Early Years Education Charity calls for participants for ‘road trip of a lifetime’
Early years education charity, Parenta Trust is calling for teams to take part in a ‘road trip of a lifetime’ – the Maidstone to Monaco Rally. From 26th to 30th June 2019, ‘petrol heads’ in both two- and four-wheeled vehicles will travel 2,000 miles through eight countries, traverse the Alps and negotiate the winding roads of the Furka Pass. The annual five-day escapade encompasses camping under the stars and taking part in challenges – before reaching the final destination of glamorous Monaco. All funds raised from the rally go towards building pre-schools for children in need of a quality education in deprived areas of the world. Parenta Trust founder and trustee, Allan Presland said; “The Maidstone to Monaco rally is a fantastic way to bring people together for a great cause and have fun along the way. It’s growing in size year-on-year and our 6th rally, in 2019, will be opened up to two-wheel vehicles, not just four. So now, car and motorcycle ‘petrol heads’ can unite on this five-day journey of fun, laughter and exploration. The support we receive every year is nothing less than astounding; but we are always looking for more people to get involved. We already have quite a few teams signed up – but the more the merrier – so we are appealing for more teams to come and join us and help us with “the drive to build a school”! “Every day I feel privileged to have the opportunity to play a part in the crucial task of giving children in deprived areas of the world an early years education. Our 5th school will open in early 2019 and in addition, funds raised from the 2018 Maidstone to Monaco Rally and our two charity balls, means that we are now finalising funds for our next school. Together we can raise enough funds to continue building a new pre-school year on year. With every pre-school we build, we can give on average another 200 children the opportunity they deserve to have an early years education – come and join us for an automotive adventure!” Parenta Trust, which supports disadvantaged children across the world by providing quality pre-school education, was founded by Allan Presland in 2013 after a life-changing trip to Kampala in Uganda. The stark reality of poverty and lack of education for pre-school children hit him hard on the day he found a young girl on a rubbish tip on top of a cemetery in an area known locally as ‘Kosovo’. She was scavenging for food and Allan found it heartbreaking that she clearly had to fend for herself to even find food let alone be given an early years education. He returned to the UK to set up a charity, leveraging his existing network of contacts in the early years sector and his ambitious quest to build one pre-school per year began. Further information on the Maidstone to Monaco rally can be found here.
NewVIc students feel empowered by Michelle Obama and female business leaders.
Since October, NewVIc has been working with the National Literacy Trust to deliver ‘Words for Work: Women in Leadership’ – a programme which aims to engage and empower our future female leaders. Earlier this week, the programme culminated in a fantastic ‘Women in Leadership’ panel event, which was attended by over 200 female students from across East London. Students heard from inspirational female leaders and learnt about their journeys to success, the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. The panellists of professionals included: Laura Bates – Everyday Sexism Project Marie Scott – CMS Law Thanyia Moore – Comedian Kavita Hansla – National Literacy Trust Elizabeth Yentumi – Ministry of Justice Emilie Marsh – Lancôme Sanisha Wynter – National Student Union Kathleen O’Malley – Network Rail Later that day, seven NewVIc students were invited to the sold out event ‘Becoming’ – An Evening with Michelle Obama’ at the Royal Festival Hall, to discuss her new memoir. Michelle chatted with author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about everything from her childhood spent in the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive, motherhood and her time as a resident in the White House. “Michelle Obama stands for race equality and gender equality. She just wants to make this world a better place and she believes in us young girls, that we have the power to make this change, and that’s why she particularly addressed us because we are the younger generation. As she says, she is laying the foundations for us to become the future leaders” “What I got from that was the feeling of empowerment and I think that’s enough for me to strive forward. I realise now that my fear of rejection and failure is something I’m emphasising too much and I shouldn’t.” “It actually made me realise that behind every woman, every leader, there is a story to tell.” NewVIc A Level students “The students were a credit to themselves and to NewVIc. The inclusive environment from the minute you walk in the door is hugely evident. They listened incredibly to the panel and asked such insightful questions. It was wonderful to see them rushing to take a copy of Michelle Obama’s autobiography at the end of the event.” Fiona Evans National Literacy Trust, Head of School Programmes The ‘Words for Work: Women in Leadership’ programme, focuses on challenging stereotypes and raising aspirations of students by developing their literacy, communication, leadership skills and preparing them for the workplace by learning how these skills can be used to overcome the barriers women face in their careers. During the first phase of the programme in October, a group of NewVIc students were invited to Lancôme for an immersion day. It was an incredible opportunity for young female students to network in the corporate world. Students saw first-hand how women are valued and developed in a hugely successful international company. “The motivational women that led the programme gave a tour of the company’s offices, encouraged the students to reflect on their own aspirations and dreams and gave them the chance to ask both pertinent and personal questions. The day gave our young female students a deeper understanding of the world of work and left them feeling that there are no limitations to what they can achieve and how high they can aim. The warm and supportive vibe also left us as female staff members full of confidence and enthusiasm to do the same.” Jodie Fink NewVIc A Level Tutor The programme has been a huge success seeing so many strong young women, from all different kinds of backgrounds, develop their literacy skills and have the courage to challenge stereotypes by aspiring to go into leadership roles. Find out more
Learnit aims to ‘change the conversation in education’
Here, our editor Victoria Galligan speaks to the Learnit team to find out the background behind the new-for-2019 show and what educators can expect to see… How did the team come together? The Learnit team consists of Anil Aggarwal, an American tech-entrepreneur and investor, and Katy Fryatt, a Cambridge University graduate and a millennial parent. They met whilst developing the world’s most important events for fintech and retail innovation: Money20/20 and Shoptalk. Learnit aims to be “world-changing” – how does it hope to do this? Learnit is doing two really important things. Firstly, it’s uniting the entire global learning community – from government and educator leaders to startups, investors, tech companies and heads of talent and training within employers. We’re talking about learning, not just education. Secondly, we’re leading an intellectual conversation about the current and future state of learning. Our 100+ speakers will talk about how we can revolutionise education, and ultimately change the world. All speakers are chosen on merit, not ‘pay-to play’ and range from Andreas Schleicher at the OECD, to the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan, to the Head Master of Eton and to Euan Blair, who’s set out to build an outstanding alternative to university. Learnit itself is a venture-backed startup with $1million in funding. We’re building Learnit very differently to any other event. What makes Learnit stand out from other events? Learnit is bringing together the right people in an environment that is conducive to accelerated change. To do that we’ve focused on developing a groundbreaking agenda and thoughtfully curated networking program that will bring senior-level decision makers to learn and build the partnerships needed to make meaningful progress. We offer educator and government leaders free tickets and up to £750 for their travel. What are the main issues within education which you feel need changing the most? Education has remained largely unchanged for decades, and is now disconnecting from the real world in increasingly material ways. Children of every age go to school, are taught a government-prescribed curriculum, are tested and retested and then enter The Real World. And while The Real World has changed, and continues to change exponentially, education hasn’t. Making learning relevant is one of the greatest challenges facing education today. We’re changing the conversation. The speaker line up is unparalleled. Learnit’s 2019 agenda focuses on important, timely themes including Equality & Access to Education, The Future of Work, Educating Generation Alpha, The Business of Education, Learning Spaces in 2025, Impactful & Scalable Learning Innovations and Artificial Intelligence in Education. To book tickets for the event, which takes place January 24-25, see the Learnit website here.
Energys Group say MATs will cut £190,000 off energy bills
Energys Group won a competitive tender, worth over £1.7million, to manufacture, supply and install LED lighting to 12 Academies for two Academy Trusts. The Ormiston Academies Trust and Brooke Weston Trust are sponsors of primary and secondary academies. As educational trusts, their aims are for all young people to have access to the highest academic, social and practical skills required to achieve their full potential, whether going on to study at a leading university or entering the world of work. The opportunity With Brooke Weston and Ormiston Trusts spending over £2.7 million a year on energy and needing to spend over £1 million on lighting replacement over the next 5 years, both Trusts urgently needed to put in place energy efficiency programmes which would achieve a number of priorities: reduce the trusts’ energy bills; address the challenge of lighting conditions; reduce the environmental impact in terms of CO2 emissions from the trusts’ estates and deliver a procurement model and benchmark data which would allow the project to be replicated by other Multi-Academy Trusts. The academies within each trust which were part of the project all had old, inefficient lighting throughout their properties, mainly consisting of T8 fluorescent fittings without lighting controls, and also had poor Emergency lighting provision; this needed to be upgraded as part of the scheme, to be fully compliant with BS5266.1. The entire upgrade programme was funded by the Department for Education MAT (Multi-Academy Trust) Loans Pilot Project and was designed to maximize the benefits of new, energy-efficient lighting and ensure the Academies were fully compliant with emergency lighting regulations. The approach Structured framework Energy saving upgrades in public sector buildings are frequently only achievable with the assistance of Government funding. The key funding available for educational establishments is the Salix scheme. In May 2017, the Education and Skills Funding Agency launched a MAT Loans Pilot project, to analyse whether interlinking MATs could enable collaborative working to achieve long-term benefits for their estates. The project saw EO Consulting bring together the two trusts on a project to investigate the long-term strategic difference this approach had on their estates. Energys Group was successful with its tender bid, awarded in June 2017 through the Yorkshire Purchasing Organisation (YPO) framework, to manufacture, supply and install over 15,000 LED light fittings to 12 Academies in the Group, awarded on a mix of price, technical specification, quality and ability to deliver on a very tight timescale. Tight deadlines & no disruption Following the award of the tender each site had a full lighting survey carried out, and proposals were submitted over a two week period to the end of June 2017. A full programme of works upgrading the LED Lighting was commenced in July and completed by November 2017. Where possible, the work was carried out in the summer break or during out of hours in term-time, resulting in no disruption to the operation of the Academies. Proven efficiency A range of Energys Group’s New Vision LED Panels, linear LED, downlights, wall-lights, floodlights, high bays and streetlights was installed. Over 15,000 light fittings were upgraded to LED across the project. The majority of fittings incorporated individual occupancy and daylight harvesting sensors to maximize the potential energy savings. A 10-year warranty was provided on all fittings. Massive energy savings across the 12 Academies are being delivered, amounting to 1.7 million kWh per annum, and equating to £190,000 per annum savings, based on a rate of a minimum of 10.5p per kWh. Useful lessons The pilot project has provided invaluable lessons for the Trusts themselves, EO Consulting and Energys Group across a wide-range of outcomes, including delivering greater energy savings than initially forecast, longer-term warranties, and provided proof that frameworks make the process cost-effective, repeatable and scalable. Matt Isherwood, Brooke Weston Trust’s estates director, said: “This is the first project of its kind where two Academy Trusts have joined forces to submit a joint funding and installation bid, enabling us to get better deals from suppliers as we had more buying power when compared to a single trust. “The project has been so successful that it could be replicated across other multi-academy trusts and we outlined the process, benefits and savings at the Trust Network Conference in April, attended by delegates from more than 100 multi-academy trusts.” Commenting on the project, Kevin Cox Managing Director, Energys Group said, “This was a major, multi-site project for us; one with very tight deadlines and exacting specifications in order to fulfil the requirements of the individual Academies and those of the funding body. The team did a superb job and many of the lessons learned will stand us in good stead for future multi-site, multi-Academy projects.” For more information, see the Energys Group website here.
‘The apprenticeship levy gives employers more flexibility’
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Birmingham Botanical Gardens – an urban oasis! Be inspired by nature!
Why is white chocolate white, but milk chocolate brown? How do pineapples grow? Why is biofuel so important? From which plant can both houses and clothing be made? Why do cactus plants look so strange? What is a tenrec? Find out the answer to these questions and many more, as you explore our 4 spectacular glasshouses and 15 acres of flourishing gardens. Here at Birmingham Botanical Gardens, we offer an educational visit like no other. You can explore our unique Glasshouses and experience an authentic rainforest adventure! Then, walk straight from experiencing hot and humid tropical conditions into a desert climate and observe the changes to plants due to the seasons. Then, wander down to the Alpine Yard and Rock Garden to marvel at the beautiful flora found on the Tundra. The Gardens contain over 7,000 different plants from all around the world. Experience the humidity and smells of the Tropical House, look (but don’t touch!) with wonder at the carnivorous plants in the Subtropical House, admire the fruits and flowers of the Mediterranean House, and marvel at the bizarre and fascinating ways that cacti have developed to protect themselves in the harsh environment of the world’s deserts (Arid House). Don’t forget to allow plenty of time, in addition, to wander around the stunning grounds seeing the giant Koi Carp and Victorian Cascade in the Rock Garden, be amazed by the National Bonsai Collection in our Japanese Garden, stop and smell the many herbs in our Herb Garden, be fascinated by our exotic bird collection from all over the world, play on our amazing new Treetops Adventure playground and, you never know, bump into our free-roaming peacocks! Allow us to share the knowledge and experience we have gained over nearly 200 years in our expertly-taught, cross-curricular teaching sessions that will be tailor-made to your age group and topic. Or opt for a self-guided visit where group leaders can lead their own activities. Find out more here
Learning at Ravenglass Railway Museum
Ravenglass Railway Museum is a great place for a school visit. There are many opportunities for learning from the museum, the railway, the site and the community it serves. Located in West Cumbria, the Museum tells the story of the historic Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway which opened in 1875 and still carries 100,000 passengers every year behind beautifully preserved steam locomotives. The museum offers an extensive archive and exhibits that share the history of the line and allows visitors to get up close to the locomotives and coaches. The Museum’s schools programme was developed by the education specialists Innovate Educate in consultation with local primary schools. It offers a range of resources for Key Stage 1-3 students visiting the Museum, complemented by classroom-based sessions and resource boxes covering STEAM curriculum topics such as the science and technology behind operating the railway as well as the social history of the line and local industries, the workforce, and the Railway’s place in the Eskdale community. The museum’s learning resources are available to download free online. (ravenglassrailwaymuseum.co.uk/visit/learning) In addition to the year-round offer, the railway runs very popular seasonal events such as the Santa Express and teachers can use the web resources in conjunction with such a visit. Bespoke itineraries for half- or full-day visits are also available which encompass any or all of a wide range of activities including tours of the Museum and Workshop/Engine Shed, visits to the restored Victorian Signal Box, ‘Meet the Engine’ with one of the museum’s locomotives in steam, and a partial or full return trip on our railway. We like to think we offer visits which are a little bit different – how often do pupils get up close to a working steam engine? Sessions for older students and college groups can also be arranged. We’re always happy to chat so why not get in touch to discuss your requirements or make a booking? Contact museum@ravenglass-railway.co.uk, 01229 717171, @rermuseum
CER awarded prestigious education recruitment accreditation
CER, one of UK’s most successful education recruiters, is delighted to have been awarded the Recruitment Employment Confederation’s prestigious best practice accreditation. The REC’s scheme builds on the legacy of the Department for Education’s Quality Mark and has been designed with safeguarding in mind, ensuring agencies are carrying out the relevant safeguarding checks when recruiting teaching and non-teaching staff. REC Audited Education is a robust education specific audit package that validates a recruitment agency’s compliance with industry legislation and best practice. This comprehensive audit now goes much further than just compliance, requiring agencies to operate best practice in areas such as customer service, staff development, diversity and client management. CER recently underwent a detailed audit to ensure that it adheres to the highest safeguarding standards in recruitment and is undertaking all the relevant checks when supplying teachers and non-teaching staff to schools. The aim of the scheme is to give head teachers peace of mind that they are working with an accredited supplier. By earning the right to display the REC Audited Education logo, CER can assure schools, parents and pupils that the staff they supply are recruited correctly and have on-going support. Alastair Crammond, Compliance Director at CER says: “We’re very proud to have attained this prestigious accreditation, which is a reflection of the consistent standards of excellence our teams deliver on a daily basis. Achieving the REC’s gold standard in safer recruitment shows we’re committed to demonstrating best practice and compliance with legislation as part of our offer of the very best staffing service for schools, nurseries and academies.” REC Chief Executive Neil Carberry says: “By undertaking this specialist audit, recruiters are measuring themselves against the highest industry standards. The success of REC Audited Education is to ensure best practice within agencies so we continually improve the standard of teachers placed within our schools.” www.rec.uk.com
Science Technicians Say Schools Need More Money For Equipment
UK school funding cuts are undermining the quality of science teaching and discouraging students from pursuing careers in science and technology, according to school science technicians. Despite Government pledges to boost science teaching, survey results showed that budget cuts are preventing the purchase of basic equipment and holding pupils back from developing vital skills. The survey of around 550 science technicians conducted by Preproom.org, an online community for secondary school technicians and commissioned by Dremel, 3D printer manufacturer and Autodesk, the software provider for people who make things, revealed troubling insights into science education: ·88% agreed that a reduction in practical work is harming pupils’ interest in science and technology careers ·64% of schools have suffered from a reduction in budget for practical equipment over the last five years ·77% of science technicians believe a lack of funding for equipment is undermining teaching Responsible for managing the constant supply of equipment that helps develop vital practical skills and embraces curriculum changes, technicians are keenly aware of the challenges facing science departments. School funding pressures Despite last year’s introduction of the national funding formula (NFF), a new system that seeks to iron out budget inequalities, education decision makers have reported they are still facing a major budget crisis, with the average secondary school still making a loss of £178,321 per year. Funding pressures are having a particularly damaging effect on science and technology departments, with many schools unable to buy or fix basic equipment. Due to tightening purse strings, technicians estimate that thousands of pounds worth of out-of-date kit is still in use. According to the survey, equipment from the 1960s and 70s is commonly found in school cupboards, other outdated items included: ·A galvanometer, an instrument used for measuring electric currents from the 19th century ·A molecular modelling kit purchased in the 1950s ·An ammeter used to measure the current in a circuit, with a King George VI stamp Andrew Cluney, UK Brand Manager of Dremel said “These survey results reveal worrying signs that UK schools cannot afford even the most basic of practical equipment. The use of 3D printers in schools is the ideal introduction to the principles of designing, engineering, and manufacturing. I’m a strong believer that the technology is a key driver in increasing the number of students choosing STEM subjects at higher education and later on at career level.” Too few schools are taking advantage of 3D printing technology Dremel’s survey found that 3D printers are far from integrated into the STEM curriculum. Despite Michael Gove pledging to boost the teaching of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) through the introduction of 3D printers, less than a third (29%) of technicians confirmed that additive manufacturing was taught within their school. The survey also revealed that 3D printers are still mainly restricted to Design Technology. One of the biggest challenges that emerged was that many schools (45%) still do not regard 3D printers as a priority and as a result many teachers lack necessary training in the area. Educational 3D printers in action Technicians familiar with the technology were more positive about its benefits and were three times as likely to recommend investing in a printer. Already an established industrial technology for prototyping, the benefits of 3D printers have proven to help pupils create multi-disciplinary links and prepare pupils for jobs in engineering and industry. Guillermo Melantoni, Product Line Manager, Autodesk, said “Incorporating 3D design and 3D printers into the curriculum helps students develop skills needed for the jobs of tomorrow. From designing in CAD software like Tinkercad to experimenting with rapid prototyping, the ability to model, adapt and develop ideas offers transferrable skills that prepare young people for tomorrow’s Industry 4.0.”