All you need to know from the Schoolwear Show 2018
The Schoolwear Show is owned by and operated by The Schoolwear Show Limited. The show is organised on a purely voluntary basis; the directors giving up their own time to organise the show. The Schoolwear Show is hosted at Cranmore Park Conference and Event Centre. The Schoolwear Show Limited is a major donor to and supporter of the Schoolwear Association. Who should attend The Schoolwear Show is dedicated solely to the independent schoolwear retailer. The exhibition will give you the chance to: Meet existing suppliers face to face Source new suppliers View the latest product innovations Plan your Back to School campaign For the 2018 show, the Schoolwear Association sponsored seminars during Sunday and Monday in the Diamond Suite. The SA hopes the seminars will be an exciting new addition to the show and give more reason to visit by raising awareness and challenging the status quo with some interesting and practical ideas. Each seminar is approximately 25 minutes in duration. Tendering to Win This Seminar deals with the growing requirement of Schools and Academy Trusts for their suppliers to Tender and how to make sure Schoolwear Specialists give themselves the best chance to win and ensure their business competes in an ever more challenging market. The Seminar was presented by Klick Business Solutions, who have worked with a number of Schoolwear Retailers helping them to win Tenders. Sustainability & School Uniform This Seminar focusses on the growing awareness of the various environmental issues in the world, plastic being the current hot topic, but there are many other elements. Hopefully it will both raise awareness and challenge the status quo, putting some interesting and practical ideas into the market. Sustainability and what happens at end of life with textile products, will eventually become part of everyone’s thinking, so it’s important that our market is ahead of the curve. The Seminar has been developed by Oakdene Hollins who specialise in finding solutions in this subject and was presented by Kathryn Shuttleworth, the Managing Director of David Luke. The only limitations to dye-sub printing seems to be the creativity of the person wanting to wear it, which is very exciting! It was also great for our non-school or sportswear items be shown to a wider audience under our Gymphlex brand, and I was delighted that our beautiful, functional and authentic sports garments got showcased. My overall experience of the Schoolwear Show 2018 was hugely positive, with a friendly atmosphere filled with like-minded businesses keen to impress and showcase their talents, and hopefully I will get the opportunity to attend again in the future. Testimonials “We’ve been coming to the Schoolwear Show for 10 years and each year its gets bigger and better. It’s a great place to meet all our suppliers under one roof and see new potential suppliers.” “Very well organised.. and the food is good too!†“Great venue and good to be able to discuss issues with suppliers as well as to learn about new lines and ideas for next year.†“It’s a the right time of year. We see our suppliers and then can get our back to school order to them before Christmas.” For more information about The Schoolwear Show please click here
Sports Hall Floor Refurbishment in Pleckgate
Sports Hall Refurbishment this time for the courtship team was in Pleckgate, Blackburn. A little far away from our base in Somerset, but we travel nationwide for contracts on sports halls. The size of this sports hall floor refurbishment contract was 600sqm. With a strong team of five flooring engineers, this wasn’t a problem. The condition of the sports hall flooring was rather dire in the respect that there were scratches from years of activity and lots of wear on the top lacquer, giving a messy finish to the floor. This would be a total sports hall floor refurbishment transformation. The material on this sports hall was Junkers beech, these wooden sports halls clean up brilliantly. See our page for Junckers flooring refurbishment specification on this. The contract was a total refurbishment. This means a sanding back of the top surface until the wooden sports flooring has been returned to a new condition. We would then apply primer to the sports hall floor, then once this has dried we will install our games lines on top. Finally, we will apply two/three coats of sports lacquer to increase traction and protect the flooring. For more information about Sports Hall Refurbishment please visit https://courtshipflooring.co.uk
Ofsted Report Analysis Show Positive Impacts, Says Mesma
Analysis of Ofsted’s early monitoring visits to employers, independent training providers and universities by online quality assurance specialist Mesma has revealed some positive impacts. The news comes as Ofsted says that the levy has contributed to a huge increase in the number of providers delivering apprenticeships, doubling the numbers of independent learning providers and employer providers. However, while Ofsted also declares in its annual report ‘that some of the biggest providers continue to provide real cause for concern’, Mesma’s analysis of providers making progress has thrown up some common themes. Leaders can be seen as heading in the right direction, meeting the requirements of successful apprenticeships provision on the back of reports of a clear vision and well considered strategy. High standards of training and resources, sound governance, and strong analytical and self-critical self-assessment are also contributing to significant progress. Progress in ensuring that apprentices benefit from high quality training, which delivers positive outcomes was shown by staff having relevant industry knowledge, confirmation of early assessments and well-organised teaching. Reports that senior leaders are closely monitoring apprentices’ progress and that apprentices are clear about their career options, also indicate significant progress is being achieved. Advancement has also been achieved by leaders and managers in securing effective safeguarding arrangements on the back of reports about highly effective policies and procedures being in place that are understood by all. Clear reporting procedures, effective safe recruitment practices, comprehensive risk assessments and a generally feeling that apprentices feel safe, were all evidenced in Ofsted’s reports, according to Mesma. Mesma has extracted the key information from content sourced from the public reports published on the Ofsted website at www.reports.ofsted.gov.uk/, which covers more than 86 providers whose reports were published by inspectors between March – October2018. Carole Loader, Mesma director, said: “Early monitoring is a new strand of Ofsted activity, helping to confirm if the hundreds of new large and small apprenticeship providers are on track with delivery of their learning and training strategies. “We can see reasonable and significant progress being made from analysis of the reports, but the data includes those providers new to the register, who have previously been delivering under sub-contract arrangements. “It would be a clearer picture if Ofsted were able to segment this data so that we could see who is ‘new to the sector’ as opposed to new as a ‘direct contract holder’.†Mesma’s analysis of Ofsted’searly monitoring visits for apprenticeship providers can be heard at https://mesma.co.uk/download/key-findings-from-ofsted-early-monitoring-visits-of-apprenticeship-providers/
Young chefs cook up a feast for Wokingham Mayor
This week, the Rainbow Café, located in the Acorn Community Centre, saw a group of young amateur chefs chop, slice and blend to create and serve a hearty lunch for local residents and special guest, the Mayor of Wokingham. Customers from Optalis’ Supported Employment service took over the community café for the day to develop their catering and customer service skills, serving freshly made meals to visitors and the Mayor of Wokingham, Cllr John Kaiser. Donna Morgans, Optalis’ Supported Employment Service Manager, said: “We’re always keen to support our clients and hosting events like these brings new challenges and enables them to gain new skills.†Mayor of Wokingham, Cllr John Kaiser, added: “It is great to see the Optalis team in action, helping to develop customers’ skills so that they can find meaningful employment in the future.†The event is designed specifically to support customers to achieve paid employment and work towards gaining independence in their role. Optalis Employment Coaches work closely with the individuals to ensure they are able to gain experience and skills in their chosen career goals. Eleanor, who was serving food and taking orders, commented: “I am enjoying meeting the public and talking to them. As my ideal job would be in retail, this is giving me valuable experience.†For more information about Optalis’ Supported Employment Service, or if you are a local employer in the Wokingham, Reading or Bracknell area wanting to access a determined workforce, contact Donna on 0118 977 8632 or email donna.morgans@optalis.org
Dudgeon grant encourages tomorrow’s engineers
A grant from the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm’s Community Fund STEM Programme is enabling Sheringham High School to lead an innovative robotics development project for students from six Norfolk schools. Sonja Chirico Indrebø is the Power Plant Manager of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm operated by Equinor. She recently met a number of the students involved in the project when she visited Sheringham High School and commented, “Among these students are tomorrow’s engineers, vital to the future success of many industries. Norfolk is now a hub for the UK offshore wind industry, a sector which will continue to offer career opportunities for engineers for many years to come. There is a recognised shortage of engineers across the UK, so I believe it is very important that Equinor, as a major offshore wind farm operator, takes an active role supporting projects and initiatives which are designed to encourage students to embrace STEM education and give them hands-on experience of technology.” The project is designed to give students opportunities to observe and develop the STEM skills of science, technology, engineering and mathematics beyond the classroom curriculum, and to increase student uptake in GCSE and A-Level STEM subjects. It will also expose students to the 2019 Robotex Expo international robotics competition in Estonia that will feature technology and engineering companies from all over the world. In preparation for the format of this competition, the 2018/19 project requires students to develop sumo wrestling and line-following robots. Using Lego EV3 kits, the students design, build, programme and command autonomous robots (known as ‘bots’), enabling these ‘bots’ to be capable of a range of actions including walking, shooting, slithering, sliding, spinning and slamming. The Lego kits include a sumo wrestling practice ring and a line-following practice mat. Charlotte Gardener is the Science Teacher at Sheringham High School who is co-ordinating the project; the other participating schools being Alderman Peel High School, Cliff Park Ormiston Academy, Fakenham Academy, Nicholas Hammond Academy and Stalham High School. She commented, “Late last year we hosted a practice session at Sheringham High School to allow groups of students and their teachers from each school to meet each other and to engage in a series of casual, but structured and competitive, ‘battles’. It was obvious that there is a huge amount of enthusiasm for this project from teachers and students alike, and some strong computer programming by many of the students has given them an impressive command of their individual robots.” She continued, “The generous grant from the Dudgeon Community Fund will allow this STEM project to benefit around 75 students in the 2018/19 academic year, and potentially a further 150 students in the next two academic years. In April 2019 we will hold rigorous competitions which will decide which students will be representing Norfolk at the Robotex Expo next November. I believe it is an excellent way to encourage students to engage with the STEM disciplines.” www.norfolkfoundation.com/funding-support/grants/groups/dudgeon-community-fund/
KUBO Robotics launches innovative new coding pack
KUBO Robotics has launched a brand-new innovative coding pack for primary school children. Available from January 2019, “Coding+†builds on KUBO’s existing robotics resource and teaches children aged 4-10 more advanced programming elements and stronger computational thinking skills. Coding+ comes with a set of 36 additional TagTiles which deliver high-quality, innovative programming challenges. The TagTile pieces fit together like a puzzle in order to create a sequence of code. The robot is then placed on top of the tiles and follows a set of instructions helping pupils to understand more advanced levels of programming related to routes, functions, subroutines and loops. In addition to KUBO’s previous functions, Coding+ enables educators to cover time, distance, speed and directions, encouraging pupils to undertake more challenging and sophisticated programming tasks. Daniel Lindegarrd, Co-founder and COO at KUBO Robotics said: “At a time when most children will end up working in jobs that don’t even exist yet, now more than ever we should be teaching them computational thinking and coding from an early age in order to equip them the right skills for the future. “At KUBO we are dedicated to helping educators teach invaluable coding skills in a simple and engaging way that appeals to pupils. We are continuously developing our curriculum content and resources to ensure that we are providing solutions that demonstrate coding in a way that is not only accessible but gives learning STEM subjects a real purpose.†KUBO is designed to make it easy for teachers to introduce computer science and coding into their daily teaching activities, promoting cross-curricular collaboration and hands-on play. For more information, visit: www.kubo-robot.com
NewVIc opens doors to support Newham students in succeeding at Oxford interviews
This year, NewVIc has been announced as the Newham hub for all Year 13 students applying to the University of Oxford, Wadham College. Wadham College are working closely with NewVIc to support students and other Newham students with their admissions process. Like NewVIc, Wadham College values the importance of diversity and believes that drawing its’ student body from a wider cultural and social base drives standards up, not down. Wadham College works closely with NewVIc to help bright students make competitive applications, regardless of their backgrounds and encourages students to apply. Scientist Catherine, from Oxford University, came to NewVIc earlier this month to run an insightful interview support session for students. Oxford University has developed a programme of ‘link colleges’ to simplify communication and workshops between UK schools and the University. This is part of their ongoing commitment to engage with schools across the country. The support sessions being delivered at NewVIc will break down why they interview applicants, what students can expect at their interviews, and how best they can prepare for them. The support programme delivered shared some Oxbridge interview tips with a former applicant who studied at Cambridge. This support programme will not only allow Oxford University to get to know schools and colleges in specific regions better, but also gives schools and colleges a more personal and direct way of staying in touch with the University. “I am applying to Oxford University to study History and Politics. I have my interview coming up soon, I’m so nervous and stressed. Having said that I must’ve done well in my task and written contents as part of the applications. I’m really looking forward to this process, the support we’re getting from Wadham and seeing if I get accepted after interview!” Ameera Ismail Honours and A Level Year 2 Student “The session today has been really good. The students have responded to all of the questions. They all have independent thoughts and clearly have passion to their subject areas. We wish them all best of luck with their application and upcoming interviews. We hope to support them all in the process and wish them all the best of luck.” Catherine Seed Access Assistant – Wadham College For more information about this support programme or the college please contact: Shah Rahman srahman@newvic.ac.uk 020 7540 0651
Local School Pupil Welcomes Residents To Their New Homes
Following a greetings card design competition with David Wilson Homes, an imaginative pupil from Church End Lower School in Marston Moretaine is spreading joy to new residents at the homebuilder’s Marston Fields development. As part of a ‘Welcome Home’ campaign, David Wilson Homes reached out to the school nearby its Torry Orchard site for the help of the pupils in designing greeting cards to be handed out to new homebuyers. Joey Rice, in Year 4, was the winner of the competition and alongside claiming a £25 book token will see his printed cards distributed to all residents at Marston Fields. Brian Storey, Head Teacher at Church End Lower School, said: “It was great to be part of David Wilson Homes’ Welcome Home design competition and we’re very proud of the entries submitted by the children. “We hope to be doing some welcoming of our own once the children of the families moving into Marston Fields join us here at Church End Lower School.†The scheme aims to provide a warm welcome to those making a fresh start during Christmas and the New Year, whilst also highlighting key information about the local area. The theme of the county-wide competition for schools is all things home related and the children are encouraged to be as creative as possible and to add in pictures and details about the suburb they live in. Jason Hearn, Sales Director at David Wilson Homes South Midlands, said: “It’s important to us to make new residents feel welcome as they join our new communities, and we’re thankful to Joey and the pupils of Church End Lower School for helping us to do just that. “This time of year is a great opportunity for greetings cards to be distributed and receiving a personal message from a local school pupil will really put a smile on the faces of our homebuyers. “We received a variety of inventive entries as part of the Welcome Home campaign and it was a difficult task choosing a winner, however we hope this project has inspired the imaginations of the children involved.†Marston Fields currently has a selection of four and five bedroom available with prices starting from £449,995. For further information about the development, please contact the David Wilson Homes sales team on 033 3355 8486 or visit https://www.dwh.co.uk/new-homes/bedfordshire/H734001-David-Wilson-Marston-Fields/.
How Clifton College found data backup solutions
Clifton College independent public boarding school in Bristol has improved its data retention, backup and disaster recovery thanks to Arcserve IT solutions. Clifton College is one of the UK’s top independent schools with nearly 2,000 students aiming to deliver a modern IT strategy. To achieve this they needed an effective backup and recovery solution that accommodated their growing amount of data but also protected their students and staff. The IT team struggled with low data retention, high backup failure rate and false ‘successful’ backups without notification – leaving their backup and recovery process time-consuming and inefficient. It would take the IT team half a day to fix problems which ultimately affected the performance across the school’s network. With the help of Cristie Cloud BaaS with Arcserve’s (Arcserve) UDP solution, Clifton College has seen a number of improvements, including: Recovery Point Objectives from 24 hours to 15 minutes 30 days data retention on-site and over one year off-site with multiple restore points Scalable data storage for the estimated 5 to 6 TB of data growth every six months Richard Edwards, head of IT systems at Clifton College, said: “If we lost a pupil’s coursework that could have an impact on the rest of their lives – so it’s critical that we have a backup solution that’s dependable, reliable and we know works well.†For more information, see the Arcserve website.