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VOLUME 18.2

CATERING

OUTDOOR LEARNING

PAYROLL

EMY ACADERSION CONVpendent

tion Inde ssocia A s e i m to Acade five ways s e shar ersion v n o c make ccess a su

ICT

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Energy efficient learning environment enhances pupil awareness

An in-depth look at January’s world leading education technology event

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VOLUME 18.2

CATERING

OUTDOOR LEARNING

PAYROLL

EMY ACAD RSION

CONVE endent Indep sociation ies As to Academ five ways shares nversion co make ccess a su

ICT

BETT 2013 13 REVIEW

An in-depth look at January’s world leading education technology event

ENERGY

EFFICIENT LEARNING

Energy efficient learning environment enviiro enhances pupil awareness

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HEALTH & SAFETY | RECRUITMENT | SCHOOL CLEANING | DESIGN & BUILD | PLUS MORE

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Is the new inspection regime creating a sense of urgency?

Ofsted ‘s new inspection regime, which inspected over 2000 schools between October and December last year, is working, according to Michael Wilsaw, who says it is ‘injecting a sense of urgency into schools and forcing them to make improvements.” But Christine Blower of the NUT thinks that “Wilshaw takes particular delight in using his position to inject fear into the school community”. Read all about it on page 7.

The new Edubuy procurement website, launched at the beginning of March, aims to help deliver some serious savings. It’s been developed by a consortium of procurement organisations and offers over 300 EU compliant contracts. See page 9 for details.

The new ICT curriculum is out for consultation, but according to a DfE official, unless there’s an overwhelming response for change, it’s likely to be published in September this year.

Concerns about training remain. More on page 61.

Still on ICT, the Bett 2013 show at ExCeL was bigger than ever. Almost 700 companies showcased all manor of educational technology, and visitor numbers were up eighteen percent on last year. Debbie French, event director, said: “Moving to a new venue really allowed us to invest in the show content.” Read our extensive review, starting on page 29.

And a debate on how to change the educational landscape takes place at the Education Show, starting NEC on March 14. Details on page 95.

Danny Wright

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive 6 issues of Education Business magazine for £120 a year, please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055, Fax: 020 8532 0066, or visit the Education Business website at:

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226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Danny Wright ASSISTANT EDITOR Angela Pisanu PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Gooding PRODUCTION CONTROL Jacqueline Lawford ONLINE PRODUCTION Reiss Malone ADVERTISEMENT SALES Carol Symons, Paul Beech, Kylie Glover Jake Deadman, Carl Skinner, Joanne Allen, Oz Mustapha PUBLISHER Karen Hopps ADMINISTRATION Victoria Leftwich, Lucy Carter GROUP PUBLISHER Barry Doyle REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

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Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Contents

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

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CONTENTS EDUCATION BUSINESS 18.2 07 EB NEWS

77 ENERGY

13 FINANCE

The CIPP’s Samantha Mann shares some advice on outsourcing your payroll function

11

85 CATERING

Nick Weller, chair of the Independent Academies Association shares five ways to make academy conversion a success

We uncover what benefits cashless catering systems can bring your school.

Plus Danny Wright pays a visit to Youngs Seafood’s impressive manufacturing facility in Grimsby, where sustainability, product quality and nutrition all feature.

29 BETT 2013 REVIEW

93 CLEANING

21 ACADEMIES

EB rounds up all the news from this years’ Bett show, which tookmplace at London’s ExCeL for the first time

67

Some infectious spores survive very well in the environment and can stay on an inanimate object for several days.

A robust cleaning regime in schools is therefore essential, writes the Health Protection Agency’s Asha Abrahams

61 ICT

The latest on the Draft ICT Curriculum, which is out for consultation until April 16

71

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Learning in an energy-efficient buildings gives students of Bushbury Hill Primary School an enhanced environmental awareness. Plus EB reports on how state-funded schools no longer have to participate in the government’s CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme

Latest Ofsted inspection regime shows improvements; DfE raises the primary school bar; New Edubuy school procurement website goes live; Vocational courses to be dropped from league tables

95 THE EDUCATION SHOW

65 HEALTH & SAFETY

The Education Show on 14 to 16 March is the place to debate and share ideas on the changing educational landscape

RoSPA’s head of education and leisure, David Rushton discusses the importance of helping pupils become more risk aware

97 OUTDOOR LEARNING

67 SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Elaine Skates, deputy chief executive of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, gives five steps to achieving effective outdoor learning

Nasen responds to the recent Education Select Committee report and highlights unanswered questions regarding SEND provision

103 RECRUITMENT

71 DESIGN & BUILD

Can teaching primary-age pupils about the world of work really impact their future choices?

Sonita Alleyne OBE investigates

Gove sets out regional capital spending plans to help fund new places and repairs

85

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EDU TRIPSCATIONA L Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE Open in to ne g young w po ssibili minds ties

EDUC ATIO N SH OW 20 11 - pr eview of the UK’s

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INSPECTIONS

Latest Ofsted inspection figures show NEWS IN BRIEF Record number of appeals improvement under new system against exam results Some 47 per cent of primaries and secondaries visited by Ofsted in the current academic year saw ratings rise in comparison with previous inspections. Sir Michael Wilshaw, the regulator’s chief inspector, insisted the scale of improvement was far higher than levels witnessed in previous years.

The move comes despite the introduction of a tough new Ofsted regime intended to focus more sharply on underperforming schools and reclassify ‘satisfactory’ institutions as ‘requires improvement’.

Schools judged to require improvement at two consecutive inspections – and still not providing a good education at the third – are likely be placed in special measures.

Sir Michael insisted Ofsted’s new inspection system was ‘injecting a sense of urgency’ into schools and forcing them to prioritise improvements.

“I believe all children, regardless of where they live, have the right to a good education,” he said. “In deciding to raise the bar and by stating that ‘good’ is the only acceptable provision, I was convinced that schools would rise to the challenge.

And that is what I believe is happening.”

Some 2,102 state schools in England were inspected between the start of October and end of December under Ofsted’s new regime. Of those, almost a third required improvement and more than one-in-20 were given Ofsted’s worst rating.

But the watchdog has insisted that standards

are improving.

Some 47 per cent of schools improved on their last inspection, while 41 per cent remained the same and 12 per cent declined.

The rate of improvement Sir Michael Wilshaw was higher than in the previous year when 32 per cent of schools improved between inspections.

Sir Michael said: “I’m clear that scrapping the satisfactory judgment and replacing it with ‘requires improvement’ is injecting a sense of urgency in both schools and local authorities.

“Heads and governing boards now have a much greater focus on tackling the central issues of school improvement.”

But Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said: “Many schools will have been working under considerable pressure and stress to improve their inspection rating and this may have been at the expense of working in a way that really is in the interest of all children.

“Michael Wilshaw takes a particular delight in using his position to inject fear into the school community.”

TO FIND OUT MORE VISIT

tinyurl.com/98svqql

New book examines ways to boost basic literacy skills

Ofsted launches ParentView toolkit

One child in five in England reaches the age of 16 lacking the basic skills in literacy and numeracy, according to a new book by edited by Paul Marshall, chairman of ARK Schools. The Tail: How England’s schools fail one child in five – and what can be done contains contributions from 19 leading educational thinkers and reveals the extent to which schools are failing to raise the achievement of the lowest performing 20 per cent of pupils. It finds that the ‘tail’ exists in every local authority and across every type of state school, and includes children from a range of backgrounds.

The book calls for a concerted effort from government and school leaders to reduce the size of England’s tail and sets out a number of suggestions as to how this could be achieved.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “This book is compelling, at times moving.” tinyurl.com/d8kjjpv

Ofsted has produced a toolkit for schools to help them promote Parent View, its online questionnaire for parents to give their views on their children’s schools.

With a leaflet and poster, as well as useful tips and case studies, the toolkit is designed to support schools and help them encourage parents to complete the Parent View questionnaire throughout the year and during an inspection.

The Ofsted website also features a video demonstrating Parent View to show users how to register, complete the questionnaire and set up alerts about schools. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw said: “I want to see all schools urging parents and carers to use the Parent View online questionnaire. The views of parents help inspectors form an accurate picture of how a school is performing.

“Just as importantly, the changes made to Parent View will allow headteachers to regularly monitor how parents see the school and are part of our commitment to help schools improve.” tinyurl.com/bo7cktx

LITERACY & NUMERACY

Almost 500 appeals in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were lodged last year by schools unhappy with pupils’ final grades, it was revealed.

The figures – published by the exams watchdog Ofqual – follow the row over last summer’s GCSE English results when teachers complained that thousands of pupils were marked down following a sudden shift in grade boundaries.

Study reveals ‘out of date’ working practices The education sector has more outdated working practices than any other industry, according to research published by Ricoh UK. It reveals the education sector is suffering from out of date working practices more than any other industry, as it struggles to keep up with the pace of technology-led change. 88 per cent of those surveyed within educational institutions across Europe said the way they work is out of date and prevents them from being as effective and efficient as they could be.

DfE warned on plans to axe 1000 staff The Department for Education (DfE) has been warned that it could face numerous claims of unfair dismissal if plans to cut 1,000 staff in England go ahead. The department is looking to cut its operating costs by 50 per cent from 2010 to 2015.

The cuts planned by the department would also see the number of DfE offices in England cut from 12 to 6.

The DfE has said that decisions on who to cut will be made on capability grounds – however, the department claims that this does not amount to a ‘redundancy situation’, and as such is refusing to follow established redundancy procedures.

Meanwhile, members of the Public and Commercial Services union backed walkouts by almost 2-1, and other forms of industrial action by nearly 9-1. The union said it believed Education Secretary Michael Gove is using the department as an ideological test-bed for wider civil service cuts.

TO READ MORE VISIT

tinyurl.com/bphejc5

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

7

Wellington Academy, Tidworth Lloyds TSB Commercial customer

WE’VE HELPED MORE SCHOOLS CONVERT TO A NEW STYLE ACADEMY THAN ANY OTHER BANK. The journey to becoming an academy can be a daunting one.

But Lloyds TSB has the experience to support you. We’ve helped more schools convert to a new style academy than any other bank.† We will give you a dedicated, locally based Education Relationship Manager with specialist NASBM accreditation who will be on hand to give you the support you need.

We’ve also created the Lloyds TSB Guide to Academy Status which is full of helpful information on the key considerations to becoming an academy, the process involved and useful case studies, to help you on your way.

And when you bank with us you will get free day-to-day banking* as well as interest paid on every penny of your balance, so you can make the most of your resources.

To find out how your school can benefit from our help call 0800 681 6078 or visit www.lloydstsb.com/bankingforschools

New style academies refers to academies created under the 2010 Academies Act. †Figure as at 31 December 2011. *Free day-to-day banking applies to state schools only and includes day-to-day tariff transactions such as cheques, standing orders, cash, UK Sterling Direct Debits, deposits and withdrawals. All we ask is that you operate your account in credit or within agreed limits. Note that charges for other services may apply. Calls may be monitored or recorded. Lloyds TSB Commercial is a trading name of Lloyds TSB Bank plc and Lloyds TSB Scotland plc and serves customers with an annual turnover of up to £15m.

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PROCUREMENT

New Edubuy school procurement website aims to help deliver up to £1bn in efficiency savings Public sector procurement organisations ESPO (Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation), YPO (Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation) and Government Procurement Service (GPS) have collaborated with the Department for Education to provide a single online platform for academies and schools to access EU compliant contracts which could help to drive efficiencies to the tune of £1bn. A new free website at www.edubuy.org has been developed which offers a collective portfolio of over 300 of ESPO, YPO and GPS’s EU compliant contracts across core areas, including ICT, stationery, facilities management and energy.

Schools across the UK currently spend approximately £9.2 billion on non-staff costs.

The website contains practical procurement guidance and case studies to help schools, academies and the wider education market identify savings and efficiency opportunities.

Alyson Gerner, DfE head of procurement and chair of the EduBuy Steering Board said: “The EduBuy website will save schools time and money by simplifying and speeding up the buying process for everyday products and services so they can focus on what’s most important – teaching and learning.

“The DfE listened to what schools wanted,

understood their difficulties with complex EU procurement processes and worked with three major public sector buying organisations to simplify the system. The EduBuy website brings together a comprehensive and compliant set of contracts to make it easier for schools to buy more efficiently and save themselves, and the UK taxpayer, valuable resources.”

Simon Hill, EduBuy board member added

“Procurement can be a bewildering process for education establishments, particularly with so many contract options available in the market and speed is often of essence. This collaborative website provides a quick and easy solution for viewing a range of compliant public sector contracts available in a single place.”

The website, launched on 4 March, can be seen at www.edubuy.org

SCHOOL SCIENCE Prof. Robert Winston launches National Science & Engineering week Professor Robert Winston was drafted in to launch National Science & Engineering week from 15-24 March, which aims to illustrate how far science education has to go to ignite interest amongst young people. The event celebrated advances in science by holding three lessons themed around past (1963), present (2013) and future (2063) taught by internationally renowned scientists, Dr Becky Parker, Dr Lewis Dartnell and Dr Zita Martin.

Students from Pimlico Academy in London participated in some truly hands on science. Robert Winston said: “One of the great values of National Science & Engineering Week is its focus on practical and experimental science which enthuses children across the nation.”

Organised by the British Science Association, the week is a whirlwind of events, activities, and experiments which aim to get children engaged in science and engineering at a young age. tinyurl.com/cw7ju5u

QUALIFICATIONS

ASBESTOS AWARENESS

Vocational courses to be dropped from league tables

GMB provides evidence on asbestos threat in schools

Thousands of vocational courses which do not on their own lead to jobs, further study or university could be dropped from college and school sixth-form performance tables. Around 90 per cent of nearly 4,000 Level 3 vocational courses may no longer count in the tables.

The move follows Professor Alison Wolf’s report into vocational education, in which she said that “at least 350,000 young people in a given 16-19 cohort are poorly served by current arrangements. Their programmes and experiences fail to promote progression into either stable, paid employment or higher level education and training in a consistent or an effective way.”

There has also been an explosion in the number of young people studying vocational qualifications between the ages of 16 and 19. The proportion of 16- to 19-year-olds studying at

As more schools become academies or free schools there is a danger that the little knowledge about asbestos within school buildings will be lost, according to school support staff union GMB, which has welcomed the call for evidence by the House of Commons Education Select Committee on the issues around asbestos in schools. The union has fed in evidence as part of the joint union asbestos committee (JUAC) submission as it represents an increasing number of school support staff who may be negligently exposed to the deadly asbestos fibres.

Over 75 per cent of state schools contain asbestos – much

Level 3, taking at least one of the post-16 Level 3 vocational courses available, rose from 30 per cent in 2008 to 48 per cent in 2012 – from 101,000 students to around 185,000.

The number of young people aged 16 to 19 studying vocational courses rose 196 per cent between 1995 and 2010.

In comparison, the number of those studying A levels in the same period rose 21 per cent.

The reforms are outlined in a consultation launched from the Department for Education.

They would be phased in from 2014, and follow similar action to overhaul school league tables for 16-year-olds.

Skills minister Matthew Hancock said: “For vocational education to be valued and held in high esteem we must be uncompromising about its quality. Vocational qualifications must be stretching and strong.” tinyurl.com/cuhxkl3

of it in a dangerous condition.

Concerns have been raised about asbestos being excluded from the Department for Education’s audit on the condition of schools.

John McClean, GMB national health and safety officer, said “Last year’s report by the All‑Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Health & Safety made it clear that a cohesive and clear strategy to deal with this serious matter needed to take place.

“Hopefully the Education Select Committee will reach similar conclusions that enable the DfE to begin dealing with this problem”. tinyurl.com/dxdb9be

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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EDUCATION STANDARDS

DfE raises the primary school bar

A new 'firm but fair' primary levels is removed from 2016. school floor standard will Schools judged by Ofsted to be drive up standards and help neither good nor outstanding, ensure children are ready for and who are not closing the gap secondary school, according to between their disadvantaged Schools Minister David Laws. pupils and their other pupils, will Primary schools will have to be ordered to draw up action achieve 65 per cent pass rates plans on how they will spend for Sats. Pupil premium spending their pupil premium money. also receives greater scrutiny.

A summer school programme, The moves are part of a which aims to help children package of measures designed make the transition from to raise standards in primary primary to secondary school, schools, including among will be repeated this year. disadvantaged children.

The announcements The floor standard follow the will go up from publication of 2014 – primary draft National schools where Curriculum fewer than programmes 65 per cent of study for of pupils primary achieve the school expected subjects. level (Level These set 4) in the 3Rs, ambitious ools and which expectations aws, sch David L inister do not achieve of what m above average children should progress in these know and should subjects, will be below the be able to do by the end floor. The current floor standard of their time at primary school. requires schools to have 60 per cent of their pupils at level 4 PRIMARY FLOOR STANDARD or above in English and maths, Primary schools which fall plus the progress measures. below the new 65 per cent floor, New data will be published by and particularly those with a long the Department for Education history of underperformance, showing the proportion face being taken over by an of primary children who Academy sponsor. The expertise achieve a 'good' Level 4 in and strong leadership provided the 3Rs – those who are truly by sponsors is the best way to 'secondary ready'. This will turn around weak schools and be until the current system of give pupils the best chance

‘We sure must engher a far hi of pupils ion proport ndary ready” o are “sec end of their by the ry school’ prima

of a first-class education.

In 2011, 1,310 primary schools were below the 60 per cent floor standard, compared to 476 primary schools last year.

This improvement highlights how heads, teachers and pupils respond to higher floor standards by raising achievement.

If the floor standard had been 65 per cent in English and maths in 2011, 1,915 schools would have been below the floor. Last year, it would have been 866 schools.

LEVEL 4 DATA A new indicator showing how many 11-year-olds achieve a 'good' Level 4 will be published at national, local authority and school level in performance tables this year.

This will be until the current system of levels is removed in 2016 and not replaced.

Laws said statistics showed that publishing only the current Level 4 figure did not tell the full story because many children who only just achieved Level 4 were generally not 'secondary ready'. The Government will not hold schools accountable on this measure – it is being published to give parents and the public more information.

For the first time, data showing the proportion of each primary school’s pupils attaining a 'good' Level 4 (those who scored in the top two-thirds of the Level 4 mark range) or above will be published.

PUPIL PREMIUM Schools judged by Ofsted to be neither good nor outstanding, and who are not closing the gap between their disadvantaged pupils and their other pupils, will be required to draw up an action plan of how they are spending their pupil premium money.

This will be in consultation with outstanding education leaders, either from the National College or from a school which has a proven track record of improving the performance of their disadvantaged pupils.

Ofsted inspectors will then take that plan, and adherence to that plan, into account when they judge the school.

The move will help ensure that more children from disadvantaged backgrounds will leave primary school “secondary ready”.

Commenting on the Department for Education's plans for tougher targets, Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL), said: "Teachers want the best for their pupils – they want them to achieve their potential and go on to have happy, successful lives. At every corner though, schools are met with distrust by government and ministers wielding no carrots, just big sticks. These tougher targets appear to be a cynical attempt to force even more schools into becoming academies despite the mixed evidence of academies' success.

"The government would have more success in raising standards if it gave schools greater support and protected funding rather than constantly changing targets which just puts schools under needless pressure. The risk to young pupils is obvious – rather than being encouraged to learn and build upon their successes they are branded as failures.

"We are particularly disappointed that yet again, the government's promised consultation on this hasn't emerged and instead it has announced its plans without any consensus from the public and education professionals." L

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PAYROLL

Finance

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Written by Samantha Mann, senior policy & research officer, CIPP

Just ols as scho any m come innd sizes a shapes h varying and wit xities, so comple does too ced outsour ll payro

OUTSOURCING YOUR PAYROLL?

Payroll providers come in all shapes and sizes, with varying solutions, so where do you begin when selecting one? Samantha Mann, CIPP’s senior policy & research officer, shares some advice It still remains a little known fact that schools are free to use, whoever and whatever organisation they wish, in order to process their payroll to ensure that they are complying with legislative and contractual responsibilities.

As with other employers, schools are also free to process using in-house provision to ensure compliance with the myriad of legislative obligations. This includes Pay As

You Earn (PAYE) – which, from 6 April 2013, is facing significant change in the way in which employers need to report their PAYE information to HMRC, with the introduction of Real Time Information (RTI). Other obligations include national insurance contributions; student Loans, statutory payments for incapacity to work, maternity & paternity along with adoption pay and leave, redundancy and attachment of earnings.

When you add in a similar list of employment legislation that impacts on the pay function (this article doesn’t hope to include the provision of HR support), there is clearly the need for an up to date and knowledgeable person or team to ensure that all staff are paid on time and accurately.

Historically payroll services have been provided by local education authorities but just as schools come in many shapes and sizes and with many and varied complexities, so too does the outsourced payroll solution.

ACCOUNTANTS It is highly likely that you already use the services of an accountant to fulfill your accounting requirements and if so, a logical starting point would be to talk to them. They may provide payroll services directly or alternatively they may have an arrangement with a specialist outsourced payroll service. In the absence of a personal recommendation, your accountant would E

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PAYROLL  always present you with a sensible starting point for researching your options.

Payroll providers come in variety of shapes, sizes with many varied complexities and can provide a range of different solutions. The main two options however are Payroll Bureau and managed service, explained below.

PAYROLL BUREAU In its simplest form you will control your payroll and employee information by providing this to the bureau by a pre‑arranged date and in a pre-agreed format. The bureau will then use their IT and software to process your payroll therefore this solution will require you to have some awareness of your payroll obligations.

The service will provide payslips for your employees along with reports that you will need for your accounting records and of course reports which enable you to make payments, not only to your employees but also to third parties such as HMRC, pensions companies, the CSA or Child Maintenance Service to name but a few. You will need to be clear from the out-set what level of support you will receive so that you know how much of the payroll administration will remain with you.

MANAGED SERVICE There are two tiers: In a fully managed service the payroll provider manages all aspects of the payroll. Some providers offer partially managed services which require you to have some in house payroll knowledge and resource. If you choose the partially managed option you would need to be clear from the out-set what level of support you will receive so that you know how much of the payroll administration will remain with you. Which service you choose will very much depend on how much involvement you want to have and of course probably most importantly – how much you can afford. Whatever choice you make remember, the responsibility for the correct operation of PAYE always remains with the employer.

WHAT TO CONSIDER When choosing your Payroll provider, it’s important to consider their experience with the specific requirements for your school. At a basic level all payroll obligations appear to be identical however be aware that different sectors offer up different technical challenges.

You must consider the information and documentation they will provide, as well as the cost of setting up the payroll and administering the system. What’s more, you should think about how often you will be invoiced and if there will be any hidden costs, such as re-run charges due to receipt of late information.

Bear in mind the ease of scaling the service, for example, if you take on more employees and if the IT package can be tailored for your needs.

Lastly, consider if your own software is compatible with that used by the payroll provider; this is important if you want to take full advantage of technology for interaction between the payroll operations and your accounting process.

KNOW YOUR CONTRACT Ensure that you fully understand the contract agreed with the payroll provider. Remember that even if when an outsourced payroll provider is used the employer is still responsible for ensuring that all statutory obligations are met. You will therefore need to be clear on certain things. These include being sure the payroll provider calculates tax and deductions accurately from the information supplied and makes all submissions that are required.

You need to agree that they’ll ensure all your statutory obligations in respect of your payroll are met. What’s more, you need to be clear that if they are at fault for failing to meet these obligations and you are charged a penalty, that they reimburse you.

You will also need to be clear who will keep records that are specified by HMRC, and specify that some provision is put in place for any future expansion of the service that you may require.

And of course, don’t forget to ask what happens if you are not happy with the service that you receive – what is their complaints policy and how much notice do they need?

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SO, WHAT NOW? This article has sought to provide you with a whistle stop tour of options that are available to your school when considering your payroll provision. Whatever choice you make however, it is critical to ensure, that the individual or team that provides you with your payroll service is knowledgeable, experienced, qualified and importantly, approachable.

A good working relationship with your payroll provider has always been critical. However, as the clock ticks towards 6 April 2013 when employers will need to begin submitting PAYE information to HMRC in Real Time (RTI), the need to ensure that you are communicating in a regular, timely and accurate manner with your payroll provider has never been more important. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.cipp.org.uk

‘A good working relationship with your payroll provider has always been critical. But as 6 April 2013 approaches, the need to ensure good communication has never been more important’

Outsource your schools payroll to a professional payroll service.

Relax in the knowledge that at Hurren Accountants your payroll will be dealt with by experts, professionally and efficiently and can all be carried out electronically.

Not only does a fully managed payroll provision means that you can save money by not having to invest in specialist IT and payroll staff, but you are free from the concerns of increasingly complicated government legislation especially the new Real Time Information which takes effect from 6th April 2013. Benefits you will enjoy by outsourcing your company payroll to Hurren Accountants payroll services include: • Cost savings – Personnel and technology savings. Save up to half of what in house payroll might cost.

• Compliance – No legislation problems. Legal obligations and statutory obligations are our responsibility.

• Convenience – simply pass on your payroll information, hours worked, hourly rates, salaries deductions and have the payrolls calculated automatically. Benefit from specialised payslips and reporting.

We also deal with Inland Revenue and DSS queries.

• Accuracy – rely on Hurren Accounts for accurate payrolls as well as the submission of real time information to HMRC and avoid any late filing penalties or interest charges Friendly, flexible and efficient, our simple bureau or fully managed payroll services have helped a wide variety of clients from sole traders, partnerships, small limited company to larger organisation with a multi-million pound turnovers. What about your payroll?

Call PAYROLL now on 0191 251 7599 for more information on how our professional payroll outsourcing can benefit you.

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

15

WE ARE MORE THAN BRICKS AND MORTAR EDUCATION INSURANCE BUILT FOR YOU • Bupa key staff • Travel

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INSURANCE

GOT IT COVERED?

When it comes to insurance, independent and academy schools – as well as those planning academy conversion – face a choice: stick with the status quo and simply sign up again when renewals time comes around, or put in the time and effort required to find a better deal. Surely there is a better way?

On the face of it, it is easy to see why inertia so often wins out for busy school managers and bursars faced with such a choice.

However, there are problems with both approaches. The former fails to take account of new risks, potentially leaving the school inadequately protected, and the latter tends to promote a focus on price, which can turn out to be a costly mistake in the long run.

To understand why means stepping back for a moment, to remember what insurance is all about. First and foremost, insurance is about protection. Protection for people, assets and income if the worst should happen – and in that sense, insurance is an investment in peace of mind.

Cost effective insurance boils down to a balance between cost and protection. Very cheap insurance that does not offer adequate protection does not offer cost-efficiency any more than insurance offering comprehensive protection at a vastly inflated price.

A BETTER WAY: EXPERT HELP Fortunately, however, there is a third way.

Increasingly these days, progressive schools are securing competitive insurance by working with specialist brokers – education sector experts with the experience and the know-how to design and secure tailored insurance, at the right price.

Working with a broker is not simply a case of adding a ‘middle person’ and associated costs. The right broker will put the time and effort in on the school’s behalf, bringing vital expertise to the table and acting as a trusted adviser – one that is legally required to act in the school’s best interests through the lifetime of the policy.

The benefits of working with a broker are perhaps best illustrated by looking at the three ‘Cs’ of cost, cover and claims.

THE THREE CS: COST Contrary to popular belief, arranging cover through a broker can actually cost less than

Cost-effective insurance boils down to a balance between cost and protection. Very cheap insurance that does not offer adequate protection does not offer cost-efficiency any more than insurance offering comprehensive protection at a vastly inflated price

going direct – for simple, logical reasons.

First, prices vary from one insurer to the next but, in the end, the cost of a policy reflects the level of risk. When cover is arranged through a broker, the risk to the insurer is often lower and that, in turn, can mean a lower premium.

Secondly, brokers are professionally trained to help clients choose the right policy and cover. In fact, it is the broker’s responsibility to ensure that adequate cover is arranged. Clearly that means ensuring that all relevant risks are protected against, but it also means not selling cover that is not required – accordingly, the broker’s role in quantifying risks and tailoring cover can be crucial in striking the right balance between cover and cost.

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THE THREE CS: COVER That said, it would be wrong to suggest that the comparison between direct and broker services is straight-forward when it comes to getting the right cover. Yes, many brokers have excellent sales and servicing operations, but so do many direct insurers.

The big difference boils down to choice.

Arranging cover via a broker will generally provide a range of cover options, from a range of insurers, whilst approaching an insurer direct will not. As with any purchase, the ability to compare and contrast various options has to be a good thing.

That is also where the benefits of working with a broker will be felt. A broker’s help in navigating the technicalities inherent in policy wordings and details can be invaluable and a broker must do its utmost to arrange the most appropriate level of cover with the most appropriate insurer.

THE THREE CS: CLAIMS Sometimes the worst does happen and, when it does, a broker must again act on the school’s behalf. If an insurer is disinclined to pay or the claim is apparently ‘not covered’, then you can expect the broker to step in to fight your corner.

On top of all that, if a broker makes a mistake, you are protected. For instance, if a broker fails to arrange cover for a risk that should have been protected against, and a claim is therefore turned down, the added protection of the broker’s own professional indemnity insurance may come into play.

In the end, working with a broker is often more cost effective – having a broker’s expertise in your corner is about getting the balance right between cost and cover, and avoiding the hidden costs associated with ongoing support and claims. In short, it may well be your best route to comprehensive, cover at the right price – but minus the time and effort for school administrators. L FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01444 313100 E-mail: enquiries.schools@marsh.com Web: uk.marsh.com

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Suddenly ‘Head of Security’ is a dream job.

Security Redefined It’s your responsibility for securing business and people rely on you for a safe and secure work-place. But security technology can be inflexible, complex and, let’s face it, it’s necessary but not often appreciated. What if you could make security control rewarding, reporting a pleasure and visitor management a joy? Nedap’s AEOS system delivers just this because it is the 21st century model for dynamic security management. If you’d like that dream job contact Nedap Security Management www.nedap-securitymanagement.com

SECURITY can be added. This enables universities to purchase the best of breed solutions, to integrate with legacy systems and to use the existing network and server infrastructure managed by the IT department, without compromising network or physical security.

THE IDEAL WORLD OF SECURITY

Security expert Ross Bale shares his view on what the ideal world of security would look like in the education sector and what should be taken into consideration to accomplish this Universities and other educational institutions have a wide range of security requirements ranging from fairly basic access control areas such as halls of residence through to sensitive areas such as high risk laboratories. Besides this, universities are under increasing pressure to ensure that buildings and sites are safe which is made more difficult due to the large volumes of people entering and leaving.

Amongst others, these factors make the decision for a security management system and judgements of its achievements a critical one. Ross Bale, an education expert in the security management industry is sharing his view on what the ideal ‘world of security’ looks like and what should be taken into consideration to accomplish this.

TOP OF THE LIST What specific demands should universities have when selecting a security management system? The desire to have a single card, with a single point of management is increasingly high upon the list of security managers that I talk to within education. Of course, the importance of the ability to cope with different levels of security and an unlimited amount of different users – or buildings for that matter,

are seen. However, even more important is what is unforeseen. Universities or colleges change dramatically over the years. They expand when the amount of students increase or they adapt educational models driven by ever changing governmental regulations.

These changes are often unforeseen. This is why a security management system needs to be able to adapt and expand over a period of time as requirements change. This will protect the initial investment in the system over a long period of time and will ensure the system doesn’t reach an end of life.

AN IDEAL WORLD So, what would the ideal world of security at universities look like? First of all, when choosing a security system, the main priority is to improve security. However, a security system should do much more, such as easing workflow and administration. And because of this it should be able to consolidate multiple systems into a single infrastructure. Not only will this lower the costs, it will also meet the university security policy easily. Besides, when such a system is using open standards, a wide range of third party systems, from CCTV to intercom and intrusion for example,

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REDUCING ADMIN What makes reduction in workflow and administration so important? Especially in universities, a lot of different people use the security management system. New students come in every year, who need to receive badges and permission to certain areas within buildings of the university.

These permissions will even change if existing students change courses or move to the next year at the end of the summer.

This will bring a lot of administration and coordination. A security system should meet this by easing the process. This can be done by utilising advanced features such as ‘data import’ from a University Administration Database to reduce manual data entry and streamline processes such as card issuing or ‘rule engine’ functionality where sets of rules for access can be defined and configured once after which the system will automatically enforce it and change permissions when necessary.

Systems and databases are more and more integrated. What are the consequences?

Again, increased workflow and decreased administration by automation and process improvement. Integrating student and staff information systems, for example, with the card management solution and access control system has different benefits.

A specific example is international students that do not comply with student visas. This has consequences for universities, like financial penalties or withdrawing permission to teach international students leading to negative reputations and reduction in income from international students. Access control events can be used very easily to produce regular reports for the Border Agency on whether international students are attending the university in line with their Visa. Another example of integration and something that’s often forgotten, is the management of lockers for students. This is essentially access control on a micro level. As lockers appear in an access control system, security access templates and student information already held within the system for access control can be quickly used to secure the contents of the lockers. And this is getting more valuable now as more universities are introducing bring your own device initiatives.

So, because of integration with other systems, such as IT systems, security is more than just protection of people and assets. Correctly implemented, security is a business enabler adding value to a university’s processes. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.nedap-securitymanagement.com

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

19

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Converting to academy status? Where to begin? Nick Weller, chair of the Independent Academies Association and executive principal of the Dixons Academies shares five ways to help make it a success There are many motives for becoming an Academy. At the Independent Academies Association, we would argue that the only valid reason is to improve your school. Here are five ways our members have made that happen.

communicate the moral purpose

t behind the change clearly and Withou at every opportunity. The g n a stro ose most successful academies rp u foster a can-do culture: p l a r mo o t their future is in e v i r or the dnew brand their own hands and there is no external e make thity, academy authority to blame if a real on will have things go wrong. i Originally one of fifteen convers benefit or City Technology Colleges, little ning Dixons City Academy was mea one of the first state-funded

1: DO IT FOR A REASON There are many negative reasons for becoming an academy. Some wish to escape the dead hand of their local authority.

Others are jumping before they are pushed, while others still are acting on instruction.

None of these is reason enough.

Successful schools are driven by values.

How will Academy status reinforce the core values of your school? Consult everyone – governors, staff, students and parents – and

independent schools in the country. Its sponsor, Lord Kalms, started with one photography shop and ended up as the largest electrical retailer in Europe. He brought a business-like culture to the school which survives today, customer‑focused with a clear eye on the bottom line: it is the most professional, results-driven and student-centred school I have known.

Pay at DYCA The David Young Community Academy (DYCA) in Leeds has its own pay structure. Before the Academy opened in 2006 Ros McMullen, the Principal, carefully devised a pay spine which allowed all employees, from facilities staff to senior leaders, to be on the same pay spine.

It is designed in such a way to allow for movement in and out of the Academy, as it mirrors the national local government and teaching pay scales, but it allows for a far higher degree of flexibility.

For example, there is no use of TLRs; instead, special allowances are annually awarded and reviewed through performance management, and are awarded not only to academic staff.

For some schools, academy status will be an opportunity to change their name and their uniform, and to expunge the memory of a failing school from the local consciousness.

Other schools may be interested in the curriculum freedoms that an Academy enjoys, although in the current political climate it takes a brave school to exploit them. Without a strong moral purpose, without the drive to make that new brand a reality for parents and students, academy conversion will have little benefit or meaning. E

Written by Nick Weller, chair of the Independent Academies Association

HOW TO MAKE ACADEMY STATUS WORTHWHILE

Academies

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Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

21

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Academies

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Successful schools are driven by values

 2: REVIEW GOVERNANCE Without the scrutiny of an LA, effective governance is crucial. The governing body of an academy is the employer, it is the only means of holding senior management to account, and it is often the only means of appeal for staff and parents alike. All academy governors need to understand that they are primarily the non-executive directors of a values driven organisation responsible for children’s education, and this supersedes their representation of any narrow interest group. governing bodies are best kept small – no more than ten – with job descriptions that make responsibilities clear. A range of skills and experience is also key: a governing body has to offer legal, financial and HR expertise in order to fulfil its proper function.

In the early sponsored academies, this was all very easy: the predecessor governing body was simply replaced. For converter academies, this can be more difficult to achieve, and it will be for an effective Chair to drive this review: the Principal and the Business Manager will need to support this process, but ultimately it is not within their remit, nor should it be.

Where relevant, the choice of sponsor is also key. At the IAA, we would recommend avoiding those whose central costs are high: no more than four per cent and ideally less. A national spread without a local hub is also best avoided: there is no point

T&C at Landau Forte The Landau Forte Academies operate an extended working year (up to 215 days) and an extended working day (8.15am‑5.15pm. Monday to Thursday and 8.15am-3.30pm on a Friday).

While the Trust recognises the right of staff to belong to a Trade Union, it does not recognise unions for collective bargaining purposes.

The benefits to tutorial and support staff are: proportionately lower contact ratio; extended opportunity for collective planning, preparation and professional development time; enhanced salary – performance related; potential for additional rewards; private health insurance; meal and refreshment allowance;

in escaping local authority control and ending up with something just as expensive with no local knowledge or commitment.

Above all, choose a sponsor with the capacity and drive to make a difference, however uncomfortable for some this may be.

3: IMPROVE FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS MANAGEMENT Most established Academies have a

improved work life balance; provide improved opportunities for children.

When a school joins the Trust, all new appointments are offered on this basis. Existing staff TUPE across on existing terms and conditions, including union recognition, but are invited to write to Steve Whitely, the Chief Executive, to request a transfer to the Academy contract if they wish to do so. Unsurprisingly, many staff choose to take up these benefits.

Chartered Accountant as Director of Finance and Administration, familiar with the accounting rules laid down by Companies House as well as the SORP requirements associated with charitable status.

Where a school already has effective business management systems, or where a primary school is too small to bear this cost alone, it makes sense to at least buy in the oversight of a properly qualified E

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Academies

www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Academy leadership can be lonely and is not always easy, but it is also a wonderful opportunity to transform one’s school and the wider educational system  accountant from another academy, or to group together to share the cost.

As local authorities are allowed to top-slice less and less of maintained schools’ money, the financial premium of academy status is shrinking. Nevertheless, it is as important as ever to ensure that money is well spent and that the new academy can make cost-effective choices beyond the LA’s bought-in services.

The IAAS Quality Mark enables Academies to buy with confidence from high-quality providers (www.iaa-s.co.uk). In order to gain the Quality Mark, suppliers will have been assessed against a number of criteria, showing they have the experience, products, business standing, and ethical practices suitable for a supplier to education. They also have to offer these products at the best market rate.

Additionally, they will have signed up to the IAAS quality assurance procedures, which allow us to intervene if any disputes arise.

4: REVIEW PAY, CONDITIONS OF SERVICE & STAFFING STRUCTURE It might be tempting for some to avoid controversy and to skirt opposition by allowing staff to TUPE across into the same jobs with the same terms and conditions as before. This is a missed opportunity.

Many of IAA’s new members are primary schools

At our second Academy, Dixons Allerton, we devised a totally new staffing structure from scratch. Where jobs in the predecessor school matched less than 80 per cent to the new ones, we interviewed existing post‑holders first but we were not obliged to appoint them to those roles. We were able to make choices, especially in key areas like senior, subject and pastoral leadership.

The David Young Academy in Leeds (see panel on page 21) offers a pay structure which puts teaching and non‑teaching staff on the same footing. At the Landau Forte Academies, although existing staff in predecessor schools TUPE across on unchanged terms and conditions, they are offered the option of something radically different (see panel).

In all three cases, academy conversion has been seized as a one-off opportunity to sweep away long-standing issues, to reinvigorate staff culture, and to ensure that the school is truly focused on delivering the best possible education for children.

5: MAKE NEW FRIENDS The best academies are anything but isolationist. Many of our members are building wider federations,

establishing teaching school alliances or opening up Free Schools.

In Bradford, maintained, foundation and Academy schools together have formed an independent company to replace the LA’s school improvement service. With the support of our LA but with its monopoly broken, as a group of headteachers we have at last truly embraced our collective responsibility for the education of all students in Bradford.

As a result, in our first eighteen months we have doubled the number of secondary schools graded Good or better by Ofsted.

I also appreciate the benefits of a strong support network. For me, it is the Independent Academies Association. The IAA is rooted in the sponsored Academy movement but is now attracting increasing numbers of like-minded converters, primary, special and free schools. It is my way of meeting people who are doing things differently and who challenge my thinking.

Academy leadership can be lonely and is not always easy, but it is also a wonderful opportunity to transform one’s school and the wider educational system. The IAA helps me to make the most of it. L

Nick Weller is executive principal of the Dixons Academies and spends one day a week as chief executive of the Bradford Partnership. He took up the chair of the Independent Academies Association at the beginning of March.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.iaa.uk.net

Legal advice on TUPE from Browne Jacobson LLP Under TUPE, changes to terms and conditions are permissible where the reason is not connected to the transfer, or it is connected to the transfer but it is an economic, technical or organisational reason entailing changes in the workforce. The difficulty for academies is knowing what changes are permissible under TUPE and what are not, as there are no definitive guidelines.

Academies considering changing terms and conditions can try to avoid the effect of TUPE in the following ways; however each option has risks and legal advice should always be sought.

Make the change(s) and see what happens: where the changes are beneficial (even if they are technically void under TUPE), it is difficult to see why a member of staff would object and insist on working under the old, less favourable, terms. However this approach may attract a legal challenge from unions regardless of the attitude of the affected employees.

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

Dismiss and re-engage on new terms: this will probably be automatically deemed unfair, but the potential compensatory award will be reduced if the difference in financial terms between the old and new contracts is not great.

Note however that employees with long service will attract a greater basic award.

Delay the change to a later date: bear in mind though that there is no set time period where a change will not be considered to be connected with the transfer.

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Whether you want to reward and recognise someone for a job well done, or simply say thank you, the bonusbond gift voucher ensures that you are giving something that will be well received, as it can be spent in such a wide variety of outlets.

Bonusbond gift vouchers are a product of Grass Roots who have been running incentive, reward and recognition programmes for over thirty years. Its to disappear into a general pot of experience of working with clients in household expenditure and the connection companies of all sizes to help them with a task done well is diminished. incentivise, motivate, reward and retain Cash has no trophy value – a cash employees and customers has taught Grass payment can fail to generate a lasting Roots that although most people claim that memory in the way that a gift voucher money is their preferred reward, there are that can be spent on something a number of reasons why non cash rewards that individual really wants, can. such as gift vouchers have a greater impact: Bonusbond gift vouchers can be spent People will generally not treat at over of many09:03 of Britain’s bonusbond-magazine-ad-outlined copy.pdf 1 25,000 21/02/2013 themselves with a cash bonus. It tends favourite retail outlets including Argos,

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

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They can also be used in restaurants, hotels and even for holidays.

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CATERING

A BUZZING LUNCH TIME EXPERIENCE

Derick Martin, Founder of Innovate Services, is on a mission to turn characterless canteens and bland food into vibrant restaurants with great-tasting and healthy menus

Innovate Services was started in 2006 when founders, Derick Martin and Geoff Pepiatt walked into their local school and realised the catering had not changed since they themselves were at school. The food was bland and uninspiring, presentation was unimportant and the environment was dull and unwelcoming. They saw that the school catering experience could be improved by looking at the service as a whole, not just the food; characterless canteens could be turned into bright, vibrant, comfortable restaurants where students could come and spend time, chat with friends and eat great-tasting, freshly made, healthy food.

NUTRITION COMES NATURALLY One of the hottest topics on catering in academies is the government’s nutritional regulations and the fact that academies are not obliged to follow them. There is worry that the quality of the food and service being offered will decrease and old habits will be reverted to as companies try to cut costs and maximise profits by offering substandard, unhealthy food because there is no one to tell

them otherwise. At many of Innovate’s schools, the company caters to a captive audience: an audience that is expected to eat at the same place, up to three times a day, five days a week for seven years. For some of these customers, the food they buy at an Innovate canteen will be their main meal of the day.

Because of this, it is our duty to provide great tasting, totally fresh and nutritionally balanced food at every serving period. This means that the government’s nutritional regulations don’t worry Innovate because the behaviour they command comes naturally.

LOVE OF FOOD Food is only one part of story; in order to get young people eating healthy meals and using their school catering facility rather than buying fast food, high in fat with low nutritional value, you have to have a top team of staff who are dedicated, enthusiastic and love cooking good food. Innovate staff are well trained and enthusiastic about food. Staff have access to equipment that enables them to be creative and put their own signature on their menus. By giving the people who cook the food freedom

to decide on their own menus, customers get interesting and exciting food everyday that suits regional tastes and specialties.

Converting to Academy status often marks the beginning of a new phase in a school’s life, causing headteachers to look at its strengths and weaknesses and deciding where improvement can be made. The dining area is frequently an area that suffers a degree of neglect. Lack of space and some schools lacking a permanently designated dining area makes it difficult to see how canteens can be improved to create a space where students want to spend time. Innovate thinks the environment is essential to creating a fantastic dining experience. By working closely with the school, the company can create innovative and funky dining areas to suit all situations and budgets. It has transformed quiet corners into bustling coffee shops and built mezzanine floors to create modern and spacious restaurants where students and staff alike can relax, chat and eat.

Particularly with older students, academies face competition from the high street everyday. Knowing that young people regularly frequent coffee shops gives Innovate the corner stone on what to build its restaurants on. The company’s in-house design team uses contemporary furniture, modern lighting and bright, stylish colours to give students their very own high-street-style restaurant. Each site has its own identity, feel and character because the school and students have so much input – it’s their very own brand.

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BESPOKE DINING Creating a tailor made dining service does not only revolve around the tangible aspects of catering. The eating habits of an 11 year‑old are not the same as those of a 17 year‑old. Sixth Formers tend to graze throughout the day. Free periods and more freedom to leave school mean that they will be in and out fast food restaurants and coffee shops to fulfill their needs. All Innovate restaurants open all day for Sixth Formers so they can eat when they want to and avoid the queues of main serving times.

Sixth formers are becoming more concerned about what they are eating; however, they still enjoy the odd treat. Innovate has devised a special Sixth Form only menu that offers daily specials that won’t be found on the day-to-day menu. This gives young adults the power to choose their own diet while encouraging them to opt for a healthy lifestyle.

School catering is not just about what food is served. It’s about the whole experience and making the students feel that it is their service. From seating and lighting, good service and fast-moving queues, lots of choice and great food. It’s all important and essential for running a cool and successful catering service. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.innovate-services.com

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EVERY PAGE COUNTS TO MANAGE RESOURCES AND FINANCES BETTER

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KYOCERA. COUNT ON US. KYOCERA Document Solutions (U.K.) Limited – Phone 08457 103 104 – www.kyoceradocumentsolutions.co.uk

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BETT 2013

BETT REFLECTS THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF TECHNOLOGY IN EDUCATION

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

The Bett show in January, which took place at ExCeL, London for the first time, confirmed its place as the world’s leading event for learning technology, with visitor numbers up and an increased focus on the whole learning spectrum

Following its move to a new venue, Bett has cemented its place as the world’s leading event for learning technology, with more than 35,000 visitors attending between 30 January and 2 February. The figures confirmed 2013 as the show’s most successful year to date, reflecting its ever-growing importance within the education sector.

Having celebrated sustained growth for the past 28 years at Olympia, Bett 2013 made the move to ExCeL London for its unrivalled facilities and space to support the increasing number of visitors. The larger venue enabled the show’s expansion across the whole learning spectrum to include higher education and workplace learning, providing visitors with a classroom to boardroom approach to learning.

During the show’s opening speech, Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills, took the opportunity to explain how the UK’s education, training and technology sectors will develop into major

areas of UK export growth over the next few years. To support this growth, he explained that the government is putting in place a number of programmes and supporting start-up companies that are innovating in the education space.

training and demonstration sessions, offering further reasons for professionals to attend the event.

The show’s CPD offering included 150 separate practitioner-led sessions in the Learn Live seminar theatres, along with separate conferences supporting school leaders, training and development professionals and HE professionals. The Bett Arena, in partnership with Microsoft, was new to this year’s show and reflected Bett’s reputation as a global meeting place for those passionate about learning technology. The inclusive amphitheatre space allowed thousands of people, both in the arena and around the show floor, to collaborate and learn together, sharing ideas and inspirations. E

Figures 013 tt 2 show Be 8 per cent d1 attracteisitors overall, more v workplace with sionals s e f o r p and HE g to its core addin orters supp

TRY AND TEST The additional floor space at Bett 2013 facilitated a larger hands-on ‘try and test’ experience for visitors, featuring interactive demonstrations, free guidance and advice on all the latest and greatest products and continuing professional development (CPD) certified seminar content, delivered by world-renowned educationalists.

The number of exhibitors increased to just over 700, and many companies ran free

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Manage your resources – the easy way It’s never been more important for schools and colleges to know what they have, how it is being used, how much it has cost, and how much it is worth. With Asset Manager and Service Manager you can do all this – and more!

Integrated asset, service, and help desk management Powerful reporting and financial management tools Auto-detect networked assets, import records via CSV, or add them manually Structure assets logically and systematically Timetable-friendly room and asset booking system Disposals compliance tracking and tombstoning process

You can try Asset Manager and Service Manager for yourself – visit our website and sign up for our free online demo: www.cseassetmanager.co.uk For more information, call us on 01993 886688 or email assetmanager@cse-net.co.uk www.cse-net.co.uk Approved supplier for the Department for Education’s ICT Services Framework Agreement

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BETT 2013  NEW VENUE “Moving to a new venue gave us the opportunity to really invest in the content of the show”, says Debbie French, education portfolio director at i2i Events Group.

“We worked alongside partners such as Naace, nasen and BESA, as well as teachers, leading enterprise professionals and education thought leaders to put together training that would resonate with all areas of our audience. We are one of the few events that provides content free of charge, and we believe this is key for Bett’s success.

The show has long been a dynamic meeting point for those who are passionate about the transformational power of technology in training and teaching and its overall aim is to support education and workplace professionals, enabling them to share their stories. Ultimately, their commitment to advise and inspire their peers, along with our exhibitors’ commitment to provide the best possible solutions to support learning an development is what makes the show and we are proud to champion this.”

VISITOR NUMBERS UP Official figures show Bett 2013 attracted 18 per cent more visitors overall, with 3900 workplace professionals and 3700 HE professionals adding to its core education supporters. Approximately 10,000 international visitors from more than 120 countries attended the show, an increase of 16 per cent on 2012’s figures, demonstrating the event’s global appeal. For 20% of the show’s visitors, one day wasn’t enough, as more than 9000 attended on more than one day.

The figures show that the move to a larger venue came at the right time for Bett and feedback from visitors confirms the success of its continued development.

AN ENVIABLE POSITION Dominic Savage, director general of the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) and co-founder of Bett, believes the commitment of companies supplying the education and training sectors have played a large role in the event’s success; “Bett occupies an enviable position ahead of all other learning technology events worldwide but it is the enthusiasm and dedication of the people it represents that have made it such a unique show.

Education and training are unique sectors, often driven by high level political imperatives and the show serves as a platform for companies from the UK and from overseas to reach out to their various markets, demonstrating the strong relationships that exist in the sector.” L

Bett occupies an enviable position ahead of all other learning technology events worldwide but it is the enthusiasm and dedication of the people it represents that have made it such a unique show

Professor Brian Cox made a star appearance

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

Business secretary Vince Cable showed his support

Official figures show that Bett 2013 attracted 18 per cent more visitors than previous events

FURTHER INFORMATION Bett 2014 will take place between 22-25 January.

Visit www.bettshow.com

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS

TECHNOLOGY AT THE FOREFRONT OF EDUCATION

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

Bett 2013 enabled more than 35,000 visitors to not only see, touch and test the latest offerings for technology in education, but also united educators worldwide to provide the inspiration and guidance that is needed to address future challenges. A look back at some of the highlights of this year’s event, which featured some 700 companies.

Bett continues to attract an increasing number of visitors over its 29 years of existence. Its success is down to the dedicated exhibitors and the increasing need of teachers for free, high quality continuing professional development.

More than 700 exhibitors showcased technologies at the forefront of their field, with many using the show as a platform to unveil the latest offerings to educators.

Groupcall co-founder, Sir Bob Geldof, launched the Parental Emerge app. The app actively pushes information to parents providing them with a near real-time view of their children’s activity in school and providing peace of mind. At a glance, parents are assured of their child’s whereabouts; updated as to how they are doing in their assessments, know if they have been in trouble recently or if they have been recognised for an award or good work.

DB PRIMARY Editure demonstrated the ongoing success of its primary specific learning platform, DB Primary. The platform supports every role within primary education providing accounts for teachers, pupils, parents, governors and support staff. DB Primary is available in different versions aimed at the wide range of capabilities and age groups within the nursery, infant and primary school sector.

There are varied themes for nursery, Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and pupils with special educational needs, ensuring that every pupil has a learning platform which suits them.

European Electronique held the official launch of ‘Freedom’, its cloud service for schools and colleges. Freedom makes the most of ‘web 2.0’ services available from the world’s leading technology companies, such as Microsoft and combines these with market leading cloud applications using an innovative approach to integration. The service maximises the use of the web whilst minimising cost. Freedom provides ultimate flexibility to meet the exacting demands of schools, academies, UTC’s and Further and Higher Education establishments.

AzteQ IT consultancy, accredited installer of ‘Clever Touch’ interactive LCD displays, showed visitors how this technology can replace projector based systems. Clever Touch

displays deliver pin sharp images and can be used in any environment without loss of clarity or contrast, so there’s never any need to close curtains or blinds. The screens also have toughened glass for extra protection.

In addition to showcasing its new ‘Computer programming’ module for Key Stage 2, Espresso Education announced the upgrading of its teaching and learning services to run on iPads, tablet computers and a range of mobile devices.

Espresso Education also delivered a Learn Live Seminar entitled ‘Using the power of technology to crack the alphabetic code’, at Bett 2013. The interactive session, delivered by experienced teacher, freelance writer and teacher trainer, Isabel Macdonald, focused on how the proven qualities of digital resources can support the teaching & learning of phonics, reading and writing. Packed with practical lesson ideas and audienceparticipation activities through the use of Espresso, the session

took a close look at how to integrate technology into existing literacy teaching approaches. The session then developed into exploring the application of this learning right across the whole curriculum.

PRIMARY RESOURCES FROM TWIG Twig showed new products designed for primary education. Although Twig was not a newcomer to Bett, its new primary resource, Tigtag certainly was. This complete science resource offers everything from short films and practical activities to lesson plans and objectives – all created to meet the new curriculum needs.

Primary educators looking to raise standards in numeracy at Key Stage 2 were drawn to Whizz Education’s stand, where it demonstrated how an environment that encourages happiness in numbers can lead to a positive, lifelong relationship with maths.

Developed by leading educational experts, Maths-Whizz is designed to provide tuition E

Espresson Educatio the ed announcing of upgrad ng and i its teachervices to s learningiPads and a run on of mobile range ices dev

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS  that reaches each student individually.

The interactive tutoring programme with 1200 lessons, promotes scalable, creative and collaborative learning that is measurable.

Also offering to support the teaching of maths, 10monkeys.com was showcasing its resource, which was designed in Finland, a leading country in the PISA league tables.

With more than 200 different exercises in seven categories: understanding numbers, addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and verbal and money-related calculations, this cloud based service offers logical progression and easy navigation.

Education software specialist Crick Software launched a range of brand new ‘Clicker Apps’ to complement its internationally acclaimed literacy support tool. The range of ‘Clicker Apps’ are now accessible for the very first time via the iPad. The Clicker Sentences app, for example, enables teachers to quickly create differentiated sentence building activities on any topic, while the Clicker Docs app provides pupils with a child-friendly talking word processor.

FLOW ASSESSMENT SOFTWARE eInstruction showcased Flow, a new user‑friendly assessment software that works with student response systems, tablets and smartphones. Flow is designed to correspond to the needs of formative, summative and diagnostic classroom assessment. Fully cloud integrated and LMS ready, it facilitates assessment, continuous evaluation, and attendance monitoring.

Flow works with eInstruction® student response systems, as well as smartphones and tablet using iOS and Android, and computers operating Windows (XP, Vista, or 7) Mac and Linux. Flow questions are compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint, eInstruction Workspace™, Open Office and other software. It also provides the Mobi KWIK and View instant feedback features.

Visitors working with children in their early years visited Classroom Monitor on stand B210 to look at its new Early Years markbook service, which provides an easy-to-use alternative to the E-Profile.

Nursery schools and foundation teachers can use the interactive markbook to

Teachermail

Producer of health and fitness and equipment Technogym, launched mywellness cloud, a web‑based platform that allows students working out in the gym, to capture their physical activity data, track progression and compete against other individuals, classes or even schools record observations and assessment against the 17 new EYFS goals.

2Simple aimed to revolutionise the way evidence is captured and managed by Early Years practitioners with the 2Build a Profile app. The record keeping app, created for use on the iPad has been designed to help foundation stage teachers easily achieve compliance with the National Curriculum assessment’s revised EYFS profile. It also supports assessment against the new 17 early learning goals (ELGs).

For visitors supporting children with special educational needs, AssistiveWare, in collaboration with Acapela Group welcomed visitors to see the first-ever genuine children’s Text to Speech voices for iOS and Mac: the British Harry and Rosie and American Josh and Ella. The voices are designed for Augmentative and Alternative Communication in order to give children who cannot speak a voice that resembles their own. The new children’s voices are used by children with a wide range of disabilities, including many children on the autism spectrum.

Specialists in the design, supply and installation of sound, lighting and audio-visual systems for education, Clarity in Sound Light and Vision were sharing their experiences of working in schools to support children with special educational needs. Clarity works with schools to create imaginative learning spaces in which children can learn.

THE STOCK MARKET CHALLENGE Secondary school educators took time to visit10 Lane Learning, creators of the Stock Market Challenge, with the new Global Investor. This online, dual screen simulation transforms trading on the financial markets into an accessible and enjoyable collaborative learning experience. The game enables students to develop essential mathematical techniques, apply their business and economic understanding, and develop their key skills in a collaborative and time-pressured team game.

ParentMail, the UK’s leading school-tohome communications and payments service, launched ‘TeacherMail’, an innovative pupil reporting tool for the classroom. Designed specifically to help raise pupil achievement, TeacherMail dynamically links teachers and parents, giving parents real-time, meaningful feedback on their child’s progress so they can better support their child’s education.

Developed in close conjunction with primary and secondary schools, TeacherMail utilises

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

Technogym

modern communication technologies to make recording pupil notes quick and easy for teachers. It simplifies and standardises pupil reporting so meaningful instant feedback can be sent to parents on a regular basis.

Celebrity mathematician Carol Vorderman introduced a new online maths homework service developed with Pearson. During her session, Carol demonstrated her passion for improving the maths ability of primary aged school children, and shared her own personal experiences as a parent, of finding the right resources for her children. Carol presented to visitors on Pearson’s stand on the opening day of Bett; she showed visitors how ‘Maths Made Easy’ engages parents and guardians with their child’s learning of maths.

Visitors took the time to visit ClickView’s stand to see the new Media Store, a webbased platform where users can purchase content from the world’s top providers. Also on show was ClickView Online, a service which allows teachers and students to access their video library off campus; ClickView 24-7, a 24 hour digital TV recording device; and E

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NEW Online payments solution from SIMS SIMS Agora provides a cost-efficient, secure and easy way for schools to collect payments from parents and sell school items online.

Parents can now pay for school meals, trips, uniforms and much more online, providing a more convenient and flexible way to pay.

Want to know more? visit www.capita-sims.co.uk/onlinepayments email info@capita-sims.co.uk call 0845 460 4074

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS  ClickView Exchange, an online community where schools and colleges share recorded television content with each other.

DODDLEMATHS DoddleMaths was new to Bett, inviting educators who are looking for ways to motivate their students and make school a Doddle. With the objective of encouraging students to do their homework, DoodleMaths provides lessons, homework, revision and worksheets. The marks are automatically fed into an online markbook, so teachers can see who’s doing what, when and how well.

Secondary science specialist Sunflower Learning showed visitors a range of new programmes and topics that are now available to support learning in biology, chemistry and physics. Abstract concepts which are always a challenge to teach such as diffraction, bonding and the EM Spectrum are made visual, interactive and significantly straightforward to teach.

Another newcomer to Bett, all the way from Australia, was Classroom Professor, launching Classroom Professor Gadgets. The suite of maths gadgets are interactive mathematical models designed to support, teachers’ interactive teaching practice. The resources are based on students developing numeracy and a capacity for mathematical thinking, by seeing what the maths really means.

VLEBOOKS For visitors with an interest in literacy, the recently launched VLeBooks from Browns Books for Students were on hand. Browns Books for Students offers a 21st century way for students to access a school’s eBook catalogue; students have quick and easy access to the texts they need via this unique website. Without additional software, students can search for and read the full text of every eBook and store their notes in the cloud or download to read offline.

Anytime anywhere literacy support for dyslexic students was top of the agenda for Texthelp as it launched its new range of cloudbased text-to-speech web apps for reading, writing, studying and research on-the-go.

Designed to work on a wide range of mobile learning devices including the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, smart phones, PCs and Macs, the new apps support multiple browsers allowing users to benefit from instant accessibility to these powerful support tools wherever they are.

AB TUTOR AB Tutor, providers of world leading classroom management and PC remote desktop control software, showed visitors to its stand how the software allows users to simply and effectively control, manage, monitor, demonstrate, support and collaborate with their students.

Refreshingly, AV Tutor emphasises the fact that its experienced team is big enough to provide excellent technology at affordable prices

Another newcomer to Bett, all the way from Australia, was Classroom Professor, launching Classroom Professor Gadgets. The suite of maths gadgets are interactive mathematical models designed to support, teachers’ interactive teaching practice

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

TECHNOGYM Technogym, leading producer of health and fitness and equipment launched mywellness cloud, a web-based platform that allows students working out in the gym, to capture their physical activity data, track progression and compete against other individuals, classes or even schools. Technogym’s new integrated web platform on its cardiovascular machines means students can continue with their studies whilst working out. The integrated touchscreen HD-ready console can access online learning resources allowing students to gain additional qualifications even through core PE classes.

FROG Frog launched a new cloud based platform for learning specifically designed for tablet and mobile devices. This enables teachers to create interactive resources and students will be able to learn at home, on the train, anywhere using an iPad or Android device.

This new product gives teachers a valuable insight into their students and helps them understand how they actually learn. They can identify weaknesses, monitor progress and improve outcomes, creating an individual learning experience for every child.

FUJITSU Fujitsu is transforming communities and helping them realise their objectives by exploiting innovative ICT through its integrated product and service portfolio.

Young, inquisitive minds benefit hugely from fast, reliable IT. Fujitsu offers exactly that from durable notebooks and all‑in‑one devices for students on the move, to supercomputing-based research collaboration for universities and many more managed services and products.

FEEDBACK INSTRUMENTS Feedback Instruments has been a key player in electrical-based engineering teaching equipment in more than 100 countries since 1958. Feedback Instruments in now part of the LD Group and represents the science, automotive and engineering teaching products of the Leybold brand for the UK market. Equipment covers the following areas: Electricity & Electronics, Control & PLCs, Process Control, Telecommunications, Electrical Power & Machines, Refrigeration & Air-conditioning and Pneumatics & Hydraulics.

Frogtrade

ABBY ABBYY is a leading provider of document/data capture and linguistic technologies used by individuals, libraries, universities and large organisations.

Its OCR and linguistics software, such as FineReader and Lingvo, are used by teachers, SENCOs and administrative staff to convert documents for making exam/study materials, for archiving, working with assistive technologies like text‑to‑speech. Enterprise software, such as Recognition Server and FlexiCapture, automate key processes within organisations and departments like Accounts Payable or HR. Products are available through partners & educational resellers.

WAYMARK IT attro is designed to simplify the capture and use of data. Quite simply, attro collects your school’s data, stores it and allows you to present the outcomes in the format you require. A collaborative tool, developed

by Waymark IT in conjunction with St Thomas More School in Gateshead, attro optimises data collection to support live and immediately measurable recording of lesson observations, teaching and learning, work scrutiny, performance measurement, school administration and more. attro can be used on tablets, laptops and PCs and by all primary, secondary and E

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LAN2LAN is a specialist systems integration company focused on driving innovative IT solutions.

Established in 1994, we have a high level of experience and expertise in the following solution areas in the Education sector; Infrastructure, Network Security, Wireless and Collaboration & Messaging.

At Bett 2013, many of you discussed your experiences relating to Network Security and WAN Optimisation, LAN2LAN understands the Education sector and we can help you address these concerns.

If Network Security or WAN Optimisation is of interest to you, please contact LAN2LAN on 0870 787 4001 or email info@lan2lan.com to talk with our Specialist Consultants.

Network, Content and Application Security Tablet PCs, iPads and smartphones have revolutionised learning. However, along with the tremendous educational benefits brought about by the Internet with students gaining increased exposure to many valuable and useful sources of information, it also brings a rise in sophisticated network security threats and challenges. Key issues include; • Access to inappropriate content by students • Intrusions into academic record and exam stores • Introduction of viruses and worms into campus networks • Utilisation of campus networks for illegal content sharing • Requirements to archive electronic communications for electronic discovery purposes While numerous products are available today that can be used to filter inappropriate content, eliminate viruses and worms, detect network intrusions and prevent access to critical computing assets, the cost of procuring and managing these systems stretches the personnel and budget limitations of the vast majority of educational campuses.

Fortinet provides a secure environment for BYOD What is needed is a new, architecturally different approach to network protection for distributed and diverse educational network and computing environments.

Fortinet’s Fortigate multi-threat appliances address all the network security needs by offering the educational campuses the security and performance their environments demand.

Fortinet’s ASIC – accelerated FortiGate systems scan File Transfer Protocol, email, instant messaging and Web content at the network edge and in real time – protecting the educational network from threats and other inappropriate peer to peer or file sharing content before it can enter the network.

Fortinet’s systems combine multiple security functionalities including firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention system, anti‑virus, web filtering and anti-spam functionality in one easy to install, maintain and update platform.

WAN Optimisation Educational campuses are increasingly embracing Internet enabled learning technologies to engage students more profoundly and drive a more collaborative learning experience. At the same time, the ideal educational experience must provide an engaging academic curriculum, as well as support a healthy level of social interaction.

Educational campuses are now challenged to provide students and faculty with predictable performance and a high quality user experience. So how can education campuses cater for greater freedom in both devices and applications AND ensure the network must also support teaching, learning, study and recreational use?

Prioritise learning-critical applications and internet access with Exinda Bandwidth Control Exinda’s solution is designed specifically to assure the Learning Network. Unlike conventional approaches to controlling traffic in education facilities, Exinda applies a set of education application packs and policies to simplify and facilitate how you wish to prioritise access to the Internet and other critical applications on your Learning Network.

These targeted, layer-seven application packages are designed to protect the user experience for your most strategic learning and examination management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle.

Exinda helps you: • Apply network policies based on user segments eg: students and faculty • Assure SLAs for online learning and courseware • Control bandwidth usage by rich media and video applications • Stay compliant with regulatory bodies • Defer your next bandwidth upgrade By focusing network resources intelligently where you need them most, you can guarantee bandwidth to these applications on a per user basis.

Telephone: 0870 787 4001 Email: info@LAN2LAN.com Website: www.LAN2LAN.com

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS Infrastructure (Exinda) solutions on Stand B353. Fortinet’s security system addresses the full range of network security threats in the Education sector, and gives visibility & control of the applications being accessed by students from their own devices. Unlike conventional approaches to controlling network traffic, Exinda applies a set of education application packs & policies to simplify and facilitate how you wish to prioritise access to the Internet and applications on your Learning Network.

Iansyst

 TTS GROUP With TTS now spreading its wings into secondary education the company was pleased to showcase a very strong ICT resources offering for Early Years through to Key Stage 3, covering many subjects; Science, Maths, Literacy, PSHE, PE and ICT. TTS Group’s ear to the ground approach enables new educational resources to be introduced into schools and nurseries every year. 2013 is no exception, with 15 new products being unveiled at BETT. Highlights include; Talking Turtles, Sound Around, Clever Candles, Interactive Wall and USB Headset.

ZIPTALES Ziptales is a large online English literacy library, covering all levels of primary school, containing over 200 levelled readers, over 75 hours of voiced content, and over 1100 activities and exercises. As well as stories, there are graphic novels, poems, puzzles, plays, procedural texts, literacy puzzles and word games. All reinforce reading skills, and are mapped to readability measures.

There are interactive comprehension tests at the end of each story. The library caters to teachers’ need for either flexibility or an incremental approach. There is explicit teaching of many basic literacy skills as well as 150 general English curriculum lessons.

JABBLA Jabbla develops AAC devices and AAC software to assist people with communication challenges. Each one has multiple access methods and adaptable software, so they can be customised to each individual user.

Jabbla’s SprintPlus software helps children, young pupils and adults with reading, writing, spelling and learning difficulties - speech and language technology means users can listen to any available text on

your computer, which helps in developing the user’s reading and writing skills.

10MONKEYS.COM Released in November, 10monkeys.com is a digital learning tool designed for nursery and primary schools. It runs as a cloud service, and is designed to be used with computers and tablets, also encouraging home practice.

The teaching tool utilises the Finnish teaching experience which has shown exceptionally high results in OECD’s PISA studies. The content of 10monkeys.com is designed by Lisen Häggblom, who has a long career in mathematics teaching materials, and it has been developed co-operatively with primary schools and universities. The company is anticipating rapidly growing global demand for user-oriented digital teaching solutions in the near future, as the technological capacity of schools improves.

“We see huge potential for Finland in this sector, particularly because of the Finns’ pedagogical and technological expertise.

10monkeys.com aims to put it in a compact package and send it out to the world”, explains managing director Katri Björklund.

The 10monkeys.com application contains hundreds of math exercises in an entertaining world of monkeys. The characters lead the learner into various exercises of various skill levels. The application includes over 200 types of exercises from seven categories: understanding numbers, addition, subtraction, division, multiplication and verbal and money-related calculations. The application is currently available in English, and other languages will be added in the near future.

LAN2LAN LAN2LAN is a specialist systems integrator focused on driving technologically innovative solutions. At Bett 2013, the company will be promoting its Security (Fortinet) and

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

MICRO LIBRARIAN SYSTEMS As well as the latest versions of core systems Eclipse.net and Junior Librarian.net, MLS showcased some new ideas to help with promoting reading enjoyment throughout schools. Anywhere anytime access to your library is provided through its new mobile app, which is great for encouraging parental engagement with reading. Reading Cloud is MLS’s new online reading community designed to engage students, parents and educators in reading for pleasure. The OverDrive eBook platform allowing students to enjoy titles on computers, mobile phones, tablets, iPod, and hundreds of other devices, downloaded from your school’s eBook library website.

RM SPACEKRAFT SpaceKraft manufactures educational, interactive areas for people with special needs and for inclusion within mainstream schools. Drawing on the expertise of professionals working in the field, SpaceKraft has created a range of sensory products which come with a built in seal of approval from users. The company offers a free sensory room design service and provides comprehensive support after installation.

PROMETHEAN Promethean is a global leader in interactive technologies, with its solutions used by over 15 million learners across 100 countries.

Promethean’s specialist expertise in education has ensured that teachers and learners are supported worldwide. Promethean’s suite of interactive solutions are helping transform the way teachers engage, assess and motivate 21st century learners. These include flexible interactive whiteboard systems, resource‑rich software, market leading Learner Response Systems, visual presenters and audioenhancement systems. Promethean promotes professional development through its online global teaching community, Promethean Planet (www.PrometheanPlanet.com), where educators can share best practice, access online training and download free digital resources.

IOMARTCLOUD iomartcloud provides business critical online safety, security, email and storage solutions.

Its new Netintelligence Web Filter software allows schools to block and filter inappropriate content across all internet-connected devices, including tablets and laptops, via one E

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To order: Phone: 0800 334 5346 | Email: sales@LEGOeducation.eu | Online: www.LEGOeducation.co.uk

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS  central online control panel where system administrators can access a live overview of their entire network. Netintelligence was the first esafety product awarded the PAS74 BSI Kitemark for Child Online Safety - iomartcloud is also member of the Internet Watch Foundation and a supporter CEOP and Childnet International.

The Netintelligence Web filter ensures all users of iOS devices enjoy safe and secure browsing, providing protection from known threats while automatically assessing new sites in real time. Its central management and control allows you to protect unlimited numbers of internet connected devices including tablets, smart phones, desktops and laptops.

APPSHED AppShed launched AppShed Academy, an online learning space where students are given step-by-step instructions on building apps with curriculum outcomes.

KARIN OHLIS FIRMA School Font is a simple writing program app for use on iPad and iPhone. The letters look the same on screen as letters written by hand. Speech Synthesis reads the word aloud when the space bar is pressed, and reads out the complete sentence when pressing the final punctuation. It can be used by primary & early years, secondary and SEN. It is available in six different languages: English, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Deutsch and French. In the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish versions, you can listen to the letter sound. Available at App Store for just £2.

APOLLO CREATIVE Apollo Creative’s Ensemble technology was shortlisted for the ICT Special Educational Needs Solution category in the 2013 Bett Awards.

The Yorkshire‑based company makes its debut at the show this year, showing its Ensemble system – designed to empower young people with physical or learning difficulties.

Ensemble uses a range of switches and sensors matched to the user’s ability, giving them control over music, sound, image, video and lighting.

Ensemble can be adapted easily for different applications across the learning curriculum, whether for a single person or a whole class, using a musical instrument or a complete sensory environment.

CAPITA SIMS Capita SIMS launched SIMS Agora, a new online payment solution for schools which enables parents to pay for school meals, trips and uniforms securely online. SIMS Agora allows schools to provide a safe and secure way for parents, guardians and even extended family members to make payments and purchase school items whether they are at home or in the office. As SIMS Agora

is integrated into a school’s management information system, it provides school administrators with instant access to the names of an entire class or group of pupils so payments can be assigned easily.

Whether the school wants to collect school meal payments, sell uniform, offer trips by instalments, or even after-school activities, SIMS Agora ensures the process is simple, consistent and straightforward.

Graham Cooper, head of product strategy at Capita SIMS, says: “As a parent, I know all too well about last minute payments for school trips. Likewise, I have visited countless schools in dire need of a solution that can reduce the burden of processing payments for individual pupils, year groups or indeed the entire school. The cashless school office is becoming a reality. SIMS Agora will make a real difference to schools and parents alike.”

MEDIACORE MediaCore is a cost-effective way to create an incredible multimedia library for your students.

Used by schools, colleges and universities, over five million students are now accessing their video and associated course materials on the MediaCore platform. Whether integrated

STONE COMPUTERS Established in 1991, Stone Computers is a leading provider of IT hardware and professional services. Taking pride in offering a low total cost of ownership (TCO), Stone offers tangible benefits that answer the specific challenges, such as resource gaps exposed by reduced budgets. The company prides itself on offering a superior service that has been created and continually refined to meet the specific and evolving needs of UK schools, academies, FE colleges and universities.

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

TRIBUNE BUSINESS SYSTEMS Tribune is an approved supplier for the Department for Education’s ICT Services Framework Agreement.

Through partnerships and accreditations with all leading ICT hardware and software suppliers, Tribune provides complete ICT solutions from design through to implementation, managed services and support. Tribune is the leading provider of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and cloud based services to the education sector, transforming teaching and learning through cost effective, secure, 24/7 access from anywhere, with desktop deployment

Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies

with a virtual learning environment such as Moodle, or as an online media library, you can transform the way your students learn by allowing them to access their videos and other content, anytime, anywhere, on any device.

YOYO GAMES YoYo Games is a top publisher of mobile, social and web-based games as creator of GameMaker: Studio, the world’s fastest and easiest to use cross-platform games development. Founded in 2007 by games industry visionaries to showcase the next generation of games development talent and devices, GameMaker hosts a community of a half a million registered users and is deployed in more than 5,000 schools worldwide.

and management across any device.

Tribune provides educational managed learning for all schools including SEN. IANSYST iansyst launched azzapt – a new cloudbased service which removes barriers to accessing books, learning materials and text on the move. iansyst will also be featuring a line-up of new products including CapturaTalk for AndroidTM – a literacy support tool that helps build reading, writing and note taking skills; and the Earlbright eLearning Portal, specifically designed to work as a companion for students who receive one on one training from iansyst.

CapturaTalk for Android application is E

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Award-winning software

Solutions for Education

Classroom Management for Windows Classroom Monitoring for MacÂŽ & Linux Remote Control for Any Platform Desktop Security Powerful Desktop Alerting IT Asset Management

More than ever, education relies on technology to promote school improvement and raise standards in the classroom. The challenge for school leaders is not only to ensure the IT estate is well supported and managed to keep ongoing costs in check, but also to make sure teachers are equipped with the tools they need to deliver effective computer-led lessons.

NetSupport’s complementary software solutions for education have been helping schools get best value from their IT investment for 23 years. From powerful IT asset management to award-winning classroom management and monitoring tools, NetSupport has the answers to your IT challenges.

Learn more and download free trial copies of all products from www.netsupportsoftware.com

Web-Based Helpdesk

w: www.netsupportsoftware.com | e: education@netsupportsoftware.co.uk | t: 01778 382270

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS  a revolutionary tool that provides literacy support to improve reading and writing skills on Android mobile phones and tablet devices.

Utilising Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to capture text from a photograph or digital document, users can have the text read aloud via text-to-speech, translate the words into over 20 languages, check spellings and meanings using the integrated dictionary, add voice notes and save text as audio, providing added assistance for anyone requiring reading and writing support.

BI-BRIGHT During 2012, the research team at Bi‑Bright has worked to develop two new Bi-Bright interactive whiteboards, which are being launched at BETT 2013.

Taking resistant and durable ceramic steel surface, eRed 4X surges with Multi-Touch (4 touches) for Windows, Mac and Linux, multi-user and multi-cursor features. It recognises the presence of a pen, finger or wand on the board surface, and is suited to four users sharing an interactive experience.

The eRed 4X was designed to offer the familiar experience of other touch enabled devices.

Bi-Bright has also developed a new IWB with different design concept. Slim Line series is a Multi-Touch (4 touches) for Windows and it has Plug & Play technology, incorporates IR-LED Technology and is available at 56”, 78” and 96” sizes.

CJM SOFTWARE CJM Software is a FileMaker education developer which provides award winning school management software for primary and secondary schools. The systems work equally well on both windows and Apple and are now available on the iPad and iPhone.

New developments include Music School Manager, the leading Music department management software combining academic and music timetables, exam, event, ensemble management, billing and much more.

The company is also launching the sports team management software to provide analysis of team performance and pupil.

EUROPEAN ELECTRONIQUE BETT 2013 started an exciting new year for European Electronique. Building on last year’s mobility and client to cloud theme, this year saw the official launch of ‘Freedom,’ European Electronique’s cloud service for education was launched. Freedom makes the most of web 2.0 services available from the world’s leading technology companies, such as Microsoft, and combines these with market leading cloud applications using an innovative approach to integration. The service maximises the use of the web whilst minimising cost. Freedom provides ultimate flexibility to meet the exacting demands of schools, academies, UTCs and further and higher education establishments.

LapCabby

GRATNELLS Gratnells is the world leader for school storage. Its system of trays and accessories have been adopted in over 50 countries as a preferred storage method for science and other educational items. Many world renowned science equipment companies use Gratnells tray system as a packaging method allowing storage of experiment kits within the classroom to be safe, efficient and seamless.

HARDWARE ASSOCIATES Hardware Associates is a leading independent supplier of Dell spare parts and refurbished systems. Established in 1998, the company holds over 20,000 items ready for immediate shipment. Spares are stocked for laptops, desktop PCs and servers. memory, CPU’s, keyboards, blanking plates and other upgrade options are also in stock. Accounts can be set immediately and orders placed before 6pm can be shipped for next day delivery.

If your school or college is using any Dell equipment Hardware Associates will help ensure a fast supply of quality spare parts.

SMOOTHWALL Smoothwall’s Web Filter and UTMs deliver an integrated, secure and easily manageable system that effectively gives you full visibility of your network. With its lighttouch real-time Dynamic Content Analysis™ technology, users can filter, monitor, control and easily report on; malware, social-media use, instant messaging, proxy avoidance - all without impacting on the browsing experience. Smoothwall’s accredited systems are deployed throughout education and government around the world and enable customers to run their networks in their own way and provide a secure environment to work, learn and play on the web.

UK TRADE & INVESTMENT UK exhibitors and visitors to the BETT

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

Show 2013 had a unique opportunity to develop their international business by meeting key decision makers from a range of international markets where new and innovative educational technology solutions are becoming increasingly important. The UKTI Meet the Buyer event will provide the opportunity for short one-to-one introductory meetings to discuss how UK educational products and solutions can be applied overseas.

XIRRUS Xirrus is a leading provider of highperformance wireless networks. Xirrus’’ Array-based solutions perform under the most demanding circumstances with wired-like reliability and superior security. The Xirrus wireless solutions provide a vital strategic business and IT infrastructure advantage to the education, healthcare, government and enterprise industries that depend on wireless to operate business-critical applications.

KENSINGTON Kensington’s mobile security product offerings include laptop and mobile security locks providing a new generation of front-line protection for Windows & iOS mobile devices.

In addition Kensington offers accessories including power adapters, cases, mice, keyboards, universal docking stations and more.

A1 TECHNOLOGIES A1 Technologies specialises in bringing cutting-edge 3D digital technologies into every level of education from primary schools to universities. The company is fully committed to its philosophy of making these technologies accessible to students at the earliest opportunity within school curriculums to encourage understanding and uptake by tomorrow’s engineers. Whether for creative development or for targeted STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) E

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR  activities, the A1 Technologies’ product range can be used across the curriculum to promote and develop key skills.

DRAMAFORUM OY Dramaforum Oy’s product line consists of Petra´s Planet virtual world and Petra books. Petra´s Planet is a safe online environment where children can play, socialize and get creative.

At BETT Dramaforum introduces a new addition to the product line; Petra´s Planet for Schools, which is an educational extension to the virtual world.

Petra´s Planet for Schools offers content also for interactive white boards.

Dramaforum Oy´s goal is to support childhood needs and children’s natural curiosity to learn in a way that is fun, interesting and safe.

BRITISH PATHÉ British Pathé provides a 20th Century view of topics covering History, English, Geography, Citizenship, media/ Film Studies, ICT, Sociology, Religious Education and Physical Education.

Educational subscribers have unlimited downloads of films and stills and have access to curriculum based learnspaces.

British Pathé is the finest film and newsreel archive in the world, spanning from 1896 to 1976 and containing over 90,000 individual film items and 12 million stills.

The archive covers an enormous range of subjects including modern British and world history, news, fashion, sport, entertainment, travel, warfare and 20th Century social history. Nominated for a Digital Collections and Resources Bank BETT 2013 award, it is considered an invaluable learning and teaching aid for teachers and pupils. Educational subscribers have unlimited downloads of films and stills.

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

Genee World

I-DESK SOLUTIONS With over 18,000 i-desks in schools, colleges and universities across the UK, i-desk Solutions have continued to lead the way in integrated PC/desk technology.

Since inventing the patented i-desk in 1999, i-desk Solutions work with Education to launch new, innovative designs all of which have proven a success. Compact and efficient cooling, cabling and jigsaws mean we confidently lead the way in safety, security, flexibility and cost effectiveness.

HODDER EDUCATION Hodder Education is a leading educational publisher and service provider for schools and colleges. Hodder’s Dynamic Learning service is an online teaching and learning resource which is easy to integrate with existing plans, saving time and providing great value for money. Question Practice helps students to excel in exams with focused and flexible preparation.

Featuring graded responses to exam questions its ideal for question practice all year round. Available exclusively on

the iBookstore now, Globe Education Shakespeare iBooks have been produced in collaboration with Globe Education.

NAACE Naace the ICT association is a community of educators, technologists and policy makers who share a vision for the role of technology in advancing education. As a professional association, it represents the voice of the UK education technology community in the schools sector at a national and international level, as well as supporting one another across the sector through conferences, courses and the dissemination of resources, research and reflection. NAACE plays a key role in both members’ professional development and the development of the profession as a whole, through the sharing of innovation and expertise.

ONELAN Founded in 1988, ONELAN has been developing digital signage products since 2001. It has developed leading edge hardware appliances and software products that E

Get the web you want with Smoothwall security Smoothwall’s proposition to customers is simple; with Smoothwall you can have “The Web You Want”.

With operations in the UK, USA and Australia and a partner network that spans the globe, we support business customers and organisations in the education, health and government sectors worldwide.

Our product range includes web security systems that incorporate our dynamic content filtering and firewall technology. And, we believe, the best anti-malware and anti-spam from our globally recognised technology partners.

Smoothwall was the first security vendor to develop intelligent content-based web page analysis, a now-essential technology that has rendered URL-blocklist based

filters all but obsolete in the context of today’s dynamic web. Our award winning web filter uses this real-time intelligent technology to protect millions of users worldwide, solving the challenge of protecting end users and networks from undesirable content, while still allowing open access to legitimate on-line resources.

Our solutions are uniquely versatile and can be deployed as hardware, software or virtual appliances to suit differing networks and user environments. Increasingly this means dealing with mobile devices and we have solutions that facilitate BYOD and managed browsing on laptops, smartphones and tablets.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.smoothwall.net

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS  deliver ease of use, manageability, network security and scalability. The company’s Net Top Box devices are used as standalone appliances and in dynamic digital media networks within retail, education, industry, government and hospitality. ONELAN’s NTBs are now installed in a variety of organisations including such well-known corporates as Airbus, ING Bank, Vodafone, Virgin Holidays and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

PARENTPAY The market leader in online school payments and income management, over 1 million parents use ParentPay to make secure online payments to 3,000 schools by credit and debit card or through the PayPoint network – making ParentPay the only fully socially inclusive payment system. The convenient secure cashless solution has proven to increase the uptake of school meals, clubs and trips, saving up to 80 per cent in administration time by removing cash from schools. This year alone, ParentPay will help schools collect and manage over £250 million from parents.

LAPCABBY LapCabby is a leader in the manufacture and design of educational furniture. The company showcased TabCabby Charge & Sync, the latest storage and charging unit that synchronises 32 tablets, from the company’s market-leading LapCabby range.

TabCabby provides the solution to the safe and efficient management of iPads and tablets in the classroom. Also launching all LapCabbys in new colour – Purple.

KYOCERA Print management is a vital strategy for every education establishment examining its entire potential for cost reduction.

Kyocera offers a complete portfolio of print

management solutions (including PaperCut, SafeCom, Equitrac) to control document output, reduce costs, prevent paper waste and improve data security from classroom to boardroom. Staff and students can enjoy an intuitive user interface and the ability to print anywhere and anytime on any networked device while the administration benefits from detailed reports on usage provide a means of charging costs back automatically to the right department.

MACMILLAN EDUCATION Macmillan Education (part of the Macmillan Publishing Group) is a global publisher of English Language Teaching (ELT), Curriculum, Digital and Online materials, ranging from primary school through to university and the professional workplace. Dedicated to providing the most effective learning resources in new media, Macmillan produces digital and online materials to accompany its publications, as well as a virtual learning environment, the Macmillan English Campus.

Additionally Maths Doctor provides oneto-one live eTutoring services over the internet using the latest in web-conferencing technology, and ‘Bettermarks’, the online solution that helps students efficiently learn maths at primary and secondary level.

LITTLE BRIDGE WORLD Little Bridge World combines 30 years’ experience within the world of children’s publishing, 3D animation and interactive gaming technology. It is committed to raising standards in educational publishing and creating breakthrough software to close the gap between educational materials and the kind of games children play at home. Principally focused on the primary age group, the company creates stunning 3D graphics and ‘virtual worlds’ which, together with sound

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

iomartcloud

educational foundations, ensure truly engaging and effective products.

MATRIX Matrix produces resources for teaching and learning electronics, computer science, science, automotive technology and pneumatics.

Brands include Flowcode, E-blocks, MIAC, Airways and Locktronics. At BETT, Matrix demonstrated its new range of innovative products for teaching computer science.

Flowcode e-system design software allows those with little programming experience to develop complex electronic systems for both microcontrollers and personal computers; E-blocks is a flexible range of 50+ circuit boards that snap together to form electronic systems compatible with Windows, Android, Raspberry Pi, Apple and other computing systems. MIAC e-system design suite: allows students to quickly develop control and datalogging systems. E

Bespoke and affordable document solutions The new UK division of TA Triumph-Adler made its exhibition debut at Bett 2013 where they used a 1,000 year-old form of document and paper management – origami – to attract visitors to their stand.

Each day, intrigued ICT leaders and teachers took up the challenge to build their own (origami) photocopier while chatting to the team.

The success to date of TA Triumph-Adler, the largest supplier of award-winning MFPs, photocopiers and printers in Europe, has been built on providing reliable, well designed, functional equipment with individually tailored contracts that are clear and simple to understand.

This is supported by comprehensive onsite training and a professional yet open relationship with its clients. Toby

Hales, head of UK corporate sales, said: “Helping educational establishments to develop the most efficient and affordable document solutions is at the heart of what we do. By conducting an accurate and transparent ‘total cost of ownership’ analysis we often uncover hidden cost drivers to optimise hard-pressed budgets to help create a customised solution where savings of between 18 per cent and 40 per cent are perfectly possible,” added Toby.

It is this simple, ethical approach which has resulted in the successful installation of over 200,000 systems for 35,000 international customers.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01793 783298 www.triumphadler.co.uk

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ricoh.co.uk

Evolution of education Did you know that some fish can sleep with their eyes open, taste without using their mouths and float without casting a shadow?

If you didn’t get a chance to meet us at BETT 2013, why not call us on 0800 90 40 90 to see how we’re bringing education to life.

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BETT 2013: EXHIBITOR HIGHLIGHTS  GROUPCALL Groupcall provides communication and data solutions to the education, public and private sectors and is one of the market leaders with its parental communication system, Groupcall Messenger, used in more than 2,500 schools Nationwide. Co-founded by Sir Bob Geldof, Groupcall’s product portfolio comprises of Messenger, Xporter, Alert and Emerge – the intuitive ‘App’ enabling schools to have an up‑to-the-minute copy of their MIS data instantly and securely in the palm of their hand for access anytime, anywhere. Registration can be taken and student information, such as timetables can be accessed wherever you are.

GENEE WORLD Genee World is a world leading manufacturer and supplier of ICT equipment including high quality Visualisers, Interactive Whiteboards, Learner Response Systems and Touch Screens.

As well as hardware, the company specialises in providing software solutions to adapt to all client needs. Branded products and services are designedwith Interaction, High Quality and a User‑Friendly function in mind.

HEWLETT PACKARD HP will exhibit its newly extended education offering, supporting mobile learning through to back office IT infrastructure with sleek and simple solutions. The high

performance classroom is integral in delivering outstanding education and HP will highlight how it supports this with its solutions. HP’s print management services and its leadership in networking, virtualisation and cloud computing highlight how the education sector can deliver a more cost effective and innovative IT environment with the right partner.

HORIZON FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGIES Horizon fuel cell has developed a complete line of renewable energy science experiment sets and battery-free toys. In 2009, the company partnered with science experts and educators in the US to develop high value educational content and teacher manuals that will bring renewable energy to the classroom. The resources section of its website offer a detailed look at fuel cells and other clean energy technologies, provide useful information as well as specially-designed animated explanations.

EVOKE IT Evoke IT is a SharePoint Specialist company providing intranets and bespoke portals for schools and universities. Using SharePoint as the base, they develop customised file sharing and collaboration applications including personalised home screens showing individual project and assignment deadlines

for both students and staff. Intranets can integrate with other systems such as moodle, and are designed to be easy to use for even the youngest primary school pupils.

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

Sponsored by

BBC MOTION GALLERY For over 70 years, BBC content has entertained and educated, informed and inspired. Its video archive is amongst the greatest in the world, encompassing a vast wealth of subjects. From this wellspring, the BBC has produced thousands of ready-to-use educational modules, each of which can be previewed on its Education Gateway site (www.bbcmotiongalleryeducation.com).

AMT AMT specialises in staging, lighting, digital signage and audio-visual installations.

New products launched at BETT included a flexible modular staging system, and an all new LED lighting system which combines bright punchy colours with low power consumption. AMT’s Digital Poster System enables content to be produced and scheduled in minutes, and is for cafes & canteens, reception areas, corridors, etc. L FURTHER INFORMATION Bett 2014 will take place between 22-25 January. Visit www.bettshow. com for more information

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BETT AWARDS

TECHNOLOGY AT THE BETT AWARDS

The winners of the 15th annual Bett Awards 2013 were announced on Wednesday 30 January after the first day of Bett The winners of the 15th annual Bett Awards 2013 were announced on Wednesday 30 January 2013 after the first day of Bett.

The prestigious awards, which attract many hundreds of entries from suppliers across the industry, concluded with nearly 600 people from the education sector attending the gala dinner at the brand new Grange Tower Bridge Hotel, Tower Bridge, London.

Organised and managed by i2i Events Group and The British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), the annual Bett Awards aims to recognise, reward and celebrate ICT excellence within the education sector by honouring outstanding resources and learning solutions developed by educational suppliers. Entries were judged by over 50 education professionals to ensure a fair and meticulous process.

The Bett Awards 2013 saw Lorraine Petersen, ceo of nasal, become the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement award for her incomparable career in education.

Admired and respected by all who know her, Lorraine was presented with the award by Dominic Savage, director general, BESA. The Lifetime Achievement Award was established to honour an individual who has made significant fundamental contributions to ICT education and whose contribution over time has impacted upon the development of ICT in UK schools. Addressing an audience who had little need for justification as they gave Lorraine a long standing ovation, Dominic summarised Lorraine’s career in education, outlining some of her key achievements and explaining why she had been selected for the award:“The judges

looked carefully at the history of nasen, which came of age last year, and particularly at how the association has developed since Lorraine became its CEO a decade ago. Formerly a teacher and a SENCO herself, there was strong evidence that Lorraine was always more than an enthusiast for enriching the lives of children no matter what their difficulties and that her many abilities as well as her passion were carried into the development of nasen and its services. Always with time for anyone or any group seeking help; always cheerful in the face of difficulties; always positive for the future and what nasen and its members can achieve, Lorraine is a much loved figure: within the industry, within education and within government circles. The judges believe she is a very worthy winner.”

Lorraine commented: “Thank you to everyone at Bett and BESA for my outstanding achievement award. At a time when the special needs sector is going through profound changes this prestigious award will help nasen and its work with some of our most vulnerable young children”.

Caroline Wright, director of BESA stated: “The UK leads the world in terms of technology based learning resources and in turn, nearly 10,000 overseas visitors attend Bett. It is therefore important to recognise that the Awards effectively identify the very best of what the UK has to offer. They are now the standard by which the UK and international education industry can recognise and reward valuable and innovative resources.” L FURTHER INFORMATION www.bettawards.com

Bett 2013 Award winners ICT Exporter of the Year Boxford Ltd

ICT: Bett Awards

?

Sponsored by

Early Years Digital content Busythings Ltd – busythings.co.uk Primary Digital Content Collins Education – Collins BigCat Apps Highly commended: Rising Stars Switched on ICT Secondary Digital Content TrueTube/CTVC – TrueTube.co.uk Highly commended: A2om CIC, Drive IQ ICT Tools for Learning and Teaching Just2easy – j2e5 Highly commended: 2Simple Software, 2Build a Profile Digital Collections and Resource Banks Twig World – Twig World ICT Special Educational Needs Solutions Crick Software Ltd – Clicker 6 Highly commended: Inclusive Technology, HelpKidzLear Digital devices Avantis – LearnPad 2 Highly commended: Promethean ActivTable Data Harvest – EasySense ICT Leadership and Management Solutions Groupcall Limited – Groupcall Messenger Highly commended: CSE Education Systems Ltd, Service Manager Innovation in ICT Capita SIMS – SIMS Discover ICT Service and Support Wolverhampton Learning Technologies ICT Company of the Year Less than £1m turnover Alfiesoft ICT Company of the Year Between £1 and £3m turnover ParentMail ICT Company of the Year Over £3m turnover Frog Trade

Innovative, class-leading management software ITS: Info Technology Supply Ltd is a leading independent software development company headquartered in Harrow, United Kingdom. For the past 25 years the company has supplied thousands of educational establishments with innovative, class-leading management software.

All ITS software solutions are developed in-house and are designed to be easy to use and to configure. Customer feedback and requests steer the development path of the company and it prides itself on its outstanding technical support and customer

service, neither outsourcing development nor using contractors.

ITS specialises in access management; booking systems; cost recovery; print and copy control; desktop management utilities; greener computing; and track and control solutions.

ITS has carefully selected various partnerships to ensure its customers’ expectations are exceeded; together it

maintains its ethic of only providing systems offering the highest quality and reliability FURTHER INFORMATION www.itsltduk.com Tel: 020 8869 1950 info@itsltduk.com

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GOVE SPEECH

GOVE: TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING THE WAY WE TEACH, LEARN AND ASSESS

ICT: Bett 2013 Review

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

Education Secretary Michael Gove highlighted three ways in which technology is profoundly changing education, in his speech at Bett 2013

But this model won’t always stay this way, Gove went on to say, thanks to the advancements of technology.

Gove: ‘Whiteboards may have eliminated chalk dust, chairs may have migrated from rows to groups, but a teacher still stands in front of the class, talking, testing and questioning.’

At this year’s Bett, Education Secretary Michael Gove gave a thought provoking speech on how technology is revolutionising the way education is delivered. He started by reflecting on how technology has changed the world. He stated: “Most of us carry more advanced technology in the smartphone in our pocket than Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin used to reach the Moon.” But one

thing he said hadn’t changed was the model of school education – a teacher talking to a group of pupils. “A Victorian schoolteacher could enter a 21st century classroom and feel completely at home,” Gove said.

“Whiteboards may have eliminated chalk dust, chairs may have migrated from rows to groups, but a teacher still stands in front of the class, talking, testing and questioning.”

‘Games and interactive software can help pupils acquire complicated skills and rigorous knowledge in an engaging and enjoyable way. Adaptive software has the ability to recognise and respond to different abilities, personalising teaching for every pupil’

HELPING US LEARN So what can technology do for learning?

Gove said that firstly, it has the potential to disseminate learning much more widely than ever before. Subjects, classes and concepts that were previously limited to a privileged few are now freely available to anyone with an internet connection.

As an example, Gove referenced 02 learn – a free online library of lesson videos developed and uploaded by teachers. It has already delivered around 25,000 hours of teaching via 1000 lessons from every type of school and college, right across the country.

These include science lessons from The Bishop Wand Church of England Comprehensive School and music lessons from Eton. iTunes U was another example of transformational learning that Gove referred to, where lectures from the world’s top universities are available at the touch of a button, as well as the Khan Academy which has more than 3.5 million students viewing its educational videos every month.

It has been so successful that Google has donated $2 million for its materials to be translated into 10 languages.

What’s more the Royal Shakespeare Company is working with the University of Warwick on an online professional development learning platform to transform the teaching of Shakespeare in schools.

Launching soon, the ‘rehearsal room’ teaching resources will give teachers all over the world access to the insights and working practices of internationally-renowned actors, artists and directors, as well as specialist academics and teachers. The programme will even offer the chance to study for a Post Graduate qualification in the Teaching of Shakespeare.

HOW WE TEACH Gove went on to say that technology is revolutionising the way we teach. He said: “Games and interactive software can help pupils acquire complicated skills and rigorous knowledge in an engaging and enjoyable way. Adaptive software has the ability to recognise and respond to different abilities, E

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ICT

www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

Are you ready for this year’s big thing? For advice on the latest Cloud computing developments, call 9ine This year’s Bett show was one of quiet expansion rather than dramatic innovation when it came to the technology on show.

However, one major theme that is definitely emerging from the restrained atmosphere is that of cloud-based solutions, and how they would work for educational organisations.

This is just a reflection of a growing trend across the industry as a whole, but the use of cloud-based services, where your applications, data and processing power are all done at a remote location that you neither see or control, brings significant benefits – and many things to consider.

9ine Consulting has been involved in quite a few variations of this new development, and we even use one internally to help run our business – Google Docs. The benefits of this solution are significant, but then so are the changes to the way that you work – and the areas that you need to investigate thoroughly before you make any leaps.

It’s worth mentioning initially that Google Docs itself is free to educational institutions.

Whilst this should never be an overwhelming consideration, getting a system that gives your email, calendar, chat, video conferencing, spreadsheets, documents, presentations and more, for free, certainly impacts the value for money argument. Secondly, as you can tell

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

from the previous list, it’s a very integrated system and allows you do work with quickly and easily either as a team of staff, a class of children or a whole school.

Collaboration is a major advantage, with multiple people able to view and amend content at the same time – no more worries around who’s using what version of something, emailing of attachments, and then collating the results. And then there’s the fact that Google gives you some things that are very hard to find elsewhere in such a useable format – Google Forms lets you capture information in a very user friendly way, and the Google app store gives you a wide range of applications that you can use both in the classroom and help run your organisation. Admittedly, you have to pay for some of these, but it’s never going to break the bank and you don’t have to do anything – you just have the opportunity to do so.

But what do you need to worry about? Well, it’s a big change, so you’ll want to think about how you your students, staff and processes are going to, and need to, react. It’s all online, so even if you put lots of things in your

Google Drive folder on your device, you’re still going to need an internet connection to get the full benefits. You most definitely need to plan things properly, especially your folders structures and the way that you want to control access to various areas. And finally, you’ll need to go into the appropriate amount of due diligence around the protection of your data, and your exit strategy should you ever want to move onto something else.

So cloud-based services like Google Docs were this years big thing – and if you want any sort of advice around this, or any other aspect of technology, give 9ine a call.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 020 8144 6916 www.9ine.uk.com

GOVE SPEECH  personalising teaching for every pupil. With the expert help of a teacher, students can progress at different rates through lessons calibrated to stretch them just the right amount.”

Britain games industry is also being explored as a way to deliver learning in imaginative ways. For example games developed by Marcus Du Sautoy, Professor of Mathematics at Oxford, are introducing children to advanced, complicated maths problems – and are producing great results.

Gove went on to explain how a trip to Kingsford School in Newham opened his eyes. The Department for Education is working with the Li Ka Shing Foundation and the highly respected Stanford Research Institute on a pilot scheme that uses computer programmes to teach maths interactively – for example, showing a race between two people on screen and inviting pupils to plot their time and distance on a graph, then adjust it for variables. Stanford already says it is one of the most successful educational projects they have seen and I am looking forward to seeing the results.

HOW WE ASSESS Technology also brings unprecedented opportunities for assessment, Gove said.

Teachers can now assess the progress of pupils in a much more sophisticated way, as well as share assessments with pupils and parents.

“Each pupil’s strengths and weaknesses can be closely monitored without stigmatising those who are struggling or embarrassing those are streaking ahead,” Gove said.

“Teachers can adjust lesson plans to target areas where pupils are weakest, and identify gaps in knowledge quickly and reliably.”

Sophisticated assessment like this is already being used in schools around the country.

Gove used Brailes Primary School as an example. As a small rural school on the border of Warwickshire and Oxfordshire, the school uses online tools enabling teachers to use pre-assembled tests, or design tests of their own. One of the teachers, Deborah Smith, has praised the system, saying: “It has enabled me to differentiate my teaching to meet the needs of different groups. The assessments are quick and simple to prepare, leaving more time for planning and teaching.”

In Chichester School for Boys, electronic voting pads provide students with instant feedback during classes. Teachers get real-time feedback on how well their material is being understood – even on a question by question basis.

Gove went on to say that some ICT teaching in schools is already excellent – as reported in the most recent Ofsted report on ICT education and last year’s Naace report, ‘The Importance of Technology’. And this excellence should be shared amongst other schools to drive up standards. The government is already working with the Open University on Vital, a programme encouraging teachers

Gove referenced 02 learn – a free online library of lesson videos developed and uploaded by teachers.

It has already delivered 25,000 hours of teaching via 1000 lessons from every type of school, right across the country. These include science lessons from Bishop Wand Church of England Comprehensive and music lessons from Eton

to share ICT expertise between schools.

High-performing academy chains will also play a huge role in spreading existing best practice and innovation between schools.

IT CURRICULUM Gove went on to discuss problems with the current ICT curriculum. He said: “Schools, teachers and industry leaders have all told us that the current curriculum is too off-putting, too demotivating, too dull. Submissions to the National Curriculum Review Call for Evidence from organisations including the British Computer Society, Computing at School, eSkills UK, Naace and the Royal Society, all called the current National Curriculum for ICT unsatisfactory. They’re worried that it doesn’t stretch pupils enough or allow enough opportunities for innovation and experimentation – and they’re telling me the curriculum has to change radically.”

He went on to reveal that some respondents in a 2009 research study by e-Skills said that ICT GCSE was “so harmful, boring and/or irrelevant it should simply be scrapped.”

Gove then went on to announce that the Department for Education is opening a consultation on withdrawing the existing National Curriculum Programme of Study for ICT from September this year. He stressed that ICT will remain compulsory at all key stages, and will still be taught at every stage of the curriculum. No English schools will be forced

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to follow the existing Programme of Study any more, instead they will be free to use the amazing resources that already exist on the web.

Universities, businesses and others will have the opportunity to devise new courses and exams.

Steps already taken to reform the curriculum are taking place, he said. For example, facebook has teamed up with UK-based organisation Apps for Good to offer young people the chance to learn how to design, code and build social applications for use on social networks, via a unique new training course which they aim to make freely available online this year to potential users all over the world.

And other specialist groups have published or are about to publish detailed ICT curricula and programmes of study, including Computing At School (led by the British Computer Society and the Institute of IT), Behind the Screens (led by eSkills UK), Naace and others, with considerable support from industry leaders.

Gove said: “Instead of children bored out of their minds being taught how to use Word and Excel by bored teachers, we could have 11 year-olds able to write simple 2D computer animations using an MIT tool called Scratch.

“By 16, they could have an understanding of formal logic previously covered only in University courses and be writing their own Apps for smartphones.” L

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INTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGY

EDUCATION IN 3D

Epson chose BETT to debut its EB-G6000 Series, a range of versatile projectors designed to deliver superior quality presentations in auditoriums, lecture theatres and other venues

Epson, the world leader in the projector market for over 10 years, showcased its latest 3LCD projection systems and printing products and services for the education sector at BETT 2013. The company used the show as a platform for a number of major new product and service announcements.

The star of the show, and making its UK debut was the EB-G6000 Series, a range of versatile installation projectors designed to deliver superior quality presentations in auditoriums, lecture theatres and other education venues.

A wide range of ‘standard’ and ‘pro’ models provide XGA, WXGA and WUXGA resolution at 4,500-7,000 lumens in a chassis weighing less than 10kg. All are packed with innovative features, including the ability to project onto corners and curves and onto the ceiling, floor or wall.

The inclusion of 360-degree rotation, horizontal and vertical lens shift, pixel alignment, colour uniformity and HDBaseT (‘pro’ models only) gives system integrators

installation flexibility and advanced image control. All models in the range are compatible with Epson’s EB-G5000 interchangeable lenses and are sufficiently light for installation by a single technician.

PROJECTIONS FOR LARGE AUDIENCES BETT 2013 also marked the first UK appearance of the EB-W16SK, Epson’s first ever passive 3D projector system.

A classroom environment was created on the stand to demonstrate how it can be used in education to deliver bright, affordable 3D content to large audiences.

The EB-W16SK teams up two 3,000-lumen projectors in a special mount to provide easy-to-use 3D. The low cost of the polarised 3D glasses required by passive 3D makes the technology ideal for big audiences and ensures the EB-W16SK delivers a low cost of ownership. An automatic alignment feature ensures the EB-W16SK is easy to set up.

BETT 2013 also marked the first UK appearance of the EB-W16SK, Epson’s first ever passive 3D projector system. A classroom environment was created on the stand to demonstrate how it can be used in education to deliver bright, affordable 3D content to large audiences

Graeme Davidson, business manager for visual imaging at Epson UK, says: “As the UK’s leading exhibition for the education sector, BETT provided Epson with the ideal venue for demonstrating the EB-G6000, our strongest installation projector series to date, and our first passive 3D projection system, both of which bring new levels of functionality and reliability to the education market.”

The EB-G6000 Series is available from March 2013 and the EB-W16SK is available now.

At BETT there were also a number of demonstrations of Epson’s award winning single-function printers and the WorkForce Pro WP-4500 Series of multi-function printers.

With a 50 per cent lower cost per page and up to 80 per cent lower power consumption than laser counterparts, they are a cost efficient and energy saving addition to any classroom. These high-speed inkjet printers offer a genuine alternative to laser products and provide further cost savings due to a super-fast automatic double-sided printing function, reducing paper usage. This makes them an ideal choice for any school who will benefit from lower ink costs and a choice of high-yield cartridges of up to 3,400 pages, while a print resolution of 4800x1200dpi – much higher than comparative lasers for clearer text and sharper images.

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PRINT AND SAVE Also in the print area, Epson used BETT 2013 as the platform to announce its professional printing service package, Epson Print and Save. This allows schools to dramatically cut their current printing costs and make significant savings when compared to supplies and service bought separately. Available immediately for Epson inkjet and laser printers, this three-year contract helps schools keep their printing budgets under control.

Schools and universities of all sizes can choose from several package options based on their printing habits (light, medium, heavy use, for example) to determine how many supplies are needed for the duration of the contract.

Using the dedicated web portal, businesses can order from this resource whenever they need extra supplies and consumables.

Using this service helps prevent overstocking, ensuring that educational establishments do not pay for unused supplies. It also offers peace of mind and prevents any unexpected costs such as service charges and repairs, as these are included with the three-year service warranty.

John Kelly, business manager, Epson UK, says: “Many schools are having to cut budgets and so need to find new ways of making their money work harder. With Epson Print and Save, not only can costs be brought down, but also managing and ordering supplies is much easier to handle too.” L FURTHER INFORMATION www.epson.co.uk

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

READY FOR THE EBOOK REVOLUTION?

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RM Education is launching RM Books, the UK’s first ebook system designed specifically for schools. With options to buy or rent a range of books, for a month, term, year or longer, it’s a free, no-obligation, online system that provides immediate access to 1,000 free ebooks selected by education experts

More and more adults are reading books in digital format. Over three times as many fiction ebooks were sold in 2011 compared to 2010, says The Publishers Association.

The explosion in ebook publishing has accompanied the growth in popularity of ereaders and tablet devices – and now more and more children are using these, fuelling an upswing in digital book-buying in the children’s publishing market.

WHY AREN’T SCHOOLS EMBRACING THIS OPPORTUNITY? Until now, education publishing has remained largely untouched by the move to digital.

A recent survey by RM Education found that only 16 per cent of secondary schools currently use ebooks within the curriculum – one of the main barriers being: how can you easily manage ebook deployment from multiple publishers, to individuals and groups of students, who use a range of different devices? The possibilities opened up by this new technology are very exciting, offering a range of benefits for teaching, learning and school budgets, and that’s why we’ve helped schools to overcome this barrier by creating a solution that makes management simple.

SCHOOLS CAN NOW EMBRACE THE EBOOK REVOLUTION RM Books will offer a range of digital textbooks, through a flexible, affordable and simple rental scheme. Using and managing the system is straightforward, with a simple ‘cloud-based’ web interface designed in

consultation with schools. Allocating books to groups or individuals is easy. RM Books can be used on almost any device – desktop computers, laptops and tablets. UK educational establishments can register for free, and make full use of 1,000 free classic books, completely free of charge. With hand‑picked classic texts recommended by exam boards, including Wuthering Heights and the Complete Works of Shakespeare, available to download free, schools could shave thousands from their budget with just a few clicks.

A FRIEND TO THE SCHOOL BUDGET By renting rather than buying textbooks, schools can spread the cost of purchasing rather than paying for them up front. Now schools can feel more comfortable allowing students to use their textbooks at home without risk of loss or damage. Ebooks eliminate the problem of a textbook being left on the bus or ruined by an exploding juice-carton in a backpack. You will also be able to stay up to date with curriculum change, because each new rental period entitles you to download the very latest version in pristine condition.

NO LONGER A PAIN IN THE BACK They also weigh nothing – a big factor to consider in the face of rising concern over the weight of children’s backpacks. A recent, large-scale Spanish study found that increasing numbers of children carry around backpacks weighing more than 15 per cent of their body weight – a level considered likely to cause longterm back pain and even more serious problems.

GLOBAL TRENDS IN EDUCATION EBOOKS Other countries have made rapid strides towards a wholly digital future. In the US, this started in 2010, when the National Education Technology Plan called for a move towards digital as an answer to educational inequalities. This has led to the Digital Playbook initiative , and a challenge to schools to move to a fully digital curriculum by 2017.

In South Korea, the government plans to digitise all primary and secondary school classrooms by 2015. One of the benefits will be a wider choice of subjects for students in rural areas, offering easier home-learning to compensate for a shortage of specialist teachers.

ADDRESSING LITERACY There is evidence that using ebooks could help engage boys with reading and address their underachievement in literacy. A study in Texas found that reluctant readers (and particularly boys) in middle-school were ‘more engaged’ when they used an e-reader.

The day where your pupils can put down their heavy backpacks, and carry all the information they could ever need around in something weighing less than a pound, may be some way off.

At RM Education, we’re at an early stage of this journey too, but we think the potential is inspiring, and we hope we’ve given you a few reasons to sign up for RM Books and take the first step at least. L REGISTER TODAY www.rmbookshelf.com

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ICT curriculum consultation: Concerns remain around teacher shortages and training issues The new national curriculum will give schools a better chance of preparing young people for high tech jobs in the UK, education minister Elizabeth Truss has said, but doubts about teacher shortages and specialist training remain.

The government scrapped the ICT curriculum last year after mounting pressure over lessons that were seen as boring and even harmful. Instead, computer science is now being pushed forward.

There was now “much more scope in the new national curriculum for schools to develop programmes involving design, technology and computing to prepare students for high-tech roles, as well as improving their maths and English core skills,” Truss said.

The consultation on the draft curriculum was launched in early February, when the Royal Society’s Professor Steve Furber said the change was “a positive step in the right direction, but warned that the chronic shortage of specialist computing teachers was still a problem.

“Our concern that there are simply not enough teachers with sufficient subject knowledge and understanding to deliver a rigorous computing curriculum still remains.

We hope that in designing this new computing curriculum the government continues to give

thought to the recruitment and professional development of the specialist teachers that are needed to deliver an ambitious curriculum that truly excites students about future opportunities in computing.”

According to a senior Department for Education (DfE) official, “unless there is an overwhelming response for change” during the final consultation, the new computing programmes of study drafted and finally edited by the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) will gain ministerial approval and will be published this September, for first teaching a year later.

After Gove labeled the teaching of ICT in schools as “dull and boring” the process to replace it began with the Royal Society report Shut Down or Restart, commissioned by Microsoft, Google, and university computer science departments concerned about the quality and number of graduates and plummeting enrolments.

Bob Harrison, and education advisor for Toshiba and chair of the DfE/Teaching Agency ICT expert group, wote on SecEd: “Many teachers are bewildered by the final draft. Some of those involved in the drafting process are furious that all their hard work has been ignored, and some technology industry representatives have complained

about the lack of transparency in the process. It is understood the DfE has received several Freedom of Information requests.”

The new curriculum was debated at the recent Westminster Education Forum, which took place at the beginning of March. Around 100 people heard the perspectives of Miles Berry, chair of Naace, Ian Livingstone, author of the Next Gen report, Phil Bannister, ICT lead at the DfE, and HMI David Brown.

Teacher Ian Addison, head of ICT at St John Baptist in Hampshire, told the Forum: “I think that the draft curriculum produced by the DfE has a huge gap, and that is creativity. I am really worried about how it will be interpreted by teachers.

“They may see it as a big emphasis on computer science and programming and little else. The use of the word data worries me too – does this mean just storing and saving files or does it include video, audio and photos too?

My main concern, whatever the programmes of study say, is where are teachers going to get the necessary CPD? Without this I am afraid it is bound to fail.”

The deadline for responses to the draft curriculum is 16th April. L DOWNLOAD THE DRAFT CONSULATION tinyurl.com/b4gmv52

Zigor adds battery packs to power supply range

Trinity ICT: supporting excellence in education

Zigor is advising the education sector that it will be adding extended run-time battery options to the Tiber uninterruptible power supply series.

The 2U rack/tower Zigor Tiber range currently offers up to ten minutes back-up time when operating at full load from its internal batteries.

But new external battery packs set to be released shortly will give the new Tiber models the ability to increase run-time in schools, colleges and universities using the UPS to several hours.

Available from 1kVA up to 3kVA the Tiber uses double conversion technology with two inverters to provide perfect clean sine wave power at all times without using the battery unless the mains fails.

The unit can be floor or rack mounted and is ideal for backing up an individual server, network racks or telephone switch board systems.

Reviewer Dave Mitchell recently described the Tiber in PC Pro

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RISK ASSESSMENTS

Risk education is not about isolating pupils from all potential hazards, it is about equipping them to deal with situations safely, writes RoSPA’s head of education and leisure, David Rushton When it comes to health and safety management in schools, RoSPA recommends a whole school approach to teaching safely – ensuring that facilities and activities are suitably safe, and preparing children for adult life by teaching them to understand and manage risk.

The Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 imposes a duty on all employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of employees and others (such as school visitors and pupils). It is also important for the school to help pupils become more risk aware as opposed to risk averse and equip the citizens of tomorrow with the skills and knowledge they need to keep themselves (and others) safe.

The growth of free schools, in particular academies, means that employer responsibilities are being transferred from local education authorities to the governors and heads of individual schools. In many cases, there is a lack of health and safety expertise in these smaller organisations.

MANAGING HEALTH & SAFETY School life is made up of many activities which take place in a wide range of settings both inside and outside the classroom. Weighing up the risks and benefits of learning outside the classroom continues to be of concern to school staff: on the one hand they wish for the children to experience challenging and exciting activities, but on the other they do not want to put children at risk or expose them to danger. So where do we go from here?

As an employer, schools should treat risk assessment and risk management as important tools to enable children to undertake activities safely – and not to prevent activities from taking place. Schools have a legal duty to carry out appropriate risk assessments in accordance with Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 for their buildings and activities. A risk assessment will record any significant hazards and will identify those who could be affected, as well as exploring what can be done to control the risks (our Workplace Safety Blog’s “The Five Step Guide to Risk Assessment” is a useful starting point).

For example, when planning school visits, it is important to involve the children in the

risk assessment process. Not only might they be able to identify hazards which staff may not have initially thought of, but once the hazards have been highlighted, the children can make a contribution towards controlling the risks, both before and during the activity.

GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT It is worth noting, that under the recently revised Ofsted Inspection Framework (www.ofsted.gov. uk/resources/framework‑for‑school‑inspection), inspectors will examine a ‘pupil’s ability to assess and manage risk appropriately and keep themselves safe.’ In summary, it is about striking the right balance by keeping risksunder control and judging the risk of doing something against the cost of not doing it.

As the UK’s oldest safety charity, with a mission to save lives and reduce injuries, RoSPA advocates that schools take an approach which ensures that children and staff are ‘as safe as necessary, not as safe as possible.’ Injuries from leisure activities show that children are far more likely to get hurt playing football or rugby at school than going on a school hiking trip, for instance. Statistics also show that accidental deaths are very rare on school trips – with one child dying each year, on average, in the UK. These figures are set against the seven to 10 million days of activity that the Government estimates take place outside UK classrooms annually. Meanwhile, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has brought only two prosecutions involving school visits in the five-year period between 2005/6 and 2009/10.

THE CURRICULUM Incorporating safety and risk education into the curriculum as part of school policy can pay dividends. Risk education is not about isolating pupils from all potential hazards. It is about equipping them to deal with situations safely (see www.lasersafety.org.uk for information about interactive safety education schemes that operate across the country). Sharing good practice with your counterparts in other schools is a good way to go, as is making effective use of local and national safety organisations.

Operationally, a systematic approach to managing safety risks helps avoid

Written by David Rushton, head of education and leisure at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

A SCHOOL ETHOS THAT POSITIVELY PROMOTES SAFETY

costly accidents, disruption losses and damage to the school’s morale and reputation.

Good health and safety management pays dividends, by preventing injuries and lost staff time by averting serious preventable injuries; work‑related illnesses such as stress and back pain; lost work days due to work-related illness and workplace injury; and the cost and disruption of damage only accidents.

Remember, accident and ill-health costs can quickly mount up and while some are recoverable, others such as uninsured costs of tens of thousands of pounds can be hidden. This is why it makes good business sense to save money by avoiding accidents and ill-health related absence, especially when revenue is on the decline.

CONCLUSION When developing a health and safety policy, try to focus on encouraging a school ethos that positively promotes safety and health. It should be a continuous planned process; find out what the children know and understand about safety (for example, you could involve them in safety audits, surveys and research projects), consult the school council, and remember to seek the ideas and views of non-teaching members of staff. Look for opportunities to link your policy to other initiatives, such as a local Healthy Schools programme and the development of a School Travel Plan.

The main elements of a school’s health and safety policy should include a statement of intent, setting out the general aims of the policy, and details of communication and lines of responsibility – think about who is going to do what, make sure everyone understands their responsibilities and devise a communications strategy that shows that safety is a priority. The policy should also have codes of practice, rules, procedures, including how risks are assessed and controlled, and how injuries are dealt with and recorded, as well as details of how the policy will be implemented, including any necessary training.

What’s more, there should be arrangements for how the policy is to be monitored and reviewed. It will take time before a review can be made into the effectiveness of health and safety plans, and it is important that any lessons learned are fed back into future improvement plans and policies. L

Health & Safety

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

FURTHER INFORMATION www.rospa.com/school andcollege safety

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David Kellett and Partners Ltd Maple Court Wormbridge House Wormbridge Hereford HR2 9DH

Best wishes from the Isle of Man.

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Special Educational Needs

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SEN POLICY

Following the recent Education Select Committee report, Lorraine Petersen, ceo of Nasen, asks whether the policy changes will improve the provision for those children with SEND Following the recent Education Select Committee report, there are a great many questions still to be answered in terms of the processes that will support many of the policy objectives. Only time will tell if the policy changes do improve the provision for those children with SEND. The draft Bill is welcomed as it means that the Government is committed to supporting our most vulnerable young people.

The concept of joint commissioning is very welcome but our concern is that health and social care will not have the same emphasis as that of education. Therefore is this just the old system that replaces ‘statements’ with ‘Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans.’ It also needs to be acknowledged that this Bill is being introduced alongside the most radical reform of the education system that many have seen. The Academy and Free School agenda, national funding reform, national curriculum and assessment changes including the introduction of the phonics check, distribution of Pupil Premium, significant changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage and the introduction of two Ofsted frameworks in one year all need to be considered alongside these SEND legislative changes.

We welcomed the inclusion of Academies and Free Schools into the draft provisions as this clarifies the current confusion around the responsibilities of Academies and Free Schools towards young people with SEND. There is a very clear understanding that if you are a child born with a disability or additional need or this is identified at the 2 year development check then it will be relatively easy for professionals to work together to formulate an education, health and care plan to meet individual needs. What is concerning those of us who work in the sector is how will schools access a plan once a young person is in full time education?

The current process working through the three stages of school action, school action plus and formal assessment clearly offer a system (all be it very bureaucratic and open to local interpretation) that schools can follow. There does not appear to have been any consideration of how this process will work under the new provisions. There is also no indication of time-scales.

Will it be the SENCO’s responsibility to manage this process and if so how can they engage with other services? Will the paperwork and required evidence be reduced?

In many local authorities the Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is being used.

Will this remain or be replaced by EHC plan? This could actually lead to far more bureaucracy if not co-ordinated together.

Parents ild ch whose ady is alre of a pt in recei will need nt statemences that the a reassur to a plan will move no adverse have fect ef

CENTRAL SERVICES Consideration also needs to be taken in regard to the lack of central services at local authority level as well as the major, radical changes currently being undertaken across the health service. Who is going to be responsible for compiling EHC plans?

Who will re-write all the statements? Are there enough specialists, such as speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and health visitors, to support schools.

If schools are going to have to commission these services do they have the skills and expertise to effectively challenge professionals if they are not offering the service they are paying for?

UNANSWERED QUESTIONS There are also still many questions about the input from other services if the plan is primarily an education plan. It also leads to an assumption that maybe this will be how numbers are limited and only the most severe and complex two per cent will ever get an EHCP. The 0-25 should be commended – this should support many families whose child was falling through the net at 16 when

transferring out of education. There will now be some reassurances up to age of 25. However, what that provision will look like and who will provide it is still a question that needs to be asked.

Written by Lorraine Petersen, ceo, nasen

SUPPORTING THE VULNERABLE WITH THEIR EDUCATION

THE FUNDING QUESTION There is a very strong feeling that costly layers are being added to the system. In the short term it could increase cost as parents, families and schools get to grip with the new system. Will more parents fight to get a plan because a school is not able to meet their child’s needs? If mediation is a compulsory element of the process will this not just add another expensive layer if the outcome is still the tribunal? There also needs to be very clear guidance on who will provide the mediation and who will pay for it.

The cost of moving all statements to plans will be incurred by local authorities that are already seeing a significant reduction in their budgets and hence staffing.

Where is the training and professional development going to be funded from?

Without this schools will not be able to meet the challenges and changes of the implementation of new systems.

Consideration also needs to be given to personal budgets and where the money to fund these is coming from. If this is funding that would have gone to schools but would now go directly to parents how can schools plan their provision? Who will support families in making financial decisions about the support their child needs?

We would also look for some cross‑party agreement that will ensure that after 2015 election everything would not be changed again. This would have significant financial implications.

THE IMPACT ON CURRENT INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES Current structures have already been severely impacted by budget cuts at local authority level. This is resulting in schools having to commission and/or ‘buy-back’ services which are becoming increasingly reduced.

Some local authorities no longer have any Educational Psychologists (EP) and schools E

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FEATURE SUB SECTION SEN POLICY  are having to look to the private sector for support. On an economy of scale this is going to be considerably more costly. It also begs the question about quality assurance. How will schools know what is value for money?

Another key concern is that these changes will actually drive up the number of requests for statements in the interim period. As schools and parents begin to consider the implications of the new legislations alongside the funding reforms they may well decide to look for support through a statement in the intervening years (2013 – 2014).

It is welcoming that non-maintained special schools can be named in the EHC plan but there is no consideration for the Independent sector. Currently nearly five per cent of those young people with a statement are educated within the Independent sector. Will this provision still be available for those families who request a place in an Independent school?

TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS There needs to be a clear implementation plan at national and local level to ensure that everyone is on board. There are significant training implications for stakeholders who will need to have a clear understanding of not only the policy but also the process and procedures.

Parents and families will also need support throughout the transitional period. Those whose child is already in receipt of a statement will need reassurances that the move to a plan will have no adverse effect on the support their child will receive. There will also need to be very clear guidance on how personal budgets and allocated and used and who is accountable for ensuring this.

With the reforms within the health sector there needs to be clear guidance on roles and responsibilities. Within all of this change will it be the individual child who misses out?

Professionals from all three sectors will need to work closely – this means looking at common terminology and seeking a joint strategy for funding and deployment of resources. Consideration must also be taken into account in regard to the training for future teachers (Initial Teacher Training) to ensure they have the knowledge, skills and understanding to support all children in school.

Although the EHC Plan from 0-25 is welcome, there is still very little on support for those at 16+. What will be the role and responsibilities of FE and HE or employers be? How will the funding for this sector be distributed?

There is still need for clarification on how those children who are not identified in early childhood will be able to access an

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

EHC plan – where will those identified with BESD get their support especially with many underlying emotional and social difficulties and mental health issues. If a school will be expected to meet the needs form their own resources then a great deal more training and professional development will need to be available to ensure that teachers have the skills to meet the child’s needs.

WATERED DOWN GREEN PAPER? There is a feeling among nasen’s respondents that this draft Bill is a watered down version of the original proposals within the Green Paper. There appeared to be a very clear commitment that education, health and social care provision would have equal responsibility in ensuring that services were provided when needed.

However, the legislation does not appear to have such a robust commitment to this.

We were very pleased to see that the role of SENCO would remain. In order to continue the overwhelming success of the National Award for SEN Co‑ordination we would seek for the funding to continue year on year to support new to role SENCOS in achieving this award. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.nasen.org.uk

A virtual classroom for reluctant learners Apricot offers live, interactive education online, bringing the classroom directly to the student as part of any blended learning programme.

Whether in a hospital school, PRU, or at home, Apricot effectively overcomes both physical and mental boundaries that prevent these vulnerable pupils from attending mainstream schools.

They successfully connect even the most isolated pupils with others around the country, creating opportunities for socialisation, peer assessment, and much needed camaraderie.

Apricot excels at engaging pupils who are unwell, unfocused, or disengaged.

So, if you’re seeking quick solutions to education problems, including exclusion or reengaging reluctant learners, if you’re working with pupils at risk of becoming NEET, if you have a Pupil Premium to invest, want to meet the needs of pupils suffering physical or mental health conditions,

or simply wish to raise the profile of ICT in your learning establishment then Apricot has something for you.

Go beyond the physical teaching environment and into the world of virtual learning.

See a classroom demonstration, learn more about interactive online teaching, hear about a new range of educational short courses and online special events by taking a ‘byte’ of the Apricot team at the Education Innovation show, Manchester Central, and the Education Show, Birmingham NEC. FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01242 604 985 info@apricotlearning online.co.uk www.apricotlearning online.co.uk

HOW DO YOU TAP INTO TOP TEACHING TALENT?

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RECRUITMENT

As schools across the UK scramble to secure quality candidates for once coveted roles, a clear strategy for attracting the brightest talent is crucial, writes Capita Education Resourcing Government data shows teacher numbers have fallen by 10,000 in the state school system since 2007, and a recent study by Buckingham University has found that one in three people who train to be a teacher in England do not go on to work in the profession. In addition, applications to train as primary teachers were down sharply last year which indicates an imminent teacher shortage. But as schools across the UK scramble to secure quality candidates for once coveted roles – what is your strategy for attracting the brightest talent?

According to a recent YouGov survey, 55 per cent of professionals working in education say that teacher morale is low. Reduced budgets and the removal of mandatory pay points may go some way in explaining this current attitude, but passionate teachers with the right skills and expertise are taking control of their careers and looking for fresh, exciting and challenging opportunities. Of course, factors such as results, location, reputation, funding, facilities and opportunities are all taken into consideration by jobseekers before they apply. But the hard work, ethos, beliefs and culture of a school – which may be attractive prospects to potential recruits – may be harder to establish.

THE RIGHT STAFF Teacher quality is paramount to offering our young people high quality education. Capita Education Resourcing understands that attracting and recruiting the right staff is key to the success of any school. This is why the company has recently launched a specialist permanent recruitment consultancy to connect high-calibre education professionals with employers who are seeking talented teachers. Its consultative approach allows staff to work in partnership with its clients and understand the culture of their establishments to expertly manage their needs. The team assists schools, academies, nurseries and local authorities in attracting the most highly skilled candidates to their institutions.

Peter Flannery, managing director points out: “Schools are increasingly seeing the value of utilising an external resourcing partner. They recognise that there is a real war for talent taking place in education and to compete against the landscape of looming teacher shortages, some innovative thinking will be required.”

So, whether you are seeking a head

of department, key stage specialist or nursery nurse, CER’s extensive search and selection processes will find candidates to fit perfectly with your requirements.

IN THE PIPELINE Paying upfront for a one off job advert with no guarantee of success can be a lottery. During times of drought, we know that you have to dig deep to find the best talent, which is why we are consistently building a pipeline of highly skilled and driven candidates across the UK. By investing in their people, head teachers and other decision makers are able to effectively shape the experiences, happiness, welfare and success of their students. CER’s service is tailored to fit the needs of each and every individual client, meaning that whether you have a one off vacancy that you need assistance with or you are looking for a total outsourced recruitment solution, Capita Education Resourcing has the capability and know how to make its service cost effective and time efficient.

CER’s experienced consultants take time to build relationships with its clients to understand what makes them tick. The team takes into account the mission statement of the school it is working with so that it is able to effectively showcase the institution’s attributes to potential candidates. It is through this consultative approach that CER is able to locate and deliver teachers that match the culture and ideology our

clients. Schools that take advantage of the services find that the company’s reach, reputation and relationships with candidates result in successful placements that add long-term value to their establishment.

SPECIALIST EXPERTISE Trust in the experts to tap into the teaching talent that is right for your school. As part of one of the largest education recruitment agencies in the UK, with the support of a host of education-related businesses across the Capita Group, the company is uniquely placed to offer you a total solution for your long-term recruitment needs. If you are currently searching for candidates, you should be talking to Capita Education Resourcing. To find out more about our specialist permanent service or to place a vacancy with us please contact Matthew Hall, general manager of the Permanent Division at the details below. L FURTHER INFORMATION matthew.hall@capita.co.uk 0207 202 0031.

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Penn Wood branches out with new Tree House

TSL – leaders in media technology for education

In line with the eco‑friendly ethos of Penn Wood Primary and Nursery School (PWS) based in Slough, the school has called in the services of Wernick to produce a building to meet their sustainable themed criteria – a building justly called ‘The Tree House’.

Head teacher Jane Girle was adamant that any new building was aesthetically pleasing and a mirror image of the main school building. The other primary objective was to ensure that the building conformed to the eco-friendly philosophy of the school. Anne Sheridan, the business manager of the school, made this statement regarding why the new building was named ‘The Tree House’: “Sustainability is a very prominent ethos throughout our school; it is something that we try to inform all of our students about. We are happy to announce that we are the first school in Slough to get a

TSL Systems provides consultancy, design, installation and support of integrated systems for the Broadcast, Audio Visual, Corporate and Education sectors. One of the only organisations of its type to offer truly independent advice, TSL Systems has more than 26 years’ experience in the field and is trusted by large and small television networks, postproduction companies, corporate media facilities and educational institutions, worldwide.

Recently, TSL systems completed the build of Salford University’s media facilities.

The University stressed the need to stay at the leading edge of technology to cater for each successive generation of students in order that they learn to use prevailing technologies of their own era and to equip the lecturers with the tools to teach broadcast engineering and operations effectively.

To enable Salford University to teach tomorrows broadcast

green flag rating; this was one of the key incentives behind the name. Another factor is that the school is immersed in nature, entirely surrounded by trees... so it simply seemed applicable.”

The school opted for a modular building because it required an increased capacity in a short space of time; furthermore, the cost of the build was inherently far less than that of regular construction. All of the staff are delighted with the new building and the classrooms - so much so that many teachers express a desire to move into the new building as soon as possible.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0800 181822 www.wernick.co.uk

journalists, Production staff and media technologists, TSL provided a complete broadcast facility which included one 5-camera TV Studio, one 3-camera Virtual TV Studio, Production Control Rooms, two Radio Studios with dedicated Live Performance Area, a Digital Performance Lab (DPL), 3 Broadcast online Edit Suites, a 146 station Media Asset Management system supporting, A 3D Media Tech Lab, Journalism TV and Radio Studios and an Audio Post Production suite.

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

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Gove sets out regional capital spending plans to help fund new places and repairs The government will allocate £1.6 billion of basic need capital funding over the next two years as part of a £4bn drive to create new school places and carry out maintenance and repair work. Total capital spending is also broken down by regions, with Newcastle-upon-Tyne set to receive more than £4.6m in basic need funding over 2013/14 and 2014/15, while Manchester will receive more than £40m and Croydon in London will receive more than £60m.

Chancellor George Osborne announced in the autumn statement that the government would provide additional investment of £982 million for schools in England over the remainder of this parliament.

In December, it was revealed that the first schools to be built under the extra capital funding announced for education in the autumn statement would not start construction until autumn 2013.

At the end of February, the Michael Gove announced that the government has launched a Targeted Basic Need Programme with the funding for “the provision of new, high quality school places in the areas that need it most”.

The programme will deliver new academies and free schools, as well as enabling investment to expand existing good and outstanding schools.

Local authorities will have to bid for funding to “increase the number of high quality school places available in areas with the most acute levels of need”.

All new schools will open as academies or free schools and successful local authorities will be required to run a competitive process in order to select the best provider. The additional capital spending has come from department underspend and savings within government departments.

Based on information collected from local authorities as part of the school capacity 2011/12 collection, more than 4,000 schools were full, or had pupils in excess of school capacity.

Of the 16,812 state-funded primary schools: 3,424 schools (20.3 per cent) were full or had pupils in excess of school capacity (20.4 per cent in 2011). There were 31,490 pupils (0.7 per cent) in excess of school capacity (0.9 per cent in 2011).

13,388 schools (79.6 per cent) had 1 or more unfilled places (79.6 per cent in 2011). There were 432,650 (10.0 per cent) unfilled places (10.4 per cent in 2011).

Of the 3,260 state-funded secondary schools: 694 schools (21.2 per cent) were full or had pupils in excess of school capacity (25.4 per cent in 2011). There were 30,770 (0.9 per cent) pupils in excess of school capacity (1.1 per cent in 2011).

2,566 schools (78.7 per cent) had 1 or more unfilled places (74.6 per cent in 2011). There were 406,020 (11.3 per cent) unfilled places (11.0 per cent in 2011).

Gove said: “Until now, we have not had detailed information about the specific areas within local authorities where the demand for school places is expected to increase. This meant that we could not target funding in the most effective way possible to meet pockets of demand within local authorities.

“Over the past 12 months, we have worked with local authorities to ensure that funding is distributed more fairly across the country. Local authorities told us that funding should be allocated based solely on projected shortfalls between the places available and the places required within the smaller planning areas that they use when assessing the need for new school places.”

However, Wates head of education Stephen Beechey said a crucial priority was to provide clarity on the private finance element of the Priority School Building Programme to allow procurement to start.

He stated: “The Priority Schools Building Programme is finally moving forward after several delays, with the winning bidders on the first two batches of schools announced earlier this year. This should provide several thousand more school places in key areas over the next eighteen months.

“However, the industry has been waiting since the start of 2012 for the Department for Education to make an announcement on the model which will be used to deliver the 219 schools earmarked for procurement under the private finance element of the PSBP – the vast majority of the 261 schools set for work under the Programme.

“We can see from these figures that over 4,000 primary and secondary schools across the country are already over-subscribed, and the situation is only going to get worse

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with pupil numbers set to increase over the next few years. It is therefore crucial to receive a final decision on the private finance element of PSBP as soon as possible to allow the procurement process to start.”

The Education Funding Agency has started procurement of the capitallyfunded PSBP worth around £400m, of which Wates has won one batch, while the £2bn privately-financed part of the programme has yet to start procurement.

Education Funding Agency capital director Mike Greenhas stated last month that procurement would start in the spring.L

Capital Funding £1.6 billion of basic need funding for 2013-15 to local authorities to provide additional school places where needed in their area £595 million of maintenance capital for 2013-14 to local authorities to support the needs of the schools that they maintain and for the Sure Start children’s centres in their area; £392 million of maintenance capital for academies for 2013-14; £154 million of locally-coordinated VA programme capital for 2013-14 to support the maintenance capital needs of voluntary-aided schools; £200 million of devolved formula capital for schools; £65 million for sixth-form college maintenance and devolved formula capital funding for 2013-14, and £80 million basic need funding for 16 to 19 demographic pressures for 2013-15; £15 million funding for Independent Specialist Providers for 2013-15.

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Tel: 0845 2711 902 Fax: 0845 2711 903 contact@modularandportablebuildings.co.uk

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Hillside Contracts has been installing all types of flooring (vinyl, rubber, carpet, carpet tiles etc) for over 15 years and has 40 directly employed specialist fitters. All employees hold CSCS cards, and a minimum NVQ Level 2 Qualification.

Approximately 90 per cent of the 5.4 million turnover is carried out via main contractors, the vast majority of which is repeat business. The size of contracts undertaken range from small repairs to £650,000 packages, with clients including schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, local authorities, main building contractors and end users.

Hillside prides itself on providing an excellent service from quotation through to completed installation, whilst a computerised estimating and digitising system is used to enable a quick turnaround of tenders.

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Outdoor Places is delighted to offer the benefit of outdoor play - almost inside.

We invite you to look at our bespoke ‘Lean-to’ shelters.

Developed with schools to provide a low fuss, low maintenance and low cost solution to awkward, unusable, muddy and even eyesore outdoor areas, these outdoor covered solutions will transform your school environment.

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Installer of Altro Whiterock Wall Cladding. It has received awards for the high quality of its installations from companies such as Altro, and works closely with major manufacturers – Hillside is an approved installer of Nuway Matting.

The company employs a full time IOSH qualified health and safety manager and the services of an external health & safety management company.

It is approved by CHAS and Constructionline and a member of the Contract Flooring Association.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01162 752266 Fax: 01162 752277 info@hillsidecontracts.co.uk www.hillsidecontracts.co.uk

Floors to meet the demands of a busy school or college environment Research by the University of Salford and Nightingale Associates found that the classroom environment can affect a pupil’s progress by up to 25 per cent a year, which means design of buildings and choice of fittings is all important to provide the very best learning opportunities.

Schools, colleges and universities are therefore recognising the benefits of creative flooring design and are using zoning as a way to provide structure and demarcation to large open plan areas.

Fibre bonded carpet by Heckmondwike FB is widely specified for many education buildings and is highly effective in creating zonal areas. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, its properties include being able to withstand heavy duty wear and tear, as well as being costcompetitive. It is renowned for its performance, which means it will not ravel or fray, is antistatic and anti-slip, as well as offering

thermal and acoustic properties and low maintenance.

Within the Heckmondwike FB collection, Supacord carpet and tiles are renowned throughout the education sector and the range is available in 42 distinctive colours, making it the perfect choice for meeting the demands of a busy school or college environment.

Heckmondwike FB has achieved the ISO14001 environmental standard and its production processes are carried out to meet ISO 9001 accreditation, giving complete confidence and peace of mind.

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Design & Build

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Quick/No fuss – Our experienced CRB checked team bring all the equipment and materials and carefully install the Lean-to.

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We would be delighted to visit to discuss your requirements.

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The brand for all your classroom needs Profile Education is a leading designer and supplier of unique and different furniture, early years, and stationery products to the education market. The company is also the UK distributor for leading brands such as Winther trikes, bikes and scooters, Gonge creative play products, and Gigo innovative furniture and play ranges, to name but a few.

Profile Education research the market thoroughly, and regularly network with schools to ensure that the products it brings to the market meet all your classroom and office requirements.

Profile Education’s products are tested to meet all of the current UK safety standards, and the company also abides by the BESA code of practise so that customers can have confidence in the goods they purchase.

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School Security:

Keeping Children Safe School security is perhaps one of the most emotive issues facing head teachers, school staff, parents and governors today as it involves balancing security measures with the need to maintain a pleasant learning environment.

Children have the right to a safe place in which to be educated. Staff have the right to a safe place in which to work. But providing that facility is not an easy task as security is often low down the list of priorities for many schools. Despite there being thousands of incidents a year reported in schools, of which latest figures suggest 75% is opportunistic, available funds for security are often insufficient to meet demand.

Funds for school protection are generally provided via money allocated to local authorities for spending on a wide range of projects including maintenance, building work and information technology. There is no fund for school security. But a further problem is that no one wants to have schools that look like prisons with high walls and fences or lots of locks and bars. While it may make a building secure, it is not child friendly, nor does it make for a pleasant place to work. Head teachers have to aim to achieve maximum security whilst maintaining a welcoming environment, for staff and pupils and increasingly today with the Government’s academies initiative, for the community as a whole.

SO WHAT CAN BE DONE? There are also a number of cost effective and simple ways to improve security of a school that will not impact on the aesthetics or affect learning timetables. By example, Samuel Cody School fitted Mul-T-Lock’s innovative Smartair units to exit doors, to upgrade the school’s security from a mechanical locking system to an access control solution.

The Farnborough based college, which provides for secondary age pupils with learning difficulties, needed to upgrade all exit door hardware and fire exit doors in line

with latest fire regulations, to safeguard the school and ensure the safety of all who attend.

The school consulted with a local Mul-T-Lock specialist, that recommended Mul-T-Lock’s all in one Smartair Offline system as the most cost effective and easy to install bolt on access control solution suitable for all exit doors.

To date, electromechanical door handles have been fitted to doors around the site, and in addition there are wall readers being introduced to operate the locking devices on the double exit doors. All teachers are being supplied with easy to use fobs to access the

“

to achieve a balance of mechanical and digital security in any one system offering.

For schools, this ensures a more flexible approach to security can be taken, to accommodate different mechanical solutions with access control requirements as and when required.

And by choosing Mul-T-Lock alongside our locksmith partners, those responsible for school security can also be assured that the chosen security partner is reputable, and where possible registered with the Master Locksmith Association (MLA), the authoritative body for the locksmithing industry. Given that figures suggest up to 6,500 unlicensed locksmiths may be

Whilst basic security measures must become second nature to staff, more combined solutions must encompass intelligent, discreet and effective security and access control solutions, all delivered without the need to encroach on civil liberties.

doors. Says Anna Dawson, Head Teacher of Samuel Cody Specialist Sports College: “The latest regulations require that doors on escape routes are readily available for exit at all times the building is occupied. It also states if access control equipment is fitted to a fire escape door that includes an overriding mechanical release, there are no extra considerations or cost implications for the school. Smartair proved to be a one solution to achieve all these requirements, and also brings staff all the added benefits of access control, which have been very well received.”

COMBINED SOLUTIONS FOR SCHOOLS Consistent feedback from our locksmith partners has suggested door security and access now requires a holistic approach, taking into account security needs, user convenience, safety and up to date compliance, whilst all being mindful of tight financial budget availability.

Working with our locksmith partners, Mul-T-Lock’s new ‘Combined Solutions’ initiative enables us to work with end users

“

Here, Steve Ross, Managing Director at Mul-T-Lock UK, looks at the issues and solutions available, to ensure any measures taken will not impact on the everyday activity of a school. To teach and to learn effectively, staff and pupils must feel safe and secure. Currently this responsibility is shared between the local authority, governing body and the head teacher.

operating in the UK, it is obviously essential peace of mind to know that the MLA ensures its members are bona fide, especially with the right to carry out Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks on all its members and would-be locksmiths.

In summary, the demands on local authorities, governing bodies and head teachers surrounding school security and expectations to ensure staff and pupil safety are clear. Whilst basic security measures must become second nature to staff, more combined solutions must encompass intelligent, discreet and effective security and access control solutions, all delivered without the need to encroach on civil liberties.

For further advice on school security, or to find out more about the range of mechanical and access control solutions available from Mul-T-Lock, please visit www.mul-t-lock.co.uk.

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Suddenly it all becomes clear It’s a well-documented fact that many schools can dramatically reduce their energy use and carbon footprint.

Which energy-saving technology to choose depends on circumstances. But at any site, one of the simplest, quickest and most financially-rewarding ways is to replace energy-guzzling lighting.

The total energy bills of one college were once close to £1,000 on some days whereas they now vary from £400 down to nothing.

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DESIGN & BUILD

With energy policy and energy demand reduction regularly featuring in the news and the Department of Energy and Climate Change launching its Energy Efficiency Mission, building performance is of paramount importance. Teaching future generations to be environmentally aware is an ever-growing benefit of the curriculum, but if children can be taught in a safe and energy efficient building then that provides a practical example too.

New or refurbished school buildings came to a near halt in 2010 after the cancellation of the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) investment programme worth £55,000m

Teaching future generations to be environmentally aware is an ever-growing benefit of the curriculum, but if children can be taught in an energy efficient building then that provides a practical example too, writes the CIBSE’s Dr Jacquelyn Fox and financial benefits of energy efficient buildings, but recent studies, including the James Review on the procurement of education buildings, have demonstrated the direct link between the quality of school buildings and academic attainment.

The following case study, of the Bushbury Hill Primary School in Wolverhampton,

Students of Bushbury Hill Primary School will be aware of how their surroundings affect them and how they can adapt their surroundings with minimal harm to the environment over 20 years. However, after Chancellor of the Exchequer’s autumn financial statement 2012, an additional £1,000m became available alongside the £2,000m Priority School Building Programme (PSBP).

DESIGNING IN ENERGY Schools remain a key business priority for the building services sector. Not only are there huge opportunities for environmental

Written by Dr. Jacquelyn Fox CEng. FCIBSE, head of sustainability, CIBSE

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illustrates some of the benefits of a well-designed educational building.

Children attending the school have the benefit of a well-engineered exemplar of building performance as a learning environment. Designed by Architype and E3 Consulting Engineers, the school recently won the prestigious Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Building Performance Award 2013 for the New

Build Project of the Year (Value up to £5m).

Educational buildings need to meet public needs whilst being energy efficient as so many older schools leave much to be desired when it comes to meeting energy efficient targets.

Created to celebrate exemplars of building performance by measuring rigorously collected data, the Awards show how good engineering can directly affect the amount of energy used in a building and reduction of emissions while taking into account the occupants’ experiences at the same time.

BUILDING MATERIALS The brief of this project was to design a standard one-form-entry school with a 30-place nursery and facilities for a local multi-agency support team.

From using locally sourced and organic building materials to the user-friendly advice and instructions for heating and cooling the building, the school has been designed to fit brief, budget and reduce energy bills.

Products have been specified with the environment in mind as the brick cladding was sourced locally and recycled tyre barrier matting was used for floor E

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DESIGN & BUILD  finish. In addition, organic and non-toxic paints and stains were used to prevent harmful chemicals in this environment.

OCCUPANT COMFORT The considered approach to the air flow helps circulate warm and cool air around the building. Orientation of the building makes full use of winter sun without overheating and all of this contributes to the children and staff’s well-being within the building.

This all contributes to occupant comfort which can help boost productivity.

The personal comfort of the teachers, staff and children was taken into account, with users able to control their own room temperature. Far from the humid or cold classrooms of some other schools, Architype and E3 incorporated the Passivhaus system into their design and heating system along with natural ventilation. Passivhaus is a system in which the building uses natural air flow to benefit the heating and cooling of the building therefore reducing the need to constantly use energy wasting and expensive air conditioning.

Alongside this the occupants were provided with easy to read instructions detailing what steps can be made to alter the temperature in summer and winter. This is particularly important for schools as fresh air at a comfortable temperature reduces distractions from students becoming ‘hot and bothered’ and therefore aids concentration. The school was designed with minimal East and West‑facing glazing to protect against overheating; its longitudinal elevation faces 7 degrees from South to take advantage of the winter sun.

In such a heavily occupied building, overheating can become a problem, so roof overhangs and Brise Soleil protect Bushbury Hill from overheating in the summer months, along with reducing the need for artificial light in the day.

An air tightness level 20 times better than Building Regulations recommend was achieved by running workshops with the designers to develop robust details, helping the contractor, Thomas Vale, to reach this outcome.

Regulations recommend. The runaround coil heat recovery system in the kitchen is 50 per cent more energy efficient and is accompanied by heat induction equipment instead of gas so that the room is less likely to overheat. Creating a building with such thought out heating processes from the outset means the school could be produced with a local authority budget but will continue to conserve energy and money because of its performance capabilities.

Rather than depending on more funding for low-carbon and energy efficient measures, the architects and engineers used a high degree of innovation to suit the brief and budget. The CIBSE Building Performance Awards Judges commented: “The winner demonstrated much lower energy demand for the building, meeting challenging design standards and delivering low-metered energy use. Good energy performance without green bling.”

INSPIRE A GENERATION Students and teachers were presented to on behalf of Architype and E3 Engineers in order to best inform them on running the building, how Passivhaus works and how to make any alterations to the temperature. This is one group of children that will be aware of how their surroundings affect them and how they can adapt their surroundings with

Roof gs overhanSoleil se and Bri Bushbury protect overheating Hill fromsummer, and in the educe the also r artificial r need fo ght li

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minimal harm to the environment.

At a time when the energy capacity gap is reaching a critical point, it is particularly important in public sector buildings where the bills are paid for by the State, to reduce energy use in public sector buildings. With almost 50 per cent of our energy being used by buildings in the UK, and with around 20 per cent of that being needlessly wasted, building performance can create much-needed savings.

Good engineering is not only important because it can directly influence occupant comfort and energy management. However, in the next four years it is projected that there will be a skills gap of 96,300 engineers and scientists. Hopefully more projects like this can inspire people to choose engineering as a valuable career.

CIBSE is passionate about building performance and encourages new engineers through its Young Engineers Network, the Young Engineer Awards and access to the CIBSE Knowledge Portal. Through promoting building performance and continuing to educate people about the positive effects it can have, CIBSE hopes that buildings like this will inspire the uptake of engineering and help to change the behaviour of energy use. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.cibse.org

ENERGY EFFICIENCY Schools often have high energy bills with all of the units needed to heat, cool, and run computers and interactive whiteboards, artificially light classrooms and catering facilities for the children. Through using clear engineering, communication between the engineers, architects and the end users, this building uses approximately 80 per cent less energy than Building

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Education BusinessMAGAZINE Mag__Planner_Half_Page_Advert_125_x_178.Wilo_X3_2002_print | Volume 18.2 EDUCATION BUSINESS Tuesday, January 22, 2013 2:59:48 PM

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CARBON REDUCTION

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BID FAREWELL TO THE CRC

State-funded schools will no longer need to participate in the government’s mandatory carbon emission reduction scheme, following reforms annonuced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement In the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement towards the end of 2012, measures to simplify the much-criticised Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) were announced. Amongst a variety of reforms is the withdrawal of all state‑funded schools in England from the Scheme.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment), is applicable to all organisations using more than 6,000MWh per year of electricity.

Introduced in April 2010 as a mandatory carbon emissions reduction scheme, it targets emissions from large public and private sector organisations, with the aim of driving emissions reductions and incentivising the uptake of energy efficiencies. CRC participants must measure and report emissions, produced from their usage of electricity and heat, and purchase allowances to cover these emissions.

The scheme has been criticised for being expensive for businesses and an administrative burden, and described as a revenue-raising exercise with little connection to energy demand reduction. Business lobby group the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) published a report in 2012 in which it urged the Government to scrap the scheme and replace it with a simpler environmental tax.

The measures announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement will dramatically simplify the scheme and deliver a 55 per cent reduction

in costs, saving around £272 million for participants. The Performance League Table will be also be abolished as part of the reforms. The Government will review the effectiveness of the CRC in 2016, considering whether it remains the appropriate policy to meet industrial energy efficiency and carbon reduction objectives, and will consider alternative approaches that could achieve the same objectives. The tax element of the CRC introduced in the Spending Review 2010 will be a high priority for removal when the public finances allow.

Minister of State Gregory Barker said: “We have listened to the concerns of business and radically simplified the scheme in order to cut down on administrative costs and red tape. And we will consider how to encourage new renewable on-site generation through the CRC scheme. The scheme will now be more flexible and light-touch, saving participants money and helping them to save energy.”

ALTERNATIVE MEASURES FOR SCHOOLS While the government will withdraw all state funded schools in England from CRC participation, they will be looking to implement alternative robust measures that will incentivise and support schools to obtain both energy cost and emission savings.

According to Jurjen de Greeve from independent energy management provider,

IMServ Europe, the removal of state-funded schools from the Scheme risks sending the wrong message, reversing the progress that has been made so far following the Carbon Reduction Commitment. According to IMServ, whilst individual schools’ energy consumption may be relatively low, it can constitute up to a third of a local authority’s total consumption.

Jurjen explains: “Schools rarely, if ever, have staff with the experience or expertise to fully understand energy management.

As a result, decisions (no matter how well‑intentioned) can fail to address the real sources of energy wastage, and can in some cases even cause consumption to increase. The Government has made a knee‑jerk decision that it would be easier to remove schools from the Scheme rather than investing in materials and training to ensure they have a fighting chance of meeting the objectives.”

But whilst this may be a relief for busy schools that will no longer have to deal with the cost or administrative implications of participating in the scheme, only time will reveal what other measures the government has in mind for state-funded schools to reduce their carbon emissions. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.hm-treasury.gov.uk www.gov.uk

Reforms to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme A reduction in the number of fuels that participants have to report against from 29 to 2 (electricity and gas for heating) Removal of the 90 per cent rule and Climate Change Agreements (CCA) exemption rule

ment Governhdraw will witunded state-f rom the f schools eme, but CRC scheek other it will s y‑saving energ ures meas

Abolishment of the Performance League Table but continuing to publish participants aggregated energy use and emission data A reduction in overlap with other climate change legislation A withdrawal of all state-funded schools in England from the scheme Government will consider how the CRC can incentivise the uptake of new onsite renewable self‑supplied electricity

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Order yOur free npOwer Climate COps resOurCes tOday!

Visit npower.com/education and follow the links in the Climate Cops section.

Teaching resource packs for 4-7, 7-11 and 11-14 age groups Engage your pupils in tackling the causes of climate change in a lively and stimulating way by making a positive difference to the way they use and save energy.

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ENERGY

TEACHING TOMORROW’S ENERGY CHAMPIONS

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npower’s Climate Cops is a free resource for teachers that tackles the subject of climate change in a lively and stimulating way

Pupils have come a long way in their learning about climate change and what they can each do to save energy. For the last five years npower has been visiting schools across the country delivering interactive sessions to year 5s. When they started out, the government had recently brought out its Sustainable Schools Framework and climate change became part of the curriculum.

Teachers were really grateful for help with these new challenges. Now five years on npower finds that many children in a year 5 class can stumble through a global warming explanation, almost all can name three ways to save energy at home and teachers are confident in delivering lessons on the topic.

SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS Interestingly though, feedback has shown that teachers and other partners still feel that it is important that as an energy company npower should continue to support schools with education on energy generation, saving energy and climate change. It is important that there is an aim for every pupil to know what they can each do at school and at home to save energy.

To quote the Department for Energy and Climate Change: “The UK is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050, relative to 1990 levels. We need a transformation of the UK economy while ensuring secure, low carbon

FUTURE GREEN CHAMPIONS Pupils today are our current and future energy users in a world with constantly developing energy generation and technological advancements and exciting careers within the science, technology, engineering and maths professions. What they learn today can change their behaviour which then becomes an embedded way of life going forward.

It’s not just about learning the facts either, it’s important to build the link between what is taught in the classroom to actual carbon reduction activities taking place either in the wider school environment or in pupils’ homes; building momentum for change through pupil leadership and involvement, influencing others to do their bit to become more sustainable.

environment and how we can all save energy may have increased over the years, teachers’ feedback shows they still want high quality, easy to use, hard copy resources and materials, mapped to the curriculum, on the subject of sustainable development, energy, climate change and the environment. Even though numerous resources from companies and organisations are now online, teachers still value hard copy resources which include posters, so they can brighten their classrooms and remind pupils of the topics they’re currently learning about. npower is delighted that its Climate Cops teaching resources continue to get top marks from teachers. Clare McDougall, head of community and education at npower points out: “When we developed our Climate Cops resources we worked with a panel of practising teachers to ensure that what we produced was real and relevant for teachers and pupils alike.

We wanted to provide teachers with free resources that would save them valuable planning time whilst tooling them up with materials they could use in a lesson or whole school project – something teachers could dip in and out of or use fully which would appeal equally to a newly qualified teacher through to a highly skilled teacher with 30 or more years experience.” npower’s Climate Cops resources, designed for 4 to 7, 7 to 11 and 11 to 14 year olds, aim to engage students in tackling the causes of climate change in a lively and stimulating way by making a positive difference to the way they use and save energy. The resources help students develop their knowledge, understanding and skills through a range of subjects such as Geography, Science, PSHE, Citizenship and Education for Sustainable Development.

So far, over 16,500 resource packs have been distributed to schools and community groups. To order your copy of these free hard copy resources today, visit the Climate Cops section of www.npower.com/ education and remember to complete and return the feedback form in the pre‑paid envelope provided once you’ve used the resource, as this is how npower can constantly review whether the resource is meeting the needs of teachers. L

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FURTHER INFORMATION www.npower.com/education

energy supplies to 2050, and face major choices about how to do this.” The Government hopes to engage the public in the debate on how to achieve targets and they need us all to do our bit. The government has a communications plan to help educate UK citizens on key issues – over the next year or two we will all have to make personal decisions as a result of the government’s plan to help us save energy, such as putting a smart meter in our home or whether we sign up to the Green Deal.

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CASHLESS CATERING

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THE CASHLESS SCHOOL REVOLUTION IS HERE

There is an income collection revolution under way, as an increasing number of schools are taking significant steps towards becoming ‘fully cashless’. But what does it mean to be ‘fully cashless’?

And what should be considered before investing in a cashless payment system?

ng Collectints payme meals, ol for schot be on the o might n on day one, agenda lementing a but impion will be solut future key to ess succ There are clear issues around pupils bringing cash and cheques into school to pay for school meals, trips and clubs. Cheques are easily lost and cash can be spent in the corner shop on the way to school, or act as a trigger for bullying.

For a growing number of schools, online payments have become the preferred way of ensuring that parents’ money is received by school safely and in the case of dinner money, spent in the way it was intended – on a healthy school meal.

In return schools are realising significant time savings, benefitting from reduced administration, as well as direct cost savings.

THE FIRST WAVE – BUT WAS IT CASHLESS? In the past, cashless catering systems haven’t exactly been cashless – they just moved the cash (and therefore the associated queue of pupils) from the serving hatch to the school office or the cash loader on the wall outside the dining hall. That’s great for serving meals faster, but not especially helpful for the pupils or school.

Despite the benefits to caterers, these solutions were not really cashless with pupils still carrying cash and cheques into school to top-up accounts.

Anne Bull, LACA national chair, explained: “However ground-breaking, the first wave

of cashless systems did not offer the convenience of an online payment facility that parents were becoming accustomed to in their everyday lives. It was a part solution.

“In my role as head of catering and school facilities at Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council, I could see that local authorities and schools were looking to provide not only healthy school meals, but also a convenient and safe way for parents to pay.”

“What was needed was a solution which could dramatically reduce the administrative and cost burdens associated with the collection and management of all cash and cheques coming into school. Schools were losing hundreds of hours of administration every year.” E

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CASHLESS CATERING  THE REVOLUTION BEGINS The answer to these challenges emerged in 2003 with the launch of the school online payment system, ParentPay. It integrated with cashless catering systems in secondary schools, as well as acting as a stand-alone dinner money management system for smaller primary schools.

LACA partner ParentPay was originally the brainchild of a teacher and working mum, looking to save schools time and make life easier for parents. It became the catalyst for a second wave of cashless solutions.

Anne stated: “When ParentPay launched, some people needed a little convincing.

However, a project in 2004 by ParentPay, commissioned by Croydon Council, changed all that and soon provided the evidence to dispel any concerns about online payments in schools.” ParentPay joined forces with cashless catering system provider Nationwide Retail Systems (NRS) and went on to win a contract in 2007 to provide a central cashless payments solution to LA controlled schools in Croydon. David Paylor, chief business development officer from Nationwide Retail Systems said: “Nobody expected to see such impressive results, but the Croydon solution went on to win awards for the time saved and increased uptake in schools.

“It soon became the model for many other councils and schools across the UK. The partnership has since gone on to achieve similar success in other LAs such as London Borough of Enfield, Barking & Dagenham, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Brighton & Hove and Solihull Council.”

REDUCING THE ADMIN HEADACHE Clint Wilson chief executive of ParentPay said: “Croydon local authority reported significant increases in meal uptake after going cashless.

What’s more, the schools started using ParentPay to collect and manage all their parent income.

“Schools were reporting that administration time associated with parent income had reduced by up to 80 per cent in some cases – enabling schools to redeploy financial and administrative resource to more important tasks in their schools.”

“Of course schools have differing needs.

In Gloucestershire, ParentPay is used as a stand-alone payment and meal management solution in 175 primary schools in the County meals contract, helping support a 26 per cent increase in meal uptake. It’s about joining up what parents, schools and caterers want.”

This ‘fully cashless’ revolution today now sees thousands of schools enabling millions of parents to book and pay online, for school meals, trips, music lessons and more.

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Sponsored by

Theale Green Community School: why we went cashless Maria Tillet, business manager at Theale Green Community School (secondary school) explains her reasons for introducing an online payments facility for parents.

Maria joined the school five and a half years ago from a background in banking. Surprised by the amount of administrative time taken up by collecting money, Maria was certain that a cashless system was the best way forward.

Providing a complete solution to the school’s administrative headache, she deployed ParentPay combined with Cunninghams Cashless Catering system to offer a school wide solution.

Maria was keen to start reducing the pressure on school administration staff and her approach has proved successful. “The school is seeing a MEETING PARENT EXPECTATIONS LACA recently worked with two of their partners, ParentPay and food suppliers Birds Eye, to carry out research with parents and children into school meals. With over 12,000 responses the survey is the largest research exercise of its kind into school meals, children’s lifestyles and parents perceptions.

The research results were unveiled on BBC Breakfast television at the start of LACA’s National School Meals Week in November 2012. Anne talked about some of the key findings: “One of things that stood out was the number of parents wanting to pay and see meal information online. 90 per cent of parents stated their preference was to pay online via debit/credit card or in cash at PayPoint stores. Many stated the key reasons were convenience and safety.

“There are significant benefits for children.

It reduces the chances of sweets and junk food being purchased on the way to and from school – something which parents also flagged as a concern in our research.”

LACA’s is advice ure s to makeonsider c schoolsocesses and r all the p needs before possibleg a decision makin a cashless about tem sys

ADVICE TO SCHOOLS Anne Bull, was keen to pass on some advice to schools who are considering going cashless.

“Meeting parent expectations, as well as saving the school financial administration

continually increasing uptake and will soon have over 85 per cent of parents paying online,” she said. Maria estimates that the introduction of the fully cashless solution has saved the school £15,000 per annum.

Maria spoke to us about the numerous benefits to parents.

The system allows parents to review their child’s spend as well as their meal choices, to help ensure they are eating healthily. The parent communication centre generates emails, texts and letters, with account balances, or highlighting new items due for payments, greatly reducing administration.

Maria added: “We have seen a tremendous increase in those students accessing Free School Meals (FSM) as they no longer feel stigmatised, while helping us really leverage the Pupil Premium Scheme to benefit the school as a whole.”

resources is important. For instance does your school want to let parents see what the meal choices are online?

“Schools need to be clear about their possible future needs to get the right solution at the outset. Collecting payments for a range of items, not just school meals, might not be on the agenda at day one, but implementing a solution that is good at both will be key to future success.

“Is the solution socially inclusive?

Letting parents pay by cash, for instance at PayPoint stores, without sending money to school with the children, could be the key to moving the last of the cash and cheques out of the school office – thus creating a fully cashless school.

“School should consider all aspects of their processes. What sort of financial reporting is required and does this involve the caterer accessing the data as well?

If income needs settling to different bank accounts some systems can help reduce costs by combining transactions and splitting the charges automatically.

LACA’s advice is to make sure schools consider all the processes and possible needs before making a decision. They should also take the time to talk to or visit other schools that are already using a cashless system.

To find out more about creating a fully cashless school or to download your copy of the LACA/ParentPay Research visit www.parentpay.com. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.laca.co.uk

Volume 18.2 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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What over 12,000 parents want schools to know...

90% preferred to pay online or via PayPoint Here’s why...

Convenience To stop sweets being brought Child safety

To get balance alerts

Parents • Pay by credit/debit card or through PayPoint • Receive balance alerts by text or email • Get instant communication from school

44% wanted more information about meals and here’s how...

A website giving lots of information

Posters around school An e-newsletter from school Paper newsletter Emails from school Mobile phone

93%

said it was easier to pay on ParentPay

Did you also know?

• 92%

wanted ALL schools to adhere to Government nutritional standards - presently optional for Academies

• Only

in partnership with

5% still wanted to pay by cash / cheques

Get the Research report: www.parentpay.com/nsmwsurvey

What do your parents want ?

Payments and communication for schools

Parents Pay Online • School Meals

90% of parents prefer to pay schools online *

• Trips / Clubs • Uniforms • And much more...

Great for parents even better for schools You can save time, cut costs and reduce waste with secure cashless collection.

t: 02476 994 820

www.parentpay.com

*Online & PayPoint. Source: LACA / ParentPay School Meals & Daily Life Issues Research (12,000 responses)

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SCHOOL CATERING

OUT WITH THE FRYING PAN, ONTO THE SCHOOL MENU

Danny Wright pays a visit to the Young’s Seafood manufacturing and new product development facilities in Grimsby, where sustainability and product quality are key ingredients in its new range of No Fry Zone products – developed specifically for the education sector Grimsby is one of Europe’s oldest fishing ports.

The North Lincolnshire town’s association with fish goes back to the 9th century, when according to legend, Grimsby was first founded by Grim – a Danish fisherman.

The times when Grimsby dock was busy with hundreds of trawlers have now gone, and vital work to prepare the seaside town for the onslaught of the offshore wind energy industry is fully underway. The extension of the lock gates at the entrance to Port of Grimsby East is complete, increasing capacity for larger vessels to be used in the operation and maintenance of the hundreds of wind turbines, which will be built in the southern North Sea. But Grimsby is steeped in fish history and continues to be a major player. The town has embraced change to become a vibrant part the UK food industry, and has found its place at the centre of British seafood production. Key to the local economy is Young’s Seafood, which has been supplying fish and seafood to a global market for over 200 years.

1,700 members of the Young’s team are based in Grimsby, making it the town’s largest private employer. Headquartered at Ross House, a landmark building on the banks of the Humber in Grimsby’s fish docks, nearby is also home to Young’s manufacturing and new product development centre of excellence, of which I am given a thoroughly enjoyable and thought provoking tour. But not before an early morning visit to Grimsby Fish Market to witness the daily trade, and to pick up a few tips in what to look for when picking out a fish for supper.

Lending his unquestionable knowledge to the visit is Young’s Seafood Specialist Duncan Lucas, a supremely skilled fishmonger with 35 years experience. As well as holding several fish filleting world records, Lucas is a respected international primary and secondary process expert, specialising in Scampi and white fish – fresh and frozen.

Lucas explains what to look for in fresh fish: “A fresh fish has clear bulging eyes and has elastic firm flesh to the touch. The fish will give off a pleasant sea smell and you should see red gills, with shining skin and close-fitting scales. Good quality fish should look fresh with moist flesh and firm texture, and the bones should be firmly attached to the flesh.”

PRODUCTION FACILITIES As perhaps you would expect at such as large-scale operation, the food production facilities and machinery at Young’s manufacturing plant are state-of-the-art. When fully ramped, the unit is capable of producing a staggering 750,000 ready meals (in this instance, the popular Admiral’s Pie) per week.

At this point, I should mention that Young’s is part of Findus Group, which has been in the headlines over the recent horsemeat scandal affecting processed beef. But, as Young’s is understandably keen to point out, it’s seafood supply chain management and sourcing methods are completely different.

Findus had been sourcing beef, which then became contaminated with horsemeat, from French processor Comigel. This was then being supplied into the UK from the contract processing plant, meaning Findus had little control over the supply chain.

Unlike the supply chain Findus was employing on the products where horse was sold as beef (where Findus was buying finished products from an outside processor), Young’s produces its seafood products in factories owned and operated by itself. The company selects, tests, monitors and controls upstream suppliers, enabling thorough checks of the raw materials. These take place at Young’s own testing laboratories, where every

Young’s ped elo has dev al and practic ps to fish ste positivebility through a sustain ard-winning its aw for Life Fish ach appro

GOING TO MARKET Opened in 1996, the £15 million Grimsby Fish Market development was the culmination of the confidence in the future of the fishing industry in Grimsby, which has remained vibrant. The town now acts as a conduit for deliveries and trade throughout Europe. The market had a £1.2 million facelift in January 2012, opened by the Icelandic minister for agriculture and fisheries, Steingrímur J Sigfússon. New facilities include temperature control systems, air‑lock doors, cladding and a new ceiling.

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ingredient used in production is subject to thorough scientific checks designed to deliver consistency and quality. Each year, a team of more than 25 experienced and trained food analysts conduct 100,000 microbiological tests, 10,000 chemical analysis tests and more than 10,000 assessments of incoming raw materials. In fact, Young’s testing levels set the industry standard. On my visit, food analysts were conducting thorough tests on supplied frozen peas and other vegetable products for use in its ready meals.

SUSTAINABILITY Young’s has developed practical and positive steps to fish sustainability through its award‑winning Fish for Life approach, which governs all the species bought by Young’s whether wild-caught or farmed. Implemented in 2006 as part of its procurement process, the five principles behind Fish for Life (sourcing, environmental footprint, healthy diet, community and transparency) are being applied to Young’s whole business philosophy.

Leendert den Hollander, chief executive of Young’s, explains: “Fish for Life is our commitment to responsibly serving our customers and consumers – it is at the heart of everything we do. Working with our customers, fishermen, fish farmers, scientists, stakeholders and consumers, our fish experts do all they can to ensure that the journey from sea to plate is sustainable.

We’ve found that by working together, we can drive real sustainable change.”

Mike Mitchell, Young’s technical and CSR director, elaborates: “When we first set up our Fish for Life program on responsible fish procurement, we recognised we had a responsibility to take a stand and promote sustainable change. Protecting our seas and inspiring people to eat responsibly sourced fish are part of the same story — a story that Young’s has been part of for over 200 years.

“Through our experience with this program, we found that by working together with stakeholders we can drive real, sustainable change and we’re applying the lessons we have learnt across all our business. We’re passionate about taking action and we’re looking to raise the bar further with exciting projects which we will announce through the next year.”

A new initiative for Young’s is to be the first to supply Aquaculture Stewardship Council

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Looking out over Grimsby docks

certified sustainable basa (the species also known as river cobbler, and marketed as pangasius or pangato) in the UK. The company also aims to increase awareness, knowledge and experience of the journey from sea to plate through it’s new School of Fish training program. Environmental initiatives include plans to cut energy use by 20 percent, reduce water use by 25 percent, cut waste by 20 percent and to reduce the use of refrigerants by 50 percent.

Young’s is aligned to the objectives of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild caught fish. As a major purchaser of seafood from most of the world’s principal fisheries, the company initiates, supports and stimulates projects that contribute towards long-term sustainability.

THE MSC STANDARD The MSC standard has three overarching principles that every fishery must prove that it meets. These are: Sustainable fish stocks – the fishing activity must be at a level which is sustainable for the fish population.

Any certified fishery must operate so that fishing can continue indefinitely and is not overexploiting the resources; Minimising environmental impact – fishing operations should be managed to maintain the structure, productivity, function and diversity of the ecosystem on which the fishery depends, and; Effective management – the fishery must meet all local, national and international laws and must have a management system in place to respond to changing circumstances and maintain sustainability. The three principles are supported by 31 more detailed criteria, which can be downloaded at tinyurl.com/bvbw783.

Young’s has recently added marine biologist David Parker to its staff, who has a broad knowledge of potential and current impacts on the marine and freshwater ecosystem.

The company is working on programs where Parker can go out on vessels and looks at ways improve catching techniques.

“For a seafood company to be hiring a scientific practitioner is quite unique. David Parker will deal with a whole raft of issues on seafood sustainability, from politics through to science,” said Mike Mitchell.

A HEALTHIER OPTION FOR SCHOOLS Following ongoing Food Standards Agency (FSA) advice and in light of the current checks being carried out on some processed beef products, a number education catering providers across the country have already withdrawn or are considering withdrawing processed beef products from school menus.

This will make fish products an increasingly popular choice for caterers, pupils and parents. Young’s new ‘No Fry Zone’ range, which was created specifically for the education sector, combines sustainably sourced fish with a crispy coating, and is a natural source of Omega 3.

As the name suggests, it is prepared without pre-frying, making it a healthier, tastier option. I can vouch for this, having sampled the ‘No Fry Zone’ range before being treated to a first class demonstration of fish filleting by the aforementioned Duncan Lucas, followed by a fish cookery master class from head development chef for Young’s Seafood, Serge Nollent. Both Duncan and Serge share a passion for fish – evident throughout the whole operation at Young’s. L

A passion for fish (from top): fish traders at Grimsby Fish Market; a fine specimen; testing supplied vegetables in the Young’s lab; Serge Nollent (left) and Duncan Lucas (right)

Further information YOUNG’S SEAFOOD www.youngsseafood.co.uk www.youngsforchefs.co.uk Marine Stewardship Council www.msc.org Aquaculture Stewardship Council www.asc-aqua.org

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INFECTION CONTROL

A CLEAN FIGHT AGAINST INFECTION

Health Protection Agency information indicates that approximately half of children’s GP consultations are for infectious diseases.

Children are more susceptible to infectious diseases for a number of reasons including immature immunity, lack of prior exposure to infections and incomplete vaccinations. But social aspects also play a part in children’s vulnerability. A higher degree of close contact, sharing communal facilities and, importantly, lower levels of good hygiene practice mean that schools can be the ideal setting for infections.

Most of these infections will be self limiting although unpleasant for the child or staff member. Others however can cause wider impact, even forcing schools to close for operational reasons if the majority of staff are infected, such as in the case of diarrhoea and vomiting outbreaks or influenza. Good hygiene practices in schools can reduce the spread of these illnesses and allow school children the best possible opportunity for their education.

spread the infection to others. Food can also become contaminated if it is handled by an infected person who hasn’t washed their hands properly, and objects such as toys and flush handles. People can pick up the infecting organism by eating the contaminated food or touching contaminated surfaces and then putting their fingers in their mouth.

OFF SICK Of the infectious illnesses that do end up affecting schools, gastrointestinal and respiratory infections are among the major contributors to absenteeism. These infections cause a significant burden on students through lost days in education and to parents and carers who have to take time off work to care for a sick child.

Certain infections, such as measles, chickenpox and parvovirus, can cause complications for pregnant women and immunocompromised people. In such circumstances, schools should know who to contact for advice, i.e. the school nurse, the HPA’s local health protection unit or ask the individual to seek advice from their health practitioner.

Hand washing is the single most important hygiene measure in reducing the risk of transmitting infections amongst children and staff. Hands are used for all sorts of activities during the course of a school day and can become easily contaminated from daily activities such as using the toilet or outdoor play. Germs on a person’s hand can easily be passed onto others by direct touch or by contamination of objects. Once on the hands it is easy for germs to get into the mouth.

Some infectious diseases, such as chickenpox and measles, can be passed on to others before the infected person has any symptoms of being unwell. Some people carry certain infections, including hand, foot and mouth disease, and ringworm, without becoming unwell at all and can pass these on to susceptible people. For these reasons it is important that high standards of basic hygiene and cleanliness are maintained at all times and not just in the event of an outbreak.

Some s u infectiorvive su spores ell in very w nment iro the env stay on an and can ate object inanim everal for s days

HOW INFECTIONS SPREAD To understand the role hygiene can play in preventing illness in schools, it is important to know how infectious disease can spread.

Infectious diseases can be spread in a number of ways in schools. Aerosol spread (small droplets) is when the organisms which cause the disease are spread from the infected person via droplets in the air (caused by coughing, sneezing or during close conversation) and then inhaled by another person. Diseases spread in this way include colds, influenza (flu), measles and mumps.

Direct contact spread is when skin contact, such as holding hands, transmits some contagious skin diseases and infestations such as ringworm and scabies. Head to head contact will also facilitate the transmission of head lice.

Lastly infection can be spread the faecal/ oral route. For some diseases, including viral gastroenteritis and Hepatitis A, the infecting organism is excreted in the faeces. If the infected person does not wash their hands properly after using the toilet, then they can

Written by Asha Abrahams, Health Protection Nurse Specialist

A higher degree of close contact, sharing communal facilities and lower levels of good hygiene practice amongst children mean that schools can be the ideal setting for infections. A clean environment is therefore essential in the fight against infection

A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT Infection control is not just about clean hands; a clean environment is also essential to prevent or minimise transmission of infectious diseases. There should be a regular daily cleaning regime in place which is undertaken by suitably trained staff. Colour coding of mops, mop buckets and cloths is recommended and all staff should be made aware of which colour is dedicated to which area, i.e. red for toilet areas, blue for classrooms and other general areas, green for kitchen area, etc. In the event of an outbreak the cleaning regime should be increased to at least twice daily with special attention to areas which are most likely to have been contaminated by hands such as toilet flush handles, taps, light switches, handrails, door handles, and so on.

Some infectious spores survive very well in the environment and can stay on an inanimate object for several days. For this reason it is essential to have a robust cleaning regime which should commence as soon as an outbreak is suspected. A suitable disinfectant should be used and it is important to know that hypochlorite (bleach) solutions do not eliminate all viruses/bacteria, therefore should be used after the area has been disinfected.

Carpets and rugs should be cleaned using a steam cleaner as any other method will not be effective in removing the bacteria or virus particles.

With any gastrointestinal illness, staff and children should not return to school until they have had no further symptoms for 48 hours and until they feel well enough to return.

Other infections have their own exclusion periods dependent on how long the infection is infectious to others and parents should be advised to keep their children at home until the period of infectivity has passed.

An ‘outbreak’ can usually be defined as when there are two or more cases of a similar illness in the same class or when there is an unusually high number of children with a similar illness. Unfortunately outbreaks of infection within schools are inevitable due to the large numbers of people in close contact with each other. However by having simple hygiene and infection control programmes, schools can effectively reduce disruptions due to infectious disease and maximise the time available for a child’s education. L

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EVENT PREVIEW

EDUCATION IS CHANGING LIKE NEVER BEFORE

Education Show

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The Education Show on 14 to 16 March is the place to debate and share ideas on the changing educational landscape Times are changing like never before.

Historically the pressure on headteachers to manage their school and improve standards was staggering. Today their responsibilities also include managing a highly effective business – the school.

The recent autonomy given to schools certainly opens up a wealth of opportunities, giving the senior management team a chance to invest in services and resources that meet the very individual needs of their school. But this can only happen if school leaders have the insight and information needed to make these decisions along with an understanding of what is available to them. Making informed decision is the only way to achieve outstanding success.

The Education Show 2013 has been specifically designed to provide leaders with the support they need; and all free of charge. Running over three days from the 14 to 16 March 2013 at the NEC Birmingham, education experts, educators, associations and policy makers will gather at the Education Show to debate, discuss and share ideas on the future of UK education.

CPD CERTIFICATION Recent research by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), the education sector’s trade association, showed that schools are increasing their investment in continuing professional development (CPD). To reflect this, the Education Show this year offers the largest showcase of training which is CPD accredited by the CPD Certification Service.

What has always set the education sector apart from other industries is the general lack of post qualification training, so this change is good news. The shift in expenditure is being experienced to a greater extent in primary schools who felt there was a 52 per cent greater chance of using their budget to pay for CPD, while secondary schools are 28 per cent more likely to invest.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME It is important however to remember that all the training and conference programmes at the Education Show are free of charge.

For instance, the School Leaders Summit, running for the first two days of the show, offers a range of quick fire, insightful sessions, covering the issues currently facing school’s senior management teams. The first day’s programme starts with Glenys Stacey, chief regulator and chair of Ofqual who will be helping leaders in the session: ‘Weighing

The on Educati been as Show h to provide d designe with all the leaders t they need; suppor ll free of and a rge cha

up preparation for assessment against preparation for the future’.

Later that morning, a selection of inspiring teachers will share their best practice experiences. Dr Peter Kent, headmaster at Lawrence Sheriff School, will open the session ‘Best methods for assessment: Checking progress quickly and effectively’ by explaining how he feels his school has found these methods to work most effectively. In the afternoon a panel of school leaders will share their thoughts on the new Ofsted framework in a session entitled ‘Demystifying the inspection process, by a school that’s been through it’. Later on that day at 2.10pm, Nicky Brewerton, headteacher at Ramsden Infant School, will give her advice on ‘Achieving Outstanding: How to climb the Ofsted ladder’.

The second day of the School Leaders Summit (Friday 15 March) is focused on creating a sustainable funding strategy.

Beginning the day’s presentations, Stephen Morales, business director of Watford Grammar School for Girls, will share his experiences of ‘Dealing with financial change: Getting to grips with funding reforms.’ Later on that day at 1.40pm, William Simmonds, chief executive of the National Association of School Business

Management (NASBM) – a major contributor to the 2013 Education Show – will lead a panel of teachers in a discussion on ‘Understanding the impact of academisation on the role of the business manager’.

SESSIONS FOR THE WHOLE TEAM However, the show is not just designed for school leaders. The range of conferences and training programmes are designed to suit a wide range of the school’s team.

These include the first national conference for members of the increasingly important Parent Teacher Associations from PTA-UK, another programme of free training managed by the National Association of Special Educational Needs (nasen) for primary school special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs), the new Academies Forum offering advice, debate and discussion opportunities on the merits and challenges of the move to academy status and the Learn Live seminar programme which each year delivers the highest quality CPD for all members of the school team. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.education-show.com

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Take your pupils out of the classroom and travel with confidence – The School Travel Company, guarantee a quality and safe school trip from start to finish.

Why book with The School Travel Company: • We offer the easy way to arrange a school trip – ready-made itineraries and fixed prices to ensure you spend less time arranging your trip • We have 20 years’ experience in education travel • Safety-checked accommodation • Approved coaches & major crossing channel operators • Free itinerary booking • Friendly travel professionals that are always on hand to help • Best value prices • Once your booking is confirmed, we guarantee the price – no surcharges at a later date!

We offer an excellent travel choice – choose by subject or destination • History, Modern Languages, Geography, Business, Art & Design, Drama, Music • Enrichment Activities • UK, France, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Holland Italy.

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So, whether you know where you want to book or looking for inspiration, we have the knowledge and experience to chat through the best options for your group. www.theschooltravelcompany.com Call us today: 0121 504 2033

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PUPIL ATTAINMENT

LEARNING BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

From science in the school grounds to literacy in the woods, there is no limit to the opportunities for hands-on learning all around us. Learning outside the classroom (LOtC) is known to raise attainment, improve behaviour and engage all pupils in their learning, particularly those who may not thrive inside the classroom environment.

This was confirmed in a 2008 Ofsted report Learning Outside the Classroom – how far should you go?, which found overwhelming evidence that LOtC contributes significantly to raising standards and improving the quality and depth of learning.

FREQUENCY IS KEY However, the report also highlighted that LOtC should not be about a once a year school trip.

‘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 report states. Learning outside the classroom should be built into planning for all learners, every week and all year round. By far the most effective strategy is to take a whole school approach to your LOtC provision.

Neston High School in the south Wirral have been recognised for their commitment to providing frequent, continuous and progressive LOtC experiences to all pupils, being awarded the new LOtC Mark accreditation at silver level. Neston High were also featured in a recent Ofsted best practice report, which praised the school for securing high attainment and levels of

progress through a well-integrated curriculum with a broad programme of LOtC. ‘A ‘can do’ culture, more than any of the formal systems, adds the most value to enabling students to achieve well and thrive,’ the report.

The report, entitled ‘Good practice resource - Learning outside the classroom: Neston High School, Ofsted, 2012’ attributes Neston High School’s successful LOtC provision to four factors. Firstly, simple and effective procedures, which liberate people’s energy.

Then whole school commitment, with LOtC included in staff induction & development and support from the senior management team. The third factor is an exciting curriculum, which incorporates the use of the school grounds and local community alongside strong partnerships with LOtC providers, cultural exchanges abroad and a wide programme of musical and sporting activities. The last factor is effective evaluation, where LOtC is evaluated, linked to student outcomes and reported to governors.

“For me the reason for encouraging learning outside the classroom as a key philosophy is that it enables students to apply their learning in different and real contexts and to broaden their horizons and aspirations for their future lives. I am absolutely convinced that the ethos and

FIVE STEPS TO EFFECTIVE OUTDOOR LEARNING When considering how to improve and develop your LOtC provision, it can be hard to know where to start, especially if barriers exist which seem to prevent more LOtC from taking place. However, experience of working with schools that excel at LOtC tells us that there are five key steps to achieving an LOtC programme which is embedded in the everyday life of your school.

The first step is commiting to LOtC opportunities for all pupils. This is about ensuring that LOtC is included in the school development plan, policies and promotional materials such as your prospectus and website. An overall policy allows you to say what you value about learning outside the classroom and its potential benefit for young people.

It is important to make a stated commitment to developing inclusive frequent, continuous and progressive LOtC for all pupils. Many schools have found drawing up a ‘Charter of Entitlement’ a useful tool to set out the learning outside classroom opportunities they would like to offer and to ensure that the plans are followed through.

At this stage, it is also vital to ensure that a senior member of the management team takes the lead on LOtC in order to mobilise support from staff, governors and parents and to ensure effective support and training to empower staff to undertake more LOtC.

Written by Elaine Skates, deputy chief executive of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom

A ‘can do’ culture that is supportive of learning outside the classroom can add the most value to enabling students to achieve well and thrive, says a recent Ofsted best practice report.

Elaine Skates, deputy chief executive of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, explains how this can be achieved

culture in the school are vastly enhanced by the high level of participation. These activities are systematically and collegiately organised, evaluated and analysed, and are the heart and soul of our school,” said Steve Dool, headteacher, Neston High School.

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THE LEARNING EXPERIENCE The second step is to plan effective learning experiences. Learning outside the classroom is not an addition to the curriculum but should become integral to it and a regular part of teaching and learning. To make sure that happens, it is important to build learning outside the classroom into the development of schemes of work and into curriculum planning at every stage.

The following steps may help in assessing the situation, planning your curriculum and evaluating achievements. They are built around three curriculum questions: What do you want to achieve? How will you organise learning? How will you know when you are achieving your aims?

As Ofsted advocates, in order for LOtC to be most effective, the learning objectives E

g Learnin he t outside is not m classrooion to the t an addi , but should m u t curricul e integral to i becom regular part and a ching and of tea rning lea

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PUPIL ATTAINMENT  must be well defined and evaluated for effectiveness. LOtC should always be designed with specific learning outcomes in mind. The learning identified should drive the other decisions you will need to make about what you do and where you do it.

Other important factors are ensuring that all learning styles, ages and abilities are considered and making sure that full use is made of LOtC activities through effective preparation and follow up work.

Finally, LOtC activities should not be planned in isolation, but should build on classroom learning and previous LOtC experiences, with a gradual and continual progression in the level of challenge involved.

TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY Step three involves making the best use of opportunities available to you. These will depend on the location of your school (e.g. urban or rural), the extensiveness of your grounds and facilities in your local area. You may not have the same opportunities as other schools, but this is about considering your environment and thinking about how features could be used to support learning across all subject areas.

With careful planning and a thoughtful approach, LOtC activities can be designed and delivered almost anywhere. It is useful to conduct an audit of LOtC opportunities

within and around your school or setting – this can often be a revealing exercise as you may already be doing more than you thought.

Audits are also a good way of establishing a benchmark on which to build your provision, and will help you identify any gaps. Work with other staff to the opportunities that are available on your doorstep, look at the frequency of your provision and how each activity builds on the learning from the previous one. Little and often goes a long way.

Step four involves evaluating the impact of LOtC. It is essential that all those involved in teaching and learning reflect regularly on the effectiveness of teaching, and LOtC is no exception to this rule. This reflection will help you to recognise success and identify areas that are less effective and may need to be changed.

Consider what evidence might be evaluated when undertaking self-review. It also provides opportunities for you to consider how you might involve young people, parents/carers and the wider community in evaluation activities. Information gathered through evaluations will help keep your work exciting, relevant and up to date.

MANAGE RISK Step five involves managing risk and perception of risk effectively. A robust policy and practical procedures and processes are

How do you find good quality venues for LOtC? The LOtC Quality Badge is the national benchmark for the provision of educational visits.

The accreditation helps schools find venues offering good quality educational experiences where risk is effectively managed. Search for venues in your area at www.lotcqualitybadge.org.uk

essential to ensure the safety of children.

Risk benefit management is a fundamental part of life and is a skill needed for young people’s safety and well being. Staff have a duty of care towards young people. However, this certainly does not mean ‘wrapping them in cotton wool’. Therefore we have responsibility not only to keep young people safe, but also to enable them to learn to manage risks for themselves. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.lotc.org.uk

Breathing life into learning in Essex

Conway Centres: outdoor learning at its best

Essex Outdoors excels at providing high quality outdoor learning opportunities to young people and adults at four centres across Essex. The centres are located in areas of diverse landscapes and habitats which provide perfect settings in which to deliver key aspects of the curriculum linked to the DfE Learning Outside the Classroom manifesto – a key area within the Ofsted inspection framework.

Following a £4m refurbishment programme, a range of facilities is now available: en-suite log cabins, residential buildings, training suites and classrooms as well as camping under canvas.

Essex Outdoors delivers a wide range of outdoor learning programmes. Its specialist Essex Schools Expeditions team facilitates and leads trips to Morocco, Slovenia, the French Pyrenees and Italian Dolomites, along with destinations within

Conway Centres in Anglesey (North Wales), Beeston, Burwardsley, Delamere and Tattenhall (Cheshire) offer creative and inspirational learning environments which challenge and develop the potential of all visitors.

Conway Centres deliver high quality Arts and Outdoor Education, which has the potential to raise attainment, broaden participants’ horizons and enhance aspects of the curriculum.

The service has 43 years of experience in supporting teachers and in delivering educationally focused courses, including those for both GCSE and A Level. Fully qualified teaching staff, associate tutors and artists have a significant breadth of experience and qualification which allows them to engage students and inspire them to achieve to the best of their ability. The staff can help teachers organise a progressive programme of

the UK. Courses in leadership, adventurous activities, National Governing Body awards and Outdoor Learning Cards are available, as well as Duke of Edinburgh expeditions for staff and young people.

The core provision is to primary and secondary year groups who visit for residential or day programmes, which are adaptable and inclusive and can be tailored towards specific outcomes, e.g. KS2-3 transition, stretching gifted and talented, engaging the disillusioned and rewarding achievement.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.essexoutdoors.com essexoutdoors@essex.gov.uk Tel: 01245 221010

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residential activities to meet desired aims and objectives.

The centres are accredited by the Adventure Activities Licensing Authority, carry Learning Outside the Classroom Quality badges and hold the Gold Award through the Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres.

Conway Centres are happy to offer teachers a free inspection visit to give them an opportunity to see the relevant centre and the range of facilities and potential programmes.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.conwaycentres.co.uk

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Outdoor learning regardless of how much space is available is vital in providing unique experiences for children. Encouraging children to work and play outdoors whatever the weather, will stimulate their learning and provide an insight into science, language, literacy and numeracy, environmental awareness and collaborative play, which may not be readily accessible in the traditional classroom setting. The new Outdoor Classroom catalogue features 100’s of resources that will enable you to make the most of your outdoor environment.

There are impressive furniture items such as the magical Hobbit House and the colourful Rainbow Room, which provides a place to play, read, draw and stimulate imaginations but also everyday resources for gardening, Science and ICT. CREATING SPACE Teaching outdoors can often mean braving the elements in outdated open sided shelters.

The Hobbit house is perfect for delivering lessons to a small group or for children to explore on their own. This enclosed den has two windows for natural light, a decked base and a large amount of floor space. We have seen the house used to help improve literacy skills by creating an alternative reading corner and the perfect place to use ICT voice recording equipment to improve communication. Another shelter with a twist provided by TTS is the Rainbow Room. Designed more to be a play den in which children can escape too, it features 8 perspex panels. The panels are various colours, lighting up the inside to create a natural sensory experience.

CLOSER TO NATURE Giving your children some responsibility in growing plants and vegetables helps them gain knowledge of lifecycles. We have developed a range of willow planters which allow several children to plant and nurture whatever they choose. They are

fitted with liners so once you have your soil your children can start gardening.

Learning about Minibeasts is a key part of a child’s development outdoors. Our Bug City is a quirky alternative on the concept of creating a home to attract creepy crawlies.

that is guaranteed for 15 years against rot and infestation, offering substantial longevity to the investment and reflects TTS values on supplying only the highest quality products.

Music helps younger children to develop creatively and express themselves. As

Teaching outdoors can often mean braving the elements in outdated open sided shelters. The Hobbit house is perfect for delivering lessons to a small group or for children to explore on their own The environment is hand crafted and each one built is unique. Manufactured from durable timber the unit can be positioned around the playground to make sure it is in the best place to capture those bugs.

A SENSE OF ADVENTURE Children are now being encouraged more and more to take risks in the outdoor environment. A good way of allowing them this is with our range of Trim Trails. These are designed to challenge children’s balance and all round co-ordination. The trails aim is to offer younger children the chance to build up confidence whilst improving upper body strength and hand-eye coordination.

Each trail has a varying degree of ability, from an introductory level through to an increased degree of difficulty. With timber

children get older they learn about acoustics and rhythm. Our Chimes are an ideal resource for outdoor music as they learn to explore sounds or create improvised pieces. Watch children perform, discover, explore and create beautiful sounds.

When you buy a resource or piece of equipment from TTS, you can do so safe in the knowledge that it has been tested to all of the relevant European safety legislation. This is no small task for a range of over 14,000 products. But, just like you, children’s safety is our number one priority.

FURTHER INFORMATION For more information regarding any of the TTS range visit www.tts-group.co.uk or to request a copy of the Outdoor Classroom catalogue call 0800 318 686

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In August 2012, official figures showed one crucial that we address this by offering pupils, million young people were still out of work boys and girls alike, information about a and one in five 16-25 year olds were unable real breadth of jobs, and the skills they require. to find a job. We educate children so that they The real trick will be to make sure this have opportunities, but the challenges that is done in a way that doesn’t over-face they face are numerous and their environment children or place too much focus on roles factors heavily into their expectations. that, although aspirational, may well or feel Children’s ideas about adult work roles are unattainable to some young people and only highly influenced by what they experience serve to further disconnect them from their at home and at school, which may impact education. If we draw on real-life experiences positively or negatively on their aspirations and and provide personal examples of curriculum which isn’t always within the control of parents topics at work, in a range of professions, or teachers. Take the rise of celebrity culture representing a mix of gender and ethnicity, we for example; ask a group of young people can show children that it is a person’s skills what they want to be when they grow up and and passions that determines their success. chances are several of them will say, “I want to be famous.” We are faced with a celebrity WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT THINK? culture that often highlights the most fame In a recent speech to the Policy Exchange, hungry above the quiet achievers shadow education secretary, and, although we may not like it, Stephen Twigg discussed the we can probably understand need to reform the UK’s why this happens. But if we education system so that it can give children a broad equips young people with range of realistic role the skills, knowledge, models they can look up resilience and character to, and if they understand essential to becoming more about the sheer active citizens and future variety of jobs that business leaders. “We are n io t a d exist, then it encourages looking at how businesses rk Foun The Wo rs Guidance respect and aspirations. can provide ‘work discovery’ e e r a le C g Peop programmes to inspire for Younport THE CASE FOR primary school children about re STARTING EARLY the world of work,” he commented, Research conducted by the Centre for going on to cite the importance of Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning activities such as businesses visiting primary (‘Determinants of Aspirations’, Morrison schools to talk about their sector, and Gutman, Ackerman 2008, Institute of Education) organising factory and office trips for pupils. states that: ‘The early years of a child’s life are Unsurprisingly, he isn’t the only person calling a key time in the formation and development for action. Earlier this year, The Work Foundation of aspirations, but these are modified by touched on the issue in its contribution to the experience and the environment. Some children House of Commons Education Committee may have a clear ambition which they will report on Careers Guidance for Young People: pursue, some will already be focusing on ‘Careers education should be introduced as developing a talent, but others will change their early as primary school, as it is proven to ideas repeatedly as their awareness grows.’ raise aspirations and in tandem, academic Many parents will attest to this but achievement,’ the report states. ‘It also prepares we really do need to make efforts to add young people for school-to-work transitions by to the knowledge they pick up organically equipping them with career management skills from their environment, their friends, the TV and a basic understanding of pathways that they watch and the toys they play with. careers guidance advisers can later build on.’

According to a study by Ofsted in 2011 on Ofsted also supports this view in the report, girls’ career aspirations, more and more young noting that: ‘Despite the fact that it was women are turning to gender stereotypical and never a statutory requirement to provide often lower paid careers including hairdressing, enterprise education and work-related beauty therapy and social work due to ‘weak’ learning at Key Stage 1 to 3, the better schools careers advice in schools. It is absolutely surveyed generally regarded it as an essential

‘Careersn o educati be should arly, as ed e introducven to raise it is pro achievement’ ic academ

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM WIDER SOCIETY To ensure that future generations are given the breadth of knowledge and insight necessary to instil an innate respect for the different jobs, then it is vital for a variety of people to be involved.

We started a project that brought together contributors from 90 different occupations to provide real-life illustrations of the relevance of primary learning to the world of work in the form of a short video film, each linked closely to a curriculum topic. The key for us was to make sure contributors were from a real variety of jobs; ranging from doctors and engineers to drummers and florists. All describe how they use what they learnt at primary school in the job they are doing now, with each video mapped to a curriculum topic with an accompanying list of suggested discussion points, an activities sheet and related links to explore the topic in more detail.

Professor Martin Knight from Queen Mary University saw it as an opportunity to encourage more awareness of the subject of medical engineering: “We find that many young people may have known about medicine as a career since an early age, but there are all sorts of other careers related to medicine that they aren’t aware until almost it’s too late.”

Ultimately, if work-related learning is delivered well, not only will it help pupils to recognise the relevance of what they are learning, but it can motivate them to work harder at subjects necessary for a career path they would like to follow. L

Sonita Alleyne is the founder and CEO of the Yes Programme, a career-linked learning resource that gives primary learners an engaging and motivating window into the world of work.

Written by Sonita Alleyne, founder and CEO of the Yes Programme

Can making pupils aware of the connection between the classroom and the workplace at primary age really shape their future career choices? Sonita Alleyne OBE, investigates

element of the whole-school curriculum.

Such guidance helped to prepare children and young people for their futures within the complex and dynamic economic, business and financial environment in which they live.’

Teachers and schools working with their pupils to round out work-related learning are also in agreement. Robert Perry, deputy headmaster at Myland Primary School said: “There is a need for this sort of service in terms of opening children’s eyes in what is actually around them. Sometimes children have no idea about careers other than what they see on the TV or what their parents do.”

The growing need for career-related learning in primary schools can also be linked to the changing nature of industry. David Illes, headmaster at Richard de Clare Primary School said: “A generation or so ago in a small town such as this, there was a clear route to employment; people knew what they were doing. Now we honestly don’t know what the future holds and we have no idea what these children will be doing, [in many cases] it probably hasn’t even been invented yet.”

Recruitment

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FURTHER INFORMATION www.yesprogramme.co.uk

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www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

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A unique opportunity to buy a successful educational publishing business.

Established 20 years ago, this small but high margin business writes and publishes practice test material for school selection examinations.

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Sales are primarily through a leading book wholesaler, but also directly through the website; to schools; tutorial agencies; bookshops and individual parents. The products and customer service are highly regarded so a considerable amount of business comes from recommendations. The business is readily re-locatable and could be run from home.

The buyer would acquire: • Copyright to the company’s range of tests and its brand • The website, including downloadable products • The current customer base, good name and current stock.

The business is healthy and viable as it is and there is also good unexploited potential for growth through: • Targeted marketing and increased exposure • Exploration of interest from other English-speaking countries, especially India • Development of the current range of products into paperless / interactive tests, building on content already on the website.

To register interest and find out more please email Nik at nikmk1@gmail.com

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

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PRINTING

SMART PRINTING PUT TO THE TEST

Advertisement Feature

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OKI’s flat-rate printing programme for the education sector scores top marks at Sir William Stanier Community School With the current squeeze on public sector spending, education budgets are coming under intense pressure. In this environment, expenditure on technology is inevitably subject to intense scrutiny. Schools have increasingly limited resources, so they have to find ways of making the most of them.

One way they can drive cost savings, operational efficiencies and enhanced creativity is through smart printing. A recent report from the centre for economics and business research (cebr) estimates that education could be the UK sector to benefit most from more efficient printing, with potential annual savings of up to £245 million – equivalent to 9,800 new graduate teachers.

EFFICIENT PRINTING Sir William Stanier Community School, a secondary school in Crewe, has historically used a mix of printers from different vendors together with a complex blend of different consumable types. At the same time, it had little control over colour printing and little visibility of costs or output volumes.

Reliability was often an issue and ensuring high quality service and supply was difficult. Managing the printing resource efficiently was a constant challenge not least because of

since supplied the school with 60 C500 Series A4 LED printers which it has installed in classrooms and offices across the site together with five C800 Series A3 LED printers which are being used principally in design and technology lessons.

SAVE MONEY AND REDUCE WASTE “Migrating to this new approach has allowed us to gain tighter control over our print budget and achieve more convenient, hassle-free management of our whole printing plan,” says Phil Hall, the school’s network manager.

With OKI Flatrate for Education, the school’s payments are based on an estimated monthly output for a set monthly charge over 36 months, inclusive of a fixed number of both colour and mono pages. OKI has provided clear prices for additional pages, giving the school predictable budgeting and cost control – and complete peace of mind.

As a scheme member, the school also qualifies for two months printing (July and August) completely payment free. In total, it estimates that the new approach is enabling it to save 25 per cent of its annual printing costs.

An additional benefit is that the school no longer has to worry about running out

A recent report from the centre for economics and business research estimates that education could be the UK sector to benefit most from more efficient printing, with potential annual savings of up to £245 million the requirement to use multiple sources for billing, consumables and IT support.

The school realised it needed to exert tighter control over its printing and decided to standardise on one brand. It turned to OKI Systems UK and its Flatrate for Education printing package.

The school was impressed with the quality of the OKI printers, the professionalism of the OKI team and the potential benefits of the Flatrate scheme.

OKI has now set the school up on the programme – customised to focus on aggregate printing across all printers rather than working out amounts set for each individual devices. The vendor has also

of consumables. “With Flatrate, we can order these on next day delivery,” adds Phil Hall. “It is a really quick process.

We simply visit the OKI Flatrate website and select the printer serial number and the consumables required. We can also log calls for support there and have total confidence that we will get a priority call back from OKI’s UK-based technical support team.

“The Flatrate scheme has also given us much greater visibility into our printing,” continues Phil Hall. “For the first time, we can now review the overall number of A3 and A4 pages printed and the departmental split. This allows us to pinpoint areas where volumes are high and address them proactively.”

OKI has delivered further benefits to Sir William Stanier Community School by assisting in the configuration of the printers to drive additional savings. Devices are set to print in mono as standard, allowing the school to reduce unnecessary colour printing but enabling it to use colour when required.

The printers are also set to duplex as a default option, allowing the school to make further cost savings while cutting paper wastage by up to 50 per cent at a stroke.

OKI further helps the school to minimise the environmental impact of its printing by providing it with two free collection boxes and liners and then arranging for the collection of used consumables on next day pickup. The installation of the OKI printers also drives enhanced productivity at the school. The fast print speeds available with the OKI devices help teachers to overcome the end-of-class printing rush and ensure that pupils no longer need to delay the start of the next lesson, waiting for work to appear.

A NEW PERSPECTIVE Using OKI’s printers and signing up for the Flatrate for Education scheme has changed the school’s entire outlook on printing. Previously it considered it as an expensive necessity that was difficult to manage and control.

Today, it regards printing more as a cost‑effective enabler, inspiring pupils to produce high-quality work and driving the productivity of teachers through rapid print-outs tailored to their needs while delivering value for money and a significant reduction in costs. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.oki.co.uk

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Brandy snaps and other traditional biscuits

Shedding more light on school roofing projects

Established in 1888 Sharp and Nickless is an undisputed specialist in the production of Brandy Snaps and traditional biscuits. Baked the old fashioned way, using traditional ingredients, its products are to be found in delicatessens, gift shops, tourist centres, hotels and restaurants throughout the country.

The Brandy Snap range includes baskets, cones and rolls, the ideal base for delicious desserts. They are also available in catering packs.

Olde English Brandy Snaps and Honey Snaps are favourite items in many hamper selections. Classic Brandy Snaps make the perfect holiday souvenir and can be supplied to retailers complete with postcards of the local attraction.

Imagine a classroom where pupils cannot see the board in dazzling sunlight, or where a teacher can’t be heard due to external noise. Obvious as these scenarios may sound, they are among many common oversights which can easily be avoided through consultation with a professional rooflight manufacturer.

Horizontal roof lights can provide two and a half times more light than vertical windows – and advancements and investment in technology mean manufacturers are continually pushing the boundaries in innovative, functional rooflight design for the education sector.

In recent years a growing number of architects, designers and proprietors have substituted traditional overhead and vertical clear glazing for more sophisticated aerogel filled polycarbonates such as LumiraTM, formerly known as nanogel, from Xtralite.

For the Christmas trade, there is a festival spiced Christmas Brandy Snap. Sharp & Nickless traditional biscuit range includes ginger snap, lemon, coconut and currant biscuits. Local specialities are the Sherwood Spice biscuit and the Grantham Gingerbread, a delicious crisp white ginger biscuit, well known throughout the East Midlands.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0115 973 2169

Discover the unique charm of the Cotswolds Cotswold Charm Holiday Cottages provides a unique selection of self-catering holiday cottages in the Cotswolds mainly based arranged around Top Farm’s 17th century farmhouse and all within an easy five-minute walk of Chipping Campden’s high street and its own tremendous selection of restaurants & shops.

Cotswold Charm’s nine cottages and apartments are mainly on the western edge of Chipping Campden and the tranquil and picturesque hamlet of Westington, all within no more than a five to six minute walk of the curved high street, its inns, restaurants, shops and many attractions.

Sleeping two, four, five and six, they are grouped within a matter of yards and can be clustered to take larger groups from seven through to 25.

There are plenty local footpaths and walks such as the Jubilee, Heart of England, Monarch’s Way and Cotswold Ways.

Cyclists will find everything they are looking for along the Cotswold, Gloucestershire,

Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire lanes and staff are able to provide secure cycle storage for to 20 bicycles.

Chipping Campden is the Cotswolds’ hidden gem with a wealth of history. At the head of the Cotswold Way, it makes an idyllic centre for easily accessing the Cotswolds’ towns and villages such as Stratford‑upon‑Avon and Shakespeare Country, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Shakespeare Country, Warwick, Worcester, the Malvern Hills, Oxford, Woodstock and even Bath.

Product Focus

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Aerogel filled polycarbonates include higher levels of thermal insulation, reducing energy losses, and the material is also virtually unbreakable and doesn’t shatter.

This material gives a shadow-less diffused light without high spots of contrasting glare for comfort, practicality and above all, safety.

Xtralite’s LumiraTM, for example, also offers up to 5dB(A) reduction in airborne noise and 8dB(A) impact sound from heavy rainfall, compared with unfilled glazing – ensuring that noise from external factors don’t intrude on pupils’ learning.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01670 354157 www.xtralite.co.uk

Whisky bottled straight from the cask – nothing added, nothing subtracted While blends still dominate the Scottish whisky market, single malts have recently enjoyed a renaissance.

Established in 1842 William Cadenhead has long dealt in the supply of the unmixed product of the pot still. Cadenheads offer a chance for the flavour enthusiast to enjoy whisky, as it should be.

Unlike most mass producers of whisky who chill-filter to guarantee clarity – often at expense of substance, artificially colour to fool the drinker and dilute to minimum strength, hence reducing taste and aroma options for the drinker, Cadenheads bottle straight from the cask – nothing added, nothing subtracted.

While consistency of a brand has its place Cadenheads

specialises in single cask bottlings, keeping the unique character of each barrel separate.

As Scotland’s oldest independent bottler, Cadenheads is proud to offer a pure one-off example of the malts currently produced at famous, obscure and occasionally closed distilleries.

These same strong principles are extended to the company’s range of rums, gins, cognacs and whiskies from overseas. You can rest assured all Cadenheads offers is natural colour, nonchill filtered, either at full cask strength or sometimes reduced to 46 per cent abv and usually from an individual cask. Slainte.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.wmcadenhead.com

FURTHER INFORMATION info@cotswoldcharm.com www.cotswoldcharm.com Tel: 01386 840164

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Product Focus

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Complying with Control of Asbestos Regulations

Debate FM topics at the Education Facilities Forum

In a recent audit carried out

by ATaC (Asbestos Testing and Consultancy division of ARCA) major flaws were identified in the asbestos management of some schools. The audit also highlighted that asbestos awareness training for those expected to manage the asbestos in their school was either poor or non-existent.

From the 50s, during the 70s and up to the mid-80s, asbestos was used extensively in schools buildings. One of the most popular uses was as insulating board – now referred to Asbestos Insulating Board or AIB. In schools, it was used as ceiling tiles in classrooms, corridors and partitions. All too often we hear of building contractors being prosecuted and schools being closed because a worker has disturbed an ACM spreading asbestos contamination over the school.

To comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 you need to know whether asbestos is present, in what

The Education Facilities Forum, taking place at the Whittlebury Hall Hotel, Northants on the 18-19 November 2013, is a platform for business managers, bursars, facilities managers and estates directors to source new solution providers, network and attend seminars tailored to meet your facilities management needs.

The Forum brings the industry together for a focused 36 hours of face to face meetings, networking lunches, seminars and evening gala dinner and most importantly – you have control over your time spent at the event.

Delegate attendance is limited to 75 and is entirely free of charge, including overnight accommodation, seminars, all meals, refreshments and gala dinner with guest entertainment.

type of product, the fibre type, its location and its condition.

You need to carry out a risk assessment and inform anyone who is likely to come into contact with it as to its presence, location and how to manage all asbestos contact on a daily basis.

The starting point is to look at any existing records for the school – if it was built before 1999 you will need a survey to be carried out in accordance with HSE guidance HSG 264, Asbestos: The Survey Guide.

The consultant who undertakes the survey should be properly qualified and accredited by UKAS (ISO 17020) and accredited to ISO 17025 for sample analysis.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01708 555 705 www.tersusgroup.co.uk

Visitors can see the latest products and services in the FM industry, and talk to supplier about how their products can meet their FM needs.

The Forum offers you an efficient and stress‑free way to see what’s new in the industry and make profitable connections and partnerships.

FURTHER INFORMATION Contact: Robert Wye Tel: 01992 374095 r.wye@forumevents.co.uk

Helping schools with the complexities of insurance

Are you ready for Ofsted lesson observations?

For many, insurance is a subject best ignored or even better delegated; but having the correct insurance in place is an essential part of the good governance of the school.

To deal with the complexities of insurance buying, many schools who do not have to purchase through their LEA, will choose to use an insurance broker. The education sector is a unique field, but its issues are often shared by many and having a broker that understands the business means early warning of problems as they occur and shared solutions.

EIS is a specialist education insurance broker; it has a wealth of knowledge and experience providing insurance and risk management solutions to educational establishments around the UK. It has its own inhouse claims team available to assist if the worse does happen and a proven track record with

Mediamerge has the UK’s widest collection of lesson observation videos covering primary, secondary, and post 16 subjects.

Each lesson includes feedback aligned to the latest Ofsted evaluation schedule, lesson plan, question prompts and evaluation forms to use in staff training sessions.

Thousands of schools and colleges are already using our resources to deliver cost effective whole staff training in classroom observation.

“The videos work really well when we deliver our Observation Standardisation Training Events.

They are a great tool for highlighting strengths and areas for development in teaching practice and lift the theory into a realistic environment,” said Chris Souch, technology lecturer, at the City College Norwich.

‘Observing for Impact’ is a new guide from Mediamerge designed to get the most out

its personal and responsive service. EIS is also able to provide a portfolio of bespoke schemes including pupil’s personal accident, occasional business use, annual travel, school fees and private medical insurance.

For further information or to discuss any aspect of your insurance portfolio please contact Guy Adams at EIS. FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0117 9301 665 g.adams@eisinsurance.co.uk

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

of observation. It clearly links lesson observation to school self evaluation, inspection, performance management and school improvement.

Mediamerge has also worked with leading experts Geoff Petty and Mike Bell, to create filmed resources on evidencebased teaching. Based on leading research from around the world, the films look at the ten most effective teaching methods, how brain learns, and learning difficulties.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01223 393 757 www.classroom observation.co.uk

Discover the past at Brading Roman Villa

Meeting the access needs of everyone in London

Brading Roman Villa is one of the finest Roman sites in the UK. Its award winning visitor centre and museum offers a unique insight into Roman life in Britain from beautifully preserved mosaic floors to an extensive collection of Roman archaeology.

Brading Roman Villa offers something for everyone; amongst the best preserved Roman mosaics in Northern Europe, interactive displays, licensed cafe, shop and extensive grounds including a Roman garden and meadow trail. The museum and visitor centre are housed within an award-winning ecological cover building and the villa site sits within a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The provision for learning at Brading Roman Villa is for visitors aged three to 103 years and the team aims to make learning

The City of London Corporation provides local government services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the ‘Square Mile’. The dynamic nature of the Square Mile inevitably brings regular replacement or refurbishment of buildings. This presents opportunities to consider and improve access to buildings and spaces so that they are accessible to everyone, regardless of any physical, sensory or cognitive disability.

The City’s Access Team promotes inclusive design principles to ensure that buildings and external environments meet the access needs of everyone, including disabled people. The team consists of Rob Oakley (head of access) and two access advisors. Together they provide professional advice on access adjustments and improvements to the City of London’s public buildings as well as the city’s streets and open spaces, some of which fall outside of the business

interesting, stimulating and fun. All schools visiting the Villa will have a guided tour led by a learning guide, tailored to the requirements of the group. The tour is suitable for all key stages.

Tours will be for 30 children at a time and last approximately 45 minutes. There is a range of activities which are offered to complement the tour, bespoke visits can be arranged on request.

FURTHER INFORMATION 01983 406223 bradingeducation@ hotmail.co.uk

Electrical transformer design and manufacture Established in 1942, Majestic Transformer Company specialises in the design and manufacture of transformers, chokes and associated power supplies.

Holding extensive stocks of their base materials allows the company to respond quickly to individual requirements.

Majestic supplies a wide range of single phase transformers up to 32kVA; three phase transformers up to 150kVA; auto transformers up to 500kVA; transformer rectifier units up to 130kVA; high frequency SMPS transformers; audio mains and output transformers; inductors and smoothing chokes; Voltage Stabilisers.

Always happy to discuss your power needs and offer a customised solution Majestic Transformers have a wealth of experience. This experience allows the company to deal with many major blue chip companies. In dealing with the

education sector the company is the preferred suppliers for wound components for many universities and colleges.

In addition, they are able to build their transformers into enclosures as required, often with circuit breakers, metering and rectifiers.

FURTHER INFORMATION 01202 734463 info@transformers.uk.com www.transformers.uk.com

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district. A summary of relevant access legislation and technical design standards is available in “Designing an Accessible City” and on a series of factsheets which are produced and published by the team; these are readily available from the access team or on the City’s website: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/aboutthe-city/how-we-work/access FURTHER INFORMATION 020 7332 1995 access@cityoflondon.gov.uk www.cityoflondon.gov.uk

School toilet requirements Education authorities and providers are being given a simple solution towards compliance with legal requirements re provision of school toilets for disabled pupils, through developments at Total Hygiene.

The company has launched a complete package to provide design guidance, supply, installation, commissioning and on-going maintenance of the special hygiene equipment needed by many students with disabilities.

Latest statistics reveal that the number of disabled children has increased by 62 per cent in the past 25 years. Some 60 per cent of statemented children are now in mainstream schooling.

Over 20,000 students have a disability – almost 6 per cent of the student population.

There is therefore a growing, and continuing need, to ensure disabilities are accommodated in the educational environmentright through to the provision of appropriate toilets.

“Theoretically, as soon as a school takes in even

just one disabled child, it legally needs to provide appropriate toilet facilities,” says Robin Tuffley, Total Hygiene marketing manager.

“This could be an adaptation as simple as a cubicle with a wheelchair-wide door and a grab rail, installation of a ‘wash and dry’ toilet, through to a dedicated hygiene room complete with changing bench and hoist.

“We can apply 50 years’ of expertise to ensure the school complies in the most cost-effective way, and has the ability to ensure the equipment works for years.”

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0161 969 1199 www.clos-o-mat.com info@clos-o-mat.com

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Advertisers Index

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Sponsored by

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service 9ine Consulting

54

FCS 64

Majestic Transformer Co.

AB Tutor

56

FIC UK

104

Marsh UK

16, 17

Smoothwall

6

First Scot Rail

106

Mediamerge 108

Solas Group

78

68

Forum Events

108

Miele Professional

Specialised Sports Products

86

Stage Systems

94

Absolute Performance Apricot Learning Architecture Workshop

106

GL Education Group

14

Misco

Athey Educational

104

GM Coachwork

86

Modular Portable Buildings Hire

Brading Roman Villa

109

Grass Roots

26

Mul-T-Lock

British Pepper & Spice Cadenheads Whisky Shop Canopies UK Capita Education

66 107 70

92 62, 63 72 74, 75

Sharp & Nickless

51

Talk Straight

IFC 108

NEC OBC

Tersus Consultancy

Group Call

Nedap Security Management

The Ammco Trust

Hayes Parsons

10 106

Heckmondwike FB

73

Capita Simms

36

Highline Adventure

106

City of London

109

Collinson PLC Compupaye Bureau

18, 19

Netsupport 42

The Conway Centres

Office Electrics

The Guardian

60

107 49, 50

TA Triumph Adler

Greenbarnes 104

IBC, 69

98 99 102

OFTEC 76

The School Travel Company

96

Hillside Contracts

73

OKI Systems UK

Tribune Business Systems

46

98

Homleigh Country Cottages

68

Parat EU

Trinity ICT

61

12

IDXTRA 56

Parent Mail

105 54 4

TSL 70

Cotswold Charm Holiday Cottages 107

Info Technology Supply

53

Parentpay

88, 89

CSE Education Systems Ltd

30

Innova Design Solutions

55

PC Werth

44

Venesta 20

David Kellett

66

Innovate Services

27

Profile Education

73

Visit Scotland

Derwentside Homes

98

Intec Microsystems

32

R Harper

66

Vizeum 25

Ecolight 110

Iomartcloud Services

34

RH Hurren & Co Accountants

15

Wernick 70

EcoTrade International

76

Kyocera Document Solutions UK

28

Ricoh UK

48

Wilo 80

Epson UK

57

Lan2Lan 38

RM Education

58, 59

Xtralite 107

Essex Outdoors

99

LED Lightsense

80

RWE Npower

82, 83

Youngs Seafood

Evac Chair International

22

Lego Company

40

School ICT Services Ltd

Fathom 12

110

109

Lloyds TSB

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 18.2

8

TTS Group

100 66

84

56

Zigor 61

Sets 104

Zycko 52

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