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May - August 2018
Career choices A guide to apprenticeships Trent Alexander-Arnold School days remembered
Deadline for entries 24 June
Term-time holidays Are employers playing their part?
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Educate Contents 35
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Welcome... Welcome to the May edition of Educate
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Summer is almost upon us and for many students approaching the end of their time at school; there are big decisions to be made. The changing face of work-based learning through apprenticeships is one pathway which has changed considerably in the last few years. But don’t worry help is on hand with our special insightful guide to make sure you’re well equipped and fully informed.
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Features
53-54
6-9
Eco News Students transform outdoor learning area
The next step We take a look at the changing face of work-based learning
56 Viewpoint Promoting good mental health
18-19 Meet the headteacher Wendy Walters, headteacher at Rudston Primary School
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28-29
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Meet the headteacher Niamh Howlett, headteacher Bellerive FCJ Catholic College
GDPR Final checklist
Educate 16+ Education, training and employment
99 35-37 Present and correct School attendance
Book review This season’s must reads
100-101 76-77 Thoughts worth sharing Bitesize thinking
Slide into summer Footwear fashion
104-105 47-51 Getting to know you A look at the businesses behind the Educate Awards 2018
Carving a successful career is something both Wendy Walters, headteacher, Rudston Primary School and Niamh Howlett, headteacher, Bellerive FCJ Catholic College know a lot about. They each share their personal journey into teaching with us, as well as how their respective schools are developing a love of learning, self confidence and self-esteem in children, to ensure each child fulfils their potential and future career aspirations.
Where can we go? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region
106 My school days Trent Alexander-Arnold 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 Tel: 0151 709 7567 Photography Liam Deveney, Robin Clewley Editorial Alan Birkett, Christine Toner 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.
With the summer holidays fast approaching and the issue of taking time off during term-time still a subject of much debate, we consider whether employers are doing enough to make it easy for parents to take holidays during school holidays, or whether they could do more to support good attendance in schools. There may be the GDPR deadline to get past first, but please don’t forget 24 June, the final date for entry submissions to this year’s Educate Awards, in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh. This issue we profile each of our wonderful sponsors so you can get to know the businesses behind the awards, enabling us to deliver the largest celebration of education for the whole of the North West. To enter please visit www.educateawards.com
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The Next Step
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The Next Step
You know the career you want, you just don’t know how best to get to it. Perhaps an apprenticeship could be the answer? We take a look at the changing face of work-based learning.
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The Next Step
EARN WHILE YOU LEARN
GET QUALIFIED
GAIN VALUABLE EXPERIENCE
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The Next Step
Professions that previously might have only been accessible if you had a degree are opening up and you could now become an accountant, a banker, a lawyer or a nurse via an apprenticeship.
Thinking of applying for an apprenticeship? Yoou ca can find out what’s on offer by visiting: www.gov v..uk/topic/further .uk/topic/fur -education-skills/apprenticeships For a full list of the Degree Apprenticeships on offer at LJMU, visit: www.ljmu.ac.uk/study/degree-apprenticeships/courses
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Primary News
Sharing the journey Schoolchildren add almost 400 miles to charity challenge Primary school children from a local Wavertree school raised over £1,000 when they teamed up with the auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool to join thousands of others to help complete a 24,900-mile walk around the world in solidarity with refugees. Over 350 school children from Christ the King Catholic Primary School were joined by Bishop Tom Williams to support the international development charity CAFOD by completing a one mile sponsored walk around their playground – contributing to the combined total of 940 miles already walked – as part of the Share the Journey campaign. Walking almost 400-miles collectively, the staff and children at the school decided to continue with their walk despite the cold and wind, as they knew that refugees and migrants had to travel much further and in much harsher conditions and circumstances than themselves. Headteacher at Christ the King, Mrs Griffin, said: “Our families at Christ the King are very generous and always willing to help out where and when they can. The children have a great understanding of the work that CAFOD does and are always keen and ready to help those less fortunate than themselves. “It was lovely to welcome Bishop Tom to our school on this day. He was able to
say Mass; complete the sponsored walk and have a tour of the school with two of our school councillors. It was a great day for the whole school community.” Eleven-year-old Libby, who took part in the walk, said: “It was really nice to walk
with my friends and talk about the different journeys we have been on. I raised money because I know it is important to help other people. I know how lucky I am and that I shouldn’t take things for granted.”
‘Excelente’ teaching practice leads to Sutton Manor receiving award A St Helens teacher has been praised for her influential role in helping secure a prestigious award for her school. Throughout the year, Alison Wilkinson, who teaches Spanish to KS2 pupils at Sutton Manor Primary School, has demonstrated a number of strengths in order for the Forest Road based community primary school to gain an ‘Enhancing’ Primary Languages Development Award. This award is designed to give schools the opportunity to raise the profile of modern foreign language learning and to embed good teaching and learning in the curriculum. An example of these strengths to meet the criteria of making language fun and interesting was introducing pupils to superheroes, unicorns and dragons in Spanish – as well as including Spanish books in World Book Day activities, and having a good old Spanish sing along during assemblies. Praising Mrs Wilkinson for her ‘excelente’ work, Sutton Manor Primary School headteacher Monica Gladman said: “Alison’s commitment and enthusiasm for her job really is a breath of fresh air and this has helped our pupils grasp a basic understanding of the Spanish language from an early age which is a great advantage to have. “On behalf of everyone at Sutton Manor Primary School, I’d like to thank Alison for her tremendous contribution. I know the children here are keen to further improve their Spanish and they’re in great hands under the guidance of Mrs Wilkinson.”
Seaforth school achieves special award A Sefton school has become the first mainstream setting in England to achieve an ‘ADHD Friendly School’ quality mark. Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School in Seaforth is dedicated to meeting the needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, and has spent the last two years training staff as well as ensuring access to physical activity and exercise for pupils with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD) and teaching self-calming strategies. The school also introduced a parents’ skills group so that a number of tools and best practice methods could be replicated at home. Headteacher of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Mrs Jenkins, said: “I am extremely proud to receive this 10
award on behalf of all the staff at the school who have been recognised for their hard work with children who face additional challenges in the school environment. “We’ve worked hard to make the school fully inclusive, but it has only been possible thanks to the joint efforts of the staff and parents and teachers all supported by the ADHD Foundation. “A special mention should also go to our special educational needs co-ordinator, Mrs Lawler, for being a huge driving force in making changes to our everyday practices.” Speaking on receiving the award from ADHD Foundation patron Rory Bremner, Mrs Lawler said: “I’m extremely proud to receive this award on behalf of all the staff at the school”.
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
Special educational needs co-ordinator, Mrs Lawler, with Rory Bremner
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Primary News
Tootoot! Pupils make a noise to raise awareness
THE BIG DIG IN KNOWLSEY Year 3 pupils from St John Fisher Primary School, Knowsley were offered the opportunity to visit the site where the new Shakespeare North venue will be built in Knowsley. The Playhouse in Prescot where, over four hundred years ago, was the only purpose-built playhouse outside London where Elizabethan drama could be enjoyed by the people of the region, will be rebuilt. The children spoke to the archeologists and investigated some of the artefacts that had been found so far. They had a great time and were complimented on their positive attitude and told they were a credit to the school. The school also displayed a model of the newly proposed Shakespeare North Building in the school hall.
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St Matthew’s RC Primary School in Walton officially launched the anti-bullying and safeguarding app tootoot education to their pupils for Safer Internet Day. Tootoot education is an online anti-bullying and safeguarding platform and app that allows pupils to speak about any concerns or issues they have directly to their place of learning. St Matthew’s RC Primary already has an excellent antibullying system in place with eCadets and pupil mentors. For Safer Internet Day, both eCadets and pupil mentors were trained on online safety and antibullying practices and shown how to use tootoot to report bullying anonymously. Fully trained, they will now be able to guide fellow pupils on anti-cyberbullying practices and show classmates how to report any safeguarding issues through the app. In recent years cyberbullying and online abuse has hit headlines with stories of devastating impact on the lives of those involved. In a recent survey conducted by Bullying UK 56% of young people said they have seen others being bullied online and 42% of young people said they have felt unsafe online. Mrs Grier, St Matthew’s RC Primary School pastoral care manager and deputy safeguarding lead said: “Thankfully we haven’t had any specific incidents of cyberbullying at our school although we have had a few friendship issues on social media in the past, our usual approach would be to ask parents to print off the evidence and send it in. “Tootoot provides a way for pupils and parents to report any concerns they have in a simple and confidential way, it also allows our pupils to attach evidence such as screen grabs or photos when anonymously reporting through the app – helping us to quickly and effectively resolve issues such as online friendship issues or cyberbullying.” “We’ve been using tootoot as an incident recording tool for teachers which is what initially attracted us to it, but from now on we’ll also be encouraging pupils to use the anonymous reporting feature through the app and online.”
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St Vincent de Paul CATHOLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL
0151 709 2572 0151 707 8942 vincent-ao@st-vincentdepaul.liverpool.sch.uk
Serving with Love, Striving for Excellence FULL DAY Nursery places available for all 3 and 4-year-olds from September 2018 Email admissions@st-vincentdepaul.liverpool.sch.uk to register your interest or ask for any further details. Informal visits to school are always welcome, please contact our administration team on 0151-709-2572
St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School • Pitt Street • Liverpool L1 5BY
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Primary News
Liverpool teacher inspires pupils A Liverpool primary school teacher is inspiring his pupils to be more active after meeting an Olympic gold medallist at an event in London. Jay Clarke from Rudston Primary School joined slalom canoeist Joe Clarke at a special teaching event in the capital. Joe, who made history at the 2016 Rio Games by winning GB’s first gold medal in the canoe slalom men’s K1, shared his inspiring story and offered advice on how teachers can help pupils to get active. The event at Riversdale Primary School in Wandsworth was part of a training day of workshops and activities for teachers from across the UK in how to inspire kids to be more active before, during and after school. The event was part of Active Kids Do Better, a new programme to increase kids’ movement and play throughout the school day. Jay Clarke said: “I enjoyed meeting Joe Clarke and the experts and teachers at the event. We all want to try and get children to be active and it was good to see what we can do as teachers and how simple it is to implement that in school. It’s important that children stay active throughout the school day. Keeping active boosts results and makes for a healthier classroom.” Joe Clarke said: “It’s a real privilege to be associated with a programme that will have such a positive impact on the lives of so many kids. Sport has given me so much and it’s enriched my life. If we can help and inspire teachers to help kids to get moving, it would be fantastic.”
Aashvi counts her lucky stars
Fewer than one in four young children in the UK get the recommended amount of exercise, which means that millions of kids are missing out on the benefit of sport and play. Active kids are healthier, happier and show stronger academic performance. The Active Kids Do Better programme, developed with the support of Liverpool John Moores University, offers free resources, games and activities to all UK primary schools, and teachers can sign up online at: activeschoolsdobetter.co.uk. Aashvi Agarwal from Holy Cross Catholic Primary School in Liverpool has been named as the North West regional winner of the inaugural Premier League Writing Stars competition. Aashvi’s poem ‘Count to Ten’ was selected as the winning poem for the North West region in the Key Stage 1 age group. The winning poem was selected by an all-star judging panel, which featured former professional footballer and children’s author Frank Lampard OBE, Premier League footballer and lyricist Yannick Bolasie, Children’s Laureate Lauren Child and the young people’s laureate for London Caleb Femi, overseen by the National Literacy Trust director, Jonathan Douglas. Commenting on Aashvi’s poem, Lauren Child said: “Everyone was pretty impressed by the way Aashvi has put rhyming in so successfully. Her poem has a real powerful feeling behind it, it’s very upbeat. I think we all loved the last two lines especially, they are very strong and rather joyful, so well done to Aashvi.” More than 25,000 children from England and Wales entered the competition with their own original poetry submissions. From the 25,200 poems received, nine regional winners and one national winner have been selected across two age groups, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, with the poems being judged on their originality, effect, tone and message. The winning poems will now be published in a special Writing Stars poetry book due to be released later this year. Other prizes include author-led writing workshops and Premier League trophy school visits, as well as winning poems being read aloud by football stars. The competition was supported by the National Literacy Trust and is part of the Premier League Primary Stars education programme, which has already engaged more than 12,000 primary schools and 13,000 teachers across England and Wales. Left: Aashvi is pictured with her parents and the Liverpool Foundation mascot
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Primary News
Reach for the stars Pupils become space explorers on top secret mission Pupils from St Luke’s Church of England Primary School in Formby where treated to a visit from TSB Bank CEO Dr Paul Pester and space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock to help bring the wonders of the universe to life for 60 Year 5 pupils. The class spent the day designing rockets getting set for lift-off on a top secret mission to colonise Mars. The workshop ‘Let’s Build a Rocket’ was the result of a collaboration between Professor Stephen Hawking’s daughter Lucy Hawking, TSB and Curved House Kids – a company specialising in educational materials for young people. Specifically aimed at Key Stage 2 students, the workshop sees students become space explorers who design a rocket for their journey into space. Incorporating maths, science and art, the initiative has been designed to encourage more children to engage with STEM subjects and to demonstrate the value and impact that numeracy and technology skills can have. Sharon Cowey, headteacher at St Luke’s C of E Primary School said: “We have redesigned our curriculum over recent years, to make it as creative and relevant as possible, taking advantage of first hand experiences for the children, so TSB’s ‘Let’s Build a Rocket’ competition
fitted perfectly. “We encourage our children to reach for the stars! It was wonderful for them
to see that scientists are real people and that a STEM-related career is a real possibility”.
Space scientist Dr Paul Pester teaches the Year 5 pupils
Blueberry Park goes international There has been a lot going on at Blueberry Park Primary thanks to a generous Erasmus+ grant, one of the highest ever received by a primary school. The grant will help staff and children to benefit from vibrant and international activities and enhanced language provision. Joanna Burkot, international lead and modern foreign language teacher, said: “It is all about igniting the love of languages and travel. “We are committed to giving our children, across the school, the 16
opportunity to learn French to the highest standard, therefore we had put a bid for the EU funding, that would increase language competences of our support staff. “The staff travelled to France, to Rouen and Angers, for a week-long immersion course combined with rich cultural program. We have also had teachers who spent a week job shadowing and sharing good practice at Alain Savary School in Montpellier. It all has brought a great inspiration to the whole community.”
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Meet the Headteacher Wendy Walters, headteacher at Rudston Primary School
Crashing satellites, walk-in storybooks, and forest classrooms Wendy Walters, headteacher at Rudston Primary School, shares her vision for interactive learning. And with the school amongst the most in demand in the city, it’s clear her tactics are working, Christine Toner reports.
Bringing learning to life by Christine Toner Picture the scene. You’re seven years old, sat in assembly and a school radio bulletin booms through the building announcing an unidentified flying object has crashed into the playground. The police have declared the site safe, and now you and your classmates are needed to figure out exactly what this mysterious item is and where it came from. No, it’s not the plot of a new sci-fi movie, but rather one of Rudston Primary School’s ingenious ways of teaching its pupils through immersive study. “Thinking back to my childhood, I don’t remember learning to read and write, I remember the experience I had while I did it,” says headteacher Wendy Walters, explaining her creative methods. “People often ask me what was my inspiration and I think it was my Year 2 teacher when I was at school, Mrs Brydon. When I think back to my school days, all the lovely memories are from her. There was a day when she covered the floor with paper, and we all pushed the tables out of the way and drew a huge woodland picture. “At the time, as a seven-year-old, you think you’re just having fun painting but you realise looking back we were actually learning about habitats. She had that real ease at taking a creative approach to the curriculum. She was 18
very much about experiencing things first hand and not just listening to the teacher. For me, when you’re in the classroom it’s not about hearing the teachers voice, it’s about hearing the children’s voice.” Such methods have proved incredibly popular. Last year the school was the second most sought after in the city with 179 applications for just 60 places. But while parents and prospective pupils clearly fall in love with Rudston (indeed, many past pupils now choose to send their own children there), few people could love it as much as Wendy - so much so she has dedicated her entire career to it. Born in the North East, Wendy moved to Liverpool as an 18-year-old to study at Hope University (then Christ College) the first person in her family to go on to higher education. Upon graduating in 1995, Wendy went to look around Rudston Infants and immediately felt at home. “It just had a special feel,” she says. “It felt like a family within the school, and I think that’s something that has carried on. We talk a lot about the Rudston family and I could see even from that initial visit that the children were at the heart of Rudston.” At the time Rudston Infant School was separate from Rudston Juniors. Indeed,
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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We’re going to transform the hall into a celebration of the history of Liverpool
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despite only being separated by a sports field, the schools operated completely independently from each other, with their own headteachers and governing bodies. All that changed in 2012 when the schools were amalgamated. At the time Wendy was assistant head of the infant school, and when the two came together, she became assistant head of the newly formed Rudston Primary School. She was promoted to acting deputy head in January 2013 (a role she took on permanently in September of that year) and became headteacher in September last year. The role is something she says she feels “privileged” to have, although it does prompt mixed emotions. “I think one of the hardest things (about being headteacher) is the fact I
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don’t have my own class anymore,” she says. “But then on a positive note, I’m now involved in the lives of all of our children. They often come and have a chat with me and show me their work. One of my favourite times of the day is lunchtime when I get to leave the paperwork for half an hour and go and sit in the canteen with the children.” Talking to the children is something that’s particularly important to Wendy, and she believes passionately in giving children a voice and helping them to develop in a way that suits them. “Our mission statement is to develop a love of learning enabling all children to reach their full potential,” she says. “We run The Art of Being Brilliant to make children more confident and become better citizens. When people come and look around the school, I think they feel that ethos.” That ethos of prioritising the children’s emotional and social wellbeing as high if not higher than academic success is never more evident than in the way the school is currently helping its Year 6 students prepare for their SAT exams, with mindfulness classes on offer to create stability and calm. “Mindfulness is something we’ve taken to an extra level at the moment for our Year 6 students who have obviously got their SATs coming up,” says Wendy. “If levels of worry are a bit high we just try to reduce that for the children. “For example, we’ll offer breakfast for the children, and we’ll have relaxation sessions on the morning of the SATs. Plus, during the week before the exams, the Year 6 are having an afternoon of forest school where there’ll be no literacy or numeracy, they’ll go in the forest, build a campfire, build a den and be children.” This approach to learning and wellbeing certainly sees results. The school recently had an Ofsted assessment and maintained its ‘Good’ status while it has also achieved success at the Educate Awards - taking the runner-up prize in the STEM category back in 2016 and the WOW Recognition catergory in 2017. “I was Science co-ordinator when we
did the STEM project for the Educate Awards,” says Wendy. “It was about a large nest appearing in the woods. I wanted something that would engage all the children. There was a huge drive nationally about increasing the number of girls in science, and I’m very passionate about getting rid of stereotype roles. That was really good in creating a real buzz about science.” This year Wendy wants to look at how she can develop the curriculum, opening up opportunities to pupils. That includes a greater focus on history. “We’re going to transform the hall into a celebration of the history of Liverpool,” she says. “The hall will become a ‘step back in time’ exhibition, looking at everything from the music and the shipbuilding to the impact of the war. And, of course, it will start with the history of Rudston.” After 23 years at the school and just over six months at its helm, Wendy’s enthusiasm and passion for it shows no
sign of waning. Indeed, she says the reason she applied for the headship when previous head Vicky Pierce left was that she wanted to continue building on the great things the school was doing. “I didn’t want someone coming in and changing things because I knew we were on the right journey for the children,” she says, A journey of creative learning, I ask? “I think that’s vital,” says Wendy. “It opens up subjects to those children who sometimes struggle with the three Rs. We’ve just started the hashtag Making Memories on our Twitter feed, and I think that’s really important. When the children leave they won’t remember how they learned to do something, they’ll remember the creative, immersive experience of doing it. Making memories while reaching the best standards that we possibly can, that’s what it’s all about.”
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Primary News
‘Bee-lieve’ Liverpool teacher encourages budding authors
There is a real buzz of excitement at Banks Road Primary School in Garston. For one of the school’s teachers has just published his first insect-inspired book! Entitled ‘Arthur Bee has a Secret’, the book tells the tale of a little bee with a secret that he’s too embarrassed to talk about. It’s a secret that bees aren’t expected to have, and the whole beehive is affected. How will Queen Bee react when she finds out Arthur’s secret? Arthur Bee was created by the school’s cover supervisor, Shaun Millea, who was inspired to put pen to paper after his own son’s experience with hay fever. The father of two, from Halewood, said: “My son is now 23 but when he was seven he had very bad hay fever. He couldn’t go anywhere near a field or flower without having an awful reaction. It got so bad that he even ended up at A&E - unable to breath with severe eye pain. “He would get very upset as he couldn’t play ‘on the field’ with his friends in the summer. However, he was very good at the time at karate. “So, I made up the story of a bee that had hay fever and so was unable to do all the normal bee things but he was good at making honey in the laboratory. I was just trying to find a scenario that my son could relate to.” After writing the story many years ago, 52-year-old Shaun put it away in the attic with all his other childhood memories until he re-discovered it recently. He dusted it off and gave it a 20
new lease of life. The 52-year-old recalled: “One day I found it, re-read it, liked it and then typed it out. I drew my own rough illustrations and used it in school, reading it to the children. They all seemed to enjoy it.” A chance meeting with renowned Liverpool author, Jude Lennon, who was visiting Banks Road School led to Shaun getting his work published. He said: “She was very supportive and put me in touch with Sue Miller of Team Author UK. I had a meeting with her, showed her my rough version of the story and she liked it. “That was in September 2017 then in February 2018 it was published. Seeing it in print is one of the most special moments I’ve had - I couldn’t stop smiling!” And the children at Banks Road are thrilled to see their teacher’s work in print with many of them dressing up as Arthur Bee for World Book Day. Shaun said: “They come to me constantly telling me how much they enjoy reading about Arthur and his friends. I really enjoy it when they tell me that they want to write a book. I love that! “Words are everything. All people especially children - need to learn to love books and reading for their development and learning. The more they read the more they understand, it helps with their vocabulary and writing. Reading helps to educate children on issues in life without them realising it.”
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Pupils are a credit to their school
As part of attaining their Liverpool Counts Gold Quality Mark, St Anne's Catholic Primary School wanted to create an initiative that would impact on their whole school community. One of the objectives in relation to this was to create a legacy of financial education that would outlast the awarding of the Quality Mark. With this in mind they created St Anne’s Savers’ Club. Mr Davies, runs the club in conjunction with Lodge Lane Credit Union Liverpool, which was started by parish priest Father Peter Morgan. Every Wednesday Mr Davies and a representative from the credit union work with the children to collect money from parents and pupils. So far they have over 70 savers, including children in nursery to children in Year 6; parents, grandparents and carers; staff working in the school and children who have left the school but continue to save and even local parishioners. Acting deputy headteacher, Maria White said: “The positive reaction from parents and members of the local community has been overwhelming and the club is now predominantly run by children. They are responsible for collecting money, signing up new members, totalling the amount collected and welcoming parents and children. They have been, and continue to be, brilliant. “There is no minimum amount to pay in, even the 10p’s all mount up, and we offer small rewards (interest) for regular savers, however small. The money can be withdrawn if needed at the school. Once the account is open, it will stay open as long as they wish”.
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Secondary News
First for academy Merseyside’s first school-based hate crime reporting centre Merseyside’s Police Commissioner has praised the North Liverpool Academy (NLA) after it became the region’s first school-based third party hate crime reporting centre. Jane Kennedy visited the Academy on Heyworth Street, in Everton, to officially open the new independent report centre and thank the governors, principal, staff and students for becoming part of a network of organisations standing tall against hate. Third party reporting centres are safe, independent environments where victims or witnesses of hate crime can get help to report an incident in complete confidence and without speaking to the police. Individuals will be supported to contact national charity Stop Hate UK, who provide a pan-Merseyside reporting service. During her visit, the commissioner joined principal Mike Westerdale in leading a discussion on hate crime with approximately 80 students, outlining her work to raise awareness of this issue and encourage more victims to come forward and report incidents. Jane also took time afterwards to meet 12 students from the academy who have been nominated to join her Youth Advisory Group Jane said: “I’m thrilled that the North Liverpool Academy have agreed to become our first school-based third party reporting centre. It demonstrates NLA’s
Merseyside Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy speaks to pupils
strong commitment to fairness, inclusion and equality for all its pupils, their families and the whole school community. “I hope they will be the trail-blazers for other schools, colleges and academies across the region. “People of all ages and from every walk of life, have the right to feel safe in their community, free from harassment and fear. “I would encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate crime to come forward without fear, whether it is to the police, Stop Hate UK or a local
charity – you will be listened to, understood and treated with respect. North Liverpool Academy principal Mike Westerdale said: “Once again it is tremendously humbling to be part of an academy placing our young people and community at the heart of its work. “I am delighted the police commissioner is recognising our outstanding practice and our ongoing fight against hate crime at every level, which was also praised in our recent OFSTED inspection judging North Liverpool Academy to be a ‘Good’ educational provider.
OLD BOY RETURNS TO SCHOOL
Trent being interviewed by school pupils (l-r) Marco Lindop, Casper England, Siya Blaggan and Angel Wale-Akinlua for the school magazine
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Teaching staff and pupils were thrilled to welcome former pupil and Liverpool FC and England star Trent Alexander-Arnold back to St Mary’s College, Crosby. Trent spoke to pupils about his football career and how his time as a pupil at St Mary’s gave him the attitude and skills needed to be successful. Following a few Q&As with different year groups, Trent joined pupils in the sports hall for football and tennis and also signed up to the Iron Men (the nickname of their football team), just like his St Mary’s contemporary and Everton star Morgan Feeney did a few weeks ago! Principal, Michael Kennedy said: “I would like to thank Trent for his visit and for his inspiring words and Trent; next time we’ll try to get you and Morgan in at the same time!”
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Rainford Sixth Form Open Evening Thursday 12 July 5pm – 7pm Rainford Sixth Form Higher Lane, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 8NY 01744 885914 www.rainfordsixthform.org.uk @Rainford6thForm
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Secondary News
Mixing it up Renowned Liverpool DJ visits SFX Students at St Francis Xavier’s College (SFX) are embarking on alternative music lessons thanks to DJ Mark Armstrong. The weekly DJ workshops are open to all students as part of SFX’s dedicated extra-curricular activities programme. Each week, students explore and practise the different techniques of blending and mixing music. The group has the opportunity to get to grips with the music department’s DJ set, as well as trying out Mark Armstrong’s very own decks which he brings to each class. The budding DJs also use the department’s iMacs to create various beats on Logic-Pro, allowing them to produce their own remixes of wellknown songs. Mark Armstrong is a popular name on the Liverpool dance circuit and has worked at some of the biggest venues in the city, including Garlands, Circo and Alma de Cuba. He has also taken to the stage at Creamfields, playing to thousands of people. Mark said: “It’s fantastic to teach the students of SFX the basics of DJing. They’ve shown great promise and I’m
extremely impressed with how far they’ve come. It would be amazing to see some of them following in my footsteps when they’re older and playing sets in venues around the city.” Co-ordinator of music at SFX, David Stokes, said: “We feel it is important to offer students something different in
terms of extra-curricular activities and as many of them are very into dance music, we thought they’d really benefit from learning how to create it themselves. “It has been a really popular class and it is brilliant to see everyone so dedicated and eager to learn.”
School celebrates in colour Sunflowers open up at St Julie’s Students at St Julie’s Catholic High School in Woolton are enjoying some colourful surroundings in their new £23M building now that the sixth form refreshment area has been themed. The area is central to the school in every sense, and the school decided to run a competition among students to choose a theme. The winning entry from Year 12 student Lizzie Bryce, pictured with head of upper school Lee-Ann Gawley, was ‘The Sunflower Cafe’, and the cafe is now resplendent in a huge mural commissioned by the 24
school showing a sea of golden sunflowers. Headteacher Tim Alderman was delighted with the result, he said: “This was a great opportunity to engage our students in our magnificent new building. The new facilities offer a superb experience for all students, but those studying in sixth form have particularly benefited from a new cafe, resource centre and common room. “The name Lizzie chose reflects our Notre Dame heritage and was a favourite flower of our Founder, St Julie Billiart. I’m delighted with the new artwork which looks absolutely fantastic”.
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
Lizzie Bryce receives her award off head of upper school Lee-Ann Gawley
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Secondary News
Keep on running Team #StCuthberts4Precky are north road survivors! A squad from St Cuthbert's Catholic School joined over 2,000 other runners to take part in the 8th St Helens 10K. The StCuthberts4Precky team, which included both current and past students and staff, as well as headteacher Catherine Twist, took on the event to raise funds for the school’s Student Wellbeing Fund and The Steve Prescott Foundation. Headteacher, Catherine Twist said: “The support and donations we have received so far from colleagues, parents, friends and family have been fantastic. “As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of St Cuthbert’s this year, by entering a team for the St Helens 10K we thought it would be an ideal opportunity to raise the school’s profile and share our message with the rest of the town. “We are passionate about the importance of a healthy lifestyle, and by involving ourselves in this event we continue to embrace this ethos as a whole community and leading by example. “I don’t remember reading this in the job description when I applied for the role
Team #StCuthberts4Precky
of headteacher! A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far and helped us raise over £2,000; it will make a difference to our causes”. It’s not too late to donate to the team
fundraising page. If you’d like to donate, please visit the school’s JustGiving page here: https://www.justgiving.com/teams/StCut hberts4Precky
Quality counts Like many schools across the area, St Hilda’s School participated in the Liverpool Counts Quality Mark and attained silver. The school has a history of promoting numeracy through UKMT events, maths leaders award, Rubik’s cube club, and regular calendar fixtures for fun and fundraising such as NSPCC number day, world pi day and maths party day. Year 8 and 9 pupils also enjoyed code box workshops by solving puzzles to undo the locks. Mini maths leaders made a video of their ‘supersize’ bar chart constructed from national numeracy certificates achieved by staff and parents. Maths competitions are also part of the ‘school diet’ with weekly maths challenges, parents evening puzzles, quizzes organised by students, all with house points for the winners.
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A new chapter Bellerive FCJ Catholic College welcomed Bishop Tom Williams to open two new buildings. Bishop Tom blessed both the Sefton Park building and the O’Neill building, both recently completed as part of the college’s programme of capital investment. The O’Neill building is named in memory of Mother Xavier O’Neill FCJ, who died in the 19th century from cholera which she contracted as a result of her work with the poor of the city. The sixth form leadership team were on hand to show guests around the new accommodation and the state of the art facilities that are now available for science, music, design and technology, as well as a purpose-built sixth form centre. Bishop Tom has a long association with Bellerive, having served as school chaplain in the 1970s. Students, staff and governors joined Bishop Tom for the blessing, as did Bellerive’s headteacher Mrs Niamh Howlett. Sr Brigid Halligan FCJ, recently retired as headteacher was also in attendance to celebrate this exciting new phase of the college’s development.
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Inspiring excellence personal and academic
Welcoming students from all areas of Liverpool & beyond Bellerive is a very popular choice for girls from across Liverpool. Contact us for a guided tour and ďŹ nd out why we are such a unique, ambitious school.
Bellerive FCJ Catholic College 1, Aigburth Drive, Sefton Park, Liverpool L17 3AA Tel: 0151 727 2064 www.bellerivefcj.org Specialisms in Sciences, Applied Learning and Maths & Computing
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Meet the Headteacher Niamh Howlett, headteacher Bellerive Catholic College
Educate meets Niamh Howlett, headteacher at Bellerive FCJ, to talk science, success and why the ethos of the school was the perfect fit.
The right chemistry by Christine Toner They say teaching is a vocation. But it’s not necessarily one that hits you straight away. At least, it wasn’t for Niamh Howlett, the recently appointed headteacher at Bellerive Catholic College. Indeed, Niamh had already carved out a successful career before finding her calling into education. And her previous career has inspired her to help her students to reach their goals. Before entering the education sector, Niamh worked as a research chemist in London for the Cancer Research Campaign. Being a teacher was never her plan but when her agronomist husband took a job with the Falkland Islands government and the pair moved she found a role as a primary school and radio teacher. “The young people lived very far away from settlements and villages,” she said. “They would live on farms that would be quite a distance away, and there were no roads at that time so they would have lessons from a teacher over CB radio. That would be supplemented with visits from a travelling teacher, so I would liaise with the travelling teacher over the work I was doing and then teach the children via the radio at an allocated time every day. This was as well as having primary age children in the classroom.” 28
Niamh and her husband lived on West Falkland for five years before moving back to Liverpool in 1994. Having well and truly caught the teaching bug by this point she enrolled at Liverpool University to complete her PGCE and, as a newly qualified teacher took a job at St Anselm’s College in Birkenhead. “I was at St Anselm’s College for 22 years,” she explains. “I started there in 1995 as an NQT. I was then made head of chemistry and later head of year seven, and I held both of those roles for some time before I was made acting head of Key stage 3 and then promoted to deputy head in 2006. Niamh served as deputy head at St Anselm’s for 11 years before successfully applying for the top job at Bellerive, which she took on in September last year. “I felt extremely proud to be appointed as headteacher, as well as realising what a big role it was,” she said. “My daughters attended Upton Hall School FCJ (Faithful Companions of Jesus) so I already respected the ethos of an FCJ education, and I come from a Catholic school, so I recognise the importance of a faith-based education for young people.” Niamh’s appointment followed the retirement of Sister Brigid Halligan, who was at the school for 38 years (24 as headteacher) and was awarded an OBE
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
“
Students see themselves as ‘going to university’ because they’ve experienced it. They know it’s achievable
”
for services to education and she says it was a privilege to follow in her footsteps. But while Sister Brigid had her own vision for Bellerive (and she “definitely achieved it!” says Niamh), a new headteacher offers the chance for new ideas and a fresh start and I wondered what Niamh hoped to bring to the role.
“I wanted the opportunity to work with everyone here, the governors, the staff, to bring my vision for the education of young people to fruition,” she said. “Bellerive takes a very holistic view of education, looking at the whole person, academically, spiritually, emotionally and instilling young people with a very strong moral purpose in life. That’s definitely my vision and what I want to do.” That holistic attitude toward student development is backed up by the school’s mission statement: Making the
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most of every given ability. And Niamh says a bespoke approach is taken with each student to ensure they fulfill their potential. “We have an individualised programme for each child,” she said. “We recognise the talents of each child, and we provide a range of extracurricular activities for them from Duke of Edinburgh programmes, drama and school productions to our initiatives such as The Brilliant Club, and our mentoring programmes. “We provide a huge range of opportunities for our pupils so whatever their ability and wherever their talents lie we can help them to develop those and in doing so boost their self-esteem and their confidence and help them to make the most of their God-given talents.” The aforementioned Brilliant Club exposes students to the university experience, particularly Russell Group universities. Students undertake a project with a university which is at a higher level than they are working at in school, helping them to develop study skills and encouraging them to become independent learners. “The feedback from the students and the universities has been incredibly positive,” said Niamh. “Students see themselves as ‘going to university’ because they’ve experienced it. They know it’s achievable.” Bellerive is also working with Shaping Futures, a collaborative outreach programme led by the University of Liverpool which seeks to give students more exposure to higher education. While giving students a huge choice regarding extra-curricular activities, the school has never lost its focus on academic achievement. Indeed, last year it was among the top five performing schools in Liverpool for GCSE results. Niamh said the school’s success in this area is down to a “range of different things rather than one magic bullet.” “I’m so impressed by the commitment of the staff,” she said. “The way they’re prepared to give up time at lunchtime and after school to support the students. There are excellent relationships within the school between staff and students the students feel that they are looked
believe they can be successful in any career.
after. They trust the staff. “We also employ a very good behaviour management policy which means children can learn in the classroom. That is backed up by a consistent application of procedures in schools which the girls know about and which the parents have bought into. “And of course there is our religious ethos. We’re a Catholic school; we don’t give up on our children. We support them all. And we have the support of the FCJ trustees all the way through.” Niamh said one of the key aims for the school is to prepare the children for the world of work and their future careers. Given her own career history, I wonder whether she is particularly passionate about ensuring the girls in the school
“Absolutely,” she said. “We work constantly with our girls (and boys in the sixth form) at building their selfconfidence and self-esteem to show them what they can achieve and that it is possible to achieve anything if they put their mind to it. “We invite women in industry into school to talk to our students so that they have role models and we’re involved with the Girls Network where individual students are matched up with mentors who are in business. Our students can speak to women who have achieved so they can see all of this is absolutely possible. We’re continually letting children know they can achieve anything.”
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Secondary News
Sports for all Sporting success at Rainford High Rainford High students are celebrating their recent sporting triumphs after competing in a number of regional and national events. Students across all year groups have taken part in a wide range of individual and team sports, including athletics, football, rugby and netball. The Year 7 rugby league team have enjoyed an extremely successful start to high school rugby, after reaching the semi-finals of the National Champion Schools competition, where they are due to play St John Fisher, Wigan. The boys are just one win away from playing in the National Schools Rugby Final which takes place at Wembley Stadium before the inaugural Rugby League Challenge Cup Final. With a mixture of experienced club players and boys for whom school has been their first taste of competitive rugby league, they have impressed all with an expansive passing game in attack and improving desire and determination in defence. Rainford’s U15 boy’s rugby union team recently won the Lancashire Emerging Schools trophy after beating St Margaret’s Academy, Liverpool, 25 – 5 in the final at Liverpool St Helens Rugby Club. In addition, the Year 9 boy’s football team were crowned 2018 St Helens football winners after beating Sutton
Rainford’s Year 7 Boys rugby league team
Academy 2-1 in the final at Ruskin Drive. Whilst the Year 7 boy’s football team have had an equally fantastic season both in local and regional competitions. They won the St Helens 7-a-side competition, reached the final of the St Helens Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Merseyside Cup. Achievements haven’t just been made on the pitch, the Year 8 boys indoor athletics team were crowned Merseyside Schools Champions for 2018 for the second year in succession and the Year 8 girl’s netball team finished runners up in the Merseyside Netball Tournament. Testimony to its sporting victories, the
school has won the Outstanding Commitment to Sport in Secondary School award three times at the Educate Awards, most recently last year. Principal Ian Young said: “Rainford High is renowned for its sporting prowess and it’s great to see students, of all ages and abilities, competing in some very prestigious tournaments on a local and national level. “As a school, we’re delighted to have been recognised for our commitment to sport over the years and we will certainly continue to provide a broad and balanced extra-curricular programme that caters for all students”.
Making a song and a dance of success Broughton Hall Catholic High School have been celebrating great success within their Music department. The school recently launched a music mentor’s programme which is supported by Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership. There were two concerts performed for more than 700 pupils, the pupils were then invited to apply to participate with a limited number being able to participate. It was tough competition but the successful applicants have now been chosen and are excited about being involved in such an 30
innovative programme which will encourage a love and appreciation of all forms of music. They are looking forward to sharing in their success when they perform at the Summer Concert on July 5. Further success came at the Wirral Festival of Music, Speech and Drama. Broughton Hall’s vocal group won first place in the under 19 youth choir category. They also had six students placed as soloists The school commended the pupils on all their achievements and are looking forward to further success in the field of performing arts.
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
Molly Madigan who took first place in the Singer Songwriter category
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Education News
Internet superstars It is not everyday that Liverpool students become ‘internet superstars’ but images of 20 students from five schools including Alsop High School and The Academy of St Francis Assisi are trending in the top position on YouTube after students had a surprise encounter with Mo Salah. Students visited Liverpool FC believing they would have five minutes of fame in front of the LFC TV lenses. The students were visiting Anfield as part of the Red Neighbours programme. They believed they would be taking part in a commentary competition for the opportunity to win the chance
Pupils from Alsop High School meet Mo Salah
to meet Mohamed Salah, later during the year. With microphones in their hand students were asked to commentate on an LFC match. However, behind-thescenes, Salah watched on through a small monitor, listening to every word
through headphones, before stepping forward to make the big surprise. To their surprise, the man the Kop have nicknamed the “Egyptian King” came smashing through the paper screen. Mo Salah loved every
second of it, saying: “It’s great because the kids don’t try to be too cool, they’re just happy letting their emotions out.” Salah was hugged, prodded (“I just want to check he’s real”, said one pupil), highfived and even had his hair ruffled as the students were left dumbfounded. Mr Mangan, headteacher of Alsop School said: “It came as a great surprise to find images of Alsop students to be beamed across the globe. We are delighted to work in partnership with the LFC Red Neighbours initiative. “The community scheme is having a great impact upon North Liverpool and schools to create physically active communities and memorable
Spotlight falls on Blue Coat’s historic Father Willis organ Shaping Futures Programme Ten Year 9 students from West Derby School took part in the Shaping Futures Programme working with Liverpool Museums. The programme ran over two days and aimed to explore and experience the workings of the different Liverpool Museums whilst also investigating the role that different staff have in the museums. Students had the opportunity to work with curators and the staff who work as part of the educational team within both the International Slavery Museum and Museum of Liverpool. On the first day the students were able to explore the background to the ‘Tales from the City’ exhibition and other LGBT+ work at Museum of Liverpool. They successfully worked with the Museum of Liverpool Education team to explore the importance of representation and the significance telling diverse stories in a heritage setting. The boys also had the opportunity to meet and interview a diversity ambassador involved in the exhibition which was a very moving and inspiring discussion for all. On the second day students were able to meet with a visitor host from Liverpool Museums to explore the role of a host in the Merseyside Maritime Museum including the delivery of tours for Liverpool’s historic Old Dock. The final part of the day involved the boys working with the curator and educational team within the International Slavery Museum.
The Blue Coat School were delighted to receive a £17,800 Heritage Lottery Fund initial grant to develop an exciting and nationally important project, centred on the restoration of their historic Father Willis organ. Thanks to support from National Lottery players, the project, Blue Coat: For All, plans to restore their rare 1874 pipe organ. It will be used to give public access to the school for concerts and events. Funding would also go towards the preservation of the extensive archive. As part of the grant they must raise a further £25,000 towards the project through donations and direct fundraising. The museum-quality Father Willis organ was originally installed in the original Liverpool Blue Coat School building, now the Bluecoat Arts Centre, in the city centre. The organ is a rare school chapel instrument, made even rarer by being in a state school, and would have been heard by John Lennon’s father Alfred, a Blue Coat student during the 1920s, but the restoration project is far more than simply preserving the past. Headteacher Mr Pennington said: “Thanks to the backing of the Heritage Lottery Fund, this is one of the most exciting and dynamic projects we have launched in many years. We shall not only be able to restore the Father Willis organ, which is a rare instrument of museum quality, but also use it as a spring-board to expand into an entirely new public musical realm, by bringing in the community to enjoy concerts at the Blue Coat School. “Our organ scholarship proposal, combining the organ resources of our school with those of the two great Liverpool Cathedrals will create an unsurpassed national music training opportunity for young people.” Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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Secondary News
Positive reports Top marks from inspectors for college St John Bosco Arts College has been graded ‘outstanding’ in a glowing report by the Archdiocese of Liverpool. The Catholic secondary school in Croxteth was recently visited by the Archdiocese of Liverpool inspectors who spent the day observing lessons and talking to staff and students. According to the report, the outstanding features include the ‘high quality of teaching and planning’ and the high expectation culture of all members of staff and students. The inspectors also said that the school has a ‘long period of sustained success in the department and a strong Catholic commitment.’ Students’ behaviour and attitudes were also praised, with the report adding: “Students love the school and say they wouldn’t want to be
anywhere else. “There are the highest levels of mutual respect and behaviour amongst pupils. Pupils feel safe and secure at school because of the effective pastoral system rooted in re-assuring their confidence to flourish.” The college’s aim is to work towards the total development of each student,
educating them to act as responsible Christian members of the community and this is an essential element of the Salesian ethos of the college. Commenting on the findings, headteacher Mr Darren Gidman, said: “We are delighted that the school has received such a positive report from the Archdiocese
Going for gold Archbishop Blanch were assessed by the Liverpool Learning Partnership and awarded gold in the Liverpool Counts Quality Mark for Numeracy. In order to achieve this prestigious award, they had to meet high standards in six key themes including leadership, development and promotion. A huge part of the award was linked with numeracy events which have been very well supported by staff, students, parents and governors throughout the whole school. Number day was a huge success in raising the profile of numeracy as well as funds for the NSPCC. All staff have played a vital role in the promotion of school wide opportunities for numeracy by building numeracy into lessons, classroom and corridor displays and taking part in the National Numeracy Challenge. The assessment involved some very important meetings with staff, governors and their Year 10 numeracy ambassadors as well as a tour of the school and lessons led by the Year 9 numeracy ambassadors, Kate Sayers and Anya Prior who did a fantastic job of demonstrating the significance of numeracy at the school. Sarah Ismail and Grace Gallagher, also, very kindly volunteered to observe them delivering their form numeracy as part of the numeracy ambassador role which was a delight to watch – it was a brilliant day! The assessor, Dave Carden, highlighted the contributions of the numeracy ambassadors, parents and the staff to be a very important strength of the promotion of numeracy within school as well as the cross curricular opportunities to develop numeracy for life. 32
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
inspectors, which recognises our commitment to Catholic life, religious education and collective worship. “The report reinforces our approach to focus on encouraging the development of the whole student through our Salesian ethos of Christian values, high expectations and exemplary behaviour.”
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ADVERTORIAL
Fast-growing MSB reaffirms its commitment to supporting local communities With three offices across Liverpool, MSB Solicitors is one of the fastestgrowing law firms in the region - and it is determined that success is matched by a continued commitment to help its local communities. Staff from the firm's the city centre, Allerton and Wavertree offices all enthusiastically buy into that ethos by engaging with and taking on nonexecutive roles for charities and not-for-profit organisations in the Liverpool city region and beyond. Leading by example Managing partner Emma Carey leads by example, dedicating much of her free time to roles on boards for The Anthony Walker Foundation, Rare Trust and The Big Trust – an organisation dedicated to helping enhance the life chances of most disadvantaged members of our community. Commercial partner Mark Forman is also on the board and provides legal services on a pro bono basis. Mark also works with Liverpool-based charity Health@Work, who deliver the Workplace Wellbeing Charter, working with businesses and employers in the region to provide guidance on managing work-related illness. And, partner Eamonn Sexton is on the board of the British and Irish Trading Alliance (BITA) and local organisation
Connected Irish – a network of businesses representatives, academics and cultural representatives who collaborate to plan, welcome and provide access to their Irish linked businesses and resources in the city. Free advice Earlier in April, partner Nicola Harris was awarded by the Liverpool Law Clinic for outstanding contribution from a volunteer solicitors. Nicola has dedicated a significant amount of her time to the Liverpool Law Clinic – an initiative set up by the University of Liverpool to give free legal advice to Liverpool residents on family law matters. Sarah Achilles, solicitor in the firms family law department, is on the board for Women's Turnaround – an organisation that offers advice and support to adult female offenders. Sarah has also been appointed to the Resolution Domestic Violence National Committee. Resolution are a nationallyrecognised professional body committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes and prioritise the best interests of children involved in complex family matters. The firm's family team also offer free advice surgeries every Thursday at Blackburne House, a women's education centre based in Liverpool's Georgian quarter.
Young people MSB has a particular focus on providing support for young people. The firm is currently involved with promoting the first cohort for Drivers for Change – a national project that aims to create a dynamic and diverse network of young leaders with a commitment to social change. The practice also supports Liverpool International Tennis Tournament Kids Day and MSB Woolton FC, an FA Charter Standard Community Club based in south Liverpool. Emma says she believes in promoting sport as a means for personal and professional development. She explains: "I'm really proud that so many of the team at MSB have undertaken roles with local charities, and the time they dedicate to this is to be admired. "It demonstrates just how seriously we take our commitment to community. As I see it, we have a responsibility as lawyers to understand challenges within our local community, in order to provide the very best legal services and advice. "Society and societal dynamics are fastchanging and we must engage those communities in order to understand how the law needs to adapt. "Further though, the vulnerable groups we work with stand to benefit the most from the skills and expertise we can offer, and it is a natural way of giving something back to the communities we operate in."
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PRESENT PRESENT A AND ND C CORRECT ORRECT
PPrEsEnT rEsEnT AnD AnD CoRrEcT CoRrEcT It’s widely accepted that better attendance results in better It’s attainment but are employers doing enough to support this? Christine T Toner o oner reports. It seems an obvious statement to make. Good attendance leads to greater academic success. Indeed, a child can’t expect to learn something if they’re not there. It’s the reason why attendance is so important for schools and the philosophy behind the education sector’s mantra “Every school day counts.” “It is crucially important that our students are in school every day,” says Shaun McInerney, principal at The Studio. “Teachers plan the curriculum on that basis and students are losing out if they’re not in school. Also, at The Studio, we are preparing our students for careers in the digital technology and tech sectors. We encourage our students to develop high standards of integrity and organisation and taking time off unnecessarily undermines this.” Recently, the University of Glasgow conducted a 12-month study into pupil absence at school. The report - Absence from School: A study of its Causes and Effects - found that poor attendance has adverse effects on Key Stage 2 and 3 tests and is associated with disruptive behaviour.
However, the study also found that 40% of parents believed it was OK for children to miss school for family holidays. This is an issue that has long been the subject of debate within the education sector. The school calendar contains plenty of holidays and, as such, most people would argue there is little reason to disrupt term time with a family break. There are, however, two issues which counter this argument. The first, of course, is the issue of cost. It’s widely acknowledged that holiday prices increase significantly during school holidays and the matter is regularly addressed in the media and, indeed, in Parliament (though as yet there has been little in the way of action taken). The second, however, is less widely discussed - and that is the role employers play. The benefits of family holidays have been studied and proven many times with greater brain development and an n improvement in engagement engagemen nt levels vels up there among the most significant. si gnificant. ifi But B Bu are employers
making it easy enough for staff to take holidays during school holidays? And should they be made to? The law on the issue is somewhat vague. While the number of holiday days employees should be allowed is clearly documented, there’s nothing that dictates when holidays can be taken, or that school holiday dates must be taken into consideration by an employer. “Employees are entitled to a statutory minimum amount of holiday, totalling 5.6 weeks (28 days),” says Chris Hayes, a lawyer on MSB Solicitor’s commercial team. “This figure is inclusive of bank holidays and is known as ‘statutory holiday’. How an employee takes their holiday is governed by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (“WTR”) and, if they have one, their contract of employment. “Holidays are to be taken during the employer’s holiday year and the general rule is they cannot be carried over into a new leave year; however, there are some excceptions to this
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PRESENT AND CORRECT
For those parents whose employers are unable or unwilling to accommodate their holiday requests, the dilemma they face is that most schools operate a zero tolerance approach to taking children out of school during term time.
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PRESENT AND CORRECT
According to a recent investigation by the BBC, parents across England and Wales have been fined £24m for failing to send their children to school during the past three years As such, questions are being raised as to whether changes in employment or contractual law are required to avoid such issues, however legal experts are dubious as to whether this could work. “The only way in which an employee would be guaranteed the right to take annual leave during the school holidays, would be for it to be incorporated into their contract of employment,” explains Chris. “This would then create a contractual right which if the employer breached, by not allowing holiday, could result in the employee having potential recourse. “I would foresee great difficulty in persuading employers to agree to this as ultimately they are increasing their own exposure to risk, by introducing a contractual right which they must abided by. My experience
is that most employers work hard to minimise their exposure to risk, for obvious reasons.” Kate Catherall, senior solicitor at e3 employment law LLP agrees. “We already have employment laws in place to cover childcare emergencies, namely ‘time off for dependents’, although this is intended to cover arranging the provision of longer term childcare,” she explains. “In practice this means a day or two’s (unpaid) leave to arrange cover, not the provision of childcare over the summer holidays. Another form of leave already in place is parental leave, again unpaid, up to four weeks’ leave per year subject to certain qualifying requirements. Again, this may not assist in this case because if the employer has a ‘significant reason’ they can postpone the leave requested. “Ultimately cases like this may come down to the mutual duty of trust and confidence between employers and employees. Employees should give
their employers reasonable notice of holiday requests (following any policy in their contract or handbook), whilst employers shouldn’t unreasonably refuse leave requests, recognising the needs of the business and ensuring they don’t discriminate in terms of whose requests they allow.” Short of a legal overhaul, a change in perception and understanding of education and the impact of absenteeism could make a difference. If we all take an interest - and a responsibility - for the education of the next generation, as opposed to just parents, we could avoid such problems, as Shaun McInerney points out. “It is crucial we harness the support of the local media to promote positive messages about schools so that people understand what young people are missing out on if they are absent unnecessarily,” he says.
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Secondary News
The art of Zen Academy promotes positive health and wellbeing Students at St Margaret’s Academy have found their inner Zen following a dedicated wellbeing day at the school. The event encouraged students to explore their social and emotional wellbeing, as well as raising awareness and promoting understanding of mental health issues. The Aigburth-based academy held a range of activities and workshops including yoga lessons and insightful talks from a number of local organisations including Everton in the Community and Toxteth Fire Service. The team from Everton in the Community held classroom sessions with Year 8 and 9 students who learned about resilience, stress and coping mechanisms. Year 7s got the chance to meet members of Toxteth Fire Service and ask questions about their roles, particularly how they deal with stressful situations. They also enjoyed a tour around a fire engine and tried on the impressive uniforms. In addition, students took part in a range of orienteering challenges to exercise the body and mind, as well as meeting a number of therapy dogs from Merseyside Dogs Home. The rescue centre has a core belief that ‘bringing dogs and people closer together not only benefits the dog, but can bring a range of benefits to individuals and to the community’. The students got to pet and cuddle three friendly dogs; Alfie, Cookie-Monster and Storm, who were all welcomed and adored by the year groups. Most importantly, it highlighted that by just stroking a dog, it can visibly reduce stress and anxiety whilst bringing pleasure.
Katie Pritchard, associate assistant principal and special educational needs co-ordinator, organised the day. She said: “The overall wellbeing of our students is absolutely paramount for us as a school. For this event we wanted to highlight the importance of taking the time out to look at and address their own health and wellbeing, and to also let them know it is ok to open up about any problems they may be experiencing. “It is great to see mental health being widely talked about and any stigma that was once attached, is finally being reduced”.
Students win funding to pursue careers in medicine Two students from The Academy of St Francis of Assisi (ASFA) have won national bursaries to help them pursue a career in medicine. Kevin Hilemichael and Hosen Ojora, both 15, received full bursaries to attend and take part in the InvestIN Young Doctor Programme, a prestigious course aimed at giving students a wholehearted experience of life in the medical profession. The two Year 11 students at the Kensington academy are passionate about pursuing a career in medicine and gaining as much experience as possible before medical school. The bursary now gives both the opportunity to learn from high-ranking UK doctors, undertake hands-on experience and maximise their chance of gaining admission into a top medical school. Aspiring doctor Kevin Hilemichael is from Eritrea in 38
northeast Africa and arrived in England just five years ago with little English skills. Since starting at ASFA in Year 8, Kevin has learnt English and is now on course to achieve grade nines in his GCSE subjects – the new grade introduced last year to recognise the very highest performing students. 15-year-old Hosen Ojora has been at the academy since Year 7 and has always dreamed of pursuing a career in medicine. Hosen is
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
currently studying his GCSEs and is predicted grades 7-9. In February, assistant headteacher Kate Sedgwick and lead teacher for the academically more able (AMA) Hannah Baylon accompanied the two future doctors to the University of Manchester, where the Young Doctor Programme took place. During the day, the two students attended Q&A sessions, listened to lectures by surgeons and psychiatrists, and practised key tasks such
as examining a patient’s x-ray, discussing diagnoses and suturing (stitching up wounds). Kevin and Hosen even took part in ‘An hour in A&E’, a practical session where they were presented with case studies of possible patients and problems and ultimately had to decide what treatment to assign. Assistant headteacher Kate Sedgwick, said: “Kevin and Hosen both aspire to be doctors and have been very keen to get as much experience as possible. We found the InvestIN Young Doctors Programme, learnt about the bursaries they offer and thought it would be a perfect opportunity for our students. “Kevin and Hosen were delighted when they found out they had been awarded the bursary as it means they can focus on their future ambitions without the worry of financial costs.”
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Education News
Students take a step towards F1 in Singapore CSSA Racing, a team of students from Childwall Sports and Science Academy in Liverpool were celebrating after taking second place in the professional class at the North West F1 in Schools STEM Challenge regional final. The success has secured them a place at the UK national finals at the famous Silverstone race circuit in Northamptonshire. In addition, the F1 in Schools UK Champions and runners up will receive tickets to the 2018 Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The competition, with three classes – entry, development and professional – challenges students to design, develop, manufacture and race a scale model Formula 1 racecar. After a long day of competition with students presenting their work to a panel of judges, it was Storm Racing from Sandbach High School on the top step of the podium with CSSA Racing just one step lower. The Liverpool team also won the
Team Identity Award. First time competitors, CSSA Racing were thrilled to have won a place at the national final. The team of 17-year-olds were led by David Odger, who said: “I am so happy about this, words can’t describe it, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. “There are a lot of improvements that we need to make to our car and the other judging elements. We particularly need to make sure our car meets with the regulations.” Andrew Denford, founder and chairman, F1 in Schools said: “There has been great work on display at the event and the students have all shown how a practical challenge can bring alive classroom learning and inspire them to prove themselves. “It’s been tough for the judges with so much good work as all the teams put in strong performances with some great ideas and innovative designs”.
Personal best Exciting opportunities for pupils The Academy of St Nicholas has been celebrating its third successful year in the Merseyside Young Medics programme in association with Liverpool University. The scheme is well established in The Academy, with Year 10 and 11 students who will continue over the next three years with students accessing a range of exciting and one off opportunities that will continue to raise their aspirations and motivation for achieving their personal best Merseyside Young Medics (MYM) is a rolling five-year programme of medicine and health-related activities and support for young people in Years 9-13 who are from underrepresented groups and have the potential and interest in studying medicine or health-related subjects at university. The programme is a fantastic opportunity for students to increase their confidence, motivation and aspirations, develop a real understanding of the subject qualification choices needed for medicine/health-related study and careers, to stretch their skills, abilities and understanding to support them to make informed choices and decisions for university. Head of school Mr Lancaster said: “We are delighted to be a part of such a fantastic scheme. For our students to participate in activities at the university designed to build knowledge and experience incrementally is key to success both in and out of school. “For some students, they will be the first in their family to go to university and we explore every opportunity to ensure every child is supported, encouraged and achieves the grades they need to make a difference to their lives.” The academy scholars programme forms many strands in the school with a comprehensive programme on offer for students from Year 7-13 including the pathways to law programme and the prestigious scholars programme both sponsored by University of Liverpool.
Putting people first Gateacre School have their very own team of ‘Heroes’ who help younger students across the school. Year 11 Heroes, with training and support from Humanutopia alongside Gateacre staff, have been fully trained and inspired to help support their peers at the school, mainly with breaking down any barriers that may prevent students involved from having a successful future and happy life and to help new students settle in or with any concerns they might
have. They have a team of 20 heroes who act as ambassadors for the school and have been working with Mrs Delaney and her Year 7 team in order to support any Year 7 students needing support, advice and or encouragement. All heroes meet with selected Year 7 students, their work involves a wide range of activities and support including: overcoming barriers to learning and success; homework, social and
emotional barriers; numeracy, literacy, drama club and learning to make friends. The Heroes have also produced two videos explaining about their work and about kindness, to share with and encourage all students across school to be kind; what kindness means; helping others; doing something nice and not expecting something back in return; being there for people; treating people how you want to be treated and being nice to one another.
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Secondary News
Doctor, doctor! Students flying high after placements
Five Year 9 students from Archbishop Beck College are flying high after successfully being awarded places on the University of Liverpool’s Young Medics programme. Students Faye Greenough, Daniel Guyler, Libby Miller, Lilly Saunders and Rachel Vincent are looking forward to taking advantage of the excellent opportunity they have been presented
with. Year 9 student, Rachel Vincent said: “This is a great opportunity to have, it’s opening doors for me” and Faye Greenough added: “I’m looking forward to finding out what a career in medicine is all about.” Headteacher Paul Dickinson had nothing but praise for all students, he said: “This is another wonderful
Launch of new digital network The Studio, Liverpool has launched Studio DEN - a two year digital entrepreneurship programme to allow young people across the Liverpool City Region to build commercial acumen and learn how to conceive, design, plan, develop and launch their own digital products under the Studio Digital Entrepreneur Network (DEN) publishing programme. Principal of The Studio, Shaun McInerney said: “We want to empower our students to make a positive impact on the world through an innovative use of digital technology.” Over the last five years students have brought this ethos to life and as a result, the school itself has been elected as one of 15 Ashoka Change maker schools in the UK to further this work. As a finale to the series of DEN sessions, June will see the school host the Studio Showcase - an in-house event providing students with a platform to present their work to a room of peers, partners and industry experts. Hosted at the Contemporary Urban Centre, the event also affords students the opportunity to network and celebrate their progress so far. 40
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
achievement for our students. We have an excellent relationship with the University of Liverpool and with their support, I am confident that our forward thinking students will achieve great things. “This week, we have also seen our Year 10 ‘Young Medics’ attend their first workshop of the year and our Year 11 ‘Pathway to Law’ students attended their final workshop of the year”.
Alsop receives national accolade for community work Students at Alsop High School attended the National Crimebeat Awards of the High Sheriffs’ Association after their Alsop FAITH 2017 initiative received national recognition for community engagement in north Liverpool. The award was received in the presence of HRH the Duchess of Gloucester and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, CBE, QPM. The National Crimebeat Awards honour schools and organisations that run successful crime-prevention projects for young people. Alsop received the award “for their outstanding contribution to helping to reduce crime and create a safer community” in north Liverpool. Students from the school travelled to London to deliver a presentation after the school gained second place and won a £500 cash prize. Mr Stephen Burrows, DL, High Sheriff of Merseyside, who praised their involvement as part of the FAITH 2017 initiative, accompanied the students. Alsop developed the FAITH 2017 initiative to foster cohesion and develop pride in the wider community of North Liverpool. FAITH 2017 initiative recently won the prestigious “Community Partnership” Award at the 2017 Educate Awards. Mr Joe Mangan, headteacher, said: “We are delighted to receive this accolade from National Crimebeat in recognition for Alsop’s contribution to the life of our community. Alsop has worked hard to build stronger links with parents and residents in both the immediate and wider North Liverpool community. “As the school approaches its’ centenary in 2019 our core aim is to impact upon the wider community and contribute to the regeneration of North Liverpool.”
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Thoughts Worth Sharing
CURRICULUM VITAE
Steven Jamieson Acting vice principal, The Belvedere Academy
Your education: For my secondary education, I attended The Blue Coat School, therefore, it was rather surreal to start my teaching career back at the school that I attended. Whilst this might have seemed a little incestuous, it was purely by chance; indeed, whilst at Leeds University, teaching was a career that was far from my mind! After graduation, I worked for 18 months as an economist for a consultancy firm in Altrincham, before ‘seeing the light’ and deciding that teaching was for me! I enrolled on a PGCE at Edge Hill University and have never looked back! What’s the secret of your success: I don’t know if there’s necessarily a secret but I would say that by working hard and trying to forge strong, effective relationships with colleagues, students and parents are key. Also, having a passion for my subject, economics, has resonated to all, well most, of the students that I have taught, and therefore I have been able to establish myself as a very good classroom practitioner. I am fortunate that I am still in touch with many former students. What advice would you give to somebody starting out in education: To recognise that, initially those early years will be tough but, stick with it, as teaching is such a rewarding profession and one that I would not change for anything. Again in those early years, say ‘yes’ to everything, be it going on school trips, running a sports team, helping out at school productions, or teaching an extra lunchtime revision session; it is these ‘extras’ that will help you stand out and also enable you to get to know the students. Be proactive and research training courses and additional qualifications that will add to your CV.
What makes Belvedere different: I have been privileged to have worked in two of the best schools in the north west of England, in The Belvedere Academy and The Blue Coat. Both schools are now extremely close to my heart, Blue Coat for obvious reasons, and Belvedere for the way in which it has maintained its feel and ethos as a ‘fee paying, independent school’ whilst converting to academy status. Belvedere is literally transformational in the sense that we have a mixed ability intake from over 50 primary schools, yet still manage to maintain the feel of a private sector, independent school. The after school enrichment programme that Belvedere offers is exceptional, with all staff offering sessions varying from knitting club to cartoon and film club, along with GCSE and A-level booster classes. The pastoral support on offer also makes Belvedere stand out from other schools. Tell us about The Belvedere Academy plans for the next 12 months: Having achieved a second successive ‘outstanding’ OFSTED inspection judgement in 2015, it would be easy to rest on our laurels and become complacent. However, in the face of the ever changing national agenda, it is imperative that we keep monitoring and evaluating our curriculum offer and what we do in general. To this end, we have revised our Sixth Form curriculum, which has subsequently resulted in a record number of applications for September 2018 for Year 12. We also have adapted our lower school curriculum, for instance, we have introduced Mandarin Chinese to the timetable to give our students a unique opportunity to explore Chinese culture and learn the basics of the language spoken in the fastest growing economy in the world.
Tweet all about it The five best educational tweets @ArchTemplePE Congratulations to former ATS pupil Kat Greenslade winning Bronze at the Commonwealth Games!!! @EducateAwards Be inspired by last year’s winners! If you have a brilliant colleague, why not nominate them for the #TeacheroftheYear or #SchoolSupportStar Awards? #Teachers #SchoolStaff #EA18 @WhitechapelLiv What a fantastic night at @LivCathedral Big thanks everyone who took part, their sponsors & all our fab volunteers who made it so special and helped raise a fantastic amount for the most vulnerable people in our community. #CathedralSleepout #FundraisingSuperstars @GateacreSchool We are very proud of our @GateacreLL and we are very close to have given away over 42,000 books now! #GateacreReads #GateacreSchool #BLL @MrPAKelly1 WE'VE DONE IT!!!! Thank you all so much, be proud of what we all achieved, we showed that together we can make a difference and achieve amazing things!! Schools, parents, teachers, teaching assistants and our amazing pupils - THANK YOU! @sportreliefsch @EducateMag.
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Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
EDUCATION STATS
548,415 The number of first year higher education undergraduate students in 2016/17 was 548,415, which represents an 11% increase from 2012/13.
81 per cent More than 4 in 5 pupils (81%) of pupils met the expected standard in phonics by the end of Year 1 in 2017, a 1% point increase from 2016.
£53.7B Total planned spend by local authorities on schools, education and children and young people’s services for 2017-18 is £53.7 billion, a nominal increase of £1.0 billion (equivalent to 2.0%) from the 2016-17 planned spend
511 511 schools are below the primary school floor standard. This represents 4% of the state-funded mainstream schools included in the floor calculations. In 2016, 665 (5%) of schools were below the floor standard.
8.67M In 2017 there were a total of 8.67 million pupils in all schools in England. This is an increase of just under 110,000 pupils, or 1.3%, since 2016. The total number of pupils has grown every year since 2009 and there are now 577,000 more pupils than at that point.
60.1 per cent Illness remains the most common reason for absence from school, accounting for 60.1% of all absences. The percentage of possible sessions missed due to illness has remained the same since last year at 2.7%.
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Thoughts Worth Sharing
Headteacher Talk
Tracey Greenough from The Academy of St Francis of Assisi
become a teacher so that no other child would ever feel the way that he did. This is a powerful reminder of the impact of building relationships with students, caring for them and believing in them. For many students, school is their safe haven. We must never underestimate the impact that a teacher can have on their students’ lives and ultimately their future. Care for them, believe in them, improve them.
One thing I wished I had learned at school: I really enjoyed school and you would always find me in the sports hall practising for some sport or other! I always followed the latest trend and usually, felt under a lot of pressure from myself to do so. I wish I had learned to have the confidence to not always follow the popular trends but instead to explore my own style and creativity and feel proud of myself for doing so. The book I haven’t read that I must: I have had Bill Bryson’s ‘A Short History of Nearly Everything’ for about 15 years. I still haven’t managed to read the whole book. As a science teacher with a biology degree, I have picked out the chapters that most interest me such as ‘The Stuff of Life’ and ‘Darwin’s singular motion’ and have been fascinated by Bryson’s sense of curiosity and eye opening opinions. I have yet to read all the chapters and really think that I should have done by now to provide me with an even greater sense of amazement and wonder when teaching about everything that has happened from the big bang to the rise of civilisation. Bill Bryson reveals the world in a way no one has seen it before. The education story that has caught my eye: In a blog by Concorida University Portland, a student shared with his teacher that throughout his last year in school, he never had a teacher who truly ‘saw him’. He said that he felt the teachers did not even know he was there. He described feeling isolated and marginalised which ultimately impacted on his entire school experience. He decided to
e t i r u o v a F y M
and why Gaby Crolla
Manager for Social, Emotional, Mental Health and Wellbeing Edsential
What I am most proud of about our school: This is very easy to answer. Every single member of our community is unique. We all have different life experiences, different beliefs and different appearances. We are a true mutlicultural community and we learn every day from each other. We unite behind our values of ambition, pride, respect, peace, reconciliation and happiness. We respect one another, we care for one another and together we feel empowered to strive for absolute success. I am extremely proud of each and every member of our community.
Learning and health go hand in hand. “Good health of children and young people is a prerequisite for educational achievement. Good health of teachers is important to the development of effective schools. Health promoting schools aim at empowering students, staff and parents to actively influence their lives and living Education and Health in Partnership; European Conference, 2002
”
This is my favourite quote because: The research and body of evidence specifically from Public Health England and the Department of Education demonstrate how closely linked education and mental health are. Schools that promote the health and wellbeing of their pupils are in a position to improve the educational and health and wellbeing outcomes of the young people in their care.
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Sa Safeguarding feguarding focus: focus:
Safeguarding e uarding Safeg Children Children How do we effectively safeguard and protect our children? This is a core question for all schools and society as a whole. For Phil Cooper, senior officer at School Improvement Liverpool, it’s one that he contemplates daily as he regularly supports schools across the city in their work to safeguard and protect children. Educate magazine caught up with Phil to find out what the role involves and why it’s so important.
Phil: It has been my privilege to work in or with schools for over 25 years across a number of local authorities. In my current role as Senior School Improvement Officer for safeguarding and incllusion with School Improvement Liverpool, I have the opportunity to collaborate closely with schools and other agencies and appreciate that safeguarding children is everyone’s first priority. Who has responsibility for safeguarding children? Phil: It’s everyone’s responsibility and everyone’s business. School leaders and governors establish an ethos and culture where safeguarding children is at the forefront of everyone’s thinking and permeates all of the school’s work. Effective schools ensure: •
•
they understand their responsibilities to work in partnership with other agencies to safeguard children safer e recruitment practices are adhered to and all job descriptions
they can turn to if they have a problem
reflect individual and collective responsibilities
Tell us a little bit about your role.
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key safeguarding messages are present around school, including in the front entrance and the staffroom
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the school development plan includes strategies to fu urther enhance the school’s work to improve the welfare of children
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children feel confident that any concerns they may have will be resolved
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all children are treated with respect e ences regardless of any differ
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children’s views shape the school’s practices
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children with additional welfare needs have an identified adult to support them
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staff and school leaders are highly visible around school
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staff briefings and meetings regularly revisit the school’s procedures
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everyone maintains a culture of vigilance and oversees a safe environment
any additional plan to support a child must take account of their individual views and wishes
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children who aren’t attending school regularly are seen frequently and supported to attend
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What should schools offer children? Phil: It’s important that children are listened to and understood if they are to thrive. Effective schools ensure: •
all children feel safe in school
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all children can identify an adult who
How should schools work with families? Phil: All faamilies can face difficult and challenging times. Schools, together with other agencies, often work in partnership with families to help them get
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Safeguarding focus:
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training provide opportunities for all staff and volunteers to understand the school’s and local procedures
back on track. Effective schools work in partnership to ensure: •
they understand the specific issues families can face
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children and families are provided with coordinated support at the earliest opportunity
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they support families to build resilience to cope with any additional challenges
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they recognise and build upon families’ existing strengths and support networks
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they support families to identify what is working well, what may need to change and how this can be achieved
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everyone is collectively focussed on achieving positive outcomes for the family and specifically the children
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staff and volunteers have a clear understanding of how to respond to indicators of harm where a child may be in need of support or protection
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the school’s child protection policy is available to all staff, volunteers and families
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staff and volunteers work to an agreed ‘code of conduct’ or ‘safer working practices guidance’
•
•
induction and regular on-going
Phil: Children, even from an early age, need to learn how to stay safe and become resilient. As they grow older they also learn about risk and how to develop positive healthy relationships. Effective schools ensure that: •
children learn how to behave appropriately towards other children
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Personal Social, Health and Economic Education and also Sex and Relationships Education are key components of the school curriculum
expectations in respect of children’s behaviour are made clear to everyone
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staff are effectively trained to deliver a safeguarding curriculum
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anti-bullying and equal opportunities policies promote respect and tolerance
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external agencies contribute to the delivery of the safeguarding curriculum
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the school develops a range of additional policies to support its work, including a School Emergency Management Plan
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lessons, assemblies, tutor time and enrichment activities are drawn upon
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noticeboards around school together with the school’s website identify agencies and resources that can provide further support to children and families
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families themselves are supported to learn how to keep their children safe including when they are online
What policies and procedures should be in place? Phil: Central to effective safeguarding in schools is the development of an overarching safeguarding framework that strives to promote consistent practice through a range of policies and procedures. Effective schools ensure:
How can we empower children?
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there is a highly trained safeguarding team who work together and intervene to support children identified as in need
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the safeguarding team have an understanding of local ‘levels of need guidance’; referral mechanisms and escalation/resolution procedures
Want to know more? If you would like to learn more about the safeguarding training or services School Improvement Liverpool offers: email: sil@si.liverpool.gov.uk or visit: www.schoolimprovementliverpool.co.uk/teams-safeguarding • Visit Liverpool Safeguarding Children Board website to learn about the work of the Safeguard Children Board including that of the Young Advisors. • Liverpool’s Early Help Directory available online provides families and agencies with a comprehensive directory of services and support locally. • There are lots of curriculum resources for schools and families to draw upon. As an example, the NSPCC website provides information about the Speak out, Stay Safe programme for schools and also the Share Aware and Let’s Talk PANTS resources for schools and families. • The Department for Education provides statutory safeguarding guidance for schools. Keeping Children Safe in Education states ‘School and college staff are particularly important as they are in a position to identify concerns early, provide help for children, and prevent concerns from escalating.’
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Getting To Know You
g n tt i e G u o y w o n k to A look at the businesses behind
Copyrite Systems | Ricoh UK innovative technology with a strong focus on best practice, service and partnerships, Copyrite Systems enables clients to better manage their entire paper and electronic document input, output, manipulation and storage. Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK are two of the UK’s most innovative companies which are passionate about collaboration, technology and communication. Supporting the awards since 2016, the companies are thrilled to return for its third year as headline sponsors.
The Speke based company is also prolific in the local community, working with charities such as the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, North West Cancer Research and supporting school communities by funding breakfast clubs and various initiatives.
Operating for over 25 years, Copyrite Systems’ team works with primary, secondary schools and colleges to transform learning environments and to increase productivity. By combining
Andrew Hampson, sales manager at Copyrite Systems, says: “We are immensely proud of our support and commitment to the Educate Awards. It is a real privilege to be the title sponsor for this truly inspirational event.
The awards shares some of our core service values of collaboration, loyalty, communication and continuously exceeding expectations. “We have developed really strong links with our education clients over the years, so much so that 75% of our clients have been with us for more than 10 years. We proudly serve schools and colleges right across the North West and are looking forward to working with both new and existing schools to add value and provide a better return on investment.” www.copyritesystems.co.uk 0151 486 2424 @CopyriteSystems
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Getting Getting To To Know Know You You
THE FOUNDR FOUNDRY YA AGENCY GENCY seven years, agency director Fiona Barnet also sits on the esteemed judging panel, offering her media and creative expertise across a number of categories. From helping schools spread their good news far and wide to designing signage, graphics and wall art that makes a big impact, The Foundry Agency is passionate about education. The integrated communications agency specialises in design, public relations and digital services; offering schools across the region a one-stop solution to advertising and marketing. Sponsors of the he Educate Aw wards for
Fiona Barnet, says: “The Educate w exce is all about inspiring excellence Awards and creativity and that is exactly what we try to do as an agency. We give schools the opportunity to present their school in the best light, with high quality marketing solutions that speak volumes to visitors, staff, parents and students. We love helping schools meet their aims, whether that’s through a shiny new website, public relations,
designing a high quality prospectus or installing unique wall art in classrooms! “We are incredibly proud to be longhe Educate Awards w time supporters of the and couldn’t think of a better brand to align ourselves with. As a judge, it is very humbling to read about the inspiring projects taking place in our local schools and we can’t wait to be a part of this amazing event once again in 2018.” www.thefoundryagency.co.uk 0151 709 1633 @Foundry_Agency
DAVID D AVID V M ROBINSON With an exciting expansion of DMR’s showroom in Manchester city centre comes opportunities for this support to spread across the North West of England to include schools surrounding all of the brand’s four showrooms. As a company with design at its roots, David M Robinson remains passionate about the provision of creative education in schools. Nurturing creative talent from a young age is of vital importance to society. As DMR prepares to celebrate 50 years of trading next year, plans are already afoot for ways that the brand can secure itself as a national champion of creativity in schools.
Jamie McFadden, PR & Communications Executive, says: “We are thrilled to return to the Educate wards to support the award for Aw Outstanding Arts in a Primary School for the second year. The awards epitomise the best of education from across the North West, and our support for this particular award demonstrates just how important creative education is to us at DMR.
“With a number of exciting projects coming up across the DMR family, we have already begun to plan other opportunities to support education alongside our friends at Educate Magazine. It is our privilege to be able to give back to the communities in which we have showrooms across the UK.” www.davidmrobinson.co.uk (Liverpool One): 0151 708 1140 @DMR_Style @David_MRobinson
LIVERPOOL OOL LEARNING P PARTNERSHIP A ARTNERSHIP The work it does is extremely varied! It oversees Reading Clubs for vulnerable young people, promotes the Liverpool Counts Quality Mark for Numeracy in schools and has a key focus on training staff to support young people’s mental health.
Liverpool Learning Partnership is the organisation that holds together the family of schools across all sectors in the city. From nurseries to further education, it is focused on making sure all learners are supported and enabled to fulfil their potential.
It also organises an annual celebration event to celebrate school attendance and is working with partners across the city to reduce absence and improve transition between school phases. It oversees the work of the Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership and works to bring schools and cultural partners together to enhance the curriculum offer.
Elaine Rees, CEO comments: “We are delighted to sponsor Outstanding Arts in a Secondary School for the second year. There is a host of talent across our schools and the opportunity to showcase that should never be missed. The Educate Awards w does this so well and we are proud to play a small part in celebrating the talent in our area.” www. liverpoollearningpartnership .com 0151 724 4006 @llpartnership
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Getting To Know You
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT LIVERPOOL opportunity to develop, learn, achieve and excel.
School Improvement Liverpool are experts in education, with a firmly established reputation as one of the leading service providers in the North West. It offers schools a superior service, delivering consultancy, training and professional development via its trusted and experienced team, who have proven track records of excellence and credibility. They are dedicated to offering outstanding support to ensure every child and young person has the
It has worked with over 900 schools, settings and businesses across the North West and the positive impact from its services in schools, support and professional development opportunities reaches in excess of 100,000 children. The team spend a lot of time on-site in schools, working collaboratively and striving towards excellence. Malik Killen, CEO, says: “At School Improvement Liverpool we aim to support and enable schools and other settings to be the best they can be. The
quality of our services is based on the talent, expertise and commitment of our teams. “We’re thrilled to be sponsoring the School Support Star of the Year category at the Educate Awards again this year. It’s a wonderful event that celebrates the achievements of schools in the North West.” www. schoolimprovement liverpool.co.uk 0151 233 3901 @SI_Liverpool
WINSTANLEY COLLEGE 16-18 Education Provider” accolade in 2016.
college whether that’s university or employment.”
Winstanley College is a large sixth form college judged ‘Outstanding’ by OFSTED in successive inspections since 2000. Its exceptional reputation for academic achievement and vibrant enrichment means it is the area’s first choice college for A Level study.
Winstanley College Principal Louise Tipping says: “We are really proud of our students, our staff and everything that we achieve together. We believe that every student who comes to us has amazing potential and it’s our job to unlock that potential.
The college says it has been a pleasure to celebrate that success with staff and students and were delighted to win the Educate Awards’ “Most Inspirational
On the subject of Winstanley College’s long standing support of the Educate Awards, Louise adds: “It’s both an honour and a privilege to support the Educate Awards; a truly wonderful event that mirrors our commitment to broadening the academic and personal horizons of young people.”
“Our teachers specialise in helping students develop the skills needed to study at this level whilst also working hard to prepare them for life after
www.winstanley.ac.uk @winstanleycoll
ALL ABOUT STEM and universities so that they can strategically match-make opportunities with need.
All About STEM work on lots of different projects to bring exciting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) to schools across the North West, linking them with business and industry expert volunteers inspiring the next generation of STEM specialists.
One such project it organises is The Big Bang North West, a STEM celebration which enables young people to discover the exciting and rewarding science, technology, engineering and maths based careers available in the local area via fun ‘quick hitting’ hands-on action. The event returns bigger and better on July 10th 2018!
Described as the ‘hidden wiring in the system’, they are working hard to build and maintain relationships with schools, businesses, industry, colleges
Managing director Michelle Dow, says: “Cutting through the noise is what we are all about, making sure that schools and industry have easy access
to the information and events they need in order to support, enrich and enhance the work they’re doing. This is about plugging the skills gap and ensuring that our children are ready, appropriately qualified and skilled, to take up their place in the rapidly developing jobs landscape in the area. “We are so proud to be a returning sponsor of the STEM Project of the Year Award and can’t wait to hand over our accolade to this year’s very deserving winner.” www.allaboutstem.co.uk @allaboutstem
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Getting Getting To To Know Know You You
LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY
Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) is a forward-thinking modern civic university, with a strong academic history and a sense of social responsibility driven by its heritage and values. With roots tracing back to 1823, it is proud of ensuring that the benefits of a university education are accessible to everyone with academic ability,
irrespective of their social or economic background. The University is committed to delivering a researchinformed and supportive student experience, which produces graduates who are valued contributors to society. LJMU is committed to supporting its community, and is dedicated to encouraging young people to reach their true potential in life. Peter Dolan, outreach manager, says: “The university works in partnership with local schools and colleges, and offers a range of outreach programmes aimed at supporting progression to
higher education through raising aspirations and attainment of pupils from all backgrounds. “LJMU is an established sponsor of the Educate Awards w ward and is once again proud to be part of an event which celebrates the fantastic work undertaken in the school sector.” www.ljmu.ac.uk 0151 231 5090 @LJMUOutreach
LIVERPOOL SCHOOL SPORT SPORTS SP PARTNERSHIP A ARTNERSHIP
Liverpool School Sports Partnership (LSSP) are proud sponsors of the Outstanding Commitment to Sport in Primary School ool Aw ward. Supporting PE, physical activity and school sport since 2000, its aim is to help all children and young people access high quality PE, physical activity and sport in their school and community. The LSSP team works with primary, secondary and special schools across
the region to identify and support their needs as well as working strategically with different partners to access sport opportunities and resources. As a school-based organisation, it promotes, develops and enhances PE, school sport and healthy lifestyles for all children and young people. From access to competitions; PE mentoring for staff; support to achieve ward the national School Games Mark Aw to pupil leadership training, the LSSP team has the local knowledge and expertise to make a real difference. Jimmy McGinn, North LSSP partnership manager, says: “As providers of a vast array of services
which support schools to develop their pupils’ physical, social and emotional wellbeing, LSSP is delighted to n Educate Aw wards champion sport as an sponsor. “The educational benefits of sport should not be underestimated; we are passionate about getting pupils active and giving them opportunities to develop new skills. We are looking forward to presenting the prestigious award in November!” www.lssp.co.uk @Liverpool_SSP
PROGRES PROGRESS S SCHOOLS LIMITED
Progress S c h o o l s ltd
Progress Schools Limited is a nationally based organisation with independent secondary schools based across England. They provide high level, supportive and inspirational teaching to 13-16 year olds at Key Stages 3 and 4 to ensure positive progression and readiness for the world of further education, work based learning or employment. James Madine, chief executive says: “It is my pleasure to head up this
fantastic organisation of dedicated, committed and passionate staff who do not hesitate to go that extra mile in providing every student with the outstanding alternative education that they deserve! “Every year, our students continue to excel themselves and demonstrate how the hard work that goes into each of them pays dividends as they progress into an apprenticeship, further education or employment. “The aim of Progress Schools is to ensure that each student becomes economically active in the future as we thrive in our responsibility to ‘support the potential to achieve‘.
“It is our great privilege to sponsor the Educate Awards, w and specifically the SEND Provision Award, w wa for the third consecutive year. “Supporting the potential of those students who face a number of barriers to their progression is the fabric of our identity at Progress Schools, so to support the recognition of the great work of those who provide these students with that valuable support and guidance, is a true honour!’ www.Progress-schools.co.uk 0151 559 1867 @schoolsprogress
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G Getting etting To To Know Know You You
BMD: LA LAW AW SOLICIT SOLICITORS ORS
Based in Wavertree, BMD: Law Solicitors deals with property, wills and private client as well as family law and litigation. Senior partner Bernadette McDonald is a lecturer in both Conveyancing Practice and Land Law and often holds seminars and courses on property and business related issues. The firm regularly attends
careers days in local primary and secondary schools and hope to inspire a new generation of lawyers.
“BMD: Law Solicitors are passionate about education and are thrilled to get involved in the Educate ate Aw wards 2018.
Sponsors of the Spirit of Enterprise Award, w the firm aren’t shy of awards awa success themselves, recently receiving its fourth award nomination in six months. As a small firm, it focuses on excellent client care across a range of sectors including property, business and wealth protection.
“This will be our first year supporting the awards so we are all very excited to recognise the region’s enterprising schools, who bring the world of work to life for students!” www.bmd-law.uk @BMD_Law
Senior partner Bernadette, says:
BISHOP OF LIVERPOOL of Christian CND and, together with his wife Kate, was heavily involved in what was then called the Ecology Party, now the Greens. The Rt. Revd. Paul Bayes is the Diocesan Bishop of Liverpool. Originally from Bradford, he trained for ministry at Queen’s Birmingham and was ordained in 1979, serving as a curate in Whitley Bay, Tyyneside, before moving to London as a university chaplain. In London he served as national co-chair
After almost ten years in Tootton, and twenty-five years in pastoral ministry, Paul moved to work for the Archbishop’s Council in London as the Church of England’s National Mission and Evangelism advisor. In 2010 he was invited to move to the Diocese of St Albans as Bishop of Hertford and became Bishop of Liverpool in 2014.
Supporting the Community Partnership for a third year Award w yea , the Diocese of Liverpool is passionate about making a difference through its relationships with the wider community. The Diocese also supports Christian education through the work of the Diocesan Board of Education. www.liverpool.anglican.org 0151 709 9722
CER EDUC EDUCATION AT TION Education has worked hard to become the top choice for schools, nurseries, academies and other education establishments, developing its reputation for high quality services.
With offices nationwide, CER Education has become one of the most successful education recruitment businesses in the UK specialising in permanent recruitment and long term and emergency supply cover. Its experienced teams specialise in different areas of the education sector, including SEN, further education, leadership recruitment and early years. Over the past 15 years, CER
From its Liverpool office, it covers local education authorities including Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens, Wirral, Halton, Warrington, West Cheshire, West Lancashire and Isle of Man. The team holds the candidates they work with in high esteem, delivering a people centric service that’s committed to not just finding them the right role, but supporting their continued professional development through to helping ensure their mental health and wellbeing in
the workplace via various initiatives. Tce McCann, says: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Teeacher h off the h Year award. In our line of work we truly understand the lengths teachers go to support their students, this is a profession that should be celebrated and rewarded and the he Educate Aw wards do just that! “We are so excited to see which inspiring teachers will be on this year’s shortlist and are looking forward to celebrating with them all at the awards.” www.cer.co.uk 0151 242 6020
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ONE NIGHT NIGHT. T. AWARD WINNERS. 21 A WARD A W W AN WHO WILL WIN ATE T A W EDUCATE AWARD EDUC 2018? 18? IN 20
ENTRY ENTR RY DEADLINE DEAD 2 24TH 4TH JUNE 20 2018 18 WWW.EDUCATEAWARDS.CO.UK W WW..EDUCATEA T AWARD A S.CO.UK
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SCHOOL
SPONSORED BY
Students transform outdoor learning area by planting trees Eco-friendly students at Abbot’s Lea School have planted 250 trees as part of an ongoing project to transform their outdoor learning provision. The specialist Woolton-based school received the saplings from the Woodland Trust after successfully applying for a range of tree types, including silver birch, wild cherry and crab apple, in order to create a new forest area for all to enjoy. Class Australia, in key stage four, led the project as part of their horticulture qualification, and laid the foundation by digging holes for the saplings to be planted into. The group received further help from younger pupils in classes USA and Canada in the primary department. Once the ground was ready, every student within the school got the chance to plant their own tree. The outdoor learning provision will form a unique forest school that students of all ages can appreciate, whilst
allowing them to get to know the great outdoors. Anthony McVerry, head of secondary department at Abbot’s Lea School, said: “As a school we are keen to provide our students with the opportunity to learn both inside and outside of the classroom to discover new knowledge, gain new skills and develop new interests. “The Woodland Trust offers free saplings to schools across the country and this is a great way for our students to play a part in the development of the school and contribution to a much bigger national ecoproject. “By asking students to plant their own trees, they are leaving a lasting legacy for the future generations of Abbot's Lea School students. “It is key that each student contributes to our vision of making this the best specialist school in the world and that they can take this experience with them and remember it for years to come”.
A not so rubbish trip! Is recycling rubbish? How is your paper separated from plastic bottles? Take a visit to Gillmoss Recycling Discovery Centre to find out! The centre offers free visits for Merseyside & Halton schools and community groups at the purpose built facility. Featuring a visually stimulating classroom and a viewing walkway, so everyone gets a bird’s eye view of the industrial processes of the Materials Recovery Facility. The centre has been awarded the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Quality Badge and is also a Children's University Learning Destination, visits are fast paced with hands on learning opportunities. All sessions are led by a qualified teacher. “A must for every child to visit. Fun, interesting, educational and it's free. Amazing!.” - Ranworth Square Primary School. www.veolia.co.uk/merseyside-and-halton
Pupils from Abbot’s Lea School launch their outdoor learning project
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schools schools • colleges colleges • ccommunity ommu unity g groups roup ups To bbook: ook:
0203 0 2 35 20 567 67 4 4200 20 00
uuk.veolia.discoverycentre@veolia.com k.ve v olia.discoverycentre@veolia.com www.veolia.co.uk/merseyside-and-halton www.veolia.co.uk/merseyside-and-halton
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Sponsored by
Caldies in bloom It’s not just green fingers you’ll find at their green corner Plans were put in place early in the year at Calderstones School to create artwork that would give year round colour and interest to their green corner. Pebble painting and clay butterfly workshops were planned and came to fruition with the support of their art and religious studies departments. Mrs Stacey Stokoe led the art activities after school and guided their eco leaders to create something beautiful for outdoor decoration. Miss Juliet Lancaster and Mr Jamie Sparkes held assemblies about the butterfly project which raises awareness of lives lost in the holocaust and enlisted students to make clay butterflies that have recently been painted ready to hang on the walls alongside the allotment. The results have been fantastic and were installed in the green corner. The school were delighted to be the first school to have some art work by artist Paul Curtis on site after cheekily approaching Paul to ask would he consider painting something for the school in their school garden - he was well up for the challenge! Student, Emma Taylor Johnson, said: “On a chilly,
Pupils from Calderstones School with artist Paul Curtis who created the poppy design
grey day in February Paul came and assessed the schools weather-beaten allotment and walled garden and decided that he could definitely help them brighten it up. Pupils discussed ideas, and very much wanted to create something in keeping with the wildflower meadow and our native species. “Paul’s design ideas were bold and dramatic, but it was the poppies design that seemed the perfect choice. “Paul worked long hours painting a
stunning mural that can be seen across the school site. “Students who previously had no idea where the green corner was could now see it waving it’s bright, bold flag across Calder Field enticing them to come and take a closer look.” The school now hope that Paul’s mural, along with our in house art installations, will engage more students to get outdoors and get involved in their eco activities and realise that they may find a niche for themselves.
Mini Shakespeare Globe comes to Huyton St Margaret Mary’s Junior School in Huyton is building its own replica of the world famous Shakespearean Globe Theatre. Inspired by the plans for the Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot and a visit to the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe on the Southbank in London, the timber framed structure is being built in the school playground by the very talented Simon Lyon, a local contractor. Once completed, the theatre will include a performance stage and seating for 120 people as well as a magnificent thatched roof. It will help to support the children’s learning and development through drama, performance and the works of Shakespeare himself and will be used as an outdoor classroom for lessons and for performances throughout the 54
year. It will also be made available for other local schools and the wider community to use. Marcella Armstrong, headteacher at St Margaret Mary’s Junior School said: “We’re really excited about our replica globe theatre. It is a great addition to our school and will be a platform for the development of language and communication and the
whole curriculum. “We want our theatre to raise interest and involvement in Shakespeare and with the planned Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot it is a great time to encourage our pupils and the wider community to get involved. “The encouragement and praise we have received for the project has been heartfelt
How St Margaret Mary’s Globe Theatre will look
Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
and very welcome, along with the recognition that we are the only school in the country to have embarked on such an inspirational project.” Ian Tabbron interim chief executive of the Shakespeare North Playhouse said: “We are delighted to see how inspired St Margaret Mary’s pupils have been by our new Playhouse in Prescot which is focused on education, language and performance and will be at the heart of the community. “It is a bold and imaginative scheme which we know will provide great benefits for learning and personal development for all the students and their families. We look forward to being a partner with the many future Shakespeare inspired projects across Knowsley!” It is expected that work on the replica theatre will be completed by September 2018.
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Sixth Form applications for September 2018 are welcome State-of-the-Art, Science, Sport and Sixth Form Facilities We aim for excellence and our commitment to this is reflected in our up to date curriculum based upon traditional values. Our Sixth Form offers the widest range of subjects and remains firmly committed to maintaining our first class reputation with employers and Higher Education institutions.
To find out more please call 0151 288 1000 or email admin@sfx.liverpool.sch.uk St Francis Xavier’s College, Woolton Hill Road, Liverpool L25 6EG
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Viewpoint
Promoting good mental health Is enough being done to help schools, primary and secondary, provide the best support for children’s mental health and wellbeing? How important for children today is this support, and what further investment or help would you like to see?
Ken Heaton, headteacher, Florence Melly Community Primary School There is an increasing number of young children experiencing mental health issues and as a country we should be trying to do everything we can to support all of our children to develop good mental health and wellbeing. Early support is essential for schools. I personally feel the government could do far more to offer funding and support to schools. Our local council is keen to support schools and there are some local grants from our mayor’s office but the council has faced significant cuts to its budget. In Florence Melly Community Primary School, mental health is seen as a very important aspect of our children’s development. We have established strong school values: DREAMS. This stands
for determination, resilience, empowerment, appreciation, motivation and safety. Our aim is to build resilience in our pupils, resilience in our parents and resilience in our school. We have a strong pastoral support team with two members of staff who engage with identified pupils on a daily basis developing positive mental health strategies to support our children. We also work closely with other agencies in Liverpool to bring about better outcomes for our pupils. We would like to do more and when funding comes into schools in 2019 we will strengthen our team and ensure we support more of our families and children in need.
The LJMU ITE team One of the ways in which we at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) are helping to develop teachers in the area of mental health is through the Mental Health Conference. This second conference builds on the success of the first conference last year and the programme brings together soon to be newly qualified teachers working in partnership with educational and health professionals. The overall aim of the day is to improve awareness and knowledge to support young people, children and teachers’ mental health and well-being in schools. This conference has received a great deal of support, good will, enthusiasm and excitement from our local and national
workforce in the statutory and non-statutory sectors and we are delighted to host this conference. This wide range of skills and experience will mean that our LJMU trainees will receive a diverse range of learning opportunities throughout the day. Most importantly they will be able to take this learning out into the workplace to shape practice as teachers and support the well-being of the many children and young people they will have the pleasure and privilege to teach over the years and safeguard their own mental health and wellbeing as a beginning teacher.
Matt Blow, policy manager at YoungMinds Children and young people today face a huge range of pressures, from exam stress to cyberbullying to problems at home – and it can be extremely difficult for them to find the help that they need when times are tough. While schools shouldn’t be expected to replace specialist mental health services, they have a crucial role to play in helping young people develop the skills they need to cope in today’s world, and in intervening early when problems do emerge. Unfortunately, as most young people, parents and teachers agree, the current education system is fundamentally unbalanced, and places a far greater focus on exam results
than on the wellbeing of students. That’s why it’s time to rebalance the education system. Schools that prioritise wellbeing actually tend to do better academically, so we’re calling on the government to focus on promoting good mental health rather than putting children under yet more pressure. Lots of schools are doing great work on wellbeing, but are held back by a lack of training and support. The government should encourage all schools to prioritise student wellbeing and mental health, through improved funding and better recognition for the good work that they do.
Have your say: To suggest or contribute to a topic for debate in Viewpoint email us at: educate@merseymirror.com www.educatemagazine.com 56
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ADVERTORIAL
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EDUCATE16+ Education, training and employment
Reaching out LJMU awarded £44,000 to promote chemistry to schools LJMU has been awarded £44,000 to expand an innovative chemistry outreach scheme to encourage young people from 11 schools across deprived areas of Liverpool City Region, to become the scientists of the future. Funding for the ‘Shaping Futures with Chemistry’ scheme has been awarded through the Merseyside Collaborative Outreach Programme (MCOP). It builds on LJMU’s Royal Society-backed ‘Chemistry for All’ scheme, now in its fourth year. LJMU scientists and students will work with an additional five local schools in Knowsley, St Helens, Wirral and a new area – Halton - to provide engaging and enriching chemistry activities both in school and LJMU’s campus. The new funding will also benefit an extra year group in two existing partner schools Bebington High School and All Saints Catholic High School as well as additional priority schools with sixth forms offering Alevel chemistry. Liverpool was ranked amongst the most deprived areas according to the English Indices of Deprivation 2010 with just over half, 51 per cent, of all neighbourhoods classified in the most deprived category nationally. ‘Shaping Futures with Chemistry’ project lead and reader in crystallisation science Dr Linda Seton said: “We are delighted to have won this funding, building on our previous success in bringing the excitement of science to young people and inspiring them to consider university. “The programme will let young people get hands on in a lab environment both in their own school and in our campus – activities are based on real-life situations that pupils find exciting and we will combine this with other skills in literacy and numeracy so they are equipped and confident in seeing themselves as the scientists of the future.” Pupils involved in the scheme will
take part in fun activities including a chemistry at the crime scene day, which reflects the work of forensic chemists and the chemistry of food where they perform analytical tests on food stuffs to determine the iron content and check that they do not contain unlawful colours. Shaping Futures have also funded a full
time project officer to work within the outreach team to deliver a brand new mentoring project with the aim of raising attainment and improving the level of progression into higher education. A key objective of this project will be to support attainment in GCSE maths and English.
Knowsley Community College highlighted as best for pass rates Newly published national achievement rate tables reveal that for the second year running, Knowsley Community College (KCC) is the best further education college in Liverpool for best overall vocational pass rates. Compiled by the Education and Skills Funding Agency, the statistics also place KCC in the top three best further education colleges for pass rates in the Liverpool City Region for school leavers aged
16-18. The results highlight the continued success of students who completed a vocational qualification at KCC in 2016 – 2017. Gill Banks, principal at KCC said: “The latest figures truly highlight the exceptional hard work and dedication provided by our teaching staff and students, to remain focused on achieving success. KCC truly is a great place to study and topping pass rate tables in the region goes to prove this.”
Gill Banks, principal at Knowsley Community College
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Student wins national translation competition Luke Botcherby, a student at Rainford Sixth Form, has triumphed at Manchester Metropolitan University’s (MMU) national Spanish translation competition. As part of its outreach to secondary schools, MMU’s department of languages, information and communications organise an annual Spanish translation competition aimed at A-level students. This year, students received a copy of an original children’s story ‘La manía de la rana rockera’, written by Pedro Pablo Sacristán. In order to be successful in the competition, the candidates had to translate the whole story from Spanish into English, demonstrating a solid grasp of the Spanish language. The finished translation had to be grammatically accurate, and yet retain the original style and meaning. Luke said: “I was thrilled to find out that I had won MMU’s translation competition. I decided to enter it as I have always found translation an interesting concept and wanted to
discover if it was as exhilarating as it seemed. “The fact that my work could potentially be published was also a highly motivating factor. “Translating the story did present some challenges, including manipulating the vocabulary to suit the target audience of young children. “Winning this competition has certainly whet my appetite for studying Luke Botcherby (centre) receives his award
Amongst the best Hugh Baird College has been rated amongst the best in the North West after receiving an overall ‘Good’ Ofsted grading following its latest inspection from the government’s education watchdog. The Bootle based college, which offers vocational learning for students from aged 14 upwards, university level courses including full honours degrees and, since merging with South Sefton College in December of last year, A-level courses, scored ‘Good’ gradings in all but one of the nine areas the Ofsted inspection covered. Ofsted judges reported that many college students ‘gain jobs with companies locally, nationally and internationally’ while learner behaviour and acceptance of others and those from different backgrounds and cultures was also commended in the report. A major achievement for Hugh Baird College was the uplift of its A-level provision from a ‘Requiring Improvement’ rating given to South Sefton College when they were inspected in 2016 to a ‘Good’ grading, meaning that the college now offers some of the best A-level teaching in the Liverpool City Region at its South Sefton Campus. Hugh Baird College principal and chief executive Yana Williams said: 60
translation at university in the future, and I hope that I have inspired other students in my school to take part next year.” Rainford’s modern foreign languages department were equally as delighted with Luke’s achievement. They noted that his success is a real credit to his conscientious attitude, highlighting his motivation to go above and beyond in his language studies.
“We are pleased with the result of our latest Government inspection which demonstrates a significant team effort from all involved at Hugh Baird College, from students, parents, teachers, governors and managers, “The findings demonstrate the passion and commitment within our college to drive educational standards and opportunities for learners across the Liverpool City Region. “We believe it also provides a strong indication of our college ethos, which is based on an inclusive and respectful culture. “The key findings show positive performances across the board, but importantly communicate the highquality learning environment we create at Hugh Baird College. “Officials have recognised the dedication and commitment of our tutors, and the strong track-record we have delivering positive outcomes for our learners.”
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German adventure gives insight into business If you are aged 16 to 18 and considering a career working in digital marketing, a new course due to be launched by St Helens Chamber could help you to achieve your career goals. Starting in September the exciting new course will be delivered at the chamber’s new digital training centre in St Helens town centre. Delivered over seven months the course combines a range of highly sought after qualifications with relevant work experience. By the end of the course you will be ready to move into an exciting fastmoving industry with a guaranteed interview for an advanced apprenticeship in digital marketing. The course includes qualifications in marketing and digital promotion for business, covering subjects such as search engine optimisation and using social media for business. Students also gain relevant work experience, can take driving lessons and even go on an all-expenses paid study trip to Stuttgart in Germany. The study trip is packed full of company visits and guided tours designed to provide students with an insight into multinational commercial operations and Stuttgart’s culture, before they move on to advanced apprenticeships with local companies. Other highlights of the trip include guided tours of Porsche and the Mercedes Benz Museum, a tour of Schmalz and Schon, one of the biggest logistics companies in the world. Laura Brogden, young people’s development manager at the chamber, said: “So far over 75 students have benefited from our study programme courses, gaining lots of valuable skills and experiences and moving onto rewarding careers. “This year we are excited to be launching a new course in digital marketing, and delivering it from our brand new digital hub.”
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LJMU has launched subject specific Saturday clubs to raise the aspirations of young people in Merseyside. The first Saturday club was launched by the Liverpool School of Art and Design (LSAD) who have been hosting weekly workshops for young people aged between 13 and 16 years after LJMU joined the Sorrell Foundation’s National Saturday Club programme. The pupils from our outreach partner schools complete an 18-week programme of workshops and events, covering different subject areas such as art, graphic design, fashion, print-making, photography, architecture and curatorial practice. Members have been able to explore their own identity by customising fashion garments and creating brand identities through print making processes. Senior lecturer in art and design Jon Spruce, who is co-ordinating the Saturday Art & Design club, said: “It has been a very enjoyable experience to help provide young people with the opportunity to take part in a range of creative activities free from the constraints of their school studies. “They are free to develop their own ideas as far as their imagination can take them.” Local artists, academic staff and undergraduate students from LSAD have been involved in delivering and supporting the workshops. In addition, Liverpool Screen School recently launched a writing and talking club specifically designed to meet the needs of students interested in creative writing. The club is led by Professor Catherine Cole and Liverpool novelist Caroline
Raising aspirations Saturday clubs encourage expression and creativity Smailes, with student helpers Liam Porter and Anah Sharif who devise weekly writing exercises offering new ways for members to approach stories and poems. Jon said: “Taking part in National Saturday Club programmes places LJMU amongst a progressive group of colleges and universities around the UK that believe in the value of creating opportunities for young people to engage
KCC launches new dental course Knowsley Community College has launched an exciting new dental nursing course in response to the growing demand for industry professionals. The level 3 advanced diploma in dental nursing will help students take their first steps towards a career in the dental industry. The qualification recognised by the General Dental Council, will allow students to work with industry specialists focusing on direct, chairside work and providing support during a range of dental treatments to gain a strong understanding of dental equipment, instruments and materials. The dental industry is an increasingly competitive and expanding profession and in the UK alone is worth around £9 billion. Dental nurses assist dentists with all aspects of patient care, from sterilising instruments and recording patient information to passing instruments and participating during advanced, specialist treatment. Clare Webster, head of curriculum, said: “Dental nursing has become an increasingly popular career choice over the past few years and this new course is an excellent opportunity for those who are looking to launch a career in dentistry”. The knowledge and theory behind dentistry will be provided once a week within the classroom at Knowsley Community College. In addition to this, students will gain valuable work experience within a local dental practice four days a week. 62
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in inspiring activities. “These clubs will help to raise their ambitions and broaden their understanding of potential future careers within the creative industries.” It is an essential part of LJMU’s role in the community to encourage pupils from a diverse range of backgrounds to consider continuing their studies and reach their potential.
Career ready award for student A West Derby School has been selected as the regional winner for the North West Career Ready Student of the Year Award 2018 Year 13 student Joe Williams completed his internship at Regatta Place, Liverpool, working with the education transformation development managers. During his time there, Joe was instrumental in developing a website for the team, which included resources which Joe researched for. Joe also prepared an ‘Idiots Guide for website development’ for fellow workers to ensure the work was continued. Joe said: “I found my internship beneficial and felt I was doing something relevant to the business. I felt included within the team and developed good working relationships. “My perceptions of the NHS have changed significantly, as I wasn’t aware of the amount of career opportunities that there are. It has also changed my aspirations for the future and I will likely be pursuing an apprenticeship rather than going down the university route with my career”.
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Do D o yo you y ou ha ou have h av av vee a p pass passion asssssion a ssiio on for for or writing? writing? wr riting? A part As p r of the he University U iv r ty of of Liverpool’s Livverp po oo oll s L v rpool Literary Lit L terar e ry r Festival, Festival, st val students studen nts are are being be being in ngg Liverpool in ited invit d to to submit subm ubmit m a 500 50 word w rd d fictional fi io al story story ryy invited ba ed on based on the the topic topic opic of of China. C h na E r s will Entries il be b jud udged g d by by award-winning award-winning wa w d wi n g au u ho uthor judged author Philip i p Pullman. u m n Philip
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The Liverpool Promise Undergraduates to tutor GCSE students
Abigail Shapiro (left), Nick Bent (right) from Tutor Trust with Councillor Nick Small and university students who will be tutoring pupils.
Around 60 University of Liverpool undergraduates have been recruited to work with secondary school pupils in the city to drive up attainment in maths and science. The project is part of the Liverpool Promise – a pledge by education, civic, cultural and business leaders to make the city’s education system the best in the UK. The scheme is being run by the Tutor Trust, a unique education charity which tackles educational inequality by supplying schools with top quality academic tutors who are studying at university. They will work with six Liverpool secondary schools – Alsop High, De La Salle Academy, Fazakerley High, Notre Dame Catholic College, Holly Lodge
Girls’ College and Liverpool Life Sciences UTC - who will identify Year 11 students that need one to one support to improve their GCSE grades. Councillor Nick Small, assistant mayor and cabinet member for schools, said: “Although exam results have been improving in Liverpool, we need to go further and faster in driving up results in particular subjects, as well as encouraging university students to think about teaching as a career. “This is a great scheme which is a winwin for everyone. The university students are paid for their time and get the chance to find out what it’s like to work in education. “The pupils benefit from working on an individual basis to improve their grades by working with a student who can also
raise their aspirations by giving them an insight into the difference a university education can make to their life and career chances.” Nick Bent and Abigail Shapiro, cofounders of the Tutor Trust, said: “We are delighted to be working in Liverpool and have had an overwhelming level of interest from undergraduates wanting to be part in this programme. “We have had great support from the University of Liverpool and from 250 applications have selected 58 of the brightest and best students who we will be placed with schools over the next few months. “We are very much looking forward to replicating our recent success in helping schools make sure their pupils achieve their full potential.”
Gateacre tops DfE performance tables Gateacre School has topped DfE performance tables in Liverpool for A-level and applied/vocational qualifications results. Due to the hard work of staff and students, the school’s value added scores place it in the top 10% of all schools and colleges nationwide as well. In education, value added is the progress measure the DfE use to describe the additional value schools bring to the learning outcomes of their students. This measures the contribution a school makes to the 64
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learning of its students that in turn enables judgements to be made about schools’ effectiveness and their ability to add value in terms of pupil attainment. Headteacher Mr J Roberts, said: “We are delighted these results reflect the high level of progress students make at Gateacre School. “We are really proud of what we have achieved over the past year and being top of the table is down to the hard work of the pupils, parents/carers and staff here at Gateacre School.
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Education News
Deadline close Entry deadline approaching for The Educate Awards 2018 The entry deadline for this year’s Educate Awards is fast approaching, with entries closing on Sunday 24 June. The awards, in association with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh, was founded by Kim O’Brien in 2012. It is the largest education awards in the North West and celebrates every aspect of the school’s curriculum, teaching and staff. Now in its seventh year, 2018 marks an exciting period of growth for the annual awards ceremony, and to celebrate the team has unveiled fresh new branding. Bolder, cleaner and streamlined, the subtle changes have freshened up the logo, while the signature tick – synonymous with the prestigious trophy handed out on the night – remains pride of place. Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards, said: “We are proud and delighted to launch our refreshed branding. It was important that the branding didn’t stray too far away from
the much recognised original logo, which is used by schools and colleges all across the region to promote their success at the awards.” From inspiring teachers, superb support staff to innovative projects across the curriculum, the awards recognises the work of schools and colleges which are delivering outstanding education and helping students achieve their full potential. In total there are 21 award categories, from Teacher of the Year, Career Aspiration, School Support Star of the Year and Outstanding Commitment to Sport. Kim said: “With only a number of weeks left to get your award entries in, we’re calling on all local schools and colleges to get involved for 2018! “This is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your school’s various departments or even nominate a teacher or support star who goes above and beyond in the classroom.”
Associate sponsors include Winstanley College, All About STEM, Liverpool John Moores University, CER, Progress Schools, Liverpool Learning Partnership, School Improvement Liverpool, The Foundry Agency, LSSP, The Bishop of Liverpool, The Rt. Revd. Paul Bayes, DMR David M Robinson Jewellery & Watches and BMD Law. The awards are free to enter and open to all government funded and independent private educational establishments, including primary, secondary, further education providers and special needs schools in the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 24 June 2018. The shortlist will be announced prior to the awards ceremony and the winners will be revealed on 16 November at Liverpool Cathedral. For further information including full details of how to enter, please visit www.educateawards.co.uk
Calling all primary schools in the Merseyside area Following the huge success of Peace Proms over the last two years, it has been announced that they will launch the Liverpool Peace Proms 2019. Peace Proms is a free music education resource for primary schools which culminates in a large-scale performance for choirs and orchestra at the Echo Arena, Liverpool in January. The programme promotes ‘peace through music’ and already engages
almost 30,000 children from 500 schools throughout the UK, Northern Ireland and Ireland, giving them the opportunity to sing in a large-scale production with a choir of up to 4,000 and a full symphony youth orchestra. Peace Proms is for all primary school choirs whether established or starting out. The musical programme is tailor made to ensure it is fun and engaging for children aged between 8 and 12 years; it
The International Peace Proms 2018
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fulfills important educational requirements and is very rewarding to teach. The end performance is an inspirational and thrilling experience for choirs, teachers, parents and audiences alike! The Cross Border Orchestra of Ireland (CBOI) is Ireland’s most celebrated and award winning youth orchestra, and will be the featured orchestra for Liverpool Peace Proms 2019. The CBOI has performed to sell out audiences at many major venues throughout the world including Carnegie Hall New York; the Royal Albert Hall, London and the Oriental Arts Centre Shanghai. Peace Proms 2019 will be conducted by internationally acclaimed UK music educator Greg Beardsell who is renowned for his extraordinary ability to lead powerful and exhilarating performances. Peace Proms 2019 will bring a shared love for music and passion for peace to ever-greater numbers of children, schools, communities and live audiences throughout the UK and Ireland. Register your school’s interest at www.peaceproms.com
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Education News
Better together Conference celebrates heroes
The recent primary Humanutopia conference hosted by School Improvement Liverpool saw The Academy of St Nicholas highlight their ‘The Heroes’ mentoring project which is aimed at students from Year 5 up to Year 11. The project is an interactive programme which has been designed to train and grow teams of heroes to mentor and provide training sessions for pupils in Year 7, 8 and in primaries. Their work is designed to help young people make positive changes and to improve their life chances and there have been dramatic improvements in the selfesteem of both the academy heroes and the younger students they mentor each week. This positivity and measurable impacts is 68
achieved by the group’s focus on the five main areas of hope, confidence, happiness, relationships and employability skills. Each week 27 Year 11 students mentor a group of students, who are involved in the planning and delivery of ‘Icon Sessions’ whereby they act as role models for Year 8 students. The students prepare discussion points on topics such as body image, bullying, career aspirations and resilience. They fully lead sessions and themselves have gained invaluable skills for their future. Seeing really is believing. As one student said: “Becoming a hero has changed my life. I have ASD and being involved in such a unique and special programme has not only helped me to manage my condition but it has given me the
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confidence to face the world beyond school.” The conference welcomed over 110 staff and students from nine visiting feeder primary schools as a means of introducing the primary school staff and students to the ongoing in house heroes programme and to giving the heroes practice in mentoring outside their own school. Staff from the feeder primary schools were delighted and responded very positively to the event with all nine schools stating that it was well organised and that they would welcome the opportunity to participate in future events. Staff also commented that the Heroes were “Excellent role models” who “presented themselves well” and were also “very professional”.
Writing competition seeks literary stars A new 500-word short story competition - with entries judged by best-selling author Philip Pullman - is being launched ahead of the 2018 Liverpool Literary Festival. The China Stories competition is looking for submissions across a broad range of categories. Winners will see their work published in a special anthology and take part in a writing session with the Royal Society of Literature, as well as receiving vouchers to spend as they wish. Stories can be about anything, but to coincide with Liverpool’s China Dream season all entries should have a Chinese theme. His Dark Materials author, Philip Pullman, will judge submissions and present the winning writers with their prizes at a special ceremony as part of Liverpool Literary Festival, which takes place from October 19-21 2018. China Stories is looking for the best writers in each of the following categories: • Primary school students • Secondary school students • University of Liverpool students registered on full or part-time courses • XJTLU students Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place in each category, with the winners announced at Liverpool Literary Festival. There is no entry fee, but each writer can only enter one story. There is a 500-word limit and all submissions must be written in English. The deadline for entering is midnight on July 20 2018. Dinah Birch, pro-vice-chancellor for cultural engagement and professor of English literature, said: “We are looking forward to reading dazzling stories from the talented, creative young people who will be the stars of the future!” The Liverpool Literary Festival features talks and workshops from an exciting line-up of writers, including actor, author and comedian, Sir Tony Robinson; crime writer, Val McDermid; playwright, novelist and poet, Sebastian Barry and 2017 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, Sally Rooney.
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Education News
Share the message Students create music video to stamp out mental health stigma Students and familiar faces around St Helens have created a music video to reduce the stigma of mental health. Past and present students from the Tuition Service, based in the Beacon Building on College Street, have recreated the video of the 1985 hit Cry by Godley and Crème. The video is filmed in black and white and sees various people singing the words of the song emotively. The song is performed by past student Olivia Parr and the video features students and staff from the Beacon Building; council staff; the Mayor and Mayoress of St Helens Councillor, Joe Pearson and his wife Sylvia; former Man of Steel and Saints player Paul Wellens; Mike Lindley (aka Ralph’s Life) - and poet Lynn Gerrard. Rob Vaughan, teacher in
charge at the Beacon said: “The students have worked so hard to make this video. They themselves have experienced mental health challenges so to be part of the video was a huge achievement for them and I’m very proud. “I would also like to thank everybody else who has been involved in the video and supporting us to create it. “The video is about celebrating the good work we do here at the Beacon to support young people who have struggled in mainstream education to thrive. “We want to share the message that it’s okay to show and share your feelings, emotions and struggles and we would love everybody in St Helens to share this far and wide.” The video has been created as part of a wider emotionally healthy schools project that the Tuition Service has taken
The Mayor and Mayoress of St Helens were among those to visit the Beacon Building to support Tuition Service students as they made their music video.
part in alongside St Helens Public Health and has included several other activities such as an art exhibition and poetry with Lynn Gerrard. Look out for the video
which will be launched at the St Helens Thriving Schools Learning Event at the end of May and shared widely across St Helens social media channels.
SCHOOLCHILDREN CELEBRATE SPEED HERO Over 400 local schoolchildren from Sefton and Knowsley came together to perform an unforgettable celebration of music, song and dance. Sefton & Knowsley Youth (SKY) Music Hub hosted a special musical event to celebrate Sir Henry Segrave’s world landspeed record, which took place in Southport. In March 1926, racing driver Sir Henry captured the landspeed record on Ainsdale beach in Southport in his Sunbeam Tiger car, Sir Henry reached a speed of more than 152 mph – seizing the world land-speed record from his rival. The former fighter pilot was the first person to hold both a land speed and water-speed record simultaneously, and was the first person to travel at 200 mph in a land vehicle. His extraordinary achievements were celebrated through the medium of song, dance and art, as 400 schoolchildren from eight local schools joined together to perform ‘A Musical Celebration’.
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Taking place at The Auditorium at Echo Arena Liverpool, children performed a number of songs inspired by speed, movement and different rhythms. The event featured instrumental music, original songs, dance performances and the premier massed performance of ‘Speed’ by Stuart Overington. In 2016, the SKY Music Hub vocal team began to lead the project inspired by the 90th anniversary of Sir Henry’s landspeed record. Over the past two years the SKY Music Hub vocal team has been working with schools across the region, with the project now coming to an exciting finale. Participating schools included Westvale Primary (Kirkby), St Luke’s Catholic Primary School (Prescot), St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School (Huyton), St John’s CE Primary (Waterloo), St Nicholas CE Primary (Blundellsands), Our Lady of Compassion (Formby), Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Primary School (Southport) and Melling Primary School (Melling) and Green Park Primary School (Maghull). Dancers from the Merseyside Youth Association (MYA) took centre stage alongside talented instrumentalists, while artwork created by students from Presfield High School & Specialist College was presented on the night. Composer, arranger and musical director Andy Smith also created a grand finale which involved all 400 participants. Chris Lennie, lead of SKY Music Hub said: “The event was a great success and brought together the young people of Knowsley and Sefton to celebrate their musical achievements. It was also a fantastic way to celebrate motor racing record breaker Sir Henry Segrave!
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GDPR: Final checklist
The clock is ticking. It’s now just weeks until the UK becomes subject to a whole new set of rules related to data protection. And while most schools will be well on the way to getting GDPR ready, those tasked with carrying out the necessary measures will no doubt be feeling the strain.
The final countdown Two firms leading the way when it comes to GDPR expertise are Speke-based Copyrite Systems and IT equipment specialists Ricoh. We’ve called upon their expertise to put together a final checklist as the countdown begins. Rethink Access Any business or entity holding personal information has a responsibility to make sure it can’t be stolen or leaked. As schools have access to somewhat sensitive information, particularly that which regards minors, it’s essential that it is kept confidential so that its integrity cannot be altered. This means schools will need to restrict access to certain information. As the team at Ricoh point out, if any of your staff work remotely then this adds further complexity to the issue and additional security measures need to be in place to accommodate file sharing from any location. Those files must be as secure in transit over
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networks and across devices as they are in storage. Strong encryption technology can effectively follow and protect data throughout its lifecycle. Don’t slip up on destruction Being able to dispose of data effectively is as important as being able to hold it securely under GDPR rules. A good data disposal service will include hard disk cleansing, memory flushing, unprinted file deletion and delete on logout functionality to prevent sensitive information from the document footprint being left behind. Stay accountable One of the watch words of GDPR is accountability. It will not be possible to blame a data breach on an oversight. Every action you take must be documented and details to stay compliant. Indeed, it’s not enough that you do the right thing, you need to be able to prove you’ve done the right thing and explain how and why. Remember the first rule of arithmetic;
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it’s not just the answer that matters but the method! Watch out for the risks You may think you’re being as comprehensive as possible when it comes to auditing or erasing the data you hold, but there could be areas you’re missing if you’re not careful. Even a decommissioned device (such as a printer that’s no longer used) can contain both digital and physicallystored information. Be ready for action As with anything in life, regardless of how prepared you are for GDPR, things can and, at some point, probably will go wrong. What matters is how you respond. The experts suggest having mechanisms in place so that breach of data can be identified quickly and acted upon. Transparency will be key so addressing the issue quickly and making it known that steps have been taken to deal with the breach will be important.
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READ ON, GET ON Alsop celebrate World Book Day Alsop High School had the pleasure of hosting British teen-fiction author Kate Maryon as part of their new ‘Read On, Get On’ initiative. Students from Year 7 and Year 8 were enthralled by her presentation about her latest novel Invisible Girl. The book explores the topics of running away and child homelessness. Ms Maryon met students and inspired them to read more challenging books. Students participated in a lively question and answer session to find out what motivates and inspires Kate to write books. Mrs Hart, head of English said: “It was a great pleasure to host Kate Maryon. She was able to engage and encourage so many students.
British teen-fiction author Kate Maryon
Flowers for their guest
One lucky pupil gets her boooked signed
DIVERSITY IN TECH! Encouraging girls to study computer science The Belvedere Academy students have been lucky enough to find out more about working in the tech industry through an exciting enrichment programme. Head of IT and computer science, Miss Foster, was approached by the founders of ‘Innovate Her’ to launch their programme in a school for the first time. The programme involved eight two hour sessions after school during which the students met and worked with staff from Shop Direct and Alder Hey’s Innovation Centre. The 22 girls involved from across Year 8 to Year 13 had the chance to experience at first-hand how technology is revolutionising the face of the medical world. Miss Foster, said: “Our students are motivated by the inspirational ‘Women in Tech’ they hear about in lessons and my colleague Mrs Brown and I have launched class app development competitions for the past number of years. The students love the challenge of working as a real project management team and are fierce about making their class idea the best; that’s what innovation is all about!”
The Belvedere students on their graduation day
Pupils get hands-on experience
Pupils learnt about 3D printing
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ASTOUNDING ARTISTS Pupils bring art to life in school display St Christopher’s Catholic Primary School in Speke turned their school hall into an art gallery for the day, opening their doors to parents, carers and school governors to come and view the pupils’ masterpieces. The creative artwork had been produced during one of the school’s popular art weeks, with each year group focusing on a different artist. Children donned old shirts and used a range of mediums/media and materials to create their own paintings in the style of their designated artist. From Nursery through to Year 6, the children were inspired by the work of Piet Mondrian, Joan Miro, Wassily Kandinsky, Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollock, Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh and Marc Allante. The results were astounding! Photos were proudly displayed on the school’s Twitter account and each painting was mounted and displayed for an art exhibition to truly show off the children’s work. School was open to parents in the morning and afternoon and each class had a turn during the day to visit the exhibition and evaluate the work on display. The paintings are now on display around the whole school building to show off the children’s talents.
A pupil admires the work of Georgia O’Keefe
Some of the young artists
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SPORTING EXCELLENCE Belvedere Academy show their sporting prowess Belvedere Academy are celebrating a successful sporting year after their senior netball team were winners of the Senior Liverpool Netball League and also the city championships. They are unbeaten since they started their netball career in Year 7. Many of the players have also been selected to play at county level. It has also been a fantastic year for their Year 10 netball team who were crowned Liverpool City Champions. They have been described as playing some outstanding netball throughout the season. The school have also excelled with their swimming team. The team were triumphant at the Merseyside School Swimming Gala after the team of 13 fought off strong opposition from schools across the city to be awarded city champions. After a strong start with early wins in individual and relay events they were chased all the way through the competition by Calderstones School and it came down to the last few races with Belvedere eventually taking the title by three points.
Belvedere Academy winners of the Senior Liverpool Netball League and City Championships
The swimming team celebrate winning the City Championships 2018
Year 10 netball team
LONDON CALLING Pupils pay a visit to the capital
Childwall Primary pupils outside 10 Downing Street
A well-earned break
A visit to the Horse Guards
Pupils from Childwall CE Primary School were delighted to receive an invitation to visit 10 Downing Street after they wrote to the Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang to thank him for allowing the Terracotta Warriors to visit Liverpool. The school were asked by Liverpool World Museum to be part of a diplomatic gift which includes letters and artwork to be taken by the prime minister and presented to the Chinese premier. After an epic photo shoot at the entrance of 10 Downing Street, the pupils were invited inside. They were thanked for their wonderful letters and artwork that formed part of the diplomatic gift that was delivered by the prime minister. They heard how Li Keqiang loved their letters and hearing about their excitement of the trips to visit the Terracotta Warriors and enjoyed seeing their drawings of the warriors and of the Liverpool skyline. The pupils then continued their tour of the capital with a visit to St James’s Park where they had a well-deserved sit down and ice cream break before they headed to Buckingham Palace.
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BOOKER’S GOT TALENT Liverpool school highlights its talented pupils Booker Avenue Junior School recently held their first ‘Booker’s Got Talent’ show to highlight the talent they have at the school. The event gave every child in the school the chance to participate. Children from all year groups were able to audition and perform in front of their peers. Headteacher Richard Thompson, said: “All the children’s performances were their own work and they rehearsed in their own time. The event was not so much a competition as a showcase of the many talents and abilities our children have. “Over 70 children were selected to perform in the final evening performance, some of whom may not have performed in front of a large audience before. More than 150 parents watched the final showcase. “Other aspects of the show were also organised by the children, from making programmes and tickets to acting as compéres on the night. “This is the first time Booker Avenue have put on this event and we have been staggered by the array of talents that our pupils possess; some of which we knew nothing about until now. It has been fantastic to see their excitement and watch their confidence grow to perform in front of so many happy parents. It is something we will definitely make a fixture in our calendar.”
The fantastic school choir
One of many excellent acts
Holly and Faith showcased their beautiful voices
Three compéres: Alfie, Yanni and Grace did a great job
Isabella concentrates on her piece
Danton did a top job tickling the ivories
The dance troupe takes the applause
Olivia performed a brilliant dance solo
The choir sang Eye of the Tiger
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ADVERTORIAL
PERSONAL BEST AND NO EXCUSES AT THE ACADEMY OF ST NICHOLAS
When you walk in through reception and into the bright open heartspace of The Academy of St Nicholas the first thing that hits you is the atmosphere. Reverend Tom Williams, Bishop of Liverpool, who visited the Academy in April, described the ethos as special and unique. There is a calmness, a sense of family, belonging and culture where everyone feels valued and everyone knows everyone’s name. There is a warmth and a vibrancy enhanced by largescale colourful celebrations of students’ achievements, aspirations, hopes and dreams, which brighten every wall space reflecting the Academy’s Christian values. The bar has been set high by the new Head of School David Lancaster who has wasted no time in ensuring that everyone in the school’s community are aware of his simple philosophy that only the best will do. ‘Personal best and no excuses’ is his message and the school, already one which has already seen big changes is
now moving forward with a clear vision focusing relentlessly on results, routines, resilience, doing the simple things well every day, never giving up and building strong relationships at all levels. Mr Lancaster describes his ‘no excuses’ approach as one which instils strong learning habits ultimately helping students become better qualified, more successful and happier. He says “If students get ten percent better each time they attempt something and we reward them for trying their own personal best in everything they do then together we can create a truly aspirational culture with high expectations where good teachers can secure exceptional outcomes for all students.” His vision very much stems from his own experience. “I left school at sixteen. During my whole five years at secondary school I seldom received any guidance or inspiration for my future. Teaching was poor quality, I felt let down by the School and left underqualified at the age of sixteen. “I had always wanted to be a PE teacher
and determined to achieve this goal, I attended night school two nights a week for four years. Leaving my job at twenty years old, I was the first person in my family to go to University. My teaching career began in PE progressing to Executive Principal of two Academies which, having made rapid improvements, are now both rated as good. I was not ambitious but found that if I worked hard, behaved with integrity and treated people in the right way then they were keen and happy to for me to lead them. My simple view of education is that it is my job to ensure that staff and students are motivated try their ‘personal best’. The whole system can become very complicated. Here, our aim is to ensure our students arrive at the classroom door ready to learn and enthusiastic about learning. I was proud today to meet such a dignified, wise member of the community as Bishop Tom and even more proud to let him see for himself the fantastic things happening here and in All Saints Sixth Form College.”
51 Horrocks Avenue Liverpool Merseyside L19 5NY 0151 230 2570 www.theacademyofstnicholas.org.uk Educate The Magazine for Parents and Pupils
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BLAST OFF Calderstone’s are up for the challenge Year 7 students at Calderstones School recently competed in the Dendrite’s STEM Rocket Car Challenge. The students have been working in teams of four on the project with their design and technology teachers with the aim of solving problems involving weight, strength, aerodynamics and forces, to ultimately look at ways of making their team’s model rocket car go faster and to beat the rest of their competitors. The fastest team at the school will go on and compete with over 100,000 other Year 7 students in a national race off to find out who is the national fastest rocket car team! The inspiration for this competition is Bloodhound’s SSC challenge, who are aiming to beat the world land speed record and to make a car travel over 1,000mph on the ground. Capt Moran and Sgt Isherwood from 33 Signal Squadron were the rocketeers for the event, with the help of some STEM student leaders. Sixty rocket cars were raced throughout the day, with every team successfully completing the challenge.
An enthusiastic audience gather
And they’re off
The rocket cars line up for the off
A delighted participant
A flaming success
An impressive start
Instructions were on offer to students
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LILY’S LEGACY Girls’ football festival a huge success Over 20 primary schools from across St Helens visited Ruskin Drive Sports Village to compete in the first ever Lily Parr Football Festival. Organised by St Helens Council’s Sports Development team - in conjunction with the Liverpool County FA as part of the national School Games programme - the seven-a-side Years 5 and 6 girls’ football tournament saw Newton-le-Willows Primary School crowned champions after overcoming Billinge St Aidan’s in a nail-biting final. The tournament was named after St Helens born Lily Parr who became the first woman to be named in the FA’s inaugral Hall of Fame in 2002 and was held on the anniversary of her birth. Hailing the day a success, sports development school games officer, Danny Bacon, who organised the tournament, said: “It’s great to see so many girls showing an interest in football which has helped them recognise the influence a local woman in Lily Parr has had in developing the women’s’ game as we know it today”.
The penalty shoot-out proved to be very entertaining
A valiant effort from the goalkeeper
GOAL!
The victorious Newton-le-Willows Primary team
Plenty of skills were evident Silky skills!
The event proved a resounding success
A great tackle
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KEEP ON RUNNING Liverpool schoolteacher visits 20 local schools A Liverpool schoolteacher said he hoped he had brought communities together after visiting over 20 schools while running the equivalent of a marathon around the city in aid of Sport Relief. Mr Kelly said: “The initial thinking behind this challenge was bringing schools and more importantly pupils together. I also felt that it was important to celebrate and identify the communities that our schools are such an important part of! “I had small groups of children from various schools accompanied by teachers, headteachers, governors come along and do a small stretch of the run with me. “It was great to meet some of the pupils and ask them a little bit about different schools and Sport Relief.” Peter started at Garston Community Centre at 9am before heading down Booker Avenue to Mossley Hill. He then headed back out of the city to Knotty Ash in time for the Lord Mayor’s visit before taking in schools in West Derby, Tuebrook and Kensington. Finally Peter visited Lister Juniors to conclude the 26-mile run. Peter had been in training for only four weeks and said: “This has been a real challenge, I underestimated the distance slightly but I did not want to leave any schools out that were keen to support the challenge! “I could not be more grateful to all the teachers, pupils, friends and family that have supported me!”
Celebrating with the pupils of Lister Primary School
“Keep going!” was the cry from the supporters!
A banner of support!
A congratulatory hug from his mum at the finish line
Spot the runner! Hidden in a sea of red at Knotty Ash Primary School!
Members of the Garston Lifestyles Gym came out to cheer him on
Mr Kelly barely had the energy left to raise his arms aloft in triumph
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FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS! Liverpool hosts ‘inspiring’ reading event Reading Rocks hosted a special event at Liverpool John Moores University. Organised by teacher Heather Wright, #RRGoesToUni brought together likeminded primary school teachers, librarians, Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students and Newly qualified teachers (NQTs) for a day of ‘book-ish training’ to discuss ways to make ‘reading rock’ for every pupil. Sponsored by Scholastic and Just Imagine, the day included keynote speakers from authors Maz Evans and Andy Seed, a variety of workshops, exhibitors and a wallet-emptying bookshop. Educate went along to the event at The District CE Primary School where the event has gone from strength to strength since it was first introduced in 2016. Organiser Heather Wright, said: “I’m delighted with how the day went. Yet again, the Reading Rocks community showed their commitment and enthusiasm to reading and nurturing a love of all things reading for each and every pupil. “How wonderful it was to see training and new teachers with a heart and passion for reading! What an inspiring next generation of professionals they are!”
The lecture theatre was packed for the speakers
Author Maz Evans was one of the keynote speakers
Organiser Heather Wright with LJMU’s Jan Rowe
There were a variety of resources available to purchase
Author Andy Seed was the second keynote speaker
The attendees enjoyed the workshops immensely
The classrooms at IM Marsh were used for the workshops
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Pupils are introduced to the joys of science
STAND BACK Pupils ‘do’ science Pupils at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School and Nursery, held a full day of science fun and experiments, celebrating British Science Week. The Year 5 children who had been working with an external STEM science consultant were able to put their scientific knowledge into practice as they became teachers for the day. The children demonstrated a total of 20 different science experiments to each of the other classes. The experiments included testing acids, alkalis and neutralisation, discovering how light travels, using their forensic science skills to observe individual finger prints and much more. They used their outstanding scientific knowledge to teach all children and parents from reception to Year 6, throughout the day. Headteacher, Mrs Roach said: “All staff at Sacred Heart work extremely hard to make learning fun and exciting and keep the children fully engaged. We were delighted that so many parents came and were able to learn new things alongside their children”.
A pupil enjoys the experiments
Parents enjoyed the day as well
Young scientists
Pupils run various experiments
Pupils get hands-on experience
Teamwork was the order of the day
A STEM consultant with an experiment
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Double winners - St Cecilia’s Catholic Junior School
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES St Cecilia’s score double dancing delight! St Cecilia’s Catholic Junior School’s pupils look good on the dance floor after scooping two trophies at the Liverpool Schools Sports Partnership (LSSP) KS2 dance competition. Held at North Liverpool Academy, 21 schools battled it out for the right to be crowned kings and queens of the dance floor and St Cecilia’s performance to a remix by American singer Andra Day stole the show. A panel of judges picked the North Liverpool school as overall winners although there was little to separate many of the schools. Each participating school also cast a vote for their best dance with St Cecilia’s bagging top marks again. Earlier in the day, Our Lady Immaculate were also double winners in the KS1 competition with their dance to Beyonce’s Run the World wowing both the judges and watching audience. Organiser Jay Watkinson from LSSP said: “This has been a most fantastic competition. The standard of dancing has been of the highest order and we are thrilled to have 21 schools from across the city taking part, we are looking forward to next year already!”
St Michael’s danced to Galantis
Our Lady Bishop Eton danced to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Childwall C of E did a Matilda mix
New Park Primary School
Middlefield Community Primary School
Our Lady & St Swithin’s The dancers at NLA gave a dancing masterclass
Galantis by St Michael’s
Much Woolton performed Colours of the Wind
North Liverpool Academy dance studio was packed for the event!
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S Stt J John ohn Bosco ARTS COLLEGE
THE LORD WITH GLADNESS SERVE
ST JOHN BOSCO FOR AN OUTSTANDING EDUCATION
COME AND SEE OUR FANTASTIC BUILDING
Telephone: Telephone: 0151 235 1620
www.stjohnboscoartscollege.com www.stjohnboscoartscollege.com Sto Storrington rrington Avenue, Avenue, Liverpool Liverpool L11 9DQ
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ANIMAL ENCOUNTER St John Bosco brings the rainforest to life Year 9 students at St John Bosco Arts College were greeted by some new classmates in the form of creepy crawlies and reptiles. Snakes, millipedes, African hedgehogs, frogs and stick insects were some of the animals taking over the Croxteth school as it opened its doors to a North West company offering animal handling workshops. The company offers fun and educational animal handling workshops and exciting animal parties which are suitable for all ages and abilities. Its school workshops are linked to the national curriculum and include topics such as nocturnal animals, rainforest, minibeasts, habitats, classification and lifecycles. The informative session gave the students a hands-on rainforest experience and allowed them to look at, touch and hold a selection of animals, some of which, they might never get to see in everyday life. Specialist animal handlers were on hand to talk through the animals, explain more about their natural habitat and host a Q&A session. During the day, the girls also learnt about concepts such as food chains and evolutionary adaption in the rainforest. The day was also a great opportunity to support the company’s charity work in conserving rainforest animals and start discussions about endangered species and deforestation. Joseph Brennan, geography subject leader said: “We might not be able to take our students in to the rainforest, so we thought we would bring the rainforest to them! Being able to touch and hear the animals really brought the topic to life and the girls absolutely loved the experience”.
This pupil is not too sure it’s a good idea
She did it!
A furry friend Pupils got to meet some exotic animals
Close up and personal
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SPECIAL EDUCATION DAY An opportunity to learn more Headway - the brain injury association held a brain injury education and awareness day at Waterloo Rugby Club, Sefton to raise awareness and provide an essential insight into the impact of brain injury has upon the survivor, their friends, family and their employers. It’s aim was to raise awareness of the group and help those closest to all working with the survivor to better understand how to offer support. Guest speakers spoke on topics including neuro linguistic programming and managing fatigue. The event also included a question and answers session with two of their brain injury survivors. A brain injury can happen to anyone at any time, and this includes significant numbers of people who have children. People with brain injuries often report that not only has their ability to carry out parenting roles been affected by their injury, but also their relationship with their children has changed. Children too can therefore be affected by their parent sustaining a brain injury, and Headway aims to provide information and support for the whole family. Established in 1979, Headway is a UKwide based charity that helps people improve their lives following a brain injury and the charity relies on voluntary donations to continue to provide vital services to brain injury survivors and their families www.headway.org.uk
Headway committee and helpers
Terry McElhinney (speaker)
Left to right: Carol Hopwood (Slater and Gordon and Branch Secretary), Cath Johnston (Sefton Headway Chair), Terry McElhinney (speaker)
Steve and Heather Dixon (speakers on Living with Encephalitis)
Emma Seasman (Brain injury survivor and resident Poet)
Mark Ormesher, Terry McElhinney (speaker), June Ormesher, Andrew Ormesher, Dave O'Brien, Aimee Ormesher
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Book Review
In association with
5-8 Years The Phantom Lollipop Man - Pamela Butchart £5.99 Izzy and her friends are shocked when they find their lollipop man has disappeared! Maisie thinks he's gone to Rome but if that's true, why do they keep seeing a weird white wispy cloud around the school? And why do Izzy's legs feel cold even though she's got tights on? Could it be that the lollipop man is a phantom and he's come to spook them all?! Isadora Moon Goes to the Fair - Harriet Muncaster £5.99 Isadora is excited for her first ever trip to the fun fair, but when she arrives it's not quite as magical as she expected. Luckily, her cousin Mirabelle has a plan to make the fairground rides extra special. What could possibly go wrong? Barry Loser is the best at football NOT! - Jim Smith £5.99 Everyone at Barry's school has gone football crazy, but Barry gets thrown out of the team (the Mogden Maniacs) for being completely rubbish. Then it turns out that his best friend Bunky is a super striker - so Barry becomes his manager. The cup final match is approaching and Bunky's getting carried away with his football fame - can Barry keep his head in the game?
9-12 Years Fiction The Explorer - Katherine Rundell £5.99 From his seat in the tiny aeroplane, Fred watches as the mysteries of the Amazon jungle pass by below him. He has always dreamed of becoming an explorer, of making history and of reading his name amongst the lists of great discoveries. If only he could land and look about him. As the plane crashes into the canopy, Fred is suddenly left without a choice. Rose Rivers - Jacqueline Wilson £9.99 Rose Rivers lives in a beautiful house with her artist father, her difficult, fragile mother and her many siblings. She has everything money can buy - beautiful dresses, horse-riding lessons, books - but still she’s not satisfied, troubled by her schooling, her inability to be a wonderful artist like her father and (most troubling of all) why is life so unfair for people who were not born rich. The Gates of Death - Charlie Higson £6.99 You - the hero - must respond to a call for help from the people of Allansia. Your quest to the Temple of Miracles in the Invisible City will be challenging and dangerous, and your simple mission will soon take a darker turn as you face the legendary Gates Of Death. On the other side waits the Queen Of Darkness, Ulrakhaar.
Teenage Fiction Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different - Ben Brooks £14.99 Stories for Boys Who Dare to Be Different offers a welcome alternative narrative. From Salvador Dali to Barack Obama, welcome to an extraordinary compilation of 100 stories of famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day. The must-have book for all boys who worry about stuff and all parents who worry about their boys. Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli £6.99 Meet Simon: cynical, funny, insecure, full of obsessions, hopes and dreams like every other 17-year-old. But Simon also has a big, glowing secret, and that secret is going to get out if class clown Martin doesn’t get what he wants. Big-hearted and brimming with authenticity, Becky Albertalli takes us on a path toward coming out as gay and creates a story filled with humour and very real drama. Scythe - Arc of a Scythe - Neal Shusterman £6.49 In a world where disease, war and crime have been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed ("gleaned") by professional scythes. Citra and Rowan are teenagers who have been selected to be scythes' apprentices, and despite wanting nothing to do with the vocation, they must learn the art of killing and understand the necessity of what they do.
Are you a librarian, teacher or purchasing manager? Do you buy books for your school? 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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design and web studios_ Call Stuart on 0800 542 0700 or email stuart@mad.uk.com mad.uk.com
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WHERE CAN WE GO? Our pick of what’s happening out & about in the region
25-28 May
Moon landing in Liverpool for Tall Ships Regatta
Must see
Splash World celebrates its 10th birthday 12-13 May Esplanade, Southport PR8 1RX
Liverpool Anglican Cathedral St James Mount, Liverpool L1 7AZ
A giant, 23ft replica of the moon is coming to Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral as part of an extensive programme of events across the city over the final bank holiday weekend in May. Created by renowned British artist Luke Jerram, the stunning ‘Museum of the Moon’ uses detailed NASA imagery of the lunar surface and includes a sound composition created by BAFTA and Ivor Novello awardwinning composer Dan Jones. The artwork forms part of the ‘Changing Tides’ creative programme curated for the Three Festivals Tall Ships Regatta taking place on May 25-28. Other programme highlights include a top secret, UK premier from European digital artists Visual Skin, which will be revealed in the week leading up to the event. Full details will be announced over forthcoming weeks. For more information visit www.tallshipsliverpool.co.uk
Splash World, Southport is celebrating its 10th birthday in style with a Neverland themed weekend. Real life characters will be providing fun and entertainment at the poolside including a pirate, a mermaid, a lost boy and a fairy. A bouncy castle, photo opportunities and the chance to win exclusive prizes throughout the weekend will be included with Splash World admission. Splash World’s mascot Murtle the Turtle will be leaving hidden treasures around the centre that will include amazing prizes from family passes to birthday parties! For an extra £5 per person, guests can enjoy a special VIP experience including party games and lunch with the characters! There are limited places on the VIP experience so call 01704 537160 to book in advance. Standard tickets can be purchased on the day at the centre or gold passes can be booked online at http://www.splashworldsouthport.com
Race for Life: Pretty Muddy Kids
Thursday 31 May
Saturday 30 June Birkenhead Park Young women £19.99, Girls £10 0845 600 6050
Unity Theatre, 1 Hope Place, Liverpool, L1 9BG An unforgettable journey into the heart of the rainforest, be transported to this magical world where the Princess will uncover the exhilarating colours, the creatures and the sounds that inhabit her world. Experience a magical sculptural world of colour, texture and form that has life of its own.
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FUTURE EVENTS
Hot stuff
The Princess of the Rainforest
D mion’t ss
Race for Life: Pretty Muddy Kids is Cancer Research UK's brilliant 5k muddy obstacle course just for the little ones. They can take on the obstacles, scramble over an A-frame and crawl through the mud pit and have fun with friends, all the while helping raise valuable funds for BEATING CANCER. Due to the nature of this event, you must be 13 or over to take part.
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18 May
Saturday 9 June
DVD and APP REVIEW Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Release date: Friday 22 June Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly
Night Light Liverpool Various venues throughout Liverpool city centre www.lightnightliverpool.co.uk On 18 May 2018 see places, spaces and people across the city come alive to celebrate Liverpool's world-class cultural offer with one spectacular night of over 100 free performances, exhibitions, installations, workshops, talks and much more.
Moonlight Colour Walk Willowbrook Hospice, Borough Road, St Helens, WA10 3RN It's great fun for all the family ... you can even bring your dog along! There are two routes to choose from (10k or 6.5k) and there's an optional ‘colour splash’ where you’ll be covered head to toe in rainbow powder. The entry fees are £15 for adults and £5 for children under 16 (dogs go free!).
28-29 July
3-5 August
Clipper Round the World Yacht Race Albert Dock, Liverpool L3 4AA
CBC Summer Social Croxteth Hall and Country Park, Liverpool L11 1EH
One of the greatest challenges against one of the world’s most formidable foes – Mother Nature – comes to a thrilling climax in Liverpool. Eleven months and 40,000 gruelling nautical miles later, a dozen 70ft ocean racing yachts are set up for the return.
Taking place at Croxteth Hall over three days, CBBC Summer Social is the biggest live event ever undertaken by CBBC. As well as the fabulous musical stars, the unique line up will showcase the very best of CBBC talent and the most popular shows on the channel. There will also be junior discos, slime, treasure hunts and more
Sunday 5 August
Until 28 October
Knowsley Flower Show Court Hey Park, Roby Road, Huyton L16 3NA Celebrating their 20th birthday the flower show has lots of attractions and activties planned for the whole family. This year is promised to be bigger and better than ever. Includes falconry displays, dog obedience, circus skills, craft demonstrations and arts workshops.
China’s First Emporer and the Terracotta Warriors World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool The must see exhibition reveals almost 1,000 years of China’s history and coincides with the China Dream season of cultural commissions. Among the exhibits from the Terracotta Army is a life-sized horse as well as other objects from the Emporers burial complex.
It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles. When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild. With all of the wonder, adventure and thrills synonymous with one of the most popular and successful series in cinema history, this all-new motion-picture event sees the return of favourite characters and dinosaurs—along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before. Welcome to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Nintendo Labo Switch Price: £59.99 Verdict: ★★★★★ By Andy Kelly
Boy have I been waiting for this. Imagine being able to turn a simple piece of cardboard into almost anything: a motorbike, a fishing rod, a piano or whatever you can imagine! Then, add your Nintendo Switch system to bring it to life! You simply pop the cartridge into your Nintendo Switch and follow the Lego-esque step-by-step instructions on-screen to build your cardboard accessories. All the accessories are flat-packed to begin with, and can take anywhere from five minutes to two hours to install – especially when it comes to the more complex accessories like the telescopic fishing rod or the wearable exoskeleton. Labo is an experience where creating and building are just as much fun as playing.
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My School Days Trent Alexander-Arnold – Footballer, Liverpool Football Club
My School: St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School in West Derby and St Mary’s College, Crosby. My Favourite Teacher: Mr Williams who was my PE teacher. My Favourite Subject at School: PE - I enjoyed anything at all to do with sports, so every week I would really look forward to PE lessons. Were you streetwise or a bit of a geek? I wouldn’t say streetwise, my parents made sure that my efforts in school had to match those in football so when I wasn’t in football I was catching up with school work. My Favourite Childhood Singer/Band: Drake! I just love his music. My Favourite ExtraCurricular Activity: Football was my favourite for obvious reasons but after football it would probably be tennis.
Do you remember your first school crush? No! My Favourite Book: My favourite book in school was Of Mice and Men. School Dinners: I loved school dinners in school especially dessert. I think it’s important to have good school dinners as many of my friends at football would complain that they hated theirs and would have to wait until after football to eat. My Ambitions at School: My ambitions at school were always to play football for Liverpool. That was always my dream.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was born in West Derby, Liverpool. He joined Liverpool's academy in 2004 at the age of six when he was spotted by academy coach Ian Barrigan, and later captained the club at U16 and U18 level. He excelled during his time with the academy and in 2015 was singled out by former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who tipped him to have a bright future at the club in his autobiography. In the build up to the 2017–18 season, Trent signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool. On 15 August 2017, he scored his first goal for the club on his European debut. In April 2017 Trent was called up to the England U21 side for the first time for their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against Netherlands and Latvia, he was also invited to train with the senior national team for the first time ahead of their friendly matches. Outside of football, Trent volunteers as an ambassador for Liverpoolbased charity, An Hour for Others which seeks to provide underprivileged members of the community with anything from food hampers and toys to cooking and science lessons.
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FIND OUT WHAT IT’S LIKE TO
STUDY AT LJMU SIGN UP FOR OUR TASTER EVENTS AVAILABLE TO SIXTH FORM STUDENTS ljmu.ac.uk/outreachevents
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