Education Business 20.6

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VOLUME 20.6

Business Information for Education Decision Makers SCHOOL TRIPS

HEALTH & SAFETY

IT & COMPUTING

DESIGN & BUILD

SPORT

ACTING ON INACTIVITY

Helping schools to track student fitness more rigorously

SPACES OF THE FUTURE

Creating spaces that adopt to changes in the teaching landscape

ACADEMIES

ACADEMY IMPACT

What effect has academisation had on educational provision?

PLUS: CATERING | ENERGY | MARKET RESEARCH | OUTDOOR PLAY

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VOLUME 20.6

Business Information for Education Decision Makers SCHOOL TRIPS

HEALTH & SAFETY

IT & COMPUTING

DESIGN & BUILD

SPORT

ACTING ON INACTIVITY Helping schools to track student fitness more rigorously

SPACES OF THE FUTURE

Creating spaces that adopt to changes in the teaching landscape

ACADEMIES

ACADEMY IMPACT What effect has academisation

had on educational provision?

PLUS: CATERING | ENERGY | MARKET RESEARCH | OUTDOOR PLAY

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What does the future hold for schools?

Amid fears of a teacher shortage, the National College of Teaching and Leadership believes that allowing initial teacher training (ITT) providers to recruit as many trainees as they wish will go some way to addressing the problem.

Under the new rules, ITT providers will continue recruiting trainees until a national limit is reached, but Universities warn the instability of removing minimum uptake could lead to course closures, further compounding the problem.

In the modern world students have unprecedented access to content and a vast number of ways to explore, study and interact, which rings true for both the physical and digital world. Schools have the opportunity to design spaces that better adapt to the latest ideas in teaching and learning, creating connected communities in which students feel they belong. On page 31 architectural team leader Darryl Beck explores how learning spaces can be better adapted to create ‘schools of the future’.

Children’s health is a growing concern. UKactive has launched its ‘Generation Inactive’ report to address the poor monitoring of children’s activity and fitness in primary schools. On page 73 Steven Ward outlines the findings of the report, and examines how the least active generation in history can be encouraged to become more healthy and active.

The Education Business Awards will take place on 8 July at London’s Grange St Pauls Hotel. It will see primary and secondary schools from all sectors recognised for outstanding achievement in 22 different categories, including Outstanding Progress, Environmental Practice and SEN Inclusion. Turn to page 47 to find out more.

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive 6 issues of Education Business magazine for £250 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:

www.educationbusinessuk.net PUBLISHED BY PUBLIC SECTOR INFORMATION LIMITED

226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Angela Pisanu ASSISTANT EDITOR Michael Lyons PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Gooding EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Sian Nagle, Tommy Newell PRODUCTION CONTROL Jacqueline Lawford, Jo Golding WEBSITE PRODUCTION Reiss Malone EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Danny Wright ADVERTISEMENT SALES Patrick Dunne, Jackie Preece, Raj Chohan, Justine James, Jake Deadman, Christina Brodie PUBLISHER Karen Hopps ADMINISTRATION Victoria Leftwich, Vickie Hopkins REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

© 2015 Public Sector Information Limited. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any other means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the editorial content the publisher cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the publisher. ISSN 1474 0133

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CONTENTS EDUCATION BUSINESS 20.6 07 EDUCATION BRIEFER

31

Changes to teacher training recruitment; Michelle Obama visits Tower Hamlets school; and growing concerns over teaching P.E.

11 FINANCE

It is vital that head teachers are supported as accounting officers by administrative staff and the CFO, writes Kerry Ace of CIPFA

15 ACADEMIES

Academies continue to be the topic of choice on the educational agenda. David Simms of The National Foundation for Educational Research analyses how a clear vision of long term outcomes can shape their future

35

20 MARKET RESEARCH

Jane Frost of the Market Research Society discusses the importance of research in ensuring a schools improvement continues

23 ENERGY

47

Education Business looks ahead to the National Sustainable Schools Conference

25 EDUCATION ESTATES

Now in its third year, Education Estates, which takes place 10-11 November at Manchester Central, brings together everyone involved in delivering education facilities now and for the future

31 DESIGN & BUILD

In the school of the future the environment will adapt to how children want to learn. The rpa:group’s Darryl Beck investigates how schools can create a place where students feel they belong

63

35 IT & COMPUTING

Audio Visual ICT is becoming an important tool for learning in all school lessons. BESA’s Caroline Wright analyses the progressive nature of audio visual tools

69

41 IT & COMPUTING

Education Business analyses how schools can ensure protection by adopting basic cyber security procedures

47 EB AWARDS 2015

The shortlist for the 2015 Education Business Awards, which take place on 8 July at The Grange St Pauls Hotel, London, have been announced

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49 SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

The world of special educational needs has seen a tumult of change over the past year.

Jane Friswell, CEO of nasen, asks what does good quality SEN provision actually means

53 INFECTION CONTROL

Adopting good hygienic practice plays a far more important role than many people realise, writes Daniella Paolozzi from the British Institute of Cleaning Science

55 HEALTH & SAFETY

David Garioch, of the Education group at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, explains the processes to ensure children and staff are kept away from harm

59 CATERING

Education Business discusses Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, fighting for food education for all children in schools

63 OUTDOOR PLAY

Neil Coleman, of Outdoor Play and Learning CIC, analyses all the factors that can promote children’s health, wellbeing, behaviour and personal development

66 OUTDOOR LEARNING

Michelle Baker, of the Myfanwy Townsend Melanoma Research Fund, discusses the importance of sun protection for children in schools in order to teach healthy habits

69 SCHOOL TRIPS

Organising a school trip can be a complicated and unnerving task. The School Travel Forum’s Ian Pearson discusses the reasons why school trips needn’t be such a daunting prospect for teachers

73 SPORT: UK ACTIVE

On 16 June ukactive launched their much anticipated children’s activity report, Generation Inactive. Jon Wiffen examines its importance for schools

77 SPORT: YOUTH SPORT TRUST

The Youth Sport Trust continues to showcase its work with the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme, by presenting an Athlete Mentor Case Study from Guildford County School

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FUTURE YOU LOOK AFTER THEIR

AND WE’LL FOCUS ON YOURS

At Lloyds Bank we understand education.

We have relationship managers in your area with specialist knowledge and local insight. It’s one of the reasons why more than half of all Academies already choose to bank with us.

For more information on how we can help support your academy, please contact us on 01902 719758. lloydsbank.com/schoolbanking

Calls may be monitored or recorded.

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RECRUITMENT

New recruitment rules aim to create competition amongst training providers New recruitment rules announced by the National College of Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) will allow initial teacher training (ITT) providers to recruit as many trainees as they wish, until a national limit is met.

This change comes amid growing concerns of a teacher shortage and is designed to give providers ’the freedom and flexibility’ to recruit the trainees that they need. Schools who provide training via the School Direct route, as well Universities offering PGCEs, will now have to register to be a training provider. Registrations open on 23 June and close on 10 July.

Providers will be able to recruit until they meet a ‘threshold’, details of which are expected to be announced in September. There will still be a national limit in each subject, but providers will be able to recruit as many trainees as they wish until this is met. They will be advised via email when the threshold is close or when a course has been frozen due to the threshold being met.

The NCTL has said it still retains ‘the right to modify or amend the approach we take to the registration of courses or allocation of places for future years’, and that it will act to prevent significant geographical variation.

Chris Husbands, director of the Institute of Education, said: “The immediate likelihood is the further expansion, despite the challenges, of School Direct.

“The recent hints are that school and school

group bidding for School Direct places for 2016-2017 will account for the vast majority of (initial teacher education), with very loose regional monitoring of demand.”

Charlie Taylor, CEO of the NCTL, said that the changes had been made in response to feedback suggesting the process was too complicated, and reaffirmed the that they are designed to give more flexibility to providers.

He said: ”We have been listening to your feedback and next year we want to give you the freedom and flexibility to recruit the trainees that you need. We know that you have often found our allocations process complicated and you have been frustrated when you have not received the number of places you asked for.

“We have therefore simplified the process for the distribution of ITT places, and for the 2016 to 2017 academic year we will not be making direct allocations. Instead, we will be giving you the chance to recruit up to the number of trainees required nationally within a set of clear controls.”

Teach First will not be effected by the new recruitment rules and will be managed separately, as will early years initial teacher training courses and small-scale programmes such as Troops to Teachers.

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION

28 per cent of primary teachers feel unqualified to teach PE, survey suggests A recent study suggests that while teachers recognise the importance of PE, many don’t feel qualified to teach it themselves, which is having a negative impact on children’s experience with sport.

The study, conducted by Virgin Active and the University of Bedfordshire, surveyed 400 primary school teachers throughout the UK. 88 per cent of teachers said they recognise that PE is as important as other topics, but 25 per cent said they did not feel qualified to teach it and 53 per cent responded by saying they would welcome more opportunities for professional development in the subject.

Teachers also said they believe 39 per cent of children in the UK leave primary school disliking sport and 42 per cent do not enjoy PE lessons in school.

Professor Margaret Whitehead, an academic on physical literacy, said: “PE lessons help shape a child’s first experiences of physical activities and their

attitude towards leading an active lifestyle.

It is crucial that these first experiences are positive, rewarding and enjoyable.

“We must do all we can to make sure teachers are equipped with the knowledge and tools they need to deliver quality PE, helping all students to make progress on their physical literacy journey.”

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/qh22uls

NEWS IN BRIEF UK behind other countries in teaching data analysis, British Academy warns

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The government has been urged to improve the teaching of statistics and data handling as the UK risks falling behind other countries, a new report claims.

The report published by the British Academy (BA), entitled ‘Count Us In’, warns that Britain is facing a ‘numeracy crisis’. It outlines that the ability to understand and interpret data is an essential feature of life in the 21st century, and developing these skills is essential for building the UK’s society and economy.

The BA suggests that the government should set out a long‑term strategy to transform the quantitate skills of the population.

A key part of this strategy, they say, should include ‘improving the quality of quantitate skills teaching in schools and colleges across disciplines’. This should also include keeping the curriculum under constant review and encouraging more young people to study maths until 18.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/p3tfmma

Boris Johnson calls for children to have 100 hours of careers advice by 16 The Mayor of London will launch a report recommending that children in the UK should build up at least a 100 hours of careers advice or work experience by the age of 16.

The report, due to be launched on 25 June, is written in conjunction with the London Enterprise Panel, London Council’s and the Mayor of London’s office and will call for ‘impartial, independent and personalised careers education’ for all children.

Johnson says there needs to be an ‘easy to navigate’ careers system, and recommends that every school and college should put in place a careers policy and curriculum. The proposal will mean every pupil has the right to a 100 hours experience, which can include coaching, mentoring, part time work, talks from industry experts and work tasters.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/omy9sjn

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TOWER HAMLETS

Michelle Obama visits Tower Hamlets school to promote ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative The US First Lady visited Mulberry School for Girls in East London as a part of a visit to the UK to promote her ‘Let Girls Learn’ initiative, which aims to remove barriers that keep 62 million girls out of education around the world.

Obama specifically selected Mulberry, which is a comprehensive all girls school in Tower Hamlets, one of the most deprived boroughs in London. The majority of Mulberry’s students are Muslim and of Bangladeshi origin, with 75 per cent of students on free school meals.

Obama recounted her upbringing as a black, working class woman as giving her an insight into the struggles facing girls in Tower Hamlets.

Speaking in the auditorium she said: “When I look at all these young women I see myself.

In so many ways your story is my story.”

The area of Tower Hamlets has recently seen three local girls leaving for Syria. Obama addressed the issue of Islamaphobia that affects girls at Mulberry, and expressed that with a good education the girls have the ability to succeed in life and “rise above” prejudices they may face growing up. She said: “Maybe you feel no one is paying attention to you, you wonder whether it’s worth it, to even aspire to be something great.

“Maybe you read the news and hear what folks are saying about your religion, and you wonder if anyone ever sees beyond your headscarf to see who you really are, instead of being blinded by the fears and misperceptions in their own minds.

“And I know how painful and how frustrating all of that can be. I know how angry and exhausted it can make you feel.

“But here’s the thing – with an education from this amazing school, you all have everything, everything, you need to rise above all of the noise and fulfil every last one of your dreams.”

The visit coincides with an announcement that the UK and US have formed a $200 million partnership to support girl’s education around the world, particularly in areas affected by crisis, including Sierra Leone, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Before the visit, Ofsted inspectors made a series of snap attendance inspections at schools in the borough amid heightened fears over students potentially travelling to Syria, according to the Guardian. The visits – which were not classified as formal inspections by Ofsted but come under its remit to monitor pupil safeguarding and behaviour – were carried out days before Obama’s visit.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/ouhuzng

INSPECTIONS

Schools rated good or outstanding at highest level on record Data on the latest inspection results for English schools, published by Ofsted on 16 June 2015, shows that the proportion of schools rated good or outstanding is at its highest level on record.

The figures are up to date as of March this year and show that 82 per cent of schools in England are rated good or outstanding. The proportion of secondary schools rated as good or outstanding has risen by two per cent, with primary schools rising by one per cent. In total, this means that over one million more students are in good or outstanding schools compared to figures from 2010.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan hailed the figures, saying: “This report shows there are record numbers of children in good or

outstanding schools, with the proportion of schools reaching this benchmark rising to 82 per cent - the highest level on record.

“This equates to more than one million more pupils in good or outstanding schools than when we began our reforms in 2010, a testament to the hard work of teachers, headteachers and governors across the country.

“At the heart of our commitment to social justice is our belief that every child deserves the opportunity to attend a good local school. Today’s figures are a cause for celebration for all of those with the best interests of children at heart.”

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/qjtkeuk

NEWS IN BRIEF East Asian teaching methods improve British pupils maths skills

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Researchers from UCL Institute of Education and the University of Cambridge, introduced an East Asian educational programme called ‘Maths Mastery’ and investigated how this new method improved British students maths scores.

The study evaluated 90 English primary schools and 50 secondaries where it was taught to more than 10,000 pupils in Year 1 (aged five-six) and Year 7 (1112). After a year children’s maths test scores improved slightly. The programme differs from the mathematics curriculum in England as it covers fewer topics in greater depth and is designed to have a cumulative effect, with the full benefit evident after five years.

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Councils voice funding concerns after rise in secondary school applications Councils have voiced funding concerns after figures show secondary school applications have reached their highest level since 2009.

Applications for secondary school places have risen for the second consecutive year, reaching 521,274, with the proportion of pupils given their first choice falling from 85 to 84 per cent.

Pupils are most likely to be offered their first choice school in the North East, while those in London are the least likely.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/puv9ewh

Students would rather focus on studies than work A new report from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) entitled “The death of the Saturday job: the decline in earning and learning amongst young people in the UK” reveals that the number of 16 and 17 year old students who work part time has halved.

The report revealed that the number of young people participating in fulltime education has increased from 2.1 million in 1996 to 3.2 million in 2014 but the part-time jobs that are suitable for students, such as those in the retail, hotels and restaurant sectors, have fallen from 2.43 million in 2002 to 2.40 million in 2014.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/p6n227t

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ACCOUNTING OFFICERS

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The head teacher as accounting officer

When understanding the head teacher’s role as an accounting officer, it is worth being reminded of the accountability structure in the academy sector.

All academy trusts are held to account in their capacity as charities by the Charities Commission. The Education Funding Agency (EFA) holds academy trusts to account as central government public bodies for their finances and OFSTED holds them to account for academies’ teaching.

At a local level, they are answerable to other stakeholders including parents, their students and the local community.

In single academy trusts, the governing body acts on behalf of the trust board.

In multi-academy trusts, comprising a number of academies, it is the responsibility of the local governing bodies or local academy councils, operating on behalf of the academy trust, to provide a clear vision and strategic direction for each school. The governing body must oversee the financial performance of the school and hold the head teacher to account for its educational performance.

The academy trust is required by its funding agreement with the Secretary of State for Education to designate a named individual as the ‘accounting officer’ and this

ACTING IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST The accounting officer is therefore the individual in an academy who links the accountability and governance structures. He or she is a member of the governing body of the academy and must ensure that the academy acts within its powers and that its policies reflect legislative requirements, national policies and local requirements.

At the same time, they must ensure that the academy trust’s operating capacity is aligned with these requirements including its staffing, financial management and control environment. In all its actions, the accounting officer must ensure the academy trust acts in the public interest.

In practice, the accounting officer does not do this all on their own. Many of the tasks, such as drafting policies, running finance systems and processes, and HR support, are delegated to other members of staff.

For example, while accountability for financial matters cannot be delegated, in the day to day financial management of the academy, the accounting officer will inevitably need to place reliance on the work of the chief financial officer (CFO) or lead finance professional. The academy trust board is required by the Academies Financial Handbook to appoint to this role. It is essential, therefore, that the person appointed as CFO has the accounting officer’s trust, and they must be able to work well together.

Their roles and responsibilities should be clearly set out so that tensions between the two do not arise. The following paragraphs set out some areas where the CFO can assist the accounting officer in his or her role.

The ting accoun s an i officer l in an a individuwho links y academ ountability the acc vernance and go ctures stru

designation confers legal responsibility for financial and administrative matters. The delegation is usually made to the head teacher/principal of the school, or the executive head/chief executive officer in a multi-academy trust.

SAFEGUARDING BUDGETS The accounting officer has a key role in ensuring that public money is safeguarded and only spent on the purposes for which it was intended. They must assure the trust board of the academy’s compliance with the requirements of the EFA’s Academies Financial Handbook, its funding agreement and all relevant aspects of company and charitable law. This means that they must ensure that trust board and governing body members receive the information that they need to perform their roles effectively.

They are responsible for the day-to-day organisation, staffing and management of the academy trust. And they must undertake a leadership role, including setting high standards of financial probity and financial management, and ensuring that these are communicated to staff.

Written by Kerry Ace, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA)

The responsibilities of the head teacher as accounting officer are crucial to the smooth running of an academy and in ensuring probity and financial stewardship. It is therefore vital they are supported by administrative staff and the CFO, writes Kerry Ace, CIPFA’s expert on academies

DECISION-MAKING An academy must be rigorous in its decision‑making – the reasons for decisions should be explicit and the supporting information should be recorded. Trustees, governors, and staff should be supported through the availability of appropriate financial advice for all major resource E

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ACCOUNTING OFFICERS  committees including the finance (or equivalent) committee, the audit committee, and the governing body(ies). The CFO has a key role to play in ensuring that members of these bodies have the timely, robust and impartial information that they need, together with meaningful financial analysis.

Securing value for money (economy, efficiency and effectiveness) releases resources for higher priorities within an academy trust. The accounting officer should ensure that value for money is the concern of all managers, but it is helpful for the CFO to take the lead in coordinating and facilitating a culture of efficiency.

INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT To assist the accounting officer, the CFO should lead the implementation and maintenance of a framework of financial controls and procedures for managing financial risks, and must determine accounting processes and oversee financial management procedures that enable the institution to budget and manage within its overall resources. At the most fundamental level this means ensuring robust systems of risk management and internal control, that financial control is exercised consistently, and that the organisation implements appropriate measures to protect its assets from fraud and loss.

ACCOUNTING RECORDS & STATEMENTS Academy trusts are required to keep proper accounting records and to prepare annual financial statements in accordance with the accounts directions issued by the funding body. The accounting officer should be able to rely on the CFO to ensure that financial statements are prepared promptly and meet the reporting requirements: the law, financial reporting standards and professional standards as reflected in Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).

The accounting officer must undertake a leadership role across the academy. This will mean, together with the other trustees and governing body members, determining the strategic direction of the academy trust and its academies (where relevant), and also being responsible for turning policy aspirations into reality. The accounting officer should look to the CFO to align financial planning with the institution’s vision and strategic objectives and to develop financial forecasts and budgets that illustrate that the institution’s strategy

MONITORING THE ACADEMY’S FINANCIAL POSITION The accounting officer, governing body(ies) and senior management must monitor the academy’s financial position regularly. To assist in monitoring the academy’s financial position, the CFO should have responsibility for drawing up budgets, financial targets and performance indicators to help assess delivery.

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is realistic and capable of being delivered.

The accounting officer should ensure appropriate policies are in place so that decisions are taken objectively and steps are taken to avoid or deal with conflicts of interest whether real or perceived. The Academies Financial Handbook places emphasis on the need for the accounting officer to manage carefully relationships with connected parties to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest and to ensure that restrictions placed on trade that can be undertaken by academy trusts with connected parties are complied with. Senior staff, including the CFO, should assist the accounting officer by exemplifying high standards of conduct and personal behaviour and in ensuring that an appropriate ‘tone at the top’ is established.

FINAL THOUGHTS Clearly the responsibilities of the head teacher as accounting officer are crucial to the smooth running of an academy and in ensuring probity and financial stewardship. This is in addition to all those duties associated with being the academic lead for the school. Thus, the overall role is very wide. Therefore, it is essential that the head teacher is supported, as an accounting officer, effectively by his or her administrative staff, especially the CFO, for these purposes. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.cipfa.org

Schools UK launch the new 5 in 1 Staff Absence Insurance product to help ensure budget certainty Schools UK has developed a product which not only provides extensive cover where Staff Absence Insurance is concerned but the company has also introduced other important services to manage claims and reduce costs via its 5 in 1 cover. Most academies and schools budget for the cost of an occupational health and HR service either independently or via the council and in many cases this can be costly and challenging particularly if the work is sub contracted.

Schools UK offers these services free with its product which reduces the cost significantly but more importantly ensures customers can rely on a personal service and build up a relationship with the team who provide the company’s cover. Due to an increasing pressure on budgets, Schools UK’s clients are finding that the 5 in 1 cover policy is saving money and thus reducing the cost of their Staff Absence Insurance whilst

providing a reassuring personal service.

Schools UKare also aware of the pressure on academies and schools to provide a ‘duty of care’ for their staff and all the implications to the school if wellbeing support is not in place.

Part of Schools UK’s 5 in 1 policy includes a ‘Free Standing Wellbeing Package’ for staff members to use independently, 365 days a year. The company is the only provider to truly offer an independent ‘Wellbeing Package’ rather than just helpline numbers integrated into the schools main policy document.

Each staff member receives a glossy brochure explaining all the benefits available to them under the plan which includes free eye tests and replacement glasses; therapy

sessions, GP helpline and video conferencing with a GP worldwide; private cover for diagnostic scans as well as the usual helpline numbers and 100,000 Personal Accident Cover.

To purchase a similar plan in the open market would be in the region of £18 per month per staff member but School’s UK incorporates this at no extra cost.

The most important aspect of the company’s 5 in 1 product is budget certainty in that there are no extra costs and you can be assured that everything offered within the cover is included and will not be a chargeable event. Details of the full extent of the cover that Schools UK offers as standard is available on the website listed below, where you can also find a video explaining the concept of our 5 in 1 cover.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0113 216 1144 info@schoolsuk.com www.schoolsuk.com

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ACADEMY IMPACT

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Examining the evidence

Academies continue to be a hot topic on the education agenda in England. Finding reliable evidence which tells us what these schools have achieved is a major challenge given the plethora of newspaper headlines and extensive media coverage. We decided to produce a resource – a guide to the evidence – to help busy senior leaders, governors and classroom teachers access recent evidence on academies’ contribution to educational provision and outcomes.

The guide presents the findings from a rapid review of evidence on the performance of academy schools. It is based on 13 key studies which are summarised at the end of the guide. The purpose is to make a contribution to understanding current research on academies with a view to informing the discourse on these schools, identifying gaps in the evidence and drawing conclusions.

ACADEMY PERFORMANCE IS COMPLEX It is clear that academy schools are a prominent feature of the educational

Written by David Sims, Research Director, NFER

Academies are now an established part of the English school landscape. But what impact have they had on educational provision and outcomes? David Simms of the National Foundation for Educational Research shares some evidence

It is clear my de that acas are a school t feature en promin ducational of the e e in England Consequently, it would be simplistic p landsca re going to and misleading to and a inue to draw firm conclusions and make a singular cont be assessment of academies as a

landscape in England and are going to continue to be.

Introduced in 2002, they are funded directly from central government and have become a major policy driver to reform the school system and increase educational attainment. Academies account for 60 per cent of secondary schools and 13 per cent of primaries.

So what did our review find? The evidence reveals that the overall picture of academy performance is complex. It is difficult to provide a comprehensive assessment owing to differences between the funding and purpose of early academies (20022009) and later academies established from 2010 onwards, as well as the pupil intakes and profile of converter and sponsored academies. Additionally, the differences between primary and secondary academies and academies in different academy chains add to the complexity.

whole. There is no conclusive evidence of the impact of academy status on attainment in primary schools.

There is some evidence that sponsored secondary academies have had a positive effect on pupil performance, as the examples below indicate.

Attainment progress between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 outcomes was higher after two years in 2013 compared to similar schools.

GCSE results, including for pupils eligible for free school meals and those with special educational needs, improved at a faster rate 2009-2011 compared with the results in similar schools. On average, academies which had been open the longest had better results.

GCSE results of disadvantaged pupils, including English and mathematics, improved E

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

Take the leap, join the leaders

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ACADEMY IMPACT

Academies

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 2011-2013, though there was considerable variation between academy chains.

Furthermore, Ofsted inspection ratings were more likely to increase in schools that became sponsored academies 2002-2009 which corroborated Key Stage 4 performance gains.

There is far less research on the performance of converter academies (created after 2010). There was no significant difference in attainment progress between Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 outcomes after two years between converter academies and similar non-academy schools in 2013, although ceiling effects could limit the extent to which differences between these higher performing schools can be observed.

THE IMPACT OF ACADEMIES None of the studies we reviewed identified a quantitative impact of academies on other local schools. Previous research has found that academies can generate external benefits on neighbouring schools. However, in the studies we looked at, a majority of converter and sponsored academies report that they give support to other schools, and secondary academies, larger academies and converter academies are more likely to do this. Support included joint practice development, running training courses, developing middle leadership and boosting senior leadership capacity.

The review found no evidence relating to parents’ knowledge of academies or the availability of relevant information for them to use. The longer sponsored and converter academies have been open, the more likely they are to say that they have experienced an increase in first-choice applications.

Another source found that a third of respondents reported an increased demand for school places since becoming sponsored or converter academies. The Education Select Committee report on Academies and Free Schools identified concerns that the voice of parents can be marginalised in some academies.

FUTURE RESEARCH The review identified gaps in the evidence base on academies. Lessons for future policy could be gained through further research into academies. This could be explored through the performance of secondary academies over a longer timeframe (e.g. five years or more), and of primary academies, including a comparison with non-academy schools with similar characteristics, and their impact on different pupil groups.

Alternatively, it can be examined through investigating the factors that significantly affect performance, in order to understand the mechanisms underlying the policy (many of which continue to be areas of active policy interest – for example, leadership, accountability and governance, collaboration, and membership of academy groupings such as chains).

The extent to which the academies

The extent to which the academies programme has increased competition between schools and the impact this has had on overall performance across the system can prove to be a lesson for future policy programme has increased competition between schools, and the impact this has had on overall performance across the system can also prove to be a lesson for future policy. Furthermore, the views of parents on the quality of education experienced by their children can be beneficial, as can exploring the extent to which school choice and local accountability are present and a driver of improvement in the current system.

THE REVIEW The review was published as part of a series which include a Think Piece arguing that any future expansion in the number of academies should be motivated by a clear vision as to what long-term outcomes for learners academy policy is aiming to achieve.

It also includes a new survey data exploring parents’ knowledge about academy schools and the extent to which they would

like more information, an authoritative factsheet and summaries of the 13 key studies reviewed for this guide. L

NFER is the UK’s largest independent provider of research, assessment and information services for education, training and children’s services. Our clients include UK government departments and agencies at both national and local levels, which benefit from NFER’s full range of expert and professional services. Our purpose is to provide independent evidence which improves education and training and hence the lives of learners. Its ambition is to be the research organisation of first choice for those who wish to make a positive difference to learners.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.nfer.ac.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Your complete procurement solution Specialists in education procurement for over 30 years ESPO have helped thousands of schools and academies across the country save time and money on their purchases.

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ICT

THE ONES TO WATCH: ICT IN EDUCATION

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In the ever changing world of ICT it can be difficult to know which direction today’s classrooms are really heading. Peter Farmer, ESPO’s project manager for Education answers the questions extensive range of frameworks covering everything from technology products, broadband set up and change or project consultancy services. Here’s one example of a school that’s getting on-board with the change and how they went about it.

THE REQUIREMENT Burwell Village College Primary School decided to replace their very old interactive whiteboards and projectors in 15 of its classrooms. Due to the age of the equipment some classes were experiencing very poor visual quality and replacement bulbs were costing the school a small fortune.

WHAT ARE YOUR TOP EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR SCHOOLS AND WHY? Part of my job is to study the trends that are happening in the world of education and in particular ICT. Tablets and Interactive LED screens are the front runners within the education sector at the moment with their ability to connect with other devices greatly increasing their popularity and function.

They also go hand in hand with education software applications which are growing at an unprecedented rate. Teachers now have instant access to original resources of many different kinds from digital work books to educational games. Even popular coding products such as the Raspberry Pi and Bee Bots for early years are providing resources online that can help teachers plan lesson with the products making them fun and effective. Holding all of these technologies together is the growing acceptance of storing resources via the Cloud.

This makes them instantly accessible from practically anywhere that has internet access.

All these aspects combined open up a world of opportunities for the classrooms of the future.

As more and more schools adopt a ‘one tablet per pupil’ approach and the number of state-of-the-art Interactive LED screens

increase, the potential of today’s classrooms continue to grow. There is a real opportunity for the actual function of a lesson to change in favour of the ‘flipped classroom’; the idea where by content such as lectures and videos are viewed at home by pupils on their tablets and the classroom becomes a place designed for interaction, group activities and discussion.

With all this on the horizon it would be completely realistic to see a rise in remote learning within schools. This could be used to reach pupils who are unable to attend school, share teachers and lessons across a number of classes or even participate in virtual group work with other schools. The possibilities continue to grow day by day.

HOW CAN SCHOOLS INCREASE THEIR USE OF TECHNOLOGY WITHIN THE CLASSROOM? As you can see by now the impact of technology within schools is here to stay and it’s important for schools to begin to think about how they can utilise these new advances. At ESPO we can support schools through our products catalogue with an increasing range of ICT products, as well as accessing specialist suppliers through our

THE SOLUTION With this in mind the School Business Manager and ICT Technician attended an exhibition hosted by ESPO where they met with staff representatives from ESPO framework suppliers who specialise in audio visual ICT equipment. The staff were very knowledgeable about their products and suggested equipment that would suit the changing needs of the school. After the event the school continued discussions with the contractor, Genee World, and School Business Manager, Sandy Carter said “Genee World were very helpful and patient, answering questions courteously which was very reassuring for us”.

THE RESULTS The school purchased a total of 15, 65” Touch Boards by placing an order through ESPO. They continued to work closely with Genee World who remained very obliging and cooperative throughout the delivery and installation process with the Installation team working around teaching staff with minimal disruption to the school day. Before leaving, each installation was visited with the school’s ICT Technician to ensure that each board worked correctly and to the teacher’s satisfaction.

Follow up training has been arranged for staff and further sessions are planned to provide individually tailored training in the future.

Since the installation of the new boards the visual quality of what children can actually see in lessons has improved dramatically and staff are learning the wider benefits this interactive technology can bring to the classroom.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.espo.org

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Market Research Written by Jane Frost, the Market Research Society

20

Sponsored by

Well Educated Banking www.lloydstsb.com/ schoolbanking

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

The market research behind decision-making Research should play a central role in creating and maintaining an educational system that delivers better outcomes for all. Jane Frost, CEO of the Market Research Society explains how research can support decision-making across the education sector Reliable, ethical and representative evidence is vital to effective decision-making. It provides senior management at every educational stage with valuable insight into the behaviour, motivations and needs of those for whom their policies must cater. It is also essential in measuring the impact that education has had on the individual; how it has meaningfully changed lives.

Research can generate the evidence to help in issues of accountability, advocacy and

the justification of fund allocation.

This is increasingly pertinent in the current climate. Over-reliance on exam results to measure schools’ performance is coming under intense scrutiny amid demands for broader definitions of success. Similarly, universities remain under pressure to justify their ever-increasing fees and persuade young people that a degree is a worthwhile financial investment.

As the necessity for justification continues

h Researcrate e can gendence the evi issues in to help untability, of acco cy and the advoca cation of justifi location fund al

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

across education, decisions underpinned by indicative and reliable research are more crucial than ever.

STUDENT SATISFACTION Having key stakeholders on board is crucial to implementing any decision, and perhaps the most straightforward function of research within the educational sector is to ascertain what is likely to be well‑received.

Most universities conduct surveys at the end of each term or academic year in a bid to make the curriculum better reflect

what individuals want to achieve.

The application of these findings goes far beyond decision-making that will affect those currently studying, and has an important role to play in enabling universities to attract students, and the fees and funding that they bring, in the future. In many ways, the balance of power has shifted. Increased fees mean that many young people are now considering bypassing university altogether, and with publications like The Times’ Good University Guide placing increasing emphasis on student satisfaction in its rankings, it is vital that universities introduce effective feedback loops if they are to secure their futures.

The same is true in schools: ask any teacher and they will tell you how difficult it is to implement any change in policy without having key stakeholders – especially parents – onboard. Schools inevitably rely heavily on carers to support their policies, and research is vital to understand what parents will be both willing, and able, to get on board with. A lack of insight into parental capabilities can only lead to disillusionment and disengagement from both sides, with the attendant cost.

Joined up thinking is essential in ensuring

that children get the most from their education. On an everyday basis this can be as simple as ensuring that homework schedules and school events are accessible for single parent families, those where both parents work full time or the digitally disengaged.

PLAYGROUND CHATTER It’s also vital that families are consulted on proposed changes at a more structural level.

for each child to have access to their own mobile technology in the classroom.

As part of persuading schools and their respective stakeholders to implement policies to make this vision a reality, the organisation has undertaken extensive research with Family Kids & Youth (FK&Y) to gauge attitudes towards the proposal.

They conducted primary research throughout the UK using a range of methods from

Market Research

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

Schools inevitably rely heavily on carers to support their policies, and research is vital to understand what parents will be both willing, and able, to get on board with When communication breaks down, things can become complicated. When Rawmarsh School decided to impose a ban on children visiting local shops at lunchtimes and reworked the menu in line with Jamie Oliver’s healthy eating campaign without seeking insight into parental opinion, the upshot was the shocking images of mothers handing junk food to children through the school railings.

The rationale invoked by senior management was sound, much of it based on research into children’s health at a governmental level. The changes were designed to address problems of unhealthy diets, litter in the local area and risks surrounding road safety.

As a result, it would be easy to write off the mums handing burgers through the gates, dubbed ‘Sinner Ladies’ by the press at the time, as misguided parents uninterested in improved the diets of their children.

However, the petition created by the group of parents stated that their stand was not against healthy eating, but against the process by which the decision had been made. They pointed out, rightly, that neither they nor their children had been consulted on the new policy.

One mother noted that she would have liked to have a vote. In this situation, conducting appropriate research would have served to bring parents on board at an early stage in the proceedings, allowing them to engage in and influence the process – concerns could have been addressed early on, and compromises reached. The policy could then have been rolled out from a more robust foundation of support, or at the very least understanding, and the extensive press coverage and considerable disruption to the education of the children involved could have been avoided.

TECHNOLOGY FOR ALL? Having insight early on in the process can undoubtedly help to ease transitions: a key debate currently in the educational sector is the extent to which the introduction of technology in the classroom is helpful.

The charity Techknowledge for Schools is, as the name suggests, campaigning

interviews both face-to-face and online, to focus groups with pupils, parents, teachers, senior management teams and governors.

Most recently, ethnographic research has been conducted in situ to explore the ways in which the introduction of tablets into the classroom environment has changed how teachers and pupils interact.

As a result, schools have been able to identify key obstacles to successful implementation, which they can address to effectively roll out their strategy. The findings included that allowing enough time and training for staff to become familiar with the devices, combined with strong support in the form of clear guidelines, drove successful adoption. Insufficient knowledge of the necessary insurance, problems with Wi-Fi capacity and fears over damage and storage were also key obstacles to getting staff members on board, so schools were advised to integrate training on these aspects early on into its process. It also became clear that liaising with other schools that had already successfully implemented tablet technology was an effective way to bolster confidence in the process at all levels, providing a clear ‘blueprint’ for any roll out.

Education should have people at its centre, aiming to meet the needs of all involved.

Research is integral to understanding those needs; not just the ‘what’ but the ‘why’.

Data is only as valuable as the questions you ask of it: insight provides the human element which can so often be missing from decisions made based purely on facts and figures. Statistics can only be used to their full potential when placed in context, analysed, and considered in light of the unpredictable and the foibles of human nature – the mothers pushing burgers through school gates, to return to that notable example. Used intelligently, research must play a central role in creating and maintaining an educational system that delivers better outcomes for all. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.mrs.org.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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SUSTAINABLE SCHOOLS

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Helping schools to pursue sustainability As part of Bristol’s Green Capital 2015 activities, the University of Bristol will be hosting and delivering this year’s National Sustainable School’s Conference in partnership with the Sustainable Schools Alliance on 2 July at the University of Bristol, Justin will use his keynote to focus on: Post-election 2015, where now for education for sustainability and the environment?

Sustainability and Environmental Education (SEEd) are delighted to be holding this year’s conference in one of the UK’s most unique cities. Bristol is home to a diverse number of world famous attractions, from spectacular historical structures, such as the Clifton Suspension Bridge and SS Great Britain, to renowned street art from local artist, Banksy.

The city has long been a pioneer in the fields of culture, creativity and the environment.

Bristol is the first UK city to gain the prestigious European Green Capital Award.

The Sustainable Schools Alliance (SSA) aims to provide a clear and compelling offer of support to all schools in the country, and help them to put sustainability at the heart of what they do. The evidence for the benefits of Sustainable Schools is stronger than ever. However, the government’s focus on greater school freedom means local and civil society organisations must act to help schools to pursue sustainability.

At the conference teachers can engage their pupils through peer-to-peer learning with student volunteers from the University of Bristol, share personal innovative and creative ideas with other delegates during the open platform session and develop new strategies for embedding sustainability across your curriculum, grounds and community. Delegates can also meet the experts on Education for Sustainable Development and participate in interactive workshops throughout the

day, as well as being able to plan for next year’s sustainability curriculum and take home new ideas and resources.

WORKSHOPPING Confirmed workshops at the Conference include Ashden’s Alex Green on ‘How to create behaviour change at your school’.

This workshop will explore examples of best practice from Ashden Award winning schools around the country.

Jenny Stevens of Beetles and Bees conducts a workshop raising awareness of the importance of Hawthorn in the countryside through the use of handmade headgear/handpuppets representing insects (including pollinators), birds and mammals.

Jo Taylor will focus on some of the developments which have come out of Bristol European Green Capital, while James and Tatiana Tanner talk about the Go Green workshop (Eco-school education partner). This talk will summarise James and Tatiana’s achievements in delivering the Go Green workshop, which is for children aged seven - 11 on the main problems of global warming and the solutions that National Curriculum topics cover.

Mark Stead, from the Severn Wye Energy Agency will host a workshop where primary aged children will present what they have learned through the ‘Energy Detectives’ project and participants will use this information to design an energy saving plan for their own classroom.

John Parry of the Railway Land Wildlife Trust in Lewes has been pioneering approaches to environmental education for over 25 years. John’s workshop will explore different ways of thinking about green open spaces within reach of schools.

Meanwhile, Jill Foster of PECT will explore the variety of opportunities in the curriculum to get children thinking about and using food grown locally or in school. The workshop will draw attention to the health benefits of eating local seasonal food. L

Bristol an n has bee ental m environ and is pioneerUK city to t the firs prestigious e gain th ropean u E apital C n e e r G Award

CONFIRMED SPEAKERS Doug Hulyer is a confirmed keynote speaker at the National Sustainable School’s Conference.

Doug is an advisor to the heritage and environmental sectors on strategy, change and public engagement; he also is a public sector commentator/writer and policy maker.

His mission has been about putting people at the heart of the environmental and heritage worlds – through learning in all its forms participation and community cohesion.

Joining Doug at the Conference is Quinn Runkie and Justin Dillon. Quinn is Senior Project Officer for Communities and Curriculum within the NUS’ Department for Sustainability.

Before joining the NUS, Quinn managed the Student Green Fund Project at the University of Bristol Students’ Union and delivered student sustainability engagement programmes at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Her keynote will look at: ‘the significance of curriculum reform matter, what can we do about it and how can we support our learners in asking for it?’

Internationally renowned Professor of Science and Environmental Education and Head of the Graduate School of Education

FURTHER INFORMATION www.se-ed.co.uk www.sustainable-schools-alliance.org.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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The definitive standard for building maintenance SFG20 is an essential tool for planned maintenance, providing building owners, managers, contractors, consultants and end users with the tools to keep buildings properly maintained and compliant.

The dynamic web-based service contains over 400 industry maintenance task schedules covering over 60 equipment chapters and allows users to: Reduce costs through optimum maintenance of assets, with colour coding to distinguish between statutory, mandatory, function critical and discretionary maintenance tasks Stay compliant as legislative and technical bulletins are automatically updated online Customise maintenance schedules according to their needs, whether it is specifying requirements for a tender process, creating service models or producing custom schedules for individual buildings.

To find out more or to request a free online demonstration visit www.sfg20.co.uk or call 01768 860 405

SFG20 is published by B&ES Publications

Well Educated Banking www.lloydstsb.com/ schoolbanking

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

EVENT PREVIEW

From design to delivery

Education Estates

Sponsored by

Now in its third year, Education Estates, which takes place 10-11 November at Manchester Central, brings together everyone involved in delivering education facilities now and for the future The success of Education Estates is built on three key elements: the exhibition, the conference and the annual awards and dinner.

The exhibition features the entire supply chain serving the education sector. It’s a unique marketplace where manufacturers and providers can meet decision-makers and specifiers, make new contacts, generate leads and new product ideas, and identify current and emerging opportunities in the education sector.

The conference features over 90 speakers, with specialist content streams for schools, colleges and universities. Lively and authoritative, it’s the professional gathering for everyone concerned with education’s built environment.

The annual Education Estates awards & dinner is a fantastic networking opportunity for exhibitors, speakers, visitors and delegates.

This year, it will be held in Manchester’s prestigious Midland Hotel.

The Education Estates exhibition is free to all visitors and delegates. The conference is free for those directly employed in schools, colleges, universities and local authorities. Delegates also benefit from free on-site catering and VIP parking.

Education Estates is sponsored by AECOM, EC Harris, Galliford Try, and Stantec Architecture.

The succession at possible spaces for of Educ built on s i learning to take place. s e : t s a t n e Est m Will Wareing from e l e ey Girls’ Day School Trust three k ibition, the h examines this topic in x e e the d th n a the session ‘Irresistable e c n e Learning: How Spaces confer al awards can Support Pedagogy’. annu inner and d INCLUSION & ACCESS

CONFERENCE SESSIONS As space transmits culture so powerfully, classrooms need to reflect what skills and values schools aim to develop in their pupils. They need to become places in which pupils want to learn, in which such learning becomes ‘irresistible’. Is there now enough momentum behind the new ways in which children learn and how they learn for there to be a real change in where they learn? The Italian teacher Loris Malaguzzi highlighted 70 years ago the importance of environment to learning, arguing that children learn first from their parents and teachers (adults), second from other children (peers) and thirdly from the space around them (environment). Yet this ‘third space’ is often neglected in a cost-driven approach to schools. Technology, though, might just provide the catalyst that allows schools to break out of a facilities straightjacket and focus on specifically designing the best

Jane Simpson, director of Jane Simpson Access, will tackle the topic of inclusion, access and schools. Due to medical advances, the numbers of profoundly disabled children are increasing and enjoying longer lives. The numbers of those within the autistic spectrum are increasing at the highest rate and often children will have not just one but multiple disabilities. There are many factors which determine the way in which a building, premises or environment is built, commissioned, altered and operated.

This session will explains how legislation impacts on the built environment, in particular, of a mainstream school. It will explain the major factors to ensuring a school meet its duties and dispel the myth that this process is complicated. Jane will also consider the variations and subtlety of working with existing premises and review the key Issues in premises design that need to be integral within a brief, design process through to operational policies.

Other speakers include Tony Dolan of Curtins who will discuss transport and access issues for school construction projects, and Gareth Woodfin from HLM, who will examine the challenges faced in designing facilities to accommodate both mainstream and special education needs under one roof.

AG Real Estates’s Philippe Monserez tackles ‘PPP: Schools of Tomorrow,’ and Jon James of Scott Brownrigg discusses the importance of understanding people when designing schools.

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES As part of the Colleges & Universities Conference session, Aaron Taylor discusses changing space requirements in a talk called ‘Building communities for student living’. Student housing is all about building communities. No matter the arrangement – singles, suites, apartments – each space we design helps students establish their own place within everyday campus life. When a prospective student tours a campus, a look at student housing options is a priority. With the multitude of options available, how do our universities deliver best value for their students, in times of increasing rents and private rental providers. Is there still a place for high quality campus‑based facilities in the UK today?

Lyndsay Smith of Morgan Sindall covers ‘An innovative approach to low carbon E

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Wilo-SiBoost Smart Helix EXCEL, ƒ Maximum energy savings due to EC motor, High Efficiency Drive and highly efficient pump hydraulics ƒ Long service life and high operating reliability due to corrosion-resistant stainless steel and integrated dry-running detection ƒ Simple operation and transparency about the operating status thanks to redbutton technology and Smart Control ƒ BUS interface for intelligent incorporation into building management systems

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EVENT PREVIEW Garry’s big love is performing on the after‑dinner circuit. 2015 will mark his 25th year as one of the country’s funniest speakers. Garry’s speech is a rich mixture of stories and anecdotes about his life in broadcasting including his incredible interview with President Bill Clinton in Wimbledon’s Royal Box, in front of 18,000 tennis fans sitting under umbrellas and 10 million viewers on BBC 1. Over the years he has interviewed a galaxy of stars and his stories about his broadcasting life has made him a hugely popular speaker.

 construction’, while Mark Sidding explores ‘Enhancing student experience through estate development’. Richard Jobson addresses sustainability in a session titled ‘The challenges facing the 21st century university estates, before Chris Pattison delves into campus design, with Jason Challender of Leeds City College completing the conferences with a session on masterplanning and strategy.

AWARDS & DINNER The second Education Estates Awards & Dinner will take place the evening of the first day of the Education Estates Conference & Exhibition. The awards will be held at the Midland Hotel just across the road from Manchester Central where the conference and exhibition is taking place.

The awards are an excellent opportunity to network with other delegates and exhibitors, and to continue discussing the day’s topics.

Awards are now open for entries until the 31 July 2016. The qualifying period for each category is 1 January 2013 – 26 June 2015.

The categories include: Estates &

Facilities Team, Innovation in Teaching and Learning, Student Experience, Innovation in Delivering Value, BIM Initiative, Project of the Year, Client of the Year, Sustainable Achievement and Product Innovation.

The entry deadline is 31 July.

Education Estates

Sponsored by

MAINTAINING BUILDINGS A new feature for 2015, Maintaining Buildings in Education, is designed to help visitors and delegates make their maintenance budgets go further. Running alongside Education Estates, and free to attend, it consists of a dedicated area within the Education Estates Exhibition, bringing together suppliers specialising in products and services for internal and external maintenance.

It also consists of a free-to-attend theatre, where exhibitors can share their experience, expertise and advise through case studies, demonstrations

The awards are an excellent opportunity to network with other delegates and exhibitors, and to continue discussing the day’s topics AFTER-DINNER SPEAKER This years after-dinner speaker will be broadcaster Garry Richardson. Garry has been a broadcaster for the BBC for over 30 years. He is an after-dinner speaker of the highest calibre. Best known as the sports presenter on Radio Four’s prestigious ‘Today’ programme. He also presents ‘Sportsweek’ on Five Live every Sunday morning and is a regular contributor on BBC Television. He has reported on Five Olympics for the BBC.

and presentations, and branded sessions within the main Schools and Colleges & Universities Conference streams.

Maintaining Buildings for Education is aimed at decision-makers and maintenance teams from local authorities, state and independent schools, academies, colleges and universities. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.educationestates.com

Air quality crisis is putting children at risk The news that many UK cities are drastically in breach of EU regulations on air quality has turned the spotlight onto standards of maintenance in school buildings.

The health and environmental impacts of diesel particulates and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) are hitting the headlines as the World Health Organisation linked 50,000 premature deaths in Britain to poor air quality and the government now faces punishing legal action from the EU. The rising number of diesel cars on the road has been shown to have a direct impact on asthma sufferers and those susceptible to heart and pulmonary diseases.

What has not been widely publicised is

the impact this is having inside buildings.

People spend around 90 per cent of their life inside; often in sedentary activities. School children, in particular, are vulnerable to the effects of poor air quality because their bodies are still growing and developing.

If classrooms are not well ventilated, the children’s ability to concentrate is

damaged by high levels of carbon dioxide; and if rising numbers of outdoor pollutants are allowed to come in their health is at risk. This means facilities managers and maintenance staff must be able to provide a well-managed ventilation strategy that keeps the air breathable and safe.

The SFG20 maintenance standard developed by the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) is a dynamic, online tool designed specifically to help building maintainers develop appropriate strategies.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01768 860 459 www.sfg20.co.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Join us at the UK’s Leading School Buildings Event

From Design to Delivery

@EduEstates #EducationEstates

Now in its third year, Education Estates brings together everyone involved in delivering education facilities now, and for the future.

10-11 Nov

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Education Estates is the only event of its kind to focus on the design, build, management and maintenance of the UK’s school buildings.

Register your place today at www.educationestates.com

Event Sponsors:

Charity Partner:

EDUCATION POLICIES

THE CHANGING EDUCATION LANDSCAPE

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Two months on from the election, Grebot Donnelly, a leading marketing consultancy for the education sector, takes a look at the key education policies and their anticipated impact on schools, sponsors, local authorities, education leaders and teachers One of the central pledges is to open a further 500 Free Schools, with a budget of £7 billion allocated towards this aim. In addition, there will be a University Technical College (UTC) within reach of every city in England. Whatever your views on these provisions, one thing is for certain, the education landscape is set to remain competitive for the foreseeable future. It will require leaders in education to think both creatively and strategically in order to set them apart from the competition.

WHAT’S IN THE BUDGET? Of course for most schools, the main concern will centre on budgets. Chancellor George Osborne has announced almost a billion pounds of in-year spending cuts to the budgets of the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Speaking in June, Mr Osborne announced that the DfE and BIS would each make an extra £450m of savings in the 2015-16 financial year, totalling £900m in reductions.

The flat cash per pupil will mean a cut of 2.5 per cent in real terms. For many, this will put even more pressure on student numbers and their recruitment strategies. There will be increased pressure to ensure that the recruitment of students is a priority within the school development plan in order to maintain budgets. For the innovators, this will also offer an opportunity to consider additional revenue streams that will contribute to the budget pot. Beyond the basic weekend facilities lettings, those leaders who are serious about maintaining a healthy budget will be starting to consider their long term business and income generation.

Having recruitment strategies and business plans in place will help with the increased accountability schools will face in how they are spending their budgets; demonstrating clear outcomes and offering a return on investment.

THE TEACHING PROFESSION The national crisis shows no signs of slowing down with 25,000 additional teachers needed at a time when teaching is a less attractive proposition and we have a historically low number of 16-25 year olds. In addition, there is an accelerating Headteacher shortage with fewer choosing to climb the professional ladder because of the risks and pressure associated with

Chancellor George Osborne has announced almost a billion pounds of in-year spending cuts to the budgets of the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills this important figurehead position.

Perhaps it’s time for the education sector to start approaching the recruitment challenge more creatively. Multi Academy Trusts appear to be taking the lead with this; creating compelling offers and professional development opportunities in their bid to recruit and retain the best quality teachers.

From the development of an ‘offer’ (why work anywhere else?) to the application format and process, right through to your interviewee’s experience on the phone or at the school, it’s time to professionalise the recruitment of teachers. The benefits of a targeted and strategic approach to recruitment, which boils right down to raising the profile of teaching within schools so that this is a viable and positive career choice for students, could be multi-faceted.

PERFORMANCE AND CURRICULUM And then of course there’s the changes to the curriculum and the assessment of performance, all of which will have a major impact on the daily lives of teachers, headteachers and students. From a performance perspective: the emphasis on ‘coasting’ schools where coasting now refers to lack of progress, the new performance

measures (and how these will be both presented and interpreted) and the failure to achieve ‘outstanding’ status without teaching the EBacc, whilst simultaneously being inspected on the teaching of British values.

Curriculum expectations have shifted at all levels: coding and foreign languages at primary school, an emphasis on wellbeing and extra-curricular plus character education, the importance of STEM subjects and the dominance of EBacc subjects.

The level of change anticipated is quite frankly overwhelming. Once educationalists navigate themselves through the changes afoot, the challenge will be how they manage to communicate these to their various audiences in order to retain positive reputations, build their brand and ensure long term viability from both a budgetary and recruitment perspective. L FURTHER INFORMATION For more information about Grebot Donnelly’s marketing services for the education sector, please contact hayley@grebotdonnelly. com, call 0208 892 2242 or visit www.grebotdonnelly.com

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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creating the best possible spaces for an inspiring teaching experience

When it comes to education design, the philosophy of our chartered CIAT architecture practice focuses on how buildings and the areas created around them are utilised and enjoyed.

We understand that it is not just about the physical space and facilities a new structure provides, but also about creating focal points around which everybody can coalesce and get the very best out of each other.

Working closely with educationalists, we design educational spaces that adapt to the latest ideas in teaching and learning, to help create vibrant learning communities.

Our work is backed up by our in depth knowledge of all of the legislation and design criteria that enables the creation of both new build and renovation projects alike.

creative minds: practical people +44 (0) 1784 256 579 www.therpagroup.com

Well Educated Banking www.lloydstsb.com/ schoolbanking

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Well Educated Banking www.lloydstsb.com/ schoolbanking

LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Design & Build

Sponsored by

Written by Darryl Beck, Architectural Team Leader, the rpa:group

Ørestad College Copenhagen, Denmark, designed by 3XN architects

Learning spaces of the future

name independent IT providers, is already looking at how children should be taught in the connected world.

Schools will become increasingly ICT oriented as companies such as Oculus Rift, offer immersive 3D experiences for the classroom. Hardware and software that will put a child ‘inside’ an ancient Schools are beginning to design spaces that better adapt Egyptian Tomb or amongst the ‘groundlings’ watching a Shakespeare play in the Globe to the latest ideas in teaching and learning, creating theatre will become commonplace. connected communities in which students feel they belong.

Work tables will be super computer screens Architectural team leader Darryl Beck explains how where a child can assemble from a kit of parts a Greek or Roman Temple, that will be At a recent Common’s Education Committee PIONEERING CHANGE projected on wall sized screens for others hearing, the Royal Institute of British Architects World famous educationalist Loris Malguzzi to view as it spins through 360 degrees. issued a warning that efforts to slash the cost said: “There are three teachers, Sound and vision will be seamless of school building projects is still resulting in adults, other children and their and it will be possible to pull In formulaic design and ‘functional’ boxes. We physical environment.” This up images from the internet f need to start literally thinking ‘outside the box’, is a point that Salford and literally swipe them chools othe s , (if you’ll forgive the expression). This is because University’s School of onto the wall using your e r u the fut ent will in our highly connected world, students have the Built Environment finger just like the track m n o r ubiquitous access to quality, content and would certainly endorse, pad on your lap top. All n i e v r en child w myriad ways to explore, study and interact. because a recent study of these techniques o h o t This rings true in both the digital world and conducted by the Salford are available right adapt nt to learn g now and are already n i the physical learning environment. As a result, team revealed that wa h t y r e we should see schools change exponentially the built environment being used in retail. vide ev and pro eed to study, If Audi can create a over the next 20 years, to meet the challenges has a big impact on the driving these educational changes today. learning progress, human 3D car in a state of the they n ax and rel Herein lies an exciting opportunity to design performance and wellbeing. art showroom and have spaces that better adapt to the latest ideas Technological advancements that shown on a 3D festival play in teaching and learning, creating connected will also pioneer physical sized screen then why not communities in which students feel they design change. The Future Classroom cascade that learning and capability belong and want to spend their time.

Lab for example, which involves big into schools? E

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

Case study: King’s College Maths School

Design & Build

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King’s College Maths School is a Mathematics Free School for highly gifted and motivated students, aged 16 to 19, who show a particular aptitude and enthusiasm for mathematics.

Vittra Telefonplan School in Stockholm designed by Rosanbosch

 OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM So what kind of space would we need for this? First of all something that extends the learning environment beyond the four walls of the classroom: a tailored design that fits its objectives and the characteristics of its learning community.

The active classroom solutions that are coming out of the Future Classroom Lab’s work will need more space than traditional content-driven classrooms – and a requirement to shift away from the rectangle: rectangular buildings with rectangular classrooms full of rectangular furniture.

Individuals will be able to pursue different learning activities at the same time and the traditional ‘front’ of the classroom (represented by a white board and teacher’s desk) will be just one focal area among many.

Space will become infinitely adaptable and reconfigurable; to better suit the needs of a new generation of peripatetic students who move or ‘flow’ through a school environment during the school day. They will be designed to be flexible and community‑focused, with a multidisciplinary approach that considers teaching and learning models, the physical campus, future technology, and the students’ entire experience.

I truly think we are entering the era of the agile learning environment – one that can be reconfigured or repurposed at will to engage different types of learners and teachers, one that can offer social learning spaces such as cafes and study or ‘break‑out’ areas to encourage learning through interaction. We can already see how effective this is with our recent project, King’s Maths School in London, which has various ‘pods’ in which students can engage and share their learnings in a well‑designed, flexible and relaxed environment.

MORE THAN ONE SIZE It is also important to allow relevant experts to design and fit out different areas of a school, which will allow the school to

benefit from their specific experience and expertise, rather than adopting a ‘one size fits all’ approach. A company that is already pioneering this is Bryanston Square Holdings, with their ‘Fitout’ service offer.

Bryanston have built a portfolio of more than 120 organisations, who are expert in their own field and draw from these, to work closely with schools to design, fitout and manage inspiring learning environments. Schools, together with a Bryanston team of experts, redefine how learning environments should look and be managed. Success is then measured on how the spaces work and how effective they are in meeting the overall needs of the space and its users and occupiers.

Whatever ideas we come up with in education design, at the heart of all these should be the needs of the students and their teachers. In the school of the future, the environment will adapt to how children want to learn. It will provide children with everything they need to study, relax and play and it will give them a feeling that they belong there.

This holistic approach to education design will create vibrant learning communities that thrive both in the virtual and real worlds. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.therpagroup.com

The new school required the transformation of the former ‘Lambeth Baths and Laundry’ along with an adjacent annexe to house the school library, administrative facilities, technology lab and staff accommodation.

Both buildings needed a complete interior refurbishment, to fulfil the vision of a connected spacious environment, featuring well‑appointed and varied learning spaces, designed to encourage communication and creativity.

The project was certainly not without its challenges. A tight, constrained site with a busy NHS community practice on the ground floor below; an extensive strip‑out of the building along with a major atrium floor infill, and the removal and replacement of all the ventilation, air handling, boilers, heating and ductwork, all needed to be carried out whilst maintaining the NHS services below.

Altogether, the school features large classrooms, two modern science laboratories, a technology workshop and a dedicated computing suite where science, engineering and robotics come alive and students are able to develop and test their ideas. The overall space has also been designed to offer numerous group rooms and break-out zones, surrounding the core teaching and learning areas. At the heart of the school is a cafeteria, connecting the various spaces, where students can meet and share their ideas in a relaxed and informal environment.

Visit tinyurl.com/oh4ecpu for more information.

Kings College Maths School was refurbished by rpa:group

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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V I R T UA L I S AT I O N

NEW COLLEGE DURHAM New College Durham (NCD) has worked closely with Fusion-io to deliver one of the world’s first VDI solutions running entirely on Fusion-io Storage Technology. NCD now has a VDI solution for Windows 7 - based on the world’s fastest Solid State Storage solution. This ensures that the heavy IO loads experienced on an hourly basis with hundreds of users logging on/off and launching applications are more than catered for. A traditional SAN-based solution would have required many shelves of disks for the complete solution, had high power usage and significant cooling with high maintenance costs. The Fusion-io solution exceeds the performance of an entire large SAN Array.

FIND OUT MORE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT GLEN DINNING ON +44 7715 372 355, GLEN.DINNING@SANDISK.COM OR VISIT WWW.SANDISK.COM/ENTERPRISE

WWW.SANDISK.COM/ENTREPRISE

KEY HIGHLIGHTS THE CHALLENGE Establish long-term cost, deployment and management savings while providing a high performance VDI solution for up to 1,200 desktops.

THE SOLUTION In conjunction with Fusion-io PCIe flash, VMware® View™ 4.5 provides a platform for desktop virtualisation that helps New College Durham reduce costs of the desktop environment.

THE RESULTS Replace 400 desktops with WYSE P20 PCOIP Terminals •

Managed desktop environment - easy provisioning of new images and applications via ThinApp

•

Increased performance of desktop applications - provides a superior educational experience for students and teachers alike

•

Deployed Windows 7, Office and multiple applications

•

Improved availability over a desktop solution

•

Eliminated need for expensive SAN, power and maintenance and networking infrastructure costs

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AV & MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

r 44 pe blet pe a t e n o have child by 2020

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Written by Caroline Wright, British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)

Touching technology in the classroom

primary school seeing an additional £28,000 per annum and secondary schools expecting an extra £70,000. This increase is likely to be realised across all levels of expenditure including audio visual (AV); a technology category that has become synonymous with engaging children in learning.

In fact one education sector AV product category, used in the majority of UK classrooms, is of course touch screen collaborative technologies, namely interactive whiteboards and more recently tablets.

While touchscreen technology was pioneered BESA director Caroline Wright examines the current usage of in the late 1960s, schools were actually the audio visual and mobile technology in education, what the early adopters, using interactive whiteboards barriers to adoption are, and what future trends may look like from the late 1990s. Government funding and the high adoption rate in schools The good news from our research over recent have increased by 4.1 per cent has led most of our digital natives 15 months is that schools’ budgets continue to to £1,022,000 and secondary expecting to interact with t n rise significantly above the level of inflation. budgets are up by 2.2 per information by touch. e c r e p t s e Our annual Resources in English Maintained cent to £4,502,000.

In fact it is through this g g ls su Schools survey of 900 English maintained Looking ahead, evolution, that some f schoo will have o schools (597 primary and 303 secondary) forecasts predict a of today’s younger y e h that t s to tablet revealed that actual budgets and budget further increase of students, don’t even s forecasts continue to show an increase in 2.3 per cent across all 1:1 acce by 2016 and know how to use an almost all areas of expenditure. The schools for 2015/16 electronic mouse, ogy technol r cent aim to bottom line is that primary school budgets resulting in a typical believing E

IT & Computing

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35

247lib.com

Resource management for the learning centre, hosted or on-site.

Books

Documents

eBooks

DVDs

Mobile resources

Ecommerce

Social media

Art

Access to information and resources from anywhere, at anytime, on any device and in any language.

Amlib UK Limited

The Innovation Centre, Norden House, Basingview, Basingstoke, Hants RG21 4HG Tel: +44 (0)1256 300790 Email: info@amlib.co.uk Website: www.247lib.com

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AV & MOBILE TECHNOLOGY  that the only way to interact with digitally displayed information is via touch.

TABLET TECHNOLOGY While interactive whiteboards are fully integrated and have now become the ‘norm’ in classrooms, the latest growing technology is tablets. The low cost per unit and mobility makes the Tablet very attractive for schools. Schools’ aiming to achieve a 1:1 ratio of computing device to child are certainly more able to achieve their objective with these lower cost devices.

A year ago, back in June 2014, approximately 56 per cent of schools were reporting the use of tablets with pupils in the classroom. A further 17 per cent of the sampled schools were soon expecting to do so.

Our most recent tablets and connectivity in schools (June 2015) research of 632 schools (335 primary and 297 secondary) suggests many have done just this, with 71 per cent of primary and 76 per cent of secondary schools making use of tablets in the classroom. There are currently estimated to be 721,000 tablets for use by pupils in classrooms across UK maintained schools and academies and a forecast that by the end of 2016 the number will have increased to over 946,000.

And this upward trend appears to be continuing with 15 per cent of schools suggesting that they will have 1:1 access to tablet technology by 2016 and 44 per cent of schools having one Tablet per child by 2020.

BARRIERS TO ADOPTION What is interesting to note however is that a fifth of primary and a sixth of secondary schools have no fixed plans to introduce tablet use in the next few years. Last year our research suggested that this was due to inadequate broadband and Wi-Fi connectivity in some geographical areas of the country. At the time BESA called on the government to drive the provision of appropriate bandwidth nationally.

Thankfully, to a certain extent, this appears to be happening, albeit slowly. 53 per cent of primary schools now feel that they have the ideal bandwidth (up from 50 per cent last year) and 65 per cent of secondary schools feel the same (up from 62 per cent in 2014).

Of course the issue remains that 41 per cent of schools do not feel they have adequate bandwidth and therefore the benefits for them adopting the technology are limited.

Interestingly, this year our research reveals that a lack of suitable bandwidth is no longer the main barrier to adoption of mobile technologies. In total, 88 per cent of primary schools said that the management and security of tablets is significant or a very significant barrier to adoption. In secondary schools the barriers to adoption in order of significance are training and support (91 per cent), funding (83 per cent) and management and security (83 per cent).

TOUCH TECHNOLOGY There are a number of advantages to using touch technology with students, one of which is the additional engagement that the touch interaction with the content brings.

There is a clear educational advantage to be gained from better engagement, including increased stimulation, decreased ‘time to learn’ and enhanced knowledge retention. eBooks have also become increasingly popular in schools, especially proven to encourage reluctant readers to learn to love reading. Various research papers show that e-reading devices

in terms of their resolution and number of simultaneous touch interactions that can be registered. However, the experts are suggesting that the biggest changes in the near future will be in software; this refers to the actual design of the interaction: using finger motion to flip pages upside down and turn them around, and swipe things off the screen to delete them. Undoubtedly, biometric access will grow and be enhanced; an interesting consideration for schools in terms of student registration and security.

In fact the next step in technology innovation actually removes the ‘touch’

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There are a number of advantages to using touch technology with students, one of which is the additional engagement that the touch interaction with the content brings. There is a clear educational advantage to be gained from better engagement, including increased stimulation, decreased ‘time to learn’ and enhanced knowledge retention with touchscreens positively affects a child’s motivation to read; something I feel applies to any learning material.

Research showed that 33 per cent of primary and 49 per cent of secondary schools say they make some or extensive use eBooks on tablets. However it is a shame that with the proven benefits of e-books our research indicates that 58 per cent of primary schools and 17 per cent of secondary schools say they make no use of eBooks.

But maybe we shouldn’t be too concerned about such findings. The fact that touchscreen technology is such a ubiquitous part of our daily lives, it is easy to forget how new the technology is. As with all technologies, especially newer ones, the rate of development and adoption is rapid, and changes on virtually a daily basis. So recognising that touchscreen technology is the way we all engage with content, how do schools ensure they are investing wisely, in something that is not going to be obsolete tomorrow?

The first consideration is which touchscreen technology to use; there are apparently 18 different technologies available (according to Geoff Walker, WalkerMobile. com). Some use visible or infrared light while others rely on sound waves or force sensors. They all have their own advantages and disadvantages, including size, accuracy, reliability, durability, number of touches detected and of course cost.

LOOKING AHEAD Undoubtedly over the next few years multi‑touchscreens will be revised and refined

from the ‘screen’; in other words the touchscreen evolution is transforming into one that recognises gestures.

To a certain extent the technology is already there but very much in the early adopter phase. And of course you can’t input text yourself; call me old‑fashioned but I still want my children learning to use a traditional keyboard or digital keyboard to input information.

So, at the current time gesture interaction software is still quite imprecise with limited application software but things are moving forward rapidly in this area, so for schools this is one to look out for. Because there are so many different touch screen devices, schools must ensure they have interoperability between their hardware; how each device connects together, to support collaboration and a seamless learning experience for the student, is a big consideration when investing in any technology.

And therefore the good news is that the current market suggestion is also that over time, interactions with software across all platforms will become more standardised.

Students will learn how to interact and manipulate information on one platform and this will not be contradicted when they move to another platform at home, in another school or in their future work place environment. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.besa.co.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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FOOT MEASURING

SOLEPAD® TECHNOLOGY: LOOKING AFTER OUR CHILDREN’S FEET

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The SOLEPAD station is a high tech, smart, highly portable, foot measuring device that can measure the length and width of each foot within one second with an accuracy of 1mm Shoes: There is no other article of clothing a child can wear that can cause health issues due to poor fit. How many times have we wondered if our children’s shoes are still good enough? If the child doesn’t complain, then there is no problem, right?

Well, children will not complain until their shoes fall apart. During the lifetime of their shoes, their feet grow little by little each day; it is very difficult for them to understand that shoes that felt comfortable a few months ago do no longer fit; they cannot tell the difference as the change occurs slowly over time. So, do not expect the child to raise a flag until it is too late.

Signs that may indicate a child is suffering with his/her feet include pain, inflammation, stiffness and unwillingness to join in activities.

Unusual foot and general posture should always be investigated.

THE PROBLEM Parents need to take as much care of their children’s feet as they do with their teeth. Unfortunately, most parents are unaware of the importance of having children’s shoes fitted correctly and the permanent injury that can be caused by shoes that are inadequate in length and width.

Even if they did pay attention to the condition and fit of their child’s shoes, they would not know if and when a new pair is needed.

Children’s feet tend to grow rapidly in the first four years of their life, but it can take up to 18 years for the foot’s bones, muscles and ligaments to harden into adult form.

So, teenage feet need to be looked after as well as those of smaller children. Also, the growth rate can be very unpredictable as a five-year-old child can sometimes go close to a year with the same size foot, then suddenly grow three sizes within the next year.

As a result, it is not a surprise that over 80 per cent of children tested by Glasgow Caledonian University were found to be wearing the wrong sized shoe. The problem is that wearing shoes of insufficient length during childhood can lead to foot deformities such as the development of hallux valgus disorders, the commonly known bunions.

Based on another study, the shorter the shoe

The SOLEPAD igh ah station is ble foot ta tech, por device that g is, the higher measurin asure feet e m the value n a c e of the hallux within on angle becomes. second Squeezing our

children’s feet into the wrong sized shoes could be condemning them to a lifetime of problems. From blisters, pressure sores and ingrowing toe nails in the short-term, to feet deformities like hammer toe and knee and posture problems in the long-term. In addition, wearing inappropriate shoes can cause biomechanical imbalance, foot and back pain, ankle pain, altered gait and degrade their sports performance.

There is a real need to have our children’s feet measured regularly. The school is the ideal environment to get this done. But how?

Teachers do not have the right training to measure feet or the time to get this done.

SOLEPAD SOLUTION R&D CORE Limited, a UK based technology company, has developed the perfect solution to serve the above need. The SOLEPAD station is a high tech, smart, highly portable, foot measuring device that can measure the length and width of each foot within one second with an accuracy of 1mm. No training is needed as the device is extremely user friendly and operator independent; the measurement process is fully automated; you just have to

step on the sensing area. The measurement can take place in the classroom or in the school’s gym and the results communicated back to the parents. The parents will know if and how much their children’s feet have grown and therefore know when they should be considering a new pair of shoes. Once they have a chance to visit the shoe store, qualified shoe fitting professionals can confirm the child’s foot size and check the fit of their current and of the new pair of shoes if needed.

SCHOOL BENEFITS All schools that adopt the SOLEPAD technology will demonstrate their commitment to offer the best service to their students; it will help such schools stand out from the rest while at the same time they will address a serious health issue by raising the parents’ awareness and helping them take action.

The importance of shoe fit and the SOLEPAD solution can be communicated to all parents through the school’s newsletter, via emails or brochures. The first SOLEPAD stations will be available for sale in September, 2015. L

R&D CORE® and SOLEPAD® are registered trademarks of R&D CORE Limited FURTHER INFORMATION For pre-orders or more information, please contact R&D CORE Limited via email at: solepad@rndcore.com

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Advertisement Feature

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CLASSROOM EQUIPMENT

A UNIQUE APPROACH TO CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY

NTP UK partners with with IPEVO, to bring their range of educational products to schools in the UK

IPEVO makes versatile highly useable teaching tools instead of specialised ‘classroom equipment.’ The company goes beyond the usual large, expensive, specialised and complex conventions of classroom technology to develop simple and flexible solutions for interactive teaching in today’s classrooms.

IPEVO’s interactive teaching tools can empower educators and teachers with radically affordable compact and portable technology that is simple, intuitive and flexible, meaning precious time and resources can be wholly dedicated to teaching.

NTP intends to make this educational technology accessible and available to all.

Ipevo has had great success with its products and message in the USA. As of December 2014, IPEVO products are used in 61,092 or 46.14 per cent of all of equivalent secondary schools.

HOW IS IT DONE? IPEVO products are developed with the company’s unique ‘Experience-driven Design Process”. IPEVO starts by observing frequent tasks or common goals in the teaching process, and how they fare with available classroom equipment on the market. The company then designs its products from the ground up to provide the simplest and most efficient tool

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

for said tasks and goals. The design mantra ‘do more with less’ means the products’ essential purpose – what it does – is never interfered by complicated operations or cumbersome features. IPEVO products are easy and intuitive to use so educators can focus on teaching, and not teaching the equipment procedures.

‘ONLY WHAT’S NECESSARY’ TECHNOLOGY Using widely available well-tested components and parts from popular personal digital devices, IPEVO can design and develop the products at drastically lower (up to 1/10 of industry) costs, without sacrificing performance or functionality. Additionally, Ipevo has adapted its technology to ‘only what’s necessary’ configurations, using the least amount of technology to enable teachers to maximise their teaching goals. Less complication and less waste equals sizable cost savings, which is passed on directly in the product pricing to greatly benefit the end users. In this case, the company genuinely believes that less is more.

THE PRODUCTS Document cameras have come a long way replacing overhead stills and projectors and being used for webcams for video conferences and long distance learning. Ipevo currently

has four document cameras in its range, all are designed to be easy to set up; easy to use; practical; reliable; portable; and most of all offer high quality results. They are available to suit all budgets with prices ranging from an enticing £60 to a maximum of £150.

The cameras are designed to fit a broad spectrum of requirements from a simple USB device where the camera body can be removed from the stand to a brilliant wireless document camera which can effortlessly stream live images and video direct to PC’s, laptops, Macs and tablets.

As a companion for tablets, Ipevo has developed its own Whiteboard app for both iPads and Android tablets (free downloads from both the Apple app store and Google play store) thus allowing tablets to edit and annotate the live image and turning the tablet into an portable interactive whiteboard.

Ipevo has also developed two interactive whiteboard alternative systems, both of which are affordable (typically 10 per cent of the cost of a typical IWB) and versatile (products require computer and projector).

Virtually any flat surface can now be turned into an interactive whiteboard, with the capability to draw and annotate real time, the system is compatible with a wide variety of third-party software systems.

These products also work well in an office environment, for presentations, sales meeting etc. The latest version, the exciting wireless Ipevo IW2 should be available from this month, contact NTP (UK) for further details.

DIRECT TO CLASSROOMS NTP (UK) LTD can sell directly to schools and local authorities with two great benefits.

Without added channel costs (30 day accounts welcome), we can further price Ipevo products even more competitively. Secondly this enables us to grow direct relationships with our end-users, whose feedbacks can be reflected in the ongoing product developments and which directly influence new products and upgrades. We have been so impressed with the reliability of the Ipevo products at NTP that we are happy to offer an enhanced two year warranty free of any charges whatsoever.  FURTHER INFORMATION To find out more about the IPEVO range of document cameras and whiteboard alternatives visit www.ntpuk.com, email info@ntpuk.com or call on 01908 745537.

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CYBER SECURITY

Managing and maintaining e-security

IT & Computing

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CESG, the information security arm of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), has released its paper ‘E-Security: Managing and maintaining e-security/cyber-security in schools’. Education Business analyses how schools can ensure protection by adopting basic cyber security procedures

Schools are now reliant upon the internet and broadband services for day-to-day operations and activities. These technologies bring a huge range of opportunities and benefits, offering new ways to support teaching and learning and streamline operational and administrative processes.

However, they also bring a range of risks if not managed and maintained appropriately, including the loss of sensitive, confidential personal data and potentially, where network services deteriorate or fail as a result of a security incident, reduced or lost capability to deliver timetabled events and scheduled teaching and learning.

Taking these potential risks into account, it is important that schools put appropriate mechanisms in place to maintain the integrity and availability of their network services and resources. CESG estimate that about 80 per cent of known attacks would be defeated by embedding basic e-security practices

for people, processes and technology.

School re a systemsd by an ne threate risks that f array o informed require ffective and e to avoid may not be malicious or deliberate (for example, ion mitigat ntial data attacks created as a result of programming errors, bugs pote ss lo in software or user entry), but

THE THREAT LANDSCAPE School systems are threatened by a growing array of risks and dangers that require informed and effective mitigation to avoid the potential loss and damage that can result. In summary, threats can include malicious technical attacks, which can include external attempts to compromise systems through methods such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, malware propagation (such as Trojan horses) or physical hacking attempts. Typically these attacks seek to gain access to school data and systems, to use school systems to mount further attacks on other systems, or use school systems for illegal or unauthorised purposes, leading to reputational damage.

Alternatively, accidental attacks can act as problematic risk. Issues can also arise that

can be equally problematic.

Internal attacks can include the introduction of infected devices or storage facilities (like USB flash drives) into networks, and malicious or accidental actions by users.

Social engineering risks typically result from exposure of an internal weakness, such as poor password use (or passwords being written down and left visible), or emails or websites designed to capture credentials from unsuspecting users (typically referred to as ‘phishing’). Many security experts believe that the biggest risk to any system continues to be an ignorant or careless user.

It is important to understand whether any particular security requirements have already been set out that certain types of E

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CYBER SECURITY  organisation are expected to comply with.

Where more than one ‘agency’ uses a single network and security infrastructure, it may be necessary to consider additional security undertakings. As an example, a school that also hosts a council, health or emergency service unit within their premises will need to consider the security requirements of each agency using the network. It is essential to segregate the traffic of each agency to maintain the security levels required.

TEN STEPS FOR MANAGING E-SECURITY The scale and scope of e-security issues and risks today necessitates a holistic approach that encompasses a range of technical measures alongside organisational policy approaches. CESG has set out ten related actions and measures to help schools implement, manage and maintain e-security effectively.

Firstly, via an information risk management regime. This involves recognising and taking ownership of and responsibility for e-security at a senior level and ensuring that all staff and pupils are aware of, understand and abide by all their obligations and responsibilities.

Schools should establish and maintain via regular review an e-security policy which sets out the approach for managing risks, issues and incidents. The e-security policy should inform the school’s acceptable use policy (AUP) for IT; this key document should set out everything that end users need to know in an accessible way.

The second related measure is secure configuration. This involves keeping an inventory of all school IT hardware and software and making sure that policies and procedures are in place to ensure all changes are authorised, documented and

implemented appropriately. It also involves establishing processes for monitoring and the timely updating of systems as required; for example, when new versions of software (including operating systems, web browsers and plugins) are released, when security patches become available or when hardware or software goes ‘end of life’.

This is when suppliers end their support for outdated or superseded products and services, such as when Microsoft ended its support for Windows XP after 12 years in April 2014.

Any security issues subsequently identified in unsupported products and services will not be rectified by suppliers, potentially creating security vulnerabilities if they are not replaced. Another aspect of securing IT configuration involves locking down hardware, operating systems and software to prevent access to facilities which could be used to compromise network security, either maliciously or accidentally. Inventories must include all school hardware and software, for example school-provided staff mobile phones need to be included and kept secure through locking and password policies.

The next measure is through network security. School, local authority and regional broadband networks provide access to the internet and other networks that could be the source of attacks, for example through the distribution of malware or distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. These are increasing

in number and are becoming increasingly easy to initiate. It is important to remember that a security vulnerability or incident in one school could potentially impact on many other schools and organisations as well.

For example, a successful denial of service attack may flood a local authority or regional network with traffic, preventing all schools from using the network even though only one school has been targeted. Schools therefore not only have responsibilities in relation to their own users but to any other schools and institutions they share network services and infrastructure with. It is therefore essential to ensure the perimeter of the school’s network is policed appropriately.

Technical measures to assist here include firewalls, filtering of websites for malicious as well as inappropriate content, antivirus and malware checking, monitoring and establishing appropriate internal network security configurations. Wireless network security is an important consideration here too, to prevent access from unauthorised users and devices. Antivirus and other malware tools need to be updated regularly to keep pace with new and changing threats.

Another measure to consider is managing user privileges. This involves controlling what individual users can and cannot do on the network. User privileges need to be differentiated and set appropriately so that all users can access the facilities they E

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All users need to understand their e-security obligations and responsibilities and user education and training are essential if this is to be achieved

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CYBER SECURITY  require while minimising the potential for deliberate or accidental misuse of the network. Processes should be set up for creating, managing and deleting user accounts when they are no longer needed.

Automated user provisioning systems can provide a way to manage these risks including automatically deleting the accounts of users that have left the school, something which is often overlooked. Password management processes and policies can ensure both that passwords are strong (i.e. not easy to guess

that services can return to normal as soon as possible and that lessons can be learned to prevent similar incidents from occurring again.

These lessons may need to be applied in a range of areas. For example, it may be necessary to update a firewall’s configuration after an incident. This may in turn lead to a review of configuration and patch management processes. Similarly, it might be necessary to update the school’s AUP, which then leads to a review and update of e-security awareness training for pupils and staff.

All schools need to ensure they have an appropriate and up to date strategy in place to ensure the security and integrity of their networks and systems are maintained either manually or via a dictionary attack, for example requiring upper and lower case letters as well as numbers and/or symbols) and that they are changed regularly. Monitoring user activity is also important here; it is advisable to inform all users that their usage of the network may be monitored if this is the case. The key document for doing this is the school’s IT acceptable use policy (AUP).

It is essential that all users are aware of and understand the school’s AUP which should be reviewed regularly and updated as necessary.

USER EDUCATION AND AWARENESS All users need to understand their e-security obligations and responsibilities and user education and training are essential if this is to be achieved. As stated above, schools should develop a user security policy and embed this within their IT acceptable use policy (AUP).

Training and induction processes should be available for all new users (staff and pupils); new threats emerge all the time so AUPs need to be reviewed and refreshed regularly.

Key aspects for end users include password policies, use of removable media/personal devices in school and remote access to school network facilities (for example, remote access for staff to the school management information system). All users should be made aware of and understand any disciplinary processes and sanctions for misuse in the event of malicious e-security incidents.

Schools should ideally encourage a strong culture of e-security in order to keep the use of disciplinary procedures and sanctions to a minimum. The key here is ensuring that everyone understands e-security risks and their own responsibilities in relation to them.

Additionally, schools should be aware of incident management. The nature and range of issues and threats means all schools will experience an e-security incident at some point. Having plans and procedures in place in advance for logging, reporting on, monitoring and dealing with e-security incidents will help ensure that any damage is minimised,

Moreover, malware prevention is an important consideration for schools to prioritise. Malware is any malicious code or content which could damage the confidentiality, integrity and availability of a school’s network and IT services.

Malware can proliferate in many ways, for example via email attachments, social media, malicious websites or removable media such as USB flash drives.

Key ways to mitigate the risks from malware include antivirus and malware scanning, web filtering to block access to known malicious websites and also encouraging appropriate user behaviours in relation to aspects such as web browsing, accessing email and using removable media in school. Again, user education and training in relation to the school’s AUP for its IT services are key here.

On the other hand, monitoring systems, network traffic and user activity allows attacks and other e-security incidents to be detected quickly, allowing a rapid and effective response in keeping with defined incident management processes. It is also important to preserve event logs as potential evidence in dealing with an as yet undiscovered misdemeanour.

It is important that key individuals are tasked with reviewing the outputs from monitoring systems and responding to alarms and alerts.

Reports, logs and alarms are all useless if no one is responsible for or has the time to look at or respond to them. Means for storing and accessing data from monitoring also need to be considered, as monitoring systems can rapidly generate large amounts of data. User activity monitoring processes need to be able to spot unauthorised, accidental or malicious usage and should be able to identify the user, the activity that prompted the alert and the information or service the user was attempting to access.

FINAL MEASURES It is important to control what can enter and leave the organisation via removable

media and personal IT devices, especially as such devices become more widely available and used in schools. Key risks in relation to removable media include information leakage and theft and the potential for the introduction of malware into the school.

Protections in this areas include limiting what data can be stored on which type of media/device together with strategies for encrypting removable media and or secure remote access to centrally held data. Holding date centrally negates the need for multiple copies to be created and transferred via removable media.

Finally, schools must be attentive to and ready to manage home and mobile working.

Pupils and staff need to be able to access school systems from home and elsewhere from a range of devices, in order to extend learning opportunities and support administrative functions. A key development in this area is ‘bring your own device’ (BYOD) where users wish to connect their own personal devices to school wireless networks.

Risks include the possible loss or theft of staff laptops and the potential for access to and leakage of sensitive information from devices with limited security features.

User education is paramount in this area; technical strategies may include encrypting school‑owned devices to prevent unauthorised access and use. Schools should include consideration of remote and mobile working in their overall security policy, particularly in relation to securing teacher laptops that are used in school, at home and potentially other locations as well.

Another consideration is how to ensure security across multi-site schools that share a single network; whilst collaboration between such sites is important this must be implemented in such a way that does not compromise overall network security.

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CONCLUSION Regardless of whether they procure and manage their own broadband services or subscribe to services provided by a local authority or regional broadband consortium (RBC), all schools need to ensure they have an appropriate and up to date strategy in place to ensure the security and integrity of their networks and systems are maintained.

All schools should draw up a policy for how e-security is managed, maintained and reviewed in the light of new and emerging issues and risks. E-security is not something that can be ‘fixed’ on a one-off basis; the changing nature of the threat landscape means that e-security policies and strategies require regular review and update if they are to remain effective. L

This guidance from the CESG was originally published by the Educational Network.

FURTHER INFORMATION http://tinyurl.com/p9btw2z

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EB Awards 2015

www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

ParentHub - Providing Caring for those with parental engagement and special educational needs teacher flexibility Nasen is the UK’s ParentHub is receiving fantastic reviews from teachers and parents alike, helping schools to increase the frequency and relevance of their communications whilst reducing the spend on text messages and printed letters.

The company provides a convenient, secure, two-way communications app that makes it easy for schools to update their community with key information and enables regular and meaningful conversations between individual teachers and parents.

The messaging service is supported by a range of in-app features that equip parents with the information they need to have meaningful conversations with their children about their education. Features include ePost for electronic document delivery, Attendance Alerting for improving safeguarding and reducing unauthorised absence,

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and Student Insight, which provides parents with their child’s timetable, attendance statistics and academic progress.

The ParentHub app is available for parents on Android and iPhone, and non-app users can receive information via standard text message. ParentHub is a Teach First Innovation Partner and the 2014 winner of the Big Venture Challenge and the Big Issue Invest Corporate Social Venturing programme.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0161 202 4141 hello@parenthub.co.uk www.parenthub.co.uk

leading organisation supporting those who work with or care for children and young people with special and additional educational needs and disabilities.

Supporting all education professionals including SENCOs, leaders, teachers, governors and teaching assistants in meeting the needs of the pupils in schools and settings through promoting education, training, development and support.

Nasen is an invaluable source of advice, offering an exclusive and vital range of benefits.

Professional development is at the heart of what nasen does, and the new website, www.nasen.org. uk, allows professionals to access a wealth of the latest resources, information and news keeping you up to date on SEND developments.

Given the many key responsibilities of the SENCO in

schools and settings and how they relate to ensuring high quality provision for children and young people with SEND, SENCOs need to be equipped to offer a range of support and guidance to all staff.

Nasen’s new SENCO training, free to members, explores this in more detail; thinking about the need for continuing professional development (CPD), the nature of effective CPD, how good practice is identified and shared and how to maximise the impact of any CPD, including the online training nasen is designing.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01827 311500 welcome@nasen.org.uk www.nasen.org.uk

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That’s the impact OKI can deliver by providing printing products with capabilities to print stunning digital colour and giving you the tools to actively manage and control printing in your school. OKI offers education specific products and solutions, including a full range of endto-end technologies ranging from Colour and Mono MFP and specialist Graphic Arts printers – all backed by 24/7/365 world-class customer support.

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

importance of rainforests, the animals and inhabitants who live there and what we can do to aid the conservation effort.

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EVENT PREVIEW

EB Awards shortlist

Outstanding examples in education

Outstanding Progress - Primary School sponsored by ParentHub Harris Primary Academy Coleraine Park, London • Eversely Primary School, London • Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, Middlesex • Wolverton Primary School, Warwick • Hampden Gurney CofE Primary School, London

EB Awards 2015

Sponsored by

Outstanding Progress - Independent School sponsored by OKI Brighton College, East Sussex • Royal Grammar School, Newcastle • Bromley High School, Kent • Kilgraston School, Perthshire • Wellington College, Berkshire Outstanding Progress - Secondary School Matravers School, Wiltshire • Parkwood Academy, Sheffield • Prendergast School, London • Sandy Upper School, Bedfordshire • Charter Academy, Portsmouth

Taking place on July 8, the 2015 Education Business Awards will once again reward outstanding achievements of the UK education sector. in categories ranging from Outstanding Progress to Educational Visits, Recruitment, SEN and ICT. New for 2015 is the STEM Award, which showcases examples of excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths The 2015 Education Business Awards, supported by the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), will once again recognise outstanding achievements in the UK education sector, and the hard work and dedication of teachers, department heads business managers and support staff that are instrumental in contributing to the success of the school.

22 categories focus on academic progress, facilities, best practice, specialisms and innovation. Shortlisted organisations are given free tickets to attend the glittering awards ceremony, which includes a champagne drinks reception and four course luncheon, before the winning schools are revealed. The Awards, which take place on 8 July at London’s Grange Hotel in St Pauls, will be presented

by Cheryl Baker. Baker is an English television presenter and singer, best known for being a member of 1980s pop group Bucks Fizz, who won the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.

The Award for Outstanding Progress for a Primary School was awarded to Bourne Westfield Primary Academy, where teaching, pupil achievement, and behaviour and safety were all given a top rating in this year’s Ofsted report.

The Secondary School title, sponsored by OKI, was presented to Bishop Thomas Grant School, who were recently praised for the ‘excellent progress’ made, in particular the work it does to help disadvantaged young people.

OUTSTANDING PROGRESS The Outstanding Progress Award, presented individually for Independent, Primary and Secondary schools, is presented to the school that has made outstanding progress in educational performance.

Last year,the Outstanding Progress Award for an Independent School went to Kings College School, London, whose students received a ‘perfect’ mark of 45 points in the International Baccalaureate, a result not seen in any other school in the world.

STAYING SAFE & HEALTHY Featured for the first time in 2014, the Excellence in Health and Safety Award, sponsored by IOSH, will once again celebrate best practice in operational health and safety. Last year’s winners, Linden Lodge, also celebrated 10 years of ‘Outstanding’ recognition by Ofsted, ensuring that the organisation is a safe and happy place to be.

Another new award last year was Innovation in Health and Safety, also sponsored by IOSH. 2014 winners, St. Laurence Primary, E

PARTNERSHIP WORKING The Academy Partnership Award, sponsored by eTeach, is presented to the established specialist academy that can demonstrate benefits to the community through a partnership with a existing establishment. In 2014, Westwood Academy, in Coventry, which was cited as exemplary in community cohesion, teaching and learning won the award.

Educational Visits Award sponsored by Rainforest Cafe Littleover Community School, Derby Trip to Uganda • Holyrood Academy, Somerset - Indian Partnership visit • Henbury School, Bristol - GCSE Geography trip to Iceland School Recruitment Award sponsored by REC Elmfield Rudolf Steiner School , West Midlands • Educate Norfolk • SGOSS - Governors for Schools/University of Manchester STEM Award sponsored by VEX Robotics Dalziel High School, Motherwell • Highgate School, London • Didcot Girls School, Oxfordshire • Mascalls School, Kent ICT Facility Award sponsored by Ultimaker King’s Ely School, Cambridgeshire • Lancaster Royal Grammar School, Lancaster • The Wallace High School, Co Antrim •Hillside Community First School, Dorset • Slinfold CE Primary School, West Sussex ICT Innovation Award sponsored by SAM Learning Teesdale School, County Durham • Sandymoor School, Cheshire • Loughborough High School, Leicestershire • Boundary Oak School, Hampshire • Wick High School, Caithness, Scotland SEN Inclusion Award sponsored by nasen Commonweal School, Swindon • St James CE Primary School, Northampton • Swanwick Hall School, Derbyshire • Marine Academy Primary, Plymouth continued over

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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EB Awards 2015

Sponsored by

Well Educated Banking www.lloydstsb.com/ schoolbanking

EB Awards shortlist SEN Provision Award sponsored by nasen Uplands School, Swindon • Trinity Fields School & Resource Centre, Caerphilly • Oakleigh School, London •Longdon Hall School, Staffordshire School Catering Award sponsored by YPO Loughborough Endowed Schools, Leicestershire • Bishop’s Stortford College, Hertfordshire • Trafalgar Infant School, Richmond • Arden Academy, West Midlands • Lodge Lane Infant School, Norfolk Community Award sponsored by Mike Ayres Design Anson Primary School, London • Epsom College, Surrey • Seaford College, West Sussex School Procurement Award sponsored by ESPO The Gryphon School, Dorset • Burwell Village College Primary School, Cambridgeshire • Springfield Primary School / Trafford Council, Cheshire School Building Award Baxter College, Worcestershire • Ravenor Primary School, Greenford •James Gillespie’s High School, Edinburgh • Joan Roan School, London •Maidenhill School, Gloucestershire • Burntwood School, London Environmental Practice Award St Bartholomew’s First School, Crewkerne • South Otterington Church of England Primary School, Northallerton • Lutley Primary School, Halesowen Sports Award Blackburn The Redeemer Church of England Primary School, Blackburn • Hamilton’s Holy Cross High School, Hamilton • Shrewsbury High School, Shropshire, • Sedgefield School Sports Partnership Music Award Hereford Cathedral School, Hereford • Woodcroft Primary School, Edgware • Morpeth School, London Art & Craft Award Scargill Infant School, Essex • Halewood Academy, Liverpool • Shirley Infant School, Southampton School Security Award Beddington Park Primary School, Surrey • Pendle Primary Academy, Lancashire • Hemel Hempstead School, Hertfordshire Academy Partnership Award sponsored by eTeach Dalziel High School, Motherwell Thornhill Community Academy, Dewsbury • JCB Academy, Staffordshire

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

 demonstrated an astute grasp of how to lobby both local and national government to improve the safety of their environment.

IT AND COMPUTING The ICT Innovation Award, sponsored

by Sam Learning, is awarded to the educational establishment in the UK that can demonstrate innovation in its approach to teaching and deploying Information and Communication technologies that further the learning experience of its students. The 2014 winner was Fulford School, Yorkshire, which runs animation and programming clubs where sixth formers are able to share advice and help younger students.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS The SEN Inclusion Award, sponsored by nasen, is presented to the UK mainstream School that can demonstrate an increase in the quality of care and education services provided to students with Special Educational Needs.

Last year, Corsham Primary School, Wiltshire won the award due to its recognition of SEN with the intention of addressing unmet needs; and enabling children to have an ability to engage, and develop skills and knowledge to achieve, succeed and even excel beyond their potential across all areas of the curriculum.

The SEN Provision Award, also sponsored by nasen, is presented to the UK SEN Establishment that can demonstrate quality of care and education services for Special Educational Needs pupils. Last year, Centre Academy, London won the award. This southwest London Academy has been described as one of the most successful special needs schools in the UK and, indeed,

one of the most unique. It is also the leading independent school for SEN in London.

CATERING FOR SUCCESS School Catering Award, sponsored by YPO, is presented to an educational establishment in the UK that can demonstrate a commitment to healthy eating and value for money through the provision of a first class catering service available to all students.

Last years winner was Abbey School, Kent. This school achieved a Food for Life Partnership Award. The school guarantees that 75 per cent of all dishes served are freshly prepared and contain mean from farms with high welfare standards and eggs from cage-free hens.

SPORTS AND MUSIC AWARDS The Sports Award is presented to the educational establishment that can demonstrate an outstanding commitment to developing the sporting skills of its students through the provision of first class facilities and coaching programmes. The 2014 winners were Chobham Academy, London, which won a Youth Sports Trust Award for Excellence in Physical Education for its international practice in developing independent learning in PE. The School Music Award is presented to the educational establishment that can demonstrate a commitment to improving the quality of musical learning through the provision of a first class teaching environment.

Lindley Junior School won the award last year, recognising its students participation in many choir competitions throughout the country. 

22 ies categorademic n ac focus o s, facilities, progres practice, best ms and s specialivation inno

FURTHER INFORMATION www.ebawards.co.uk

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SEN REGISTER

Inclusive education

Reviewing the SEN register is an ongoing process but one which is particularly under the spotlight right now. Jane Friswell, CEO of nasen, asks: What does good quality SEN provision actually mean? contributes to the sense of being a learning community for all (staff as well as pupils).

BEST PRACTICE PROVISION Auditing an existing register must start with considering individual pupil needs. Planning for the real involvement of parents/carers and the pupil themselves is also key. Where schools are using a criteria-based approach to determine identification of SEN, this may work as general guidance but it has to lead to thinking about the individual pupil: What needs do they have and how do we know? What evidence is there from initial assessment, previous cycles of the graduated approach, from parents or from the pupil themselves? Have we considered any social, emotional or mental health needs?

What is their behaviour telling us? What is their pattern of attainment and progress?

THE GRADUATED APPROACH The next step for the school, having This process of review self-evaluated using these A should sit neatly inside a questions, is to find out more l o o sch well-established cycle, about the pupil’s needs (i.e., review er d demonstrating the further assessment) and l u o h s t s i g e graduated approach at decide whether there is R N a whole school level, sufficient evidence to their SEng learner i w as well as for individual show that they fit the o s l l g fo eetin m pupils. Within this definition of having a s s e r prog thering of graduated approach, special educational need. schools should be They must then make and ga school reviewing their provision, an informed decision whole ment in light of all the evidence it about whether they s s e s as is constantly gathering related require SEN support to make data to pupil progress. That way, good progress. If they are the register will be continually and currently receiving SEN support, seamlessly up to date. High quality teaching, the school needs to assess whether this recognised as the universal offer of the school, is addressing their needs and whether it ought to be the foundation in every classroom. needs to continue or if high quality universal This way, staff are confidently identifying classroom provision which is personalised and meeting the needs of all learners, would better meet their needs now. and evidence of this can be seen from observations of classroom practice, progress INVOLVING PARENTS and attainment data, the scrutiny of work It is then important to involve parents in produced, discussion with teachers, the views the decision-making process and ensure of parents/carers as well as the views of the they understand the implications of pupil, too. Everyone’s perspective informs continuing or leaving SEN support. Use cycle at each stage and decisions about the the School’s SEN Information Report to need to change provision is agreed by all. assist their understanding of the provision The ideal school invests in achieving offered and consider sharing the Local this strong foundation of universal, high Authority local offer website with them quality teaching through sound use of the for a wider picture of local provision.

SEN national budget, as well as the Pupil A review of the SEN Register should be Premium Grant. They do this because they carried out at least once a year. Ideally, know that it will lead to a reduction in the a school should be reviewing their SEN number of pupils who may need to access Register following learner progress meetings targeted provision, and that what is good and gathering of whole school assessment practice for meeting SEN is effectively data (approximately three times per year). good practice for all. This whole school Continual progress and improved attainment, provision offer directs cycles of staff CPD, for example where a learner is now working encourages enquiry-based practice and within age related expectations, should

trigger re-assessment and discussion regarding the removal, or change of status, of learners placed on the SEN register.

By applying more creative thinking, where pupils are receiving targeted provision which is all about closing the gaps and where this is common for many of the pupils in the school, it should lead to a reduction in the number of pupils registered as having SEN; finally addressing the nagging sense SENCOs have had that really what is required is the best provision at the classroom level.

High-quality, inclusive teaching supported by effective whole-school policies and frameworks, clearly targeted at all pupils’ needs and prior learning, is key. It can mean setting a new trajectory for the learning programme to take pupils to where they need to be in terms of age-related expectations.

Written by Jane Friswell, CEO, nasen

The world of special educational needs (SEN) has seen a tumult of change over the past year. However, now that we’re starting to look forward to a new academic year, things should be starting to settle down. The focus must really be on what is best for pupils and students and implementing the best possible teaching practice to support their needs effectively.

Reviewing the SEN register is an ongoing process but one which is particularly under the spotlight right now. Schools are working well to make better informed decisions driven by effective practice outcomes and well-grounded research based inventions in how to move forward with their pupils who may be currently recorded requiring SEN Support. So what constitutes best practice for this decision-making?

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EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION One of the key things to remember when it comes to a school’s SEND policy is that it must support teachers to ensure they are responsible and accountable for the progress and development of all children in their classroom. Young people with SEND are not the sole domain of the SENCO; with one in five children identified as having SEND, the reality for many teachers will be around five to seven pupils per class group who may have SEND. Effective support for all pupils in school is about strengthening collaboration but still maintaining responsibility for the pupils and taking an adaptive approach to teaching. Teachers should use additional resources to address targeted support for pupils by focusing their time and efforts in better understanding the outcomes of that support; what progress has been made towards agreed outcomes, and how has the additional support enabled the pupil to achieve this as independently as possible? What is the pupil’s view on this, the view of the TA, the view of the teacher and maybe the pupil’s peers?

This reflective, constantly shifting approach is integral to good practice, and something which should be nurtured in all teaching staff to become standard practice within the classroom. No two pupils are the same, even if their needs are identified as belonging to the same area of need. Once we know this, the next steps become reassuringly clear.

This approach enables teachers to know their pupils well, challenges the “old ways” of working under previous systems and drives the requirement for high quality teaching to be present in every classroom in every school. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.nasen.org.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

49

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One of the brightest stars of outsourcing for the third year in a row With more than 100 years of experience in the service industry and over 500,000 dedicated employees, ISS provides the ‘Human Touch’ to those important jobs that our clients outsource; which is why we are very proud to have been serving the Education Market with world class services since 2007.

We love to feed hungry minds! Learners of all ages need refueling during a day in the classroom and we’re here to make sure there’s plenty of delicious, home-cooked food ready for eating when the lunch bell rings! For us, it’s very important that we serve freshly prepared, healthy food which tastes great. Quality ingredients are a must and the more British and local produce, the better!

Every day ISS employees work as an integrated part of each client school and academy, ensuring that service value is created through ‘The ISS Way’ of customising and delivering our innovative service solutions.

Operating in over seventy countries ISS provides services within six different areas: Catering, Cleaning, including professional education cleaning, Technical Services, Security and Support Services and Facility Management.

Despite the change of review criteria ISS achieved the highest possible result of four full stars in the 2015 IAOP review, for the third consecutive year. We celebrate this award as an acknowledgment of great service performance, and the part that our UK business has played in the overall picture.

Being great is at the heart of our culture and each ISS individual.

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THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

HYGIENE EDUCATION

Adopting good hygienic practice in an educational establishment is not just about preventing the odd cold. It actually plays a far more important role than many people realise, writes Daniella Paolozzi from the British Institute of Cleaning Science Studies into the importance of hygienic environments show that cleanliness has significant impact on the overall health, happiness and performance of staff, visitors and pupils.

This emerging evidence suggests that hygienic and clean environments create a sense of well-being and also impact upon positive attitudes, elevated performance (as measured by fewer health complaints), improved student attendance, teacher retention and overall higher test scores. The British Institute of Cleaning Science (BICSc) discusses its investigation into the problems faced by facilities managers’ working in the educational sector and the simple steps that can be taken to improve hygiene levels in busy educational establishments.

EDUCATING PREMISES STAFF In preparation for this article, BICSc contacted facilities managers from educational establishments across the UK to find out the main problems that they face when cleaning educational establishments (these individuals will remain anonymous for the purpose of this article). The feedback came from schools, universities and colleges with over 80 per cent of these indicating a need for hygiene and biohazard training for ‘daytime’ staff.

The problem is that many cleaning operatives carry out their cleaning and disinfecting duties first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening. Staff with developed knowledge of infection control methods do not necessarily manage the busy time in between the evening and weekend.

For example, in accompaniment to day-to-day duties, premises staff are regularly responsible for the daily clean up of bodily fluids. This is particularly applicable to those who work within primary and secondary schools.

Needless to say, these types of incidents could have been avoided if staff were provided with suitable knowledge of infection control methods, without this knowledge of infection control, the threat of infection will still put schools in danger.

The Institute is able to provide Infection

Control E-learning courses to staff that would benefit from awareness of the subject. These courses can be taken in their own time and at a low cost. Training enables learners to understand the key issues regarding infection control principles, including knowledge of the types of micro-organism that case infection, methods of transmission and transmission routes, knowledge of how to maintain a clean environment, infection control national policies and obligations, decontamination methods and waste handling practices.

EDUCATING THE YOUNG Educating the younger generation about effective hygiene practices will also have a big part to play to make a cleaner future.

Outbreaks like swine flu and bird flu have called for improved education about hygiene in schools and have encouraged further educating about hand washing, cleanliness and personal hygiene. Teaching acceptable hygiene principles is vital to creating life long habits, which will in turn, prevent illness and reduce the risk of spreading infection in years to come.

Unfortunately cross contamination can occur far too easily when cleaning operatives are unaware of the procedures that need to be undertaken to prevent the spread of infection. MRSA, E Coli, Clostridium Difficile and Legionnaires disease are an unfortunate result of poor cleaning standards. They continue to gain prominence in the media and as a consequence, industries are placing increasing demands on cleaning and hygiene-related activities.

With heightened awareness of public safety and public health potentially at risk, hiring cleaning operatives with ‘common sense’ alone is a big no! All cleaning operatives are recommended to have appropriate certification to prove that they are following standardised procedures.

Written by Daniella Paolozzi, British Institute of Cleaning Science

Hygiene: It’s more important than you think

Standardisation has been defined as a ‘framework of agreements to which all relevant parties in an industry or organisation must adhere to ensure that all processes associated with the creation of a good or performance of a service are performed within set guidelines’. Standardisation ensures consistency in the quality of goods produced and services delivered, to also facilitate comparison between products and services that are a like.

BICSc has played a fundamental part in the standardisation of cleaning skills across the globe for the past 53 years. For example, the BICSc colour coding system is instantly recognisable as a tool that prevents cross contamination when cleaning across different locations. The system suggests that all cleaning items, for example, cloths (re-usable and disposable), mops, buckets, aprons and gloves, should be colour coded.

Training for cleaning operatives also reduces client dissatisfaction and eliminates the need for ‘rework’. It also eliminates the hidden costs associated with time originally spent on tasks or original materials and equipment costs; it does this by addressing the most common reason for poor service delivery. Poor service delivery is usually the result of method failure or the application of incorrect techniques to the cleaning of elements within a facility.

The Institute produces a range of cleaning operative-focused standards. The key areas these cover are proficiency, competency and technical standards.

Skills are encompassed by the BICSc Cleaning Proficiency Skills Suite (CPSS). The Institute’s training department BBS (BICS Business Services) facilitates training requests.

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Cro contami ss can occu nation when st r too easily af of the pf are unaware needed rocedures to the spre prevent ad infection of THE RISKS OF

DOING NOTHING Along with the threat of infection and reduction in well-being, there is growing realisation of the links between hygiene and washroom standards and a wide range of negative health and behavioural issues. These include bladder problems, bowel problems, infections and diseases. Not only does this impact on the quality of life of the affected individual, but also creates further negative repercussions for society by creating unnecessary NHS expenditure in the long term.

Deteriorated conditions are preventable.

Whilst there are costs associated with training staff, the environmental quality of a school and the health of staff, pupils and visitors should be high on educational establishments lists. This is just as important as effective nutrition and teaching standards. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.bics.org.uk

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SCHOOL SAFETY

Written by David Garioch, chair of the Education group, IOSH

Asking the right questions about school safety David Garioch, health and safety manager at London Borough of Sutton and chair of the Education group at the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, explains the processes needed to ensure children and staff are kept away from harm in schools Is any asbestos in your building regularly checked? How safe are your windows? Are goalposts on your football pitch correctly set up? These are some of the safety and health issues which must be considered in schools.

The effective management of safety and health standards to protect staff and students from harm requires us to have robust controls for foreseeable building and playground risks.

It is vital that such controls are put in place in schools and all other workplaces. In the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health’s (IOSH) Education group – and the Institution as a whole – we believe that safety and health is an investment, not a cost.

MAINTAINING STANDARDS What do we need to check to ensure these standards are well maintained? Several areas come to mind, like the management of asbestos. We must ensure an up‑to‑date ‘Duty Holder Inspection’ is carried out every year, to check the condition of all known and suspected asbestos.

For a suitable and sufficient inspection, you should make sure photographs are taken and compared with the previous year’s pictures to check for any damage or degradation of the asbestos-containing material. This will help to demonstrate

whether the condition of the materials is the same as it has been in previous years or that the condition has deteriorated and action is required to reduce the risk.

Asbestos is the best-known cause of cancer in the workplace. Late last year, IOSH launched its No Time to Lose campaign to raise awareness of occupational cancer and provide businesses and organisations, including schools, with advice on how to reduce exposure to carcinogens.

Another area where problems may arise is with your water system and the potential for the development of Legionella bacteria.

Your school should have a water systems risk assessment, which will give details of the necessary actions to minimise the risk, for example weekly flushing of showers. The water risk assessment should also detail where there are cold water storage tanks, along with their condition, especially insulation and suitable tank cover.

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The problem with poor insulation is that it allows the sitting water to be between 20ºC and 40ºC, which can encourage rapid bacteria growth in the tank. If the tank cover is not positioned correctly or missing, there is the possibility of dead animal carcases sitting in the water, which also promotes bacteria growth.

It is also desirable to check if the water risk assessment has identified any known dead-leg areas in the system, which should be removed where reasonably practicable.

TIME TO THINK ABOUT WINTER When winter arrives, we will want to ensure the boiler system is working effectively, as a building without heat is likely to close the school. The important issue here is to use a competent contractor.

Those with a gas boiler system will need a Gas Safety Registered fitter; importantly it is not the company but the gas safety engineer who turns up on-site who must have the appropriate qualification. An engineer with a qualification for working only on domestic systems will not have the right skills to work on an industrial boiler. You can easily check the competence of the engineer before they start work on your boiler by checking their Gas Safety Registered card with the database. 

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Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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SCHOOL SAFETY  We must not forget your electrical system.

The number of electrical items being used in schools continues to increase, so you need to check the fixed wiring is up to the task. Under the regulations you need to check the whole of your fixed wiring system every five years. What some schools do is carry out an inspection of 20 per cent of the system every year to spread the cost. There are several bodies which can be used to check on the competence of your electrical contractor, including the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), the National Association for Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT), the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) and the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland (SELECT).

Remember to ensure the gas safety engineer and electrician see the asbestos register before starting work, as there is the possibility of asbestos gaskets being used in older equipment.

Then we have the issue of ensuring the portable electrical appliances are safe, achieved through carrying out Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) every year. There is nothing specifically noted in the legislation that requires testing, however it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure equipment is safe for use; over 70 per cent of electrical problems can be identified through visual and tactile checking of the equipment.

The HSE advise annual PAT testing for equipment in low-risk areas is not necessary.

Therefore if you keep good records for all your electrical equipment, it is possible to save money by carrying out less frequent PAT tests on low-risk equipment.

ARE YOUR WINDOWS SAFE? Have you considered window and glazing safety? You should have in place a glazing risk assessment which will detail all glass in areas where there is the risk of human impact.

Georgian wire glass is not safe for human impact but is necessary for fire safety. You can either replace glass or have it covered with a protective film. I have had to investigate accidents where angry students have punched Georgian wire glass and put their fist through the glass, causing cuts up the wrist due to the wire.

Working at height is the largest cause of workplace death. If you have any jobs that require working at height, it is essential to use the correct equipment. Ladders should only be used as access equipment, except if the work can be completed in less than 30 minutes.

You should also be aware of fragile roofs and roof-lights, making sure they are adequately guarded or do not allow anyone to access these areas. You should look to eliminate working at height before using any other control.

SLIPS AND TRIPS CAN BE AVOIDED Let us also ensure we get staff and students safely in and out of the building. Slips and trips are among the most common types

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Slips and trips are among the most common types of accident reporting from schools; during wet weather it is often caused by excess water in corridors as a result of insufficient matting at entrances to the building of accident reporting from schools; during wet weather it is often caused by excess water in corridors as a result of insufficient matting at entrances to the building.

We need to have sufficient matting for each entrance way to get the water off the soles of the shoes before anyone reaches the hard flooring.

Playgrounds and the school environment need to be checked for safety as well. If there is any outdoor fixed-play equipment, this should be inspected by a competent contractor every year, along with the regular checks by the site care staff. You can use the Register of Play Inspectors International for a list of accredited inspectors.

You should also ensure mobile equipment is adequately maintained and weighted/ fixed when being used. There have been

accidents where students have been crushed by goalposts toppling on them.

The FA and AfPE have guidance on the correct set up of goalposts. Remember to correctly weight down netball goals.

This is not an exhaustive list of issues. You should be able to refer to your competent health and safety advisor for more detailed advice for the hazards in your school.

At IOSH we have a vision of a world of work which is safe, healthy and sustainable.

With the right management systems in place, schools using sensible and proportionate controls for the risks will help us achieve this vision and also help educate the workforce of the future.  FURTHER INFORMATION www.iosh.co.uk

Volume 20.6 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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FOOD EDUCATION

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PLANNING THE REVOLUTION Food Revolution Day is a global campaign to put compulsory practical food education on the school curriculum. Launched in 2012, the campaign asks members of the public to sign a petition which supports the change.

Jamie elaborates: “I profoundly believe that it is every child’s human right to have access to food education from a young age. It’s only with this knowledge and understanding of food, where it comes from, how it affects their bodies, and how to grow, cook and enjoy it, that we will be able to fix the terrible state of global health as it stands today.”

Cookery became part of the national curriculum last year and lessons are now compulsory for children up to Year 9, but Jamie says this alone does not go far enough. He told the Telegraph: “While the cookery lessons are now compulsory, they are not measured or evaluated. Not all teachers know what is required. We are seeing everything from schools rewriting their entire curriculum around food, to schools that say ‘We do a bit of cooking … we make fairy cakes in year one’.

“I’d like to see inspectors really look at how food is being taught. At this critical next stage of school food, I do think it would be useful if Ofsted could actually monitor and evaluate the food culture of schools in a meaningful way.”

Talking ‘bout a revolution

Despite his fame and fortune, forged from a fanatical fancy for food, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver continues in his quest to improve nutrition and cooking skills in schools across the UK. Food Revolution Day, which took place in May, highlights the need for food education in the curriculum Although many steps have been taken by various organisations to combat the issue, childhood obesity is a serious concern in the UK and worldwide. Statistics still show that one in five children in the UK are overweight by the time they reach five years old. Worryingly, four in five children aged five to 15 fail to consume the recommended five portions of fruits and vegetable per day.

Public Health England has identified potential health related consequences of child and adolescent obesity, including type two diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular (CVD) risks obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), musculoskeletal problems and various

psychosocial and mental health disorders.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been addressing the issue of food in schools for over ten years, and has built a relationship with the education system since his documentary series entitled ‘Jamie’s School Dinners’ was aired in 2005. The show revealed how school meals lacked nutritious ingredients with little healthy alternatives and raised an enormous amount of public awareness. This led to 271,677 online signatures for the Feed Me Better petition, which was presented to 10 Downing Street in March 2005 and subsequently the British government pledged £280m of funding for school dinners.

STARS LEND WEIGHT TO THE CAMPAIGN A pop song and video, featuring Sir Paul McCartney, singer songwriter Ed Sheeran, rapper Professor Green and producer Jazzie B, was created to lend weight to the Food Revolution Day campaign, and featured an exclusive Jamie Oliver ‘rap’ to introduce the tune.

Among the many schools taking part in Food Revolution Day, pupils at Brenzett Primary in Romney Marsh spent the afternoon baking tasty dishes. Head teacher Matthew Easton said: “The chance to learn about, prepare and share food with professional chefs has created quite a buzz at Brenzett and we couldn’t wait to see, smell and taste the delights that the children prepared.

“Every child worked with our caterers Caterlink to produce fruit tartlets, cakes and bread, which then created a wonderful afternoon tea for parents.

“Some of the children shared their rolls during the afternoon tea and others took them home to share. The whole day was fun filled and all the children would like to do more activities with food.”

Pupils at Ormiston Bushfield Academy in Peterborough took part for the second consecutive year. Grainne Smith, leader of food technology, said: “Jamie’s Food Revolution Day is a great way of encouraging youngsters to cook. By teaching our pupils about food we are equipping them with the skills they need to lead healthier lives, and this is an essential part of their education at such a young age and for life.” E

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FOOD EDUCATION  She continued: “The pupils are learning about healthy eating in class at the moment, with an introduction to basic cookery skills, so the Food Revolution Day fits in really well with this. We are delighted to have had so many children involved again this year, and hope that this will spark even more interest in learning to cook healthy and delicious food in the future.”

A case study, available on

the Kitchen Garden Project “I do ld website, looks at St Paul’s u wo Whitechapel Primary think it if Ofsted School in Tower l u f be use actually Hamlets who joined could d evaluate the project in 2013.

As a borough, Tower r an monito od culture of Hamlets faces some of the highest childhood the fo ools in obesity rates in England. sch gful n It fully embraced the i n a e a m y” programme by creating wa space in the timetable for

KITCHEN GARDEN PROJECT Jamie Oliver’s Kitchen Garden project, part of Jamie Oliver Food Foundation UK, arms primary schools with everything needed to teach children to grow fruit and vegetables from seed and cook their own meals from scratch. A pilot scheme was launched in 2009 at Orford Primary School, Suffolk, and now almost 300 schools across the UK have joined the project, which extends beyond the curriculum by encouraging a greater understanding of food and nutrition that will develop a lifetime of healthy eating habits and can be passed down to future generations.

It offers a ‘Learn to Cook and Grow’ CPD certified teacher training in collaboration with the RHS campaign for School Gardening.

regular cooking across all year groups and also designed and installed a bespoke kitchen pod on the school grounds.

Head of school Darren Rubin said: “It almost feels like a cliché to recount how much our pupils have benefited from cooking. It is now normal to see children snacking on freshly prepared salads at the school gates instead of crisps or to hear children talking about how to season a dish properly. Parents have been amazed to see their children eating vegetables they had previously refused. Cooking is now a core part of our curriculum at St. Paul’s, and is something that means a lot to our entire community.”

Jamie and his wife Jools recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary, and have four children (Poppy Honey, Daisy Boo,

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Petal Blossom and Buddy Bear). Despite an estimated personal fortune of £180m, the star admitted recently that as much of 40 per cent of his earnings have been ‘wasted’ on unsuccessful business ventures.

However, much of his career has been spent campaigning for healthier school dinners and food education. He believes that suppliers and global businesses have a significant part to play.

He said: “I obviously have a very biased view but I think you can sell any product and still contribute ethically. The new people coming through are wanting and expecting better things. I think we can supercharge progress. I think corporations and businesses are much more agile and have much more capability than government. Really, the responsibility lays with business.” L

FURTHER INFORMATION www.jamieoliverfoodfoundation.org.uk

Did you know that your organisation’s general waste could fuel a power plant?

Recycling is an accepted practice in most educational facilities – but what do you do with the waste that cannot be recycled?

Even the keenest of recyclers will know that contamination, nonrecyclable plastics and a whole host of other issues can mean that, despite your best efforts, some waste is destined for the general waste bin. SUEZ environnement, formerly known as SITA UK, is a supporter of a circular economy model where waste is used as a secondary resource, maximising its value and helping organisations to achieve their zero-waste-to-landfill ambitions.

You may be aware of the ‘waste hierarchy,’ where the options for waste treatment are ranked in order of preference, designated by their impact. The first is reduce, followed by re-use, recycle, recover and disposal, the least preferred option. ‘Recover’ relates to recovering the energy which is embodied in waste and it can play an important part in maximising the value that is extracted.

Scandinavian countries widely use energy recovery plants to provide

electricity to houses in a locality, whilst harnessing the heat produced during the process to provide heating.

SUEZ environnement has invested in purpose built facilities in the UK, to help fulfil the zerowaste-to-landfill ambitions of its customers by turning residual waste that cannot be recycled into a range of different fuels. The two main fuels that are produced are solid recovered fuel (SRF) and refuse derived fuel (RDF).

SRF is mainly produced from residual

waste generated by businesses.

It is manufactured to customers’ specification and then supplied loose or baled - with a moisture content of less than 15 per cent, solid recovered fuel has a high calorific value and is used in facilities that have a high energy requirement, such as cement kilns.

RDF is made from general waste, and has a lower calorific value than SRF with a higher moisture content. It is not widely used in the UK, but is exported for use, mainly in the Scandinavian countries.

Using the energy potential in residual waste is better for the environment than sending it to landfill, as well as offering a cost effective solution to managing your refuse.

Instead of the value of your organisation’s general waste being wasted, it is put to good use producing energy instead.

If you would like to find out more, please contact the company via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0870 421 1122 www.sita.co.uk

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If you want learning spaces like these‌

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Outdoor Play

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Written by Neil Coleman, Play England

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Feeling free to play There is far more to play provision than just equipment. Neil Coleman, a Play England trustee, analyses all the factors that when put together can promote children’s health, behaviour and personal development When asked to recall your favourite play memory from childhood, what immediately comes to mind? Is it being surrounded by brightly coloured plastic and metal play equipment, or are you somewhere else, such as lying flat in a field of sweet-smelling summer grass, looking up at the clouds? Were you perhaps playing with your best friend in the street or in a secret place?

How about splashing in a cold stream, climbing a tree, digging in mud or sand, or building a den?

If you can recall that wonderful time vividly, you must have loved your outdoor play. But ask yourself this; is it the structures or the experience that make the difference?

And were adults present, hovering over you as you played?

We know the vast majority of children today would rather be outside playing if only they were allowed, so why are we obsessed with controlling and dictating their play? Are we safeguarding their interests, or are we insecure about our own?

If we truly love play and all that it stands for, shouldn’t we be doing more to free up the children of today, who can only access a tiny fraction of the precious space and time we enjoyed?

As you’ve just proved to yourself, there’s often a lot more to a memorable play experience than just standardised manufactured equipment, good though it can be.

The truth is that the best play experiences start with adults’ attitude towards play.

Play can only succeed when there is a positive, enabling ethos present. It requires parents, teachers and play supervisors to step away and let go of the reins.

Adults must focus instead on providing a culture of permission and a rich, interesting environment, so that children feel free to play as they choose, and have access to the widest choice of materials and places. From that sound beginning we can then consider their safety, and promote activity and wellbeing.

h Researc ity iv into act and levels t found men engageoose-parts’ that ‘l ade the play m havioural be biggest ference dif of all

GOOD QUALITY PLAY We are all legally obliged by the United Nations Children’s Rights Council’s Article 31, The Right to Play, to provide a better play environment for our children but let’s be honest, do we really think a bleak, windswept and soulless playground is good enough?

Remember, children are at primary school for seven long years, of which a huge 1.4 years is playtimes. Why would a child want to play outdoors at all, when the most entertaining experience likely to be on offer is first aid?

No wonder so many schools have issues with behaviour, wellbeing and slowed personal development. Structured sports lessons and boredom aren’t the answer, better play is.

Good quality play doesn’t require acres of fields; a tiny tarmac area will suffice if that’s all you’ve got. What’s really important is that we all love outdoor play, and we want today’s children to love it just as much as we do.

LOVE OUTDOOR PLAY The ‘Love Outdoor Play’ campaign is led by Play England, the charity that is the national organisation for children’s play. The campaign is supported by the Free Time Consortium, which is founded on the principle of sharing information and resources to E

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PUPIL WELLBEING  support more children to play more often, and is a growing collective of local and specialist organisations working together to increase children’s freedom to play in our schools and streets, parks and wild places.

The annual celebration of our love of play, now in its 28th year, is called ‘Play Day’. The event is driven by enthusiastic parents, community groups, schools and voluntary organisations who organise their local gathering every summer. This way, hundreds of thousands of children get to experience the joy of play, just as we all did.

Remarkably, there are now many schools who will devote a whole day, or even an entire week, to the celebration of ‘outdoor play and learning’ because they are convinced of the many health and educational benefits which only a challenging, interesting and welldesigned playground environment can provide.

And don’t forget mental wellbeing and personal development; they are equally as important as physical activity. The benefits play can bring are so much broader than can be accrued from a narrow, selective band of adult-led lunchtime or after-school sports lessons, and the expert advice and support you might need to help make it happen is already out there, just waiting for your call.

To paraphrase, ‘Play reaches the parts other activities cannot reach’.

In short, a high quality play environment can do much to promote important behavioural, health, social, emotional, cognitive and creative abilities. Over time, it even has the potential to impact on bullying and negative playtime behaviour, and can support efforts to raise classroom attention, attainment and happiness at school.

A ‘WIN-WIN’ FOR SCHOOLS What then does a good playtime learning environment look like? I’ve already said it isn’t just a case of reaching for a catalogue and calling your favourite salesman.

Trade associations are one of several possible options when the time comes to choose some equipment but that’s the final step in the process, not the first.

The right way to start is always by seeking out truly impartial advice. There are excellent internationally recognised publications and structured training programmes available to schools which cover all the essential information you will need to make a sound judgment before spending any money on adding new features to the playground landscape.

These publications include Design for Play and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) endorsed Managing Risk in Play Provision, both downloadable for free on the Play England website.

They explain the importance of careful, considered planning, the need for a proper understanding of safety law and risks, and the value of good design to a successful play environment. They emphasise the need for children to experience the calculated,

Outdoor Play

Sponsored by

Physical activity levels and engagement in play rapidly increased, when previously nearly 50 per cent of pupils had been avoiding the formal sports on offer managed challenges and experiences which you will provide, so they can add to their inner library of knowledge about the world, its wonders and dangers.

As a recent University of British Columbia study confirmed, all children must directly experience, ‘first-hand’, a broad range of risky, thought-provoking interactions with the world if they are not to have their natural development and learning held back. Just telling them about risk isn’t enough; they need to feel it. The study revealed that “taking part in risky outdoor play improves children’s creativity, behaviour and resilience as well as their health. The benefits come from activities including climbing, jumping, rough and tumble play and exploring alone. Playgrounds with natural elements such as trees, plants and changes in height are best. Youngsters also gain from being free to choose their own activities without restrictive supervision.”

‘LOOSE-PARTS’ PLAY Research into activity levels and engagement in Australian primary school playtimes during 2013/14 found that ‘loose-parts’ play (sand, water, mud, leaves, tyres, cardboard tubes, straw, etc.) and a varied, interesting landscape made the biggest difference of all.

Their introduction into a school dramatically affected the children’s tendency towards sedentary behaviour in just a few short weeks.

Physical activity levels and engagement in play rapidly increased, when previously nearly 50 per cent of pupils had been avoiding the formal sports on offer. This improvement

quickly reduced the number still not engaged during playtimes to just seven per cent.

And make sure you acquire some good training for your staff from fully independent experts which covers safety, design, policy, management and everything else you might need. That way, you can judge for yourselves exactly what behavioural, fitness, wellbeing and developmental benefits you might want in your playtime landscape.

Don’t just trust to luck, or to someone who won’t have to account for any misjudged decisions. Remember, if ever in doubt, use your favourite play memories to guide you.

Only when armed with this comprehensive knowledge is it possible to make a properly informed decision on what steps a school should take. And ask yourself these three questions.

Firstly, does my school ensure informative training, a varied landscape and a positive ethos which promotes play are in place before I choose anything else? Secondly, are they fully established in our playtime environment so that I know my pupils are getting all the health and wellbeing benefits they need? Lastly, when they grow up, will today’s children love play the same way we do? L

Neil Coleman is a Play England trustee and a Mentor at OPAL Outdoor Play and Learning CIC, who advises the All Party Parliamentary Group for A Fit and Healthy Childhood.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.playengland.org.uk www.outdoorplayandlearning.org.uk

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Outdoor Learning Written by Michelle Baker, Myfanwy Townsend Melanoma Research Fund

Sponsored by

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SUN PROTECTION

Why our sun protection habit has to change of the dangers of excessive sun exposure, this has yet to translate into implementing a culture of sun protection in the UK.

obviously still not sticking. A recent survey by the Teenage Cancer Trust revealed that over a third of teenagers (38 per cent) don’t use sun protection in the UK because they don’t believe the UK sun is strong enough to do damage, and a fifth (18 per cent) admitted to deliberately burning in order to ‘kick start a tan’. A staggering 71 per cent of those asked said that being bronzed rated as the most attractive look.

Even if you don’t actively sunbathe, how do your sun protection habits rate when working outdoors with children for prolonged periods in summer? There are some important questions to consider; Do you work with parents to ensure kids arrive sun protected?

Do you have a sun policy which is adhered to?

Do you lead by example and protect yourself in front of kids? Do you wear protective clothing and seek shade during the hottest part of the day? Do you ensure kids reapply SPF30 sunscreen after lunch breaks? Have you or has a child in your care suffered sunburn?

HABITS BY OUTDOOR ACTIVITY WORKERS A recent national sun protection survey by the Myfanwy Townsend Melanoma Research Fund, investigating sun protection habits in the UK, reveals that a quarter of those who work outdoors with children admit to a child having sunburn whilst in their care, and a worrying 40 per cent say children still turn up to outdoor sessions without any sun protection whatsoever. Over 60 per cent of those surveyed also admitted to hearing young children discussing ‘getting a tan’.

Move on a generation and the message is

THE BURNING ISSUE OF TANNING If you feel you could do better, you are not alone, and may question why this is still such a contentious issue. One theory is that we are programmed to believe that sun protection is something we only use on holiday and that the sun in the UK is not hot enough to do damage to our skin.

Half the adult population of the UK say they feel healthier with a tan, according to a recent survey. However, although many admit that they also feel more attractive, many do not realise that any time your skin changes colour – whether it’s a tan or a burn – it’s an

Melanoma is one of the most prominent cancers among young children in the UK. The Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code tackles the issue of sun safety and advises on how to sun protect children more effectively and ensure healthy habits are developed from a young age. Michelle Baker comments on the programme Over the last 40 years, one cancer has risen faster in the UK than any other, increasing more than fivefold since the mid-1970s. This cancer is melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, and on a global scale one person dies each hour from it; a figure that is rising steadily. Although it occurs for several reasons, the most preventable cause is over exposure to the sun. The main trigger is sunburn, with just one incidence in childhood or adolescence tripling the risk of developing melanoma.

With hard hitting statistics like these you would think that the provision of sun protection would be more of an integrated safeguarding issue, especially for those who work outdoors with kids for prolonged periods during the summer months. Sadly though it isn’t, and although many are aware

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indication of damage. That damage, which is cumulative, increases your risk of melanoma as well as other types of skin cancer and also leads to premature ageing of the skin.

Sunscreen advertising typically depicts beaches, sand and sea and products are generally included with ‘holiday’ items. The fact is that although the sun in the UK may not always be as intense or constant, it can be just as damaging as it is in warmer climes.

Even if we do understand the dangers, with all good intentions, many of us simply forget, and this can be to do with habits forged in childhood. We don’t forget to brush our teeth twice a day to avoid decay, we wash our hands before meals to avoid germs, we ‘clunk click every trip’ to avoid being battered in a crash, we ensure kids wear helmets when riding bikes, but why don’t we remember to ‘slip slap slop’?

The answer therefore lies in behavioural change, which is never an easy nut to crack.

However the good news is that habits can be forged in a relatively short time.

Dr Gardner, senior lecturer in psychology and habit formation specialist, said: “Creating a well-developed routine is the secret to any healthy habit. My research has shown that it can take just two weeks for a habit to become second nature, and applying this to a personal sun protection routine can help those who work with kids to think automatically of using this habit to protect the children in their care.”

THE TWO WEEK CHALLENGE To put this theory into action, Dr Gardner has worked with the creators of the Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code to devise ‘The Two Week Challenge’. Designed to inspire positive action by following a schedule of actions for two weeks, the challenge will help adults create good habits and pass these down to a younger generation.

Harry Townsend, the founder of the Myfanwy Townsend Melanoma Research Fund, said: “We all like to get outdoors and feel the warm sun on our faces, however we must all look at sun protection carefully.

Melanoma is a terrible disease: however by simply spending a couple of minutes applying sunscreen a couple of times a day and remembering to action a few simple measures, you can enjoy the sun without harm.”

SUNSCREEN IN SPORT Although clothing is ideally the first line of defence against the sun, using an SPF30 sunscreen is important for children who play sport, especially as they wear fewer clothes and don’t tend to wear sunglasses or hats when outdoors for prolonged periods. However, to be at all effective it needs to be generously applied and reapplied during the day.

If there is concern about who applies sunscreen to children, the Outdoor Kids Sun

Outdoor Learning

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Safety Code recommends that adults and parents lead by example, applying it to their own skin, showing children both how do it and where not to miss.

This also sends out positive messages that everyone needs to protect their skin.

Casey Stoney, WSL Arsenal and England Women’s Football Captain and Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code Ambassador said: “I spend a lot of time outdoors and admit in the past, I didn’t use sun protection much.However, as a mum I have become much more aware of the need to protect my child’s skin and in turn my own.

“Kids look up to their coaches and teachers so leading by example is vital. Sign up to the Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code and get ‘OK accredited’, it just makes sense. Get out there, have fun but stay safe in the sun.”

A fun but educational film produced by the Outdoor Kids Sun Safety Code called ‘Blow the Whistle on Sunburn!’ has been launched to encourage kids to remember sun protection when they ‘gear up for action’ this summer. This has been embedded in a sun protection presentation which is perfect for school assemblies. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.melanoma-fund.co.uk www.oksunsafetycode.com

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Breaking through the risky red tape

School Trips

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Written by Ian Pearson, the School Travel Forum

Organising a school trip can be a complicated and unnerving task. The School Travel Forum’s Ian Pearson discusses why school trips needn’t be such a daunting prospect for teachers, and why they shouldn’t be part of a risk-averse culture Ever since the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOtC) manifesto was launched in 2008, highlighting the powerful educational value of school trips, when asked whether the benefits of taking pupils on educational visits outweigh concerns over cost and safety, teachers and instructors have always answered with a resounding ‘yes’.

However, many teachers, from those newly qualified to those who organise trips year after year, report feeling burdened by red tape, the time demands of admin, cost factors and concerns over and health and safety when planning a school trip.

The good news is that there is more help available than they may realise. The 2015 School Travel Forum (STF) survey of over 2,000 teachers and subject leaders found that 75 per cent of respondents had no awareness of the LOtC Quality Badge. This is surprising as this impartial and stringently judged accreditation provides many reassurances, including the fact that annual risk assessments have been made and that

the school trip provider is financially secure.

Teachers are unnecessarily subjecting themselves to hours of worry and riskassessment leg work, which can all be avoided by choosing a school trip provider that is STF Assured and has LOtC accreditation.

This comment from a head of department at a school in England in response to a survey by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers is a good illustration of the misconceptions held by some: “I get all excited about organising a new trip and then my heart sinks when I realise how much paperwork it entails. Neither parents nor colleagues are aware of the burden.

I reckon [it takes] about 100 hours of planning to organise a five-day trip abroad.

Risk assessments for every moment of the day and night are ridiculous.”

With e rag the ave trip school ing an nt represement of invest 0,000, over £2 ction of te the pro funds is these rtant impo

WHY TAKE THE RISK OF DIY? With a prevailing and increasingly risk-averse culture in schools (as the headlines over banning leapfrog and conkers show) it poses

the question why 22 per cent of school trip organisers have previously opted for the DIY approach when arranging school trips? As well as trying to minimise costs for parents, teachers often choose the same coach firms and accommodation the school has always used out of sense of familiarity, but previous use has proven to be no guarantee of future performance. Understandably, with greater complexity to manage the percentage drops to eight per cent for ski and sports tours, but all these organisers when surveyed are also those with very low knowledge of important regulations and beneficial approval schemes.

PROTECTION Travel booked as separate elements does not enjoy the financial protection of a package tour. Obviously, failure to deliver by the supplier is a major issue and redress against an overseas party is not easy at the best of times. Heading abroad also brings its own unique set of issues; whilst over 16,000 school trips are organised through STF Assured Members each year, all protected by the LOtC Quality Badge, schools choosing facilities outside of the scheme have minimum protection over standards.

In the EU, hotel safety requirements remain just guidance, not a directive. Even close E

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At Travelbound, we know experience matters. We know our destinations and subjects inside out, so we have what it takes to turn a good tour into a once-in-a lifetime experience. We pride ourselves on being reliable, knowledgeable and passionate about travel. Not only have our staff collectively explored 48% of the world, including the majority of the destinations featured on our website, but most are fluent in more than one language and are experts in one or more subject fields. We believe in educational, inspirational and fun tours, and we want to help our Party Leaders and their students have a successful and memorable tour with us!

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HEALTH & SAFETY  to home, hotel standards can vary widely and safety issues can arise from the actual day-to-day management of the hotel.

With the average school trip representing an investment of over £20,000, the protection of these funds, which are mostly paid for by parents, is an important consideration.

All STF Assured Members benefit from the protection of the Package Travel Regulations and must be members of approved schemes ensuring fair trading and full financial security. This sort of insurance gives peace of mind not just to teachers but also to parents who whilst appreciating the chance to broaden their children’s horizons, might have made personal financial cutbacks to be able to fund their child’s trip.

CREATING LASTING MEMORIES Educational visits are all about creating lifelong memories and if something goes wrong, be it an unaccredited company going out of business, fallout from inadequate health and safety standards, or experiencing below par activities of amenities, then these are certainly not the sort of memories that teachers, pupils or parents want to have.

All STF Approved providers follow robust

About the School Travel Forum when booking a school trip. Whilst educational visits are statistically one of the safest environments for children to be in, the extra reassurance that emergency expert support is available round the clock is crucial to trip organisers, who after all want to have a positive and successful experience themselves.

What is encouraging is that awareness of the benefits that LOtC Accreditation and STF Approval can bring is growing amongst the people they stand to help – i.e. teachers and organisers and also the reputable school trip providers that deserve to grow within the market. In 2013, 58 per cent of teachers reported that STF Approval was either an essential prerequisite or likely to influence their decision when choosing a supplier.

Encouragingly this jumped to 72 per cent in this year’s survey, so the message about the reliability, ease and simplicity of travelling with accredited providers is getting through.

QUALITY LOTC EXPERIENCES The latest STF survey also showed the value teachers place on the quality of good learning experiences provided by their chosen supplier.

Over 95 per cent rated this element as a vitally important criterion. As well as providing social

Well planned out-of-classroom activities, which includes trips, not only enhance pupils’ learning, but can also re-engage those who are hard to motivate codes of practice and are regularly monitored by a team of inspectors. This mean that teachers can rest assured that the venue and the activities meet the required standards.

A telling finding from the STF 2015 Awareness Survey, was that 95.5 per cent of the 2019 secondary school teachers surveyed viewed 24/7 emergency support whilst on tour as an essential or important requirement

and personal development opportunities, learning in new and different places is a stimulating experience that can re-ignite students’ enthusiasm for their subject. This resonates with one of the key findings from Ofsted’s 2008 report on LOtC: “Well planned out-of-classroom activities, which includes trips, not only enhance pupils’ learning, but can also re-engage those who are hard

School Trips

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The School Travel Forum was founded in 2003 and is a not for profit organisation.

Its Assured Member scheme has widespread recognition and support for the way it simplified and provided essential reassurance for leaders looking to organise school trips.

Founded by the government in 2008 and now an independent charity, the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom is the national voice for all types of LOtC. to motivate.” The lasting benefits of out of the classroom experiences to educational progress simply can’t be overestimated.

By taking care of standards of learning and safety in a single, easily recognisable and trusted accreditation scheme, the LOtC Quality Badge is an invaluable tool for school trip leaders, whatever the subject area or country they may be planning on visiting. Furthermore, the numbers speak for themselves. Despite our increasingly risk‑averse culture and the red tape and admin faced by the minority of schools that choose the DIY approach to school trip planning, there is no evidence that the number of school trips is decreasing. In fact, 81.3 per cent said they run the same amount or more trips compared to two years ago.

Additionally, 96.6 per cent of secondary schools currently take residential trips, with each organising an average of 2.6 a year.

In conclusion, this is positive news for the principles of the LOtC ethos, which continues to bring benefits to students’ lives and the educational system in general. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.schooltravelforum.com

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Setting the standard in school gym solutions If you’re a school creating a facility from scratch, renovating, refurbishing, or need help to source equipment or flooring, we’ll ensure that you get the best solution for your needs.

We have a proven track record working with schools. Whatever your budget, or size of project, we have the expertise to make sure you get the most out of your investment.

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We take the hassle away, and do all the leg work to provide the right solution for you and ensure you get the most out of your budget.

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School Sport

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Getting children moving

The Generation Inactive report addresses the lack of tracking and measurement of children’s physical activity and fitness within primary schools and examines the ways in which the least active generation in history can be encouraged to become more healthy and active. The report was produced using extensive primary and secondary data alongside interviews with senior teachers, experienced children’s activity providers and leading academics.

To gain unique primary data ukactive sent freedom of information orders to over 200 primary schools and primary academies in England to explore the steps they took to record and measure children’s fitness and activity levels, from sophisticated measurements of cardiorespiratory fitness and motor skills to basic tracking of time spent in PE. Some of the results gathered

Written by Steven Ward, executive director, ukactive

ukactive launched its much anticipated children’s activity report, Generation Inactive, which addresses the lack of tracking of pupil’s physical activity and fitness within primary schools, as well as ways to promote a more active day

The report at d th reveale half of n less tharveyed were mean a fit and healthy su child, rebranding the ‘PE schools of how muchs & Sport Premium’ as the ‘Physical Activity & PE aware l activity wa a c i Premium’ to address the s E y ph ithin P w core notion of inactivity, e n o d and recommending lessons that head teachers take

were found to fall far short of expectations, and emphasise the need for government and children’s activity stakeholders to continue to support schools when it comes to promoting and assessing children’s activity and fitness.

The report revealed that less than half of schools surveyed were aware of how much physical activity was actually done within PE lessons.

Generation Inactive makes a range of calls to government, head teachers and the activity sector itself. Key recommendations include: extending the national child measurement programme to also measure fitness as a slim child does not necessarily

a ‘whole day’ approach to physical activity by engraining it throughout the entire school day.

THE REPORT LAUNCH EVENT Around 100 senior delegates from a variety of sectors were in attendance at the Generation Inactive launch, including children’s activity providers, notable academics, educational and parent bodies and children’s charities. The event provided a fitting platform for the first ukactive speech of Baroness Tanni E

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NAHT announces Youth Sport Trust as new partner charity

School Sport

Sponsored by

School leaders’ union NAHT has announced that it is to partner with the Youth Sport Trust as its charity of choice for 2015-16, underlining the importance of PE and sport in education.

Measurement is not a dirty word. Measurement and the understanding of the effectiveness of practice which measurement brings is the first step on the road to getting this right  Grey‑Thompson, the recently appointed ukactive Chair. Her speech stressed the importance of ensuring inactive children did not develop into inactive adults and explained the rationale behind the report’s recommendations. Former Children’s Commissioner for England, Sir Al Aynsley Green also gave a memorable keynote which highlighted the importance of looking at international models, revealing how activity is being incorporated into children’s lives in countries such as Canada and Finland.

REACTION TO THE REPORT Both before and after the report’s official launch, the reaction and interest in the report has been largely positive and wide ranging. Our findings were featured in The Guardian, BBC, Sky news, Good Morning Britain and a host of other national and regional publications and media outlets.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and other leading stakeholders supported the publication. The reaction from Parliament has also been very positive with Luciana Berger MP tabling a question to the Department of Health that explicitly quoted the Generation Inactive report. ukactive chair Baroness Grey-Thompson’s speech at the launch event acknowledged that there might be some caution among some stakeholders and individuals around the measurement of children’s fitness. The organisation’s view on this is really quite simple; ukactive want to work with all who share our vision of an active childhood. But we’re clear that the evidence shows that measurement is not a dirty word. Far from it – measurement and the understanding of the effectiveness of practice which measurement brings – is the first step on the road to getting this right. ukactive are certainly not calling for invasive testing methods, dividing children into groups for fitness, or explicitly telling children that they are unfit. What we are calling for is the

safe, non-invasive measurement of children’s fitness in a way that is fun, inspiring and engaging for children and young people, informed by the academic community but shaped by young people themselves.

Goals should be provided and improvement, rather than overall performance, rewarded.

This concept is supported by the academic and health-improvement community, by parents, Parliamentarians, providers and has the overwhelming support of stakeholders. The question now is, how do we make it work?

Measuring fitness in the right way can add vital knowledge on what works for delivery, provide much needed understanding of the health of our children’s hearts and allows us to understand where our children figure internationally. We should not expect it to solve the problem of children’s inactivity or poor fitness levels but rather enable us to understand the extent of the problem so we can take effective action and assess when progress is being made.

WHAT NEXT FOR UKACTIVE? ‘Generation Inactive’ has put the issue of children’s activity and fitness back on the national agenda and it has been encouraging to see Nike’s recent ‘Designed to move: Active Schools’ report which shares ukactive’s call for a whole school day approach to physical activity, bringing it to life by providing practical guidance for school leaders on how they can make their school and active one. ukactive will continue to engage Parliamentarians and interested stakeholders on the report’s recommendations. We will work closely with Ofsted, the Department for Education and a broad range of stakeholders with an interest in this agenda because it will take our collective efforts to raise awareness of children’s inactivity and plant the seeds of change required to give this generation a healthier future. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ukactive.com

A charity is selected each year by the association’s president.

New president Tony Draper said: “The benefits I gained from a childhood immersed in sport and physical activity made me the person I am today. School sport can transform a child’s relationship with learning and I want all children to have that opportunity.

“I firmly believe that by engaging in athletic and sporting pursuits and the associated skills, children exercise their minds and develop and grow academically. Physical and mental health go hand in hand.

Team games foster friendships that last a lifetime and also promote the life skills to be able to interact with others in new situations. Sport promotes values and behaviours that are a passport to a healthy and happy life.”

NAHT and YST will work together over the coming year to promote the professional development of staff, an area which still requires a great deal of effort. We believe that the introduction of the school sport premium has not yet had the desired effect on children.

Russell Hobby, general secretary of NAHT, added: “A good education is a balanced education and it is crucial to start children on healthy habits early. Schools value the ethos and development that sport can offer and a great many do extraordinarily well in providing a high quality sports offer. The invaluable work of the Youth Sport Trust helps to make this happen.”

Welcoming the partnership, Youth Sport Trust Chief Executive Ali Oliver said: “We are greatly honoured to be the NAHT’s partner charity for the year. NAHT provides vital resources and support to head teachers and we look forward to furthering our relationship, reach and understanding amongst this vital audience. This partnership comes at a vital time for PE and school sport, and I look forward to working together to ensure that every young person has access to high quality PE and sport opportunities at school.”

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LIVING FOR SPORT

School Sport

Sponsored by

Driving up the prominence of PE and sport One of the leading programmes that the Youth Sport Trust works on to help ensure the prominence of PE and school sport is Sky Sports Living for Sport (SSLFS), which is part of Sky Academy. The free initiative was launched

by Sky Sports back in 2003 in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust and has since gone from strength to strength. In essence, the aim of SSLFS is to use sport stars and sport skills to improve young people’s lives.

This initiative for 11-16 year olds is available to all secondary schools in the UK and Ireland. The programme is designed to inspire and support every participant in areas relevant to them whether it’s improving confidence, attainment at school or leading a healthier lifestyle. Guildford County School took part in the programme and had Toby Garbett, an Olympian and two-time World Champion rower, as its athlete mentor.

WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE? The project was aimed to challenge and extend what our gifted and talented pupils know about their own fitness and how to encourage competition where teams of mixed gender and age groups work together.

The P.E. facilities at Guildford County limit us in terms of what we are able to offer our most able students, whilst catered for well in lessons by differentiation of task or outcome, rarely are we able to take them all together and really challenge what they can do or what they know. The SSLFS project allows us to do this.

The Surrey Sports Park kindly donate the use of their facilities, and it’s a fantastic opportunity for the students to use such a great facility.

There has ben a whole school drive to support groups of students, from SEND and Pupil Premium students to Gifted and Talented, the SSLFS project allows us to focus on this group and provide additional challenges and extensions for them in an extracurricular activity. This has benefits within lessons, as we have had uptake at GCSE from all the students who took past in last years project.

Additionally, in core lessons staff see the increased confidence in leading others.

WHAT ACTIONS WERE TAKEN? There are three teams, each with a boy and a girl from each year group. They must assess their own strengths and weaknesses and then use their knowledge of their own fitness

to plan as group how they will perform each section of the triathlon. Who goes when, what their responsibility is in terms of distance, when they will swap or rotate the performer.

They need to take into account what the strengths and weakness of each individual in the group is.

They are responsible for devising how they will train for the event and set their own goals and targets, both individually and as a group. They have to motivate and support each other, there was a brilliant atmosphere of support and encouragement that was driven by competition and the want to win.

times and around the school

site. Pupils use the school The P.E twitter account to rts show their support and Sky Spo Sport encouragement of each r o other, highlighting Living f mme is a r a really positive, g o e r p inspir o responsible way to t d e use social media. design pport every u The project has s s a d e n r a raised the profile ant in a participevant to of the department, rel it has improved relationships between them

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT ON PARTICIPANTS? Participation at clubs has increased by 40 per cent since the introduction of the SSLFS project in 2012. This uptake in participation has also increased for those students taking part in activity in a club outside of school. Two of the students have gone on to be signed for Harlequins U18 and Harlequins U16 development squads and one has also gone into both Surrey U16 and South East England U16 rugby teams. Two other students have qualified in regional competition for a cross-country event and four of them have been signed to development squads for football and netball.

In the academic year 2013-2014 every student in the school (unless medically excused) took part in a House Rowing event. Those students who took part in the SSLFS project were able to lead groups of students in their own house and use their knowledge from the triathlon event to drive for success for their house. Since the project all of the students have had attendance of over 90 per cent and the majority have had attendance of 95 per cent or better.

The biggest impact was on the confidence and positive relationships between the students who took part. Older students felt a sense of responsibility for the younger students, they continue this support in social

Written by Tom Degun, Youth Sport Trust

Guildford County School took part in the Sky Sports Living for Sport programme, an initiative that uses sport stars and sport skills to improve young people’s lives. Nikki Sullivan, head of key stage 4 PE, shares the school’s experience

staff and students and more staff have come forward to help run clubs and training sessions.

One young student commented: “It was fun to try something new. I never thought about combining activities I could do into an event like triathlon and it was hard work, so even though my fitness is good I know what I have to improve to be a better athlete and I know what I can do to train for these improvements.”

WHAT WAS THE IMPACT ON THE SCHOOL? As a school there has been a real push to raise attainment and close that gap for targeted groups of students including Gifted and Talented students. The project has allowed us to identify and target specific students in order to challenge and extend them.

Guildford County School’s head teacher quoted: “The Sky Sport Living for Sport project has provided our students with an opportunity to work in groups and take responsibility for the success of others. Our gifted and talented students have been given the tools to develop their performance as athletes and a forum to demonstrate a wide range of skills and the school enjoys the celebration of their achievements and the positive effects of the project are seemingly never ending.”

The mix of age groups meant the older students had to take responsibility for motivating and supporting the younger students in their group. It came down to trust. Trusting the students to train and support each other. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.youthsporttrust.org

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ICT Resources

ICT RESOURCES

LGfL branches out across the UK

The London Grid for Learning (LGfL), a community of 2,500 schools, academies and local authorities which benefit from the bulk buying of Internet connectivity in London Boroughs, has launched TRUSTnet – a nationwide service which enables substantial savings plus a range of essential resources

The London Grid for Learning (LGfL) Trust was incorporated and registered as a charity with educational objects in 2001. Since then it has been serving schools and local authorities as a specialist agent to procure and supply best-value leased-line broadband and associated services and content.

In 2011, following ten years during which central government had strategically directed grant through LAs for the pupose of ensuring all schools have a sustainable broadband connection, the Trust launched LGfL 2.0, contracted directly to schools to reflect changed circumstances. LGfL 2.0 is designed to meet the needs of schools in the modern digital age.

Instead of schools having to make piecemeal arrangements for connectivity, filtering, security, authentication and hosting, LGfL developed, and continues to develop, a comprehensive service-offer, specifically tailored to the school in question.

LGfL 2.0 serves a community of 2,500 schools and helps to make substancial economies of scale and savings.

A NATIONWIDE LAUNCH LGfL Trust has launched TRUSTnet, a comprehensive new package comprising

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

Brian Durrant, chief executive at LGfL, commented: “We are very excited to be able to provide the same exceptional service and value for money that we currently offer schools in the capital region.

As technology becomes more and more important to learning, we feel it essential that each school has the ICT infrastructure and the wide range of digital resources it needs for its pupils to succeed.”

CURRICULUM CENTRAL Curriculum Central is the new resourcediscovery service for all teachers in TRUSTnet-connected schools. The aim of the tool is to efficiently and effectively help teachers understand which learning resources support which elements of the revised National Curriculum. In a matter of a few clicks to select Key Stage, subject area and an individual strand of the programme of study, the simple interface provides a filtered list of relevant links to TRUSTnet resources which support the teaching of any particular element.

This new service development has been designed with two specific goals in mind.

Firstly, to help teachers deliver the revised National Curriculum and, secondly, to appreciate the range and depth of learning resources available as part of their TRUSTnet subscription. Historically, not all teachers have appreciated the depth of curriculum coverage within particular resources available from TRUSTnet, and this new approach offers ‘deep links’ inside many resources to support a wide range of curriculum areas.

Curriculum Central offers a modern, efficient interface to help teachers navigate the revised National Curriculum with ease and speed.

Within seconds, teachers can appreciate which resource will help them deliver the National Curriculum, and access it with a single click. However, Curriculum Central is likely to become an invaluable tool for teachers who are planning specifically against curriculum aims.

Curriculum Central aims to help teachers in understand how TRUSTnet learning resources can support the delivery of the revised National Curriculum in schools with a TRUSTnet subscription. It does not attempt to include resources that can be accessed outside of the TRUSTnet service to schools. Where possible, ‘deep links’ have been used to take the teacher inside a resource to a section that will support a particular strand of the curriculum. L

net TRUST rovide op aims t ‑effective a cost edy for re rem who aed s l o o sch ‑resourc under oadband in br ision prov

discounted broadband, ICT services and digital curriculum content. Previously only available to a 2,500-strong consortium of London schools, the new service is now available nationwide, so that all UK schools will be able to benefit from the bulk buying of internet connectivity, helping to save thousands of pounds every year.

A HOST OF HANDY TOOLS As well as broadband, TRUSTnet comes with a comprehensive array of associated services, including Internet filtering, secure filtered emails for pupils and staff, Sophos antivirus software, video conferencing, cloud based storage and access to a vast collection of premium learning resources. TRUSTnet aims to provide a cost-effective remdy for the 42 per cent of UK state primary schools 31 per cent of UK state secondary schools who are under-resourced in broadband provision. This in turn will help the pupils in more than half of all UK state schools who currently have poor access to ICT.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.trustnet.pro

ICT

ICT

Conversor Limited from Woking has launched an innovative solution for note-taking in classrooms and lecture theatres. Notetalker comprises an App for Apple or Android smartphones or tablets, an editing suite for Windows and Mac PCs and a unique universal directional microphone and cable connection kit which will fit any smartphone or tablet.

Ideal for students where there is a complex topic being discussed which requires the student to focus on the speaker without being distracted by detailed note-taking.

The Notetalker App records the class or lecture and allows the student to listen and understand the content of the class or lecture.

Notetalker recordings can be audio bookmarked at key points or passages and photographs taken to provide an audio, text and visual record of the class, lecture or discussion. The recording can then be uploaded to Notetalker Edit on the Mac or PC for playback and detailed note making.

The power of data cannot be underestimated in the drive to improve our schools and far too many schools struggle to access the help and support required to unlock the potential that lies within their MIS system.

From ensuring that your Post-16 High School retains its valuable funding through data accuracy, to integrating MIS into the Primary teaching environment, the help required is not always readily available.

School ICT Services is the UK’s leading independent provider of Capita Accredited SIMS support, training and consultancy services.

The Leeds based company helps over 350 schools, academies and local authorities every year to make sense of their data, both to inform school improvement activity and to enhance the working practices of staff.

Notetalker - Helping pupils Could your school be to make better notes doing more with data?

Reference can be made to the images and bookmark text which the student has used as markers in the audio recording. Save the notes or print them out for future reference. To find out more, or to receive a free demo copy, contact Conversor via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01483 473810 info@conversorproducts.com www.notetalker.com

LANDSCAPING

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

In these times of budget cuts and austerity measures, schools, colleges, universities and nurseries who are lucky enough to have a living green roof might just be wondering if they could make savings on the maintenance bill.

Wise advice would be to think very carefully indeed for a relatively small saving now could prove hugely expensive in the future.

A useful analogy would be to buy a top-of-the-range car and then never have it serviced.

In the short term the vehicle will be less efficient than it should be and probably have higher fuel consumption. In the long term it will probably depreciate more than necessary and need expensive repairs that could have been avoided.

It costs far less to give your green roof a quick inspection,

The Water Management Society is a not-for-profit membership organisation that provides practical training in water management related subjects, including legionella control and prevention. Training courses are aimed at a wide range of delegates including water suppliers, plumbers, facilities managers and engineers.

Courses cover all aspects of water management including Legionella Risk Assessment, Cleaning and Disinfection and Temperature Monitoring, Sampling and Infection.

Training courses include prevention and control of Legionnaires’ disease within various water systems, including cooling towers, closed systems and hot and cold water systems. All courses are up to date with water industry legislation and are City & Guilds accredited.

Water Management Society’s unique Practical Training Area (PTA) enables course attendees to gain hands-on experience. It houses two

Green roof maintenance a future investment

tidy up and feed once a year - particularly if you have the skills-set to do it in-house - than it does to replace the whole thing when the plants have perished.

It’s not just the aesthetic benefits of a green roof that depend on the plants being healthy. Rainwater management, insulation and environmental benefits also require live plants…as does positive PR. For advice on green roof maintenance visit the website below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01842 828266 sales@qlawns.co.uk www.enviromat.co.uk

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The company’s experienced SIMS consultants work with schools on a nationwide basis through a well-managed and accessible Service Support Desk, together with scheduled training courses across the full range of SIMS modules and more tailored provision of consultancy delivered directly to schools.

To begin the process of unlocking the power of your data, contact School ICT Services via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0845 643 6802 info@schoolicts.co.uk www.schoolicts.co.uk

Experts in water management and training

cooling towers, which are utilised on a number of the courses. The PTA is used to assess the competence of delegates during practical exercises and to certificate that a person has the ability to perform his/her duties in a competent manner.

The Water Management Society can offer bespoke courses too.

All delegates receive temporary membership to the Water Management Society incorporating technical Q&A support and access to guidance documents. For further information on training courses, please contact via the details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01827 289558 admin@wmsoc.org.uk www.wmsoc.org.uk

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Products & Services

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DESIGN & BUILD

DESIGN & BUILD

Supplying the education industry for over 20 years, BenchVent is delighted to announce its latest product catering for the mobile fume cupboard market – the BV1000MFC. The BV1000MFC was designed and built specifically for the demands that the school environment poses, providing the complete solution for science departments requiring a portable recirculation fume cupboard to conduct classroom demonstrations.

Unlike the fixed location and often expensive ducted fume cupboard variants, this mobile solution offers exceptional practicality and value for money.

Ultra mobile, the UK built portable demonstration cupboard benefits from a wealth of features that make it the number one choice for science classrooms in the UK. The BV1000MFC efficiently protects staff and students from all fumes and hazardous substances associated with GCSE and A Level curriculum chemicals. It is also

Spacezero is a leading independent interior architect and specialist FFE consultancy. Every journey begins with an empty space out of which the company designs and delivers a finished environment that is functional, collaborative and inspirational.

With vast experience across the UK education sector, Spacezero has a proven track record of delivery on over 190 projects.

All of Spacezero’s schemes are produced, in full, utilising Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Revit. Recently, this has included flagship programmes such as North West PF2, North East PF2 and Holywell High School in Flintshire.

As all Spacezero projects are delivered in BIM, including producing to BIM level 2, great savings in both time and cost can be made. These projects range

Mobile fume cupboard for Exciting, intelligent and school science labs sustainable school spaces

protected against future changes with the ability to easily switch between filtration media.

Built to conform to all UK health and safety standards, the unit has been independently tested and approved to ensure compliance with BB88 and all associated British standards.

For more information on the BV1000MFC and the rest of BenchVent’s education range, please visit the website below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01423 790039 www.benchvent.com/education

DESIGN

PROCUREMENT

MB Design and Marketing provides the most innovative, creative, relevant and impactful brand development and marketing for schools across the UK. Specialising in marketing, brand development, websites, prospectuses’ and all printed material, its work accurately represents schools to its target audiences in the most effective ways possible.

The company achieves this by listening carefully; identifying what makes schools unique, then applying experience, knowledge, expertise, imagination and more than a little magic. MBDM schools want the best, and the company strives to give them the best and offers something more.

It might just be that timely bit of advice that saves customers a lot of money. Or perhaps it is the friendliness that greets customers every time they call.

Schools will always receive great design, photography, copywriting

Winning Tenders is a business that does exactly as its name suggests.

Established 10 years ago, the company’s mission is to provide expert bid support to smaller and medium-size enterprises enabling them to expand by securing major contracts with public sector and corporate (PLC) organisations.

Winning Tenders’ bid writing experts offer an effective way of maintaining a competitive position and winning new business. They help clients to take a winning approach to the most suitable opportunities and to devise the best way of ensuring successful pre-qualification, shortlisting and selection as the preferred bidder.

With nearly 30 years experience of successful tendering, Winning Tenders’ founder Ian Smith’s expertise covers all aspects of proposal writing, bid management,

MBDM - The complete package for education

80

and project management. It’s the ‘something more’ that ensures clients keep coming back to MB Design and Marketing Schools value MBDM for the service and individual attention they receive as well as for professionalism in all areas of brand development and marketing. MBDM values its schools as friends and colleagues.

To find out more, contact MB Design and Marketing via the contact details below.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01673 842911 melaine@mbdesignhouse.co.uk www.mbdm.co.uk

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

from primary schools, through to secondary schools, complex SEN, technically challenging UTCs, colleges and universities.

Spacezero has completed projects across England, Wales and Scotland; recently also branching out into international projects in the Middle and Far East. Spacezero is 100 per cent independent from any manufacturer or re-seller.

The primary aim is to deliver best value for the client via intelligent design and the development of pioneering procurement models.

This produces large savings to the client, whilst continuing to provide a leading design service.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0844 209 8422 hello@spacezero.co.uk www.spacezero.co.uk Twitter: @space_zer0

Winning Tenders - Increase your chances of success

outsourcing and tender evaluation.

Compelling bid writing has been fundamental to Ian’s achievements with the emphasis on effective technical proposals.

Ian’s perspective and understanding of the bid process is broadened by his experience as a trusted adviser to multinationals and even an EU agency running major procurement exercises. He is thus ideally placed to provide invaluable support for clients with their tendering processes and successful pursuit of key tender opportunities.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01392 247997 info@winningtenders.co.uk www.winningtenders.co.uk

CPD TRAINING

ENERGY SOLUTIONS

The result of the general election appears at least to have settled the direction of education policy for the coming five years: this Parliament will see recent changes such as the continued growth of academies and an ever-increasing role for teaching schools embedded in the school system.

Governments cannot control everything however, and the biggest challenge facing the Department for Education at the moment comes not so much from implementing its own policies as in facing a 12 per cent drop in teacher recruitment at a time when school rolls are set to rise until 2023.

Against such a background, continuing professional development (CPD) for teachers has never been so important.

Good CPD is the key to delivering a school-based system and recruiting and, perhaps more importantly, retaining good teachers.

Syzygy Renewables is the UK’s leading renewable energy consultancy specialising in roof-top solar PV. The company advises commercial property owners and occupiers who are seeking to exploit renewable energy opportunities and want a specialist to help them deliver the right solution.

Working with many of the leading UK commercial property companies such as Land Securities, British Land, Segro as well as the major pension fund managers including Aviva, Legal & General and Henderson, Syzygy has advised on and project managed over 80 roof-mounted solar projects across the UK to date.

Syzygy advises clients on procuring renewable energy projects, whether that is on a self-funding basis or helping

Providing high quality education CPD services

Carnegie Leaders in Learning understand this. The company has a fifteen-year record of delivering high quality coaching and training, leading to a range of qualifications accredited by the National College for Teaching and Leadership and

by Leeds Beckett University.

Carnegie Leaders in Learning currently works with fourteen teaching school alliances in the North of England, providing innovative solutions for their CPD needs, providing capacity to make government reforms a reality.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0113 812 7450 www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk

Preparing for the future with Syzygy Renewables

ENERGY

ENERGY

GI Energy is one of the UK’s largest renewable energy solutions providers. The company not only designs, engineers and installs, but it also manages and maintains its installed systems to enhance energy and CO2 savings for the end user.

GI Energy has innovative renewable heating and cooling systems, and its blend of skills and experience allow the company to deliver tailored solutions via a diverse technology portfolio. An intelligent control system can be set to optimise either carbon savings, or to optimise energy consumption, depending upon a company’s priorities; for most the latter is currently seen as the most important, although GI Energy is seeing an increase in targeting carbon savings.

The company’s partners include blue chip clients such as Costain, Sainsbury’s, and Crossrail, plus many more, where it now has

Warm Space has been making buildings more energy efficient for over 20 years. In both the domestic and commercial markets Warm Space has installed all types of insulation and solar PV systems, helping residents and organisations make energy go further.

Warm Space Installers are experts at keeping homes warm and energy bills low. So clients can have a warmer home in the winter and a cooler home in the summer, while minimising CO2 emissions.

Having worked with a number of councils and housing associations, the company knows the challenges of installing efficiently, effectively and to deadlines.

Warm Space’s experienced technicians ensure that both client and resident are delighted with the installation, resolving any on-site problems quickly.

The UK’s leading large scale heat pump provider

successful systems in place.

With the Kyoto agreement deadline of 2020 looming close, many companies are looking for ways to cut carbon emissions. Integrated renewable heating and cooling systems offer companies many opportunities to do just that.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 02476 673131 www.gienergy.net

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clients identify the right funding partners from the many seeking to partner with property owners and occupiers across the UK. Syzygy’s approach is to help clients navigate the whole process from project inception, procurement (tendering) and ongoing management of the completed operational assets ensuring they continue to operate efficiently and importantly the financial benefits anticipated at inception are delivered.

Syzygy is not a contractor, but is there to help clients engage the best contractors on the right terms with the best design, ensuring the work is properly supervised and the client gets best value.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0) 207 193 6040 www.syzygyrenewables.com

Warm Space - working to make energy go further

Back in the office, the Warm Space Customer Service team will be there to keep clients informed of progress and deal with any post-installation questions.

Warm Space employs its own DEAs and GDAs, sales people and installation teams, so there is no sub-contracting, no handing off of problems and complete ownership of each project. If you need advise on energy efficiency challenges, feel free to give Warm Space a call on the number below to arrange a visit.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0800 028 2499 sales@warm-space.co.uk www.warm-space.co.uk

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service Absolute Performance 72 Amlib UK 36 ASCL 16 Aspect Safety Mirrors 76 Bench Vent 80 BenQ UK 42 Birley Manufacturing 32 Brio Group 74 Carnegie Leaders in Learning 81 Conversor 79 eBuyer UK IBC Edge Electrical and Renewables 56 Epson UK 4 ESPO 18, 19

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Friesland Campina UK 58 G.I Energy 81 Goalfix Sports 74 Grebot Donnelly Associates 29 HP 50, 51 Huck Nets (UK) 76 In2Action 68 ISS Mediclean 52 KCS 54 Langley Waterproofing BC Lloyds Bank 6 Maitek Solutions 10 Matta Products (PHS) 74 MB Design & Marketing 80

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 20.6

Monodraught IFC Nasen 46 New Technology Products 40 Nexus Industries 22 Nomadic Schools 64 NVC Lighting 67 OKI Systems UK 46 Pamoja Education 44 Parent Hub 46 Q Lawns 79 R & D Core 38,39 RPA Group 30 Sandisk Corporation 34 Santander 8 School ICT Services 79 Schools UK 13 SITA UK 61 Smooga 76

Space Oasis 62 Space Zero 80 Syzygy Renewables 81 Teachers 2 Parents 12,14 The Rain Forest Cafe 46 The Scout Association 67 Travel Bound 70 Ultimaker 48 Warm-Space Insulation 81 Water Management Society 79 Welplan 24 Wilo UK 26 Winning Tenders 80 YPO 16

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