Education Business 21.9

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VOLUME 21.9

Business Information for Education Decision Makers DESIGN & BUILD

SECURITY

OUTDOOR LEARNING

IT & COMPUTING

TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT See inside for exclusive offers on the HP PageWide Pro 477dw Inkjet Printer

FINANCE

COLLECTING PAYMENTS Is going cashless a recipe for good financial management?

PLUS: BETT 2017 PREVIEW | CATERING | FIRE SAFETY | SPORTS GROUNDS | STEM

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VOLUME 21.9

Business Information for Education Decision Makers DESIGN & BUILD

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Comment

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

Tackling the school-age population boom

IT & COMPUTING

TECHNOLOGY PROCUREMENT See inside for exclusive offers on the HP PageWide Pro 477dw Inkjet Printer

FINANCE

COLLECTING PAYMENTS Is going cashless a recipe for good financial management?

PLUS: BETT 2017 PREVIEW | CATERING | FIRE SAFETY | SPORTS GROUNDS | STEM

According to a new report, more than 2,000 new schools will have to be built within the next four years to accommodate the rising number of pupils in England.

The report from Scape Group suggests that there will be an additional 729,000 pupils in education by 2020 – a rise of 8.6 per cent in primary school pupils and 12 per cent in secondary school pupils in England.

To tackle this increase, the equivalent of two new schools must be created each working day, the report says.

London, the South East and East of England are experiencing the highest rise with more than 375,000 additional primary and secondary pupils expected in four years’ time. Outside of London, the city of Manchester will see numbers rise to almost 19,000 extra primary and secondary pupils by 2020 – a 27 per cent increase that will require the equivalent of 57 new schools.

Follow and interact with us on Twitter: @EducationBizz

Local authorities will therefore have a tough task ahead when planning and building new schools. Once the building issue has been solved, the next step is making the space as conducive to learning as possible.

On page 21, interior designer Christine Boswell gives her tips on how to make a school building as inspirational and stimulating as possible to enhance learning and teaching through the innovative use of colour and materials.

Angela Pisanu, editor

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive 11 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 PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Gooding ASSISTANT EDITOR Tommy Newell PRODUCTION CONTROL Sofie Owen PRODUCTION DESIGN Jacqueline Lawford, Jo Golding WEBSITE PRODUCTION Victoria Leftwich ADVERTISEMENT SALES Raj Chohan, Sharon Blythe, Guy Colborne, Richard Dawkins, Kathy Jordan PUBLISHER Karen Hopps ADMINISTRATION Vickie Hopkins REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

© 2016 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 21.9 07 EDUCATION BRIEFER

Over 24,000 extra classrooms required by 2020, report says; many teachers are working up to 60 hours a week, report suggests; regional schools commissioners quizzed by MPs

13 ACADEMIES 21 31

Education Business analyses Reform’s Academy chains unlocked report, which presents results from the first survey of academy chain chief executives, and recommends reform to the funding and oversight of chains to raise standards

17 CASHLESS SCHOOLS

With the popularity and frequency of alternative payment methods being introduced in schools, Payments UK looks at the developing trend for schools to use cashless payments and the benefits this brings for both the school and the parents

21 DESIGN & BUILD

Interior design in a learning environment should enhance the performance of those within the building. Christine Boswell shares her advice for creating a stimulating school interior

27 FIRE SAFETY 36

False fire alarms can play havoc with a school day, as well as place huge strain on the fire services. But there are ways to reduce the number of incidents, advises the Fire Industry Association

31 SECURITY

Richard Diston, on behalf of the Security Institute, discusses strategies to tackle the complex issue of school security

35 CAREERS ADVICE 39 61

Around 2.8 million people are employed in the creative economy and there are thousands of exciting posts that many young people do not know exist. Louise Jury and Eliza Easton from the Creative Industries Federation explains why there is a lack of careers advice for this industry

36 CATERING

More schools than ever took part in British Food Fortnight during 17 September to 2 October, with competitions such as Cake for the Queen allowing pupils to get creative with local food and drink

Education Business

Contents

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

39 IT & COMPUTING: TECHNOLOGY

Since 2014, Bede Community Primary School in Gateshead has been working with Samsung’s Digital Classroom programme, receiving a full suite of classroom technology and training support.

Key Stage 2 teacher Andrew Riley assesses whether a digital classroom really does have a major positive impact on teaching and learning

43 IT & COMPUTING: ONLINE SAFETY

Will Gardner, CEO of Childnet, shares some advice on how we can equip children with the skills and resilience they need to have a safe and positive time online

45 BETT 2017 PREVIEW

Each year people from across the world travel to Bett to experiment with the latest technology, hear from inspirational experts, and meet peers from all over the world

51 EB TECHNOLOGY SUMMIT

December 13th will see the launch of the first Education Business Technology Summit – an informal event where schools can get smart ideas on how to fund their technology requirements, as well as discuss their concerns with industry experts and suppliers

57 STEM

How do we make sure students are engaged with STEM subjects and make more informed choices about their future careers?

61 OUTDOOR LEARNING

The Woodland Trust’s Liz Carney explores the behavioural and educational benefits of getting pupils out of the classroom, planting trees and engaging with their natural environment

67 SPORTS GROUNDS

Well-managed playing fields will not only improve the quality of school pitches, but will also improve their usability as pupils enjoy playing on pitches without bumps and bare patches

68 LEISURE INDUSTRY WEEK 2016

The 28th Leisure Industry Week enjoyed distinct educational streams, engaging content and a positive atmosphere

www.educationbusinessuk.net Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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“Feeding Hungry Minds” 500,001 reasons for choosing ISS 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 refuelling during a day in the classroom and we’re here to make sure there’s plenty of delicious, home-cooked food ready for eating or coffee in the pot when the lunch bell rings! For us, it’s very important that we serve freshly prepared, healthy food and beverages that tastes great.

Quality ingredients are a must and the more British and local produce, the better!

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For the last four years we have achieved the highest possible ratings by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals® (IAOP®), which is just one more reason why you should consider ISS as your chosen provider.

To find out how you can benefit from the experience and skills provided by our 500,000+ service professionals, visit www.uk.issworld.com or feedinghungryminds.co.uk or contact us at isseducation.commercial@uk.issworld.com

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

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NEWS IN BRIEF State school teachers unlikely to advise pupils to apply to Oxbridge

SCHOOL PLACES

Over 24,000 extra classrooms required by 2020, report says More than 2,000 new schools must be built within the next four years to accommodate the rising number of pupils in England, according to Scape Group’s School Places Challenge report.

The report from Scape Group, which advises local authorities on new buildings, reveals that local authorities are expecting an additional 729,000 pupils in education by 2020 – a rise of 8.6 per cent in primary school pupils and 12 per cent in secondary school pupils in England. To tackle this increase, the equivalent of two new schools must be created each working day.

London, the South East and East of England are experiencing the highest growth with more than 375,000 additional primary and secondary pupils expected to be added to the registers in four years’ time.

Of the total 2,122 new schools needed, the equivalent of 12,209 primary classrooms and 12,078 secondary classrooms, London requires 507 new schools. The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham will see the biggest increase in pupil numbers, requiring a total of 28 new schools, followed by Lambeth, Newham and Greenwich, which need 21,

37 and 25 new schools built, respectively.

Outside of London, the Northern Powerhouse city of Manchester will see numbers rise to almost 19,000 extra primary and secondary pupils by 2020 – a 27 per cent increase that will require the equivalent of 57 new schools. Rapid growth in the cities of Bristol, Peterborough, Milton Keynes, Leicester and Nottingham will also mean that new schools will become highly sought-after should the necessary amount not be built in time.

Mark Robinson, Scape Group chief executive comments: “As the growth of the primary school population gathers pace, the pressure on school places will soon transfer to the secondary population, requiring a new wave of advanced school building. The government’s preference for free schools has created uncertainty for local authorities, who are tasked with planning and building new schools, but will not be responsible for running them. Proposals for new grammar schools has further muddied the waters.”

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/hkdjtoh

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

Greening reinforces that grammar schools will not mean a return to the 11-plus

Education Secretary Justine Greening has defended the government’s proposals to reintroduce grammar schools, saying it will ‘absolutely not’ mean a return to the 11-plus entrance exams.

Speaking on ITV’s Preston on Sunday, Greening reinforced that the proposals would not mean a return to the ‘binary system’ of the 1950s and that new grammars could have multiple entry points for pupils that develop after the age of 11.

She said: “This is absolutely not about a return to the 11-plus, and one of the areas we are consulting on is whether children should be able to go into selective schools at different ages, rather than just at age 11. We have to understand that children develop at different paces and our

education system needs to reflect that.”

Greening also declined to confirm the number of new selective schools that could be introduced, citing that decisions would be made at a local level.

She added: “In terms of the numbers, that is going to be up to the local communities.

I want to see parents have more choice. We think it’s wrong that in this particular part of the education system, while there is so much more additional choice come into play in recent years, grammars have been put to one side.

“We want a 21st Century education system but that means we have to look at the role grammars can play.”

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/jxo8n89

Education Briefer

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43 per cent of state secondary school teachers say they would rarely or never advise their bright pupils to apply to Oxbridge, according to a new poll published by the Sutton Trust.

Just one-fifth (21 per cent) said they always advised their bright pupils to apply and a quarter (28 per cent) said they usually did. A fifth (19 per cent) of those who wouldn’t encourage their students to apply to Oxford or Cambridge said it was because they thought they were unlikely to be successful in their application, while 13 per cent said that they didn’t think they would be happy there. A majority (60 per cent) reported it was because they didn’t advise students on the right university for them.

1,607 primary and secondary school teachers took part in the survey.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/hulbezc

Scottish pupils to give their views on education The Scottish government announced in September that it will conduct a major governance review of education, with more power devolved to school level. Part of these plans involve taking into consideration the views of pupils themselves on school issues.

Young Scot, in partnership with Children in Scotland and Scottish Youth Parliament, is taking forward the programme, which will get input from a diverse range of young people with different circumstances.

The Scottish government has put forward £60,000 to support this work over the next three months.

READ MORE:

tinyurl.com/zwb4tys

Campaign launched to enforce 20mph limit outside schools in Wales A new campaign to enforce 20mph speed limits outside schools has been launched in Wales. GoSafe has warned that, despite 20mph speed limits being implemented outside schools, they are routinely disregarded by drivers passing by, which is putting schoolchildren at risk.

Welsh local authorities, police forces and the Welsh Government are working in partnership on the campaign.

READ MORE:

www.gosafe.org

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

7

WORKLOAD

Many teachers are working up to 60 hours a week, report suggests

A fifth of teachers in England are working 60 or more hours a week, according to a new report from the Education Policy Institute (EPI).

The report examined teachers’ working hours, pay, and experience in secondary schools using the OECD’s latest Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS).

It found that full time teachers in England work an average of 48.2 hours per week, which is 19 per cent longer than the average elsewhere, placing it the highest out of the 36 OECD jurisdictions surveyed.

The report found that the long working hours were principally down to time spent marking pupils work and other administrative tasks,

with the average time spent planning lessons only two minutes longer than the OECD average of 22 minutes.

The EPI has warned that the long hours are hindering teachers access to continuing professional development (CPD), as England’s teachers were found to spend an average of four days a year on CPD, compared to the OECD average of 10.5 days.

Additionally, the report suggests that long hours, paired with low starting pay and limited access to CPD creates a risk of teacher ‘burn out’, with starting salaries for teachers in England 16 per cent lower than the OECD average.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/za93cta

RESEARCH

Five schools win share of £1m to become research hubs Five schools across England have won a share of £1 million funding to become regional hubs for education research.

The ‘Research Schools’ project is a partnership between the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) and aims to fund a network of schools who will support the use of evidence to improve teaching practice.

The new Research Schools will work to build networks between schools in their local region, and will use their expertise to support up to 1,000 schools by providing training and professional development to senior leaders and teachers;

supporting schools to develop innovative ways of improving teaching and learning; and encouraging schools in their network to make use of evidence-based programmes and practices through regular communication and events.

The first five research schools are: Aspirer Teaching School Alliance, based at Ash Grove Academy, Macclesfield; Huntington School, York; Kingsbridge Community College, Devon; Kyra Teaching School Alliance, based at Mount Street Academy, Lincoln; and Shireland Collegiate Academy, Sandwell.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/z2yed38

NEWS IN BRIEF Students checking mobile phones at night affects school work

Education Briefer

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Students believe that using their mobile device at night after going to bed is affecting their school work, according to new research conducted by the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) in partnership with Digital Awareness UK (DAUK).

The survey of 2,750 pupils aged 11-18 found that 45 per cent of students admit to checking their mobile device after going to bed, of which 68 per cent said they think it is affecting their school work and 25 per cent said they felt tired during the day because of how often they checked their mobile device at night.

94 per cent of respondents said they use their mobile device to go on social media, while 85 per cent said they listen to music and 57 per cent watch films.

38 per cent of students said they’d be curious to know what was happening if they didn’t check their mobile device before going to sleep, with 23 per cent of students saying they check their mobile more than 10 times a night and 25 per cent spending more than an READ MORE: hour on their mobile tinyurl.com/hlenflc device after going to bed.

Thorpe Park launches STEM workshops for schools To celebrate the arrival Derren Brown’s Ghost Train as part of the 2016 Fright Nights, Thorpe Park’s educational team has launched three interactive STEM workshops for students.

The curriculum linked workshops provide a opportunity for students to utilise unique technological learning tools in a range of STEM and Business subjects, alongside the rides and mazes Thorpe Park is known for. Schools can choose from a computing workshop at KS3 or KS4, which enables students to see how digital images can be manipulated for effect, as well as design and technology workshops for KS3 or KS4 which explore the scaling up of ideas.

Additionally, a psychology workshop is available for KS5 students, which explores READ MORE: compliance theory and tinyurl.com/zvxczgs its effect on society.

Schools invited to take part in workload research The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) is offering up to £30,000 for groups of schools to carry out research into how best to reduce teacher workload.

It is particularly interested in ways to reduce workload related to marking, planning and resources, and data management.

This research will investigate current practices and develop long term solutions to better manage teacher workload.

The NCTL is also hoping that schools will develop tools and processes that could work as a form of recognition or accreditation for schools which are actively working to keep workload at READ MORE: proportionate and tinyurl.com/zn7po9h manageable levels.

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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ACADEMIES

LEAGUE TABLES

Regional schools commissioners quizzed by MPs

School league tables should include ‘measure of well-being’

The education select committee questioned three of the country’s regional schools commissioners (RSC) to give evidence into an inquiry into multi academy trusts.

Jennifer Bexon-Smith, the RSC for the east midlands and the Humber, Rebecca Clark, the RSC for the south west and Janet Renou, the RSC for the north of England were questioned.

Ian Mearns MP questioned the process of dealing with failing academies, stating it was too slow, pointing out that just 84 of the 277 academies rated as inadequate between 2010 and 2015, had been found new academy sponsors.

Bexon Smith told the committee: “Re‑brokerage does sometimes take time, and that is about finding the right match.

“We have got to persuade another trust to take on a school that has already been brokered once [converted to academy status].

“And we often find they will look at it, they have to do their due diligence, and say, ‘It is too broken, we would not be able to take it on,’” she said.

Rebecca Clark said: “Five to 10 to 15

According to university head Sir Anthony Seldon, school league tables should include a measure of well-being.

Seldon, who is also a former head teacher and mental health campaigner, believes that in addition to details such as exam results, parents deserve to see measures of well-being when selecting schools for their children.

The Office for National Statistics regularly measures well-being and Seldon believes it would be possible to make school‑level comparisons, which could go some way to tackle the ‘epidemic’ of mental health problems among young people.

Seldon said: “It is perfectly clear to me, as a head of schools for 20 years, that parents will pay more heed to the well-being tables than to the exam league tables.

years from now, we should have a system where we can catch schools before they go into decline.”

But Ian Mearns replied: “The children in the schools we are talking about have not got five, 10, 15 years, they need the school that they are in improved around them now, and they need someone overseeing improvement and doing it very quickly.”

The committee also learnt that new ‘health checks’ for academy trusts that want to expand were being trialled, and that they would be run by CEO-led panels.

Bexon-Smith said: “In terms of the process, there will be an experienced CEO, a finance director, a board member and a member of the actual trust that’s being inspected and they will have a series of five areas they will focus on and there will be structured questions.”

A full roll-out of the health checks will be introduced in 2017, they said.

Education Briefer

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/jb3lyaq

RECRUITMENT

More men are needed in the classroom, urges Teach First Education charity Teach First is calling for more men to become teachers, as the latest figures show a significant gender gap in the profession.

The latest government statistics reveal that just 26 per cent of teachers in England are men - accounting for 38 per cent of secondary teachers and only 15 per cent of primary school teachers. The share of male teachers has declined since 2010.

Teach First has revealed that the proportion of male participants on its most recent 2016 Leadership Development Programme was 30 per cent.

The charity is warning that the lack of men entering the profession represents a vast untapped resource, especially at a time when schools need to be recruiting many more teachers. Teach First says it’s vital that the teaching profession reflects the makeup of classrooms, and that young people need access to committed, talented and knowledgeable individuals from a range of backgrounds.

Brett Wigdortz OBE, founder and CEO of Teach First, said: “It is a real loss that the profession is missing out on talented classroom leaders because a huge pool of people are being put off by misconceptions about teaching. Young people need role models from all backgrounds to unlock

their potential and aspiration, and to help them understand the world.

“Teaching is a hugely rewarding job, where you not only make a real difference to the lives of young people who need it most but also boost your own skills and development. If you want to meet the challenge, apply now to Teach First.”

Teach First has also launched a new recruitment video featuring a male teacher and highlighting how he gains responsibility, the chance to take on a new challenge and builds a suite of new and valuable skills while in the classroom.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/jstd5sy

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/h9kfsnb

ENVIRONMENT

‘Alarming discrepancies’ in the monitoring of air pollution outside schools There are ‘alarming discrepancies’ in the monitoring of air pollution outside schools by local authorities, according to the British Lung Foundation (BLF).

A series of freedom of information (FoI) requests were sent to Britain’s 433 local authorities and, of the 322 that replied, only 140 said they placed pollution monitors within 10 metres of school grounds.

The methods used for monitoring air quality were also found to vary hugely, with some using simple diffusion tubes to measure only NO2 gas, while others monitored for different‑sized particles called PM10s and 2.5s.

In response to the findings, the BLF has called for the guidance on monitoring air quality to be revised.

READ MORE: tinyurl.com/htu55pc

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FUNDING AND OVERSIGHT

Unlocking the potential of academy chains Education Business analyses Reform’s Academy chains unlocked report, which presents results from the first survey of academy chain chief executives, and recommends reform to the funding and oversight of chains to raise standards across the country Academies were first introduced under Tony Blair’s Labour government back in 2000 as a way to raise standards in schools by taking them away from the control of local authorities and offering more autonomy over finances and day to day school management.

Under the coalition government, academies became a central part of education reform, with the Academies Act 2010 enabling all maintained schools to convert to academy status, as well as enabling new academies to be created under the free school programme.

The Conservative government then took their commitment to academisation one step further with the release of its ‘Education excellence everywhere’ white paper, which announced plans to convert every school in England into an academy.

THE RISE OF ACADEMIES The popularity of academies among policy makers means that around 65 per cent of state funded secondaries and 18 per cent of state-funded primaries are operating as academies, meaning that roughly 66 per cent

of state school pupils aged 11 to 16 years and 20 per cent of pupils aged five to 11 years are currently being taught in academies.

However, the suggestion of forced academisation drew heavy criticism from teaching unions and the Labour Party, who argued that there was no clear evidence that academy conversion actually raised standards and it would be a waste of money to force successful local authority run schools to convert.

While education reform has taken a slightly different trajectory following the appointment of Theresa May as Prime Minister, who has since put forward proposals to lift the ban on grammar school in England, Education Secretary Justine Greening has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to academies and suggested that they will still be a central part of education policy.

The Reform think tank notes that, while Labour’s academies have led to ‘sustainable improvements in pupil outcomes’, the evidence

Academies

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

that academies have improved school education ‘is not clear cut’. It suggests that the coalition government’s academies have had a ‘variable impact’ and that, taken in its entirety, evidence suggests that recent academies ‘are not having the transformative impact on education that was expected by government’.

Reform’s Academy chains unlocked report brings together results from the first survey of academy chain chief executives and recommends reforms to the funding and oversight of academy chains to raise standards and achieve the original goal of improving education for all children.

The survey received responses from a total of 66 executive leaders of chains with two or more academies, which represents a sample of approximately nine per cent of all academy chains with two or more academies, and 15 per cent with three or more.

FUNDING The government’s white paper argued that high quality academy sponsors could deliver ‘economies of scale and strong financial sustainability’. The implication is that academy chains can deliver savings by centralising functions, such as procurement and staff terms and conditions, in return for a ‘top-slice’ charged to the school.

The way the top-slice arrangement works is that an academy chain sponsor will provide its academies with additional services, such as hiring executive directors, developing staff terms and conditions and managing procurement, in return for a small percentage of each schools revenue, known as its general annual grant (GAG).

The survey found that, on average, chains charge 4.5 per cent for primary and four per cent for secondary, with the most centralised service being the development of staff terms and conditions, closely followed by procurement E

Evide suggest nce recent a s that ‘are not cademies transfo having the rm on educative impact was expation that e governmcted by ent’

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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FUNDING AND OVERSIGHT  and dealing with staff grievances.

Chains technically have the autonomy to vary the top-slice amounts across different academies, meaning that it can offer short term support so struggling schools while reducing support for those doing well. However, 80 per cent of respondents indicated that they did not vary their top-slice across different academies, suggesting this flexibility is under-utilised.

Interviews conducted by Reform found that the current top-slice arrangement is creating a system in which the headteacher views the academy as a ‘client buying into the chain service’, rather than as a branch of the chain, which can lead to tension between headteachers and chain leadership.

The report suggests that ‘funding all academies through chains, rather than chains through academies, would turn this power struggle on its head’. The suggestion is that the GAG currently given to individual academies should instead be given to academy chains before being distributed by the chain to its academies.

Reform argues that this would allow the academy chain to be more formally regarded as the employer of all staff in schools, as it already legally is, and would send a clear signal that the chain is responsible for academy financing, holding ultimate responsibility and accountability for the performance of each individual academy.

In absence of the national funding formula (NFF), which has been delayed until 2018/19, it would also allow academy chains spanning more than one local authority to address large inequalities in funding.

The proposal is not consistent with the current requirement on trusts to establish an appeals process, whereby headteachers can dispute an individual academies settlement, and Reform suggests that the Academies Financial Handbook should be amended to remove this requirement.

COMMISSIONING In order for the new funding arrangements to work, Reform recommends that it must be accompanied strong and effective commissioning and decommissioning of academy sponsors.

The commissioning of academies is currently undertaken by two separate bodies: the Education Funding Agency (EFA), which is an executive agency of the DfE responsible for funding schools, and the Schools Commissioner Group (SCG), which is part of the DfE responsible for matching schools to academy sponsors.

Ofsted has a role in advising the EFA and SCG on the decommissioning of academies (through batched inspections), but is not formally involved in finding new sponsors or establishing new contracts.

Both the EFA and SCG have considerable power in deciding which trusts own which academies and the report warns that

there is nothing in the commissioning structure to prevent unwarranted favouritism of some trusts over others.

Reform suggests that there should be one, independent body responsible for commissioning academies. It explains that this would require merging the financial accountability functions of the EFA with the oversight on standards of the SCG. Additionally, the report advises that responsibility for funding academies should not rest with the independent commissioner, but remain with an executive agency of the DfE.

Academies

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matching. One chief executive told Reform they felt their chain had been overlooked in the rebrokerage of a local school that would have matched the chain well and part of the problem was a lack of awareness that the rebrokerage was taking place, as there is not and up-to-date list of maintained schools looking for sponsors or ‘inadequate’ schools or academies requiring sponsors.

The report puts forward the idea of a real‑time online sponsor forum, which could go some way to solving this problem. As soon as the independent commissioning body approves a new academy sponsor, the

Reform believes putting the power ‘firmly in the chain’s hands’ is the route to ensuring the academy programme improves education for all The report claims that a benefit of having just one, independent commissioner is that academy chains’ finances and performance could be more easily considered in tandem.

Currently, the model funding agreement and articles of association for academy chains focus almost exclusively on governance and financial propriety, but the results of Reform’s survey suggest that a chain’s finances and educational performance are ‘intrinsically linked’.

Reform recommends a more holistic approach to commissioning, where funding agreements for academy sponsors include a section on pupil outcomes in addition to assurances on financial propriety. It suggests that every funding agreement should include an expectation of the chain’s educational performance, in addition to financial performance. This element of the sponsor agreement could relate to the DfE’s MAT performance tables. However, Reform also advises that there should be scope for the commissioner to develop bespoke funding agreements to encourage sponsors to take on schools that have both poor finances and pupil outcomes.

As Reform notes, having one independent commissioning body, separate from the funding of academies, is not without precedent, as in Sweden the independent Swedish Schools Inspectorate (SSI) carries out all accountability functions for municipality schools and free schools, including financial compliance, school inspection and assessing the suitability of new free school sponsors, while funding for schools is separately allocated through the municipality.

OPEN COMPETITION Reform also believes that there are broader policy changes that could help open up the commissioning process to more schools and sponsors.

It suggests that more openly and regularly publishing lists of schools and sponsors could help improve initial school sponsor

sponsor’s information could be automatically uploaded onto an online platform. Similarly, as soon as school is deemed ‘inadequate’ and is eligible for rebrokerage, the school’s information could be uploaded to the platform, which would also give maintained schools considering academy conversion the option to voluntarily upload their information.

This online forum would then facilitate expressions of interest from sponsors to take over a school, which can then be assessed by the independent commissioning body on the basis of the needs of the pupils in the school and the capacity of the sponsor.

Reform says that it hopes making the commissioning process open and competitive in this was will ‘widen the pool of sponsors considered’, while also ensuring the commissioner has good reason to approve or dismiss the bid.

REBALANCING POWER Academy chains unlocked ultimately looks to outline a series of plans that Reform believes will ‘rebalance the power’ between academies and chains. It believes putting the power ‘firmly in the chain’s hands’ is the route to ensuring the academy programme improves education for all.

It remains to be seen if the government will continue to pursue academisation to the extent put forward in the ‘Educational excellence everywhere’ white paper, as its has already backed down on the target for every school to become an academy and its focus has now shifted towards grammar schools.

However, given the sheer number of academies already operating within England, it is highly likely they will continue to play an integral part in the country’s education policy and, as Reform notes, these proposals are important ‘whether or not more, or all, schools become academies’. L FURTHER INFORMATION To read the Academy chains unlocked report in full visit: tinyurl.com/gpxpldn

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Advertisement Feature

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CASHLESS SCHOOLS

WHY MORE SCHOOLS ARE ‘TRULY’ CASHLESS Recent research has shown that schools across the UK have continued to embrace and work towards becoming ‘fully cashless’, with more than 70 per cent of schools stating they have taken steps to go cashless within the last year, compared to just over 65 per cent in 2015 There are clear and growing issues around pupils bringing cash and cheques into school to pay for school meals, trips and clubs. Cheques are easily lost and cash can be spent in the corner shop on the way to school, or act as a trigger for bullying.

Although even now, in many secondary schools some cashless catering systems aren’t ‘truly’ 100 per cent cashless – they simply move the location of where cash is paid, the long line of pupils waiting to pay at the school till is just transferred to cash loaders outside the school dining hall.

This method works for serving meals faster, but is not especially helpful for the pupils or school, as queuing potentially puts children off eating school meals and this does not achieve the goal of removing cash from the school.

Whilst in the case of primary schools, valuable teaching and administration time is also lost by collecting and managing cash payments in classrooms and school offices – time that could be better utilised.

In addition, looming in the background, is the Bank of England’s introduction of new polymer notes throughout 2016/17, which will also affect schools using older cash loader machines.

With all this in mind it’s not surprising that so many schools are now totally

removing cash from school.

WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS Whilst research has regularly shown that the vast majority of parents want to pay schools online, it’s interesting to compare this with school staff views.

ParentPay’s recent Income Collection Survey 2016 was conducted with school staff to find out more about their perceptions and challenges to becoming a ‘cashless’ school.

Over 1,100 schools responded to the survey and provided valuable insights; for instance some staff are still concerned that access to the internet and cash based families will mean they can never completely remove cash from schools - despite the high availability of cash based payment alternatives like PayPoint being available in 33,000 locations across the UK. AN INCOME COLLECTION REVOLUTION Monica Morley, school business manager at St. John Payne Catholic School in Essex, explains why the school went fully cashless and the lessons learned in the process: “Before ParentPay, the time required for collecting, reconciling and banking cash and cheques was almost becoming unmanageable; we had to do something to tackle this issue.

Parents were already shopping and

banking online so I couldn’t see why they wouldn’t also want to pay for school items online. Having spoken to other schools using ParentPay, I persuaded the School Leadership Team (SLT) that we should start to take online payments from parents.”

The school started to then extend its use of ParentPay to enable parents to pay online for trips and other items.

Monica commented: “Within a year we were starting to see benefits – with over £75,000 collected on trips and other items - we saved numerous administration hours, which were put to good use elsewhere. The ParentPay system was already giving us a good return on investment but as far as I was concerned, that was just the start, we really needed to exploit all the possibilities ParentPay offered.”

Despite an impressive start, around 60 per cent of the school’s total income was still being paid in cash for school meals. To tackle this issue, the school invested in a cashless catering system which integrated with ParentPay. This enabled parents to not only pay online for school dinners on ParentPay, but also see what their children were eating and receive low balance alerts via email/ SMS text. The initial solution did not totally remove cash from school as it included ‘cash loaders’ which students could still use to load cash onto their dinner cards in school.

When the cash loader stopped working one day, queues of students were again at the finance office – a headache school staff thought they had long seen the back of. Monica saw the opportunity they had been waiting for: “Instead of rushing into a quick and expensive fix, we asked ourselves should we really be spending money on upgrading the cash loading system, when we already had a proven, ready-made solution that would eradicate the need for cash to be in school at all?”

Based on the success of online payments to date, SLT made the decision not to replace the cash loader and instead direct parents to use ParentPay to pay for school meals; those who still wished to use cash were able to pay through local PayPoint stores integrated with ParentPay. L FURTHER INFORMATION How to go cashless: Download the 2016 cashless whitepaper and checklist from www.parentpay.com

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

FINANCE

Should all schools pursue a cashless future?

Think about your school canteen. Not long ago, there were only two ways for school children to settle up the bill for their school dinners – cash or cheque. But there is a wider trend of other payment methods becoming much more popular and it’s not something that stops at the school gates.

We live in a country where our payments infrastructure is truly world-class and where we enjoy so much choice. The payments sector has changed hugely within the last 10 years, with the introduction of Faster Payments, which processes internet and phone banking payments within seconds, contactless cards and even being able to pay friends, family and small businesses using just their mobile number through Paym – the mobile payment service offered by 17 banks and building societies. In short, payment methods have become more convenient than ever before.

Plans are even underway to enable banks to process cheques using electronic images, rather than having to physically transport them around the country. This will speed up the time it takes to clear a cheque, and could let you pay in a cheque by taking a picture on your phone. A change in the law came into play in July 2016 has made it possible and the banking industry is currently working to agree the necessary changes to the infrastructure and technological capabilities required to set a firm timetable for it to be introduced.

With the many advances in technology it is important to recognise that while each payment method has its own pros and cons, choice is the most important factor for the consumer. However, parents who don’t always necessarily carry cash might benefit from not having to remember to visit a cash machine. If you are in a rural area there may not be an ATM close by, and also for parents

We live in a country our pay where me infrastr ucture ints s truly world-c l a s s an where w e enjoy d s much c hoice o

Written by Payments UK

With the popularity and frequency of alternative payment methods being introduced in schools, Payments UK looks at the developing trend for schools to use cashless payments and the benefits this brings for both the school and the parents

Cashless Schools

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on a limited income where a cash machine won’t withdraw money for a value under £10.

ONE SIZE DOESN’T FIT ALL One of the touted benefits of cashless payments is that they can remove the need to find the right change at the counter speeding up queuing times. Moving away from payments in cash could also promote confidentiality for students entitled to a free school meal by removing the need for a paper ticket or ticking a list.

For schools that are looking to offer more payment choice or who are maybe considering stopping cash collection altogether, there are a number of options to consider, with many innovations tailored specifically for schools. This article looks at some of the possibilities – but it’s important to recognise there is no ‘one-size-fits all’ answer.

For example, card payments are now ubiquitous and advances in technology mean it is possible to accept them without paying for a standalone machine to accept them. E

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT SCHOOLS? For schools, removing cash can not only reduce administrative time spent handling cash, it can also reduce the security risk of cash being left on site, and eliminate the cost of having to pay for the physical collection of cash to deposit at a bank branch. Many systems now available to schools will automatically generate emails to remind parents of when payments are due, meaning less time is spent by school staff chasing parents for overdue payments.

Of course, cash is still a hugely popular way to pay. For many people, cash makes it easier to budget and allows them to keep track of their spending in a way that alternate payment methods wouldn’t, perhaps finding they are more careful when handing over ‘real money’. Although cheque usage has fallen from the peak of four billion cheques written in 1990, it is forecast that around 256 million cheques will still be written in 2024.

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Education

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Temporary Catering Facilities for Education Mobile Kitchens Ltd specialises in the hire and sale of temporary catering facilities and foodservice equipment.

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We offer a free design service, and project management from concept through to delivery and installation on site, plus full technical support throughout the hire period.

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FINANCE  One example is iZettle, which provides its ‘Card Reader Lite’ to businesses for free, which can be connected to an iPhone or tablet to allow quick acceptance of card payments. It accepts all major cards, and also has a swipe function for occasions where the customer may not always have a PIN, such as a chip and signature card.

Looking at it from the parents’ point of view, one alternative is a prepaid card, which can be accepted virtually everywhere a debit or credit card can, but can be given to under-16s.

Transactions are protected by a PIN and the company that issues the card will be able to replace it if it gets stolen or lost, and block the original card. They can be topped up in various ways – in shops, online, or at Post Office.

More of us than ever now own a smartphone or a tablet. Research published by the mobile payment service Paym showed that 44 per cent of customers have had to dash to a cash machine to get money to pay. Paym is a simple and secure way to send and receive payments directly to a current account held with a participating bank or building society using just a mobile number, and eliminates the need to ask for an account number and sort code.

Originally designed for person to person payments, banks and building societies have started to accept Paym for business accounts too – you should speak to your bank if you think it’s an option that could help you.

Cashless schemes in school can also provide parents with a peace of mind. Removing cash from schools would mean that there is less possibility of a child being bullied for their lunch money, having it stolen, or simply losing it. Parents also have assurance that their money is being spent in the way they intended rather than spent at the shops or local takeaway, increasing the possibility of their child eating a healthy lunch. Skipping lunch can have an effect on a student’s ability to concentrate and affect their ability to learn

towards the end of the day, so again, more control over how a child can spend the money you give them will put parent’s minds at ease.

ONLINE PAYMENT SERVICES There are some online payment services designed especially for schools and parents.

For example, ParentPay provides secure online payments to over 5,000 schools across 165 local authorities in the UK. ParentPay removes the need for cash and allows parents to view their account statements as well as payment history, and check when payments need to be made. It can also set alerts to tell parents when to pay the school online. For those wanting to keep an eye on whether or not

recorded, so if the school wanted to phase out cash payments they would be able to do so. They also allow PayPal payments to be taken. There is even a function which will allow parents to fill in school trip consent forms digitally, again making the admin process easier for the school.

PayPoint is a payment service provider that can help small to medium size businesses such as schools take advantage of online payments. It accepts all major debit and credit cards processing, as well as PayPal support as standard for improved customer experience. It also allows parents to send secure online payment links via email using their emailPay service.

Cashless Schools

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Cashless schemes in school can also provide parents with a peace of mind. Removing cash from schools would mean that there is less possibility of a child being bullied for their lunch money, having it stolen, or simply losing it their child is making healthy eating choices, some schools will also be able to display their menu online or allow parents to see their child’s meal choice at lunch time.

According to ParentMail, over 90 per cent of parents say they would prefer to pay for school items online, as it’s more convenient than sending in cash or cheques. With their system +Pay, schools can inform parents by email or text about outstanding items they need to pay for. Parents are given a ParentMail account, which they can login to and pay bills online, with the money being transferred directly into the schools bank account securely. The system does allow for cash or cheque payment to be

The above are some of the options available to schools at the moment, but as mentioned the UK Payments landscape is growing and evolving. Cashless payments can have a positive effect on schools in reducing admin and paper work and removing the security risks involved with keeping money on the school premises, while allowing parents and students more flexibility. For many people, cash and cheques remain their preferred method of payment, and with an increase in free to use ATMs, cash will still be around for years to come. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.paymentsuk.org.uk

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AV MOUNTING SOLUTIONS From screen and projector mounting systems to teaching aid trolleys to AV collaboration furniture UNICOL has the answer Unicol has been designing and manufacturing a comprehensive range of mounting equipment for over 50 years either as standard assemblies or as custom made items, from ‘one-off ’ specials to large scale projects from education to airports to retail.

ICT EXPENDITURE INCREASE

The UK education sector is renowned as a leader of introducing technology into the classroom and as the cost of technology has fallen in real terms should be in a good position to maximise investment.

The widespread decentralisation of UK government policy towards ICT procurement for schools is offering more choice and freedom.

So how does this impact on a company designing and manufacturing AV mounting systems, which already boasts a portfolio of over 65,000 products? Well, the increase in ICT expenditure means an increase in the spend on specific audio visual equipment and the new wave of thinking on the learning process, as a consequence, opens the door to new designs for the classroom of the future.

FUTURE CLASSROOMS As technology asks questions of future teaching methods the classroom of the future may not be a classroom at all, just an open space that provides a focal point for students and teachers who are already connected via their phones. This space may be used for discussion, planning or collaboration. It is probable that these spaces will require more TV displays and video walls / LED panel arrays. Such AV installations need to be flexible so the space can be populated with devices when the need arises and when numbers of students dictate it.

Bring Your Own Devices have been with us for a number of years and presenting your work is all important so our presentation units provide the perfect platform.

Video walls show off technology for all to see and the Unicol pop-out mounting system packed with innovative features makes installation and maintenance safe and easy.

BS8590 Did you know there is an AV British Standard?

BS8590 – The code of practice for the installation of audio visual equipment.

Unicol mounts meet this standard but your installer should also be following this code.

COLLABORATION Schools around the globe are engaging in collaborative learning projects and Unicol’s Rhobus Huddle (shown above) can be expanded for video conferencing to connect teachers and students.

Even the most fundamental collaborative device, the humble dry-erase board has been replaced by an electronic equivalent, the Smart Kapp board, for which Unicol have designed and manufactured a trolley.

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Design & Build

INTERIOR DESIGN

Written by Christine Boswell, BIID registered interior designer

Positive environments for pupils and staff Interior design in a learning environment should enhance the performance of those within the building. Christine Boswell shares her advice for creating a stimulating school interior School, college and university is where we spend the most formative years of our lives and so it is important that these should be places that are firstly welcoming, and secondly stimulating and inspirational to our senses. At the same time they must provide a safe environment to study without being over stimulating or distracting.

A careful balance is required when designing these environments.

Good interior design within the education sector should be conducive to learning.

Interior design in a learning environment should enhance the performance of those within the building, whether they are staff or pupils. Judith Heerwagon, a former scientist, advises the following: “A building can positively affect ability by providing comfortable ambient conditions and by reducing health and safety risks.

Negative impacts on ability to do work are associated with conditions that are uncomfortable, distracting or hazardous. A building can positively affect an individual’s motivation by providing conditions that promote positive affective functioning.

Moods create the ‘affective context’ for thought processes and behaviours, which are directly tied to motivation.”

THE EFFECT OF COLOUR Creating a stimulating environment in a cost effective way can be achieved easily by the careful use of colour. Colour theory is particularly relevant in teaching, nurturing

and learning environments. Bright colours are known to help individuals focus on tasks more accurately. Green is calming and blue creates clear creative thinking.

Whilst red enhances energy, it can also induce anger so too much in a classroom environment should be avoided. Yellow allows for clear thinking and decision making whereas orange boosts self‑esteem and creates enthusiasm for life.

Due to the complexity of colours and the affect they can have on individuals, it is recommended to seek expert advice when planning using colours in an educational setting. Too much colour can be as disastrous as too little. Colour should be used strategically throughout buildings to compliment room usage. It can also be used in a scaled way to aid wayfinding.

Interior designers use a number of methods to help engage with students in the building, including shading from dark to light for fire exit routes; and creating zones in a multi‑floor building in different colour palettes to help students know where they are in a vast

building complex. Interior designers also use lighter colours in dark spaces to help reflect natural light through the space.

DESIGNING A STIMULATING ROOM As well as the structure of colour, the materials for the floors, walls and ceilings should be professionally specified to ensure non-toxic environments are created, which are sound acoustic and allergen free. Interior design experts have a vast knowledge of the most suitable materials and products to source for providing safe conditions in which to work and learn. Although these areas need to be technically specified they can still be exciting to look at as well.

When specifying floor finishes the biggest consideration should be ease of maintenance as this is the biggest hurdle to keep finishes looking good.

The low cost option may not always be the best choice in the long run, as it may cost more in maintenance or may not last as long as something more durable, but more expensive. For this reason, a good knowledge on interior design is vital in the education sector.

In particular, I am in favour of more expensive rubber woven flooring for high traffic areas as not only does it look great, it has a very long shelf life and comes in sheet or shaped tiles that E

In areas of e intendeducation, and engd to inspire play saf age, don’t e grey. Thand go for so man ere are y co choose lours to from

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INTERIOR DESIGN  can create great floor patterns.

The other important quality is that the flooring is fibre free and therefore does not produce allergens.

Alternatively, slip-resistant safety vinyl flooring is now produced in a great variety of colours and even the cheapest of these can be cut and laid to produce zoned floor layouts or a design accent.

Natural fibre carpet or carpet tiles for classrooms or staff areas are also produced in wide colour ranges so colour schemes no longer need to be compromised.

WALLS Apart from the obvious painted wall, feature panels can be incorporated by the use of photographic wallpaper. This can be personalised to suit the subject matter of the learning environment, the buildings branding, or local surroundings to create an outside view in a windowless space.

Perforated MDF panels are a cost effective way of introducing texture, acoustic qualities and interest to sections of walls or ceilings.

There are many patterns available to suit all designs, but I have recently used this

Bright colours are known to help individuals focus on tasks more accurately. Green is calming and blue creates clear creative thinking. Whilst red enhances energy, it can also induce anger so too much in a classroom should be avoided

Design & Build

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type of self-coloured board with regularly spaced circular holes, for both wall and ceiling panels in a creative arts building.

Bulletin boards (soft boards or pinboards) can also be sourced in a good range of colours. These are particularly useful for student bedrooms or for individual classroom spaces as well as for staff rooms.

Textured felt panels can also be used to add colour and texture where extra acoustic quality is required, say in heavy traffic spaces, music rooms or quiet areas.

Textured plasterwork panels can also be designed from the outset of a new building to add interest. This method is particularly effective on a stairwell or other double height spaces.

FURNITURE AND STORAGE Furniture is an obvious way to add a colour statement to a building. In areas of education, intended to inspire and engage, don’t play safe and go for grey. There are E

Westminster Kingsway College, Purcell Architects, (Photo credit: Ben Tynegate)

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CREATING IDEAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

At Scotts we believe a building designed for education should be without compromise.

A healthy space, with natural light and ventilation, an even temperature and great acoustics.

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CLASSROOMS & NURSERIES from concept to completion

For more information or to arrange a site visit please contact us:

t: 01832 732366 e: education@scottsofthrapston.co.uk

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INTERIOR DESIGN  so many colours to choose from at no extra cost. Keep tables and desks neutral, but add chairs in a multi mix of colours.

This will create a much more stimulating environment than a one colour scheme.

Chairs which are designed to last a long time are expensive at the time of purchase but very cost effective over the long term. Looking back at chair designs over the years, the DKR-2 chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1951 is still popular today being produced by Herman Millar in shell form in many colours.

Where a facilities manager may not think much of a metal storage locker, interior designers think of the purpose and design. Lockers can be massed in a variety of colours. This makes it much easier for individuals to find when they remember by colour rather than searching for a number in a mass of modules that all look the same. Create an artwork of lockers and make a colour statement.

LIGHTING Lighting should be functional but above all, bright. This is easy to achieve now that we have LED lighting to specify. Hopefully, gone are the days of yellow, gloomy lighting which did nothing to lift the spirit.

Lighting should be divided into ambient, task and mood lighting and ideally dimmable in student rooms and casual areas.

CLOAKROOMS AND TOILETS These are great areas that present a challenge in terms of design. Schools and universities have an even greater challenge to ensure that the facilities available are robust enough to withstand perhaps boisterous usage by hundreds of students every day.

Taps should be tough enough to avoid being wrenched from the wall, sinks are better inset, and wall surfaces should be easily cleanable.

That said, the opportunity to introduce exciting design into these areas is to be welcomed.

This is a great opportunity to inject some fun into a scheme. Venesta produce some really fun designs for children’s cubicles, ages 2-11 years. Their ‘Lollipop’ range is my personal favourite, making a visit to the loo a stimulating experience rather than a necessity.

Ranges for the older education sectors are not quite so exciting but can be found in great colour ranges also. Interior designers understand the opportunities available to inject some vitality into otherwise uninspiring areas.

Simply using a low cost tile in multi colours to create patterns or images can transform a cloakroom into a pleasant and stimulating area. I recently found some larger wall tiles incorporating ‘street art’ which would not be out of place for teenagers.

Thanks to its durability, plastic mirrors withstand the rigours of school washrooms well, as they are difficult to smash. These must be fixed to a perfectly true wall or you can get a ‘hall of mirrors’ effect.

STUDENT BEDROOMS Pre-formed bathroom pods tend to be the most cost-effective way of including an en‑suite in new build student rooms, but this still gives options for incorporating some eye-catching finishes. Instead of tiled walls I would recommend using Altro Whiterock walling, which comes in a great range of colours and photographic finishes. Partnered with Altro anti-slip flooring, some interesting colour combinations can be achieved.

For the bedrooms, I like to use the Gerflor range of photographic vinyl ‘floorboards’. These are so realistic, in a range of lovely tones and are very easy to keep clean, so are practical too.

Timber slatted blinds at the windows are

Design & Build

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a low cost, yet stylish solution for window covering solutions. These are allergen free and easy to keep clean and offer more effective at light shading than curtains and blinds.

In summary, good design is essential for the well-being of students and staff in education. Interior design experts are specialists who take all factors into account to design an exciting and stimulating interior that works for all who use it. L

Christine Boswell, is a registered interior designer at the British Institute of Interior Design (BIID), and head of interiors at Purcell UK. FURTHER INFORMATION www.biid.org.uk

Taps should be tough enough to avoid being wrenched from the wall, sinks are better inset, and wall surfaces should be easily cleanable.

That said, the opportunity to introduce exciting design into these areas is to be welcomed

Westminster Kingsway College, Purcell Architects, (Photo credit: Ben Tynegate)

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HEALTH & SAFETY

False fire alarms can play havoc with a school day, as well as place huge strain on the fire services.

But there are ways to reduce the number of incidents, advises the Fire Industry Association

False fire alarms can be a real problem for some schools – interrupting carefully planned lessons, forcing teachers to give up their precious PPA time should they be out of class at the time of the alarm, and even causing major disruption to exams. False alarms can be a huge set back – even half an hour out of a school day can force teachers to have to reschedule whole days of learning and have to play catch-up later in the week.

Additionally, false fire alarms place a huge strain on the fire and rescue services, who are continually called out to false alarms.

The Home Office recently released national statistics that stated that 215,814 incidents attended by the fire service were false alarms.

This accounts for nearly 44 per cent of call‑outs nationwide. Therefore, it is absolutely vital that schools ensure that incidents are carefully managed in order to reduce false alarms.

TYPES OF FALSE ALARMS There are four different types of false alarms, and they can all be avoided.

The first type is down to the fire detectors activating in the presence of ‘smoke-like’ conditions, such as toast burning, steam from a shower or kettle, or even detecting smoke from outside, such as bonfire through an open window on a breezy day. In this instance, solutions are fairly simple – simply keep sources of ‘smoke‑like’ phenomena away from detectors or consider changing the detector to a different type, such as a heat detector rather than a smoke detector in kitchen and lab areas.

False alarms can also be down to a genuine concern that there could indeed be a fire, such as when a staff member thinks that they can smell burning. Whilst the intentions may be good, the best option here is perhaps to ask staff to verify their suspicions about the presence of fire before activating the alarm.

They could just be smelling burnt school dinners or a science experiment, so it is always a good idea to check (if it is safe to do so).

The third kind of false alarm is down to faulty equipment. In some older schools, the fire alarm may be as old as the building itself and may have a variety of different detectors and call points from different manufacturers (due to being replaced over the years). Like Windows and Apple, these products may not always want to connect with each other and the assistance of a reliable fire alarm technician will be required in order to maintain them and keep all the alarms in working order. It may also be worth noting that some manufacturers will consider

down the culprit, especially in a large school with lots of different buildings and corridors.

A newspaper recently reported of a Welsh high school where pupils deliberately activated the fire alarm in order to escape class a total of 15 times in the space of three months, with the majority of incidents occurring around exam time. This in itself is hugely disruptive, but the problem needn’t spiral out of control as it did in this case, and can easily be addressed.

Perhaps the best option is to consider fitting plastic covers over all the manual call points (the button you press to activate the alarm) in the school. Strangely enough, just a simple plastic cover can be a deterrent in

Written by Graham Simons, Technical Manager, Fire Industry Association

Can you reduce false fire alarms?

Fire Safety

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Children will be children; some of them will resort to just about anything to escape lesson times or exams, even if it means pressing the manual call point for the fire alarm, forcing everyone to waste time out in the playground some of their products obsolete after 10-20 years, and parts in order to repair detectors and other fire alarm equipment may not be available, so in that instance, a new fire alarm system may be recommended.

MALICIOUS ACTIVATION Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems for schools is malicious activation. This is the fourth and final kind of false alarm. Alas, children will be children; some of them will resort to just about anything to escape lesson times or exams, even if it means pressing the manual call point for the fire alarm, forcing everyone to waste time out in the playground lining up. In this instance it can be hard to pin

itself – the additional action of needing to lift up the cover before pressing the alarm makes the idea of activating the alarm just that little bit more disobedient. Fitting plastic covers also helps to prevent the button being accidentally pushed, such as by a misfired football or cricket ball in the school hall, or simply by the elbows of pupils as they rush past in heaving corridors.

Another nifty addition to the plastic cover is the squawk alarm. A brilliant little device, these can be fitted to any call point and will make a loud noise if the cover is lifted – without setting off the fire alarm itself.

The noise should be enough to surprise any overly curious or wayward pupil, and E

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HEALTH & SAFETY  should also be loud enough to alert the nearest teacher. The good thing about these little squawk alarms is that if you can get the more responsible pupils on your side, you can ask them to report any pupil they hear or see touching the alarm system to a teacher, which is especially useful if a teacher isn’t nearby at the time of the incident.

RECORD THE INCIDENTS Perhaps the most important thing that you can do in the battle against false alarms is to write down every single incident in the fire alarm’s log book. Gather as much information about the false alarm as possible – the date, time, and the cause of activation. If you know which detector or manual call point caused the alarm, and in which building, write these down too. Maintenance staff should be fully trained in how to do this – if not then it is vital to inform them of their duty to do so.

The reason for doing this is so that you can get a clearer picture of when the alarms are happening, and the causes. If, for example, the alarm always goes off in one building, and not in the others, then you can inform the fire alarm maintenance company of this and they can fix it. However, if the alarm always activates during Tuesday’s P.E. lessons in the sports hall, then you know that a cover may need to be fitted on the call points in the sports hall. If in the case of malicious

activation and you don’t know who the culprit is – this is your way of finding out which group of pupils it may have been, especially if you can narrow it down to a particular corridor on a particular day.

As with most issues within schools, educating both the staff and pupils on the use and misuse of the fire alarm system should help to ease any false alarms. It really is important that everyone understands what the fire alarm call points are for, and when they should be pressed – and why they really should not be pressed when there is no fire. Your local fire and rescue service will thank you for it.

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technician from a certified company. They will be able to check all of the fire alarm equipment and inform you of any changes or work that will need to be carried out.

A list of certified companies is available free of charge on the Fire Industry Association website. You can search by company type and by location to find companies near you.

All the companies on the list have passed rigorous checks and audits to ensure that their knowledge, skills, and training are up-to-date, so there is no need to spend hours trawling through Google search results pages trying to find a company that knows what they are doing.

Go to www.fia.uk.com, and click ‘Find a member’ to find reliable certified member companies.

Also available on the FIA website is a handy section entitled ‘Cut False Alarm Costs’, which contains a number of different tactics not discussed in this article to help you reduce the number of false alarms occurring. L

Educa both th ting and pupe staff ils o the use and misn of the use system fire alarm s to ease hould help any alarms false

MAINTENANCE Furthermore, regular maintenance of the fire alarm system will help to keep false alarms to a minimum. The Fire Industry Association (FIA) recommends that maintenance should be carried out at not less than six monthly intervals, and whenever the fire alarm system reports a fault. The simplest and quickest way to get this done is through the use of a reliable and properly qualified fire alarm maintenance

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29

Security

risk appetite’ for the organisation: the level of risk that it is prepared to tolerate.

This will naturally lead to a register of the assets that are to be protected and the nature of the threats that are perceived.

STRATEGY

Security in educational environments Richard Diston, on behalf of the Security Institute, discusses strategies to tackle the complex issue of school security Security operations in educational environments are a complex challenge, requiring a robust strategic approach. The interplay between social, legal, technical, emotional, operational and ethical factors can present a significant headache to educators and their administrators, many of whom may not be particularly well versed in the world of security. Further pressure is added through limited financial resources and the use of education as a political tool. Finally, the task of planning security in educational environments makes it necessary to concentrate on scenarios that are often unthinkable and the pressure of ‘getting it wrong’ can take a toll on people whose primary career choice did not include learning how to manage such situations.

Schools, colleges and universities in the UK all need clear, rational and practical advice on securing their organisations, and while such

advice is extremely valuable, it does come at a cost that many simply cannot afford.

Like any organisation, an educational establishment needs to take the first step with a security strategy. This will be a formal document that outlines the context of security, describing what it means to the organisation and what it is intended to deliver. Without this, there can be no rational business case for any security purchasing decisions. The formal strategy will first assign an ‘owner’ of security who is likely to be a senior figure, and go on to define the ‘security

Written by Richard Diston MSc MSyI

SECURITY STRATEGY The primary consideration has to be the legal duty of care that the organisation holds.

This is not just the safety and welfare of the students, but also that of the teaching and support staff. Then there is the security of the physical assets within the site itself, such as computer equipment. Finally, there is a real threat to the data that the organisation holds. Information security is a significant problem, whether we are talking about the protection of student and staff personal data from theft, the protection of organisational financial data or preventing enterprising students from illegally accessing the systems to change their grades.

All of this needs to be defined within the security strategy so that it can be prioritised and budgets allocated before solutions are sought. Threats should be split between internal and external, allowing clarity for what is genuinely within the control of the organisation.

All this then should be documented in a risk and threat register which will be the basis for all security countermeasures.

UNDERSTANDING THE THREATS Once the security strategy is in place, the next logical step in the process is to understand the nature of the threat to the organisation and its users. This should take the form of an internal incident review first, where reports are assessed from previous events for trends. It is all too common for serious and semi-serious events to be written off as ‘part of the job’ and ‘normal’ when in fact they are indicators of failing organisational systems and processes. An unknown third party being able to gain access to the site is not a random event but an indicator that the perimeter and access controls are not working as they should, for example.

Once the internal reports have been analysed, there is benefit in performing a crime mapping exercise for the site. This should take into account the major routes into the teaching site so as to extend our protection to all service users when they are outside the gates. If we focus on security purely within our organisational perimeter, we won’t see a problem until it arrives at our doorstep. An example might be to perform a crime mapping exercise of the local bus station that many students may use to get to our site, so that we can warn them to E

Onc security e the is in plastrategy next log ce, the in the p ical step ro underst cess is to a nature nd the of t threat he

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STRATEGY

Security

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take a short course, pass exams and undergo identity and criminal records checks. Much has been written about the quality of the initial training, which has been recognised by the security industry itself as being largely sub-par.

Further, the criminal records check done by the SIA does not include the higher level check that the person is not listed as unsuitable for working with children or vulnerable people.

Security employers are already struggling with low margins and are unlikely to perform this additional, more expensive check themselves without prompting. The performance of security in educational establishments at security guard level is a challenging one and the current training simply does not provide the skills and knowledge that is required. A full review of the skills and knowledge of any security officer (as well as their management) is therefore essential.  remain vigilant and adapt their behaviours.

While historical data cannot help us predict the future, it can help us perceive our current state of fragility and work to reduce it.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Once the strategy is defined and information has been gathered both internally and externally to support security decisions, the next step is to review the security policies and procedures at the site. This review is essential as it is entirely foreseeable that some policies may be written by well-meaning but ill‑informed people in response to a particular set of circumstances without due consideration for their unintended wider consequences.

Where evidence indicates that a policy or procedure is not fit for purpose, there needs to be an appetite for review and an acceptance that security and risk is a constantly evolving area where there is no room for dogmatic defence of ‘the way we have always done things’. The quality of our security is only as good as the quality of our thinking, after all.

Policies should certainly include a requirement for reporting of all incidents of aggression where there is an escalation concern, and this can tie comfortably into the PREVENT and safeguarding strategies which already raise awareness of undesirable behaviours and the identification of indicators that a safeguarding response is required.

Safeguarding policies should certainly extend to the staff, who should also be considered to be vulnerable people by virtue of the client-facing nature of their roles.

There should already be standard procedures for incidents like fire evacuations, gas leaks, and serious injuries, however there is a necessity for a set of procedures that address threats that are derived from human actors.

This might include a response plan for a suspicious individual seen filming outside the site, or it could be the process for dealing with a parent who has arrived to collect a student who is the known subject of a custody

dispute. There should certainly be plans for responding to a hostile third party within the site (whether an angry parent or a complete stranger), and this should be tested alongside other evacuation and response procedures.

It may help to consider separating the procedures into three distinct categories: each site should have three ‘postures’ which demonstrate the levels of awareness and action. The first is ‘peace-time’ which reflects simple, day to day operations. Then at the other end of the spectrum, there is the ‘response’ posture where something is actually happening and procedures are being implemented (such as an evacuation, for example). The middle posture is ‘alert’ where there is no recognisable threat but information has been received that requires further attention. It is certainly worth acknowledging that the way that the security procedures are designed and implemented will have a significant effect on the security culture at the site, and, done poorly, can create significant legal risks to the organisation.

ON SITE SECURITY MEASURES The next step is to review the security measures at the site. This should include the physical security, security systems, IT systems and an assessment of any security guarding contractor who is engaged. It is undesirable for educational premises to take on the characteristics of prisons, and certainly there has been discussion in some places around the installation of walk-through metal detectors as seen in the US. All decisions on physical security and ‘target hardening’ need to be reflective of the levels of threat that have been ascertained, and care needs to be taken that money is not wasted on ineffective purchases that actually harm the organisation. One of the most important decisions is around the engagement of private security guards.

In the UK, contract security operatives require a Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence to practice. To get this, they need to

PARTNER ORGANISATIONS A final consideration would be to reach out and partner with other organisations in the area.

This should definitely include forging a strong relationship with local police teams, and there is real value in seeking out counterparts in other local educational organisations who hold a security remit. In this way, both intelligence and best practice can be shared, and it may even be possible to negotiate better rates from security suppliers by working together.

Once all this is done, there needs to be a structured approach to training and testing in an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement.

Security is not a ‘one size fits all’ function, and it is easy to get wrong. Security operations that might be perfectly suitable in an airport may not be appropriate for a shopping centre, for example. Security can also be said to exist on a sliding scale with personal freedom. The more security procedures, equipment and personnel are brought to bear on a location, the less freedom the users of that space may feel they have. A heavy handed approach to security is usually inappropriate and expensive, both in terms of the financial costs and the costs to the organisational culture. Getting it right in an educational environment is therefore critical to the development of a healthy working culture. A key aim should be that security is not a department, it is an organisational responsibility that is shared by everyone: staff and students alike. L

Richard Diston MSc MSyI is the director of Astute Training and Consulting and is currently studying for his Professional Doctorate in Security and Risk Management (DSyRM) at the Institute for Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth. He has extensive experience in security and risk management and has consulted with organisations as diverse as care homes, educational establishments and national retailers.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.security-institute.org

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CREATIVE SUBJECTS

A creative career path Many young people dream of being a film star or something glamorous in pop. In fact, nearly a fifth of teenagers are considering a career in acting, art, fashion or other creative industries at the age of 13. But that figure falls to 13 per cent by the time they are sitting A-levels or higher.

Some of that drop will be the consequence of a reality check – the realisation of just how hard it can be to break into these highly competitive fields and what it will require. A little bit of common sense is no bad thing. But what is bad is if teenagers pull back from working in the creative industries because they do not know enough about the range of options that exist.

Around 2.8 million people are employed in the creative economy and there are thousands of exciting posts that many young people would enjoy doing if only they knew they were there. Theatres and movies are not only about the actors in the limelight but about the legions of costume designers, electricians, set‑makers and script editors behind the scenes.

The design process in car manufacturing uses highly-paid clay modellers, book publishing requires the writers, but also the editors, designers, PR and marketing teams that transform manuscripts into blockbusters.

A MISUNDERSTOOD INDUSTRY The fact that many schools are ill-equipped to advise on any of these interesting and fruitful creative career paths reflects a wider problem. As a sector, the creative industries and arts are not widely understood.

It has been the fastest growing part of the economy since 2008, worth £84.1bn in 2013-14 (the last official figures) and growing by almost double the rate of the UK economy as a whole. But the creative industries have been only defined as a distinct group of jobs for less than 20 years.

And part of the wider failure to understand this sector is because many of its jobs are in small enterprises such as graphic design companies or video games start-ups with an average of three members of staff. There are also many freelancers from star name directors to illustrators and editors. These are not jobs in companies who will field stands at careers fairs, have big factories to tour or even necessarily have a clear route to promotion.

A DISCONNECT WITH POLICY Schools cannot be blamed for failing to get to grips with the opportunities available when, at the highest level of government, the needs of the sector are not understood.

Much of government now celebrates the creative industries and diplomats and ministers use shows from Sherlock to War Horse as ‘soft power’ calling cards to show off brand Britain around the world. Both David Cameron, when prime minister, and George Osborne, as chancellor, championed the significance of the sector.

But there is still a frequent disconnect with policy. For instance, the emphasis on EBacc – an attainment measure which marginalises creative subjects – is at odds with a recognition of the value of the creative economy. There are already highly-covetable jobs where Britain is failing to produce enough youngsters to fill them, creating skills shortages. The Tier 2 Shortage Occupation List of jobs with such severe skills shortages that the government will permit visas includes many in creative industries such as special effects, graphic design and animation.

This highlights the need both for a properly creative education and for careers advice which understands the skills and subjects needed for students to be able to enter these fields in future.

initiatives and open their doors to students.

Good advice is particularly crucial given the financial investment most people working in the creative industries make in their own development. In general, workers in the creative industries are highly educated with as many as three-quarters of staff with degrees compared with 32 per cent of the general UK workforce.

The government’s new emphasis on apprenticeships may see new routes into the industry develop alongside existing apprenticeships in fashion and textiles or in technical roles in film, television and digital media. There is a challenge in making sure that these apprenticeships are devised so as to help tackle the skills shortages and open up jobs to a wider and more diverse range of students. It makes it even more important for young people to have the information they need to invest their time and money in the best way possible.

But it means teachers also need help to grasp the needs of the sector where many interesting jobs benefit from a mix of subjects that is not being delivered by a conventional divide between the arts/humanities and STEM. In the broadest terms, education in this country has often encouraged assumptions that the arts are creative but not useful in an economic sense while STEM subjects are seen as non-creative drivers of the economy. Both are unhelpful and potentially dangerous misconceptions because we need creative scientists and engineers to work on groundbreaking projects from the Large Hadron Collider to HS2 as well as artists and designers who understand the affordances of materials and the uses of technology. The arts can also be a useful gateway into careers not in the creative industries – for example, the engineering sector has shown that women are likely to find their way to engineering through studying design and technology and art and design, rather than just through mathematics or science. L

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RE-THINKING CAREERS ADVICE Sadly, our current education policy looks set to further exacerbate this problem, not fix it.

The good news is that the government is currently rethinking careers advice. Sir John Holman, who recently addressed our own working group on further and higher education, wrote the Gatsby Report on Good Careers Guidance which the government is using as a benchmark. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is running a four‑year pilot programme for Lord Sainsbury’s Gatsby Foundation involving intensive careers activity with schools, colleges and businesses as well as data collection and analysis. A more imaginative approach is being taken than in times past, including a greater emphasis from the government on working with businesses to get them into schools. This is to be welcomed but does present hurdles for the creative industries. The danger is that it is bigger companies that have the staff and resources to take part in careers initiatives whereas a glass-blower, a dance company or the aforementioned freelances, for whom time is very much money, feel less able to contribute.

Yet, we do believe smaller businesses should be encouraged to take part in such

Written by Louise Jury and Eliza Easton, Creative Industries Federation

Around 2.8 million people are employed in the creative economy and there are thousands of exciting posts that many young people do not know exist. Louise Jury and Eliza Easton from the Creative Industries Federation explain why there is a lack of careers advice for this industry

Careers Advice

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FURTHER INFORMATION www.creativeindustriesfederation.com

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35

Catering Written by Love British Food

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BRITISH FOOD

Schools get creative with British food More schools than ever took part in British Food Fortnight during 17 September to 2 October, with competitions such as Cake for the Queen allowing pupils to get creative with local food The annual celebration of British Food Fortnight (17 September to 2 October) has again proved to be a tremendous success with more schools than ever taking part and with bigger and better visibility of British food and drink. Hundreds of events took place up and down the country with the Cake for the Queen competition the highlight of the campaign.

Chiddingstone Primary School in Kent was crowned winner of the Love British Food 2016 Cake for The Queen competition. Chosen from a total of 98 entries, Chiddingstone’s spectacular cake themed ‘The Queen’s 90th Garden Party at Buckingham Palace’, was made with home-grown carrots, Kentish apples and local eggs and honey. It won the school a special prize visit to Buckingham Palace in recognition of the incredible work put in by the students.

The Queen’s official 90th Birthday was celebrated on the weekend of the 11th and 12th June 2016 and Love British Food invited children to join in by holding a fun birthday party, the centre-piece of which had to be a special cake for Her Majesty. The competition set a specific challenge: as well as making a cake that was spectacular it had to be made with healthy ingredients – the healthier, the fresher and the more local the better.

and one of our funniest lessons was looking into the ten most weird and wonderful gifts the Queen has been given. The children made miniature versions of these out of icing for our cake, including the elephant.

I’ve looked at all the other entries and they really are amazing. I can see how many hundreds of children have benefited from the competition and have no doubt that my class will remember this project for the rest of their lives.”

The runners up were Lumley Infant and Nursery School from County Durham who produced a Union Jack cupcake display where each of the children produced a drawing for the Queen, which was transferred onto

The Queen’sday rth 90th Bi rated on eb was cel d 12th June 11th an British Food e and Lovd children to invite by holding join in party a

DESIGNS FIT FOR A QUEEN From Scotland to Devon, and Wales to Norfolk, imaginations were set alight and mixing bowls kept busy as recipes were created, tasted and tweaked. Popular ingredients included beetroot, courgette, lemon and strawberries and some recipes replaced sugar with honey and fruit juices.

Decorating the cake proved particularly popular and designs included Corgi dogs, crowns, the Queens’ hats, plenty of Union flags and even a Landrover.

Megan Glover, teacher at Chiddingstone school, said: “Each week, we made different cakes using healthy and local ingredients which helped us come up with our final recipe. We researched the Queen’s history

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

edible paper and placed into home-made fondant frames. The frames were arranged in a Union Jack formation. The cake was shared locally but also ‘virtually’ with their friends in Uganda via a skype session.

Highly commended entries of a very high standard were received from Hatton Academy, Northamptonshire; Ringwood School, Hampshire; the Oval Primary School, Birmingham; the Thorners CE VA Primary School, Dorset; Abbeys Primary School, Milton Keynes; and Hawarden High School, Flintshire, North Wales.

Cathryn Higgs, food policy manager at The Co-op, official sponsors of British Food Fortnight 2016, said: “The range of styles, flavours and designs entered into the competition have been fantastic to see. They would rival even the best Co-op cake, and that’s saying something, definitely fit for a Queen.”

SCHOOL ACTIVITIES Hampshire Fare put in place a British Food Fortnight programme for Bentley School in Farnham, with involvement from a number of local suppliers including Riverford Organic Farms and the Cold Pressed Oil Company.

Activities were wide ranging and were tailored for each school year starting with Reception Years (age 4-5) and up to Year 6 (age 10-11).

Reception Years did veg head-making and hunt the hog, while Year 1 took part in Riverford Veg talks and veg kebab making, as well as the Village Shop tastings. Year 2 did baking with Honesty Group and a session with Meadow Cottage Dairy.

Year 3 took part in ‘The Yellow Fields’ Cold Pressed Oil production session plus

Catering

tastings of Rapeseed oil. They also learnt all about bees and honey with BeeGood.

Year 4 did scarecrow making, with each scarecrow entered into a competition for Harvest Festival Winchester. Hampshire Charcuterie Parsonage Farm did blind tastings of Charcuterie made from their pigs along with teaching the parts of the pig.

Year 5 took part in Mill Farm burger making and a Mill Farm Beef production/organic talk.

Year 6 visited Jenkyn Place vineyard and had a dairy talk and tastings by Lyburn Cheese along with a teach-in on organic veg.

Schools across the country took part in a wide range of activities ranging from cooking demonstrations in lessons, food tastings, talks from local food producers, art/decorating classes to creating bunting and posters providing information on local food production, compiling fact sheets, quizzes and much more.

CUCINA COMPETITIONS Huge supporters of British Food Fortnight are Cucina Restaurants which organised the following activities at 44 secondary schools in the South East plus one in Manchester: The Great British Grow Off involved receiving a pack containing courgette seeds, a diary and a sheet to tell them how to grow their seeds. The winning Courgette was made into a delicious meal at the school and showcased for all to taste, and the growers received a free lunch for themselves and a friend. Sponsored

by Fresh Direct, there was a grand prize for the best courgette across all of the schools. This winner received an annual family Merlin pass.

The You’re the Chef project involved school‑wide recipe competitions where

Schools across the country took part in a wide range of activities ranging from cooking demonstrations in lessons, food tastings, talks from local food producers, art/decorating classes to creating bunting and posters providing information on local food production, compiling fact sheets, quizzes and much more children submitted their own British recipes, with winning entries cooked for the school.

From September, a new after school programmes started for students, staff and parents educating on seasonal British ingredients and how to develop recipes.

‘Cucina Loves British Food’ involved the head chef’s favourite British dishes, which were put on recipe cards and rolled out across all restaurants, with one chef featured each day of the Fortnight.

A Great British Classics theme was featured on menus every thursday during september, with dishes developed by Masterchef the Professionals winner and Cucina development chef, Ash Mair.

ASSURANCE SCHEMES For school caterers it is the ideal opportunity to work with local farmers, producers and suppliers of home grown foods. It’s a time to become familiar with assurance schemes and the standards by which they operate. Many of our regional food and drink producers are part of a scheme which sets out the standards they work within. More and more consumers want to know how their food is produced and where it comes from. Sourcing products that are part of these assurance schemes demonstrates the standard of food being used and that it is fully traceable. Such schemes include ‘Red Tractor’, which guarantees that the food and drink has been produced under strict standards covering food safety and animal welfare from the farm to the retailer and caterer.

‘RSPCA Assured’ indicates that the food has been produced according to the RSPCA’s standards. These are based on the Farm

Animal Council’s ‘Five Freedoms’ and are applied to each stage of an animal’s life.

Regular traceability checks are carried out on the whole production process from farm to shop to ensure that all involved in the production of Freedom Food labelled products has been approved by the scheme. The mark can be found on meat, poultry, salmon, dairy and egg products from farm animals.

The ‘LEAF Marque’ links environment and farming. It is found on fresh, seasonal fruit, vegetables, meat and even flower products.

The Marque confirms that the food has been produced in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way, based on the holistic principles of Integrated Farm Management.

There are a number of organic certification bodies approved by Defra; each has a unique UK organic certification code. The main body is the Soil Association, Organic Certification UK5.

In addition, there are a number of marks across specific foods to look out for such as Quality Standard Beef and Lamb, Scottish Beef, Scottish Lamb, Welsh Beef, Welsh Lamb, Mutton Renaissance, Quality Bacon Standard, Quality Pork Standard, Quality Ham Standard, Specially Selected Pork, British Pig Association, Great British Chicken, Quality British Turkey, Golden Turkey, The Lion Quality, Laid in Britain, OMSCo (Organic Milk Suppliers Co-operative) and Pasture Promise, as well as a range of fruit and vegetable trade bodies from the Asparagus Growers Association to The Watercress Alliance providing information on local sourcing and supply. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.lovebritishfood.co.uk

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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MARKING AT HOME? Groupcall Emerge is the gateway to your school’s MIS - anytime, anywhere and on anything. Now supporting Programmes of Study, you can record Assessments without Levels for SIMS on your computer, laptop or mobile device. All from the comfort of your own home.

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TECHNOLOGY

Since 2014, Bede Community Primary School in Gateshead has been working with Samsung’s Digital Classroom programme, receiving a full suite of classroom technology and training support. As the programme comes to an end, Key Stage 2 teacher Andrew Riley assesses whether a digital classroom really does have a major positive impact on teaching and learning Who would have thought, just ten years ago, that the nurses you see in hospital would log your notes on tablets, or that staff in restaurants would be taking orders on smartphones? The overwhelming majority of workers in this country, if they studied ICT, would have worked on clunky desktop computers at school to develop their skills.

And so it stands to reason that the children we teach will themselves engage with unforeseen technologies in their futures. So is there any point in filling their classrooms with equipment that could belong in antiquity by the time they reach their twenties?

In short, yes. Quality technological provision is a huge challenge with the funding squeezes upon schools, but evidence from my classroom strongly suggests that it is an investment worth making. The Samsung Digital Classroom project approached my school in 2014 with an offer so outrageous that it seemed too good to be true. A whole class provided with their own tablets, Chromebooks and a smart screen

RESEARCH PAYS Many of the stories and case studies I’d read of technology in the classroom, particularly about tablet use, hadn’t filled me with enthusiasm. Often, the best work seemed to happen in schools far removed from the social context of my pupils. But with the provision we had, I spent a six week holiday investing an enormous amount of time in researching and trying out apps. I’d always considered myself tech-savvy, but there was a whole new world out there when I started treating technology as a tool, not a toy.

By knowing my way around different apps, methods and possibilities, we could get going immediately. Children loved the chance to take responsibility for something – even those who already had tablets at home – and we are, incredibly, still awaiting a broken screen. Having their own Google accounts, which I can control, introduced e-safety immediately: vital for modern children.

Investing my time in exploring apps E

I’d alw consideays red myself tech-sa vvy, but the r e w as a whole n e w w orld out the r e w hen I started t r e a ting technol ogy as a tool

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Written by Andrew Riley, Key Stage 2 teacher, Bede Community Primary School

Life in a digital classroom

so enormous that it could illuminate the street. Our brief was to explore how the equipment could impact upon pupils from an incredibly deprived background. Year 6 would be the targeted children. A great year group for trying a new way of teaching, yes?

IT & Computing

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TECHNOLOGY  led to a rapid increase in pace and intensity. I knew which apps could extend each child during lessons, delivering more than a ‘getting on with’ activity. It is a funny feeling to see children convinced that they’ve got one over on you to finish their work and recap fraction equivalents or practise reading skills.

PROMOTING COLLABORATION Children from deprived backgrounds are more likely to have communication and language issues from entry into school. Being able to record voice, images and annotations on apps, and review them, often provides my pupils with something they’re not proud of at first. But by collaborating with each other, seeking technical language and competing to show what they know, every pupil in my class is always keen for their work to be shared on the big screen via Google Classroom. It gives a new impetus to learn and promotes confidence in the quality of their work through this medium.

And then we come to results. The first cohort to use the technology were challenged by our local authority to exceed 40 per cent meeting national expectations. They ended up at over 80 per cent, with 100 per cent achieving the national average or better in reading.

Last year, when we expected armageddon with the new tests, a cohort with even lower KS1 results ended up leaving Y6 with 75 per cent at the ‘expected standard.’ Those children worked phenomenally hard. I worked phenomenally hard. But the technology, literally at their fingertips, played a huge role in delivering that progress.

WINNING OVER LEADERS The people to win over when it comes to using technology successfully are not your pupils. It’s the school leaders who hear that tablets are great, so buy half a dozen in a two form entry school. It’s the support technicians constantly being called out to deal with security and connectivity issues on a creaking infrastructure built for Windows 95 and 1mb broadband. Your senior leaders need to be shown how incredible lessons can be, invited in and made to sit with children. Make them scan that QR code on the wall and see how children can independently solve their own problems.

The technicians need to be made cups of tea and allowed to talk: these people always have skills beyond plugging a USB lead back into an interactive board, which they will share with you.

Finally, don’t tie yourself down to one form of technology in school. Embrace digital pluralism. In the future, we don’t want nurses who can’t log notes because Android is different to iOS, or a waiter who confuses ‘send’ with ‘off’ because he’s used to a different brand of device to order on.

Yes, technology is an expensive thing to explain to governors. Yes, it takes a huge investment of time for classroom teachers. And yes, it can be an immense headache when trying to deploy new apps and programmes. But the confidence, ability and growth which I’ve seen in children over the past couple of years tells me that every penny and minute would have been wisely invested.

SAMSUNG DIGITAL CLASSROOM Samsung’s Digital Classroom has been a three-year project designed to explore the impact technology can have on teaching and learning.

As part of Samsung’s commitment to help close the digital skills gap in the UK, Samsung wanted to encourage the development of digital skills from an early age by enabling access to vital technology for some of the most disadvantaged learners in the UK. Working with 15 primary schools in underprivileged circumstances around the UK, Samsung provided a full suite of classroom technology and technical support to create a dynamic and motivational learning environment.

A rigorous research and evaluation programme enabled monitoring of the impact within the classroom and beyond.

Feedback from the schools participating in the programme reveals that pupils demonstrated high engagement with lessons, were more motivated and showed marked improvement in grade attainment.

Results from the programme also revealed that teacher confidence

also improved and teaching practices changed over time, with children increasingly able to work independently and collaboratively 89 per cent of pupils that took part believe that the equipment helped them to learn new digital skills, with 81 per cent now finding it easier to do a variety of tasks on computers and 79 per cent saying they work better with their classmates The programme showed that pupils confidence increased, with nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) saying they felt more equipped for their next academic years of study.

What’s more, over half (57 per cent) are writing code more frequently and are finding it easier to write code on a computer or tablet, compared to 28 per cent at the start of the year.

IT & Computing

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

APPS AND SAFETY 83 per cent of the pupils that took part now find using apps an effective and easy way to learn new things, compared to 64 per cent at the start of the year.

Knowledge of online safety has also improved, with 80 per cent of pupils now more aware of how to stay safe on the internet, compared to 60 per cent at the start of the year Over four-fifths (82 per cent) find a computer or tablet helpful when working with other students in a team, compared to 70 per cent at the start of the year.

The Digital Classroom also had a disproportionality positive effect on children who needed extra support and motivation. Teachers reported that the Digital Classroom increased flexibility, gave them the capacity to differentiate learning and made lessons far more inclusive.

The full Samsung Digital Classroom impact report is available here: tinyurl.com/zu6nx9l L FURTHER INFORMATION HUE PRO Business Magazine - October Issue ADVERT_ 86mm x 125mm high www.samsung.com

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t

Network

USB

ONLINE SAFETY

How can we equip children and young people with the skills and resilience they need to have a safe and positive time online?

Will Gardner, CEO of Childnet, shares some advice As Google turns 18, making it older than the current generation of schoolchildren, the role of technology in our lives is firmly embedded.

Last year the iPad turned five, and now over four in five children aged 5-15 years live in a household with a tablet. Even among three to four year-olds, over half use tablets.

With emerging risks and new requirements, it’s more important than ever for all schools to make online safety a priority, while the positive opportunities offered by technology can be harnessed to create a generation of empowered digital citizens.

But how can we equip children and young people with the skills and resilience they need to have a safe and positive time online? Both now and for the next 18 years as they embark on an adulthood where digital skills and emerging technologies will play a fundamental role in their lives.

to take an active and empowered role in their online communities by taking action over the negatives and promoting the positives.

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND RISKS These digital skills are essential now and will be become even more important as new issues emerge and technology continues to develop.

With virtual reality headsets close to taking off as a family device, there will be a pressing need for children to critically evaluate even the most immersive and engaging content.

Meanwhile livestreaming presents new pressures for risk-taking teens who will need even more support to handle impulsivity.

Indeed, the image and video driven digital world that young people inhabit now – characterised by the popularity of apps like Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube – is magnifying issues like sexting, pornography and body image pressures, while also offering fun new opportunities for self-expression and creativity.

It is schools who are at the frontline of dealing with these complex issues and can also be a driving force for promoting the positive use of technology.

With ng emergi new d risks anments, require mportant ei it’s morver to make than e e safety a onlin rity prio

SKILLS FOR A DIGITAL GENERATION What does an empowered digital citizen look like? We think there are five core elements to promote children’s wellbeing online and ensure they are able to navigate risks online.

We need to ensure children are critical thinkers, able to evaluate online content and contact, and recognise how the content they are exposed to and the people they interact with can affect their own behaviour, emotions and beliefs.

Children need to be kind communicators, able to understand the feelings of others, with socio-emotional skills developed for a digital age and a passion for creating supportive online communities.

They also need to be considered creators, able to make responsible decisions when creating and sharing content, from photos and videos to conversations and comments.

Children should also be able to support their peers and able to seek help from friends, family, school and wider to ensure that concerns are responded to early and effectively.

Children also need to be digital citizens, able

PROTECTION FROM EXTREMISM Childnet has created ‘Trust Me’, a resource which is designed to support teachers in exploring critical thinking online. It was created after hearing from schools that they wanted a resource which would start the conversations around extremism and extreme online content.

Visit www.childnet.com/trustme.

‘Keeping children safe in education’, statutory guidance for schools in England and Wales, now requires schools to have ‘appropriate levels’ of filtering and monitoring to keep them safe online.

At the UK Safer Internet Centre we have some helpful guidance about what that means in practice. See www.saferinternet.org.uk/filtering-monitoring.

OUTSTANDING E-SAFETY PROVISION Many schools are doing a fantastic job of empowering children and young people to have a positive time online.

However, research shows where many schools could look to improve their provision.

Ofsted data from 84 schools inspected about online safety in 2015 and self-review data from 7,000 schools using 360 Degree Safe has found that while schools are on the whole very strong when it comes to e-safety policies and filtering, they are weaker on staff and governor training, pupil involvement and evaluating impact of e-safety policies and practice.

Pupil involvement is a powerful way of improving your school’s e-safety provision, despite being one of the weakest areas for schools. From developing e-safety policies to delivering education sessions and campaigns, young people can be important role models and leaders in your school community.

Written by Will Gardner, CEO, Childnet and director, UK Safer Internet Centre

Living safely in the digital world

The guidance also sets out clearly the need for schools to deliver online safeguarding education to pupils and training for staff, an essential part of protecting children from harmful content and other online risks.

There are also new guidelines to help schools navigate other complex issues such as sexting and cyber-bullying. We have been working alongside others in the Education Group of UKCCIS (the UK Council for Child Internet Safety) to create new guidance for schools about managing sexting incidents. With new ‘Outcome 21’ police provisions to protect children from unnecessary criminalisation, the guide sets out how to respond to sexting incidents, including when to involve the police.

IT & Computing

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

SAFER INTERNET DAY Safer Internet Day provides a key moment when children and young people can take the lead in making the internet a better place and when schools can provide a spotlight on the work they do throughout the year and create a ‘buzz’ in school about these issues.

Celebrated globally and coordinated in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, the campaign reached 40 per cent of UK children in 2016 with thousands of schools and organisations getting involved in the day.

We know the day has real impact too, with children and parents saying they changed their behaviour or felt more confident as a result. A survey of teachers involved in the day found that half said it led to disclosures about potential online safeguarding concerns. L

Will Gardner is CEO, Childnet; director of the UK Safer Internet Centre; and executive board member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.childnet.com/resources www.saferinternet.org.uk www.360safe.org.uk

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Advertisement Feature

www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

BETT PREVIEW

FUJITSU DOCUMENT SCANNERS – PROMOTING GOOD LEARNING Primary and secondary school teachers are working almost 60 hours a week according to the DfE and a lot of this time is spent carrying out bureaucratic tasks such as form filling and general paperwork By implementing digital working practices, including the scanning and digitisation of material, a school will very quickly see the benefits brought about from the enhanced collaboration between staff members, pupils and parents as well as supporting SENCO in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) which is laid out in their code of practice 2001.

The speedier capture of correspondence such as permission slips, catering requests, HR material, bursaries and paperwork related to special needs as well as the implementation of technology driven teaching methods for a more enriched learning experience and marking will additionally see time being freed up, whether for teaching or personal recreation.

By the time children start school many are already familiar with technology, giving teachers a platform of knowledge on which to build. Infant and junior schools that have the technology to enhance learning are setting the benchmark, both in terms of actual achievement and parent or government recognition.

Further education encompasses a range of educational services which all pose different challenges when it comes to paperwork, the complexities and management thereof.

Colleges and adult education as well as available learning such as for offenders, the work place, virtual, voluntary and charitable all generate paperwork which if managed more effectively can lead to increased efficiencies, reduced costs, increased quality and customer satisfaction.

Freedom of Information responsibilities are also paramount within the education sector and the need to respond in a timely and efficient manner without impacting on daily activity.

CASE STUDY: Ryburn Valley School have a ScanSnap iX500 and have seen huge improvements in all administrative processes in their attendance and bursary offices.

“We are seeing the benefits in various ways, such as communicating with teachers and parents, and improving the

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

student’s learning experience. The amount of time that the scanner has saved us is astronomical – it’s amazing that one little machine can do such good” – Sue Thompson, attendance and bursaries officer, Student Services, Ryburn Valley High School Higher Education will, in addition to the expected daily paperwork generated through their day to day activity, have a requirement to scan paperwork generated through their HR or finance departments (invoices for example) or will have a need for back file conversion across horizontal applications. An additional time constraint can be felt around the compliance required from the UK border agency regulations regarding foreign students.

There is also an enhanced need for greater student and lecturer collaboration and continuous improvement in teaching and feedback methods. Additionally the allowances made available for disabled students are focussed on seeing an enhanced need for more readily available access to information and fostering collective learning environments.

In light of increasing tuition fees higher education institutions are also under growing pressure to offer the most advanced teaching and collaboration methods so as to provide an enhanced and appealing student experience, thereby positioning themselves above their competitors.

CASE STUDIES: The Anglia Ruskin University – since implementing a scanning solution, survey response rates have trebled – rising from 15-20 per cent to 65 per cent – while the total volume of documents scanned has increased by 20-30 per cent and is expected

to double by next year as the solution is expanded beyond module evaluation surveys.

The scanners have already been drafted in to process surveys from other departments which are heavy paper users, processing surveys on accommodation, catering, the union environment and other student services which are increasingly becoming as important to the student experience as teaching and learning.

The solution is saving time and resources, making data more easily accessible from the automatically archived files, and streamlining reporting of corporate key performance indicators – of which an increasing number are satisfaction based and can be pulled directly from the survey figures.

To comply with legislation, the University of Bristol needed to store passport and visa details for foreign students. They have implemented an easy-to-operate data capture and management solution based on Fujitsu scanners. As a result, it is now able to fulfill its statutory obligations in an efficient manner, processing information quickly and accurately.

The University of California use ScanSnap scanners to make it easier to post new research online, a must in this day and age.

Until recently it was customary to publish thick research reports solely in paper format.

That trend is changing and researchers are now receiving PDF copies, but that still leaves years of research that exists only in hardcopy or various file formats. With ScanSnap all research can be easily digitised. L FURTHER INFORMATION emea.fujitsu.com/scanners-in-education

Bett 2017

EVENT PREVIEW

Experiment with the latest technology at Bett Each year tens of thousands of people from across the world travel to Bett to experiment with the latest technology, hear from inspirational experts, and meet peers from all over the world

Trying to innovate and evolve your teaching in line with ever-changing policy demands is hard for us all, so each year tens of thousands of people from across the world travel to Bett to experiment with the latest technology, hear from inspirational figures and experts in the industry, and meet peers from all over the world.

Bett is now in its 33rd year, and comes after a year of significant change within the education sector. Academisation, governance, selective schooling, teacher retention and the outcome of the EU referendum – Bett 2017 will provide an arena for open and informed discussions about these pivotal areas of education, and many more. This will ensure that attendees leave Bett equipped with the knowledge and insight needed to play a part in shaping the future of education worldwide.

2017’s show takes place at London’s ExCel on 25-28 January. It focuses on game changers: the individuals, events or products which result in a significant shift in how people behave and discover what is possible. With seminars, product showcases

and demonstrations from a long list of the education industry’s game changers, combined with every educator’s own passion and can-do attitude, Bett 2017 aims to help visitors make their mark.

We’ve picked out some of the key things to look out for.

the very best start-ups bursting onto the education scene; here are just a few of them.

Studytracks is a learner-led app that makes GCSE, AS and A-Level exam preparation enjoyable and effective. Studytracks merges music with curriculum-based study materials, so that when students listen to the music, information becomes embedded in their memory – just like song lyrics – which can then be easily be recalled in an exam.

Drumroll HQ will be showcasing E.A.K. (Erase all Kittens), a unique web-based platform game designed to teach students real coding languages and engage more girls by using a highly gamified and story-driven approach. E.A.K. helps students to build up their personal learning and thinking skills, and allows teachers to become facilitators of independent learning.

The Bett Futures seminar theatre will E

B Futuresett offering is back, chance visitors the innovat to meet the iv driving e start-ups the nex forward t ge of learnneration ing

FUTURES RETURNS Bett Futures is back, in association with the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), offering visitors the chance to meet the innovative start‑ups driving forward the next generation of learning; the little companies with the biggest ideas.

Introduced back in 2015, Futures celebrates brave thinking, innovative new products and education game changers, with 50 of

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—

So advanced you’ll only ever touch the surface What you can’t see inside a Clevertouch Plus touch screen is the innovative, rich technology that sets it apart. Technology that creates a truly unique and immersive user experience.

Our latest Android powered operating system has been designed to reflect the tablet interfaces that we are all familiar with, allowing you to simply turn on and teach.

With a focus on Education, our operating system gives you the freedom to connect, upload, share and collaborate with effortless ease – knowing the proven technology is adaptable & dependable.

If you are looking to engage with your students, Clevertouch Plus can dramatically alter your classroom dynamic. Bursting with full ad-free versions of your favourite apps, as well as a comprehensive software package for lesson building and collaboration, all for free for the life of the product, Clevertouch is the full solution.

The Intuitive Digital Experience Made for Education

Manufacturer of the Year

clevertouch.co.uk | +44 (0)20 8319 7777 | info@clevertouch.co.uk

Bett 2017

EVENT PREVIEW  feature a programme of sessions designed to provoke debate and inspire visitors with practical ideas on how they can continue to transform teaching. Key themes include showcasing sessions from emerging edtech startups, effects of developing technologies on student-teacher relationships; stepping back to ‘re-imagine’ the curriculum; and working together to tackle online safety challenges: parent, teacher and student perspectives BETT ARENA The Bett Arena will once again take centre stage, with a programme of headline names taking on the big topics in education at the heart of the show floor. Visitors are guaranteed to leave the Arena with practical advice, insight, inspiration, tools and the realisation that they can have a meaningful impact on the sector.

In 2017 it will play host to inspirational speakers such as Sir Ken Robinson, who returns following his popular Bett Arena session at Bett 2015; Pi-Top, the build it yourself RaspberryPi Laptop creators; learning games provider, Lightneer; the Ministry of Science; the Finnish-based global research project, HundrED; F1 in Schools; and digital leadership visionary, Eric Sheninger.

THE STEAM REVOLUTION A large proportion of the jobs that schools are preparing their students for potentially don’t even exist yet. Bett’s STEAM Village (for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics) is a platform for educators, specialists and enthusiasts to join the STEAM revolution and identify those skills that students will inevitably need.

Through a series of panel discussions, dynamic sessions and live demonstrations, the STEAM Village will present the latest initiatives, projects and approaches that are shaping STEAM in schools. Key themes will include why STEAM and not STEM? Top tips to help teachers integrate a STEAM approach into their everyday practice; using a STEAM approach to fill the digital skills gap; and bridging the gap between education and industry.

LEARN LIVE CONTINUES The series of practitioner-led Learn Live seminars and workshops will continue, addressing the key issues in contemporary education and providing useful insight into the latest research, practices and policies affecting education worldwide. Visitors will come away from these sessions with innovative teaching techniques that they can easily implement in their own classrooms.

The show floor is once again set to be exciting, colourful and filled with innovative technologies; here are just a few examples of the exhibitors visitors can expect to see.

MINTclass is a secure online platform providing teachers with a range of features and modules, including its renowned

The Bett Arena will once again take centre stage, with a programme of headline names taking on the big topics in education, at the heart of the show floor. Visitors are guaranteed to leave the Arena with practical advice, insight, inspiration, tools and the realisation that they can have a meaningful impact on the sector digital seating planner, helping to save time and reduce workloads. New and updated modules include attendance recording, behaviour management, parent reports, markbooks, performance management and a staff calendar system.

Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, ROBOTERRA is the developer of creative robotic products, designed to stimulate creativity and cultivate the next generation of STEAM talents. ROBOTERRA’s robotics kits and software are designed to inspire creativity and motivate students to learn about science, while providing a foundation for tech-driven careers.

MULTI-MEDIA LEARNING CENTURY Tech’s innovative and forward‑thinking platform is a unique blend of cognitive neuroscience, big data, and artificial intelligence (AI). Students access multimedia learning material through

the platform and at the end complete a short, informal assessment. The artificially intelligent algorithms are able to adapt each individual student’s learner path, so the more the student uses the platform, the more CENTURY understands their learning needs.

Integrex will showcase its cutting-edge interactive and touchscreen systems, including interactive floors, which are ideal for any special educational needs learning environment to stimulate children’s responses, cognitive understanding and recognition abilities. Products include VisiLift, VisiLift+,SENse and immersive rooms.

With strict mapping and rigorous quality assurance, GCSEPod has created over 4,000 audio-visual pods, covering more than 20 subjects. Endorsed by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), it facilitates intervention, impacts rates of progress and delivers on expectations E

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Bett 2017

www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

Genee World confirmed for BETT 2017 Genee World was established in 2005 and has rapidly become a leading manufacturer of interactive touchscreen technology, from hand held tablets through to 4K screens.

Based in the manufacturing heartland of the UK, Genee World delivers a range of interactive displays, kiosks, visualisers, response systems and software for the education sector, training centres and corporate enterprises, all of which will be on display at the Bett show in January 2017.

Genee World will have launched their new stunning 4K G-Touch Interactive Touchscreen range, and all 3 sizes (65”, 75” and 86”) will be on display at Bett for all eyes to see.

The Genee Registrar is the Ultimate Visitor Management Solution and you will be able to see all the benefits for yourself at Bett.

Genee World will also be

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demonstrating how they are revolutionising classrooms everywhere with the digital learning platform – Project Flow, which enables teachers to share multiple learning resources to individual students.

Each product will be presented and demonstrated in Genee’s unique presentation area where everyone is welcome to attend.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01902 390 878 Tweet: @geneeworld enquiries@geneeworld.com

Fujitsu: supporting administration and promoting good learning By implementing digital working practices including the scanning and digitisation of material, a school will very quickly see the benefits bought about from the enhanced collaboration between staff members, pupils and parents.

Technology-driven teaching methods – plus the speedier capture of correspondence such as permission slips, catering requests, HR material, bursaries and paperwork related to special needs – means teachers’ time is freed up.

An important aspect of enhanced learning is to discover how technology can help early learners develop confidence in their abilities and recognise the progress that they have made.

Fujitsu scanners can help in this regards by capturing a pupil’s work throughout the term so that children, teachers and parents can see how their handwriting, drawings and paintings have

evolved and improved. Providing digital files at the end of term instead of, or as a supplement to, the actual artwork is also convenient for parents.

By the time children start school many are already familiar with technology, giving teachers a platform of knowledge on which to build. Infant and junior schools that have the technology to enhance learning are setting the benchmark, both in terms of actual achievement and parent or government recognition.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.fujitsu.com

A single software platform to manage pupil transportation

Interactive touchscreen devices from award winning firm Clevertouch

Pupil transportation has become one of the important parts of the educational system, especially for private/ international schools.

This process has many stake holders and needs to be fine and flawless, but can be difficult to manage without a proper tool.

Drivers and attendants need an up-to-date itinerary, with any late amendments marked. Traffic officers need to have full control of schedules, manage their daily changes and monitor the execution of the work, obtaining the real-time state of ridership.

Parents would love to have a timely notification for their bus arrival, or to know when their child is due to get off the bus while they’re still at the office.

Maybe some of them would dream of making changes to the weekly transportation schedule, easily through their mobile phone. As far as business people

The Clevertouch Plus is the market leading interactive touchscreen in education. Designed with the simplicity of an iPad or iPhone, the Clevertouch Plus has an inbuilt Android operating system and a bespoke user interface, which makes it easy to find folders, settings or applications.

Clevertouch has developed LUX – the most advanced user interface ever built into a largeformat interactive touchscreen.

Not only does LUX put you in complete control of the screen, it also gives you the power of small-screen apps on a huge display – perfect for teaching or sharing.

A custom built app store – the Cleverstore – is preloaded on every Clevertouch Plus, providing users with a wide range of educational and business apps that enable even greater functionality and play. Apps in

are concerned, their expectation of the transportation service is very simple: to lower its costs.

All the above and many more are managed by a single software platform: SchoolBusNotes.

Focusing on safety, SchoolBusNotes is a unique tool which combines parent notifications, route optimisation, ridership management, controlling of all daily changes in transportation program and monitoring operations.

SchoolBusNotes gives full control while focusing on safety and substantial cost cutting.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +302109609901 info@schoolbusnotes.com www.schoolbusnotes.com

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

the Cleverstore are free and have been cleansed of advertising and in-app purchases.

The Clevertouch V-Series—The AV Awards Interactive Display Product of the Year 2016— is the perfect touchscreen solution for smaller budgets. It has all the essential features of a Clevertouch, but without the Cleverstore or integrated apps.

Clevertouch was named AV Awards Manufacturer of the Year 2015.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.clevertouch.co.uk

EVENT PREVIEW  and accountability. GCSEPod is a true core resource for mobile learning and revision and can be used on any device, inside or outside of school, and on or offline.

SchooliP is an online software platform that supports leaders and managers to improve teacher effectiveness through streamlining performance management, professional

student billing, and communication tools are just some examples of the 300 plus features available with OpenCampus.

SCHOOL LEADERS SUMMIT The School Leaders Summit is one of the centre pieces at Bett, aimed at addressing some of the most significant challenges

SchooliP is an online software platform that supports leaders and managers to improve teacher effectiveness through streamlining performance management, professional development and improvement planning development and improvement planning.

The software promotes teacher effectiveness by understanding the information leaders need to make managing staff performance an efficient and effective process.

OpenCampus is a solution for education management, built upon ‘Open Adoption’ technology. It provides an individual web‑based education portal with features for learning management, mobile app integrations and OpenCampus’ ‘build what you need technology’ – a concept that allows users to design features exactly as they want them. Online applications, classroom and course management, scheduling, evaluations, assignments, rewarding, e-learning,

currently facing senior leadership teams.

This highly popular feature has been expanded for 2017 to incorporate two separate streams.

Stream 1 is focused on challenges, innovation and future gazing, aiming to probe into some of the biggest challenges facing senior leaders.

Stream 2 is addressing the practical and business challenges of leadership in education – this stream is the ideal forum for school business managers and other members of senior leadership teams.

Networking is a central aspect of the summit, with a dedicated break out area and numerous opportunities to network,

Bett 2017

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expand knowledge and unite senior educators to address some of the greatest challenges facing education in 2017.

Key themes addressed in the programme include developing school business management skills; developing future leaders; academies – managing the process of conversion; the recruitment crisis – how to source top talent in challenging times; utilising data to make informed decisions; and navigating a challenging educational landscape and flourishing.

HIGHER EDUCATION LEADERS SUMMIT The Higher Education Leaders Summit has been developed for 2017 to address some of the most significant challenges currently facing senior leaders across higher education.

Hear from your peers as they provide insight into legislation updates, technology enhancing student attainment, pedagogy, and strategies.

Recent changes in this sector have given rise to difficult questions, and this programme is designed to equip the audience with the skills required to flourish in a rapidly changing landscape.

The summit offers the opportunity to learn from leading higher education institutions in the UK and abroad, as well as gain practical insights into improving student experience and learning outcomes. L

FURTHER INFORMATION www.bettshow.com

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Classroom of the Future

Total connected classroom solution for student collaboration and engagment.

01902 390878 www.geneeworld.com sales@geneeworld.com

EVENT PREVIEW

Being smart with your IT budgets

Technology Summit

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

December 13th will see the launch of the first Education Business Technology Summit – an informal event where schools can get smart ideas on how to fund their technology requirements, as well as discuss their concerns with industry experts and suppliers It is long understood that technology facilitates better learning outcomes for pupils, as well as innovative teaching methods for teachers. But with technology evolving rapidly, how do schools know what they should invest in? Developments like the new ICT curriculum, bring with it added requirements, while tight budgets add another pressure. Schools therefore need to find innovative ways to get the most out of their spend on technology.

When making a technology purchasing decision, schools must consider that their ICT hardware and software is fit for purpose and available for all; consider 1:1 student tablet access; ensure pupils, staff and parents can interact safely and securely online; and consider how to engage parents in their childs’ development through ICT. In addition to this, schools are also looking to make significant savings in back office ICT spend.

In response to these challenges, Education Business is launching a new event to help schools across the UK get the most out of their ICT budgets.

The Education Business Technology Summit

2016 is designed to help stimulate the uptake of technology in UK classrooms, giving delegates the opportunity to network with educational professionals to better understand the barriers to delivering safe, reliable ICT solutions.

It is designed to be an informal platform where schools can talk business with ICT suppliers in a no-pressure environment.

education IT companies Genee World, RM Education, iiyama and the Supply Register.

Presentations throughout the day will include case studies from schools on how they plan to use the Pupil Premium funds to address one-to-one access.

There will be a session on the ‘parent pound’ and how schools are using part-parent funding.

Finally, there will be a talk on linking home and schools effectively and safely, using technology to communicate with parents to increase learning opportunities.

After the main seminar sessions, delegates will benefit from one-to-one timed appointments with organisations to discuss their ICT budgets and the individual requirements of their schools.

Lunch and refreshments served E

Educati o Busines n s is launc h i n g event t a o help s new chools across t h e U get the K most ou t of their ICT budget s

SPEAKERS AND PRESENTATIONS Taking place at the Arsenal Emirates Stadium, London on Tuesday 13 December, the Summit will feature a talk from television and radio presenter Angela Lamont, known for her work on the BBC’s Science Fix, The Physical World and It’ll Never Work, as well as Channel Five’s The Fragile Planet.

Education Business will also be joined on the day by Naace, the professional association for UK education technology, as well as

The Arsenal Emirates Stadium in London will host the first Education Business Technology Summit on 13 December 2016

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Supporting administration and improving the learning experience

As schools, colleges and universities attempt the tricky balancing act of cutting costs while improving service levels, more and more are discovering the benefits of deploying Fujitsu scanners in the classroom and administrative offices.

Fujitsu offers a wide range of scanners, including sheetfed, flatbed and overhead models. Different models are suited to different applications, but all perform the same essential function, the conversion of printed and handwritten information into digital images that can be shared, stored and distributed digitally.

Visit http://emea.fujitsu.com/scanners-in-education to find out more

ScanSnap iX100 ■ Battery powered scanner for

scanning in the classroom, office or at home ■ Wirelessly scan to a cloud account, smart device,notebook or email address ■ Scan small documents such as permission slips or notifications simultaneously ■ Choice of paper paths for flexible operation

ScanSnap iX500

ScanSnap SV600

■ Scan everyday documents such ■ Overhead contactless scanning ■ ■ ■ ■

as forms & permission slips up to A4 & even A3 Scan colour, double sided & mixed batches of documents Simple in its operation, connection via USB to PC or Mac Intuitive & automated scanning & seamless distribution to a host of destinations such as email Bundled with OCR software for creation of searchable & editable files

■ ■ ■ ■

fi-65F

■ Designed for easy & quick scanning of loose documents up to A3, of small documents up to A6 bound material & pupil produced ■ Scan items such as a passport, ID material such as craft items card, driving license or small slip Simple one button approach, ■ Scan in colour or black & white, can compatible with both PC & Mac be optionally powered by USB Continuous scanning possible ■ Small footprint for installation in with page turning detection & any environment timed scanning Automated image enhancement Bundled with OCR software for creation of searchable & editable files

Please scan here for a YouTube hosted video featuring teachers talking about using scanners and the benefits of them in the classroom and for admin

EVENT PREVIEW  throughout the day provide further opportunities to network with technology organisations and share your concerns with delivering safe, reliable IT solutions.

The event is free to attend for senior education professionals.

EVENT CHAIR Television, radio presenter, and writer, Angela Lamont will chair the event and give an opening address sharing her views on how technology is an enabler for better teaching and improved learning.

Known for quirky, science-with-a smile programmes, Angela presents complex subjects with a sense of humour and a down-to-earth style.

Graduating as a systems analyst, Angela entered industry and worked in IT. But her career path changed dramatically when she was selected to tour the country, presenting the prestigious Faraday Lecture. Her success resulted in her being offered a presenting job for the BBC. Angela has gone on to make over a hundred appearances on television and radio. For the BBC she presented Science Fix,

The Physical World and It’ll Never Work.

The latter won BAFTA and RTS Awards. For Channel Five, she presented The Fragile Planet. Her numerous radio credits include The Network, a series of techno-cultural programmes about how IT and the internet affect our culture. Ground Control, for Radio 4, follows large engineering projects from start to finish and The Fountain of Youth, for 5 Live, explored the lengths some will go to to delay the ageing process.

PRESENTATION FROM NAACE Mark Chambers, CEO of Naace, will give a presentation on supporting schools

in maximising the return on their investment in education technology.

This session will outline who Naace are and what they do. Specific detail will be shared of their collaboration with the Department for Education to support schools in procuring Technology.

Two tools have been developed, one which assesses risk, and the other which tracks provision and helps a school judge the impact of the use of technology on learning. The capability of these tools will be shared as will details of how schools can access them and how partnering with Naace can save schools money and provide E

Technology Summit

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The Education Business Technology Summit 2016 is designed to help stimulate the uptake of technology in UK classrooms, giving delegates the opportunity to network with educational professionals to better understand the barriers to delivering safe, reliable ICT solutions

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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• Save up to 32% per year on like-for-like Supply Cover • 80% reduction in procurement fees from £40 to £80 per day to as little as £6

Step one: Local Bank We’ll help you populate your own bank of candidates and when a vacancy is released, any suitable members will be automatically offered the role.

• Full Time Equivalent Pay for Bank staff • No “finder’s fees” when taking on Bank staff from week 12 • OJEU compliant and accessible via the CCS G-Cloud 8 Framework

Step two: Wider Bank Any vacancies not filled by your local bank will be released out to a regional or multi academy trust bank.

The Supply Register is a Crown Commercial Service Supplier.

Find us on the UK Government Digital Marketplace.

The Supply Register is a low risk solution with no up-front costs, long term commitment or barrier to entry; just a £6 or £12 charge for every day booked through the system.

Step three: Agency If the job cannot be filled by a bank worker, the system automatically cascades the job out to select agencies who offer the best value and margin rate.

VISIT: www.supplyregister.uk or CALL: 01785 472481

Technology Summit

EVENT PREVIEW  a set of tools that support learning and teaching with education technology.

Mark Chambers has a wealth of experience from his time as a teacher, head teacher, a subject leader, an LA senior leader and a private sector ICT consultant.

In his current role, Mark is the CEO of Naace. The association’s common aim is to advance education through the appropriate use of technology as a core tool that needs to permeate the curriculum and spread into specialist provision for subject areas including, but not limited to, computing.

Naace as a community develops resources that support schools. The Self-review Framework and ICT Mark are significant tools that all schools should be aware of.

Most recently Mark and Naace have been working with the DfE to produce pre-procurement tools which can help schools maximise the return on their investment in education technology.

PARENT CONTRIBUTIONS Paul Finnis, CEO of the Learning Foundation will take a presentation on the parent pound. He will discuss how parental interest and engagement are widely recognised as major contributors to a child’s educational prospects. E-Learning programmes offer schools and parents a practical way to work together in the interests of furthering and deepening the education of their children.

With school budgets under more pressure than ever, parental contributions are also becoming vital for schools towards the cost of providing technology for individual pupil use and making entire programmes possible. He will cover how best to capture both and what do parents think?

Paul has worked within the charity sector for 25 years. The last 10 years have seen a closer focus on education from helping to set up the British Council for School Environments to leading a British education organisation in Vietnam for seven years. Paul has seen first‑hand the power that the right intervention in education has to profoundly change lives.

His current role enables him to support schools, teachers and families in seeing just how life-changing learning can be when technology is introduced into the mix of tools in the hands of the teacher.

ICT DILEMMAS RM Education will take a presentation on resolving common IT dilemmas. Most schools the company works with have at least one ongoing issues around ICT, whether that’s around reducing costs or keeping a tighter rein on the IT budget without any financial surprises, recruiting and retaining good technical staff, developing an effective strategy, or building trust in ICT with your teachers so they feel more empowered to use technology in the classroom.

Angela Lamont will be a speaker at the Education Business Technology Summit 2016

Taking place at Arsenal Emirates Stadium on Tuesday 13 December, the Summit will feature a talk from television and radio presenter Angela Lamont, known for her work on the BBC’s Science Fix and It’ll Never Work, as well as Channel Five’s The Fragile Planet This presentation will show you how all these questions can be answered.

EVENT VENUE The event will be taking place at Emirates Stadium, one of the world’s most breathtaking sporting arenas; not only as a pioneering football stadium, but also as

a groundbreaking meetings and events venue. Boasting an array of versatile, modern and luxurious suites, the WM Club incorporates two contemporary areas with adjoining bars, a lounge and reception. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ebtechsummit.co.uk

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Coding Nanotechnology Ergonomics Magnetism Electricity

Enrich my classroom

Run a CREST Discovery Day and engage your students in STEM subjects Download the resource here: www.britishscienceassociation.org/enrichmyclassroom Supported by: www.learnwithrichie.com @RichieURENCO richie.enrichment

CURRICULUM

How do we make sure students are engaged with STEM subjects and make more informed choices about their future careers?

According to the Joint Council for Qualifications, there has been a fall this year in the number of students sitting A-level mathematics, physics and design & technology exams. We are again reminded that more needs to be done to make STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects more appealing to students.

In educational circles, consensus is that we need to nurture students’ interest in STEM from an early age. Research commissioned by the IET found that 9-12 year olds have formed opinions on STEM subjects and that there are already differences between girls’ and boys’ attitudes. Girls are less likely to enjoy STEM subjects, and are

more likely to say they find them difficult or that they are not good at them.

This trend is concerning, particularly as there is growing demand for STEM professionals in the UK. ENCOURAGING HOME GROWN TALENT The IET’s 2016 Skills & Demand in Industry Survey confirmed that there is a nationwide shortage of engineers in the UK, highlighting the need to develop home‑grown talent to deliver the

Girls are less likely STEM s to enjoy u are mo bjects, and say the re likely to difficult y find them o are not r that they good them at

Volume 21.9 | EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Written by the Institute of Engineering and Technology

Creating home grown engineers

engineering and technology workforce employers are seeking. When asked about the impact of Brexit on their recruitment plans, 40 per cent of those surveyed believe that their recruitment will be negatively impacted over the next four to five years now that Britain is to leave the EU – and a further 36 per cent say they don’t know, while only five per cent said they thought it would have a positive impact. This makes the challenge of attracting, educating, training and developing the home-grown engineering and technology workforce even more crucial.

Government and industry must work together to create a long-term strategy to develop home-grown engineering talent, which includes putting greater emphasis on offering quality work experience and making sure that any future immigration policy will support growth of the UK’s engineering industry.

The survey also revealed 62 per cent of engineering employers say graduates don’t have the right skills for today’s workplace, while 68 per cent are concerned that the education system will E

STEM

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57

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CURRICULUM  struggle to keep up with the skills required for technological change.

To address these growing concerns over skills gaps in the engineering workforce, particularly among graduates and school leavers, 91 per cent of companies agreed that to improve the supply of engineers and technicians, more employers need to provide work experience for those in education or training.

WORK EXPERIENCE In response, the IET is launching a new campaign: ‘Engineering Work Experience for All’ to champion the need for more employers and universities to collaborate to offer quality work experience to engineering students.

The campaign is designed to rally employers, universities, government and students to make a range of different, quality work experience opportunities more widespread.

The survey also revealed that only nine per cent of engineering and technology staff are female. Students – particularly girls – need to be made aware that STEM subjects are the gateway to exciting and creative careers, which can make a difference to people’s lives, but which can also offer plenty of prospects and high earning potential.

FARADAY CHALLENGE DAYS So how do we make sure students are engaged with STEM subjects and make more informed choices about their future studies and careers? The IET runs a Faraday programme, which provides resources and activities for teachers who want to do exactly this.

IET Faraday brings STEM subjects to life with Faraday Challenge Days in your school, and a whole host of free online teaching resources, showing students how the real-life applications of what they are learning in class are making a real difference to people in all walks of life.

The IET deliver free STEM-based competitions in schools for students aged 12-13 years. Students are split into teams and in a race against the clock, have to research, design and make a prototype solution to an engineering problem. Last academic year, the ‘challenge’ for students was to code and program their own BBC micro:bits to solve a real-life engineering problem. One hundred and twenty six Faraday Challenge Days took place last season, delivering STEM education to young people in a fun and practical way.

Students also gained insight into engineering as a career and built on valuable skills such as teamwork and problem-solving.

STEM TEACHING RESOURCES Imagine if we could show young people how some engineers get to watch football for a living, or develop software enabling Britain’s swimmers improve their technique and ultimately win more gold medals? Maybe they’d like to explore the technology which

The IET’s 2016 Skills & Demand in Industry Survey confirmed that there is a nationwide shortage of engineers in the UK, highlighting the need to develop home-grown talent to deliver the engineering and technology workforce employers are seeking is turning sewage into drinking water?

The IET hosts a website of resources for teaching secondary science, design & technology, computing and mathematics in a relevant and engaging way.

Resources include case studies on engineers who use STEM in their day‑to‑day roles, classroom activities to drop into lessons including the new coding activities for students who have been given a BBC micro:bit and curriculum support posters for the classroom. For students who are looking at their career options and the teachers who are advising them, there are free career packs on engineering.

STEM EDUCATION NEWS The IET collaborates with education partners to circulate a free monthly e-newsletter, featuring STEM and computing teaching resources, as well as events and enrichment activities for teachers and their students. To receive the newsletter, register or login to our website, where you will have the option to opt-in for it.

For more information on the IET and our initiatives to promote STEM subjects and careers in the classroom, visit our website. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ietfaraday.org www.theiet.org

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Outdoor Learning Written by Liz Carney, Woodland Trust

NATURE

Outdoor learning reaches the parts classrooms can’t The Woodland Trust’s Liz Carney explores the behavioural and educational benefits of getting pupils out of the classroom, planting trees and engaging with their natural environment Teaching and trees are made for each other. On the surface they are an unlikely partnership, but increasing numbers of school are discovering that mud, maths, spades and science are natural bedfellows. And that getting back to nature boosts getting back to basics.

The Woodland Trust’s Karen Letten, heads the charity’s work with schools and says: “I believe planting trees creates inspiring outdoor learning spaces, with educational as well as environmental benefits.

Woods and trees offer innovative settings where children can get up close to wildlife, and develop vital skills.”

Over the past six years the Woodland Trust has delivered almost three million saplings free to schools and educational institutions across the UK. The tree packs can create a copse or hedge for a wild harvest or a burst of year round colour.

Funding comes from Sainsbury’s, IKEA, players of the People’s Postcode Lottery,

Yorkshire Tea and since last year, Defra, (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Defra is providing support for additional packs for state‑funded primary schools in England.

OUTDOOR CLASSROOMS Planting trees supports the recently introduced new national curriculum in many ways, including helping children to identify British native species like oak, rowan and silver birch.

But giving youngsters the chance to plant also opens a new door to creating a natural, sustainable and dynamic outdoor ‘classroom.’

In London’s urban Wandsworth last spring, children from Griffin Primary School energetically explored their nature area, laughing as the season’s new frogs bounced on the grass near a small pond.

The school is surrounded by high rise flats, and a busy road, but science and early years leader Kirsten Wheatley is on a mission to

e Over thears y past sixand Trust dl the Woovered almost i has del illion saplings three m to schools free ational c u d e d an es institut

make sure her city children don’t miss out on nature. As the tree pack is opened and the spades handed around, the digging begins.

Dormant, and twig like, only the bare roots give a clue to the promise of a green future.

As hazel, dogwood and wild cherry go in, there’s a shriek, as a worm is picked up by one of the boys who lets it wriggle across his palm.

Horror and fascination in equal measure cross the faces of his class mates as they watch the slimy creature slip back into the earth.

Kirsten talks to them about the worm, how it will help the soil, which helps the trees.

She’s a passionate believer in the power of outdoor learning: “Outdoor classrooms are just as valuable as indoor ones. I’ve seen the way working with nature brings interest and activity to lessons; it gives children more drive and enthusiasm for learning. Many of our early years children prefer to learn outdoors – it is good for them physically, and socially, somehow they relax and their language develops more quickly.

“The trees will boost our nature area, creating habitats for wildlife and a living science lab.

“Our school is in an urban area, and many of our children won’t have the opportunity to visit parks, or woods, or get up close to E

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Unpack the arts and get creative with a visit to the Barbican Big Barbican Workshop Students explore cross-arts practice under the guidance of established artists. During the workshop they develop problem solving and creative thinking skills by experimenting with art, drama, movement, music, animation and spoken word.

Suitable for Primary, Secondary & FE groups / Key Stages 2–5

Exhibition tours and workshops Explore our winter exhibition The Vulgar: Fashion Redefined (13 Oct 2016— 5 Feb 2017) and take advantage of our schools booking rate as well as a free tour from an experienced tour guide.

Free artist-led workshops will also be available on selected dates.

For more information visit barbican.org.uk/education

NATURE  nature. By planting trees at school we can give them that experience; teach lessons in an engaging way and make our school a greener and more pleasant place.”

And the school isn’t just using trees for education. Extra saplings are being planted on the boundary facing the busy road. As they mature, they will purify the air, combat pollution and create shade.

To complement planting, teachers can download cross-curricular Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 resources from the Woodland Trust website; with topics such as measuring and exploring a hedge, food chains, storytelling and natural craft ideas. There are also suggested activities like an assembly based around the book, The Man Who Planted Trees.

LIMITED OUTDOOR SPACE Conscious that not all schools have the space for trees, particularly in urban areas, Karen Letten says: “From this autumn we’ll be able to offer help to schools that have found it hard to take part, with assistance to find locations in their local community where children will be able to plant their tree packs.

We know from our research it’s a memory children treasure for years to come and often starts their relationship off with the natural world and all the benefits that brings.”

RESEARCH AND EVIDENCE What about the research? What evidence is there that teaching in a natural environment makes a difference to learning?

Last month a large scale study concluded that it benefits both children and teachers.

The four year-long Natural Connections Demonstration Project involved 125 schools, many in areas of deprivation, across the South West of England.

Delivered by Plymouth University, teachers were given the chance to bring their lessons outdoors, and 40,000 primary and secondary school pupils took part in a diverse range of experiences, such as a maths lesson in a local park, or drama on a playing field.

Teachers and pupils gave it top marks, with 92 per cent of teachers surveyed saying that pupils were more engaged with learning when outdoors and 85 per cent seeing a positive impact on their behaviour.

The majority of children also thought they learned better and achieved more when learning outside. 92 per cent of pupils involved in the project said they enjoyed their lessons more when outdoors, with 90 per cent feeling happier and healthier as a result.

Additionally, 79 per cent of teachers reported positive impacts on their teaching practice.

Almost 70 per cent of teachers said that outdoor learning has had a positive impact on their job satisfaction and 72 per cent reported improved health and wellbeing.

The Natural Connections project was funded by Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), Natural England and Historic England.

The results echo previous research analysis by King’s College London. ‘Beyond barriers to learning outside the classroom in natural environments’ reported that environmental-based education makes other school subjects rich and relevant and gets apathetic students excited about learning.

It suggested that exposure to the natural environment could lower the effects of various mental health issues that can make E

Outdoor Learning

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

Apply now for a tree pack

Griffin Primary School Outwood Edge Woodland Art

The Woodland Trust wants the future to be rich in trees so, thanks to generous funding by partners Sainsbury’s, IKEA FAMILY, players of People’s Postcode Lottery and Yorkshire Tea, they are giving away 3,250 tree packs to schools and communities for planting in March 2017 Additional funding from DEFRA means the Trust can also giveaway a further 400,000 trees to eligible schools over the next four years.

Applications for March delivery close at 4pm on 6 January 2017.

Every pack is different, but each one contains saplings from seeds which were collected and grown in the UK. Decide which pack you want, you can order up to 420 trees, complete an online application and a pack will be sent out to you. The packs are dispatched in November and March when the trees are dormant and perfect for planting.

You can read all about the sizes, themes and species available in the packs, or even familiarise yourself with native UK trees before choosing.

The Trust’s Woodland Creation Champions are on hand to offer advice on pack selection and planting plans – get in touch if you would like some help.

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www.educationbusinessuk.net – THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION

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NATURE  it difficult for students to pay attention in the classroom and found that childhood participation in ‘wild’ and ‘domesticated’ nature, such as picking flowers or produce, planting trees or seeds, and caring for plants in childhood, have a positive relationship to adult environmental attitudes.

Woodland Trust commissioned research shows that primary age children who take part in tree planting remember it as a significant experience, even into their teenage years; by planting trees they felt that they were ‘doing their bit’ to help the natural environment.

THE LOCAL ENVIRONMENT At the aptly-named Outwoods Edge Primary School in Loughborough, as well as planting trees, children have had the experience of walking to their local wood. To keep them engaged during the walk they created a journey stick by tying leaves and flowers they found along the way to a stick they were given.

“The use of journey sticks encouraged the children to see different textures and colours on the way to the wood,” said Emma, a parent-helper.

Once there, the children’s first task was to pinpoint their location on a map. Then they collected natural materials, twigs and leaves, to create landscape art on the woodland floor.

After a lunchtime picnic, pupils spent the afternoon looking for tracks to discover which animals lived in the wood.

“My favourite part was being outdoors, exploring and learning about trees – I know what they are called now. The art work was fun, and making journey sticks,” said John, aged seven.

Teacher, Richard Onions said it was a valuable experience: “The visit delivered a number of curriculum objectives in a very real and practical way, particularly in science, art and geography. It also had scope to meet many maths and English objectives and to use the trip as a stimulus to work back in the classroom.

“We also found the trip a really good opportunity to engage with pupils who sometimes struggle to sit still or focus in a classroom. Having the space to move and explore really benefitted them in terms of behaviour for learning.”

The Woodland Trust regularly asks schools

Planting trees supports the recently introduced new national curriculum in many ways, including helping children to identify British native species like oak, rowan and silver birch

which plant trees and participate in their Green Tree Schools Award to give feedback on their experience of teaching with trees: “That was the coldest, muddiest day of my life; the school field looks like a mud bath. The children have had a ball,” said Rachel Macdonald, a teacher at Mill View Primary School, Chester.

“One child said that she thought only the Queen planted trees! What an uplifting and environmentally energising opportunity,” said Hungerford Primary School and Children’s Centre London.

“We had a whole school welly week. Our children from reception to year 6 were all very enthusiastic and engaged whilst planting and have taken great ownership of caring for the trees,” said Kingsham Primary School, Chichester.

“The children have become very excited about trees; we spent a whole afternoon, ‘learning with leaves’ using them in maths to work out the area and perimeter of irregular shapes, and to classify using Venn diagrams,” said Claydon Primary School, Ipswich.

Recent surveys found that three quarters of children spend less than an hour each day playing outside; and more than one in nine children in England haven’t set foot in a park, forest, beach or natural environment for at least twelve months. With results like that, learning outdoors is more important than ever. L

Outdoor Learning

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FURTHER INFORMATION Schools can apply for a free tree pack here: tinyurl.com/jleajc6

Griffin Primary School students watering trees

65

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GROUNDS MAINTENANCE

Well-managed playing fields will not only improve the quality of school pitches, but will also improve their usability as pupils enjoy playing on pitches without bumps and bare patches, says Colin Hoskins and Dan Prest from the Institute of Groundsmanship Regular planned maintenance is the key to well-managed pitches, and most of the tasks required are carried out on a fairly routine basis from one year to the next.

Such forward planning is a key management skill which helps to identify and address issues well in advance of any adverse situation; effectively helping to prevent such occurrences. A maintenance plan is a forward planning tool which aims to predict the type of work that will be required in maintaining a given area, bearing in mind usage rates and weather conditions.

However, it is no good having a maintenance plan if there is no end goal.

It’s all very well saying that the aim is to provide a fit-for-purpose playing surface, but what about trying to improve that surface year on year? How can that be done? Most likely you’ll need benchmarks.

Performance Quality Standards (PQS) provide a complete picture of a stated facility (such as a football pitch), with the surface, sub-surface and playing aspects all being clearly defined.

Grass root depth, overall grass coverage, soil type and even the visibility of the lines and ball bounce can be assimilated and measured (with most of the tests being simple enough to be carried out without laboratory-based equipment).

Attaching PQS results to a maintenance plan can give the school’s grounds team (or the contractor) something measurable to achieve through day-to-day maintenance activities. Indeed, the measures can also be used to check to see if money is being wasted on any particular task or product.

LOOKING GOOD YEAR ON YEAR One of the main criteria within PQS is presentational quality – does the playing surface look good? Presentation is often a very striking aspect to users and other stakeholders, and benchmarks can be set to ensure that the pitch ‘looks’ good year on year. A well-presented playing surface may well be the difference between pupils wanting to use it or preferring another facility.

PQS is one of the key aspects of the £1.3 million Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP), an initiative designed to raise the standards of sports surfaces as well as the understanding of sports turf management practices among those who manage and maintain them.

Funded by the IOG, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), The Football Association (The FA), the Rugby Football League (RFL) and Sport England, and led by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG), the programme is headed by national manager Jason Booth, formerly head groundsman at Leeds Rugby.

He leads a team of turf care expert regional pitch advisors who provide support services, training and education to grassroots sites while also managing the development of pitch performance standards through reporting and advising on grounds improvements. “The GaNTIP team has made steady progress in raising the much-needed awareness of pitch maintenance and its importance to all sports – especially at grassroots level,” he says.

In addition to the RFL’s initial emphasis on Tier 3 level clubs, The FA has focused on

raising awareness of pitch maintenance while also offering support to clubs that are going through asset transfer from local authorities that simply can no longer maintain facilities.

Also, The FA has already provided significant investment to clubs with machinery being supplied to a number of sites, and this will continue with the help of GaNTIP. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.iog.org www.iogsaltex.com

SALTEX 2016

Written by Colin Hoskins and Dan Prest, the Institute of Groundsmanship

Improving school playing surfaces

Sports Grounds

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR EDUCATION – www.educationbusinessuk.net

School grounds team and their contractors will have plenty of reasons to attend this year’s SALTEX (Sports, Amenities, Landscaping Trade Exhibition) at the Birmingham NEC, 2-3 November.

Not only will the two‑day event showcase everything that is great about the UK turf care industry – with hundreds of products on display, many of them new – but the complementary and free-to‑attend LEARNING LIVE education programme offers a host of unrivalled panel debates and presentations that will appeal to everyone involved in turf care.

The full programme, which will be available at www.iogsaltex.com, covers all the burning industry issues and every aspect of turf science, management and maintenance, as well as a host of other not-to-be-missed subjects that are relevant to today’s turf professional (and volunteer).

One debate is set to explore what impact leaving the European Union will have on the industry.

Professor John Moverley, chairman of the Amenity Forum has been confirmed as a panel member and will seek to specifically address the implications for weed, pest and disease control, as well as the amenity sector as a whole.

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Leisure Industry Week

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EVENT REVIEW

Leisure Industry Week 2016 The 28th Leisure Industry Week enjoyed distinct educational streams, engaging content and a positive atmosphere As the dust settles on another LIW (Leisure Industry Week), the thousands of delegates who passed through the doors at the NEC can reflect on a packed two days of world class education, networking and an extensive exhibition.

LIW was purchased in mid-2015 by the organisation responsible for producing BodyPower, one of the largest consumer shows in Europe. Despite a short lead time year one saw an increase in visitor numbers and positive feedback from both delegates and exhibitors.

It stands to reason, therefore, that given a full year of marketing and positioning the show, year two was hotly anticipated. Pre-show strategy for LIW was to position the show as a hub for workforce development with education taking priority. Distinct education streams were established in Spa & Wet Leisure, Sport, Play, Facilities Management, Fitness (including Practical Coaching and a Fitness Business School) and Health.

BUSINESS-FOCUSSED Whereas 2015 was underpinned by a sprinkling of star dust (where the Keynote Theatre hosted the likes of Stuart Pearce, Ben Cohen, Kellie Maloney and Sally Gunnell), 2016 was far more about business. The draped Operators and Keynote Conference hosted CEO of Think Digital First, Warren Knight, former Head of Digital at Microsoft, Allister Frost, and former Head of the John Lewis Intelligence Team Andrew McMillan alongside a host of top names.

As Show Director Steve Orton explains: “Given the additional time and resource we had to prepare for LIW this year we’ve taken into account the viewpoint of some extremely influential people within the industry to implement a show that reflects the state of leisure and delivers in areas that need improvement.

Skillset is a word on the tip of every operator’s tongue, and we’ve taken a stellar line-up of successful businesspeople from both inside and outside of the sector to deliver workforce development opportunities that cater for that demand.”

On education, LIW certainly delivered. Lift the Bar founder Chris Burgess commented that LIW was the “best show I’ve been to”; Emporium Gym Owner Warren Dyson said “I’m

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EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

old enough to remember LIW in its former glory and I can say it’s starting to return to that former glory and more”; and Shredded

by Science Founder Luke Johnson noted that the show was full of “highly motivated trainers looking to improve their knowledge.”

HIGHLIGHTS Over the two days there were numerous highlights. The Sport Education Stream shared a space with the Play Education Stream, both delivering a half day conference. Sport saw the likes of Fit for Sport CEO Dean Horridge deliver a talk on how to improve participation by “engaging with the dis-engaged” and even looking at why “sport is not for everyone.”

Horridge was joined on the stage by David Gent and Andrew Soutar of British Weight Lifting and British Judo respectively, looking at the “impact of the Olympics on UK sport” as well as Physiologist Colin Thomas covering “how to run without injury.”

Play was a popular destination. Speakers included the likes of Jupiter Play’s Kristina Causer covering “inclusive play and designing an inclusive strategy”, Dr Lee Smith (a Senior Lecturer at Anglia Ruskin University) talking about “encouraging activity within the family unit” and Principle Research Associate Dr David Whitebread discussed the “value of play for young children’s development.”

Backed by the support of STA and SPATA, Spa & Wet Leisure had a strong presence at the show with exhibitors including the likes of AquaMat, ColdTub, SRS Leisure and many more. The education stream featured the likes of Invictus Games Swimming Champion Mike Goody discussing “how to turn your swimming teachers into champions” as one of many highlights.

Speakers including Director of IQL Martin Symcox, Devin Consulting Managing Director Chris Graham and Aquatzi’s Anna Roscoe, whilst STA provided both Robbie Phillips and Kayle Burgham in a stream that covered everything from participation, safety standards, pool design, programming, UK Aquatics Qualifications and cost-saving.

We’re ning plan already ar’s event next ye e’ll have and w astic new nt some fa ns to make additio 17 bigger LIW 20 better and

The Facilities Management Education Stream was sponsored by the Sports & Leisure Facilities Forum and Facilities Management Forum (both run by Forum Events). Featuring talks on smart energy strategy, employee engagement, interpersonal communication, recruitment, safety culture and sales the diverse conference was a popular destination throughout the show. Speakers included PlanDay Chief Marketing Officer John Coldicutt, Pure World Energy CEO Simon Wright, DataHub Director Alex Burrows, Serco Sales Coach Gary Edwards and Head of Group Development at Right Directions Gill Twell.

GETTING EVERYONE ACTIVE LIW were extremely proud to announce SPORTA as a premier partner early in 2016 and the sight of the Health Education Stream being packed out on Tuesday for the SPORTA Health Improvement Conference was a major highlight. Public Health England’s Dr Mike Brannan kicked things off with a discussion

Leisure Industry Week

on “the challenge of getting everyone active” in an insightful day. Wednesday saw the likes of East of Riding Leisure’s Kevin Hadfield doing a case study on GP referrals, Hayley Jarvis discussing “the role of physical activity in tackling mental health issues” and Dr Dane Vishnubala of Core Fitness looking at how “the fitness industry can get more involved in the physical activity agenda.”

THE FITNESS STREAM Certainly the busiest and arguably the most talked-about area of the show, however, was the Fitness Stream. Covering three distinct zones, the Fitness Business School, Practical Coaching and Tropicana Wholesale Nutrition Zone there was a wealth of knowledge and expertise that impressed both speakers and delegates. Standout names included Americans Sol Orwell and Mark Fisher, as well as Ben Coomber, Dr Gary Mendoza, Phil Learney, Jamie Alderton, Paul Mort, Luke Johnson, Chris Burgess, Martin MacDonald and many, many more.

The Fitness Business School offered fitness

professionals the ability to learn from the most prominent coaches and educators that have developed their own businesses successfully, whilst Practical Coaching targeted Personal Trainers, Fitness Managers and Nutritionists to deliver a world class line-up of industry figureheads discussing the practical application of training and nutrition.

Other noteworthy areas included the sight of over 300 Pure Gym Personal Trainers converging on the closed Pure Gym Personal Trainer Conference that attracted top name speakers, whilst the likes of Sosa Dance Fitness, BhangraBlaze and Hulafit all provided energetic demonstrations in the Studio to showcase the latest classes. Urban Attack ran an extremely popular assault course over the two days and the Trampoline Park was once again a great place to let off steam.

All that education was complimented by a packed show floor that saw over 150 exhibitors get some excellent sales leads with some engaging visual displays.

Steve Orton commented: “We were confident that LIW would be a superior event

to 2015 with a full run-up of event promotion and that opinion has only been reinforced during a two packed days. Our tailored educational programmes, excellent features, exciting interactive areas, ground breaking product launches and hundreds of exceptional brands made the show a clear success.

LIW 2017 We’re already planning next year’s event and we’ll have some fantastic new additions to make LIW 2017 even bigger and better. We’ve seen growth both in the number of visitors and exhibitors and the show will keep being nurtured by our team. I’m proud of the event and I hope it was as enjoyable for everyone who attended as it was for us as organisers.” L

Leisure Industry Week will return to Birmingham’s NEC 12-13 September 2017.

FURTHER INFORMATION To find out more, register your interest in exhibiting or register as a visitor visit www.liw.co.uk.

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Products & Services

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SECURITY

SECURITY

A good security solution can offer more than just building access. Some systems monitor and control temperature, lighting, windows, as well as opening/closing doors within all classrooms. Having a system which controls these functions helps to automatically facilitate health and safety protocols within the school.

Having a system which can integrate with your student database allows you to create, update and remove individuals and their access groups within the database which then automatically updates the access control system. This is invaluable in terms of time efficiency, administration and reducing the margin for error.

Security systems can help respond to incidents within the school too. Notifications regarding critical incidents and shut downs due to bad weather, for example, can be sent to relevant staff, students

Controlling access to school sites and buildings is essential and while facilities need to be user-friendly and welcoming they still need to be safe and secure 365 days a year.

There are many simple procedures that can be followed from limiting visitor site access points, reducing the number of externally opening doors and managing vehicle site access control.

Electronic access control systems are the easiest and most effective at providing numerous benefits including enhanced security, H&S, staff management and automated student access. Nortech works very closely with integrators to provide a wide range of access control solutions for both people and vehicle access in all educational scenarios.

Proximity cards or contactless key fobs for staff and card readers at key entrances and doors is the simplest choice for

School security – more than meets the eye

and/or parents via SMS and email. Selected personnel on site can also have permission to initiate a full site lockdown across the facility. This action can be achieved via any computer on site. An immediate notification will be sent out to the local police that the school is in lockdown. Simultaneously, all buildings across the site can automatically respond to the lockdown by closing windows and locking doors.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 2476641234 info.eu@security. gallagher.com security.gallagher.com/ education

SECURITY

Innovative security services for schools A family-run business established in 1968, Kings Security is a leading provider of security and fire services to businesses and homes across the UK. Experienced and innovative, Kings prides itself on firstclass customer service; from the initial onsite visit through to ongoing maintenance and support, ensuring customers enjoy complete peace of mind.

Kings is committed to technology and innovation, leading the industry through vision without boundaries. Providing a full range of security services to many leading education establishments, Kings can take-over, install, upgrade and maintain systems including CCTV, intruder alarms, fire alarms and access control. Open protocols are used for all installations to ensure ongoing viability.

Kings is proud to maintain accreditations above industry standard levels, such as ISO 22301 Business Continuity

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Management, and is regularly awarded top honours within the security industry. Security packages are created to suit every organisation, however large or small, simple or complex they might be.

Kings Intelligence Service (KIS) is offered free of charge to all clients. As a value-added online service, visualising security estate data has never been clearer. KIS is at the cutting-edge of innovation and is continually being developed to support clients to the next level of security management and beyond.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0800 804 6171 info@kingsltd.co.uk www.kingsltd.co.uk

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

Security and access control in education

managing people access, but now Ofsted realises it is equally important for schools to consider their site access. Nortech’s vehicle access control solutions, such as ANPR is proving to be very effective in managing this issue especially when integrated with their Norpass3 access control management software.

There is no doubt that Nortech’s comprehensive access control systems can improve the running of an educational establishment.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.nortechcontrol.com

SECURITY

Can your school evacuate in a safe manner?

Do you have a safe and effective evacuation plan in the event of a protest or active shooter attack?

Proficient Security Limited (PSL) has been designing SEEPs – Special Emergency Evacuation Procedures – since May 2016 in all types of schools in the South East and West.

The company is also currently working with a US global firm in London with multiple sites.

Governors, heads, and SLTs have a duty to ensure a plan is in place in the event of an incident. PSL offers a free site visit, and if you are happy, a SEEP can be designed.

Each building is unique and has physical defences which can be capitalised on. PSL’s operations team are ex-UK

Special Forces; this experience plus the latest intelligence gained worldwide is essential in safeguarding everyone.

In the event of an incident, your plans are likely to come under scrutiny. Health & Safety at work regulations put the responsibility on the owner or occupier to provide a duty of care for staff and visitors. Although police and other agencies can offer advice, it is up to the owner or occupier to seek out and act upon advice. In any subsequent inquiries or court proceedings, you would need to show that you took the relevant legislation into account.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.proficientsecurity.co.uk

SECURITY

SECURITY

During the past three decades, RISCO Group has evolved to become a proven leader in the global security solutions market; manufacturing and marketing end-to-end solutions for the professional security market, with regional offices around the globe and serving millions of satisfied customers worldwide.

RISCO Group produces high quality and reliable security products for every type of security installation.

From intrusion systems for residential and commercial installations, to large scale access control and integrated security building management platforms, we aspire to provide our customers with a plethora of high-end security management solutions, all of which comply with international standards.

RISCO Group is a technological leader, seeking innovation

In education, it is vital to protect staff and students through the watchful eye rather than the power of enforcement, and without the excessive security measures that could even increase fear.

OCS ensures that its teams are central to a positive student experience through staff development. This allows OCS security teams to contribute to the wider education community through: advice on safety, security issues, and products e.g. panic alarms; safer routes to and from venues and approved safe transport companies; and advice on data loss prevention and safeguarding IT equipment e.g. with ultraviolet marker.

Open access schools and college facilities provide the greatest risk. OCS electronic security teams undertake regular assessments to ensure the optimum solutions for enhancing security in vulnerable areas. At one of South London’s busiest

High quality and reliable security products

in everything it does. The company’s cloud-based solutions enable efficient, economical installations which can be paired with an intuitive smartphone application to offer end-users self-monitoring and remote access capabilities, addressing a growing trend within the industry.

RISCO Group’s mission is to provide its customers with cutting-edge technology, personalised service and superb customer support. Get in touch to find out more about the how RISCO Group can work with you to support your business today.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0161 655 5500 www.riscogroup.com/uk

Ensuring the safety of pupils and staff

HEALTH AND SAFETY

ENERGY

Anthill Health & Safety offers consultancy advice and support in all areas of health and safety, which includes: performance of risk assessments; creation of health and safety management systems; development of method statements and health and safety plans, under CDM, for contractor’s on site work; arrangement of training; conduct of accident investigations to establish causation and prevent recurrence; as well as being available to act as an expert witness in tribunals and court appearances.

Located near Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and close to the Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire borders, Anthill Health & Safety will be pleased to support schools in these areas

CMR Consultants is a privately owned energy consultancy based in the Midlands that works throughout the UK. Its energy consultants have over 25 years’ experience working in all areas of the education sector, including state and independent funded primary, secondary and tertiary (higher and further) education properties, where they have carried out a diverse range of services from basic energy surveys, design advice and implementation of energy saving measures.

CMR would expect to identify savings which would yield a 10 to 25 per cent saving based on current energy costs.

Initially focusing on no/low cost and Capex recommendations with a <3-year payback.

Using Measurement and Verification protocols, CMR can independently verify the energy and water savings claimed by energy services companies.

Its integrated service of

Support in all areas of health and safety

and the surrounding counties of the Midlands, including Warwickshire, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.

Additionally, Anthill visits the rest of the UK quite regularly and is happy to come out to Birmingham, London or the North West, including North Wales, if that is where you are located.

The principal consultant of Anthill Health & Safety is Anthony Smith-Roberts MA CMIOSH OSHCR, who will be happy to assist you with any of your health and safety questions.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01296 670 988 anthony@anthill-uk.com www.anthill-uk.com

Products & Services

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colleges, OCS delivered an access control solution that ensures access to only those with correct permissions. When students and staff leave their access control pass elsewhere, access is suspended quickly so that others cannot use it.

Biometric security provides additional protection, especially when fingerprint readings are used alongside other checks such as a proximity card or PIN number, and the use of CCTV provides a ‘softer approach’ for protecting the perimeter and vulnerable areas.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0844 846 7608 enquiries@ocs.co.uk

Up to 25 per cent energy savings for schools

consultancy, aM&T and forecasting is developed around your needs and delivered by our experienced team.

CMR can help you develop and implement an energy management strategy that not only achieves ISO 50001 certification, but is also tailored to your specific organisation’s needs.

We have a dedicated water consultancy team which has experience in identifying and implementing water related cost reductions.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0844 225 1166 info@cmrgroup.co.uk

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Products & Services

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GROUNDS

POWER TOOLS

Kioti Tractors and utility vehicles are becoming a common sight in schools, sports clubs and golf courses right across the UK as well as being used as workhorses on farms, estates and equestrian establishments.

The South Korean Manufacturer is represented in Europe by the Pols Group who market the Kioti product in the Netherlands, Belgium, France Switzerland and Romania as well as the UK. With a range of Tractors from 26 to 115hp, including models with fitted, air-conditioned luxury spacious cabs, the range will have a model to suit your operation.

Kioti is the only South Korean brand to have an independent European main spare parts and whole goods headquarters which is based in Rotterdam.

This enables deliveries of

Makita is a global brand of professional power tools and accessories, renowned for quality and performance. The company’s ever growing range of over 600 tools includes robust and reliable grounds maintenance and landscaping equipment. The Makita range includes linetrimmers, brush cutters, blowers, water pumps, professional arborist top-handle chainsaws and felling saws for all applications, mowers, shredders, scarifiers, hedge trimmers and split shaft combination tools.

This outstanding range of petrol, electric and cordless tools offers many innovative technologies from Easy Start and Vibration Dampening, to the innovative MM4 – the Makita mini 4-stroke engine. The MM4 engine delivers more horsepower, torque and reliability than the same capacity 2-stroke engine and achieves greatly reduced emissions with up to 40 per cent less fuel consumption, with

Tractors and mowers to suit any operation

spares at a super fast speeds with technical backup handled by a national network of dealers throughout the UK. A range of Kioti cut and collect mowers are also available, offering customers an unmatched cut and collect system which even works when the grass is wet!

Visit the Kioti website for more details of this exciting range of tractors, vehicles and mowers.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 07881 013 044 www.kioti-uk.com

SIGNAGE

SCHOOL TRIPS

Having worked in the education sector for over 60 years, Stocksigns understands your specific needs.

It understands that education establishments span a wide range of audiences from the very young to young adults and academic staff at universities.

Whether you are looking for standard signage or a bespoke signage solution, Stocksigns’ experts work with you to help you cater to all of your requirements.

As the UK’s leading Health and Safety signage supplier, Stocksigns’ experts can help to ensure that your signage is complaint.

Over the last 60 years the company has used its expertise to develop a school signage range dedicated to the essential signage needed for schools and classrooms, which includes:

With 20 years’ experience delivering curriculum relevant educational programmes, the National Holocaust Centre enables students from KS3 to 5 to learn about the roots of discrimination and prejudice and to explore the true values of respect; acceptance and tolerance.

In addition to the Museum, the Centre features the only permanent exhibition in Europe designed for teaching the Holocaust to primary-aged children. Students may be guided or self-guided but all will have the unique opportunity to engage with, listen to and question a Survivor about their experiences.

Visits can be enhanced with themed workshops or activities and programmes may be tailored to an array of subjects; including Art, History, RE and English.

Free educational support packs are provided for all pupils.

Promising a ‘seriously’ fun day out, students will develop

Bespoke signage solutions for schools

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Grounds maintenance without noise disturbance

information, prohibition, security and classroom signage.

Furthermore, with its custom sign service, Stocksigns’ team of talented designers and account managers work with you to create bespoke signage that expresses the philosophy of your establishment; no matter whether it is your main entrance sign, wayfinding solutions, classroom names or your school crest or logo.

Give Stocksigns’ experts a call today to discuss your signage needs.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01737 774 077 sales@stocksigns.co.uk www.stocksigns.co.uk/ education

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

lower noise and vibration levels, to enable longer run times and improved operator comfort.

Using battery powered grounds care machines means that exhaust emissions are zero, petrol engine exhaust fumes are eliminated and the risk of ground contamination from spilt petrol and oil is removed altogether. Where traditional machines make an awful noise, the battery powered Makita tools are significantly quieter whilst still delivering professional performance – meaning teams can work around schools without causing nuisance and annoyance.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.makitauk.com

Remembering the past, protecting the future

their historical knowledge, advance their understanding of respecting themselves and others, cultivate the skills of critical and independent thought and consider different responses to isolation or prejudice within their own communities.

“What hurts the victim the most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander.”

– Arek Hersh, Holocaust Survivor FURTHER INFORMATION bookings@ nationalholocaustcentre.net www.nationalholocaustcentre. net

SPORT

SPORT

Fit For Sport - the UK’s leader in engaging and educating children, young people and families through physical activity - is proud to present its new primary school physical activity support tool: the Healthy Active Schools System.

Fit For Sport’s free physical activity tracker, the Healthy Active Schools System, is now live for primary schools to use to monitor, track and evaluate school and pupil physical activity levels and show the impact of PE and School Sport. The Healthy Active Schools System enables schools to record PE and Sport Premium spend, monitor pupil swimming achievements, showcase competition participation, track daily physical activity levels and download a wide range of free resources to support and promote an Active School.

The Healthy Active Schools System gives school staff measurable and tangible activity data for their classes

Over the past 63 years, Fleet Line Markers Ltd. has provided line marking expertise around the World boasting factories in six countries, including New Zealand and the USA. As manufacturers of The BeamRider laser guided line marking machine, it was only a matter of time before the flagship Kombi MK2 was updated to the Kombi 3.

The Kombi has been the most popular seller across the world since it’s launch over 19 years ago. Now sporting many unique features, it creates the most advanced pedestrian marker without a laser.

The introduction of the wheeled knib as standard means the Kombi 3 can mark on all sports surfaces straight out of the box. Independent stainless steel arms track ground contours giving sharp, crisp line definition whether it’s on

Free online tool to help Fleet - investing in the track pupils activity levels future of line marking

and individual pupils, helping to raise awareness of physical activity within the school environment and across the whole school community.

The Healthy Active Schools System’s reporting tools give insight into whole school activity, including: PE and Sport Premium spend breakdown; disparities in gender activity levels; and trends in specific sports and activities being played in school – with an easy to use reporting dashboard, schools can instantly see how active their school is.

FURTHER INFORMATION activeschools@ fitforsport.co.uk www.fitforsport.co.uk

OUTDOOR LEARNING

SEN

With 36 years of first-hand experience and expertise, CESA Languages offers a wealth of amazing language courses abroad, to suit A level students looking for French, Spanish or German language course revision during the Easter or Summer holidays, or Summer Teenage courses and Gap Year courses for all language abilities.

French courses are available in Paris, Nice and Montpellier, while Spanish courses take place in Madrid, Salamanca and Barcelona and German courses are available in Berlin, Munich and Heidelberg.

Language courses are available year round including

Research shows that children learn best when their selfesteem is preserved and they are able to master key skills at their own pace.

That’s why thousands of schools are choosing the multi-sensory Five Minute Box and The Number Box interventions. The early teaching and screening tools help the detection of dyslexia, dyscalculia, and general learning difficulties in primary school aged children.

Used in short motivating sessions, the programmes cover the key skills of literacy and maths in simple steps.

Separated into different areas of the National Curriculum, each programme allows children to acquire skills at their own pace, while highlighting those who have more long term needs.

With no preparation required, these resources are ideal to maximise teaching assistant input with targeted students.

First class language courses abroad

French DELF, Spanish DELE and German Goethe exam courses.

Accommodation is offered with local hosts, residences or apartments.

Students follow structured programmes with native speaking teachers in professional language schools in classes tailored to their language level. They experience life in the country, mix with native speakers and share their time with like-minded language learners from across the world!

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01209 211 800 info@cesalanguages.com cesalanguages.com

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grass, tarmac or synthetic turf.

Fleet’s constant efforts to maintain quality and innovative products, Fleet offer free upgrades to all machinery.

How does it work? For the life of the machine, any upgrades or modifications made by Fleet HQ to that current model will be offered free of charge (T&C’s apply) Feel confident that every new Fleet machine you purchase is future proof!

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01684 573 535 www.flmuk.com

Mastery for all in literacy and maths

The evidence-based approach means the resources are suitable for children with a range of needs from the age of school entry. Motivation, organisation and self-help strategies are built into the programmes. Progress is divided into small steps targets, making it easy to track and share.

“It has been refreshing to find a concise and highly useful resource to benefit our children.” - specialist support teacher, Hamilton.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01442 878 629 info@fiveminutebox.co.uk www.fiveminutebox.co.uk

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Advertisers Index

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DESIGN AND BUILD

DESIGN AND BUILD

Medite Smartply is the market leading manufacturer of environmentally produced, sustainable timber construction panels. As acknowledged industry pioneers in the fields of MDF and OSB, the award winning brands Medite and Smartply are renowned for delivering the highest quality products, customer led innovation and industry leading customer service.

Medite Smartply products are widely used and specified throughout refurbishment, regeneration and new build projects, due to the company’s sustainable supply chain, innovative, problem solving range and respected technical support. From pre-primed, FSC approved site hoardings to ‘no added formaldehyde’ products ideal for use in museums, galleries, medical and educational facilities, flame retardant OSB and MDF boards for numerous

For a cleaner, safer working environment, why not opt for a BenchVent filtration cabinet. All BenchVent cabinets, downdraught benches and booths are made to order in the UK, and come in order to comply with COSHH regulations, as well as a lifetime guarantee.

BenchVent’s filtration systems have been proven to be 99 per cent effective in the removal of dust, fumes, particles and odours in an enclosed environment.

BenchVent equipment is designed for use in a variety of settings and over the years it has developed more and more specialist equipment. From secondary through to higher education, typical settings for the filtration cabinets include design and technology, arts and science and we have recently added healthy and beauty equipment to our extensive catalogue.

For larger applications BenchVent can also supply

Sustainable timber construction panels

flooring, roofing and sheathing applications, right through to the world’s only airtight OSB for use in Low Energy construction projects as certified by the Passive House Institute, Medite Smartply has a panel for the most demanding situations.

And just when you thought these applications were pushing the innovation envelope to its limits, how about Medite Tricoya Extreme, a high performance wood panel that offers all the flexibility of MDF, with up to 50 year guarantee when used externally!

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01322 424 900 www.mdfosb.com

Filtration cabinets for a variety of settings

downdraught benches, and for scientific specialisms we have storage cabinets, fume cupboards and other technical equipment.

Service contracts are also available, and BenchVent can keep you in stock with a range of filters should you require it.

BenchVent works with some very well-known names such as: Rolls Royce, Virgin Atlantic, Eton College, Sienna X. Whatever the size of your project, talk to the specialists at BenchVent about ventilation and filtration projects to see which of their great products fit with your specifications.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01423 790 039 www.benchvent.com

ADVERTISERS INDEX

The publishers accept no responsibility for errors or omissions in this free service AJC Trailers 24 Anthill Health and Safety 71 Aspect Safety Mirrors 14 Bench Vent 74 Brother 34 C-TEC Building Solutions 10 CCE Group 18 CESA Languages Abroad 73 CFH Docmail 30 City of London Corporation 62 CMR Group 71 eBuyer OFC, 42 Elite Systems 22 eTeach 4 Evac Chair 26 Fit for Sport 73 Five Minute Box 73 Fleet (Line Markers) 73 Gallagher Security 70

74

EDUCATION BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 21.9

Genee World OBC, 48, 50 Groupcall 38 HCSS Education 14 (Ascent It) HUE 41 IIYAMA International 40 ISS Mediclean 6 Jackie Biggin Media: Makita 72 KCS IFC Kingpin Events 64 Kings Security Systems 70 Kioti 72 Maxim 64 Medite Smartply 74 Mobile Kitchens 18 National Space Centre 14 Nortech Control Systems 70 OCS Group 71 OKI Systems 32 ParentPay 16

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