Education Business Magazine Volume 15.3

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FINANCE

SECURITY

ENERGY

ICT – Integrating technologies into the classroom to revolutionise teaching and learning

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VolumE 15.3

When I woke up on Friday 7 May, I didn’t know what I was waking up to – another five years of Labour rule or a change in power? Turns out I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what was going on as the results showed a hung Parliament. So with Gordon Brown first in line to form an administration but David Cameron winning more votes, I’m none the wiser.

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8 What I do know, however, is that this issue of Education FINANCE Business is, as always, filled with interesting features that aim to assist in the running of educational establishments across the country. Among others, we have a feature ICt explaining the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (p. 21), BESA looks at how BSF procurement is changing to better equip the classrooms of the future (page 11), and the School Food Trust discusses its new Small Steps Improvements programme on p. 69.

sECuRItY

s into the classroom to

– Integrating technologie

EB 15.3 Pages 1-100.indd

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and learning revolutionise teaching 07/05/2010 12:22

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Enjoy the issue.

editor@psp-media.co.uk

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE If you would like to receive 6 issues of Education Business magazine for £45 a year, please contact Public Sector Information, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055, Fax: 020 8532 0066, or visit the Education Business website at: P NEWS P FEATURES P PROFILES P CASE STUDIES P EVENTS P AND MORE

8 www.educationbusinessuk.com EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED 226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 EDITOR Sofie Lidefjard ASSISTANT EDITOR Angela Pisanu PRODUCTION EDITOR Karl O’Sullivan DESIGN Jacqueline Grist

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© 2010 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1362 - 2541 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

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An experienced facilitator will work closely with your SLT over six to nine months to address the priorities for development that they have identified in their School Improvement Plan. Overall teams will improve their effectiveness and performance and exceed their previous best.

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CONTENTS EDUCATION BUSINESS VOLUME 15.3

07 NEWS 11 FINANCE BESA’s Ray Barker takes a look at how BSF procurement is changing to provide schools with better furniture, fittings and equipment A member of the British Insurance Brokers Association discusses whether using an insurance broker is an essential resource or an expensive benefit

21 ENERGY The right choice of metering will be a key element in making the CRC scheme work efficiently, reports Alan Aldridge of ESTA The Carbon Trust’s Tom Cumberlege explains how a few simple steps can cut carbon and costs

33 DESIGN & BUILD As well as the usual environmental benefits, sustainable school buildings can improve the productivity and health of school users, says BRE BSF Somerset is an opportunity to make a difference to the lives of young people, the wider community and encourage a successful, dynamic economy EB talks to Peter Sadler, principal at Epping Forest College, about how its new £38 million building is transforming education

51 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Facilities management is a complex task that is vital to the smooth running of schools and colleges FIRA International’s Phil Reynolds explains two important initiatives for sustainable furniture that will make ethical purchasing simpler

57 ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT The HSE gives an overview on managing asbestos the right way Schools need to ensure those that occupy the buildings are not exposed to asbestos and those that work upon the fabric of the building are informed about the asbestos that is present, says the UK Asbestos Training Association

62 HEALTH & SAFETY The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health looks at the important role early work experience can play in preparing young people for life as risk-aware adults

65 SECURITY Protecting the perimeters of schools and using physical security measures on buildings will better protect sites against the threat of intruders and criminals, says BSIA

69 CATERING The idea of the School Food Trust’s Small Step Improvements programme is that free or low-cost changes can make a profound difference to the pull of the food and dining room

75 EDUCATIONAL TRIPS The School Travel Forum Assured Member Scheme looks at whether a supplier has an effective means of managing safety, offers fair terms and conditions, and has first class financial security

79 ICT Learning Skills Network’s Jill Attewell looks at the potential of games technologies to revolutionise teaching and learning Mobile solutions are key parts of administrative and organisational tasks in schools and colleges, says the Mobile Data Association What is software escrow, and do you need it?

91 AUDIO VISUAL TECHNOLOGY BESA’s Ray Barker investigates how schools are using audio visual technologies

93 EDUCATION SHOW We take a look at what happened at this year’s Education Show – the UK’s largest general educational resources show

95 CAREERS GUIDANCE A look at the government’s IAG strategy, which calls for a whole school approach to careers guidance

96 LEARNING CONTINUITY The Business Continuity Institute discusses whether the education sector has been left behind when it comes to continuity of service delivery

99 CONFERENCES & EVENTS We take a tour of the East Midlands, highlighting the best destinations and venues to hold a conference or event

Risk assessments play a key role in preparations designed to safeguard the health and safety of pupils on educational visits, says the Association of Teachers and Lecturers

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Education Business | Volume 15.3

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Are you getting value for money on technical support?

AHT is calling for a major enquiry into the supply and maintenance of ICT equipment and maintenance in schools having uncovered evidence of ‘dodgy practice’, inflated costs of equipment and variations in the quality of support services.

The NAHT has uncovered evidence suggesting alarming problems with ICT support services in some schools, alongside nervousness among some heads about what to buy in order to get best value for the school. The responses included one from an ICT expert who appeared to have evidence of how a company could

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exploit a school or college’s lack of technical expertise, charging vastly different sums to different teachers.

NAHT General Secretary Mick Brookes said: “There is real evidence of misselling and poor maintenance that could be a major scandal. We believe that there should be a major enquiry into the provision of and maintenance of IT equipment. My colleagues in schools are experts at leading teaching and learning but not so many of them have the sort of expertise necessary to make the right choices when it comes to the purchase of IT equipment. They need support that they can trust.”

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NEWSINBRIEF Young people urged to be fearless in fighting crime Young people in the UK are being urged to be fearless in the fight against crime as crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers launches its new service for young people. Fearless is the new youth brand that introduces young people to the service provided by Crimestoppers. It consists of the website, fearless.org, where young people can get information about crimes that affect them and also gives them the opportunity to pass on information about crime anonymously.

Welsh primary schools to receive carbon reduction book Environment Minister Jane Davidson, with Anna Surridge, holding her children’s book

Classroom is key to engaging young voters ore than three quarters of teachers (77 per cent) think engaging school children in election manifesto topics will nurture a future generation of politically active citizens, according to new research commissioned by British Gas’ Generation Green schools programme.

The majority of teachers say that election topics need to be tackled as early as Key Stage Two to ensure that we see more young people at the ballot box in years to come. 59 per cent of teachers think that the optimum age for engaging with these issues at school is just ten years old or younger.

The environment topped the list of subjects most likely to spark pupils’ interest in politics, according to 81 per cent of teachers. Green issues were followed by crime (63 per cent), education (53 per cent) and health (36 per cent).

The research also reveals that lessons

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inspired by politics or current affairs are a win-win solution for teachers and pupils. More than half of teachers (52 per cent) say that teaching lessons based on topical issues such as the general election is more stimulating than traditional lessons. A further quarter (27 per cent) viewed both types of lessons as equally rewarding, and 94 per cent agreed topical lessons would also be more or equally as interesting to pupils as normal classes.

Whilst there is a clear interest in taking the election into the classroom, lack of time and resources prove an obstacle.

Two thirds (67 per cent) of teachers say that there are not enough resources to incorporate topical issues and current affairs into lessons, and more than half (55 per cent) say that whilst they would like to incorporate the election into their lessons, there has been no time in the school day to do so.

Every primary school across Cardiff is to receive an illustrated book to help them reduce their carbon footprint. ‘Max, Bell and Casper Save the World’ follows Max the dog, Bell the cat and Casper the chicken as three superheroes, as they describe the small actions that everyone can take to tackle climate change and reduce their carbon footprint.

It is the work of 2009 Climate Change Champion, Anna Surridge, who wrote and illustrated the book. A copy of the bilingual book is being distributed to every primary school in Cardiff, and an electronic version is also available to download from the Wales Carbon Footprint website.

One boat, two MSPs and four hebridean islands Two MSPs will sail to the small isles of Muck, Eigg, Rum and Canna in a whirlwind one-day visit to bring the Scottish Parliament to island school children as part of an educational outreach programme. Mary Scanlon MSP and Dave Thompson MSP, who both represent the Highlands and Islands, will visit school children on all four islands on 31 May. This includes the island of Canna, which has a total of four children on its roll under the age of nine.

The MSPs will talk to the school children about their roles, both regionally and in the Parliament. The politicians will also discuss issues that matter to the pupils and suggest ways to engage with the Parliament to make changes.

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Scottish education secretary goes back to school ichael Russell, the Scottish education secretary, has paid a visit to his old school, Marr College in Ayrshire.

During the visit Mr Russell was updated on the changes taking place to both the school building and the curriculum – with work well underway for the Curriculum for Excellence being rolled out in all secondary schools from this August.

Mr Russell said: “Being back in Marr College as the Education Secretary, rather than as a pupil, is fascinating.

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Many things have changed since I did all my secondary education here, leaving at the end of my sixth year in June 1970 – almost 40 years ago.

“Visiting my old school has brought home how innovative and important the Curriculum for Excellence really is. It is encouraging to hear the enthusiasm of staff about the Curriculum for Excellence and I am confident that the school is well placed to harness its potential to deliver real improvements for pupils and their learning.”

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NEWSINBRIEF Beetle bling, bingo and basic facts People’s Trust for Endangered Species and Royal Holloway, University of London, have produced a free resource pack on one of the UK’s largest insects, the rare stag beetle, crammed with fun, educational activities for Key Stages 1 and 2.

The pack consists of a range of exciting and challenging activities aimed at educating children about the stag beetle, its ecology and the problems it faces. Activities are designed to be stand-alone or linked together with the curriculum, and can also support literacy, key skills and thinking skills.

To download your free resource pack, visit www.ptes.org/education.

Photograph courtesy of Vivien Russell

Gary Rhodes opens cookery suite for girls’ school elebrity chef, restaurateur and author Gary Rhodes, recently opened the new state-of-the-art cookery suite at Queenswood School, an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 11-18. The new suite, known as ‘Haute Quisine’, following a school-wide competition to find a name, features a chef’s theatre with an overhead TV monitor for demonstrations, movable work stations, induction hobs, combination ovens, washware and refrigeration.

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Simon Lee, bursar, said: “Having spent some considerable time trying to find a suitable location for our new practical cookery suite we are now delighted with this outstanding facility. Our pupils really love using the facility, which is light, vibrant and also extremely practical. We hope it will continue to be as popular, as it is now, for years to come.”

Catering Design Group, designed, supplied and project managed the installation of the facilities in Hatfield, Hertfordshire.

Construction begins on £21 million Scottish college campus Work has started on the new £21 million Forth Valley College Campus in Alloa, Scotland. The new campus development will have space for up to 2,900 students per academic year and include high tech-specification teaching rooms, workshops, gym and cafeteria and state-of-the-art facilities.

It will offer provision in subject areas such as construction, engineering, motor vehicle maintenance, science, business, computing, childcare and education, creative industries, hairdressing and beauty therapy.

Conference facilities will be available for hire and the general public will be encouraged to use the facilities for community activities. The Scottish Funding Council is providing £21 million, 100 per cent funding, for the new development, which will support 130 construction jobs and provide 30 students with work experience as part of their course work. It is due to welcome its first group of students in August 2011. com

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VOLUME 15.2

BUILD DESIGN &

h ings approac Soft Land 2010 review Taking the PLUS BSEC

Picture credit - For the last issue of Education Business (15.2) the cover image was kindly supplied

by Elliott Fastrack – www.elliottfastrack.co.uk.

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CATERING

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TAKE YOUR SEATS, PLEASE Ray Barker, director of the British Educational Suppliers Association takes a look at how BSF procurement is changing to better equip the classrooms of the future THERE IS NO DENYING that Building Schools for the Future (BSF) has created some truly inspired learning spaces for today’s learners.

As dated and battle-worn schools have started to be replaced by refurbished or completely rebuilt establishments, it is hoped that young people will have a more creative and welcoming environment in which to learn. To put it into context, BSF is the biggest investment in educational facilities by the government since the Second World War with over £45 billion earmarked to ensure that every secondary school in the country is either rebuilt or refurbished.

GETTING IT RIGHT However, it hasn’t been entirely smooth sailing – at the start there were a few instances where architecturally designed schools with a fantastic look and feel were being opened, but weren’t exactly right for educational purposes. Since then, the schools themselves have become more involved in the process at a local level, and we have seen some impressive schools open their doors. The government agency responsible for the roll out of school renewal programmes like BSF and the Primary Capital

Programme, Partnerships for Schools, now holds annual Excellence in BSF Awards to celebrate great establishments. Last year, Beaumont Leys School in Leicester picked up the award for the best BSF school, most notably for the attitude and motivation of students since moving into their newly built school. This is a clear indication that the right learning environment and investment can not only transform schools and buildings, but also transform learners.

The majority of school leaders are behind BSF – in fact, the latest annual report by PricewaterhouseCoopers on the programme found that three quarters of interviewed headteachers agreed that BSF has “more potential to deliver educational transformation that previous capital investment programmes”, while 81 per cent agreed that it will contribute to educational transformation in their school.

FORAGING FOR FUNDS Despite many positive steps in the right direction, there are still one or two problems that need to be ironed out. Up until now, one of the recurring issues when finalising BSF projects was the procurement process for

Furniture, Fittings and Equipment (also known as FF&E). In BSF contracts, the purchasing of school fittings, the furniture and all equipment including ICT was lumped together. As fittings were inevitably purchased first, this meant the majority of the budget was being spent on the ideal fittings for the building, often spending a large portion of the total FF&E allocation. This has in instances where money for furniture and equipment was very limited, caused schools to have to reuse old and outdated equipment, tables and chairs. While schools are always very good about both recycling and getting the most from resources, no one wants to end up in this situation. In terms of overall budgets, Building Schools for the Future’s FF&E does not enjoy the same funding as that of Academies, especially for those that have only been refurbished, not rebuilt.

Building Schools for the Future is supposed to be about transforming education, not just about building beautiful schools. Furniture that is not fit-for-purpose or of poor quality goes against the very nature of the school renewal programme. BSF is about providing students with stimulating 21st century

Photograph courtesy of Elliott Fastrack

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facilities, but what some schools received were fantastic buildings, quality fittings, and then irrelevant and ill-fitting tables and chairs.

BACK TO THE FUTURE Going beyond funding, the standard of classroom furniture has been an issue for some time for many teachers and schools.

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, BESA undertook a major policy commission that looked into the needs of the education system – the first ever of its kind. One of the five key recommendations to come out of the policy commission was the importance of comfortable and properly fitted furniture.

Given that it incorporated the views and opinions from educators and leaders in schools and colleges, local authority advisers and inspectors, educational suppliers, publishers, industry consultants and others involved within education, it was clear that correctly fitted furniture for classrooms was considered of great importance by all.

After extensive research by BESA and the Furniture Industry Research Association, it was found that children are generally taller now and the range of heights in any age cohort is greater than in the past (BackCare, FIRA and BESA research). Also, children’s arms and legs are longer than before, meaning that current furniture standards and sizes, which were based on measurements from the 1960s, were no longer valid.

Building Schools for the Future is supposed to be about transforming education, not just about building beautiful schools. Furniture that is not fit-for-purpose or of poor quality goes against the very nature of the school renewal programme As a result of sitting all day in furniture that does not fit correctly, an increasing number of children are suffering from back pain, which leads to discomfort, poor concentration and disruptive behaviour. To overcome this, BESA’s Policy Commission made a series of recommendations such as providing data to support a revised design output specification for furniture and equipment. Now, a new European Furniture Standard entitled EN1729 has been created which will ensure that classroom furniture adhering to the standard will be better suited to today’s learners to prevent back pain and hopefully help to improve their concentration and comfort in class.

However, despite this new standard being released, the education system was slow to adopt it and many tenders still specified the redundant standard. BESA, alongside the DCSF, has been working closely with Partnerships for Schools to provide information to redefine Building Schools for the Future

budgets and support the changes to the design output specification for wave five schools.

PAYING FOR THE RIGHT FURNITURE This is not the only change to furniture, fittings and equipment for the fifth wave of BSF. There is very little point in developing tailored classroom furniture or equipment if there is no money left at the end of the process to buy it.

Given that many were finding it difficult to uncover the funds for new classroom furniture or school equipment out of the collective FF&E budget, new BSF regulations have been put in place to separate funding for fittings from furniture and equipment.

This means that the money can be spent appropriately, according to specific needs.

So wave five should see things improve in the world of school furniture procurement – not only will schools get furniture to fit today’s children, but we should have the funds available at the end of the process to actually purchase it.

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In the current market the increasing pressures being placed on public and private sector capital budgets mean other funding arrangements must be found. Solutions Asset Finance can provide innovative finance packages to support the public sector’s capital investment programme.

We have market wide access to finance and work closely with a panel of carefully selected funders in order to provide you with the best value finance solution. Our unique relationship with funders has allowed us to tailor financial solutions for local authorities, NHS and the private sector, funding modular and temporary buildings, school equipment, IT equipment, and general medical equipment.

Each of these solutions was managed and implemented by Solutions Asset Finance utilising our legal, tax and structuring expertise to ensure best value was achieved for the client.

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LEAVE IT TO THE EXPERTS Are insurance brokers an essential resource or an expensive benefit? James Woollam investigates FOR MANY, INSURANCE is a subject best ignored or even better delegated. And yet, often the assets of the school are its lifeblood, and it has become common to see buildings, contents and other items totalling £50m or even £100m. A school’s liabilities are also significant and can be both personal and unlimited, such as to the liability of the governors of the school, who ironically for such responsibility will be working without financial reward. With these facts in mind, having the correct insurance in place is an essential part of the good governance of the school, and a responsibility of the senior management and governing board to ensure the policies are fit for purpose.

To deal with the complexities of insurance buying many schools, who do not have to purchase their insurance through their local education authority, will choose to use an insurance broker. The questions of how and why will be addressed in turn.

FINDING THE RIGHT BROKER There are some 5,000 insurance brokers within the UK, from multi-billion pound international firms to local high street brokers with only one or two employees. Finding the right broker for you is essential. Within the UK it is a legal requirement for a firm to be authorised by the Financial Services Authority, and this will give you a certain level of protection. Insurance intermediaries within the UK are strictly governed, and are subject to spot checks from the FSA and of providing specific levels of information to the FSA every six months about their capital resource. You can find out if a broker is authorised at www.fsa.gov.uk/register, including any previous disciplinary action.

You can look within broker’s organisations, such as BIBA (British Insurance Brokers Association), which have their own standards of service. Finally, you can ask the broker about their experience, coupled with a list of references from education clients. Of the 5,000 or so brokers, only a handful will have dealt with education risks, and in this specialist field it is essential to use a broker with the right level of experience and with access to the right insurance markets. Speaking directly with two or three school clients of the broker will soon allow you to know whether the broker’s service standards, pricing and value-added services are right for you.

QUESTION THE FEE There is often confusion over how insurance brokers are remunerated. It is a fallacy to assume that using a broker will cost you more; often the savings gained from their experience, knowledge and access to the insurance market will actually save you money.

The insurance market has not always been able to cater for school’s requirements, and at this stage a good broker may put their own solution in place, on a ‘scheme’ facility. This will be negotiated by a broker, underwritten by the insurer, and will give wider coverage than can normally be found in the market based on a bulk bought effect Brokers are usually paid by the insurance company in a commission, which is included within the final price you pay. However, you are in your right to request information on how much commission the broker is earning, and you can ask the broker if they would instead be prepared to work on a fee. This fee is exempt from Value Added Tax, and will allow you full transparency in dealing with the broker. It is worth checking whether the fee includes all costs or whether there are additional charges, such as for policy issue or claims work. A total annual fee for all work conducted in a year can help you to budget successfully and ensure the broker’s choice of insurance company is truly independent.

Of course an insurance broker will design your insurance portfolio and place your policies with insurance companies, sometimes using five or even ten different insurance companies for the different portions of the cover. But this is only an aspect of their role.

A good broker will offer several value added services. An education specialist will have an expert knowledge of the sector, a good

understanding of which insurance companies have experience in schools, and will likely have access to several other professional bodies from law firms to accountants and risk managers who truly understand the education environment. Last month an Irish insurer, was placed into administration by its regulator. This was a company that some brokers had been concerned with for some time, a concern that direct purchasers would have found difficult to ascertain.

Many brokers have their own claims service, which compliments the broking staff and allows a broker to work for you rather than the insurance company to get claims paid. I have witnessed on many occasions brokers turning a declined claim into a paid claim by arguing over the policy wording and supporting the school. In my previous article I wrote exclusively on risk management, and this is probably one of the best differentiators of brokers. Some will charge you for this service, some will not provide you with any assistance at all, but many have started to give risk management assistance as part of the standard service. This can range

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Ecclesiastical Insurance – an insurer you can trust HEN IT COMES TO

W protecting your education establishment, you need the support of a specialist insurer – one you can trust.

Established in 1887, we’ve been serving the education sector for over 40 years. We also give all our available profits to charity – making us the 7th top corporate donor in the UK1.

For the last three years running, insurance brokers have voted us the best insurance provider for education2.

From nurseries through to universities, we know that each education provider is unique in its own way. That’s why we can tailor your insurance cover to meet your specific needs – helping you rest assured that

you are properly covered.

Backed by specialist advice and guidance and an excellent claims service, whatever the size or nature of your education establishment, you can be confident that with Ecclesiastical, you’re in good hands.

1. Source: Directory of social change 2. In research conducted by FWD, an independent market research company, of those brokers who named an insurer in the survey, the majority voted Ecclesiastical as the best insurer for education.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about how we could help you, speak to your insurance broker or visit www.ecclesiastical.com/ ingoodhands

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from templates for checking contractors and drivers, to advice on issues as they arise, to full surveys of the premises. This support can be invaluable and a huge cost saving.

WORKING IN THE FIELD The education sector is a unique field, but its issues are often shared by many schools and colleges, and having a broker that understands the business means early warning of problems as they occur and shared solutions. The insurance market has not always been able to cater for school’s requirements, and at this stage a good broker may put their own solution in place, on a ‘scheme’ facility. This will be negotiated by a broker, underwritten by the insurer, and will give wider coverage than can normally be found in the market based on a bulk bought effect. It is not uncommon for education brokers to have seven or eight such schemes, written exclusively for schools and not available to the general insurance market.

WHAT TO CONSIDER Whilst not wishing to give too much away, there are some key areas of consideration when considering an insurance policy. Ecclesiastical,

a large school’s insurer, estimated recently that over half of all properties are either over or under insured. But did you know that almost all property insurance contains an average clause, in which any under insurance will allow an insurer to reduce a claim by the same proportion as the under insurance, even if the claim is well under the total insured figure?

Public Liability insurance will indemnify you for negligent acts which result in personal injury or property damage, but very few will cover you for abuse claims, and yet these can be some of the most expensive to defend, even when later found to be without substance. A vast number of schools were caught abroad when volcanic ash disrupted air flights over Europe, but did your travel insurer provide cover or choose to exclude claims? And finally, the unfortunate events at Malvern College recently demonstrate that fires can and do happen within schools.

A good Business Continuity Plan is essential, but so also is the corresponding Business Interruption insurance. Do you have enough cover in place to ensure that your school will retain its pupils by offering alternative accommodation, whilst ensuring that there is revenue cover for those pupils who choose to

leave the school and be educated elsewhere?

There is no requirement to use an insurance broker, but touching on some of the issues within the school sector demonstrates the vast considerations needed if you are to take the decision to purchase direct. It should be noted that most brokers use an assortment of different insurers, as they feel no one insurer can offer cover in all the different areas of risk. It is not always the case that brokers will cost you more, and with the additional services they can offer, it is a question of whether the school really wishes to take on the additional burden of insurance or leave it with experts who can do the worrying for you.

This article was written by James Woollam, director of Educational Insurance Services, on behalf of the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA). Educational Insurance Services is a member of BIBA.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0117 929 9381 Web: www.hayesparsons.co.uk/eis E-mail: j.woollam@hayesparsons.co.uk

Does your insurance broker understand the wide and diverse needs of the education sector?

HOOSING the right insurance broker for most schools and colleges is as important as choosing the right governors. The commoditisation of insurance has led to a lack of expertise and a call centre approach.

The complexities involved in the management of the sector and the risks it faces does not lend itself to this commoditisation. The package of insurance covers required to survive the rigors of today’s litigious society necessitate the purchase of some extremely complex forms of cover from specialist material damage to long term revenue protection and professional risks.

Perhaps the most important asset that a specialist broker can provide to the bursar and governors is the all important key access to knowledgeable and confidential consultation, be it technical troubleshooting guidance to a board of governors (often out of hours) or confidential discussions about the options and consequences, and possible strategies necessary to deal with sensitive issues. It is vital to have a small clued up team to discuss confidential matters. The ability to respond to a diverse range of queries which are often of a sensitive nature, which if left unaddressed could destroy a reputation overnight, is absolutely essential. This is why you pull in people from industry to act as governors to make the use of their extensive industrial experience.

C

“One thing I have learnt over the years with schools is that they are challenging and will always keep you on your toes,” said Richard Cox, director, KGJ Group. “Schools are certainly one of our most challenging sectors. However, I know I am not alone when I say that they are also one of the most rewarding. It is nice to be working with committed and knowledgeable people who really care about getting things right.”

“It might be demanding in terms of technical knowledge and time, but it is also appreciated,” added Richard Ward, director, KGJ Group. “It is a teamwork approach which also provides a sense of achievement and gives you a sense of putting something back into the community.”

Whilst pricing is still one of the most important considerations, particularly in the current market, the needs of this specialist sector are far more complex.

Schemes have come and gone as large

broking groups through their purchase power believe they can solve the education sector by coming up with a new wide ranging wording and then forcing the insurer, or a panel of insurers, to unsustainable rates. Like all things in life nothing lasts forever and facilities like this come and go but they rarely give what is actually needed – the personal level of expertise.

Competitive rates are of course a must, but so is sustainability and consistency. Whether the insurance industry will ever learn its lessons from the peaks and troughs of rating remains to be seen but our belief is that expertise is the key.

Our team of directors responsible for the education sector have had extensive working knowledge in this sector. A number of our senior staff have been or are currently serving as governors and/or have experience in the education industry or spouses in the profession.

It is these sort of insights that give you the edge in understanding the sector’s requirements and needs but also our understanding in other specialist trade sectors give us an understanding of the wide and diverse needs of the education sector.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Richard C Ward LL.B., director Tel: 01902 796 795 E-mail: richw@kgjgroup.co.uk Web: www.kgjgroup.co.uk

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

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ENERGY

MAKING THE SMART CHOICE FOR METERING The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is now underway and the right choice of metering will be a key element in making the scheme work efficiently. Alan Aldridge, executive director of ESTA, outlines the options and benefits THE CRC ENERGY Efficiency Scheme

(formerly the Carbon Reduction Commitment) came into operation at the beginning of April. Any organisations with half-hourly electricity metering and annual consumption of 6000MWh or more will be included – that’s around £500,000 spent on electricity alone. All publicly-funded schools will also take part, their emissions being aggregated with that of their local authority.

In addition, any Academies and City Technology Colleges that are geographically located in the area for which the local authority “exercises educational functions” are also included. For larger private schools, there may also be implications if they have a half-hourly electricity meter on the site.

Metering will play a crucial part in complying with the scheme. After all, the basis for the carbon trading and the league tables of performance will be the accounting of metered consumption – gas as well as electricity (and delivery notes, etc, for liquid and solid fuels).

The government has announced that all buildings will have either smart or advanced metering installed by utility companies over the next decade. However, for many sites there is an option to choose between the two. So which is best and under what circumstances?

All larger sites will have advanced metering installed by 2014. However, smaller nondomestic buildings will have the option of choosing either advanced metering before the end of 2014, or waiting for smart metering at some point between now and the end of 2020. ESTA believes that for nearly all non-domestic buildings, there are advantages to be realised from opting for advanced rather than smart meters.

SMART AND ADVANCED METERS

Both advanced and smart metering should mean an end to estimated billing, clearing the way for all sites to be able to implement effective energy management strategies. They will also help in the process of accounting in programmes such as the CRC EES and will be essential for effective energy management. The question is how to achieve an integrated strategy across the whole portfolio.

In the government’s December 2009 document on how it planned to approach the roll-out of meters, it sets out a number of

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

21

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features of both types of meter. In practice, there is not a great deal of difference between the two: there will be a facility to disconnect supply on domestic sector smart meters, but this will not be the case for non-domestic meters; the domestic meter is supposed to have two-way communication but it is not clear why manufacturers would produce a less capable meter in smaller numbers; and real time displays are only being mandated for domestic consumer use, not non-domestic customers.

The government sees the main benefit of smart metering in the development of smart grids, but it is not explained why advanced meters cannot interact with these. Indeed, ESTA believes that advanced metering as currently envisaged should be quite capable of supporting smart grids.

The main difference seems to lie in the way in which data is supplied to customers. Advanced metering offers users the opportunity of channelling information to control and management systems via internet links – which offers far more flexibility than the ‘direct to display units’ designed for smart metering.

THRESHOLDS

The current thresholds for smart/ advanced metering are as follows: Electricity: • Profile 5 and above (equivalent to an annual expenditure of around £5,000) will receive advanced metering before the end of 2014 • Profile 3 and 4 will have the option of advanced or smart up to 2014 (longer if contracts are already in place or there are technical issues) • Profile 1 or 2 – domestic consumers will have smart metering fitted by 2020.

Gas: • Annual consumption of more than 732MWh (around £18,000 pa.) – customers will receive advanced metering by 2014 • Non-domestic users below this level have a choice of advanced or smart meters up to 2014 (longer if contracts are already in place or there are technical issues).

So there are a large number of customers with smaller sites that have a choice over the next few years – the advanced or smart route for metering. Our belief is that most, if not all, non-domestic customers will find advanced metering more flexible (particularly where the organisation’s estate is changing over time) and we believe that they will gain more benefits from adopting this type.

CHOOSING ADVANCED METERING

For most larger educational organisations, the number of sites with significant gas and electricity consumption will mean that they are already committed to the advanced metering route. These sites are

likely to have some form of coordinated energy management processes, perhaps integrated within a single multi-site system. It therefore makes little sense to have smart meters at other sites which are not linked into the overall network.

An integrated strategy involving advanced metering at all consumption levels is likely to be less expensive, less cumbersome to operate and more effective in controlling costs, consumption and emissions.

In terms of communicating with different sites, advanced meters will be able to take advantage of advances in internet communications, reducing hardwiring or dedicated telecoms links. This option is not likely to be available with smart metering, at least in the short term.

Advanced metering is a relatively developed technology, with a competitive market for products and systems – one that is driven by innovation and

response to customer demand. We believe that the central communications approach that the government prefers for smart metering will not lead to such a flexible, responsive market.

Schools, both publicly-funded and those in the private sector, may find that the ability to feed metered data into analysis packages can also provide valuable extra resources for lessons – particularly for environmental studies on energy and climate change.

These packages can track demand over time and show how the school is managing its energy and reducing its carbon footprint.

Some utility suppliers are already helping schools with this approach: one ESTA member is supplying a major utility with thousands of advanced meters destined for schools up and down the country.

Choosing advanced metering also means that you, as the customer, can select the data collector and negotiate arrangements

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23

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for data delivery: you therefore have greater control over costs and systems architecture.

INCENTIVISATION

Over the last few years, the government has in fact incentivised the implementation of advanced metering systems such as Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) and automatic Monitoring & Targeting (aM&T). AMR is required under certain circumstances by Part L of the Building Regulations, applying to both new and refurbished buildings. Part L also gives an allowance against the Target Emissions Rating if aM&T has been installed.

Equally, the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme gives ‘early adopter’ benefits (specifically in terms of enhanced league table position) for those with aM&T schemes. Also, in connection with this scheme, participants will need to report on gas consumption for all premises with a gas demand of more than 73.2MWh (within the consumption band where there is a choice between smart and advanced metering). Without advanced metering linked into a central energy management system, such properties

will have to be accounted for separately.

The new revision to the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD) will mean that, in the near future, public bodies will have to produce Display Energy Certificates (DECs) for much smaller buildings. A number of aM&T (advanced) metering systems can produce these automatically.

For all these reasons, educational organisations should consider opting for advanced metering across their estates.

But remember, the option is only there until 2014: equipment must either be in place by then or contracts for installation after that date must already be in place.

Advanced metering is the smart option for the public sector – but don’t miss the boat!

The Energy Services and Technology Association (ESTA) represents over 100 major providers of energy management equipment and services across the UK. FOR MORE INFORMATION

Schools, both publiclyfunded and those in the private sector, may find that the ability to feed metered data into analysis packages can also provide a valuable extra resources for lessons – particularly for environmental studies on energy and climate change. These packages can track demand over time and show how the school is managing its energy and reducing its carbon footprint

Web: www.esta.org.uk

Alfa Energy – the specialists in providing energy cost management strategies S

INCE 1995, ALFA ENERGY has been a recognised specialist in providing energy cost management strategies and carbon footprint reducing solutions to the non-domestic UK market.

As an independent energy consultancy, Alfa Energy’s main area of expertise is in sourcing and negotiating the best energy contracts for our customers.

We have long established relationships with all major UK energy suppliers, enabling us to negotiate the best rates to meet your budgetary requirements as well as understanding any service requirements you may have; the best price is not always the best contract. Our energy contract procurement service does not stop there.

We can create ‘basket’ frameworks whereby many different customers can procure together to increase the purchasing power to drive the best price, but still keeping the autonomy of your own contract. With tightening budgets across the UK, this is a smarter way of procuring energy.

On top of clever procurement strategies it is also important to understand how you use your energy. By understanding this you can act accordingly to help reduce your carbon footprint. This is especially important if you have a half hourly meter and therefore

have to register onto the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC).

Alfa Energy can help you discover the extent of your footprint by simple data analysis or installing smart metering or building management systems that will help you monitor what you use and when you use it. From there we can work with you to identify efficiencies from a change of internal process or tariff analysis, to installation of voltage optimisation tools. If you have a half hourly meter you will need to register with the Environment Agency as part of the CRC scheme, irrelevant of how much energy you use.

Alfa Energy Services has a variety of solutions

to meet your needs and requirements including a bespoke CRC management product, with the ultimate aim of helping you reduce your carbon footprint. On top of all of the above Alfa Energy is also able to negotiate commercial water services and LPG/ oil contracts, providing you with a complete one-stop-shop for your energy needs.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please call us on 020 8810 7743 and speak to one of our energy experts or visit our website www.alfaenergy.co.uk for further information on our products and services.

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25

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CARBON CUTTING MADE SIMPLE Simple and cheap measures could allow schools to use less energy, saving them money and reducing their environmental impact. Tom Cumberlege, public sector manager at the Carbon Trust, explains how

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IS INCREASINGLY sitting at the top of people’s agendas, and with the schools estate emitting around 9.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – about two per cent of total UK greenhouse gases – it’s important that governors, teachers and head teachers seize the initiative and strive for a greener, more efficient future.

With Schools Secretary, Ed Balls, announcing in January 2010 that schools are to get digital ‘energy display meters’ as part of plans to help schools join the fight against climate change, it is good to see steps are being taken to cut the carbon footprint of the education sector. Research from the Carbon Trust shows Britain’s head teachers could wipe a massive £70 million off school energy bills by making their schools more energy efficient.

When you consider those savings could fund around five million textbooks, the business case for carbon reduction becomes clear.

CRC PROGRAMME Clearly, if schools use less power, they will spend less money on energy bills. Not only that but by reducing their carbon emissions and improving their environmental performance, they will fare better in the government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) programme which came into force in April 2010.

The CRC is a mandatory scheme that targets carbon dioxide emissions from large public and private sector organisations, which use more than 6,000MWh of electricity per year.

Emissions from state-funded schools in Great Britain are included in the scheme through their local authority. The CRC has significant financial and reputational implications for organisations

so it is vital that they understand fully how it will impact them and how they can profit from early action to reduce the cost of compliance and minimise risk. Until 2013, organisations that are part of the scheme must buy carbon allowances to cover their emissions at a cost of £12/tCO2, after this the price will float and trading will begin in earnest. This money will be paid back to businesses in October of each year, but how much is dependent on how high they are ranked in the CRC league table. In 2011 the league table is determined solely on the basis of whether the organisation has taken ‘early action’ in advance of the CRC. With schools included in the scheme, under the responsibility of their council, there is a clear financial incentive to reduce carbon emissions from both the local authority and schools in the area.

The good news is that implementing a few simple techniques can help to reduce the amount of energy consumed in a school, and in doing so release funding. Costs can be reduced significantly using simple energy saving procedures, such as setting appropriate temperatures and ensuring that heating equipment and controls are operated and managed correctly.

So, with the newly implemented Carbon Reduction Commitment and the need to maximise any opportunity to save energy and cost, what actions can schools take to make energy efficiency savings?

TOP TIPS FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY • Place heat emitting equipment such as printers and photocopiers in a naturally ventilated area • Switch off all IT equipment when not in use and enable power down modes to reduce energy consumption and heat production

• Switch off monitors – this will save 60 per cent on the energy used by a PC during break times when it’s not in use • Consider renewable energy technologies to generate power and heat • Do not switch on catering equipment too soon. Label equipment with its pre-heat time and educate staff to turn on only when needed • Switch off lighting when not in use – place ‘switch off’ stickers above light switches and put posters up in classrooms • Purchase equipment with running costs in mind. Equipment that automatically switches off (such as pan sensors on hobs or lighting) can save as much as 25 per cent on energy costs.

• Switch water coolers and vending machines off at nights and weekends • Set default printing to double sided where possible and try to print in batches to allow the machine time on standby • Involve staff and pupils by developing an awareness campaign to encourage and incentivise energy efficiency • Check your heating system operating hours meet the times when heating, ventilation and cooling are required, as needs vary throughout the day and at different times of the year. Also check that building energy management systems are operating properly • Use a pool cover on swimming pools – this can produce tens of thousands of pounds through reducing the need for heating.

SAVINGS IN LIVERPOOL One school that is reaping the benefits of energy efficiency is St Edwards College, a

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27

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Installers and suppliers of air conditioning and heating systems for schools, offices, supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, and factory units across the UK. Advice, design and installation of systems to suit any requirements. Service and maintenance of existing heating and air conditioning systems.

Advice to schools on getting an interest-free loan from the Carbon Trust to install energy-reducing equipment (such as heat pumps).

For further details, please call us on 01204 305 053 or visit our website:

www.sdh-aircon.com E-mail: info@sdh-aircon.com 8 Forest Way, Bolton, Lancashire, BL7 9YE.

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ENERGY

voluntary aided school in Liverpool, with 1,150 pupils from 11 to 18 years old. With restricted budgets and annual energy costs of £55,600, St Edwards College was eager to reduce its energy consumption, particularly when savings could be used for extra college materials. However, staff soon realised they needed some specialist help and contacted the Carbon Trust to gain its expertise in the area of energy conservation.

As a first step, the Carbon Trust carried out a survey of the site to see what improvements could be made with minimal financial investment. As a result of the survey, the Carbon Trust produced a list of recommendations, which detailed how St Edward’s could make the energy savings it was looking for and potentially reduce annual energy costs by 20 per cent.

One year on, the college has implemented a number of the cost-saving recommendations, including installing presence lighting circuits into large areas such as the assembly hall and dining hall and is currently making arrangements to install a swimming pool cover to help insulate the pool. Staff at the college are also far more vigilant now about ensuring that air conditioning, lights and other electrical equipment are switched off at the end of the day. Other recommendations the college is now looking at implementing include installing efficiency controls to boilers and replacing damaged heating insulation, and introducing an energy monitoring system.

SURVEYING IN NORTH LONDON Woodhouse College, a sixth-form college in

Finchley was also able to make substantial savings by taking a few very simple steps.

Based around an 18th century manor house in Finchley, North London, Woodhouse College is a sixth-form college with around 80 staff and 1,000 pupils. The original building was extended in the 1920s and 30s, with further areas added in 1997 and 2000.

Woodhouse College’s annual energy bill is around £50,000, making it one of the largest expenses after staff salaries. In addition, with limited budgets, the College could not afford the annual energy bill increases of 20-30 per cent it was facing. Carol Kirkland, the director of academic and business operations, had a personal interest in the environment and so called in the Carbon Trust, with the dual purpose of reducing bills and improving the college’s environmental performance.

As a first step, the Carbon Trust carried out a free detailed energy survey to see what could be achieved based on low cost solutions. The resulting survey produced a range of recommendations for how the college could reduce energy consumption by almost 17 per cent, saving 36.5 tonnes of carbon a year. The advice ranged from installing more energy efficient light bulbs, to developing an energy efficiency awareness campaign for staff and students.

18 months on and many of the recommendations have been implemented.

Pipes and valves have been insulated, light bulbs are being replaced with energy efficient bulbs and computers turn off automatically.

The College has even installed more light circuits giving greater control over the lighting of different areas, so that better use can be made of natural light. An ongoing energy efficiency awareness programme has also been successfully implemented, which has led to direct changes in the way students and staff use energy.

Woodhouse College is now seeing the results. Its energy consumption is falling month by month, with a six per cent reduction over a year, saving 13 tonnes of carbon. This has been achieved despite an increase in student numbers, which means the college is actually experiencing greater use of its classrooms.

The Carbon Trust offers free on-site surveys to schools with an energy bill of over £50,000 per annum. During the survey a carbon expert will visit your school, and work with you to develop an action plan to reduce your energy use. Similarly, smaller schools spending under £50,000 annually on energy can access free, practical advice from the Carbon Trust website and advice line.

Ultimately, energy efficiency savings cannot afford to be ignored. Managing carbon emissions will help schools to cut back on their energy costs and secure savings that could be spent on new books, PE equipment or even additional teaching staff.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0800 085 2005 Web: www.carbontrust.co.uk/schools

How choosing the right broker can help cut the cost of your school’s gas and electricity bills

W

ITH THE INCREASED PRESSURE on budgets, ensuring your energy is purchased at the most competitive price has never been more important.

Purchasing of gas and electricity is unlike purchasing anything else. Energy prices change on a daily, if not hourly, basis and suppliers offer confusing products with different contract lengths. This can be a minefield for the inexperienced.

The expert advice of an energy broker or consultant can work to your advantage in receiving the most competitive prices on the market and will empower you to make the correct choice when agreeing your electricity and gas contracts. A responsible energy broker should take the problem out of your in tray and come back to you with answers. When contracting an energy broker you should ensure their service includes: • Tendering of energy contracts to the market. Following all legal criteria • Analysing all offers and showing savings on offer in an easy to understand format,

with an estimated annual spend • Advising the customer of fees before any work is carried out • Complete transparency with the customer signing off all energy contracts • Terminating of energy contracts with suppliers as per the terms and conditions • Validation of all energy invoices to insure contracts are billing as per contractual terms • Ongoing account management for the length of the contract.

Stephen P Drewett of Paragon Energy says: “We believe an energy broker should work alongside the customer. The customer should be presented with all of the information in an easy to understand form. The customer should

then be able to make an informed decision” There are some unscrupulous energy brokers on the market and Stephen P Drewett of Paragon Energy has this advice on how to avoid them: “Always agree fees before any work is carried out, avoiding brokers offering half savings, as we have found in the past with customers being invoiced thousands of pounds by their broker after contracts have been accepted. Ensure you always have the final say on which contracts to sign, knowing what rate you will be paying and never allow a third party to sign your energy contracts on your behalf.” He also added: “At Paragon Energy we design a bespoke service around each customer’s needs. If we are unable to show savings we will pro rata our rates – to date this have never happened.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01249 462719 Fax: 0871 733 6005 E-mail: sdrewett@paragon-energy.co.uk Web: www.paragon-energy.co.uk

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www.educationbusinessuk.com

Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Assistance with the drive for energy and carbon reduction MID THE INCREASING noise being generated over energy and carbon reduction within educational buildings, not least as a result of various legislative drivers such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment, LEAs, governors and heads face a dizzying array of wouldbe advisors and consultants clamouring to be entrusted with the onerous task of determining the optimal route to improvement.

Stroma is one such contender that, whilst not one of the ‘big name’ consultancy firms, does nonetheless possess the full gamut of capabilities and competences required to provide a holistic and systematic approach to energy and carbon reduction. Furthermore, we can demonstrate a track record in devising and implementing energy reduction measures in both new and existing schools and colleges.

Our abilities range from architecture, BREEAM and dynamic simulation modelling

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(for energy assessment and strategy formulation), through to air-tightness improvement, renewables implementation and aM&T (automatic monitoring & targeting) software and implementation. The latter, in combination with smart metering, is a crucially important technique for energy management in multisite applications. In partnership with Systems-Link, Stroma is well placed to deliver this.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact Stroma on 0845 621 1111 or e-mail: info@stroma.com. Alternatively please visit www.stroma.com

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HEN TIMES ARE TIGHT AND budgets are stretched you need to look at all avenues to save money and many schools and colleges rely on buying groups to get them the best deal for their energy supply. In most markets, members buying together in bulk will give them leverage to get better prices and a better deal. However, in the energy market this doesn’t always hold true.

As the group of members in a buying group is normally large, negotiations tend to be inflexible and long-winded. Pricing is often set six months in advance of it taking effect and is only set for one year. This doesn’t allow any flexibility to react to changing market conditions. In addition, a commission is often paid centrally to the buying group or consortium on all energy used by the members.

The group determines who will supply you but information on what the costs will be is only forthcoming when you’re being invoiced.

CostMaster is one of the UK’s leading energy consultants. We have saved our school and college clients thousands of pounds a year on their energy costs.

The CostMaster approach enables you to retain full control of your decision making.

We take your individual site information and approach major utility suppliers to get

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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

competing quotes on your behalf. Once this is done we report back to you on the findings and discuss the best course of action.

This gives you the following advantages: • Bespoke negotiation to meet your needs • Ability to vary negotiation timing to reflect market conditions • Ability to choose the length of contract to suit you • Control over the final choice of supplier • Knowledge of the contract pricing before you agree • Administration and processing handled free of charge.

We are currently able to offer smart meters free of charge on certain tariffs. These meters

automatically update your supplier with your usage so you won’t have to read meters or accept estimated bills anymore. They record usage in much greater detail allowing organisations to identify potential usage savings.

In addition to our free services we also provide a full energy management programme.

Our specialist software performs a 20 point check on each invoice and will analyse actual and comparative data to ensure you pay for as little energy as possible.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0845 123 5154 E-mail: info@costmaster.org Web: www.costmaster.org

Education Business | Volume 15.3

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BUILDING SCHOOLS FOR THE FUTURE The Building Schools for the Future programme represents a great opportunity for improving energy efficiency in schools

AT OCIP ENERGY WE RECOGNISE that the Building Schools for the Future Programme represents a great opportunity for improving energy efficiency in schools.

We are excited by the prospect that our LED lighting range can help schools meet energy efficiency objectives and carbon reduction targets, when building new or upgrading existing schools. We are also passionate about the potential for small wind turbines as an income generator for schools.

However, we recognise that there is a challenge for schools, and finding and eventually replacing existing lighting stock is a time consuming process.

Likewise switching from fossil based to renewable energy sources can be a challenging thing to do.

In this edition we talk more about small wind turbines, more about LED lights and more about how we can deploy energy efficient technologies in schools. And for a few lucky schools with a real passion for this, we are offering some free consultancy advice and support. See below for the details of our energy efficient schools initiative and how your school could take part.

MORE ABOUT SMALL WIND SOLUTIONS The potential for small wind solutions has been talked about for some time as a means of complimenting the deployment of large scale wind farms and other renewable energy sources. However, both the design and the economics have been challenged by non believers and some have been as open as to say the business case ‘just does not stack up’. In our opinion a company called quietrevolution is changing all that. They have developed a wind turbine that works

well in both rural and urban environments, where wind directions change frequently.

The elegant helical (twisted) design ensures a robust performance even in turbulent winds. It also means there is virtually no noise or vibration. With just one moving part, maintenance can be limited to an annual inspection and at only five metres high and three metres in diameter, it is compact and easy to integrate on a wide variety of sites.

It’s well liked too, receiving Yellow Pencils for the D&AD Award in Product Design in 2007, being nominated for the Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2009 and being a finalist for the iawards 2009.

This is why we believe it is ideal for schools.

Ocip Energy is the distribution partner for the quietrevolution wind turbine, and we would be delighted to work with any schools interested in deploying small wind turbines.

More details on small wind can be found at the British Wind and Energy Association website or at www.ocipenergy.com.

In short, by deploying clever solutions like these schools can help meet their own carbon targets and potentially have an additional income too.

MORE ABOUT LED LIGHTING Like for small wind, a similar debate has been going on about LED lights in the UK. Some, like us are passionate about the products, others are less keen, but we firmly believe where there are large areas of floodlighting, fluorescent lighting and high bay lighting, there is an immediate opportunity to reduce energy consumption and electricity costs through the direct replacement of existing lighting with the latest LED technology.

Take for example the work we did at RAF Hendon where the Museum has replaced the existing 400W high pressure sodium lighting with twenty 100W LED High Bay lights.

The use of the LED lights will see a saving of over 18 tonnes of CO2 and over £4,000 per annum in energy costs, quickly justifying the investment in the technology. However, there are other advantages – the total life costs of implementing the changes – such as the reduced maintenance required due to the longer life of the LED lights and the lack of hazardous waste disposal issues sometimes associated with other forms of lighting. This is why we believe LED lighting is a great idea for schools.

Ocip Energy is the UK distribution partner for Singbee, who designs and manufactures the LED lights, and we would be delighted to work with any schools interested in replacing their lighting. More details on LED lighting can be found at the Lighting Association website or at www.ocipenergy.com.

By replacing old lights for new LEDs schools can help meet their own carbon targets and potentially reduce their energy costs too.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN SCHOOLS INITIATIVE Because we know finding the time to deal with all this is tough we have decided to support a small number of schools throughout 2010 to help them improve their energy efficiency ratings.

In summary we’ll give some free consultancy advice to a small number of schools that are passionate about our products, in an attempt to try and help people understand how they can find the grants and funds needed to pay for renewable energy solutions. The advice might be as simple as how to fill in the appropriate forms to apply for Carbon Trust grants or, if budgets are already secured, it could be an on site lighting feasibility study to help demonstrate the energy savings switching to LED lighting can make.

We are currently looking for schools to take part in this project, so if your school is interested in talking to us about this, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please send your name and contact details in an e-mail to info@ocipenergy.com listing reference ‘energy efficiency in schools’.

We are excited about the potential of these technologies for schools and hope you are too.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Ocip Energy Ltd Freephone: 0800 917 9360 Fax: +44 (0)1242 522 343 Web: www.ocipenergy.com Registered office: Unit J, Churchill Industrial Estate, Churchill Road, Leckhampton, Cheltenham, GL53 7FD Registered in England & Wales No: 06849542

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Carton recycling scheme helps schools and businesses get to grips with green Cartons have a great environmental story to tell.

1.5billion cartons

Tetra Pak recently announced that over in the UK will soon carry the certification of the Forest Stewardship Council, which confirms that the paperboard is sourced from responsibly managed forests and other controlled sources.

And that’s not all.

low carbon, lightweight

Cartons are also a choice, made from a renewable resource and they are recyclable, which is great news for the nation’s schools and businesses who get through millions every year.

200 million

England’s primary schools alone used a whopping milk and juice cartons last year – and now, thanks to the carton manufacturer Tetra Pak, and the carton industry body ACE UK (Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment), there is a scheme in place to help schools and businesses across the country to recycle them.

Tetra Pak’s new service enables schools and businesses to contact their local carton recycling contractors through an easy to use web portal.

Here, you can get a quote and follow the step-by-step instructions online to set up collection.

The scheme is now available to schools and businesses across more than 60% of the UK, and Tetra Pak is working with contractors on an ongoing basis to extend it further.

For more information on local contractors and service coverage, and to set up collection, visit:

www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk/schools

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DESIGN & BUILD

A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO SCHOOL DESIGN Sustainable school buildings not only offer important environmental benefits and opportunities to reduce operating costs, but also have enormous potential for improving the productivity and health of school users WITH AROUND 24,000 schools providing

education for some 7.5 million students in England alone, the impacts of schools on our environment and the wellbeing of those in education are very significant.

The environmental impacts are wide ranging – from the use of finite resources in construction, to the ongoing demand for heat and power, water and waste disposal. These impacts can be reduced in ways that improve the internal environment and benefit the health of occupants.

A sustainable approach to school design will, in general, aim to conserve energy and water, minimise waste, avoid potential pollutants, protect or enhance wildlife and habitats, take account of whole life costs and value for money, respect people through involvement and consultation, and meet local needs.

These aspirations are reflected in the widely used BREEAM scheme for assessing the environmental impacts of new and refurbishment building projects. A specially adapted version for school buildings – BREEAM Schools – was developed in 2004/05 and is currently undergoing its third revision.

THE LINK WITH PRODUCTIVITY & HEALTH

Ambitious plans to rebuild or renew all secondary schools and half of the primary schools in England by around 2023 offer a remarkable opportunity to not only incorporate environmental measures, but also to improve the health and productivity of students, teachers and others.

This is because of the strong correlation that researchers have consistently found between the factors that contribute to a sustainable building – fresh air, daylight, pollution avoidance, and so on – and factors known to contribute to health and productivity. These factors include the following: INDOOR AIR QUALITY

BREEAM evaluates overall indoor air quality and assesses measures to minimise the ingress of polluted air (from cars, buses and lorries, etc), reduce sources of internal pollution (such as finishes and fittings that emit VOCs) and encourage the use of openable windows.

Indoor air quality – a product of outdoor

and indoor pollutants, temperature and relative humidity – is one of the most important factors in creating safe, healthy and productive school environments.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that school buildings may suffer more pollution than others because they have more occupants, tighter budgets and more pollutant sources. This can affect both pupils and teachers, but children are more susceptible because of their size and stage of development.

There is an established relationship between outdoor pollutants and absenteeism, with studies showing, for example, that absence from school increases with exposure to higher concentrations of ozone. Site location can be important – schools located in high-traffic areas or where windows and air intakes are next to bus dropoff areas or car parks are susceptible to higher indoor pollution levels.

Indoor air pollutants, including VOCs and particulate matter, have been linked to a number of health issues. These include respiratory and cardiac problems that

Photograph courtesy of Elliot Fastrack

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DESIGN & BUILD

Photograph courtesy of Elliot Fastrack

increase staff and pupil absenteeism, and in turn reduce productivity and performance.

Carbon dioxide levels are also closely related to the performance of pupils and staff. Studies have found that pupils are less able to concentrate in classrooms with high CO2 levels, and have also identified a relationship between CO2 concentrations and increased absenteeism.

While adequate ventilation in classrooms is the standard method of reducing indoor air pollutant and CO2 levels, studies suggest that many schools fall below minimum ventilation standards. Staff can be reluctant to open windows because they think noise and cold air will enter the classroom, but research shows that ventilation rates can often be increased by greater window use with only a small impact on thermal comfort.

LIGHTING

Good lighting enhances the interaction between pupils and teachers, and enables pupils to work without eyestrain – particularly important for those who are partially sighted or have special educational needs.

In addition to good general lighting provision, BREEAM ecourages the use of daylight, and highlights the need to reduce the risk of health problems related to glare and flickering fluorescent lighting.

While it has not been shown that the quality or quantity of light directly affects learning, several studies have found direct correlations between the amount of

natural light (daylight) in a classroom and the educational performance of students.

But quantifying the relationship between lighting and productivity is difficult because most people adjust to light conditions.

There is increasing evidence that the effect of light on the body’s circadian system can affect productivity and health.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), induced by low levels of daylight in winter months, is often treated with bright electric light to promote wellbeing. There is little research on SAD in children, but if adult sufferers benefit from buildings with greater levels of daylight, this may also apply to children.

ACOUSTICS

As most learning activities involve speech, good acoustic performance is critical for teaching and learning, especially for children with hearing impairments, learning difficulties or English as a second language.

The most common sources of noise include those outside, such as traffic, aircraft and the weather, along with interior noise generated from HVAC systems, foot fall or other classrooms. Speech recognition is affected by even modest levels of background noise and reverberation.

Younger children are most affected because speech recognition is a developmental skill that doesn’t fully mature until adolescence.

BREEAM sets out acceptable standards for indoor noise levels for individual school spaces, and for

sound insulation between rooms.

Excessive noise can also affect memory by acting as a distraction that impairs concentration. In studies, pupils have performed better in acoustically treated rooms where background noise and reverberation times have been reduced.

Poor acoustic conditions in classrooms also increase the strain on teachers’ voices. Surveys show that teachers form a disproportionate percentage of professionals who miss work due to voice problems THERMAL COMFORT

Thermal comfort is determined by environmental factors, including humidity, temperature and air movement, and personal factors such as clothing and activity levels.

When a large number of people are in a limited space, such as a classroom, it is unrealistic to expect all of them to be thermally comfortable. Conditions should therefore be set so that they satisfy most people. Others can adapt to achieve comfort, for example by changing their positions or adding/removing clothing.

BREEAM seeks to ensure that the building design and services can maintain thermal comfort levels and sets limits for the number of hours in a year the internal temperature exceeds a certain point.

Many studies have shown that temperatures at the warm end of the comfort zone appear to increase adverse health symptoms, whilst those at the

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

35

Delivering Excellence in Construction and Development

What have all these buildings got in common?

They are all bespoke modular buildings designed and built by gml construction for the UK education sector.

Modular construction provides many advantages over traditional or conventional construction methods, most notably being the speed and flexibility of construction.

The gml group has been successfully constructing innovative and sustainable buildings for over 20 years and is now also able to offer the very latest in renewable energy technologies.

For a free consultation and estimate please contact Mike Maynard.

T: 01622 742700

gml group Orchard House Westerhill Road Coxheath Maidstone Kent ME17 4DH F: 01622 742 701 E: mike.maynard@gmlconstruction.co.uk www.gmlconstruction.co.uk

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DESIGN & BUILD

cool end appear to reduce symptoms.

Warmer temperatures tend to reduce performance, while colder temperatures reduce manual dexterity and speed.

SPACE

Spaces in a school, and the relationship between them, contribute to effective education provision and movement.

The layout also impacts on sustainability issues, such as availability of daylight, options for natural ventilation and acoustics performance.

Research has indicated that the amount of space available to pupils impacts on both performance and behaviour, particularly amongst those with special educational needs. Greater teaching and circulation spaces, for example, can enhance opportunities for the sort of personalised learning that can improve pupils’ behaviour and learning success.

Teaching spaces should be flexible enough to offer a range of teaching and learning activities and approaches, and allow diversity in the size and age of pupil groups. They should enable staff and pupils to rearrange

furniture to support different learning approaches and facilitate group working.

QUANTIFYING THE LINK

The research and findings briefly outlined above suggest a strong causal relationship between sustainability in schools and high quality, healthy learning environments.

The current schools capital programmes now provide a unique opportunity to capture and correlate hard design and performance data from a range of sources.

These include school design features, BREEAM ratings and credits, energy and water consumption figures (including Display Energy Certificates), academic performance and workplace measures, and post-occupancy evaluation of school buildings. By bringing these datasets together on a significant scale, quantified conclusions about the educational case for sustainable schools could be drawn.

THE WIDER BENEFITS

In addition to offering healthier more productive learning environments to their students, sustainable schools can

positively influence the attitudes and behaviours of the wider community.

Schools sit at the heart of their communities, providing access to teaching, sports and leisure facilities.

They are in a unique position to stimulate local interest in sustainability, and in healthy and educational activities.

School buildings and grounds can themselves become teaching aids, demonstrating ways in which buildings can save resources and meet local needs, explaining climate change and conservation, and preparing young people for a lifetime of more sustainable and healthier living.

A BRE report on the relationship between productivity and sustainable schools will be published in Summer 2010.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please contact Andrew Thorne – associate director, Sustainable Development Group, BRE Tel: 01923 664000 E-mail: bdc@bre.co.uk

GML group – providing sustainable and innovative modular building solutions F

OR MANY YEARS, modular buildings have provided schools and colleges with the means to install fast and low cost temporary accommodation and historically, this emphasis on price and speed of construction, has often resulted in poor quality and unattractive buildings.

More recently, client requirements have changed and although still requiring rapidly constructed and cost effective buildings, many now also expect the internal and external finishes that would normally have been associated with a traditionally constructed building. Hard wearing internal finishes are now expected to include plastered walls, recessed lighting, fully integrated data and communications systems and fully automated climate control systems, all bringing modular construction well and truly into the 21st century. Externally, most traditional building finishes are now also available on all GML modular buildings – render, timber cladding, brick slips, colour panels – all of these can be used to help new buildings blend in with adjacent more traditional buildings. There is now also a wider range of alternative windows and doors that can be integrated into any building to enhance users’ interaction with the outside environment and to help create light and well ventilated learning spaces.

For nearly 20 years, GML Construction Limited has been successfully supplying high quality modular buildings to all elements of the education industry. These have included small privately run nurseries, classrooms, libraries, science laboratories, a gymnasium, changing rooms and even a complete new two storey temporary school campus.

Additionally, as a mainstream construction company, GML has the in-house capabilities to offer complete turnkey packages on all

modular building projects, including planning, enabling works, groundwork, service connections and hard/soft landscaping.

Looking to the future, government legislation now requires all modern buildings to be better insulated, more energy efficient and, where possible, to have renewable energy technologies incorporated into the overall design. The latest addition to the GML Group, GML Sustainability, is able to advise and offer energy conservation measures on all new buildings, ranging from improved insulation of the main building fabric, to the inclusion of heat pumps and the installation of solar pv and/or solar thermal systems onto the roof of any new modular, or traditional building.

In essence, the GML group of companies is able to offer truly sustainable buildings by combining its considerable construction experience with the very latest renewable energy technologies. This refreshingly flexible approach to construction is seen as a welcome breath of fresh air for the education and modular sectors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information please contact Mike Maynard on 01622 742700, e-mail sales@gmlconstruction.co.uk or visit our website at www.gmlconstruction.co.uk

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Inspire great learning

Just think what The Qube could do for you

The Qube is an eco friendly, cost effective, build system for forward thinking schools desiring a fresh approach to educational environments.

For an e-brochure and full price list please visit:

www.theqube.co.uk t: 01604 785786

e: info@theqube.co.uk

Suite 11 | Mobbs Miller House | Ardington Road | Northampton | NN1 5LP

go beyond the four walls

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VISION BECOMES REALITY IN SOMERSET Building Schools for the Future is an opportunity to contribute to shaping futures in Somerset, and making a difference to the lives of young people and the wider community “THIS IS JUST SUCH an exciting time to

The Programme to date has gone extremely well, meeting its budget and target dates, led by a robust BSF team set up by the council. Three ‘sample’ schools have been designed and, once planning permission is given, will be first to be rebuilt. They are Chilton Trinity Technology College, and Robert Blake Science College which will be built along with Elmwood School (a special school), as the two already have close links.

The next three ‘non-sample’ schools are currently going through consultations with BAM, before being redesigned. They are East Bridgwater Community School, and Haygrove School which will be built along with special school Penrose. Students will continue in their current buildings until their new schools are ready, expected to all be complete in September 2012.

A number of pioneering firsts have emerged along the way, such as the creation of the Bridgwater Education Trust, which will enable all six Bridgwater BSF schools to collaborate even more closely across the town.

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP

BAM will also be Somerset County Council’s partner for the Local Education Partnership (LEP) – the company set up to deliver the BSF programme and transform education. It will work to: • help raise standards in education and life-long learning • support the school staff and pupils in making the most of the new school facilities and resources • undertake wide ranging activities for students to be involved in the building and running of their school • deliver value for money and continuous improvement to ensure reduced costs to develop, construct and operate future schools in Somerset • actively promote and support community use and leisure activities through programmes for sport, arts and culture, as well as family and adult learning within the new school facilities • work with BAM’s local supply chain to offer mentoring activities, work

A number of pioneering firsts have emerged along the way – such as the creation of the Bridgwater Education Trust, which will enable all six Bridgwater BSF schools to collaborate even more closely across the town.

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

Artist’s impression of Robert Blake Science Colege

be in a school in Bridgwater. Being part of the team that has been working to make a positive impact on the learning opportunities of all our children and young people has been inspirational.”

Those are the words of Jaqui Tobin, head teacher at one of six Bridgwater schools involved in the town’s £100 million Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

Exciting is certainly the word as years of planning and procurement work reach fruition. The BAM consortium was recently selected as Somerset County Council’s chosen partner to build, help run and maintain the county’s BSF schools and construction work is set to start this summer.

The Somerset BSF programme begins in Bridgwater, where the town’s four secondary schools and two special schools will be completely rebuilt, providing state of the art buildings and education. Other schools in the county will be rebuilt or improved in later phases in a total £600 million contract for Somerset, as part of the government’s national BSF programme.

“It has been, and continues to be, a hugely complex and exciting project which will have a major impact on the Bridgwater community,” said Julia Ridge, BSF Somerset programme director. “We are in the first wave of the national BSF programme where the new schools are not just about buildings but also about how those buildings and ICT can support education transformation, which in itself is a challenging new dimension.”

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Moisture and mould in the bathroom cause risks for the partition walls and the ceramic tiles.

For FREE technical brochure please call 01283 722588 or e:mail hydropanel@marleyeternit.co.uk quoting reference HydroEd1

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DESIGN & BUILD

placements and training opportunities for pupils, staff and the local community, to support regeneration of the local economy.

Future BSF programmes would be developed by the LEP and Somerset County Council, with the LEP bringing together a comprehensive supply chain experienced in building and supporting schools. There are five future BSF programmes anticipated in the rest of Somerset. Following government elections in May 2010, the LEP and council will work with national government to draw down investment as quickly as possible, to continue to develop the BSF programmes.

STUDENT ENGAGEMENT

BACKGROUND ON BAM BAM is a national provider of construction and property related services and already provides over 34,000 pupil places within 37 separate PPP schools in Bristol, Solihull, Bromsgrove and elsewhere in the country.

BAM is well known in the South West and its projects include a new arts building for the University of Plymouth, future building of the £24m Surgical Centre Ward Building at Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, and current construction of the new Museum of Bristol as well as the

£13m refurbishment of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum for Exeter City Council. Other notable projects in the South West include Broadoak School in Weston-superMare, Avon & Somerset Police Constabulary HQ in Portishead and the forthcoming Montgomery School in Exeter which will be the first ‘zero carbon’ primary school in the UK. In Somerset BAM previously constructed the Junior Rates Galley and Mess at the Royal Marines Norton Manor Camp in Taunton, as well as projects

at the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton.

The BAM team for the Somerset BSF programme consists of the following key contracting organisations: • BAM PPP as consortium lead, financier and investor • BAM Construction as design and build contractor • BAM Facilities Management as operation and maintenance contractor • RM Education as ICT managed service provider

Artist’s impression of Chilton Trinity Technology College

Consultation has been a cornerstone of Somerset’s BSF programme, and it recently won a prestigious national award from Partnership for Schools (PfS), the national government body which delivers the BSF programme across England. It won the category Innovation in Student Engagement, and the BSF team was delighted. “We have worked extremely hard to make sure our students are consulted and involved as much as possible,” said Julia Ridge.

Numerous consultations were held about what students wanted for their new schools, which fed directly into the schools’ visions and requirements from the bidders.

Other more specialised student groups from all six schools were also set up, with

Numerous consultations were held about what students wanted for their new schools, which fed directly into the schools’ visions and requirements from the bidders

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SLP College, Leeds

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DESIGN & BUILD

About Building Schools for the Future The Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme will see every state secondary school in England – around 3,500 in total – rebuilt or remodelled over the lifetime of the programme.

Launched by the Department for Education & Skills in February 2004, BSF is the largest and most ambitious scheme of its kind anywhere in the world. It will transform education for some 3.3 million students aged 11-19.

The scale of BSF enables local authorities to move from patch and mend spending on schools to rebuild and renewal, with a more strategic approach to funding, design, procurement and management of buildings.

the help of the Real Ideas Organisation (RIO). This enabled students to become ‘expert clients’ with a real understanding of public art and design, and its place in the creation of their new schools.

The innovative way in which BSF Somerset has ensured student engagement throughout the BSF programme, and still continues to do so, has meant: • a vital role for students within the complexities of BSF • an informed voice so that

students could articulate their views within the BSF process • students have been able to feed their views directly into the design and evaluation process • young people have been at the centre of real, practical and positive changes in their communities • schools have benefited from their students’ development and dissemination of ideas • students themselves have gained enormous personal benefit • excellent planning and provision for culture and cultural learning • culture and cultural learning providing education transformation.

EDUCATION TRUST FOSTERS COLLABORATION

A pioneering organisation – an educational first in England – has been set up under BSF to promote collaboration between the Bridgwater BSF schools and partners. The Bridgwater Education Trust will be groundbreaking in the way the schools, as well as the town’s Bridgwater College, collaborate.

The Trust, which includes school heads and county and district council members, will deal with many educational aspects – from students being able to access learning at each others’ schools, resulting in greater

opportunities, to joint staff training and development. The uniqueness of this project was recognised and used to help develop national government guidelines for establishing town wide Trusts.

TAUNTON ACADEMY JOINS

The proposed new Taunton Academy in Somerset, and any future Academies, will also now be part of Building Schools for the Future. Based on the same objectives, it is part of central government initiatives to ensure a shared vision and equal funding for Academies and BSF schools.

The Taunton Academy will be sponsored by the Diocese of Bath & Wells, for the Church of England, and co-sponsored by Somerset County Council. Partners will be NHS Somerset, Somerset College, Queen’s College, Viridor (Waste Management) and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Clifton.

It is due to open in September 2010 in existing premises and will receive £18m of investment from BSF to enable it to be remodelled. This will be completed by September 2013.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For further information please visit www.bsfsomerset.org.uk and www.bamppp.com

Building blocks for inspiring great learning E

DUCATIONAL BUILDINGS have a leading role to play in creating environments that are conducive to learning. Would Oxbridge produce so many great minds if its students were educated in soulless boxy buildings?

With a well-designed environment, learning can thrive and even be inspired by it. That’s the premise of The Qube, a company specialising in designing and building contemporary modular buildings for the education and commercial sectors, across the length and breadth of the UK. Faced with the spectre of burgeoning class sizes, today’s schools are under pressure to expand and continually improve.

They need to create the best educational facilities but have limited space and budgets to play with. What they get from this Northampton-based company is a building solution that’s not only designed and built well, it’s fast and cost effective too.

Behind the clean lines of The Qube is pure ‘modular’ thinking at its finest. With the simple efficiency of child’s building blocks they give education providers free reign to build to their needs, from a 3.6m x 3.6m standalone unit up to virtually any bespoke size.

“The beauty of The Qube is that it’s incredibly versatile,” comments Mick Spittle, company director. “This makes it ideal for building music rooms, science labs, or even sports halls. With each one benefiting from bespoke highest quality materials and smart design features, the end result is uplifting – a contemporary light-filled environment that goes beyond being simply fit for purpose.”

It may come as no surprise to learn that

eco-friendly design is at the heart of the futuristic Qube. Among its green building options are an attractive eco friendly western red cedar-cladded exterior (which secretes a natural weatherproof resin), sedum roof and the ability to harvest rainwater. Plus, when equipped with specialist roof and ceiling light-reflecting tubes, the building can harvest natural daylight. Handy for illustrating green technology in science lessons.

If you’re in dire need of more space to teach, it’s good to know that due to its smart use of materials and minimal site preparation, total construction for The Qube is rapid.

In fact, the journey from initial brief to full installation can be as short as five weeks.

For a no obligation initial design consultation, an on-site survey visit, or a detailed tender to specified drawings, please contact us.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Address: The Qube, Suite 11, Mobbs Miller House, Ardington Rd Northampton, NN1 5LP Tel: 01604 785786 Fax: 01604414574 E-mail: info@theqube.co.uk Web: www.theqube.co.uk

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Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

How much do you know about asbestos?

OF OUR SCHOOLS M ANY built between 1950 to the mid 1970s were constructed using asbestos materials.

The number of people dying each year from illnesses as a result of exposure to asbestos contamination is still rising, making asbestos, without doubt, the single biggest cause of death due to work related illness. Asbestos is still present in these types of buildings, putting the health of children and teachers at risk.

ACAD is a founding member of UKATA, the trade association responsible for setting standards for the asbestos training industry, and is on the list of organisations accredited to deliver such training.

Our trainers specialise in tailor made courses designed to meet specific training needs and are delivered throughout the UK and beyond. Having recently won awards for its ground breaking initiatives in the asbestos industry, ACAD works closely with the HSE and other stakeholders and encourage the adoption

www.educationbusinessuk.com

Mike Ayres Design – sensory development resources for schools AYRES M IKE DESIGN

of best practices throughout the industry. With a growing membership of over 200 members nationwide, ACAD is frequently contacted for free advice on any asbestos related issues.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Should you have any queries regarding asbestos training, e-mail annlineton@tica-acad. co.uk. For membership details contact angelabradshaw@ tica-acad.co.uk

is one of the longest established companies specialising in providing multi sensory environments and equipment and soft play rooms and spaces.

Mike Ayres has been designing for people with special needs since the mid 1970’s and pioneered the introduction of sensory environments into the UK. Since that time the company has been at the forefront of development and supply of high quality products and environments in this field.

Today, Mike Ayres Design has a very comprehensive catalogue of products and services which are provided to all authorities and many individuals in the UK and to many other countries throughout the world.

Products include: Bubble tubes, fibre optic lights, Infinity panels, Sensory trolleys, Switch2 equipment control system, switches, Infinity huts, projectors and visual effects equipment, cushions, bean cushions, sound light floors, tactile panels and murals as well as a wide range of other equipment designed to develop the senses.

Services and environments include: multi sensory rooms, Sensory studios, Relaxation rooms, safe spaces, soft play rooms, sensory pools and other special environments.

FOR MORE INFORMATION All of this and more can be seen by visiting www. mikeayresdesign.co.uk and www.tactilemurals.com or ring us on 01359 251551.

The most important item in your new ICT suite? Surprisingly, it’s the furniture...

W

HAT IS YOUR VISION of schools of the future?

Whatever your point of view the chances are that technology will be a major factor in your answer. As computers and webbased systems increasingly dominate our lives, the drive continues to press schools to reflect this change and prepare students for an on-line world. The ratio of computers to students has increased steadily over the past decade and the goal of one computer for every student is not far off. ICT is breaking out of specially demarcated suites into normal classrooms as the skills become an integral part of the curriculum for all subjects; research, information management and presentation join with collaboration, review and assessment.

Teaching ICT as a subject in its own right is becoming as out-dated as hand-writing lessons.

These trends present schools with a space and planning problem; where to put all these computers, and how to maintain the focus on those elements of the curriculum that are not computer based? Traditional ICT suites set the computers and monitors on benching around the periphery of the room. It is a format

that simplifies the power and data cabling requirements and allows the teacher to see every screen but generally requires a room size of 90 square metres. Contrast this with a typical classroom size of just 50 square metres in which the desks are arranged in rows facing the front so that the teacher can see every face.

The growing answer is multi-purpose classrooms, where specialist ICT furniture houses the equipment; making the computer available when needed and, just

as importantly, keeping it hidden when the focus needs to be on the teacher or on group discussion.

They hide power and data cables leaving the room safer and cleaner but still allow students to access USB and headphone connections.

More collaborative room layouts are possible if the space is available but all layouts have their strengths and weaknesses.

Well-designed computer desks should survive the unique demands of the school environment for ten years so the design needs to be sufficiently flexible to house up to three generations of computing equipment.

Suddenly the humble school desk has become an important consideration and with multi-purpose furniture costing around the same as the PC hardware, a poor choice can be expensive to rectify.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 020 8610 6010 Fax: 020 8610 6060 E-mail: design@innomensa.co.uk Web: www.innomensa.co.uk/ products/room-design

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Specialist & Decorative Surfaces Don’t forget we also offer:

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DESIGN & BUILD

EDUCATION FOR ALL EB talks to Peter Sadler, principal at Epping Forest College, about how its new building is acting as a catalyst for change EPPING FOREST COLLEGE is a college of general further education serving the Epping Forest district of Essex and North East London.

Although an ‘aspirational’ choice for some students the college had suffered from a poor reputation in recent years which was fueled further by its run-down building. But after a £38 million new build and a new principal, the college has shaken-off its former image and is on the road to establishing its role of being a first class educational institute.

HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO FUND THE NEW CAMPUS? In addition to the 20 per cent funding we received from the Learning and Skills Council, we had to sell off some of our assets and get a loan from the bank.

As colleges are independent corporations, I have no one to run to if I can’t make the repayments; I can’t ask the County Council for help like some schools can.

It is therefore vital that we now use the college efficiently to pay off the debt.

HOW IS THE NEW CAMPUS HAVING A POSITIVE AFFECT ON THE STUDENTS AND STAFF? Behaviour is much improved. The second year students who experienced the old building really appreciate the difference. And new students enjoy the business-like atmosphere and excellent facilities we have. I think now that the building is of such high standard, the students have a much higher respect for it. Staff are also much happier to be in a bright and modern work environment.

HOW HAS THE NEW BUILDING INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE A NEW ETHOS FOR THE COLLEGE? We have a new building and a new principal so it is the perfect time to create a new ethos. I think it’s fair to say that the college has struggled in recent years, and I intend to raise standards and make the college truly outstanding, using the new building as a catalyst for change.

HOW DO YOU ENSURE THE SECURITY OF YOUR PUPILS AND STAFF? Security is not a massive issue for us, however, we have only one point of entry through the front door which is patrolled by our site staff. Students need to have their electronic cards to be let through

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DESIGN & BUILD

the turnstiles and visitors can only be let through if they have been issued a pass.

WHAT ARE THE BUILDING’S ECO FEATURES? This is an intelligent building that has eco features built in. The design took into consideration the position of the sun and outside temperatures. Therefore in some rooms we have no heating because there is no need for it. Likewise we have vents which bring in fresh air so we don’t need air conditioning.

This should make our energy costs considerably lower, as well as cut carbon emissions.

HOW DO YOU ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO EAT HEALTHILY? Our college population is like a microcosm of society, we have students from different backgrounds and religions and so we have to cater for a wide range of dietary requirements, such as halal, kosher, vegetarian and vegan.

With the Every Child Matters agenda, we also have the responsibility to ensure the health and well being of our younger students. So we do encourage healthy eating but we have to get the balance right because if we are too strict, students will just go off campus to buy food and we don’t want that.

What we’re looking to do in the future is use our ID cards as cashless catering cards.

That way we will be able to monitor what our students eat and alter the menu accordingly.

HOW DOES THE COLLEGE DIFFER FROM OTHER LOCAL SCHOOLS WITH A SIXTH FORM? It is surprising how many young adults finish 11 years of education without having achieved the basic level two qualification.

We are non-selective and have a large catchment area so we don’t just take the cream like some sixth forms. We want to

be able to offer an education to everyone, including those that have possibly been failed by the education system. We do this by making learning more relevant and more hands-on; both in terms of the subjects studied, and in the way we treat people.

HOW ARE ATTITUDES TOWARDS COLLEGES CHANGING? There was a time when naughty children were sent to the local college but this is changing. Now schools are becoming more vocationally aware and recognise that colleges have the facilities and skills to be able to teach certain subjects that they can’t. So we have about 150 pupils sent from local schools to learn such vocational courses as construction, mechanics or hair dressing.

HOW IS THE COLLEGE HELPING THE LOCAL AREA AND COMMUNITY? We’re one of the biggest employers in the area, with approximately 350 staff. We bring in about £15 million a year and spend a lot of that locally.

We are very proud to have been awarded a Train2Gain contract. This means we will be able to offer local businesses free or subsidised training to fill the skills gap in their workforce. This will help businesses to become more efficient and profitable, making the area more prosperous. We also hope to support local businesses in other ways, like by making rooms and facilities available to host meetings and so on.

The future is looking good for Epping Forest College, and having a strong college makes the future look good too for the businesses and communities it serves.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.epping-forest.ac.uk

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Infants Enjoy Bright, New Lollipop Washrooms MGP Architects were tasked with designing the refurbishment of Kingscase Primary School’s Infants’ block. Part of their remit was to brighten up the washroom facilities that were still sporting their gloomy, original 1960s’ fittings. They wanted to make the washrooms somewhere the children would enjoy visiting and encourage hand washing. Quality and product longevity was also high on MGP’s agenda.

Already familiar with the suitability of Armitage Venesta’s (AV) products, MGP, who has completed a number of projects within the education sector, specified AV’s Lollipop for both the boys’ and girls’ washrooms.

AV, a manufacturer of washrooms for education for over 50 years, has developed three children’s cubicle ranges especially for young children: Surf, Lollipop and Genesis. All of which were designed to stimulate the imagination of young minds. MGP chose screen prints, Bird and Fish with co-ordinating colours from AV’s extensive colour palette to create a warm and friendly environment for the children.

AV’s pre-plumbed system, IPS Evolve, with its factory fitted sanitaryware, was also used to provide easy clean surfaces that promote hygiene and allow easy access for ongoing maintenance.

For more information on Armitage Venesta’s washroom systems and IPS Evolve®, call 01474 353 333 or visit www.armitage-venesta.co.uk

Lollipop® A fun, safe and exciting washroom system, exclusively designed for young children

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

KEEPING SCHOOLS RUNNING Facilities management is an all-encompassing role that requires a broad range of skills and knowledge and is vital to the smooth-running of schools and colleges FACILITIES MANAGERS in schools

perform a vital function. They free up a school’s time to get on with its core operations by taking control of a mix of essential, non-core services.

Facilities managers increasingly require more skill and knowledge in a broad range of areas. As well as the need to cut costs, comply with health and safety legislations, and keep people and estates secure, facilities managers now must also proactively manage the school’s impact on the environment. Facilities management also needs to meet the short term needs of the teachers and pupils, such as temperature control and lighting, so that pupils have the best possible environment to learn in.

Recognising the vital, multifaceted role that facilities managers now have, the sector is flourishing and provides identifiable and meaningful career options for facilities management professionals.

SECURITY

Most educational establishments contain high value goods such as computers and IT equipment on-site, which are extremely attractive to thieves. Facilities managers have a major role to play in keeping schools secure from threats such as theft but more crucially, from threats against staff and pupils. Together with security managers and IT managers, facilities management professionals must ensure that security measures are adequately considered and correctly implemented to protect the school from attacks. This means they need a much greater awareness of security issues and legislation, and to be involved in the delivery of all types of security across an organisation. In addition, roles need to be clearly defined when it comes to security. Facilities managers, security managers and even IT managers need to jointly agree the security provision, whichever department it falls under.

But it’s not just physical or virtual attacks that could stop the day-to-day operation of a school. Other unforeseen incidents such as an infection spreading could result in schools closing. As we saw last year with the swine flu pandemic, schools are excellent breeding grounds for infections due to the sheer amount of people they occupy and the amount of close contact children have with each other.

A rigorous cleaning regimen should be implemented, including the disinfecting of surfaces that are continuously touched

throughout the day, such as door handles.

Facilities managers could also put up posters reminding adults and children alike the importance of washing hands to prevent the spread of infection.

Regular and strategic disinfecting will be essential for protecting the health of staff and ensuring business continuity.

With facilities management incorporating so many areas, it is no surprise that outsourcing certain functions has grown in popularity. Outsourcing can help organisations keep costs down and also addresses other problems such as having a lack of in-house resources or a lack of in-house expertise. The facilities manager however, would have to manage such contracts, and may even be responsible for the procurement of such contracts.

SKILLS FOR FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

We’ve seen that facilities management is a multifaceted function that requires a broad range of skills and knowledge. But how can FM professionals develop their skills?

One way could be through Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for facilities management, housing, property, planning, cleaning and parking.

It is a government licensed, UK-wide organisation set up to improve the skills of people working in these industries to boost productivity and competitiveness.

Its work is steered by employers, both large and small, who inform what type of training and vocational qualifications are needed to meet current and future skills requirements.

In facilities management, Asset Skills works to raise the industry’s profile, promote careers and develop new occupational standards and qualifications, particularly at entry level. It also works with higher and further education providers to raise awareness of FM and ensure the range of new training is available on the market.

Other projects in FM include the Public Service Skills Framework (PSSF), a new programme that trains public sector support staff in customer service and other key skills. The scheme is for employees such as local authority cleaners, school caretakers or hospital porters. Asset Skills would like to hear from public sector employers interested in the PSSF. FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.assetskills.org

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TOO MANY PUPILS

& NOT ENOUGH SPACE?

MEZZANINE FLOORS are an affordable and modern solution to create additional space for classrooms, offices, workshops and stores.

Hampshire Mezzanine Floors are a leading fit out and refurbishment Main Contractor, specialising in Mezzanine Floors within the Education Sector.

Over the last 25 years HMF have been successfully refurbishing facilities as Main

Contractor, completing to strict programmes and within budget.

HMF offer free site surveys, technical design advice, and will provide you with an AutoCAD layout of your mezzanine project to help visualise the benefits and impact of installing a mezzanine floor. HMF also undertake fit out projects in classrooms and offices when a mezzanine floor is not required.

Our Main Contractor services include: • Partitioning • Suspended Ceilings • Electrics & Lighting • Air Conditioning • Flooring

• Decoration • Benching • Mezzanine Floors • Lockers • Building Control

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

ETHICAL FURNITURE PURCHASING Phil Reynolds, FIRA International’s technical manager explains two important initiatives for sustainable furniture that buyers should bear in mind GREEN ISSUES CONTINUE TO BECOME more and more important in all walks of life, and furniture is no exception. However, there is a plethora of different schemes and requirements in the market place that can make ethical purchasing confusing. In this article FIRA International’s technical manager, Phil Reynolds, highlights two important initiatives for sustainable furniture. The first – the Government Buying Standard for furniture, currently being developed by DEFRA – looks at the environmental impact of furniture products, whilst the second – the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP), looks at ensuring that manufacturers and suppliers have an ethical and environmentally-friendly approach to business.

GOVERNMENT BUYING STANDARDS DEFRA have been tasked with developing Government Buying Standards. These are mandatory buying requirements for central government purchasers, and they are designed to ensure that products and services purchased by government meet minimum environmental/sustainability requirements.

There is also a desire for these guidelines to be seen as best practice and rolled out to local government and business in general.

A number of Buying Standards already

exist, with others in development, including furniture. The buying standard for furniture is currently in the enquiry phase with final publication expected in July 2010.

The new buying standard focuses heavily on the materials used in the product, which means: • Requirements to minimise the amount of harmful and hazardous substances in the base materials.

• Requirements to minimise the amount of harmful and hazardous substances in surface finishes.

• Requirements to minimise the amount of harmful and hazardous substances in adhesives.

• Requirements to minimise the amount of substances that do not biodegrade effectively.

• Performance requirements for furniture (it should be remembered that a product with a long life is essentially much more environmentally friendly than a product that fails and needs replacing regularly).

• Requirements for timber to be purchased from legal and sustainable sources – effectively meaning that suppliers need to have a suitably endorsed chain of custody scheme in place for timber based products (e.g. certification to FSC or PEFC chain of custody schemes).

• Where possible products should be designed

for re-use/remanufacture or recycling.

• In addition there will be a push for purchasers to look at buying re-used/re-manufactured products to stimulate this market.

ADAPTED TO UK STANDARDS The standard is heavily based around two EU initiatives – the Green Public Procurement plan, and the Ecolabel scheme. However, these have been modified to reflect the requirements of the UK industry, specifically to allow the types of fire retardants we need to meet UK National Standards, and to allow for formaldehyde levels in chipboard and MDF to be at levels that are low enough to be safe, but are commercially available without significant cost to the industry.

The standard has been developed with industry consultation, however, there are still some concerns within the industry regarding the additional cost burden that will be put on manufacturers and suppliers attempting to prove compliance with the initiative, and also whether some of the requirements are achievable – in particular the requirements for surface finishes which effectively mean only water-based lacquers can be used on timber products (which is not the UK’s preferred finishing technique). These issues are likely to be ironed out in the final consultation phase.

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KI - Supporting Student Success Smart spaces inspire achievement.

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FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

More information on Government Buying standards can be found at the Sustainable Development area of the DEFRA website, together with draft requirements for the furniture scheme: www.defra.gov.uk/ sustainable/government/advice/public/buying/ index.htm. This website can not only be used to follow the development and publication of the standard for furniture, but also to find information on other schemes either published or in development, and to find products that comply with published schemes.

FURNITURE INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAMME Whilst the Government Buying Standards look closely at the products and the materials used in the product, due to purchasing law they do not evaluate the supplier and his manufacturing techniques. This is obviously a major omission, as the environmental impact of a product is as much due to manufacturing and its processes as it is the materials that go into the product.

When evaluating a supplier there are many features that need to be assessed to verify that they are a responsible, sustainable manufacturer. Sourcing all this information, and verifying it, can be an

expensive and time consuming process.

Launched in 2006, the Furniture Industry Sustainability Programme (FISP) was developed by the furniture industry to demonstrate, in one easy-to-understand scheme, that a furniture manufacturer is a responsible manufacturer. Membership of the FISP scheme is therefore an ideal tool for specifiers to use when evaluating their suppliers.

FISP is a true sustainability programme, focusing on not just environmental issues, but also purchasing, end of product life, social and community issues. When a furniture manufacturer signs up as FISP member they have to commit to two core criteria; they must have, and implement, a suitable environmental policy, and they must comply with all legal requirements regarding environmental and health and safety legislation.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL NEEDS In addition they must have systems in place to tackle a number of other key environmental and social topics.

Environmental requirements: • Environmental management systems • Waste management • Energy management • Packaging

• Transport • Procurement policies • Sustainable timber purchasing • Emissions • End of life Social and economic requirements: • Nuisance issues • Community relations and charity work • Education and training • Employment • Ethical issues • Competitiveness The manufacturer’s claims are then verified by an independent audit by a sustainability expert, with the audit process being repeated every two years to ensure ongoing compliance.

By selecting a supplier who is a member of FISP, a specifier can have the confidence that they are buying from a responsible, caring supplier at the forefront of sustainable manufacturing/sourcing in the UK. More details regarding FISP, and current FISP members, can be found at the FIRA website – www.fira.co.uk/consultancy/environment/fisp.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 01438 777700 Web: www.fira.co.uk

Space problems solved with HMF Interiors MF IS A LEADING main contractor specialising in the fit out and refurbishment of education establishments in the UK and Channel Islands.

HMF will fit any size project from a single office, through to a complete classroom or main contractor fit out.

This could involve partitioning, suspended ceilings, electrics, lighting, air conditioning systems, ventilation, shelving, racking and furniture, enabling the complete project to be single sourced by one principal contractor.

HMF provides a full turnkey operation with project management and design advice using AutoCAD applications to ensure your refurbishment has well designed space that is functional.

HMF will administrate building control and planning applications, as well as undertaking CDM health

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Established in 1997, CRN Contract Services Ltd is an energetic and dynamic Property Services & Contract Cleaning Company operating a 24/7 all year round service with fast response times to emergency calls within 2 hours. CRN Ltd are accredited to: ISO 9001, 18001, 14001 and are members of BIFM and BICSc. Property Services & Facilities • Estate Management • Recycling • Facilities • Concierge & Security • Repair & Maintenance • Porter & Removals • Painting & Decorating • Pest Control

Contract Cleaning Services • Retail Cleaning • Office Cleaning • Commercial Cleaning • Estate Cleaning • School Cleaning • End of Tenancy Cleaning • Window Cleaning For more information please see our website on www.crncontractservices.co.uk or call us on 0207 7900 140

and safety management, providing all necessary documentation to administrate a safety plan.

FOR MORE INFORMATION HMF, Hawkeswood Road, Northam, Southampton, Hampshire, SO18 1AB Tel: 02380 631888 Fax: 02380 630033 E-mail: sales@hmf-uk.com Web: www.hmf-uk.com

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How safe are you?

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ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT

DO NOT DISTURB The Health & Safety Executive highlights the need to manage asbestos correctly AROUND 500,000 non domestic buildings, including schools, contain some form of asbestos. Asbestos was used extensively as a building material in Great Britain from the 1950s through to the mid-1980s, before being banned as a building material in 2000.

Where asbestos containing materials are well managed, teachers and pupils are not likely to be at risk in the course of their normal activities.

In the case of asbestos, ‘well managed’ means meeting the requirements of the law, with legal duties on those responsible for the maintenance and repair of buildings. These include: • Identifying the location and condition of any asbestos present • Having an asbestos management plan setting out how to manage the risks asbestos poses and to make sure it is not disturbed • Ensure that anyone liable to disturb it and release the asbestos fibres, such as maintenance workers, caretakers and

contractors, are told about its presence and take the necessary protective measures.

This information should be readily available in a written report or a computer record which anyone who may disturb asbestos has a right to see.

DUTY HOLDER These responsibilities fall to the ‘duty holder’, usually the employer. Who this is depends on the type of school.

Generally, the local authority is the employer for community schools, community special schools, voluntary controlled schools, maintained nursery schools and pupil referral units. For foundation schools, foundation special schools and voluntary aided schools, the employer is usually the governing body and for independent schools it tends to be the governing body or proprietor.

For an increasing number of schools

the management arrangements are more complex, such as where the governing body is the employer but the other duty holders retain some responsiblity for maintenance.

The local management of schools means that head teachers are increasingly taking on additional responsibilities for building maintenance and construction. Those responsible will need to discuss and agree management arrangements and ensure they get advice about managing asbestos.

WARN THE WORKERS Those most likely to disturb asbestos containing material in schools are tradesmen such as electricians, plumbers, joiners, and potentially school caretakers – whether they are involved in small jobs such as installing telephones or computers, or more extensive refurbishment work. Those responsible for maintenance and repair in schools must ensure that anyone who is likely to work in areas near asbestos or disturb asbestos is provided with information on the location and condition of the asbestos. Those working on buildings containing asbestos must follow stringent precautions to protect themselves and others.

A recent case which brings into sharp focus the need for robust arrangements to manage the risks of asbestos, is the prosecution of Edinburgh Council by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in November 2009 for breaching the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The authority was fined £14,000 after 14 of its employees were potentially exposed to asbestos while carrying out refurbishment work on laboratory doors taken from a high school.

Although the council had carried out a survey of the premises which identified the asbestos core in the doors, there was no register on the school site and the summary provided to workers was not sufficient to alert them to the danger. The council did not carry out a sufficient risk assessment prior to the work commencing in 2007.

Those in control of buildings including the school management team have an essential role to play to make sure asbestos is well managed – guidance on the duty to manage is available at www.hse. gov.uk/asbestos/campaign/duty.htm and www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ manageasbestos.pdf NEW GUIDANCE Meanwhile, there is new guidance available aimed at those who commission asbestos surveys. It replaces the MDHS 100 guidance and sets out the role of surveys in ensuring that builders or maintenance workers have all the information they need to minimise their risk of exposure to asbestos and put the right precautions in place. The guidance is available to download free of charge at www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/ index-hsg-ref.htm

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ROBYLAND ENVIRONMENTAL LTD

Unrivalled expertise in asbestos removal Robyland Environmental Ltd is part of Robyland Ltd who are a very successful construction and building company for the past 33 years.

Robyland Environmental Ltd have been operating for 8 years. The management and the workforce have a vast knowledge in all aspects of the asbestos removal industry.

Robyland Environmental Ltd has unrivalled experience and expertise in the specialised field of asbestos removal works. Over the past years we have undertaken contracts of every size and scope across a broad spectrum of commercial and domestic buildings from theatres to factories to the private housing sector. We have vast experience working for and along side of local councils and housing associations.

We operate our asbestos removal works using the latest plant and equipment all plant and equipment are fully serviced and tested as to the Health and Safety executive requirements. All management and staff are fully trained, holding certificates on the experience of asbestos removal and safety on site. Robyland Environmental Ltd carry out Type 1, Type 2 and Type 3 asbestos content surveys in buildings. Depending on the outcome of the survey we will undertake encapsulation, or carry out asbestos removal work efficiently, effectively and most importantly safely.

Robyland Limited, 65 High Road, Wormley, Herts, EN10 6JJ

T. 01992 451 767 F. 01992 451 596

Written by Dave Stanley, Chairman, UK Asbestos Training Association

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ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT

BE AWARE, BE SAFE It was known as the Miracle Mineral, the Greeks of ancient times termed it the ‘inextinguishable’ fibre – in modern times we have come to know it as asbestos ASBESTOS WAS USED extensively in

the construction of buildings, hospitals, homes and in schools across the UK until its eventual ban in November 1999.

However, there is a major problem. When asbestos is damaged or worked on, or when asbestos containing materials (ACMs) are not managed correctly, the asbestos fibres from them are released into the air, and these fibres could then present a great health risk to anyone exposed to them.

The inhalation and ingestion of asbestos has been proven to cause fatal diseases in many thousands of people, it is currently estimated that over 4,000 people in the UK will die this year from exposure to asbestos and it’s getting worse. Recent analysis has identified that the number of people dying from asbestos exposure will peak around the year 2025 with the expected number of deaths estimated at around 10,000 per year.

That’s not the worst of it, the biggest

problem with respirable asbestos fibres is the fact that we cannot see them, they have no odour nor can we taste them, so we don’t even know when we have been exposed. In addition to this, and to make things worse still, if that’s possible, there is a long latency period, (the time from first exposure to the diagnosis of a disease), this can range from 15 to 60 years on average. This could mean that if you are exposed to asbestos today, the effects of that exposure may not be felt until you are

probably around 70 or 80 years old. If we, however, take a person born in the 1960s in a hospital where asbestos was present, they then attend a nursery, followed by being educated in schools all containing asbestos then we could be looking at diseases developing in age ranges between 20 and 40 years old. This is not an ‘old man’s disease’, this is not an exaggeration, this is fact. Many people have died of asbestos related diseases in their middle ages, the youngest record case being an unfortunate

The inhalation and ingestion of asbestos has been proven to cause fatal diseases in many thousands of people, it is currently estimated that over 4,000 people in the UK will die this year from exposure to asbestos and it’s getting worse

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Asbestos awareness training from ARCA

OVER 28 years’ handsW ITH on experience in asbestos

HE ASBESTOS Removal Contractors association (ARCA), committed to promoting standards within the UK asbestos abatement industry for its member companies, joined forces with the Health and Safety executive (HSE) and other prominent stakeholders to support the campaign ‘Asbestos: The hidden killer’, which is aimed at making tradesmen aware of asbestos and the damage it can cause to their health and lives.

The HSE’s Approved Code of Practice states that asbestos awareness training is the appropriate information instruction and training for persons who are

management and remedial work Yani Montoya brings a wealth of relevant anecdotes and real-life experiences to his asbestos awareness seminars.

Having acquired solid experience as an analyst, surveyor, surveying manager, quality manager, technical manager, training manager and auditor, a broad perspective is brought to the training seminars and even the most searching of questions can be dealt with on the day.

No ‘stone’ is left unturned in presenting the required syllabus.

Yani’s engaging personality and style ensures that even the most cynical and reluctant delegates leave the training seminars with commitment and a clearer understanding of their responsibilities. Yani tells it like it is – warts and all!

Over the last three years Yani has presented asbestos awareness seminars throughout the UK and Ireland, Europe, Australia

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and New Zealand and is widely regarded as a ‘safe pair of hands.’

Training can be customised, where required, to clients’ particular needs, times, policies and circumstances and can be delivered 24/7.

liable to disturb asbestos during their everyday work. ARCA is the leading supplier of asbestos awareness training aimed at building and maintenance workers.

The range of courses which ARCA has available is comprehensive. Each has been designed to ensure that your staff acquire a real depth of knowledge and capability.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more or to arrange a no obligation meeting to discuss your employees asbestos awareness training needs please contact ARCA on 01283 531126.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 07590 455941 Fax: 0115 9191050 E-mail: ymconsultants@live.co.uk Web: www.ymconsultants.co.uk

A significant change in the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 was the inclusion of mandatory training for those liable to come into contact with asbestos Regulation 10 states that ‘Every employer shall ensure that adequate information, instruction and training is given to those of his employees who are or who are liable to be exposed to asbestos, or who supervise such employees…’.

Asbestos awareness training is required, amongst others, for:

• General maintenance staff • Electricians • Plumbers • Gas fitters • Demolition/Construction workers • Roofers • Heating & ventilation engineers • Building surveyors & other such professionals We are pleased to offer a 3 hour training course covering the four key areas: • Properties, uses and risk to health • Use of asbestos in the construction industry • Risk of exposure and control methods • Legislation

Gully Howard Technical Ltd is run by qualified scientists, Occupational Hygienists and surveyors who have extensive experience in providing training in all aspects of asbestos work.

Training can be delivered in our dedicated training facilities or we can organise course training at your own premises.

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• Asbestos Removal • Waste Collections • Asbestos Surveys • Licence Scaffolding • Domestic & Commercial

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ASBESTOS MANAGEMENT

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) take the risk of asbestos very seriously, over last couple of years they have had in place a campaign, The Hidden Killer, to make people aware of the risk. This works off the back of the strict regulation and legislation that is in place to prevent and protect people from exposure.

victim dying at the age of 27. Almost all of these deaths could have been prevented.

UNDERSTANDING THE DANGER

Asbestos is a Catergory 1 Carcinogen, in other words, it is proven to cause cancer in humans. The level of exposure required to cause a disease is unknown, but the one thing that we do know for sure, the more exposure a person receives, the greater the risk of developing a fatal disease. Through a better understanding, and by providing information, instruction and training, deaths can be prevented. The United Kingdom Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) is an association of members set up to ensure that when information is provided, it is the right information.

Training companies wishing to become members are required to undergo strict verification and auditing. All prospective members are required to submit their training presentations, these are evaluated and verified to ensure quality and content, having had this carried out, the training provider is then audited to ensure that the training that has been delivered in an understandable and informative method.

The trainers themselves are also assessed to ensure competence by completing a tutor competency test, and then further, to ensure continued compliance, every company is audited on an annual basis by UKATA. Only by following this system, can UKATA ensure continued compliance and quality of its members. UKATA is the only association in the UK for asbestos training providers that follows such a strict auditing procedure.

The properties of asbestos meant that it was used extensively in construction materials, at present over 3,000 products are known to contain asbestos used in the construction industry. These products present varying degrees of risk that is mostly dependant of the materials’ condition, its asbestos content, its location and usage and how well the fibres are trapped in the product.

A common material used in a majority of the 13,000 schools built between the 1940s and 1980 was asbestos insulation board (AIB) along with other ACM’s. AIB is a relatively soft construction board used in the construction of walls and ceilings. The content of asbestos varied from between 15 to 40 per cent, however, because of the way the fibres are combined in the board, it requires little disturbance for fibres to be released and, at times, released in great quantities. AIB was used in great quantities, due to its fire protection ability, its ease of use and above all, its cost. The problem is, even though the material was inexpensive to use, we are now paying an ultimate price, with peoples’ lives.

PREVENTING EXPOSURE

It is hard to determine the number of school related deaths from asbestos as there are many conflicting arguments, however, there are figures available. The fact is that teachers and pupils should not be exposed to asbestos, as it can be prevented through training, education and management.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) take the risk of asbestos very seriously, over last couple of years they have had in place a campaign, The Hidden Killer, to make people aware of the risk. This works off the back of the strict regulation and legislation that is in place to prevent and protect people from exposure.

Current Regulations, The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, identifies a ‘Control Limit’ for exposure to asbestos, this limit is 0.1 fibres/centimetre cubed (0.1 f/ cm³). This means a fibre level of 100 fibres in one litre of air. The requirement of this limit is that when detected, controls must be put into place, things like the wearing of suitable respiratory protective equipment, control zones and fibre suppression and control.

There is a great deal of information on potential fibre release from asbestos products, some stating that the simple procedure of inserting a drawing pin into an AIB panel could result in a release of approximately 1,000 to 6,000 fibres, or that slamming doors in walls constructed from AIB could produce levels of fibres above the control limit. Whichever reference you read, there is one thing for certain, and exposure to asbestos must be avoided.

The Regulations (CAR 2006, Regulation 10) also requires that any person who may come into contact with asbestos through the course of their work must receive training. UKATA, along with its members are working hard to promote this requirement, UKATA ensure that its members are capable of delivering the required level of information and training to reduce peoples exposure and to remove the fear of asbestos by greater understanding. A very important part of the Asbestos regulation is Regulation 4, the Duty to Manage. This regulation requires the safe management of asbestos in non-domestic properties, this includes schools. Teachers, support staff and most importantly the children must be protected from asbestos, and that is what Regulation 4 is about. Schools have a legal requirement to identify and above all mange their asbestos, it should be kept in a safe condition, when managed, asbestos present very little, if any risk. People must be protected from this hidden killer.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.ukata.org.uk

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HEALTH & SAFETY

MAKE SURE THE JOB’S A GOOD’UN Their first encounter with the world of work can shape the way young people think about employment, health and safety. Joanne Lewis, chair of the Education Group for the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, looks at how we can make work a safe and positive experience IN A RECENT INTERVIEW with IOSH, comedian, writer and actor Hugh Dennis highlighted the significance of work experience as an introduction to adult life. “I think it’s really important to get experience of the workplace as quickly as you can,” he said.

“It sorts you out a bit, because it’s very different from everything you’ve had – like the discipline required in the workplace and the fact that you have to be there. It’s not like school and it’s not like college.”

It is, however, a key part of a young person’s education, and Hugh’s comments underline the importance of the role early work experience – whether that’s two weeks during Year 10 of school, combining a parttime job with study, or a first full-time job after leaving college – can play in preparing young people for life as risk-aware adults.

CULTURE SHOCK Given the wide variety of experiences on offer and the differences between school or college and the workplace in terms of responsibilities, expectations and risks, your first experience of work can come as quite a culture shock.

No wonder then, that young people present a unique health and safety challenge in the workplace. For a start, their lack of experience can mean that they simply don’t know about the issues many older workers think of as ‘common sense’. And without that experience or knowledge to base their decisions on, it can be easy for a young person to develop bad habits or dismiss the risks altogether.

Young workers might also behave in an immature way, taking risks to impress others.

Or, despite looking like an adult, they might be physically immature, without the strength to carry out certain tasks safely. Even with a sensible attitude to risk, they could be vulnerable to peer pressure or feel too timid to raise any issues they’re worried about.

MP Diane Abbott experienced this timidity during her first job as a Saturday sales assistant, and stresses the need to protect young people in the workplace. “I didn’t feel able to stand up for myself,” she says. “Unless you have regulations, and standards, and organisations that can stand up for workers, many people will continue to work in conditions that aren’t really healthy and aren’t really safe.”

LEGAL DUTY Happily, those provisions are now in place, as IOSH president John Holden, who negotiated

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Early work experience can help young people become risk-aware adults

manual handling and road safety risks without a care as a 14-year-old baker’s delivery assistant, observes. “When I was 14, perhaps we didn’t think specifically about the needs of young people in the workplace,” he says.

“They were just somebody to do a cheap job – less expensive than paying an adult.

Today, if you’ve got a young person at work, health and safety would be a priority.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) makes clear that employers have the same responsibilities for the health, safety and welfare of work experience workers as they would with any other employees, and there’s plenty of advice on offer for work experience providers and employers of young people. But there’s more work to be done. Prioritising health and safety for young workers isn’t just a matter of legislation – we need to educate young people about risk so it becomes their priority, too.

BRINGING HAZARD AWARENESS HOME It’s not that young people are oblivious to risk – but many of the effects of poor working conditions aren’t apparent until much later

in life, and that can make health and safety a tricky subject to tackle among teenagers.

Quoting statistics and regulations is of limited use. What do statistics matter when you’re young, fit and carefree, and injuries are something that happens to other people?

It can be difficult for a teenager who feels strong and full of energy to believe that if they don’t follow safe lifting procedures now, they might be storing up spinal problems for the future. Or that if they don’t wear protective equipment in dusty environments, they might develop a respiratory disease that affect their quality of life further down the line. The health and safety information they receive needs to speak to them – to show them how what they do now can affect their future health and wellbeing. And while there may be no substitute for direct experience in the workplace, the task of bringing hazard awareness home to young people begins in the classroom.

“It’s very important that we highlight the importance of safety to our pupils before they go on work experience,” says Pete Glasswell, work experience coordinator at Birmingham’s

Education Business | Volume 15.3

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HEALTH & SAFETY

Cockshut Hill Technology College. “They need to have a basic awareness of what they can and can’t do. For example, sometimes we hear about things that have gone wrong, or people who’ve asked youngsters to do something when they shouldn’t be doing it, and they get intimidated into that role.

If they’ve got a basic awareness of health and safety issues in the workplace, what hazards there are and what harm they can cause them, then we minimise that risk.”

To make sure students are prepared for work experience, IOSH developed the Wiseup2Work website (www.wiseup2work.co.uk), containing free guidance, information and activities for under 21s, teachers, training providers, youth workers and employers. Resources include IOSH’s free Workplace Hazard Awareness Course (WHAC), which helps prepare Year 10 students for work experience and their first job. WHAC is an interactive awareness-level course that lasts 6-8 hours and supports the delivery of an entry-level qualification from the British Safety Council Awards. It’s free to download for teachers or anyone who delivers free or publicly-funded training – just go to www.wiseup2work.co.uk/whac.

Pete Glasswell helped launch WHAC in 2007, and now all students at Cockshut Hill

Technology College take the course before they go on work experience placements. “WHAC is simple, easy to understand, and it’s in a language and format the students appreciate,” he says. “The kids get switched on very quickly to it. It highlights their common sense approach to things while showing them the background to that common-sense thinking.”

In fact, the course has helped employers to better understand their health and safety obligations too. “In certain circumstances,” says Pete, “the youngsters have gone in and raised the employer’s awareness of what their legal obligations and legal duties are, and overall it’s had an effect on the way we’ve approached work experience.”

Education is a life-long process, and the job of educating tomorrow’s workers will never be finished. But as Pete’s words suggest, the right tools and resources can help to give students the knowledge and confidence they need to negotiate workplace risks and make sure they stay safe and healthy – in short, to make sure the job’s a good’un.

ABOUT IOSH IOSH is the Chartered body for health and safety professionals. With more than 37,000 members in 85 countries, we’re the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation.

We set standards, and support, develop and connect our members with resources, guidance, events and training. We’re the voice of the profession, and campaign on issues that affect millions of working people.

IOSH was founded in 1945 and is a registered charity with international NGO status.

at www.youtube.com/user/IOSHchannel • IOSH: www.iosh.co.uk • WHAC: www.wiseup2work.co.uk/whac • Wiseup2work: www.wiseup2work.co.uk • Safelearner:www.safelearner.info • HSE: www.hse.gov.uk/youngpeople • National Council for Work Experience: www.work-experience.org • Young People’s Learning FOR MORE INFORMATION Agency:www.ypla.gov.uk • Skills Funding Agency: www.

The interviews quoted in this feature can Education Business advert 13/4/10 10:26 Page 1 skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk be viewed on the IOSH YouTube channel

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SECURITY

PHYSICAL PROTECTION FOR YOUR SCHOOL Physical security measures have a vital role to play when it comes to deterring intruders, writes Clive Baker, Chairman of the British Security Industry Association’s Physical Security Section WITH THEIR LARGE PREMISES and acres of land schools are all too easy targets for criminals. Accessing the site is hardly a challenge and so physically protecting the perimeter and buildings themselves is essential in order to deter intruders.

Schools vary in size with some small sites contained in a single building while others are stretched across a multitude of buildings surrounded by acres of land.

Schools are frequently located among highly populated areas such as housing estates or town centres, making accessing the site easier and it is often the case that you will see members of the public besides school staff or pupils using the school fields.

ON-SITE VALUABLES With schools containing high-value goods on-site such as computer equipment and TVs, not to mention the personal possessions of pupils and staff, schools are becoming increasingly appealing to criminals, particularly if entering the site is not too difficult. As well as the site being easy to access, intruders and criminals recognise that schools are made up of a large transient population, which makes it all the more easier for an intruder to blend in with staff, pupils and visitors.

Consequently, physically securing a school’s perimeter is the first step in the range of effective security measures that can be used to deter intruders and criminals from entering a site. Securing the perimeter will in turn provide better protection for staff and pupils on-site.

Perimeter protection consists of installing security fencing and combining that with the use of suitable gates, barriers or bollards, which will help to deter any unwanted visitors by making accessing the site all the more challenging.

Security fencing comes in a variety of forms and should comply with the British Standard 1722-17: 2006 in order to ensure quality.

To enhance the effectiveness of perimeter fencing, physical barriers must be underpinned by measures to detect, identify and react to intrusions. Combining physical security with other measures such as intruder alarms and CCTV will provide even tougher protection, for if an intruder attempts to breach the barrier an alarm could be triggered to alert a monitoring centre of the intrusion.

PLANNING AHEAD When protecting a school’s perimeter with physical security, a great deal of planning is

required, particularly when it involves combining the technology with other measures. In an environment like a school where access needs to be controlled, it must clearly be channelled and perimeters must provide a meaningful barrier. Creating such a barrier demands attention to a variety of design considerations such as sufficient height and strength, the use of climbing impediments, secure ground fixing as well as the provision of clear areas to facilitate surveillance and maintenance.

The next stage is to enhance the physical and psychological impact of the barrier through such means as lighting and signs to indicate to any intruders that security patrols, alarms and monitoring systems are present, all of which are necessary if the key element of surveillance is to become effective and indeed feasible.

Gates and entrances to the site are just as important as security fencing. Traditional gates can be used to secure entrances, but there are alternatives such as bollards, which can be used to prevent vehicles accessing the site. Such bollards can sink into the ground or be removed when authorised vehicles need access to an area.

Physically protecting the school building is also of equal importance. Measures such as security rated locks for accessible windows and doors, security grilles or shutters to name but a few, can all be used in combination to protect school premises both from intrusion and against vandalism. Such products help to strengthen a building’s security by reducing

the chances of unlawful entry and making an intruder’s task difficult, time-consuming and noisy. Of course, their effectiveness is directly related to the intruder’s skill and determination, which, in turn, depends upon the perceived benefits of crime.

High standards are essential when selecting and installing physical security. A quality lock, for example, should comply with BS 3621: 2007 and be specified to meet the requirements of the door or window that it is securing, whilst shutters and grilles should have undergone testing to Loss Prevention Certification Board standards.

When it comes to selecting a locking system, much of the emphasis is placed on the physical strength and design of the locking mechanism and the way that it is fitted. No matter which locking system is used, the question of who has access or can get access to the keys is an essential consideration, which is very often overlooked.

KEY CONTROL It is important to remember that an unauthorised person gaining access to an area or premises using just a key can make any insurance claim invalid. By using a key, the intruder will have the advantage of leaving no evidence of a forced break in meaning it could therefore be a considerable amount of time, if ever, before the unauthorised access is detected. This will put the school at a great disadvantage and may often end up with the

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SECURITY

school having to pay out for any losses.

There are two main ways of ensuring that key control is successfully achieved, firstly by strictly controlling the issue of keys, particularly sub masters and masters. It is good practice to record the key references against the individual who has been issued the key and when it is returned. Secondly, it is important that an individual cannot get a key duplicated at a local heel bar or locksmith without the appropriate authorisation from the owner of the master keyed system or building.

Schools need to be sure that they can account for their keys. If staff are not confident that this is the case then a more secure keying system, which boasts of being patent protected and technically advanced to avoid profile copying, should be considered. The key profile should be protected by a manufacturer’s current patent and if the patent has not been successfully defended in a court of law then the cylinder manufacturer should have a reputation for defending their patents in the UK. Manufacturers who are not prepared to

inform locksmiths of patent numbers and patent expiry dates should be viewed with suspicion.

The key profile should not be open to abuse.

There are many new ranges of profile copying machines now available. These machines can copy key blanks to slightly different tolerances, which still allow operation of the cylinder but do not infringe the patent.

Some serrated key manufacturers have now developed technical solutions to this threat.

Additionally, keys should only be available from a recognised source with a pre-agreed procedure for authorising keys, for example a nominated locksmith. The key design can also help by making it difficult or impossible to duplicate without specialist equipment.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MATTER Consequently, protecting the perimeters of schools and using physical security measures on buildings will better protect sites against the threat of intruders and criminals. Ensuring the safety of staff and, in particular, pupils is paramount and schools should endeavour

Secure your access – secure your data HETHER SECURE

W authentication is required for staff remote access to VPNs, web portals, VLEs or ePortfolios, or for online reporting for parents, organisations such as Yorkshire & Humber Grid for Learning (YHGfL) are realising the advantages of using two-factor authentication.

CRYPTOCard’s awardwinning solutions reduce the risks associated with remote access and web-based processes through strong password security. With static passwords being the single weakest link in IT security today and calls for stronger authentication, such as Becta’s guidelines, coming to the fore, CRYPTOCard’s solutions provide this at a price all organisations can afford.

With CRYPTOCard technology available in either server based or managed service solutions, many customers are now enjoying: • Security in-line with Becta’s recommendations

• Lowest total cost of ownership • Broadest range of non expiring tokens • Seamless integration into existing infrastructure With over 20 years of technical achievements and by offering unsurpassed value in solutions for positively identifying individuals through strong password security, CRYPTOCard has won the trust of thousands of businesses in over 70 countries from many different industries and can count businesses such as Apple, Fujitsu, Hampshire Council and Raiffsen Bank among them.

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THE BRITISH SECURITY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (BSIA) The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) is the professional trade association of the UK security industry. Its members produce over 70 per cent of the country’s security products and services to strict quality standards. For further information, visit www.bsia.co.uk. The BSIA operates a local rate helpline on 0845 389 3889.

to use quality equipment that comply with the relevant British Standards and Acts.

As well as addressing physical security needs the importance of key control should be highlighted to all staff to make it all the more difficult for keys to get into the hands of intruders or criminals. This in turn will help to better protect a school against the risk of crime and vandals and will provide valuable protection to the sites no matter what their size or layout.

GateREG ANPR System – IFSEC product launch LEARVIEW Communications will be launching GateREG ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system on stand E137, Hall 4 at IFSEC 2010. The GateREG ANPR processor is available in variants from single lane to 4-lane, with up to four overview cameras.

Also available will be a new range of low-cost GateREG ANPR cameras, developed by ClearView for maximum ease of installation and incorporating IR-lamp, fast-shutter and remote zoom lens control.

Camera options include in-built overview and speed detection.

The system can read UK and European number plates.

It provides a host of services including e-mail or SMS notification of visitor arrival, recording of all vehicle site activity, message sign display, Wiegand output for access control integration, live and historical car park data usage and security prompts for black-listed vehicles.

ClearView claim that the reporting

C

capabilities of the system are second to none with the facility to easily customise and present data in a variety of formats.

GateREG is ideal for barrier or speedgate control for commercial premises, waste sites, visitor centres and holiday parks.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Contact: Andy Lockett Address: ClearView Communications Ltd Robjohns Road, Chelmsford Essex, UK CM1 3AG Tel: +44 (0)1245 214104 Fax: +44 (0)1245 214101 E-mail: andy.lockett@clearviewcommunications.com Web: www.clearviewcommunications.com

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Education Business | Volume 15.3

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CATERING

SWEATING THE SMALL STUFF The School Food Trust has been working on a Small Step Improvements programme with schools across the country “MY FAVOURITE PART is always

when they get to that ‘light bulb’ moment. It’s magical.”

For Lesley Cairns, helping schools and local authorities taking part in the School Food Trust’s Small Step Improvements programme is more than just a job: “When you’ve watched a school team going through the whole process – perhaps even building new relationships at the same time, between people who might work in the same school and share a common aim to get the best out of lunchtime but have never actually met before – it’s always impressive when the idea that’s going to work for that kitchen or that dining room starts growing right before your eyes.”

Part of the Trust’s bank of resources to help schools increase the number of pupils eating school lunch, Small Step Improvements started life last year as a pilot in Northumberland before rolling out during the autumn term to schools St Helens and Bradford. The idea is that free or low-cost changes can make a profound difference to the efficiency of a school’s kitchen and to the pull of the food and dining room – making school lunch more appealing to

pupils, driving up the size of the local market and improving the catering ‘bottom line’.

The concept isn’t new in business – that understanding your customer is all – but its application to school lunch is giving some schools serious food for thought.

SELF-HELP

The trick is helping each school to find out for itself exactly what it is that needs to change – and why. More difficult than you might think, says Lesley: “Put simply, Small Step Improvements helps schools to help themselves. We don’t stand there telling schools what to change – the teams know their schools better than we ever

could, and one of the only certainties about school lunch is that it’s never a case of one size fits all. Our job is to bring together those with the power over lunchtime in that school; to enable them to work out how they know there’s a particular problem by really understanding their service from the customer’s perspective.

“How does that customer feel about the issue they’ve raised? Is that really the reason why that customer doesn’t want to eat there every day? What evidence do they have – or can they gather? From there, they can work out what action they really need to take – based on the knowledge of their system and the understanding they

The idea is that free or low-cost changes can make a profound difference to the efficiency of a school’s kitchen and to the pull of the food and dining room – making school lunch more appealing to pupils, driving up the size of the local market and improving the catering ‘bottom line’ THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

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CATERING

have gained about their customers.”

The programme helps schools apply ‘plan, do, study, act’, a methodology based on systems thinking, to whatever challenges might be preventing their lunch service from tempting the maximum number of customers. Some are unique to that school; others crop up more frequently.

“A good example is queues,” says Lesley.

“A head teacher might often start off by saying that they have a problem with children waiting too long to be served – which does put pupils off school meals.

What we ask is: how do you know that?

Where’s the data, the evidence? It often turns out that it’s not a problem with speed of service, as such, but rather that the layout of the dining room and servery means that the process simply doesn’t flow well.

“Making very simple changes – perhaps moving the cutlery, getting younger pupils to order in advance or adding an extra pay point – can really cut down the wait.

But it can be difficult to see that when it’s just how things have always been.”

TRIAL AREAS

It seems to work. Around 125 schools have taken part in the programme so far,

Making very simple changes – perhaps moving the cutlery, getting younger pupils to order in advance or adding an extra pay point – can really cut down the wait. But it can be difficult to see that when it’s just how things have always been many reporting improvements in their systems and the vast majority achieving increases in school lunch take up after implementing ideas they developed and tested. In Northumberland, one of the pilot areas, the local authority is now rolling out the programme itself to a new group of schools after seeing huge success with the first three. A further six local authority areas will try Small Step Improvements for the first time this year, whilst the approach is also being tested at school level in London and Manchester to make sure that those who have opted out of their local authority catering service don’t miss out.

No more than 20 schools take part in any one series of Small Step Improvements sessions. Teams must include at least a head

or deputy head teacher and the school cook for each individual school along with the head of service from the local authority, although operations managers and healthy schools representatives often take part too. All must commit to the three half-day sessions in the programme – it’s a dealbreaker. But so far, says Lesley, every team taking part have learned a lot: “We create a safe environment where people who may never normally sit down together can think and learn. It’s cliché but true: there’s no such thing as a bad idea in these sessions.

All we ask is that people come with an open mind and the will to make a difference.”

St Peter’s C.E. Primary School in Newton Le Willows is one of the converts to Small Step Improvements. Keen to increase the

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Payment in schools flows better with Visa A

CCEPTING VISA payment brings real benefits to any school. It offers bursars all the benefits of paperless, automated payments and parents added choice and flexibility.

Either in person, over the phone or online, Visa payments can be processed quickly and easily. Visa can be used for both one-off and regular payments – such as fees, uniforms, lunches, school trips, extra-curricular activities and other such incidentals. Visa is the secure, flexible and convenient payment alternative.

Visa payments bring many benefits to your school, such as being quick and easy – automated payments with no cash to count or cheques to bank; it is guaranteed payment – most Visa payments come with a useful payment guarantee; better cash flow – funds generally reach your account within two to four days; security – less cash is kept on your premises; and it is simple to set up – choose from a range of providers, with no need to change your banking arrangements.

The system also brings benefits for parents: added choice and flexibility – another way to pay; easy and convenient – whether they are at home, at work or visiting the school, parents generally have their Visa card with them; peace of mind – with electronic payments, parents instantly know that the payment has been made; better budgeting – parents can use their Visa card to manage

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their budgets and their payments over time; and payment record – parents get a record of payment on their statement.

Card acceptance can bring new levels of convenience and automation to any school, with less need to bank cheques, handle cash and deal with payment administration.

With the demise of cheques, Visa payments are a readymade alternative – and one that speeds up payment for schools. There is no need to wait for a cheque to be written and sent. Instead, when a Visa payment is processed you know that the funds will reach your account within the next few days.

Schools that do not accept cards yet, may assume that there is little demand.

However, with more than 80 million Visa cards alone in the UK, Visa card payments are more popular than you may think. Schools that do accept cards, have discovered that many parents are keen to take advantage of this payment method.

Visa payments are quicker, more convenient and easier for everyone.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.visa.co.uk/schools E-mail: cowleyp@visa.com

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CATERING

ABOUT THE SCHOOL TRUST The School Food Trust is an independent body with the unique remit of transforming school food and food skills. It was set up as nondepartmental public body in 2005 with £15 million of funding from the then Department for Education and Skills (replaced by Department for Children, Schools and Families, DCSF) to promote the education and health of children and young people by improving the quality of food supplied and consumed in schools. In April 2007 the School Food Trust became registered as a charity.

Following consultation on the report ‘Turning the Tables: Transforming School Food’ published by the School Meals Review Panel in October 2005, and the Food Other than Lunch report, published by the School Food Trust in February 2006, the government announced the standards it intended to apply to school food in May 2006.

The Trust is charged with taking forward these standards to transform school food and food skills to improve health and education for school age children and young people.

number of children eating a school lunch, St Peter’s was already using a number of great ideas such as sticker rewards for pupils who made healthy choices and opportunities for parents to try out the menu for free. Surveys of pupils revealed that they rated the food very highly – so St Peter’s turned to Small Step Improvements for help in finding out what else they could try to drive up their lunch numbers.

The head teacher, head cook and a school governor attended the workshops together, drilling down to find out why some children still weren’t taking a school lunch. They swapped ideas with other delegates and came up with a simple, lowcost plan that focused on tempting packed lunch pupils back onto school meals.

The school set up a ‘Rainbow Table’ in the middle of the dining room, using colourful tableware and linen. Pupils taking a school meal who behaved well in the dining room were entered into a prize draw to sit at the table. At the end of the week, six pupils were selected as the winning group; they also got to go to the front of the queue and had first access to fresh fruit and salad.

And it worked. “The children loved it

and felt quite important,” says head cook Karen Dearden. “One little girl said she felt like she was in a posh restaurant!”

Packed lunch pupils began to ask if they could sit at the colourful new table, and the school saw a gradual increase in take up – now serving an average of 136 meals a day compared to the standard of around 117 before trying their new idea.

Head teacher Barbara Flitcroft adds: “I’ve been amazed that such little changes could have such a big impact.”

The Small Step Improvements methodology is still at work for St Peter’s. The school is now working on reorganising its seating area to help cut the queues, and on putting daily menus in each classroom.

FOR MORE INFORMATION To find out more about Small Step Improvements, watch interviews with teachers and cooks who’ve taken part or to speak to participating schools yourself, contact the School Food Trust on 0844 800 9048 or sign up to the Trust’s Million Meals campaign at www.schoolfoodtrust.org.uk/millionmeals

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Premier Interlink (Waco UK Ltd) has developed and designed a high quality, ready made, costeffective kitchen solution for schools and colleges.

Whether you need catering kitchens for student meals, kitchens for cooking tuition or dining areas, we can provide a fully equipped building in an average of just 8-12 weeks, with far less disruption and site traffic affecting staff, students and visitors. The buildings, on average 80 per cent completed in our quality controlled factory environment, can include a fully fitted kitchen, cookery tuition facilities or a dining area, delivered to site practically ready for use.

These buildings are available for hire or sale, and all the catering equipment is supplied and supported with training,

OR MORE THAN 20 years, JJ Food Service, with its range of ambient, chilled and frozen foods, packaging and cleaning products, has excelled within the food industry. As a result we were recently awarded The Grocer Gold Award 2009 for Wholesaler of the Year.

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Rippledown Environmental Education

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Develop your team, transform your school The National College has launched a new programme for developing secondary school senior leadership teams (SLTs).

The programme will be tailored for each school, to meet its particular needs. This programme offers space for SLTs to think constructively about how to address key challenges.

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EDUCATIONAL TRIPS

PROMOTING SAFETY AND GOOD PRACTICE From Assured Member to Quality Badge – sector-specific standards benefit schools greatly when organising trips, says Ian Pearson, the School Travel Forum THERE WOULD BE VERY LITTLE disagreement to a proposal that sought to reduce unnecessary work, save time, improve safety, protect teachers, protect schools, and deliver first class learning experiences. Does such a thing exist?

STF ASSURED MEMBER SCHEME Six years ago, when there was a growing concern amongst teachers about the amount of work being generated around school trips and a fear of personal liability, the School Travel Forum (STF) launched its Assured Member scheme. This provided a means by which competent suppliers of educational visits could be easily identified. In particular the scheme looks at whether a supplier has an effective means of managing safety, offers fair terms and conditions, and has first class financial security.

In addition to the considerable experience amongst its members, the STF also liaises with stakeholders and is informed by leading health and safety and legal experts. Critically, in terms of confidence in the scheme, the STF requires all Assured Members to be independently audited every year against the strict criteria laid down in its code of practice. Membership is an open organisation and any school tour or coach operator offering trips can be included, providing they are prepared to meet the code.

Very quickly after its launch the scheme was welcomed by the DCSF and Outdoor Education Advisors’ Panel (OEAP). In addition it was supported by the NUT, Voice, ATL, ASCL and NAHT. At the time the NUSWT were strongly engaged in lobbying for more protection for teachers who ran trips, but recognised that many of its members were actively running them; they recommended that members should use suppliers who were in such a scheme.

Currently schools choose STF Assured Members to work with on approximately 10,000 school trips annually. This use has proven resistant to any reported downturn in school trips and residentials caused by safety concerns, teachers’ liabilities or financial pressures. For many teachers and schools it has therefore become the preferred route to save time and increase confidence.

LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM In 2008 the linking of the STF Assured Member scheme and the objectives of the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) Manifesto took benefits to new levels. The LOtC Manifesto reinforced the existing concept of providing

teachers with a universally easy route to select good LOtC suppliers, be that a museum to visit or a partner to organise a planned business trip to New York. From this came the LOtC Quality Badge which established six high level parameters for it to be awarded: 1. has a process in place to assist users to plan the learning experience effectively 2. provides accurate information about its offer 3. provides activities, experience or resources which meet learner needs 4. reviews the experience and acts on feedback 5. meets the needs of the users 6. has safety management processes in place to manage risk effectively.

Because there are differences in how the above parameters need to be interpreted for the many LOtC opportunities, say for example a half day trip to a local art gallery against a three week expedition to a third world country, the Quality Badge has different routes for the various types of provision. However, the beauty of the badge for a user (as opposed to a supplier) is that the complexities in the background need not trouble them.

Providing the supplier is displaying the LOtC Quality Badge sign teachers can arrange with that provider confident that they have passed an appropriate test for the activities they offer. The Quality Badge has input and widespread support from all stakeholders in education. It is genuinely seen as a good thing.

STF AND THE QUALITY BADGE The School Travel Forum (STF) is a selffunding, not for profit organisation that has worked selflessly with all stakeholders throughout the development of its own scheme and the Quality Badge. The work we do is beneficial and realistic rather than pure altruism; we recognise that there are mutual advantages for us to find, understand and react to the needs of our members’ consumers. This we are committed to do.

During the gestation of the Quality Badge the STF was consulted and established as the Awarding Body for organisations who seek accreditation to supply the school trips that are defined as educational and study residential and day visits where they are organised by third parties on behalf of schools, colleges and youth groups including study visits, foreign exchange visits, concert tours, sports, skiing and snow sport trips, educational conferences, cruises, and pilgrimages.

The STF remit normally does not cover visits

that are exclusively outdoor and adventurous activities or expeditions. But where such are included as a minor part in a wider package, the STF scheme ensures such activities are covered.

WHAT NEXT? LOtC is universally recognised as massively beneficial for children. During its recent survey into LOtC Ofsted concluded: • When planned and implemented well, learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards and improving pupils’ personal, social and emotional development • Learning outside the classroom was most successful when it was an integral element of long-term curriculum planning and closely linked to classroom activities.

The work to extend and improve the LOtC Quality Badge continues, but already offers considerable advantages for schools.

Surprisingly, Ofsted also report that: Only six schools in the survey had a detailed knowledge of the government’s Learning Outside the Classroom manifesto and even they were unsure of how other national guidance and programmes, such as the National Strategies, linked to it.

By choosing and even demanding Badged providers over others, schools can take advantage of the significant existing benefits and drive up standards to their own advantage.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ian Pearson is the development officer for the School Travel Forum. He is a qualified Health & Safety manager with over 17 years’ experience in school travel and has been closely involved in pioneering safety management systems for educational travel companies and the LOtC Quality Badge. He represents the study trip sector on the LOtC’s Quality Badge Committee and Advisory Group.

Comments on this article are welcome, please e-mail info@ schooltravelforum.com.

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Written by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers

EDUCATIONAL TRIPS

MINIMISING RISK ON SCHOOL TRIPS Risk assessments play a key role in preparations designed to safeguard the health and safety of pupils on educational visits ATL BELIEVES that experiences gained outside the classroom are a valuable part of any young person’s learning. They can, for example, help develop personal and vocal skills.

Educational visits enjoy a long tradition, be they a visit to the local museum or to far off lands. However, following a number of high profile accidents involving school staff that participated in educational visits, some may feel vulnerable that they will end up in court.

Indeed, those who share the public perception of the UK becoming a ’compensation culture‘ may not wish to participate in educational visits at all. ATL believes that this would be an overreaction, as more than a million educational visits take place each year, the vast majority of which are without incident or injury to pupils.

AVOIDING RISK While educational visits are not risk free, schools and colleges should avoid being alarmist. Risk assessments are vital in the planning of any educational visit to contain risks within acceptable levels. The importance of risk assessments was reinforced by the Glenridding Beck case in which 10 year-old Max Palmer died while ’plunge pooling’ during an educational visit in Cumbria in May 2002.

Plunge pooling involved jumping four meters into a rock pool in a mountain stream and swimming to an exit point. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) subsequently conducted a thorough investigation and produced a report of their findings, which concluded: “The weather was poor. The stream was in spate.

The water was very cold. And, most of all, there were serious deficiencies by the party leader in planning and leading the activity.”

The group leader was convicted of manslaughter for deciding to continue with the activity, despite very bad weather. While such action is rare, the Glenridding Beck case illustrates the need for group leaders to consider the safety of students at all times, even if this means abandoning a planned event.

IDENTIFYING RISK So, why are risks assessments so important?

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 oblige employers to assess the risk of activities, introduce measures to control those risks and inform staff about them. The HSE’s leaflet 5 Steps to Risk Assessment (www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/

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indg163.pdf) confirms that this involves: • identifying the hazards • deciding who might be harmed and why • considering what safety measures need to be implemented to reduce the risks to an acceptable level • recording the findings • reviewing the assessment at intervals A trip to a local museum may only require a single risk assessment. However, more complex activities will generally require more detailed assessment. The following ought to be included in the risk assessment: It should be ensured that the group leader is competent to have overall responsibility for the group at all times as s/he has a key role to play in the successful completion of the visit. While there are no legal requirements as to how many adults should accompany a group of students, decisions on ratios will need to take account of: • nature, duration and hazards of the visit • number/age/gender/aptitude/normal standard of behaviour of the students • special educational/medical needs and disabilities • requirements of the venue • accommodation.

For trips to local venues, government guidelines offer advice of one adult per every six pupils in years 1-3; one adult for every 10-15 pupils in years 4-6; and one adult for every 15-20 pupils in years 7 onwards.

Many educational establishments take parents and adults who are not members of staff to help out on visits. These volunteers must be vetted under the appropriate child protection procedures. They should be clear about their roles and responsibilities – a parent may feel the need to safeguard their own child ahead of others in an emergency.

The risk assessment should cover the main activities as well as a ’Plan B‘ for contingencies.

For example, a sudden change in the weather may render it unsafe to carry on with the activity that was originally planned.

Ongoing risk assessments involve a re-assessment of the risks while the visit is taking place and as the need arises.

Changing weather conditions, new safety warnings, illness or behavioural problems may necessitate a re-assessment of the risks. It is the responsibility of the group leader to ensure that ongoing risk assessments are undertaken.

Fatalities in educational visits have occurred

when students were involved in activities in or near water, as in the Glenridding Beck case.

Risk assessments for these activities should take account of underwater hazards (e.g. rocks or strong currents), tidal conditions, getting the group in and out of water easily, unexpected panicking, as well as the likelihood of someone falling into the water. The activities must be formal and closely supervised.

Impromptu activity should not be permitted, even if students earnestly plead to swim because of the hot weather, for example.

Recently, risks associated with E.coli 0157 and other infections that could result from farm visits have received publicity. Precautionary measures should include washing hands thoroughly before and after eating, after any contact with animals and again before leaving the farm, never allowing the pupils to kiss animals, making sure that the pupils wear appropriate shoes and clothing, and that all cuts and grazes on hands are covered with a waterproof dressing. Further information is available on the HSE information sheet “Avoiding Ill Health at Open Farms: Advice to Teachers” which can be downloaded from www.hsebooks.co.uk and www.teachernet.gov.uk

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Many educational establishments take parents and adults who are not members of staff to help out on visits. These volunteers must be vetted under the appropriate child protection procedures. They should be clear about their roles and responsibilities – a parent may feel the need to safeguard their own child ahead of others in an emergency FURTHER ADVICE Equipment: Equipment and clothing should be appropriate for the type(s) of activities being undertaken and for the environmental conditions.

Transport: Risk assessments should take account of traffic routes/conditions and arrangements to deal with breakdowns or other emergencies. In ensuring the safety of all passengers, drivers must have the correct licence and be able to maintain concentration.

Members of staff who drive minibuses should not be expected to also maintain discipline whilst driving, unless the journey is very short.

Accidents and emergency procedures: These form an essential part of planning a visit. Every adult should have a checklist for immediate action in an emergency, covering issues such as dealing with casualties and the emergency services, and contacting the school or college and parents. There should also be a ’lost procedure‘

Dolphin spotting boat trips in New Quay HE PLEASURE Boats ermol five and six depart daily from the main pier of the picturesque village of New Quay in the heart of Cardigan Bay. We offer one and two hour trips visiting the caves, Seals Bay, Birds Rock, cwmtydu and Ynys Lochtyn, cruising in waters nominated in Europe for special conservation status.

Porpoise, seals and dolphins are a regular and awe-inspiring sight.

The animals are wild and as such cannot be guaranteed on every trip, but when encountered, the skipper of your boat will slow down or stop to allow the best possible view without causing disturbance, inline with the Marine Heritage Coast’s guidelines and the boat operator’s code of conduct.

Our vessels are fully licensed by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and our skippers are

T

confirming what adults or students should do if they became separated from the group or lost.

All schools should have written procedures when it comes to safeguarding the health and safety of pupils on educational visits. The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 require independent schools to draw up, effectively implement and promote these procedures.

Staff who follow the information and training they have received are unlikely to be sued personally if a pupil is injured, or worse. In any event, legal proceedings are usually brought against the employer who is vicariously liable for the actions or omissions of their staff, which arise in the course of employment. Being well prepared should give staff the confidence to participate in educational visits. While no one should be complacent, it is clear that the benefits gained on education visits far outweigh the risks involved.

Take a step back in time at Worcestershire County Museum COUNTY W ORCESTERSHIRE Museum, housed in the

fully qualified boatmasters.

We carry full lifesaving and emergency apparatus and all our passengers are fully insured.

Boats run from April to October and fares range from £8-15 per adult and £8-4 per child.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For departure times, further information and booking please contact New Quay Pier Tel: 01545 560 800 After hours tel: 01545 560 375 E-mail: newquayboattrips@ googlemail.com www.newquayboattrips.co.uk

historic home of the Bishops of Worcester, is a fascinating place to explore. The museum’s collections include toys, domestic items, beautiful costume, ancient archaeological finds and a large collection of horse-drawn vehicles including gypsy caravans. Visitors can also see room sets such as the Victorian School room and Scullery.

The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions and exciting events throughout the year. A shop, café, video presentation, picnic areas and nature reserve all add up to a great day out.

As part of our continuing education service, your pupils can enjoy creative on and off-site cross-curricula linked sessions for Key Stages 1, 2 and beyond.

Prices for schools: £1.75 per child, £3.50 per adult (ratio of one adult to ten children free).

Activity sessions and roleplays are extra. Please contact us or see our website for details.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For prices and further details please call the museum on 01299 250 416 or visit www.worcestershire. gov.uk/museums museum@worcestershire.gov.uk

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MORE THAN JUST TOYS How can games technologies revolutionise teaching and learning? Jill Attewell from the Learning Skills Network and the Mobile Learning Network investigates IN RECENT YEARS, the popularity of handheld games platforms, such as Nintendo DS and Sony PSP, has increased dramatically.

Not only do many young people own or have access to these technologies, but older adults have responded enthusiastically to marketing campaigns and games targeting them. Mature commuters engrossed in gaming is becoming a common sight on our trains and tubes. One hears many complaints about the negative impact of computer games, yet the right games used in the right ways can have a dramatic positive impact on young people’s learning; a fact that has been noted by a number of schools and colleges who are reaping the benefits in terms of improved learner attendance, motivation, behaviour and achievement.

In the recent LSN Games Technology for Learning report we analysed information from Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET) projects involving 30,000 14+ learners in FE colleges and schools over the last three years, and discovered that the use of handheld games devices has increased substantially.

In the academic year 2007/08, just over 300 handheld games devices were used in schools and colleges involved in MoLeNET projects, but in 2008/09 this had increased to more than 2,000, an impressive leap.

REAPING THE BENEFITS Our research found that integrating games technologies into the classroom can be extremely beneficial for both the learner and the institution. Digital games require, and therefore support, the development of a range of skills – this can include skills such as decision-making and problem-solving, as well as softer skills such as effective communication and team working.

Digital games technologies were found to both increase existing skill sets and encourage the rapid development of new skills. Additionally, the fact that young people are already familiar with gaming devices and enjoy using them helps to remove some of the barriers that might otherwise prevent students from engaging with their own learning, and increases the rate at which improvements can be achieved.

Digital learning games were also found to be beneficial in supporting the development of specific subject knowledge and skills – some colleges have used gaming technologies to support the development of specific mathematics skills such as multiplication tables, while others have used them to help students retain subject-specific material in advance of GCSE examinations.

Importantly, when gaming technologies develop skills, they do so in a fun and interesting way, leading to more engaged, more motivated and better behaved young learners. A consistent message from teachers is that their initial fears that introducing games technologies might lead to behaviour problems and disrupt learning were wrong.

Digital games can set meaningful goals and provide learners with ongoing, instant feedback on how they are progressing against their goals, as well as adapting goals as the learners’ skills levels improve (i.e. the more they learn, the harder the game becomes).

All of this help capture and retain learners’

The right games used in the right ways can have a dramatic positive impact on young people’s learning

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OLLOWING AN EXTREMELY successful first quarter of 2010, leading educational visualiser manufacturer AVerMedia has noticed that more customers are being turned on to visualisers because they offer great performance, matched with unrivalled value for money in these budget strapped times. Marketing manager Nigel Roberts stated: “Visualisers can be used for so much in the classroom, from simple ‘show and tell’ exercises to peer-to-peer assessment and student portfolio applications. The beauty of the visualiser is its straightforward installation, portability and ease of use, which few classroom technologies can compete with.”

He continued: “All of our visualisers come with our licence free Aver+ software, which has been really well received following its launch at BETT2010. In these times where maximising budget and return on investment are critical, visualisers can save schools money as teaching assistants no longer have to photocopy handouts for every pupil and the educational benefits of spontaneous presentations due to the immediacy of the product are well documented and supported by industry leaders,” he concluded.

One of the stars in AVerMedias product lineup is the V355AF visualiser, which features a ‘one touch’ record to USP stick capability. By

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The V355AF features a built-in microphone in the camera held, plus additional mic input in the base, which means that the whole class can have input. The video files are saved in user friendly format and are playable on both mac and PCs. The one-touch record function is a boon for recording evidence of pupils/students’

work and with a powerful 80 x zoom and a five megapixel camera, which gives 1080P resolution, stunning images can be recorded.

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AVerMedia is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of visualiser technology and over the past 10 years have been paving the way in gaining the acceptance of visualisers in the UK and Europe. Working closely with specialist educational products distributor, Steljes, together with a national network of dedicated resellers, they have established excellent working relationships with ICT specialists and LEAs around the country. This has allowed AVerMedia to understand the unique requirements of the education sector and incorporate this feedback into their visualiser range.

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attention, as well as improving confidence and self-esteem as they measurably improve.

SUPPORTING THE INDIVIDUAL Gaming technologies were found to be particularly successful in supporting individual learner needs, especially those who have difficulty with literacy or numeracy or have learning difficulties, disabilities or specific language needs. Platforms such as the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP enable teachers to provide tailored support to multiple learners at different levels simultaneously, and to alter their teaching in accordance with individual’s learning preferences and speeds. These platforms can also provide access to recorded materials, such as video and e-books, enabling content to be viewed as, when and (in some cases) how the individual learner wants. Handheld platforms have also proved to be extremely effective at aiding assessment, enabling learners to collect evidence – including pictures, video and sound recordings – of their skills and progress, and improving feedback mechanisms.

Perhaps most importantly, digital gaming technologies can improve overall outcomes for learners. Many schools and colleges reported that integrating games technologies had improved levels of achievement, as well as improving attendance and reducing the number of young people dropping out.

SHARING BEST PRACTICE The following short case studies from Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET) projects describe how gaming technologies have been successfully implemented to benefit learners.

Walsall College, in collaboration with local schools, used Nintendo DS devices to improve literacy and numeracy skills for over 300 learners working towards GCSEs, many of whom had previously been categorised as NEET (not in education, employment or training). The devices were used as a warm-up activity and to conclude lessons at least twice a week.

Feedback from staff and students indicated a noticeable improvement in behaviour, alertness and focus. One of the games used, Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training, was seen as extremely beneficial at improving mental arithmetic and many students felt that using it would improve their GCSE results.

IMPROVING NUMERACY Matthew Boulton College used Sony PSPs to help improve learners’ numeracy skills.

The course was designed to improve not only learners’ problem-solving and overall numeracy skills, but also their communication and interpersonal skills, self-confidence and self-esteem, hand-eye co-ordination and understanding of multimedia devices.

The Sony PSP was used as part of an eight session course, which mixed traditional teaching methods with game playing and an evaluation of the results of these games.

Feedback from staff and students indicated a noticeable improvement in behaviour, alertness and focus. One of the games used, ‘Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training’, was seen as extremely beneficial at improving mental arithmetic and many students felt that using it would improve their GCSE results The project was very successful in improving attendance, attainment and achievement – delivering an unprecedented 100 per cent success rate in all three areas. Improvements were also seen in student behaviour and engagement in classroom activities.

SUBJECT SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE St Helens College introduced Sony PSPs into the sports curriculum, with the equipment being used to deliver assignments. The college had observed that students were inclined to copy and paste notes from the internet or regurgitate class notes and then forget the knowledge immediately. The project was specifically designed to encourage learners to take a more proactive approach to their learning by setting them the task of producing a short video using PSPs, describing the FITT (frequency, intensity, time and type) principles of sports training.

The students were far more engaged in the task than any other set throughout the year, retained more knowledge and had a greater understanding of the subject compared to previous topics delivered using traditional methods.

IMPROVING SHORT-TERM MEMORY SKILLS Ashton Under Lyne College used Nintendo DS games to help learners with specific learning difficulties improve their visual and auditory short-term memory in a fun way. The learners had free access to the devices and were encouraged to use them at least five times a week, as well as using them under supervised conditions each week as part of their support session. Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training games were provided for learners, although they were free to choose which activities to complete in order to maintain their interest levels.

Learners’ memory skills were tested at the interim and final stages of the project, with these tests showing a substantial increase in short-term memory performance for those using the Nintendo DS. Learners were also found to be more motivated and reported enjoying the games, which added to their overall performance.

GETTING STARTED At LSN, our mission is to make learning work. We believe that it is vital that teaching and learning continues to evolve and keeps

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Ashton Under Lyne College used Nintendo DS games to help learners with specific learning difficulties improve their visual and auditory short-term memory in a fun way.

The learners had free access to the devices and were encouraged to use them at least five times a week, as well as using them under supervised conditions each week as part of their support session

pace with society’s latest developments, where these can be shown to have a direct beneficial impact on educational outcomes.

Digital games and handheld technologies are perfect examples of modern innovations that can have fantastic applications in the education sphere and, as such, it is important that today’s educators consider how to integrate these into their provision.

The MoLeNET initiative seeks to promote best practice in mobile learning through research, sharing best practice, training and support. The following tips are intended to support those starting to use games technologies for teaching and learning by drawing on the experiences of previous MoLeNET games projects.

SETTING UP & TRAINING: • The initial set-up and familiarisation may seem time-consuming, but once this is achieved, training should be minimal in comparison to other handheld technologies • Be aware of any prior knowledge or extra teaching required to make the most of the technology or game • Ensure that all learners understand the aim of using the device and that ground rules are set from the start • Ensure that you have considered the devices’ memory, charging and storage implications • Where assessors are involved, ensure they also have adequate training.

PLANNING & PLAYING • Make the most of competitive gaming opportunities to promote engagement • Although the primary function of the handheld games devices may be to provide

a gaming platform, do not ignore their many extra functions such as integrated cameras, sound systems, communication and online functionality which provide further teaching and learning opportunities • Bear in mind the extra time and support that may be required to re-purpose learning resources for handheld devices • Make the best possible use of shared resources and build on others’ successes rather than starting from scratch • Listen to your learners as they may have ideas about how a device can be used • Try to develop structured plans for embedding digital gaming in schemes of work to realise the potential of this teaching and learning strategy • Check games to make sure they are appropriate to a learner’s level or learning difficulty or disability, as starting out with something too difficult can be discouraging • Play along – learners enjoy seeing their tutor getting involved in the game play and it can increase motivation levels as well as encouraging healthy competition.

More information and case studies are available in the Games Technologies for Learning report, which can be downloaded from www.lsnlearning.org.uk/user/order. aspx?code=090258. LSN also offers training courses and consultancy to support teaching and technical staff in taking their first steps in mobile learning.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit www.lsnlearning.org.uk/ products/m-learning to find out more.

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HOW MESSAGING KEEPS EVERYONE ON TRACK As educational institutions continue to adopt mobile as a key part of administrative and organisational solutions, the Mobile Data Association and its members tell Education Business how operations are being improved MOBILE IS A DRAMATICALLY growing medium capable of permeating day-to-day functions in both the private and public business sectors, as well as in the mass consumer space. The use of mobile data in administrative messaging solutions is on the rise within schools, colleges and universities, with Mobile Data Association (MDA) members leading the way in innovation.

Steve Reynolds, Chairman of mobile industry trade body the MDA, said: “We know our members and their customers are enjoying tangible benefits from increasingly sophisticated mobile solutions. These are helping everyone involved with the smooth administration and management of schools and colleges across the country.”

SMS IS THE LEADER MDA member, txttools provides a userfriendly platform to deliver text messages directly from a PC or laptop computer to the mobile phones or text-activated

landlines of pupils, students or parents.

“Whilst newer mobile technologies might be attracting the most consumer attention, it’s still mobile messaging which holds the most sway,” said Stephen McCann, CEO of txttools.

“Having attended the recent GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, there doesn’t seem to be a new messaging technology that is going to replace SMS anytime soon.”

“At txttools we also offer alternative messaging options; e-mail, RSS-2-SMS, Facebook, Twitter, Instant Messaging and the teen popular BlackBerry Messenger,” McCann added. “But the overwhelming number of messages are still sent using SMS because it’s the lowest common denominator, however smart or basic your mobile device.

“We’re launching an interface soon which allows our customers’ users – pupils, students or parents – to choose the way that they would prefer to be contacted. That could be SMS, mobile e-mail, Facebook or Twitter alerts or all of them. We expect the vast majority

to select SMS for the foreseeable future.”

Customers of txttools include schools and colleges across the UK. One of them, Yorkshire Coast College, has seen real results in many areas, including safeguarding and improving learner welfare and retention. Network services manager Mick Mullane was keen to explore this to enhance college communications and set-up a text messaging system that connected to the college’s management information system (MIS).

Using a keyword-based system, text messages beginning with a specific word will trigger an e-mail to the appropriate person. For example, a text message to the college SMS number containing the word ‘Safe’ will automatically generate an e-mail to the College’s Welfare Team, enabling the Welfare Team to contact the learners directly. Using a similar principle, parents and students can subscribe their mobile number to specific services by sending, for example, the keyword ‘Snow,’ to be put on a mailing list for updates about bad weather and potential closures.

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A school or college can use the system in a variety of ways: • Learners can easily contact the Welfare Team at their own convenience • Learners/parents can text to say they or their child will not be attending college • Learners can subscribe to information about college news and events • A library can send reminders • A college can initiate contact with learners on key issues – learners not receiving Education Maintenance Allowance due to lack of attendance • A college can use text messages to confirm places at the college • Tutors can send reminders about deadlines and coursework.

Mullane says: “The cost to the learner of sending text messages has not been a barrier. That’s the way learners communicate.” Tutor class mailing lists are opt-in, but all students have been keen to sign up to communicate this way.

Debbie Williams, Young Apprenticeship coordinator, uses the system as part of the Welfare Team: “They use it for what it’s intended for. They understand and respect the reasons why we do it.

“It’s trying to reach those students you might not always get in contact with, especially boys. Girls are quite up to talking. For males, that is not always the case. I think they feel a bit happier using that facility first of all before meeting somebody face to face.”

Retention rates have also benefited from the system. “A tutor can quickly follow up with a text asking why the learner isn’t in college,” said Mullane. “We saw an 8-9 per cent increase in retention. Often you find that your students want to have a two-way dialogue. They don’t want to be off. If you, as a college, don’t try to engage with them about problems they’ve got then it becomes easier not to attend and subsequently drop out. The system can also be useful for Ofsted inspections that require measurable and auditable outcomes, because the college is able to clearly track and record its use of the scheme.”

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PRIORITISING SECURITY Given that messaging solutions and interfaces are now used extensively within the education sector, there are legitimate concerns surrounding how sensitive data such as mobile numbers is secured.

Mike Hawkes, director of Security at the MDA, suggests that users of mobile support services protect themselves by: • Considering the physical implications of mobile device security – for example: ensuring that services work across low and high-end devices (reducing the likelihood of bullying or theft); providing discrete password phrases on a per-user basis rather than employing a single publicised word to ask for assistance; and providing easy but trusted methods to support those who lose or break devices • Introduce services in line with the provisions of the Data Protection Act and consider potential authentication or privacy issues • Assume that third parties will sometimes access devices without the knowledge or consent of the device owner.

As social networking systems rely more on mobile device users, service providers should also consider how to incorporate these mobile resources (Twitter or Facebook Mobile, for example) in a safe and attractive way.

Mobile devices increasingly support locationbased technologies so implementations must always consider secure methods to protect geo-tagged data from publication.

MOBILE EDUCATION COMMERCE Hopwood Hall College exploits the commercial opportunities provided by messaging more directly. Prospective students can request to have course details sent directly to their mobile phone via text message.

“Text messages remain to be the favoured method of communicating among our target audience, so it was a logical step to integrate it into our marketing strategy,” said Andy Clegg, new media officer, Hopwood Hall College. “We receive the majority of inquiries

about our courses via text message, and now we have the ability to monitor interest in particular courses and better target our recruitment drives by sending prospective students relevant, tailored information.”

DELIVERING RESULTS Over 600 students from Holy Cross Sixth Form College in Bury received their AS and A2 exam module results via text message, having directly opted in to receive their results this way. As well as logistical benefits in allowing the college to reduce queues associated with collecting exam results, the method of delivery also allowed students to privately learn their results.

The college now employs messaging as a key medium, with around 8,000 texts sent over four days of a closure due to inclement weather.

Ryde School with Upper Chine also applies messaging to notify parents about travel arrangements when groups of children are away on trips or competing in sports. “It is quick, easy and simple to set up,” said Sue England, a registrar at the school.

Staff can type messages into internal IT systems and send messages to a single student, or groups of students, then select whether the messages are sent as an SMS, e-mail, or displayed on wall-mounted terminals. By directly integrating txttool’s into existing college software, teachers have a solution which they are already familiar with and which does not require them to browse to an external website.

A PERFECT FIT There is an infinite number of inventive and effective implementations for mobile data, with a range of solutions providers competing in a busy market. Groupcall Messenger and PageOne are other alternatives.

Activity in the space indicates that mobile and education is a good, natural and necessary fit. Their relationship promises to flourish further with advances in messaging technologies, wider acceptance, understanding, platform integration and the flexibility of internal management systems.

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COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMMUNITY Can an SMS txt messaging strategy really improve communications in an educational environment?

IT IS WIDELY KNOWN THAT TEXT messaging is socially and digitally inclusive, over 98 per cent of UK adults now have a mobile phone. Many organisations are adopting simpleto-use interfaces from companies such as txttools. co.uk. This service allows the user to send and receive SMS text messages from their computer and track the delivery, much like e-mail, but with audited delivery. Having the ability to create discreet groups of students, clients, patients or staff can have major benefits when you want everyone to be notified with a single message.

FLEXIBILITY Over 48 per cent of UK colleges and universities send critical messages with edutxt® an education specific text message application from txttools. edutxt® is completely flexible, so you can send a message to a group or to an individual person. Messages can be sent instantly or scheduled at a later time and date.

The schedule can be set months or even years in advance and sent out when that message is relevant. Messages can even be edited right up until the scheduled time to allow for changes in arrangements. Students can be added to lists requesting information and replies may be automated or custom sent.

Many organisations are now also incorporating txttools into their disaster planning; it is proven to be the fastest, most reliable method for communicating with large groups of people.

Students at Holy Cross Sixth Form College in Bury received their AS and A2 exam module results via text message. Nick Walker, IT manager, Holy Cross College, explains: “About 600 students opted to receive their results via their mobile phones earlier in the day than those who preferred to receive their results on paper. This was very successful and allowed the college to greatly reduce the queues associated with collecting exam results.

Students were very pleased to be given the opportunity to receive their results this way.

“Holy Cross College, a Beacon College and in the top ten nationally for exam results, now uses text messages to student mobile phones regularly every day as an important means of communication. Almost all students carry mobile phones and therefore this is a very effective way of passing important information to them. In January when the college had to close because of the snow, the students and staff were sent texts each day to let them know whether the college was going to open or not, in addition to messages on the website and local radio.

About 600 students opted to receive their results via their mobile phones earlier in the day than those who preferred to receive their results on paper. This was very successful and allowed the college to greatly reduce the queues associated with collecting exam results Around 8,000 texts were sent during the four days that the college was closed.”

Walker continued: “The texting facilities are integrated into the highly-regarded IT systems created by the college’s software development team and make use of the texting services provided by txttools (www.txttools.co.uk).

Staff can type messages in to the systems for a single student or groups of students and opt for those messages to be sent via text, e-mail and/or displayed on wall-mounted terminals which display messages when the students swipe in and out of the college. By making use of the txttools XML connector the college’s programmers have been able to seamlessly integrate the texting service into their existing software so that staff don’t need to log into the txttools site to send texts.”

A LOGICAL STEP Hopwood Hall College, more directly exploits

the commercial opportunities provided by messaging. Prospective students can request to have course details sent directly to their mobile phone via text message.

“Text messages remain to be the favoured method of communicating among our target audience, so it was a logical step to integrate it into our marketing strategy,” said Andy Clegg, new media officer, Hopwood Hall College. “We receive the majority of inquiries about our courses via text message, and now we have the ability to monitor interest in particular courses and better target our recruitment drives by sending prospective students relevant, tailored information.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION Tel: 0113 234 2111 E-mail: sales@txttools.co.uk Web: www.txttools.co.uk

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Software Escrow - Saving you money - Safe and secure

Why should I care how my developer saves its work?

Because that software is your software.

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ICT

YOUR QUICK GUIDE TO SOFTWARE ESCROW Tim Sewart, a Partner at commercial law firm Beachcroft LLP, explains why you should care when it comes to purchasing software, how it can protect your business, and how to decide whether it’s the right route for you IN A TIME OF BUDGET CUTS and significant finger pointing if anything goes wrong, it is baffling to see software purchasers continuing to buy software in such a way that leaves them at the full mercy of their suppliers. Options such as escrow should be a key consideration as part of any basic risk management strategy, and yet the majority of software users don’t care about, or simply don’t understand the full benefits.

WHAT IS SOFTWARE ESCROW? If you use software that is important to your organisation and it crashes, you could find yourself completely reliant on the supplier to fix it – and if the supplier goes out of business or fails to maintain and update the software as promised, your organisation could very quickly be paralysed by software failure.

For the supplier however, the source code in their software is their trade secret. It reveals precisely how the software was built and if it was widely available there would be a danger that all, or part of it, could be copied, and identifying and prosecuting all the copyright infringers would undoubtedly prove to be an unnecessary and costly ordeal.

Escrow presents both users and suppliers alike with a middle ground. The supplier agrees to deposit the source code with an independent third party – an ‘escrow agent’ – and under the agreement, the escrow agent will release the source code to the user in the event that a ‘release event’ occurs. A release event is typically the insolvency of the supplier, or the default of the supplier under its support and maintenance agreement.

If

DO I NEED SOURCE CODE ESCROW? Escrow comes with many benefits, however, it should not be bought blindly. If you own the intellectual property rights in the software, then escrow is not for you. The source code belongs to you, so the supplier should keep delivering copies to you. However, if the software is owned by the supplier and is licensed to you with the provision of maintenance and support, it is something that is worth serious consideration.

The biggest Escrow Cost of all is the cost of taking source code maintenance in-house. It really is no mean feat. Unless you have a big team of developers with not much to do then you need to consider this cost very carefully.

Software that is provided “as a service” (e.g. software that you access through a web browser) can be quite cheap (generalisation), often has many competitors (generalisation), and is geared-up for rapid data migration. So, escrow benefit might be quite low. In addition, such software is going to be a bit more difficult to re-build into a locally run application in the event that you take source code maintenance in-house. So escrow cost might be quite high.

COMMON PITFALLS Use an escrow agent that allows you to tailor the escrow contract to your particular requirements. For example, you might need more than just one or two release events.

Make sure the escrow contract addresses the licence that you will be given to use the source code. Usually, this licence is not adequately dealt with in your software licence and maintenance agreement so the escrow

Escrow Cost Escrow fees + Cost to your organisation of taking maintenance of the source code in-house + Cost to your organisation of the time-lag in taking the source code in-house

is less than

contract gives you another opportunity to get it right. You will want the right to change the source code and to engage an IT consultant to maintain the source code on your behalf.

Don’t sign an escrow contract with cumbersome procedures that apply if you want to trigger release of the source code. If the supplier is not performing, the last thing you want is a couple of months of arguing about whether or not you are allowed to trigger release of the code. The escrow contract needs to give you a rapid remedy.

Make sure you ask the escrow agent to check that the deposited code is indeed the code for the application that you are licensing and can be recompiled into a workable application.

This will cost more, but you could feel foolish if you trigger release and there is nothing on the CD, or it’s the wrong source code.

Finally, do your research. Meet with a number of different ‘agents’ in order to explore all the options, and seek legal advice on your contract. Escrow has the potential to help you make significant cost savings, have greater independence and flexibility with your software, and give you an immediate solution if something goes wrong – but it will be an entirely pointless purchase if it is made as part of a rushed risk management ‘tick box’ exercise.

FOR MORE INFORMATION There is plenty more to software escrow.

If you wish to discuss, call Tim Sewart on 020 7894 6040 or e-mail tsewart@beachcroft.com

Escrow Benefit Cost of migrating to a completely new system if you never had software escrow + Cost to your organisation of the time-lag in migrating to a new system + Value of threat of source code release to encourage the supplier to comply with its maintenance obligations

then, yes, you would be well advised to take out source code escrow

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Education Business | Volume 15.3

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AUDIO VISUAL TECHNOLOGY

TRANSFORMING YOUR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT NEC Display Solutions and SMART combine products for education

NEC DISPLAY SOLUTIONS EUROPE and SMART Technologies are working together to offer education customers better teaching and learning solutions. With the integration of a category-leading interactive whiteboard and high-quality NEC projector, NEC Display Solutions Europe and SMART are offering the simple integration of a combined product that provides optimal performance with minimal setup.

POWERFUL SOLUTION Collaborative visual learning combines the latest NEC NP610S short-throw projector and one of three projector-mounting options with either the SMART Board™ 680 interactive whiteboard or SMART Board V280 interactive whiteboard and SMART Notebook™ collaborative learning software. Together these products offer a powerful and affordable interactive display solution for the education market, in which both companies have extensive experience and brand recognition.

“This is a strategic collaboration where NEC Display Solutions Europe and SMART, two strong brands, join forces in creating product solutions that will meet the needs of education customers,“ says Bernd Eberhardt, managing director of NEC Display Solutions Europe GmbH. “It underlines both companies’ commitment to drive the integration of innovative products into education environments.”

“SMART is the global leader in the interactive whiteboard product category, and NEC is a leading manufacturer and service provider of telecommunications, computer and electronic devices,” says Nancy Knowlton, SMART’s CEO. “By combining our products, we have created a cost-effective interactive display solution that is ideal for educators.”

Short throw projection techniques are ideal for classroom environments. The short throw lens eliminates shadows on the screen and allows the

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teacher to lead from the front of class without being dazzled by the projected light. With a number of mounting options available from wall mounting to mobile and height adjustable mountings this product combination can be configured to meet the demands of any learning environment. When selecting a mount it is important to consider how and by whom the equipment will be used. Height adjustability is sympathetic to the height of a child or disabled person, whereas a mobile unit can be used between several classrooms thus keeping costs to a minimum.

The classroom setting is benefited by use of projectors and interactive tools helping to support teachers and help pupils to assimilate knowledge and enhance their learning experience. By working together, NEC Display Solutions and SMART Technologies have combined their significant experience in delivering high quality learning tools to benefit both the school and the pupils themselves.

COLLABORATIVE VISUAL LEARNING FEATURES NEC NP610S short throw projector – this projector offers low total cost of ownership thanks to its filter, remote control, long lamp life, low power consumption and monitoring via network and RS-232. The projector is environmentally friendly and includes a carbon savings meter, intelligent power management and minimised packaging made of recycled materials. The projector’s exceptional performance and excellent image quality are provided by 2600 ANSI lumens brightness. It also features full connectivity, including DVI and RJ45.

NEC’s unique virtual remote software allows the user to operate the projector directly from the SMART Board interactive whiteboard without a remote control and is available at no cost to collaborative visual learning users. Additional

features include auto input detection, automatic keystone correction, color management, direct power-off functionality, and magnify and high altitude modes. Increased security is provided by a Kensington® lock, keypad lock, security bar, an OnScreenDisplay (OSD) menu with 21 languages and a password security system.

Three mounting options – NEC’s mounting options range from a rugged wall-mount to sophisticated mobile and height-adjustable options. They include the NP02WM wallmount, the NP01HM height adjustable mobile mount solution and the NP01HW height adjustable wall-mount solution.

SMART Board 680 interactive whiteboard – the category-leading interactive whiteboard offers 77” (195.6 cm) of active screen area. Simply by touching the large display, users can access and control computer and multimedia applications, including CDs, DVDs and Internet applications.

Users can also write notes in digital ink and save their work to share later. The Pen Tray automatically detects when a user picks up a pen or eraser, while buttons activate the On-Screen Keyboard, right-click and help functions.

SMART Board V280 interactive whiteboard – the SMART Board V280 interactive whiteboard offers 77” (195.6 cm) of active screen area. Users simply touch the large display with a battery-powered pen to write notes in digital ink or access and control computer and multimedia applications, including CDs and DVDs, Internet applications, and applications for Windows® operating systems. The entire system is powered with a single USB cable connected to a computer. The SMART Board V280 interactive whiteboard uses SMART’s patented DViT™ (Digital Vision Touch) technology in a front-projection, pen-only system.

SMART Notebook collaborative learning software – Both the SMART Board V280 interactive whiteboard and SMART Board 680 interactive whiteboard come with SMART Notebook software, one of the world’s most popular collaborative learning applications with over 2.5 million users worldwide. It is designed to help teachers create and deliver engaging and interactive lessons across all grades and subject areas.

Collaborative visual learning solutions are available to education customers across EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). Customers are able to purchase the collaborative visual learning solution from select NEC Display Solutions Europe and SMART resellers. Pricing will depend on the interactive whiteboard and mounting option selected.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information, specifications and a list of authorised SMART distributors, visit smarttech.com. For more information and specifications, visit www.nec-displays.co.uk

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AUDIO VISUAL TECHNOLOGY

THE NEXT LEVEL OF TECHNOLOGY BESA’s Ray Barker investigates how schools are embracing audio visual technologies NEW TECHNOLOGY is just the start of some of the changes facing our schools.

The UK education system has seen huge developments, with the roll out over the last few years of capital renewal programmes like Building Schools for the Future (BSF) and the Primary Capital Programme (PCP), and frequent curriculum changes. With £45 billion and £7 billion earmarked respectively for the renewal or rebuild of secondary and primary schools, technology is a vital part of bringing the UK’s schools up to speed with other sectors. With the first wave of BSF projects beginning in 2004, ICT funding continues to receive a high level of capital funding – around £1,675 per pupil place. Partnerships for Schools, the government body overseeing school capital programmes, is ensuring that BSF will see buildings designed to maximise the use of ICT, and incentives put in place to develop the use of ICT in teaching and learning. In most instances, a managed service is put in place to provide good value in terms of procurement, management, maintenance and refreshing ICT within the facility.

One of the key aims for the use of new technologies in BSF and PCP schools is to facilitate personalised learning, provide access to a range of learning materials and implement infrastructure that is easy to use. Technology changes enough as it is, and one of the most common complaints, and not just by teachers, is the constant need to keep up with new developments. Partnerships for Schools envisage ICT as “becoming the fifth utility: something we take for granted in the same way as water, gas and electricity and telephony.”

Given the role technology now plays in education through renewal programmes like these, and in the new curriculums at all levels of education, suppliers have been producing an array of ICT solutions for schools to explore all facets of teaching and learning. ICT has also been written into each new curriculum rolled out into schools, from the Early Years Foundation Stage, new primary and secondary curriculums through to the 14-19 Reform and new Diplomas.

Now, with ring fenced funding coming to an end, schools are free to allocate budgetary spending to areas they feel need the most attention. However, money has been made available for ICT expenditure through the Harnessing Technology grant for new resources such as parental engagement tools, broadband, content or new hardware.

Resources for all areas of education, from classroom use to school management support are frequently being reviewed, revised and perfected to meet the needs of modern schools. Here is a look at some of the new technologies to hit the market.

Pupils trying out new technology at BETT 2010

ICT funding continues to receive a high level of capital funding – around £1,675 per pupil place. Partnerships for Schools, the government body overseeing school capital programmes, is ensuring that BSF will see buildings designed to maximise the use of ICT, and incentives put in place to develop the use of ICT in teaching and learning AUDIO VISUAL MAKES ITS MARK Whether or not it is a case of the business world influencing the education sector, there has been further development recently in the use of audio visual equipment in schools.

In the world of science, Project Faraday is a special DCSF project to create exemplar laboratories in 12 schools to inspire those involved in school renewal projects around the country, such as BSF and new academies.

ScienceScope, involved in Project Faraday for the Kings School in Peterborough, has worked closely with the school and other organisations to produce a concept laboratory and support rooms along with a custom ICT/resource suite, using the latest technological resources available to aid the teaching of science subjects.

Some of the new technology introduced into these facilities included solar and wind turbines, seismometer, weather station energy monitoring system and display technology.

Using available display materials, including a two projector system and digital notice board and large display area, students’ work could be integrated into the teaching and learning.

Teachers can control images, videos and posters displayed in the classroom to support lessons.

Many schools are starting to use AV equipment as a communication tool – St Matthew Academy is one. Assistant head

teacher David Cregan says: “We use plasma screens in the board room, dining room, foyer and staff room. The ones in the foyer and dining room are used as notice boards where we display achievements of the school, theme of the week news and celebration of rewards. We also use it for directions for visitors if something is happening in the evening, for example, ‘Please go through to the boardroom for refreshments’.”

A number of BSF schools have begun to use video conferencing equipment, as have colleges and secondary schools delivering Diplomas. It has also been particularly helpful for accessibility for learners in distance education, those that have been excluded, or those not able to come to classes.

Some schools have also explored the use of video conferencing to connect with other schools both within their LA or perhaps even abroad. This has been used successfully in schools through PSHE subjects to learn about the world around them, and to introduce elements of globalisation into the curriculum by speaking to students from schools in different countries.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Web: www.besa.org.uk

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Visit the website to view the categorised product finder

Enhance your staff communications TAYING IN TOUCH with staff around any school site or campus can be difficult and time-consuming.

However, like many other organisations, even the smallest schools can now take advantage of affordable twoway radio systems – transforming their communications and making the most efficient use of staff.

Recent improvements in equipment design, coupled with very cost-effective pricing now mean that every school can benefit from this technology with faster, more secure and effective communication across their entire site. Larger establishments can also benefit from the smaller, more convenient designs or new digital technologies – with enhanced multi-site coverage.

Many schools rely on mobile phones for communication, however, the ongoing cost, lack of group communication and poor indoor coverage can make them more expensive, less reliable and poorly suited to instant, brief message conveyance – particularly

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Nationwide Radio Supplies is an expert in this field and has successfully delivered solutions to many educational establishments throughout the UK. For a free, no-obligation discussion, please call or e-mail today.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Nationwide Radio Supplies Tel: 03300 88 17 80 Fax: 03300 88 17 90 E-mail: info@nrsupplies.co.uk Web: www.nationwideradio-supplies.co.uk

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EDUCATION SHOW

EDUCATION AND INNOVATION With the world of education constantly evolving, this year’s Education Show provided a central point where professionals could discover the latest in educational resources and methods

A WINTRY MARCH saw the 20th annual Education Show, the UK’s largest educational exhibition, return to Birmingham to inspire today’s educators. Visitors flocked to the NEC to experience the latest in educational resources, best practice methods and continuous professional development (CPD). With the gloom of recession fading in the corporate sector, many educationalists remain cautious, with talk of tightening belts and the preelection political uncertainty. What was clear, however, was that educators are still committed to obtaining the very best resources for the needs of their learners – from literacy resources, playful learning products and outdoor space solutions to furniture and ICT solutions.

SUSTAINABILITY & EMPLOYMENT Greener living is on the minds of many people and schools are increasingly coming under the spotlight. DLB Ltd, creator of the revolutionary ‘Don’t Lean Back’ chairs, introduced its ecofriendly range of seating solutions at the show, while also highlighting its revolutionary Chair 2 Chair scheme. The initiative allows schools to have their old, unwanted or broken chairs collected by the company, negating the need for a costly skip. The new chairs are made from 99 per cent recycled material, so that each purchase can decrease the size of schools’ carbon footprints. The company also offers visits to see the recycling process in action.

Another key focus at the moment is the employability of younger generations. Particular attention is being paid to 21st century skills, with the aim of ensuring that young people have the knowledge and abilities to compete in the global marketplace. From the STEM agenda to the drive for languages, there are many vital initiatives that hope to achieve this and the 2010 Education Show saw several exhibitors already responding to the call for creating sustainable and employable talent that can help put Britain at the forefront of innovation.

One such exhibitor was the world-renowned Eden Project, which showcased its collection of

educational training packages for teachers and learning days for pupils alongside the online careers resource, developed in partnership with the government. The Project’s site, Real Cool Futures, has been developed to advise young people and provide inspiration to pursue careers that will make a positive contribution to the planet. Highlighting the many different areas of industry that can contribute towards sustainability, the site dispels the myth that to lead the fight against climate change, you need to be a scientist.

HEALTH & WELLBEING With health also taking centre stage in 2010, the show welcomed Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to the show. The society, supported by Waitrose, showcased its campaign for school gardening, which aims to help children learn about growing food, healthy eating and how to care for the environment. Tying in nicely to sustainability and the environment, the Nether Wallop Trading Company exhibited its range of innovative eco friendly gardening products.

The company designs and supplies a range of innovative tools to inspire gardeners of all ages and abilities, including the award-winning ‘Paper Potter’, for creating an unlimited supply of seedling pots from old newspapers.

CITIZENSHIP For teachers who sought resources to assist in delivering the EU strand of the citizenship curriculum at KS3 and 4, the European Parliament exhibited the new educational resource, Crisis Point; a role play game based on the outbreak a fictitious disease. The resource, which is ideal for PSHE and citizenship lessons, requires students to take on roles as citizens, MEPs and Commissioners and act quickly to come up with a law to help save Europe from the threat of a pandemic.

Further educational resources that assist with increasing the global view of pupils were available from the European Commission.

The commission’s free resource Passport to

the European Union contains information on the 27 member countries of the European Union, such as their size and population and famous citizens, along with the answers to dozens of questions designed to inspire interest in young learners. In addition, teachers found The British Red Cross offered some fantastic aides for fostering an understanding of migration in a global sense, promoting positive attitudes towards refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants.

SEMINAR HIGHLIGHTS Professional development is a large feature of the Education Show. Seminar highlights included renowned author Sue Palmer, whose wide-ranging research on ‘toxic childhood’ helped spark a national debate about the effects of modern life on child development.

Sue spent the last two years investigating the impact of 21st century lifestyles on boys. In her presentation in the Early Years Theatre, she discussed what’s going wrong, and how schools, parents and the wider community can help boys back on track.

School leaders found a seminar from the National College particularly useful; Stuart Sutherland’s session focused upon the ways in which leaders across the education sector can and do network and collaborate with each other online to solve problems, share practice and enhance their professional development.

Visitors were able to listen to some successful examples of both informal and formallyorganised online networking and collaboration to support leadership development.

The 2010 Education Show was a great example of how collaboration in the sector can help to promote good ideas, and how educationalists can come together to share best practice. With the world of education constantly evolving, the show provides a central point where professionals can discover the latest in educational resources and methods, allowing us to constantly enrich the classroom experience for our pupils.

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CLASSROOM OF THE FUTURE Earlier this year Panasonic unveiled its concept for the ‘Classroom of the Future’ and the products and services that comprise Panasonic’s complete education solution package THE CLASSROOM OF THE FUTURE is a complete technology solution designed to improve both audible and visual communication, in a secure classroom environment.

VISUAL SOLUTIONS Among the products in the classroom was UB-T880 elite Panaboard – Panasonic’s ‘multitouch’ interactive whiteboard. Up to three points can be touched at once on the board’s surface to interact with images, data and text.

As a complete provider Panasonic offers a true complete solution by delivering the elite Panaboard with Easiteach software – the whole-class teaching and learning application. With the integration of third party expertise Panasonic simplifies the customer’s experience and increases efficiency.

Panasonic also launched a brand new projector solution engineered specifically for the education market. The 2,500 lumen product which has a short-throw ratio of 0.5:1 overcomes space constraints in the classroom and is ideal for use with whiteboards, reducing shadow interference.

With the new PT-ST10E, Panasonic offers a full range of education solutions, from small portable units and projectors for Interactive boards, up to high brightness products for lecture halls and auditoriums. With well established products covering all categories, efficiency for the end user is increased when sourcing, maintaining and using our solutions. The new PT-ST10E is due to the market in the second half of 2010.

COMMUNICATION SOLUTIONS Panasonic also demonstrated new gesturerecognition technology, which has been specially developed for the education sector.

Gesture recognition can be used in conjunction with Panaboards, cameras, microphones and speakers to enable teachers to operate

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slide shows and videos using gestures alone.

It can also count the number of students who raise their hands to answer a question and display additional clues, animation or celebratory messages as appropriate.

“The education sector is by its very nature interactive, and these new digital technologies will improve the experience of teachers and students alike,” said Brennan Peyton, general manager, Imaging Department, Panasonic System Network Company Europe (PSNE). “Being able to count the number of raised hands in a class and offer the appropriate encouragement to students will enhance learning throughout the class and deliver more fun, engaging and rewarding lessons. Gesture recognition technology really has to be seen to be believed.”

Peyton predicted that remote learning at all levels will increase over the coming years, and Panasonic will also be demonstrating its new HD Visual Communication System, designed to improve distance learning far beyond what is possible with current technology.

“The new HD Visual Communication system combines a plasma display which receives high-definition images, an HD visual communication unit and remote control, a video camera and a boundary microphone,” continued Peyton. “Students can compare high-res images remotely, and sound quality is consistently good.”

AUDIO SOLUTIONS Alongside the Panaboard, gesture recognition, and the HD Visual Communication System, Panasonic’s classroom of the future will demonstrate a wide range of other technologies.

These include audio solutions designed to improve students’ concentration and reduce teacher voice fatigue – increasing academic performance and reducing behavioural problems.

SECURITY SOLUTIONS As well as providing advanced audio and visual solutions to the classroom, the Infrared Wireless Microphone System has a built in panic button to help teachers feel more secure at work. When the button is pressed, the system can send emails to alert others of a potential problem, or can activate a panic light. If the microphone is linked with a video camera, it can also start filming the class and recording sound and pictures.

The classroom of the future also hosts Toughbook PCs, IP camera systems, professional projectors, plasma displays, telephone systems, Digitally Enhanced Cordless Telephones and multifunctional printers as well as highquality document scanners. The classroom will emphasise how Panasonic’s solutions help teachers to deliver education more efficiently and reduce total cost of ownership.

ABOUT PANASONIC Panasonic Corporation is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronic products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated net sales of 7.77 trillion yen (US$78.4 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2009. The company’s shares are listed on the Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and New York (NYSE: PC) stock exchanges.

FOR MORE INFORMATION For more information on the company and the Panasonic brand, visit the company’s website at www.panasonic.co.uk

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CAREERS GUIDANCE

THE NEED TO LEAD The government’s IAG strategy requires all school staff to be involved in careers education in some way, so it is no longer just the responsibility of careers advisors THE GOVERNMENT LAUNCHED its

Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) Strategy, ‘Quality, Choice and Aspiration’ in October 2009, as part of a drive to ensure that every young person is able to achieve their potential.

The strategy brings with it statutory obligations and wide-ranging practical implications for all schools, colleges and local authorities. So it is essential that all senior leaders understand how they are affected and the action they need to take.

A key part of the strategy focuses on taking a whole school approach to IAG – so it is no longer just the responsibility of careers advisers and careers teachers/careers coordinator to give advice and guidance to pupils. All school staff will be involved in careers education and IAG in some way – for example, describing progression routes associated with subjects; tackling any stereotyped attitudes towards learning and work, giving impartial advice, acting as one of the new personal tutors, or organising work-related learning opportunities as part of their lessons.

Schools and colleges are also responsible for involving parents to ensure they have all the information and support they need to help their children make the right choices.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY

It is the legal responsibility of the head teacher or college principal, the senior leadership team and the Governing Body to ensure that all students have access to, and receive, impartial careers education and IAG. Meeting those obligations is a big challenge, but it also opens up some great opportunities because IAG leads to greater student motivation and attainment.

Put simply, high-quality careers education and IAG enhance young people’s life chances.

So it is vital that school and college leaders implement best practice at every level of careers education and IAG provision.

YOUR PRIORITIES

Establishing a clear vocabulary and vision for careers education and IAG within and beyond the school – in the context of legislation, guidance and partnerships – is a great first step towards engaging senior leadership team members and governors with IAG delivery.

To be effective, careers education and IAG have to be managed in a joined up way – it is part of pastoral care, curriculum development and social inclusion and cannot be viewed in isolation.

Careers education should be integrated into all relevant aspects of the school curriculum and pastoral arrangements and not just be provided through one-off events. And

teachers need to appreciate that careers education and IAG is about more than the basics of recommendations – it is also about identifying and tackling young people’s individual barriers to learning. So all staff members should benefit from appropriate professional development to equip them to play their full part in IAG delivery.

A new resources pack for schools, designed to help them implement the Statutory Guidance on impartial careers education, was published in January. It includes briefing materials for staff and governors, careers education lesson software, interactive teaching materials and lesson plans designed to inspire and motivate young people as they make decisions about their career pathways.

The TDA have developed resources for teachers of English, History and Modern Foreign Languages which incorporate career learning in the subject lesson.

From the end of April resources are also available for teachers of Citizenship, Geography, and Art and Design.

The TDA have also developed online CPD materials for teachers which provide them with information on all the 14-19 pathways and career-related IAG. The National College for Schools Leadership and Children’s Services has two booklets that illustrate leadership approaches to implementation of the new principles for impartial careers education.

YOUR PARTNERS

Effective partnership working depends on a multi-agency approach, with common protocols and a coordinated way of working.

The local authority’s IAG experts, such as Connexions and other providers, should play an important part in these partnerships.

Inviting them in and treating them as part of the school team can add an extra dimension to your school’s IAG provision.

The IAG strategy aims to ensure that young people have many opportunities to get a feel for different courses and careers, through taster sessions and other high quality experiences of both higher education and workplaces. It is well worth considering how your school or college can make more of its existing relationships with local universities and employers – and develop new ones.

Of course, schools and colleges depend on the support of their local authorities to deliver the full range of IAG services to their students. So if you are not happy with any element of the IAG support you are getting from your local authority, let them know. They will appreciate your feedback as they work to improve their IAG services commissioning and management,

which is part of their overall responsibility for local services for young people.

Above all school and college leaders have a chance to help young people think big and fulfil their potential – and careers education and IAG sit at the heart of this opportunity.

BEAL HIGH SCHOOL

Beal High School, in Redbridge found that using new technologies to support student choice was an effective way of providing more personalised IAG. To achieve the best support for everyone in a diverse sixth form, the school realised it needed to revisit the process and restructure its existing strategy.

Incorporating suggestions from the Connexions personal adviser and the sixth form progression coordinator the school devised a formal programme through which each student could progress. This comprises three main areas – the direction the students are taking, their targets, and the AQA-BACC Participation Award, which accredits enrichment activities.

One of Beal High School’s biggest breakthroughs has been setting up a Personal Learning Portfolio (PLP) system designed to increase applications for higher education while ensuring they are timely and accurate – applying to the right place for the right course in good time.

The PLP programme enables Connexions advisers in the area to give one-to-one guidance to those young people who need it most. Group sessions with students and parents on topics such as how to research post-17/18 opportunities most effectively also support the programme.

A comprehensive, consistent virtual learning environment lies behind the PLP system. It makes monitoring progress much easier because staff can easily see which tutor groups have completed their higher education applications. It also aids equal opportunity and labour market information gathering by tracking who is applying to which types of courses.

As the PLP is linked with target grade setting and HE applications and their outcomes, it is not merely a ‘bolt on’ support. All sixth formers use it, whether they intend go to university or not. The AQA-BACC and the school’s aim to increase entry to the most selective universities also mean that there are now high expectations in the sixth form, which are helping to increase aspiration across the board.

The school presented on the PLP at the local Careers Network Forum so that other schools and colleges could hear about it in detail. It was also cited as an example of good practice at the Connexions CEIAG Resource Event.

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Written by Lee Glendon, head of campaigns, Business Continuity Institute

LEARNING CONTINUITY

PREPARING FOR THE WORST Continuity of service delivery in the face of disruption has been a hot topic in some parts of the public sector since the Civil Contingencies Act 2004. But many feel that the education sector has been left behind MOST INSTITUTIONS have well exercised procedures for handling emergencies.

Schools, specifically, may still have their old copy of “Wise before the Event”, which focused on emergency planning and crisis management and was distributed to all schools in the country over a decade ago.

However, emergency and civil contingency planning are not the same as continuity planning, which is focused on how an organisation not only responds to an incident but can continue to deliver its key services and return to normal operations in a planned manner as quickly as possible.

BUSINESS CONTINUITY MANAGEMENT It is in this area where the education sector could learn from a relatively new management discipline called Business Continuity Management (BCM). The practice is being widely adopted among commercial

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organisations and is a statutory requirement for ‘blue light services’ and local authorities. BCM, however, is applied selectively, which is why schools, for example, may not have received much support from their LEA in developing a corresponding business continuity plan.

Part of the reason for this selectivity is that school resources and facilities are often part of another agency’s business continuity plan.

Within local authority plans schools are not defined as a critical service, and are often one of the first services to be stopped in the event of a major disruptive incident. This, in turn, allows school resources to be re-deployed to help deliver services defined as more critical.

Another example is pandemic flu; government planning tends to see school closures as part of the arrangement to slow down the spread of any virus. In this context, it is no surprise that pandemic planning in schools is not as advanced as in other public sector organisations.

WHY DO IT? Putting aside these external factors, there are clearly good reasons for schools, colleges, universities and examination boards to have plans to continue delivering their key services when faced with disruption. The academic and administrative calendars throw up a number of key dates and times when availability of service is a 24/7 requirement and any sustained service impairment could cause financial and reputational damage to the institution afflicted. Examination boards are well aware of the time critical processes involved in issuing and marking papers and the media spotlight generated from any substantive disruption.

There is also no shortage of potentially disruptive events. While fires, floods and physical damage tend to attract the headlines, there are also non-physical events which can have much greater impact: with wide spread use of computers and other electronic devices

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There is also no shortage of potentially disruptive events. While fires, floods and physical damage tend to attract the headlines, there are also non-physical events which can have much greater impact: with wide spread use of computers and other electronic devices among pupils and students, the impact of a virus or other malware can have devastating consequences among pupils and students, the impact of a virus or other malware can have devastating consequences, especially with so many vital information assets now held exclusively in digital format. And the characteristics of the sector often introduce limitations on flexibility of response that other sectors do not face such as the presence of children, and the consequent enhanced duty of care obligations; the inability to use alternative locations or home working; and for campus universities the challenge of dealing with the non-availability of halls of residence.

HOW TO DO IT? Having a methodology that can help work through these challenges is invaluable. The basic approach is that an organisation should identify its key services: these may include the delivery of a curriculum, a research programme, the marking of examination papers, or payment of staff. There is a natural time threshold where the absence of an activity or resource degrades the delivery of a service to a point it is no longer viable or effective. Understanding this threshold allows you to prioritise and focus resources on the right activities when a disruption occurs in order to mitigate its impact.

With this understanding it is then important to identify the dependencies or vulnerabilities in delivering these services.

To help understand this, the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) has documented seven areas of potential vulnerability to consider for services identified as key: • People: how sensitive are the services to varying levels of absence among faculty and administrative staff?

• Sites & Facilities: how sensitive are the services to restricted site access over varying periods of time?

• Information & Communication Technology: what would happen if the IT systems were not available or information was lost or communication systems failed?

• Supply Chain: if you have a critical supplier ask them about their business continuity plans and where you fit in their priorities should they have an incident which requires them to prioritise who they support first.

• Finance: if sources and levels of funding

change, what would be the impact on service continuity, which services would be prioritised?

• “Customers”: if (over) reliant on certain groups, e.g. overseas students, then what would be the impact of a change in their buying patterns.

• Reputation: events can be physical or non physical, so it’s important to be prepared to deal with incidents and have trained personnel delivering prepared messages. Getting this right will have an impact on future enrolment, sustain the confidence of alumni and sponsors and determine overall viability of the institution.

PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE With this stage complete, it is important to develop the plans to support this analysis and to exercise these plans against realistic scenarios. The process of exercising, maintaining and reviewing plans is essential, as is ensuring that everyone in the institution is aware of the plans and their role. This is particularly important in education with its natural high turnover of pupils and students. One innovative way of promoting BCM within schools and colleges has been pioneered in Norfolk, with the principles and practices of BCM being taught to students and the learning then being applied to real organisations.

So where to start? A good place is the BCI’s website, which provides the BCI’s Good Practice Guidelines to download for free. These BCM guidelines have been developed over many years with practitioner input from public, private and third sectors. Along with the free resources, the website also serves as a starting point to consider any professional help from the BCI’s members and partners. Additionally, local authorities have BCM programmes and a discussion with their business continuity management officers on how to build a business continuity capability would be highly recommended, if this has not already started.

CONCLUSIONS Business Continuity Management is a proven discipline that has helped many organisations develop greater resilience against disruption and there is no reason that institutions in the education sector should not apply the methodology to their services.

A BCM programme can provide evidence of good governance and provide re-assurance to stakeholders. BCM is not a ‘big bang’ resource-intensive solution, it can be applied and tested discretely to demonstrate its benefits, and with common processes, assets and activities across academic institutions there is good opportunity to share any specialist resources across geographical clusters.

Finally, the Business Continuity Institute’s members and partners are its primary resources but there are also free materials to download from our website www.thebci.org to gain an understanding of BCM and its applications before taking the next step of applying it to your organisation.

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CONFERENCES & EVENTS

ENJOY EAST MIDLANDS In the East Midlands you’ll discover a very special part of the country FROM MAGNIFICENT CASTLES and stately homes that provide a unique glimpse into the past; inspiring countryside with sweeping green hills and dramatic rocky outcrops; cosmopolitan cities combining shopping with night life; historic market towns; majestic gardens and locations that have inspired movie makers – East Midlands offers it all.

A FRESH LOOK AT DERBYSHIRE Conferencing in Derbyshire is changing – and it’s well worth taking a fresh look at what the county can offer. Nestling between the M1 and M6, at the crossroads of the major rail networks and within easy reach of Manchester and East Midlands Airports, it’s centrally located and couldn’t be more convenient – just two hours away from 80 per cent of the UK’s population.

Derbyshire is home to many international organisations such as Bison, JCB and Toyota, as well as being a centre of manufacturing expertise, housing such businesses as Bombardier and Rolls-Royce. Boasting one of the world’s most visited National Parks, the Peak District, as well as the dynamic city of Derby and several bustling market towns, the county’s profile as a popular setting for films such as ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and ‘The Duchess’ makes it a sought-after location to live, work and stay.

With Derby only 93 minutes from London by train, a host of new hotels have changed the landscape of the city. New arrivals include the boutique-style Cathedral Quarter and Hallmark Derby, new developments such as Ramada Encore and Jurys Inn in 2009, and Hampton by Hilton, due to open its doors in 2010. The city is a very exciting and vibrant place to be, with regeneration projects such as the Derby College Roundhouse and the prestigious Westfield shopping development.

More established venues are also being refurbished such as the ever-popular Derby Conference Centre and Pride Park Stadium.

Derbyshire’s towns combine character and convenience, with unique venues such as The Devonshire Dome, The Barceló Buxton Palace and The Old Hall in Buxton. Bakewell, home of the famous pudding, is home to The Rutland Arms, while Chesterfield has a brand new four-star hotel, Casa, opening this year, as well as a brand new stadium, b2net, for Chesterfield Football Club.

A DESTINATION FULL OF CONTRADICTIONS Leicester and Leicestershire is home to some of the most inspirational conferencing and event venues in the country – from state-ofthe-art and purpose built conference centres, through to traditional conference venues

Old Market Square, Nottingham

Breath-taking architecture, contemporary culture, historical houses and boutique style make Leicester and Leicestershire an inspirational destination for your conference or event and stately homes combining yesterday’s architecture with today’s hi-tech facilities.

Leicester offers a mix of world cultures with contemporary city style. The changing face of the conference venues mirrors the transformation of the city centre, from purpose built conference centres to converted art-deco cinemas all located in the heart of the city.

Leicester’s style revolution is apparent when you visit Curve theatre, designed by worldrenowned architect Rafael Vinoly. Not only does the dramatic design offer a perfect venue to experience world-class theatre performances, but will also provide an inspirational backdrop to your conference or event.

As a landmark building situated within the cultural quarter of Leicester city centre, Athena combines original art deco features with state of the art technology, to provide an ideal venue for banquets, conferences, exhibitions and AGMs. How about doing business in space? The National Space Centre is a top visitor attraction in Leicester but also makes for a unique venue for events and conferences.

This is a flexible venue for conferences and seminars catering for 10-500 guests.

Leicester Conferences is the dedicated conference and accommodation team

within the University of Leicester. At the University of Leicester you will have conference facilities for 10-2,000 delegates, with venues set in central locations and within grounds of botanical gardens.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR Just a few minutes away from the city lies a very different world. Beautiful rolling countryside, winding waterways, ancient woodland, historic market towns and picturesque villages provide the ultimate rural retreat. Leicestershire’s landscape makes for stunning conference venue locations. Take your conference back to nature and bring the event outside. From the National Forest to ancient castles, these all make for ideal settings to hold your conference, event and team building activities.

Belvoir Castle and surrounding parklands are available for a range of events from an intimate dinner in the State Dining Room to a conference or marquee event in the park. In recent times the castle and park have played host to a broad range of diverse events and activities; from product launches and auctions to filming and prom concerts.

For centuries Rockingham Castle has entertained royalty and private guests within its ancient

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Whittlebury Hall

walls. Walker’s House, within the original curtain wall of the castle, has recently been refurbished to provide full conference facilities with meeting and conference rooms and full catering facilities.

Set amidst the 410 acres of Loughborough University grounds, the multi award-winning imago offers an array of facilities for meetings, seminars, conferences, exhibitions and events spread across three state-of-the-art venues.

VENUE LINCOLNSHIRE Many may not know but Lincoln Castle situated in the heart of Lincoln City’s historic Cathedral quarter can be booked for full or half day conferences. Built in 1068 it offers an inspirational backdrop to meeting and conference exhibitions. Refreshments, buffet lunches are available onsite. In addition guided tours and wall walks can also be booked – adding a little something extra to the usual conference experience.

The most recent edition to the county’s conference centre is one of the greenest buildings in the UK; the Lincolnshire Events Centre on the Lincolnshire Showground, known more widely as the EPIC Centre.

This award winning eco-building offers the opportunity to experience the best in corporate and social functions against a backdrop of total environmental sensitivity. It is the UK’s first purpose build green conference centre and was recently voted the top eco building in the UK. The venue is highly flexible and can accommodate events for 10 to 1,500 people. It is fully serviced, with catering, décor, audio visual and entertainment solutions in place. Located just 10 minutes out of the city centre, or 40 miles from the M180 it is among the top choice of venues in the county.

DIVERSITY IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE Whatever type of event you are organising you can experience the diversity only Northamptonshire can offer. Home to three of the country’s most famous racing circuits, the home of British Motorsport can help you deliver an exciting high-octane event or why

not allow your delegates to experience our fascinating history, heritage and exceptional beauty of our countryside in one of our many historic country house – including a castle built on the instruction of William the Conqueror.

What better combination could you find than the thrill of a world class racing circuit and a fabulous 4-star conference hotel with leisure facilities? Silverstone Racing Circuit, with its action packed race calendar and, of course, the British Formula One Grand Prix, sits right next door to Whittlebury Hall, which offers a purpose-built, professional learning environment, a personalised and flexible service and the widest range of business and leisure facilities – all centrally located in the heart of the country within minutes of the M1 and M40.

If you are looking for a corporate day that will keep your employees and customers talking, Rockingham Circuit is the perfect choice. Try one of their superb driving day packages, or combine some serious driving fun with a conference or seminar, helping to break down barriers between staff members whilst enhancing those all important business relationships. Alternatively, a bespoke conference can be booked in conjunction with tailor-made corporate driving activities especially to suit individual specifications.

If you want to slow the pace, delight your delegates with the elegance and tranquility of one of Northamptonshire’s country house venues such as Highgate House, a striking country mansion in the picturesque village of Creaton, near Northampton. It has evolved over the years into a superb venue for all kinds of events. A multiple awardwinning conference centre, it is one of the finest meeting venues in the Midlands.

Last but not least, set in 12 acres of forest and formal gardens, on a hill overlooking five counties, sits Rockingham Castle. Built on the order of William the Conqueror, this was a royal residence for 450 years. For centuries Rockingham Castle has entertained royalty and private guests within its ancient walls and the

Rushton Hall

history and tradition still continue. This is a truly magnificent setting for an unforgettable event.

POPULAR NOTTINGHAM Fast becoming one of the UK’s premier destinations for conferences, meetings and events, Nottingham is now one of the top six UK cities for conferences. The city has become a popular choice for thousands of domestic visitors, trade associations, professional bodies, societies and organisations from across the UK, helping to generate an economic benefit of £1.86 million. The Nottinghamshire Convention Bureau, Experience Nottinghamshire’s business tourism arm, is confident that the city can become even more popular in coming months as its reputation for rich heritage, cosmopolitan shopping, nightlife and thriving centres of business continue to grow.

With an extensive range of venues, from a 10,000-seat arena to unique heritage sites, Nottingham is well positioned as an ideal host for everything from small business meetings to full scale AGMs. The past few years have seen Nottingham host a number of high profile events, including party political forums and a visit from the Dalai Lama.

Nottingham is home to a number of purpose-built conferencing venues, including The East Midlands Conference Centre. Situated on The University of Nottingham’s University Park Campus, it is considered to be one of the region’s most popular venues, catering for anything between 20 to 588 delegates.

In the heart of the city, the Nottingham Arena is the city’s largest venue, with a capacity of 10,000. The Arena can cater for a variety of events, offering flexible conferencing space with a wide choice of conferencing rooms.

For events with a difference, Nottingham Castle allows event organisers to entertain their delegates in the Victorian gallery lined with artwork from the museum collection. Alternatively, the spacious Long Gallery is a popular room for formal receptions and dinners and will provide a memorable experience.

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