Grenfell replacement school is kitted out with the latest technology from international education technology provider for a fresh start in Kensington.

Manchester based educational technology specialists, Prowise UK, have supplied Kensington Aldridge Academy with new technologies for their temporary facility.

Twenty military volunteers completed the installation, that typically takes 12 weeks, on 15 September so students started the academic year with as little disruption to their education as possible.

Since September 2016, it has been a mandatory requirement for all schools to have an online monitoring system in place.

Although, filtering systems, which block or limit access to unsuitable websites, are a common tool in many education establishments, they come with several limitations. Unlike filter systems, active monitoring is a key strengthening tool in safeguarding strategies, revealing information about where online and real-world dangers are in schools. 

What is active monitoring?

Teachers from primary schools across the UK joined science, nutrition and health experts at a national pupil wellbeing summit in London this week.

Hosted by Discovery Education and Alimentarium Foundation, Food For Thoughtsaw educators and specialists meet for a day of dynamic workshops, experiments and seminars exploring healthy eating and body image in primary school age pupils.

Over 50 teachers attended the conference at London’s Coin Street Conference Centre on Tuesday 17th October. With sessions led by nutrition experts and body image specialists, the event offered ideas, support and resources to boost pupil wellbeing.

Fifty lucky primary schools will get a spectacular science lesson delivered to their pupils absolutely free by Empiribox – creators of the only complete science solution for KS1 and KS2 that makes it easy for teachers to deliver captivating lessons designed to thrill, engage and firmly embed a love of science in their class.

A pilot project that is teaching hundreds of children to learn Mandarin has been hailed a success by leading politicians.

Almost 400 pupils from 14 schools across England have been praised by Nick Gibb for their progress in learning Mandarin, as part of a pilot programme to help them get ahead in the global jobs market.

The Mandarin Excellence Programme, delivered by the UCL Institute of Education in partnership with the British Council, aims to have at least 5,000 pupils in England on track towards fluency in Mandarin Chinese by 2020.

UCAS has launched a series of innovative online courses to help today’s students, and the people who advise them, navigate the tricky business of deciding what to do when they leave secondary education.

Young people have a greater range of options than ever before when considering their next steps after school or college, and most rely on busy teachers or parents and carers for advice and guidance.

To help teaching staff and advisers explore university, college, work, apprenticeships, and other choices, and to advise their students about contemporary choices, UCAS is running a pair of free online courses: one for teachers and advisers, followed by an accompanying course for their students.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is to hold its first ever dedicated careers event for teachers and careers advisers at its headquarters at 195 Piccadilly, London, on 9 November. The organisation has also launched a free online Careers Quiz designed for young people aged 12 – 18, which will be on show at the event.
 
Both the BAFTA Creative Careers Showcase and the BAFTA Careers Quiz have been designed to showcase the wide range of opportunities available to young people in the film, games and television industries in a bid to encourage more young people, whatever their background or skillset to consider careers in these competitive yet thriving sectors.
 

A new report entitled ‘The State of SMS’ reveals how educators are set to benefit from advances in mobile marketing as the number of active mobile phones in circulation tops 80m for the first time. 

The sector is expected to see a 34% increase in students and parents opting to receive text messages from education providers by the end of 2020, presenting significant opportunities.

OpenGenius creators of Mind Mapping software, iMindMap, create new ‘iMindMap Kids’ app.

This week, OpenGenius, creators of award-winning Mind Mapping tool, iMindMap, have announced their new children’s app ‘iMindMap Kids’. The software company, based in Tec Marina, Penarth, have targeted the Mind Mapping app towards children in primary school education.

sportsequip have introduced brand new types of timber fitness trail equipment that can be supplied and installed at a fraction of the cost of steel outdoor gym equipment.

Stretch Stations™ are the most cost effective option and are designed to be used independently, without any fixed equipment. Stretch Stations™ provide gentler, easy to use, standalone exercises for school users. Each Stretch Station™ offers users a choice of two exercises (from a choice of 30).

Gym Trails™ are all low level, low impact and low cost exercise round log timber units which eliminate the risk of falls from height.

*£45,000 of educational prizes available for winning schools*

Shell today called for schools across Great Britain to enter The Bright Ideas Challenge, its national schools’ science competition, now in its third year. The competition invites students aged 11-14 to use their STEM skills and creativity to develop innovative solutions that could power our future cities. The prize for the best “bright idea” is £5,000 to super-size the winning school’s STEM teaching.

Founded as an independent company in 1995, Total Environmental Compliance Ltd (previously known as TEAMS Northern Ltd) are a leading UK based specialist in water hygiene and consultancy which provides services for Industrial, Commercial, Leisure and Healthcare Sectors in Legionella risk assessment, Water Hygiene including cleaning and disinfection, storage tank remedial works, etc, Analytical services (microbiological and chemical) from UKAS accredited laboratories, Chemical treatment for industrial & domestic LPHW as well as steam generating systems, open & closed cooling water and pool water systems.

Schools across the Essex area have been working with a local garden centre to find out more about how houseplants can positively impact health and wellbeing in the classroom. 

Perrywood Garden Centre, in Colchester, has been working with schools across Essex to highlight the benefits of bringing plants into the classroom. 

From Peace Lilies to Succulents and everything in between, it’s well known that plants can be hugely beneficial to our health, so as part of its Green Up Your Gaff campaign, award winning Perrywood Garden Centre is hoping to boost concentration, improve air quality and reduce stress levels by visiting local schools in the area and providing them with free houseplants.

At the end of the 2017-18 academic year, the first students will sit exams for the strengthened GCSE Religious Studies courses, which were introduced in September 2016 as part of the reform of GCSE qualifications. These new Religious Studies GCSEs have seen a move away from a thematic approach and towards a greater focus on exploring the beliefs and practices of various religions through their sacred texts.