubs at school every day starting at 8am and today’s is Judo after which the pupils head to assembly. This morning I’m meeting with parents to discuss family literacy and numeracy and the children’s behaviour. Friday afternoon is spent dealing with a mountain of paperwork, emails and Kirkby collaborative issues then it’s off to the Knowsley School’s Trade Fair. Friday’s after school club is the everpopular dance club. Like most nights, I head home at around 7pm after a long and action-packed week.

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School Ec News Sponsored by

Pillaging, marauding… and recycling Pupils inspired by vikings’ better habits Primary school pupils in Liverpool and the Wirral are taking tips on recycling from the Vikings after teaming up with archaeologists. The Recycle like a Viking project – part funded by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) – aims to show youngsters how, despite their fearsome reputation, the Vikings were the ultimate recycling experts who re-used everything from metal and bone to glass and leather. Pupils involved in the scheme, developed by Wirral based community interest company Archaeology for Schools, will study the components of the typical Viking wardrobe; learn how even

Local youngsters Sam Williams (left) and Ben Williams (right), both aged 5 from Wallasey, are given a Viking demonstration

BAG IT UP As a direct result of the efforts of students, parents and staff at St Hilda’s CE High School, Liverpool, have managed to recycle a massive 600kg of textiles from a single collection! They collected well over 100 bags full of textiles, with some people even bringing in 17 bags on their own! For all of these efforts, St Hilda’s has been awarded with a cheque for £300 which will of course be put to good use. They also placed new paper and plastic recycling bags in every classroom and office; something that has been directly funded by this project. Most importantly, their efforts mean that 600kg of textiles haven’t made their way to landfill, which is a small bit of good news for the environment.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

the goriest bits of cows were used to make things and visit the history hut, a converted Bromborough shop, and the Museum of Liverpool to find out more about recycling Viking-style. Dean Paton, of Archaeology for Schools, said: “As an archaeologist Viking age sites are among the hardest to dig because they really did leave so little rubbish. It’s almost impossible to find evidence of them being around. “They were rough people in a very rough world but they do have green credentials which can help salvage their reputation.” The Recycle like a Viking project was one of several which received funding from MRWA’s community fund to reduce the amount of waste currently going to landfill, through waste collections, education and workshops that will teach people new skills.

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Newspapers go green With a little help from Rice Lane Infants A group of third year BAQTS students from Liverpool Hope University, have been working with Rice Lane Infants and Nursery School in a recycling project. The students have run a whole school challenge with the objective to inspire children to reuse newspaper in a creative and fun way, whilst helping the environment at the same time. Through the use of activities and workshops, children have been developing an understanding of the effects of recycling, both on a local and a global scale, within a talkenriched, collaborative and creative environment. During the week children were involved in creating newspaper bags, paper bowls, paper briquettes to build structures along with newspaper costumes for a fashion show, before ending the week with an assembly in front of parents and the local community to showcase their work plus to tell

others about the importance of recycling. To finish the project off the children built a camp fire within the school grounds using the paper briquettes as a source of fuel; children then had the opportunity to toast marshmallows whilst reflecting on their week. Hope University Student, Lauren Williams, said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We thought it would be a good idea to share the outcomes of our project with other schools and the local community and hopefully others will be inspired to do similar activities. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The children have began to understand that we can all make a difference and contribute to the protection of our environment both on small and global scales.

Pupils play Jenga with paper briquettes

The latest fashion accessories, newspaper bags

Newspaper knights

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Pupils model the latest recycled fashion designs

Pupils toast marshmellows in the playground

p63-72_covers 03/05/2013 08:40 Page 63

Wildlife EcoCruise The perfect choice for a fun, educational day out

Step on board and enjoy a journey through Merseyside’s waterfront heritage as you investigate the local wildlife within the River Mersey’s diverse ecosystem. Merseytravel’s Mersey Ferries will be running two-hour long cruises along Liverpool’s renowned waterfront. Featuring top environmental experts and professional RSPB ﬁeld teachers, the Wildlife Eco-cruise creates a living classroom on the water. Highlights of the Mersey Ferries Wildlife Eco-Cruise include:

• Birdwatching and talks with the RSPB – see up to 25 varieties of birds! • Examine the Mersey’s ecosystem under the microscope on the ‘Plankton Trawl’ with experts from National Museums and Galleries

• Burbo Bank Wind Farm and experts from Dong Energy discussing this new resource

• Fascinating commentary from Mersey Ferries on the history of this renowned passage

• Liverpool’s Three Graces – The best views of the UNESCO World Heritage Site

• Antony Gormley’s ‘Another Place’ on Crosby Beach

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Free Wildlife Eco-Cruise workbook for passengers

p63-72_covers 03/05/2013 11:22 Page 64

Local Education News

Judges named for Educate Awards 2013 Preparations for this year’s Educate Awards, sponsored by Connex Education are well underway and organisers of the event have released details on their judging panel for 2013. The awards are an annual recognition of outstanding achievement from schools in Merseyside and the surrounding areas. They are due to take place at the end of the year and will include categories celebrating a wide selection of academic accomplishments. This year, the judges represent a prestigious selection of some of the most important names in education, business and the community. They have each been chosen for their expertise, commitment to public service and ability to serve as positive role models. They will be charged with assessing the nominations and selecting the winners for each category. Kim O’Brien, executive editor of Educate Magazine said: “We’re delighted to have Mark, Lisa, Lesley and Chris as judges for the awards this year. Their individual backgrounds will provide a balanced and informed adjudication process for choosing the winners.” Judges biographies: Mark Beedles Mark has been managing director of Connex Education for over 10 years. He was the founding director of a company that places supply teachers, teaching assistants, nursery nurses and supervisors into schools across the Northwest and beyond. Over the years Mark has concentrated on the quality of the teachers that the company work with, and in the safeguarding of children. As a “hands on” founding director, Mark put in place several quality checks for potential teachers and a rigorous interview system to ensure he and his staff could recognise good talent, confident in the fact that they would be placed into local schools and have a positive impact. Lisa Murphy Lisa is head of primary teacher education at

Liverpool John Moores University. She has 20 years’ experience of working in education, both as a teacher and as a teacher educator. Lisa is passionate about education and about the education of student teachers. In her current role, Lisa works in close collaboration with a great number of primary schools across Merseyside and beyond, and she is a member of various local and national education and teacher education organisations and committees, such as the Teaching Agency’s North West Group 4 Network, the University Council for the Education of Teachers and the Teacher Education Advancement Network. Lesley Martin-Wright Lesley is chief executive at Knowsley Chamber of Commerce. It’s her role to lead an organisation that is very active in representing the businesses within the borough of Knowsley. She assists and supports companies and organisations of all types to develop and grow, to become more agile and more resilient. Over the next 12 to 18 months she aims to increase the number of young entrepreneurs in the borough, helping them start their own business on the right course; create an education / business forum which will energise work experience opportunities, and give a real meaning to the “World of Work”. Chris Walker Chris is regional managing editor of Trinity Mirror North West & North Wales. He started his journalistic career as a junior reporter on the Bradford Telegraph & Argus in 1974. During his reporting career he has covered many major regional, national and international stories, including the first murder, arrest, trial and appeal of Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, the attempted assassination of the Pope, the miners’ strike and five general elections. Chris is married to a teacher and they have three grown-up children, two of whom are in their first year of teaching. He has been a primary school governor since 1998, vice-chair for the past 10 years and chair of the curriculum committee for the past five years.

SEFTON CHAMPIONS

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

Mark Beedles

Lisa Murphy

Lesley Martin-Wright

Chris Walker

Pupils from St Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School in Netherton were celebrating after winning the Year 7 Sefton Football League. In a close league it went down to the last week and the top position changed hands on numerous occasions but St Ambrose Barlow held on to finish outright winners. Earlier on in the season the boys also won a 7a-side Sefton tournament hosted by Everton at Finch Farm . Team manager Michael Metcalf said: “The boys have played some really nice football over the year and conducted themselves really well. They have been a credit to our school. I hope they enjoyed their day when we visited Finch Farm”.

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p63-72_covers 03/05/2013 11:23 Page 66

Local Education News

Fundraising partnership Organisers of the Educate Awards, sponsored by Connex Education are proud to announce its support for the Teenage Cancer Trust. At the end of this year, we will be holding our annual Educate Awards ceremony, and have chosen the Teenage Cancer Trust to benefit as our official charity. Kim O’Brien, executive editor for Educate Magazine says: “We have selected the Teenage Cancer Trust based on the amazing work it does with young people in the North West and around the country. It is imperative that this organisation is recognised and supported for the fantastic service it provides.” The Teenage Cancer Trust is the only charity in the UK dedicated to providing expert treatment and support to young people with cancer right from the

beginning. Sian Day, North West regional fundraiser for Teenage Cancer Trust says: “It’s a real honour to be nominated as the charity for the Educate Awards. It’s not only a fantastic opportunity to raise money, but it’s a great way to raise awareness of the work that we do and the issues faced by young people with cancer.” Nominations for the awards are now open. More information is available on the website: http://www.educateawards.co.uk.

Help - get me out of here! Liverpool based company Connex Education raised money through a real bush tucker trial recently in aid of Comic Relief. A Facebook campaign leading up to the event had a voting system, allowing visitors to vote for their forfeit of choice. The bush tucker trial won outright against activities such as a custard pie in the face, a man versus food competition or a dance off. “To be honest” said Paul Birchall branch manager at the Liverpool HQ “we expected the dance off to be the most popular, we were not expecting to eat bugs and creepy crawlies!” Lisa Dovey, recruitment consultant who works closely with schools across Liverpool, Wirral The Connex Education team prepare for their and St Helens was the bush tucker trail star of the show for the Liverpool office, as she managed to eat every bug put before her including the dreaded giant black rhino beetle. As well as eating cockroaches, beetles, silk worms and crickets, the staff also undertook a series of forfeits throughout the day in order to boost the money raising extravaganza. A total of £1,500 was raised for Comic Relief. 66

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Could you be the next Chris Moyles? Would you like to be on the frontline of radio, supporting the work of the Radio Academy’s ‘best radio station in the northwest 2012’? If so, Knowsley Community College’s brand new BTEC extended diploma in radio (Creative Media Production) could be for you. Working alongside 99.8FM KCC Live, which has more than 50,000 listeners each week, the course is delivered via a combination of traditional and interactive media techniques, using recognised industry software and technology in practical workshops, lectures, and selfdirected study. Students will achieve a Level 3 qualification, equivalent to 3 A Levels, that provides valuable vocational experience and offers entry to university or paid work in the radio and creative media industry. Previous radio station members currently work in various professional radio job roles, including: Radio City 96.7, Rock FM, BBC1 Extra, BBC 5 Live. Candidates should be aged 16-24 with a minimum of 5 GCSEs at Grade C or above and will be expected to take on the responsibility of overseeing the management and day to day running of 99.8FM KCC Live as part of the course. Through these volunteering hours, students will gain the unique opportunity of building up key transferable skills for their future careers, whether in the radio or media industry, further education or the wider world of work. Units covered on the course include speech package production; music based programming; interview techniques; working as a freelancer; understanding the radio industry; news production for radio and developing a small business in the creative media industry. For further information or to sign up to this free, professionally recognised qualification in radio call 0151 481 4602 or email office@kcclive.com

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p63-72_covers 03/05/2013 15:54 Page 68

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Journey to work A bright future in engineering Fierce competition for jobs makes it worrying for parents advising their children on career options. Apprenticeships provide opportunities for school-leavers to gain recognised qualifications and earn while they learn. The story of one young man from Liverpool serves as a perfect example of the success they can bring. Whilst at school, Craig Sharman decided he wanted a career in engineering. After his A-levels he was unsure whether his best option was to look for a job, or to apply for university. Craig decided on a vocational route and started an engineering apprenticeship with the Peel Ports Group, supported by training provider, North West Training Council (NWTC). During his apprenticeship, it soon became clear to NWTC how committed Craig was. His attendance was 100% and he passed all his qualifications early with flying colours, pushing himself to complete further training to boost his skills. Craig was also flourishing in the workplace - as his skills grew, so did his confidence. He was soon given more responsibility including solving faults with machinery to improve safety and productivity levels. Craig also took the time to support his fellow apprentices. By demonstrating patience and understanding, he inspired others to produce quality work. These team-working skills proved to be invaluable when, in the third year of his apprenticeship, Craig was made the first point of call for engineering

maintenance problems. As well as an impressive list of nationally-recognised qualifications, Craig’s successes also include being crowned NWTC’s Apprentice of the Year award in 2012, and runner-up for Sefton Apprentice of the Year 2013. Shortly before finishing his apprenticeship, Craig accepted a position with Jaguar Land Rover. Craig was able to complete his apprenticeship at Jaguar Land Rover where he is still employed, with responsibility for operating highly technical car manufacturing equipment. He is also working towards a Bachelors Degree in Industrial Electronic Control Engineering.

Jan Sharman, Craig’s mum, said: “At first I was uncomfortable with Craig’s decision not to go to university after finishing school. But it soon became clear that Craig’s apprenticeship would give him an excellent foundation for a bright future. “I have watched Craig gain skills and confidence whilst building solid roots in a job he loves. If he had gone straight to college or university, he’d just be starting to look for work now. By choosing an apprenticeship he now already has an established career, but is still able to pursue higher education qualifications.” Speaking about his apprenticeship journey, says: “When I started my apprenticeship I had no practical engineering skills. “However I was passionate about becoming an engineer, and my training provider, North West Training Council, encouraged me to succeed. My apprenticeship has given me skills, knowledge, and a career I’m proud of.” Paul Musa, chief executive of NWTC, adds: “Craig’s story demonstrates how apprenticeships are a viable option for school-leavers. He is now a qualified, experienced engineer whereas many of his peers are struggling to find a job. “We are proud to say, Craig is now a valued member of the Jaguar Land Rover team.” Jaguar Land Rover recruit and develop many young apprentices each year and were recently awarded the title of Liverpool City Region Apprenticeship Employer 2013.

Lee is right on key Lee knew he wanted a career in music production. He left school after his GCSEs to try and break into the industry. After many months he had had no luck finding the right kind of work experience, even unpaid. Just as he was about to give up, Lee found out about Mode’s Key to Apprenticeships music industry training programme. He realised this could provide him with the work experience he needed, as well as music industry qualifications. With practical sessions on performing, using recording technology and DJing, Mode’s Key To Apprenticeships programme provided Lee with skills and a real insight into the music business. He learned how to use studio equipment and was encouraged to produce his own music – something which he was really good at, producing beats for local radio shows.

www.gmlpf.net

During his time with Mode, Lee achieved: • Level 2 certificate in Music Performance Skills • Level 1 certificate in Preparation for Employment • Level 2 extended certificate in Music Technology. Tutors are music industry professionals Lee said: “My time at Mode taught me all about the different aspects of a career in music performance and production. Being able to learn in a practical way, not just from a textbook, really brought the course to life. Because they actually still work in the music business, the tutors were able to help me understand the workings of the industry. They also introduced me to a network of contacts which has helped kick start my freelance career.” Lee can now start making a living producing other artists’ music. He will be

doing this whilst he continues to contribute to Liverpool’s vibrant music scene: writing, performing and selling his own music. Lee will also soon start training as a tutor and assessor for the Key to Apprenticeships music courses at Mode.

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ASSET TRAINING ADVERTORIAL

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Looking to start an apprenticeship? Much of what we offer cannot be mastered through studying alone, so our philosophy is to promote hands-on learning using essential theory to compliment and underpin the skills we teach.

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So whatever your vocation, we have the knowledge and facilities to help you to advance. Our “on the job” training includes a technical certificate and functional skills leading to a nationally recognised qualification. Apprentices earn while they learn. As one of the largest companies of its kind in the Greater Merseyside area, we are able to provide a wealth of experience so if you would like unparalleled opportunities designed to grow skills as an individual and increase your employment opportunities contact Asset Training on 0151 933 6393 or visit www.assettraining.co.uk

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p63-72_covers 03/05/2013 14:35 Page 72

A day in the life… Blakeway North, a regional office of Ten Alps-owned Blakeway Productions specialises in factual programming for a range of broadcasters. They have recently produced a series of short films focusing on apprentices, whether hightech engineer, plumber, chef, outdoor education tutor, dental nurse or hairdresser. An apprenticeship can be a terrific way into a job, to earn while you learn and offers a real alternative to University for many young people. This dynamic series of six short films follows a group of engaging teenagers as they try out being an apprentice for the day, in a wide variety of trades. Careers’ mentor Aimee Bateman helps guide prospective apprentices, offering them practical hints on how to make the right choices - and in a complimentary seventh film she offers top tips on creating an amazing CV; doing the ultimate interview and maximising the value of an apprenticeship. With school students now having to stay in full time education or training until the age of 18, this high-energy series provides plenty of useful advice to those who might benefit from a vocational education setting. The Hairdressing video was produced using 14year-old Beth Hargreaves who tries out being an apprentice hairdresser for a day. Beth finds out what employers are looking for from one of Britain’s top hairdressers, Andrew Collinge. Beth also shadows 17 year old apprentice hairdresser Natasha Brass.

Apprentice star Adam An award-winning proper geek!

Adam Hill, Wirral Apprentice of the Year receives his award from Steve McGovern of Proper Geeks Winning the Wirral Apprentice of the Year title at the Liverpool City Region Apprenticeships Awards marked a milestone in an outstanding journey for one young man from the Wirral and his training provider, Mercia Partnership. Adam Hill, left school at 16 with gaps in his skills and qualifications. A medical condition had led to him missing Year 10, and experiencing a mixture of home and hospitalbased teaching in Year 11. After completing some basic IT and Key Skills training, Adam, decided a career in computing was for him. Despite being turned down on a number of occasions, Adam persisted and the company, Proper Geeks, finally agreed that he could work in their workshop. Adam’s relationship with Proper Geeks grew and, after he had proved himself to be a committed member of the team, the company agreed to support him in undertaking an apprenticeship. After researching local apprenticeship training providers, Adam and Proper Geeks approached Mercia Partnership and Adam enrolled on an apprenticeship in ICT Support with them. Mercia Partnership also provided him with training to boost his maths and English skills. After completing his apprenticeship, Adam progressed onto an Advanced Apprenticeship. Throughout both his apprenticeships training, Adam continued to work diligently in his job at Proper Geeks. Adam is now the main mobile PC engineer and drives his Proper Geeks van, servicing computers at

Educate Plus sponsored by GMLPF

customers’ homes and business premises. Steve McGovern of Proper Geeks said: “We were worried at first that the extra workload of training an apprentice would mean that our business would suffer, but it’s been quite the opposite. “We first met Adam as a raw, shy and underdeveloped individual but he has continually taken on extra responsibilities and exceeded our expectations.” Speaking about his apprenticeship journey Adam said: “Missing so much school due to being ill made both my skills and my confidence suffer. I knew I wanted to work with computers and my training with Mercia Partnership, combined with the fantastic support I’ve received from Proper Geeks, has meant that I now have skills and a career to be proud of.” Sandra Birchall, sales and marketing manager at Mercia Partnership, said: “Adam has achieved a huge amount since undertaking his Apprenticeship and deserves all of the recognition and career success he’s enjoying. Stan Pochron, chief executive of the Greater Merseyside Learning Providers Federation (GMLPF), the organisation which sponsored the Liverpool City Region Apprenticeship Awards, said: “Adam has my warmest congratulations on both his award and his achievements as a whole. His story highlights how the combined encouragement of a supportive training provider and a committed employer can really work to drive the success of a dedicated young person to succeed.”

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MICHAEL JOHN ACADEMY THE SPECIALIST HAIR AND BEAUTY PROVIDER Have vacancies available to train in HAIRDRESSING • BARBERING • BEAUTY THERAPY • NAIL SERVICES & SPA THERAPY If you are aged between 16 to 59 and interested in an exciting and innovative career phone KATIE now on

0151 708 8558 or CALL IN TO OUR WORLD CLASS TRAINING ACADEMY 42-46 Renshaw Street, Liverpool L1 4EF www.michaeljohnacademy.com

Apprenticeships opportunities at MACTAC ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔

Children & Young People’s Workforce Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools Playwork Teamleading & Management 0151 482 2541 admin@mactac.org.uk www.mactac.org

Q&A Apprenticeships Q My 17 year old son is about to start an apprenticeship in business administration with a large IT firm. As an apprentice, will he be entitled to any holidays? I want to book a family break over the summer but I don’t know if he will be able to get any time off. A Like most other employees, apprentices are entitled to at least 20 days holiday a year, as well as bank holidays. It’s important to remember that as an employee, an apprentice is entitled to the same rights and conditions as other employees.

Q My daughter wants to do an apprenticeship as she says she wants to earn money while she trains to be a qualified electrician. I know that apprentices have to be properly employed but is there a minimum amount an employer has to pay their apprentices? A The National Minimum Wage (NMW) for apprentices aged 16 to 18 is £2.65 an hour, rising to £2.68 an hour in October 2013. However, as apprentices’ skills develop, many employers increase wages. Research shows that apprentices earn an average of £170 net pay per week. For apprenticeships aged 19 or over, once they have completed the first year of their apprenticeship, their employer must pay them the NMW for 18-20 year olds, currently £4.98 an hour, rising to £5.03 in October 2013.

Q My 16 year old son wants to leave school this year and go on an apprenticeship. He is dyslexic and I wonder if there is any specialist help he could access whilst on his apprenticeship? A All young people who go onto an apprenticeship are linked to a learning provider who delivers their training and provides the right on-going support to enable them to achieve their qualifications. Learning providers give tailored support to every apprentice, based on their individual needs, learning difficulties or disabilities. In the case of an apprentice with dyslexia, their support plan may include ensuring they have access to appropriate technology or coloured overlays for example. It’s important that your son lets his learning provider know he has dyslexia. This will trigger all the available support. Any information he discloses will be kept confidential.

Make the right choice for a career in hairdressing For more information contact: 0151 709 5942

or email: info@andrewcollinge.com andrewcollinge.com www.andrewcollinge.com

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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A cut above Academy offers excellent opportunities YOU don’t have to leave school to undertake a Study Programme with Michael John Academy (MJA). MJA will be offering study programmes from August 2013 either in partnership with schools for 14-16 year olds or by individual application and enrolment at MJA for 16-18 year olds. Schools can contact MJA for a full brochure of services and costings, which can be tailored to suit the school and its pupil’s needs. Study programmes can lead towards Principal Learning in Hair and Beauty Studies Level 1 or 2 which contribute to school result tables, or other more vocational qualifications that provide the young student with valuable skills, knowledge, abilities and employment prospects. MJA are a Grade Two GOOD Provider inspected by OFSTED in March 2012. MJA have a world class academy facility in the heart of Liverpool and training centres in both Southport and Preston. In

addition to state of the art facilities MJA offer ‘outstanding’ care, guidance and support. Schools who would like more

information on the services available can contact Christopher OR Christine on 0151 708 8558 for a brochure or to arrange a meeting.

JUST THE JOB Life just got a whole lot better for Loren Sylvester and Stephen Colquhoun after they both landed jobs thanks to a unique project ran by Merseyside Accredited Community Training & Assessment Centre (MACTAC) and Vauxhall Neighbourhood Council (VNC). They were both referred to MACTAC and the new innovative Journey to Work project delivered in collaboration with Neuro Support Liverpool, funded by national training provider Intraining, after suffering years of neurological problems, which depleted their confidence and prevented them from finding work. They have both taken part in the tenweek course which is designed to improve their literacy and maths skills, boost their confidence, find them work placements and introduce them to job opportunities. And they proved such a success on the project; they have been employed by the Neuro Support as learning mentors to support people with brain disorders on future courses. Steven, 24, from Huyton in the city, began to suffer severe epileptic siezures six years ago after an unprovoked attack left him unconscious. Neuro Support vocational services manager, Gerry Tyrrell, said: “We are delighted to be able to offer Loren and Stephen apprenticeships here at the centre because we have seen what great support they have shown to their peers and they

Educate Plus sponsored by GMLPF

both have the strength of character to make a difference. “It’s wonderful that we have been able to offer them jobs because we know they will help so many people in the future to overcome the problems that they themselves have experienced. They have first hand knowledge. There are so many people out there in Liverpool with

neurological disorders who need our support and we know we can help them into work. Gill Mason enterprise director at VNC said: “We have only ran one course, but already we can see that it’s making a difference and we have another 10 people just started. With just a bit of help, their lives can be turned around, too.”

GMLPF sign up as sponsor Greater Merseyside Learning Provider Federation (GMLPF) has recently signed up as sponsor of an exciting new award to be presented at the 2013 Educate Awards to be held in December. The Career Aspiration Award will recognise the school that has done the most to help its pupils and their parents understand the different career pathways open to school leavers. The judges of this award will be looking for innovative and creative approaches to providing pupils with advice and guidance on their career options. They will be looking for approaches that embrace the full spectrum of opportunities including both academic routes and vocational options such as Apprenticeships.

GMLPF champions professional learning through vocational programmes like Apprenticeships. It represents a membership of 60 Merseyside learning providers, supporting them in the provision of high quality training provision for employers, schools and individuals. Find out more at www.gmlpf.net or call 0151 707 8775

www.gmlpf.net

p73-84_covers 03/05/2013 17:18 Page 75

Could an apprenticeship be the route for you?

Myfuture

By Peter McEvoy, director/owner, Asset Training & Consultancy

uition fees are on the rise whilst graduate jobs are in decline, Students now leaving university with increased debt following rises in tuition fees, are likely to face years of hardship. The Prime Minister thinks it’s high time we stopped pushing university progression onto every pupil and started looking at the alternative options for those who would prefer a more vocational path into the workplace. Research shows that many employers would rather hire people who have opted for an apprenticeship than candidates that have been to university. This is because in most cases, apprenticeships do a better job of building skills that are useful in the working environment. Matthew Hancock, minister for skills explains: “The quality of apprenticeships has been improving…companies such as Rolls-Royce, Marshalls and BAE provide world-beating training within their apprenticeships. Now we want to go further, offering apprenticeships instead of university, as a route into the professions including insurance, accounting, and law.” It is predicted that the workforce is increasingly going to be composed of vocational achievers. The government is making a huge effort to ensure that these courses are once again at the forefront of people’s minds and that they offer a viable alternative to an academic route.

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Apprenticeships are designed to provide an education based on practice rather than theory and allows the creation of a “truly world-class, highly skilled workforce that can compete and thrive in the fierce global race we are in,” states David Cameron. People who choose this option learn by doing, and instead of finishing with a huge debt they get paid to train and achieve a qualification. In practice, this means that learners are not confined to the classroom, but get to experience the job role in a real working environment. For those unsure of their career path, it may be useful to know that apprenticeships are available in everything from manufacturing to customer service. Learners can study higher level apprenticeships which can open up management positions within their chosen industry. Apprenticeships typically last between one and four years, learners will even receive an hourly wage while they are completing their qualification.

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Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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‘SPECTACULAR’ SUCCESS

Competitors and models from TPM and Mode Training

Students shine at Hair and Performance Showcase A recent and unprecedented collaboration between tpm, Mode Training’s staff and students provided the successful platform for a stunning showcase of student skills, talent and creativity. ‘Spectacular Spectacular’ took place at Liverpool’s famous Grand Central Hall (The Dome), in March and provided the most befitting venue for a skills-circus. The show encapsulated five competitive events into four connected themes: Pirouette, Moulin Rouge, Burlesque and Cirque. Students from schools, Key to Apprentices, apprentices and advanced apprentices competed and performed ‘spectacularly’ in an exemplary showcase of entertainment. Advanced apprentices prepared suitable models whose remit was to participate as part of the evening’s floor show. Independent industry professionals adjudicated the competitive proceedings and commented on the incredible skill, talent and commercial validity of student’s work. A unique and outstanding aspect of the evening was the live djing, singing and dance provided by Mode’s Key to Apprentices, who also interpreted the event themes in their performances. There were winners and placed-competitors from both training companies and plenty for staff, learners, parents, employers and schools to be proud of. Images by Cetra Studio

Model of Molly O’Callaghan from Hooka salon

Intemediate apprentices get to work on cut and finish

tpm model by Danielle Moore from Shear Success

Laura Naylor from Studio 1 with her winning model

Key to Apprenticeship Level 1 barber winner Zack Bennett

DJ Vinny Speare and music technology student Jake Rowland spin some tunes

Winning model by Mica Matos of Hair by Diane Keith

Model by Kim Kirkpatrick of Zig Zag Walton

p73-84_covers 03/05/2013 16:50 Page 77

Ant & Dec Posh & Becks tpm & Mode Like all successful partnerships we work together to provide you with the essential skills & training to succeed in your chosen career. From Key 2 Apprenticeships to full apprenticeships our know-how means all our apprentices are in training for great futures.

Career specialists in:

Key 2 Apprenticeships Customer Service and Employment Skills

Key 2 Apprenticeships Hairdressing Music Technology Performance Skills using Music

Apprenticeships Hairdressing Barbering Childcare Business and Administration Customer Service

Apprenticeships Management Team Leading Customer Service Hairdressing Barbering

Specialists in high-quality apprenticeships 0151 709 6000 www.tpmnow.co.uk @tpmUK Training Plus merseyside

0151 709 4640 www.modetraining.co.uk @modetraining ModeTraining

p73-84_covers 03/05/2013 15:51 Page 78

Local Education News

Lessons in finance Every sixth form student in Liverpool will be able to study for a new finance qualification - to take advantage of a forecasted professional services jobs boom in the city Liverpool City Council and the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI) signed an agreement to enable pupils to study for a Diploma in Finance, Risk and Investment. An economic report on the Liverpool city region by former Minister for Merseyside Sir Michael Heseltine and ex-Tesco chief Sir Terry Leahy in 2011 estimated that an additional 22,000 jobs will be created in the professional services industry over the next decade. It is hoped the industry and university recognised qualification will give young people a competitive advantage when looking for work in the financial services industry. As well as learning about bonds, derivatives and assetbacked securities, they will find out about the importance of ethics and integrity and the causes of the global financial crisis and the problems in the Eurozone. Councillor Jane Corbett, cabinet member for education and children’s services, said: “This is a really important new qualification which will be offered to our young people, giving them a chance to develop a real knowledge and understanding of the world of finance. “It is really important that our young people understand the importance of responsible finance and how investment and wealth institutions impact on our everyday lives.” Archbishop Beck Catholic College in Walton will be the ‘hub’ for the professional qualification on behalf of schools across the city from September 2013. 78

Educate Magazine embraces social media Educate Magazine is now on Twitter. One of our goals is to increase our levels of interaction with parents, teachers and pupils. As a tri-annual magazine, we’re keen to ensure that we continue to provide an educational hub, which encompasses an up to the minute news service all year round. Lots of schools in the region are embracing the modern concept of social media. Twitter in particular is a great way to keep people informed on the latest news and stay in contact with parents and pupils. It’s also useful as a tool to interact with new people and gain creative ideas from other sources. We’ve been using our new Twitter account to bring together all of the relevant national and local education articles each day, as well as cherry picking our favourite educational resources from

around the internet. We’ve also been using it to find out what exciting things have been happening in our local schools. We recently published the first entry in our brand new blog. Educate doesn’t provide the content for this feed, it’s written by teachers and pupils in the area. Our first post came from Miss Taylor’s pupils at Calderstones in Allerton, who are currently involved in an allotment activity for their eco-project. Our blog will be posted once each month; it not only serves as a way for us to deliver interesting articles in between issues, but it allows schools to showcase their talents and talk about their current projects. Follow us: EducateMagazine

Former student achieves his goal

Danny Harrison receives a cheque off sixth form director Danny Hubball Rainford High Technology College has helped a former student achieve his goal of raising money for charity. Danny Harrison, 22, contacted Rainford High Technology College asking if its current students would help him raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust who help save the lives of people with blood cancer who need a blood stem cell, or bone marrow transplant. After Danny came to the college and gave a talk about the charity, students organised a range of events raising £795.79. Danny, who is now in his final year studying medicine at Sheffield University, said: “I knew students at Rainford would be happy to help but I was blown away by how much money they raised.” Sixth form director Danny Hubball added: “We were more than happy to help one of our popular and successful students raise money for this wonderful charity.” Danny, who achieved 5 A Grades at A-Level in mathematics, further mathematics, chemistry, biology and physics, returned to Rainford in March to do some valuable work with Year 10, Year 11 and Year 12 students who are interested in studying medicine.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Local Education News

£2 million investment in special schools Two special schools in Liverpool are set to benefit from a £2.1 million investment to provide extra classrooms. A report to the Mayor’s Cabinet recommended that Palmerston and Abbot’s Lea - both in Woolton - be extended to cater for increased demand for places. Palmerston, which teaches secondary aged children with severe learning difficulties, will get a four classroom extension to provide a post-16 centre and enable it to take on a further 48 pupils. Abbot’s Lea, which specialises in supporting youngsters with autism, will get an extra six classrooms. The investment in the site will save the city council £2 million a year as it means it will not have to send around 40 pupils on the waiting list for places next year out of the city to be educated.

Councillor Jane Corbett, cabinet member for education, said: “Our special schools do an amazing job providing our young people with a fantastic education. “However, both Palmerston and Abbot’s Lea desperately need to be extended to enable us to be able to cope with the demand for places. “This work will enable us to provide

STUDENTS GO RED

first class facilities for young people with special educational needs, and it is a fantastic and worthwhile investment.” The cost of the schemes is £929,000 at Palmerston and £1,234,000 at Abbot’s Lea. The new classrooms will have solar panels on the roof to keep energy costs low and will open in September 2013.

Where there’s muck, there’s maths Students from the Academy of St Francis of Assisi at the Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre

Beauty therapy students from Knowsley Community College pampered welldeserving staff at Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital recently for International Wear Red Day (IWRD) which aims to raise awareness of heart disease in women. The students, along with tutor Markos Kokkinos, worked hard to provide complementary therapies to many staff at the hospital in return for donations to the IWRD fund. The day was extremely successful and thoroughly enjoyable for both the students and staff. Christine Bell, head of corporate campaigns at the hospital, said: “It was a pleasure to work alongside Markos and his team of students. They were poised, extremely polite, friendly, efficient and skilled. The students are a great credit to Knowsley Community College and helped to raise awareness and funds for International Wear Red Day.”

Pupils from the Academy of St Francis of Assisi realised the importance of maths in the waste industry recently. 25 GCSE pupils visited the Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre to undertake a maths workshop ahead of their GCSE exam. The pupils were given a tour of the materials recovery facility and set a workbook of real-life questions, which related to the problem that Veolia receive a 30% increase of waste over the Christmas period. Mark O’Hagan, head of maths at the Academy, said: “The students gained a greater understanding of the maths questions because they were able to relate them to the recycling process in the facility and realise how maths is used everyday in this business”. The new style maths questions were used to help familiarise the

students with the questions they will be faced with in their GCSE exams. As well as a session presented by Veolia, the Academy’s consultant maths teacher and the head of maths gave the pupils a revision session in preparation for their GCSE exam. Sam Lawrence, education officer at the Recycling Discovery Centre said: “The pupils were fantastic, working together as a group to overcome any challenges faced throughout the day”. The day was a great success as 82.5% of the pupils who attended increased their grade by at least 1 GCSE level, and 70% of the group passed their GCSE maths exam with a grade C or above. If you would like to arrange a maths in business day at the Recycling Discovery Centre please get in touch on 0203 567 4200, or DiscoveryCentre@veolia.co.uk.

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

p73-84_covers 03/05/2013 11:30 Page 80

STAFF GATHER FOR CONFERENCE Schools urged to develop a ‘culture of safety’ MGL Liverpool’s annual spring conference took place this year at Liverpool Football Club’s, Anfield stadium. Nearly 200 teachers and headteachers from schools across the north west heard keynote addresses from outgoing National Association of Advisors for Computers in Education (NAACE) chairman, Miles Berry on the role of computing in the 2014 curriculum and Ken Corish, one of the authors of the 360 e-safety tool who urged schools to develop a ‘culture of safety’ within their communities. The delegates the opportunity to undertook practical workshops on new technology based challenges facing schools such as programming and e-publishing as well as the chance to speak directly to leading manufacturers such as Toshiba, Acer, Fujitsu and Smart. This free event was hosted by MGL, the largest independent provider of support services to schools across the North West. Managing director Carl Gilbertson said: “It’s clear from speaking to schools that there is a lot of anxiety about what the new curriculum will actually mean for them. As a company we’re uniquely placed to bring this eclectic mix of educationalists and technologists under the one roof to translate some of the jargon and hopefully give some practical solutions about what the future may bring for them”.

Attendees networking

MGL’s team run an ipad workshop

Welcome to delegates from MGL managing director Carl Gilbertson

Teachers meet suppliers

Delegates enjoy their Anfield experience

Ken Corish, Safer Internet Centre

One of the many MGL workshops

p73-84_covers 03/05/2013 14:17 Page 81

Curriculum Support

Managed Print Solutions

Marketing & Design

Websites

Internet Service Provision

Hardware Solutions Technical Support

For more information Email us at info@mglworld.com or visit www.mglworld.com or call 0151 473 5975 MGL Liverpool Fairfield House, Binns Road, Liverpool, L7 9NE T: 0151 473 5975 F: 0151 473 5976

MGL Manchester Crossacres Primary School, Crossacres Road, Wythenshawe, Manchester, M22 5AD T: 0161 436 2244 F: 0161 436 2344

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COLLEGE’S £8M DEVELOPMENT Turf turning marks start of work on Hugh Baird College Hugh Baird College celebrate the commencement of works on site its new £8 million, state-of-the-art community and higher education development. The turf turning event was attended by key representatives from the College and Sefton, including Hugh Baird College principal, Yana Williams; Hugh Baird College’s chair of governors, Jim Brown and MP for Bootle, Mr Joe Benton. The cutting of the turf marks the beginning of work on the new development, which is being undertaken by Wates Construction, a leading contractor in the north west. The new 2,600sq m development, which will open in January 2014, will feature a technologically advanced University Centre. Geraldine Sloan and Cath Sullivan

Peter Dowd, Joe Benton, MP, Simone Taylor, Yana Williams, Anthony Goulden (higher education student), Jim Brown, Steve Griffin, Mayor Linda Cluskey & Neil Elliott

Yana Williams, principal and chief executive of Hugh Baird College

Joe Benton, MP for Bootle & Owain Roberts

Jim Brown (Chair of the Corporation, Hugh Baird College)

Ian D'Arcy, Janet Trigg and Mike Mountfield

Paul Ashcroft and Pat Farrell

David Cain, Chris Pickup and Andrew Rogerson

Sandra Cooper, Peter Dowd (Leader of Sefton Council) and Cllr Linda Cluskey, Mayor of Sefton

Yana Williams (principal and chief executive, Hugh Baird) and Angus Hughes

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Fr From om education to employment... come along and ďŹ nd out how we can help.

Open Day Wednesday, W ednesday, 26th 26th June June 2013 2013 1 1pm pm â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 7 7pm pm We can offffer fe Free Bus Passes*, a free breakfast to all students, College Bursaries*, two year Scholarship Funding* as well as one to one support, a fully wireless campus and the chance to learn and grow in a secure and welcoming adult environment. *Subject to eligibility criteria

Come and see the plans for our new University Centr Centre. e.

To T o find out more more visit:

or call:

hughbaird.ac.uk hughbair d.ac.uk

0 0151 151 3 353 53 4 4444 444

Hugh Baird Baird College, Balliol Road, Bootle L20 7EW www www.facebook.com/HughBairdCollege .facebook.com/HughBairdCollege

The College is committed to Equal Opportunities.

www.twitter.com/HughBaird www.twitter.com/HughBaird

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PUPILS IN CHARACTER

A host of favourite book characters

St John Bosco once again had another successful world book day with both the teachers and the students participating with fantastic costumes. Every year, Year 7 students dress up as their favourite book character to celebrate the day but this year they were joined by Year 8 in the celebration. The fun activities celebrated and emphasised the importance of reading, the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;drop and readâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; event gave students the chance to read a book of their choice. Despite the fantastic costumes that everyone fashioned, the best dressed prizes awarded each student from each form class with the most creative imaginative design. Year 7 and 8 pupils join in the fun

In full character Year 8 pupils

Pupils from Broadgreen International School with residents from May Place

Getting the hang of technology

Broadgreen teaching staff get involved

i HEALTH IN BROADGREEN Student volunteers from the sixth form of Broadgreen International School, Liverpool recently joined elderly residents from May Place, a nursing home situated by the school, to help teach them the complexities and delights of information technology via ipads. This is all part of a project called iHealth which is being run by the Fiveways Trust alongside the school. iHealth is designed primarily to improve the health and well being of elderly residents in the community through the use of ipad technology. In the summer the project will move to Lee Valley pensioners and Broadgreen Primary school where primary pupils will join their sixth form counterparts in educating grandparents in the dark arts of information technology!

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Sing it. Play it . Lear n it .

with creating music

Theory Club / Rock Club / Band Skills / DJing / Arranging / Improv. / Garage Band / Jazz / Music ICT / Jam Pods

performing Whole Class Instrumental / Liverpool Youth Orchestra / Tours / Rock Bands / Wind Bands / iPlay / String Groups/ Brass Band / High Profile Venues / Woodwind Groups

Singing Choral / iSing / Resonate Singers / School Choirs / Massed Singing Events ...and much more! Telephone: 0151 207 8580 resonatehub@notredame.liverpool.sch.uk www.resonatehub.co.uk @resonate hub

LED BY NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC COLLEGE

formerly Liverpool

Music support servic e

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VISUAL FEAST FOR PUPILS

The cast of Annie thank the school band

Calderstones produce another masterpiece Following the huge success of last years musical ‘Oliver’, Calderstones again delighted audiences with a production of ‘Annie’ recently. Pupils from Dovedale, Gilmour, Sudley and Booker junior schools were invited by the Calderstones cast to watch a matinee performance earlier in the week, these were then followed by ‘full house’ performances on three consecutive nights to pupils, parents, staff and the local community. Audiences were thoroughly entertained and even treated to a special guest - ‘Max’ the dog!

Jessica Murray as Molly (orphan)

Annie played by Holly Nicholls

Some of the cast

A homeless person (Beth Tynan)

Miss Hanninghan (Jaya Bhavnani) attempts to charm Mr Warbucks

Mr Warbucks residence

Matthew Roberts as Oliver Warbucks

Callum Roberts sings ‘Show Business’

Rooster (Harry Scott), Annie (Holly Nichols) and Lily (Niam Mercer)’

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PLEASE SIR CAN WE HAVE SOME MORE!

Fagin’s Gang - Year 7 and 8 girls

Crowds flock to see outstanding performance The audiences who flocked to see Broughton Hall’s production of Oliver were certainly demanding more after each evening’s performance. A committed and talented cast drawn from all 3 key stages, spent months in preparation for this wellloved musical. A dedicated support and production staff including sixth form students worked together to ensure the final performances were of the highest possible quality.

Mr SowerberryKatie Wright, Mrs Sowerberry – Sarah Ball and Oliver-Eleanor King

Widow Corney – Hannah Brady and Mr Bumble -Eva Rodrigo

Fagin and boys

Charlotte Bresweth - Nancy with Fagin and Bet

Workhouse boys Year 7 and 8 girls

Bet - Carys O’Sullivan

Katie Costello as Fagin with Dodger and the boys

The Artful Dodger – Derryn Shaw

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INTERNATIONAL WEEK Around the world in two and a half days Every year at Litherland High School the week before Easter has always been International Week. Pupils and staff have taken part in all kinds of different activities over the years from Chinese lion dancing, staff zumba and Tai Chi classes and plenty of international games! This year they thought they would take it a step further! The whole of Year 7 and 8 spent two and half days working towards their very own International Market! They created their very own currency the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Livoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, and the target was to become the group who could make the most livos! Pupils spent the first day learning about the different continents and some of the customs, this included South American dancing and earning livos to spend in the market by completing different activities! The second day was production day! Each class was given a box of items to make things which represented their continent. Each group had to assign a project manager and other roles within the group. The last day was market day! The Avenue was transformed into a bustling market place with 13 shops all trying to sell their goods!

Some of the products from Asia

A Walk through the World

A happy customer!

Leave your print on the World

Products from South America

Big Ben on the move!

International gingerbread cookies!

South American dancing!

One of the Europe stalls is ready to sell, sell sell!

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GIRLS TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE

Students from Woodchurch High School, Wirral start on their design

Robots battle it out to be the best Forty female students, from secondary schools across Greater Merseyside, gathered together at Deyes High School in Maghull for the ‘MerseySTEM Vex Robotics Challenge’ recently. The girls-only event, organised to celebrate International Women’s Day, involved students working in their teams to build a Vex Protobot, then battling their robots against each other in the ‘tennis ball tussle’, a ‘robot wars’ style competition. The quarter finals saw Meols Cop High School, Sefton, competing against Woodchurch High School, Wirral and The Bankfield School, Halton, taking on All Saints Catholic CFL, Knowsley. Eventually, in the final, Woodchurch gave an impressive performance but it was Bankfield that left with the winner’s trophy.

The equipment each team had to make their robots from

The girls do battle

The stage is set as each team prepare their robots

Pupils from All Saints Catholic CFL find a problem

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CELEBRITY BAKE-OFF

Rudy Evans and Mollie Davis lay on a surprise for chef Simon Rimmer

Chef joins Anfield Infant School for lunch Celebrity chef Simon Rimmer joined pupils from Anfield Infant School during a school bake-off. The Wirral TV chef took on the role of expert judge to choose the three best recipes. The children were asked to bring in their ideas from home involving eggs, which were then provided by the school hens Rafa and Rosie. The Sunday Brunch host also got involved with the cooking, as teachers and parents helped the children prepare their meals for tasting. The bake-off, sponsored by Lakeland, was organised to encourage the children and their parents to cook healthy meals at home. Simon said: “It was brilliant to be involved with the scheme, it is a great idea and I am very proud to be a judge”. Mr Metcalf gives the instructions to the junior and senior chefs

Olivia Astles makes a sauce

Mollie Davis gives Simon a helping hand

Dylan Ashcroft dices some carrots

Miss - we’ve finished our meatballs

Mrs Bromley with Samuel Laila and Olivia

Mollie and Rudy get their hands dirty

Mya Quinn, Charlie Roberts and Jennifer Hanson help Mr Hanson

Samuel LittleSmith hard at work

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COMIC CELEBRATIONS Generous staff and students at Childwall Sports and Science Academy raised 100’s of pounds for Comic Relief in a range of activities including fancy dress and also a high quality set of performances of arts which were completed by youngsters from Year 7 all the way through to Year 13. The concerts which were exceptionally well received by the students involved singers, soloists, choirs, groups and dancers. The planning for the day long celebrations involved all staff and students. Disco fever at Childwall

Even the teachers joined in the fun Geek chic!

ONE OF A KIND IN KNOWSLEY

Gee Walker with pupils from Knowsley primary schools

Pupils show the different forms of discimination

Gee Walker, mother and founder of The Anthony Walker Foundation recently appeared at Park View Primary School in Huyton to participate in the celebration presentation of the ‘One of a Kind’ project. The project involved the children from seven Knowsley primary schools coming together for a half day session each week for five weeks. The sessions involved a range of speakers as well as interactive and creative activities to raise the children’s awareness of issues such as discrimination, stereotyping and the devastating impact of hate crime - and the importance of promoting diversity and respecting people from different Pupils help raise backgrounds awareness

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Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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PUPILS HAIR RAISING DAY Science can be fun as students enjoy the activities Over 650 students from primary schools across Liverpool visited the Academy of St Francis of Assisi for a day of learning and fun. It was the culmination of science week and Red Nose Day! In the main hall students were treated to a ‘science roadshow’. Experiments were conducted with dry ice, chemicals and electricity. The students were taught the secrets behind Harry Potter’s magic tricks and even some of the special effects used in the Star Wars films. Finally, the Van de Graaff generator was wheeled out for a hair-raising finale. Around the rest of the school, the students took part in activities to help raise awareness of the work done by Comic Relief. Many of the staff and students wore something red to get into the spirit of the day.

It’s called the ‘Van de Graaff’ look, sir

Miss Boylan ‘freezing flowers’

Huff, puff and blow the school up!

Design your own Red Nose

What happens next?

Steady, aim, fire!

Miss Booth and the shocking shakes!

Full steam ahead with Mrs Pugh

Harry Potter popsicles

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CHEFS FOR THE DAY

Owen and Lewis makes a start on their dessert

For three days pupils from St Laurence’s Catholic Primary School in Southdene were busy developing their culinary skills and food knowledge, thanks to a series of healthy eating workshops delivered for the first time in Kirkby by Junior Chefs’ Academy. The workshops were arranged by head teacher Mr Paul Cronin, who sees great benefits in teaching children about the value of food from a very young age. “The children have responded with real enthusiasm to the Junior Chefs workshops, they’ve been really focused and attentive, and it’s great to see them being given a real understanding of food in ways that are both memorable and Pupils learn new fun”. culinary skills

Pupils try out the ‘taste test’

BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT

The Duchess talking to members of the school choir

The Duchess of Gloucester formally cutting the ribbon to open Sadie’s Garden

St James, Bootle were recently honoured by a visit from Brigitte, Duchess of Gloucester. She came to St James’ to open a wonderful new venture in the grounds of the primary school, ‘Sadie’s Garden’. It is named after a much loved parishioner, Sadie McMullen. Headteacher, Mrs Holleran, said: “She always wanted what was best for this parish and worked hard to ensure that our young people received the opportunities that Duchess Brigitte with Year 6 perhaps others could students and school not have”. governor, Victoria Lyon The Duchess was entertained by the schools African Drum Corp who last performed publically at Liverpool Cathedral for the Don Bosco relics’ tour, she then took a tour of the school before meeting with schoolchildren and teachering staff.

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Viewpoint

Longer days and shorter holidays for pupils? Education Secretary Michael Gove has said that schools should have longer school days and shorter holidays, as the education system is being “handicapped” by a 19th century timetable, when we had an agricultural economy and the majority of mums stayed at home. Does the current system leave pupils at a disadvantage?

Pat Speed

Afi Oladipo-Lordson

James Egan

Clare Chapman

Pat Speed, headteacher at Great Crosby Catholic Primary School, Crosby Children at primary schools are taught at a greater pace and intensity than ever before, so to extend their hours of learning through longer days or shorter breaks could disrupt a fine balance and ultimately prove detrimental. Teachers recognise mental fatigue in pupils, especially among younger ones, towards the end of the day, week or term. I was with Mr Gove recently at a National College for Teaching and Leadership event in Nottingham when he spoke about this topic. He says he wants to stimulate rather than dictate a discussion about its merits and see what evidence there is to support change. Working in shorter blocks and spreading the holidays more equally across the school year may have merit. Family life, childcare arrangements, as well as the implications for staff will need to be fully considered. Afi Oladipo-Lordson, Year 10 Calderstones School ‘I think that the statement by Michael Gove is wrong. Yes times have changed, but people haven’t. Children need rest and time to play. We often start the day by waking up early and by the last lesson we are absolutely shattered and can’t wait to go home to do our own thing. If we have longer school days children will lose total concentration and I don’t see how that can be good for our education. So what if we go home and our parents are still in work that is what holidays are for, to give us time to spend with our families and friends. Shortening this time is not a good thing. I do not agree with Mr Michael Gove!’ James Egan, Newly qualified teacher Michael Gove's recent comments regarding the lengthening of school hours and shortening term time prove how out of touch he is with the professionals he is allegedly supposed to represent. Although many teaching staff agree the structure of the school year requires alteration, Mr Gove and his department are yet to offer viable alternatives. I would suggest that Mr Gove himself takes on board the opinions and views of teachers who are, on the whole, not the unreasonable and obstructive individuals painted out to be by the minister for education and push themselves to the limit to give the next generation every chance of success. Clare Chapman, parent and teacher Having taught for the past 21 years and some of them abroad, I do believe that the six weeks summer holiday is redundant in today's society. I’d argue that it would be more productive to move to a six term model whereby each term is separated by a two week break. If the school day were to be extended there would be the opportunity for a variety of enrichment activities to be offered to pupils - sports, technology projects, languages, music, arts and theatre perhaps. The difficulty for schools would be in ensuring that staffing levels were increased to maintain and improve current PPA provision.

Education secretary Michael Gove has called for longer school days and a cut in the length of holidays, which he said would improve performance and make life easier for working parents. The reforms could allow state schools to choose to stay open until 4.30pm and introduce a shorter, four-week summer holiday for pupils from September next year, representing a profound change for parents used to tailoring their working hours to the classroom timetable. Gove told a conference in London, organised by the Spectator magazine, that pupils were being handicapped in comparison with their peers in other countries. “The structure of the school term and the school day was designed at a time when we had an agricultural economy,” he said.

Have your say: To suggest or contribute to a topic for debate in Viewpoint email us at: educate@merseymirror.com or to view our on-line poll visit: www.educatemagazine.com

Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils

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Darling buds

Girls glow

boys bloom IN SUMMER FLORALS 6. 7.

1. Cream Fluro flower shorts, £10, River Island 2. Vest top with corsage, £6, John Lewis 3. Suede and leather floral corsage pump, from £18, Marks and Spencer 4. Pink flower sunglasses, £4.50, Next 5. Candy couture skinny jeans, £14, Matalan 6. Glitter flower clip and brooch, £3.50, Claire’s Accessories 7. Flower hair garland headwrap, £6, Claire’s Accessories

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2. 6.

1. J by Jasper Conran floral shirt, £14 -£20, Debenhams 2. Jeep Applique Shirt, £20, Monsoon 3. Hibiscus boys short (part of two pack), from £14, Next 4. Hibiscus print flip flop, £2, Matalan 5. Printed swim shorts, £12.99, Zara Kids 6. Buster swim shorts, £12, Monsoon

Stockists____claires.co.uk, next.co.uk, marksandspencer.com, matalan.co.uk, johnlewis.com, riverisland.com, debenhams.com, monsoon.co.uk

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Having built our new school weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re well equipped to construct your childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s education

New School Building - Opening September 2013 For more information please visit www.notredameliverpool.com or call us on 0151263 3104

ES A H QU'IL

BON

LE BON DIE U

Everton Valley L4 4EZ Telephone: 0151 263 3104 ao@notredame.liverpool.sch.uk www.notredameliverpool.com Headteacher: Mrs F Harrison BSc (Hons) NPQH

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Book Review

In association with

by Jennifer Dobson

5-8 Years Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Return of Tippy Tinkletrousers by Dav Pilkey - £6.99 Captain Underpants returns! In their ninth epic adventure, George and Harold encounter a familiar face - Professor Poopypants! He now goes by the name Tippy Tinkletrousers and is determined to seek revenge for all of the teasing of his old name. The Cat Mummy by Nick Sharratt, Jacqueline Wilson - £4.99 Verity adores her cat, Mabel, and is desperately sad when she dies. Remembering her recent school lessons about the Ancient Egyptians, Verity decides to mummify Mabel and keep her hidden. Verity's dad and grandparents can't bear to talk about death but when they eventually discover what Verity has done, the whole family realises it's time to talk. Poppy the Piano Fairy by Daisy Meadows, Georgie Ripper - £4.99 The Music Fairies desperately need Rachel's and Kirsty's help! Jack Frost and his naughty goblins have stolen the fairies’ Magical Musical Instruments, which means that music is being ruined for everyone! Jack Frost plans to use the instruments to help him win a national talent competition in the human world, and with the help of the enchanted instruments, he's bound to win.

9-12 Years Fiction Tom Gates is Absolutely Fantastic (at Some Things) by Liz Pichon - £6.99 This takes the form of Tom's battered homework diary - crammed with his doodles and stories. ‘Exciting news!’ Mr Fullerman announces that class 5F are going on an ‘Activity Break'! Which should be fun. As long as I don't get stuck in a group with anyone who snores or worse still with ... Marcus Meldrew. Moon Bear by Gill Lewis, Mark Owen - £8.99 When twelve-year-old Tam is sent to work at a bear farm in the city, he has never felt so alone. He hates seeing the cruel way the bears are treated, but speaking up will mean losing his job. And if he can't send money home, how will his family survive? When a sick cub arrives at the farm, Tam secretly nurses it back to health and they develop an unbreakable bond. The Flip-flop Club: Star Struck by Ellen Richardson - £5.99 Elly, Tash, and Sierra are back for another Flip-Flop Club adventure! It's time for the Sunday Island Music Festival, and stages, tents, and ice-cream stands cover Melody Meadows. The headline act is being kept top-secret, so when the three girls discover that it's none other than their favourite girl band, they're buzzing with excitement!

Teenage Fiction Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green - £7.99 One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, teenager Will Grayson crosses paths with..."Will Grayson"! Two teens with the same name who run in two very different circles suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions. They team up to produce the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high-school stage. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey - £7.99 The Passage meets The Hunger Games in The 5th Wave - a gripping new series from Carnegie-shortlisted Rick Yancey. After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave. On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. Invisibility by David Levithan, Andrea Cremer - £7.99 Stephen is used to invisibility. He was born that way. Invisible. Cursed. Elizabeth sometimes wishes for invisibility. When you're invisible, no one can hurt you. So when her mother decides to move the family to New York City, Elizabeth is thrilled. It's easy to blend in there. Then Stephen and Elizabeth meet. Are you a librarian, teacher or purchasing manager? Do you buy books for your business or institution? Waterstones Liverpool offers a comprehensive account sales service. Contact Sarah Hughes, Children's Department, Liverpool ONE, 12 College Lane, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 3DL. Tel: 0151 709 9820

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WHERE CAN WE GO? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region

The Secret Garden One e o f r thly i fam

Battle of the Atlantic Commemoration weekend

29 June 2013 7:00pm Speke Hall, Liverpool 0151 427 7231 Adult £10, Child £5

25-27 May 2013, 1-4pm Merseyside Maritime Museum, Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AQ. Tel: 0151 478 4499 Join the Maritime Museum as they commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic - a vitally important part of Liverpool's past. This family friendly event includes talks, role-play and craft activities for all the family. Historian Dan Snow talks about Liverpool’s pivotal role in the campaign at sea with a free lecture on Saturday 25 May from 2-3pm. Around 25 warships will arrive in the city from countries around the globe including Canada, Germany, Italy, Russia and USA. Activities will take place at the waterfront and city centre including a cathedral service, veterans parade, a special band concert by Her Majesty’s Royal Marines at the Philharmonic Hall, a 40s themed party at St George’s Hall, a fly past and a James Bond-style display involving the Royal Marines. The Museum’s very own Brocklebank tugboat will also play a part in the event.

What lies behind the mysterious door in the garden wall? Classic children's tale by Frances Hodgson Burnett, retold by The Bookworm Players, Liverpool's premier children's theatre company. Outdoor theatre on the iconic North Lawn at Speke Hall. Your chance to relive the story of Mary Lennox the sour-faced, sassy, 10-year-old girl whose time is occupied by wondering about the secret garden and a strange crying sound that can sometimes be heard around the house which the servants ignore or deny. Weather appropriate clothing and footwear advised and don't forget your picnic!

Esco Williams Homecoming Friday 28 June, 7:00pm. Tickets: Free The Epstein Theatre, 85 Hanover Street Liverpool 0844 888 4411

FUTURE EVENTS

Esco Williams returns to his hometown, Liverpool, for the ‘grand finale’ of his “Stand Up Speak Out” tour in partnership with the Anthony Walker Foundation. This is NOT to be missed. Esco Williams – MOBO UnSung Winner 2012 – is joined by his band The Kontrollers for a one-night only show. MTV Brand New 2012 runner-up and self-professed ‘soul-powered nerd’ has vocals that dig deep into the soul of listeners; providing a rich R ‘n’ B / Soul experience.

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Greato one t h watc

Saturday 11 May Rhythm and Rap with World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker Liverpool Cathedral www.cathedralshop.com Tickets: £5 (£2.50 concessions) An amazing evening of rhythm and rap is happening at Liverpool Cathedral on May 11th. As part of the cathedral’s contribution to the In Other Words festival they will welcome three amazing talents – Harry Baker, Kof and Ady Suleiman for a fantastic evening. World Poetry Slam Champion and Edinburgh Festival favourite Harry Baker will dazzle with wit and lyrical artistry. Harry comes with five star reviews and acclaimed performances across Europe - as Radio 1 said "simply put the greatest performer on earth". Alongside Harry they welcome local singer songwriter Kof performing the words of young people from the Welcome to my World Project telling real life stories of growing up on city streets. If that's not enough 1Xtra favourite and LIPA student Ady Suleiman complements the bill with a raw talent that takes the breath away. Ady has already supported Professor Green and is tipped for future greatness.

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Wednesday 12 June

Saturday 18 May

FILM and GAME REVIEW Venus and Serena Directed and produced by: Maiken Baird and Michelle Major The Dragon that Squeaked St George’s Hall, Liverpool 0151 225 6911 www.stgeorgesliverpool.co.uk

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare The Atkinson, Lord Street, Southport 01704 533333

St George’s Hall storytelling day. A day of fun family storytelling and author readings. Several popular writers will be sharing their stories and talking about how they became authors in this series of fun, exciting and sometimes a little bit scary events.

All 37 plays in 97 minutes! An irreverent, fast-paced romp through the Bard's plays. Join the madcap men in tights as they weave their wicked way through all of Shakespeare's comedies, histories and tragedies in one wild ride that will leave you breathless and helpless with laughter. Sunday 7 July

Wednesday 3 July

Swan Lake Liverpool Empire Theatre, Liverpool 0844 871 3017 Tickets: £10-£38

Live from Jodrell Bank: The Transmissions Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL 01477 571766

The greatest romantic ballet of all time is brought to life by Tchaikovsky’s haunting and unforgettable score. From the impressive splendour of the palace ballroom to the moon-lit lake where swans glide in perfect formation, this compelling tale of tragic romance has it all.

The Transmissions are a series of one off day shows taking place on an outdoor stage in the shadow of the observatory. Acts include New Order, Johnny Marr, The Whip, Jake Evans and Hot Vestry. Under 10’s must be accompanied by adults. It’s a show like no other. Tickets: £39.50 Saturday 27 July

Thursday 11 July

Not to beed miss

Mobile Homme Edge Hill University St Helens Road, Ormskirk 01695 584480

80 Miles from Home Unity Theatre Hope Place, Liverpool 0844 873 2888

The outdoor spectacular from French street theatre troupe Transe Express is an aerial experience to remember for all the family. Amid suspended musicians a graceful trapeze artist, performing aerial acrobatics above the crowd. Free event - please book your ticket at the box office.

1941 and Hitler’s bombs are raining down on Liverpool. When a widowed farmer opens her home to eight Liverpool evacuees, all their lives are about to be changed forever. When they hear a rumour there’s buried treasure on Flo’s land the real adventure begins. Tickets: £5.50

Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly For those who love sport this fly-on-thewall documentary is a must. The film takes us inside the lives of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, during a year when debilitating injuries and lifethreatening illness threatened to take them out of the game once and for all. The film takes an unfiltered look into the lives of the greatest sister-act professional tennis has ever seen. In a sport where they were not welcomed, the indomitable Williams sisters faced the opposition with grace and courage not only breaking new ground for female and African American athletes everywhere, but dominating the women's game for over a decade. The film tells the inspiring story of how these two women, against all odds, but the help of visionary parents, made it to the top. Also explores the struggle of these two ageing superstars during the 2011 tennis season as they battled life and career-threatening health problems.

MR CRAB Illusion Labs iphone and ipad Verdict: ★★★★✩ By Andy Kelly Mr Crab is deceptively adorable. The scuttling, googly-eyed protagonist may lure in casual players and platforming newcomers, but it progressively becomes very addictive. The natural difficulty ramp sets it apart from its fellow mobile platformers. By the time I reached the late stages, Mr Crab had me firmly in its claws. It all begins unassumingly enough. Mr Crab is an expressive little hat-wearing hero that auto-runs from side to side as he makes his way up circular patterns of sand piles, trees, rock formations and ice crystals. The stage rotates around him, switching direction when he hits a wall, and you navigate using a simple control scheme: short tap for a short jump, long tap for a long jump. Determining which to use as you jump across platforms and up walls is the key to its devilish simplicity. Mr Crab is an adorable game. Though it could have spent more time iterating on its eventual difficulty, it’s the right size as a digestible chunk of the platformers of yesteryear. Conquest feels like an accomplishment, and I can only hope more skill-testing crab walks are on the way.

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My School Days Ryan Doyle – World free running champion

My School: My primary school was St Paschal Baylon, Childwall and my secondary school St Francis Xavier's College, Liverpool.

My Favourite Extra-Curricular Activity: Filming was and has always been a passion of mine. I did a bit in sixth form, I really wanted to be a film-maker.

My Favourite Teacher: Mrs Schofield, an art teacher at SFX, not only was she very interesting but she treated all us kids as if we were her own. Favourite Subject at School: ICT, I had a passion for IT and found it fascinating it was like a window to the world for me.

Do you remember your first school crush? Yeah! Her name was Jenine, I was gutted when she moved to Brighton, but I remember that my ICT teacher was pretty hot at secondary school too.

Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek? Probably a bit of both at times. I knew what I had to do to get on and just did what I needed to pass my exams.

My Favourite Book: I wasn’t a great reader of books but I loved the Goosebumps series. School Dinners: I have really bad memories of school dinners at primary school, so much so that when I went to secondary school I always had a packed lunch. Jamie Oliver was too late for me!

My Favourite Childhood Band/Singer: Eminem, I just loved the whole rap scene and still do. I wasn’t a fan of bands, particularly boy bands.

My Ambitions at School: I always wanted to make an action film, and I’m almost there! I have always thought that one day I will be behind the camera. My other ambition was to be a stuntman, Jackie Chan was a film hero of mine.

Liverpool born Ryan Doyle is a freerunner and parkour world champion and is one of the founding athletes of the world freerunning and parkour federation. Ryan is also four times National Tricking Champion, twice world free running champion and a gold medalist in martial arts from various competitions around the world. As soon as he graduated he flew himself to the Red Bull Art of Motion 2007 event in Vienna, Austria, the first free running competition in the world, where he became the World Champion. Ryan has also toured the UK with a Christian, hiphop rap band, and incorporated varoius stunts in the shows in which they performed. He has always been interested in film work, and his inspiration he says is martial arts actor Jackie Chan. Ryan along with brother Anthony and friends have set up Airborn Entertainment, a production company in Liverpool that teaches media and parkour workshops to schools and universities. With the success of parkour and Ryans success, Airborn has grown to the Airborn Academy offering opportunities and a home for the large parkour community in Liverpool.

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Family adventure, for only a tenner Why not take the family on a bit of an adventure, with a great value Family Ticket from Merseyrail. There’s so much to see and do across our network that you won’t be able to ﬁt it all into just one day! All Zone Family ticket (2 Adults, 3 Children) £10.00 For unlimited off peak travel across the Merseyrail network.

www.merseyrail.org/familyfun Wirral images copyright of Wirral Council.