Schools and colleges urged to continue providing free period products to students
Schools and colleges are being encouraged to keep providing free period products to students to help tackle period inequality. From January, a new portal was launched by period product supplier phs Direct allowing every school and college in England to order free products for students, funded by the Department for Education. The initiative was launched to create period equality for all – ensuring no young person misses out because of a lack of access to such a basic necessity as period products. However, campaigners are raising concerns that mass closures of schools and colleges will mean more young people will face period inequality whether caused by lack of affordability or access issues. In response, phs Direct is keeping the order portal open for schools and colleges to stock up in order to keep providing access to those most in need. Educational organisations can also divert orders to neighbouring schools or colleges. phs Direct and their delivery partners are, of course, following Government guidelines when delivering these important products. Warren Edmondson, managing director of phs Direct which is part of washroom and services provider phs Group, said: “Offering free period products at school and college to young people is a fantastic initiative in the drive to create period equality. However, mass closures risk the scheme losing momentum and interrupting free access to products for those who need them. We are reaching out to schools and colleges to tell them that we remain open for business and to encourage them to continue placing orders to endeavour to help those who need it most whether it’s the children of key workers, students on free school meals or those with other access issues, finding non-contact methods of distribution.” City Academy Bristol has already made provisions to support students including deploying extra pads to students ahead of closures and now providing period products in deliveries for those in need. Aisha Thomas, assistant principal at City Academy Bristol, said: “We have started deliveries of food and we have been adding supplies to the boxes. Most find it embarrassing and would never ask. We have had thank you texts and messages from students and parents who were grateful, as they can’t get out. “As we enter into unprecedented times and a new normal that none of us expected, there are some things that will remain the same. One of those things is our menstrual cycles and as a result, students and their parents and carers will still need supplies. In these tough times we all need to do our bit. The world changed, we need to adjust, yet the need for supplies is greater than before. Disadvantaged communities have to choose what they can buy but the ability to feel safe and clean should never be a choice to make.” Supporting the period product campaign, Girlguiding Advocate Emily, aged 17, said: “The future is uncertain for everyone but, for many, school provided stability and support. The new free period product scheme for schools was a way to tackle the period stigma all young women like me face and to allow girls to access products they may not otherwise have had. By allowing pupils to still access these items through non-contact delivery and school orders, phs is allowing people who were trapped by financial or pandemic restrictions to have one less thing to worry about – and I am so glad to see this urgent action being taken.” To access their free products, schools and colleges have had an activation email from phs which includes information on how to log on to the portal and order. For support, schools and colleges can get in touch with phs Direct by emailing periodproducts@phsdirect.co.uk or calling the helpline on 01827 255500. For more information, visit the period equality pages on the phs website. You can also follow @phsGroup on Twitter and phs Group on LinkedIn
Kelly Garrett appointed new Head of School for Ebbsfleet Green Primary
Kelly Garrett has been appointed the new Head of School for Ebbsfleet Green Primary. She is bursting with excitement at the prospect of leading a brand-new school in a brand-new community that will grow year-by-year as the Ebbsfleet Green community grows. She says she ‘feels honoured and privileged to have been chosen to work in collaboration with Mrs. Wilkinson-Tabi, Executive Head and Maritime Academy Trust in leading the school to greatness.’ As parents across Ebbsfleet Garden City in Kent today received an offer of a place at the new school, Ms Garrett was keen to share a little of her history. She said, “So here’s a little about me … I have been a teacher for twelve years now and I can honestly say that nothing has given me greater joy – I have loved every single minute of it. Building relationships, sharing challenges and success and supporting children to reach their full potential is what makes being a teacher so incredibly rewarding. An excellent education changed my life; I truly believe that outstanding schooling will not only change your child’s life, but it will also make our local community stronger, striving for the very best for all. As a parent myself, I know the challenges and pressures that are faced on a daily basis as we strive to ensure that our children are happy, healthy, safe and learning to their full potential. Through education, we have the gift of inspiring a love of learning, creativity and the courage to make positive choices to build the future. “As Head of School, I will strive to ensure that our children are provided with the opportunities that will enable them to achieve their full potential. With a strong partnership between home and school, we believe that together, we can achieve this. Over the course of the next few months, I am looking forward to meeting all of you and building relationships with our local community.” Ebbsfleet is part of the Maritime Academy Trust, an educational charity catering for over 2600 pupils aged 3-11 across eight primary schools with nurseries based in London and Kent. The Trust is headed up by Nick Osborne, CEO and National Leader in Education – a title earned for his ‘exceptional’ leadership as Executive Head Teacher of Millennium, Brooklands and Timbercroft Primary Schools, a position he held prior to founding Maritime. Ebbsfleet Green Primary will serve the rapidly growing community in the new Ebbsfleet Garden City and help meet increasing demand for school places in Dartford and Gravesham, whose population is predicted to rise to 252,000 by 2031. Beginning as a one-form entry school, it will become two-form to match Ebbsfleet’s rising population. In September 2020, the school will have Nursery, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 classes. It has already received over 100 applications for school places for the upcoming academic year. To learn more about the school, please email info@ebbsfleetgreenprimary.org.uk or visit its website: https://www.ebbsfleetgreenprimary.org.uk/
Exam Cancellation Update: Coronavirus
For this summer’s awards, schools and colleges are being asked to provide centre assessment grades for their students. Schools, colleges and other exam centres will be asked to submit students assessment grades after Easter. Exam boards will put all centre assessment grades through a process of standardisation using a model being developed with Ofqual, to ensure grades are fair. During these unprecedented times, we appreciate that substantial uncertainty and rapid change may be affecting many aspects of your family’s life, including your child’s education and plans for the future. Understanding the announcements regarding changes to exams and schooling is one area Justin Craig Education can help with, enabling you to work out how best to support your child in the months ahead. For this summer’s awards, schools and colleges are being asked to provide centre assessment grades for their students. These should be carefully considered judgements of the grades schools and colleges believe their students would have been most likely to achieve and should take into account the full range of available evidence: previous attainment, including GCSEs and mocks non-exam assessment (course work) up to date grade predictions To make sure that grades are as fair as possible across schools and colleges, exam boards will put all centre assessment grades through a process of standardisation using a model being developed with Ofqual. Exam boards will be contacting schools, colleges and other exam centres after Easter asking them to submit, by a deadline that will be no earlier than 29 May 2020. The Government has said its aim is to provide these calculated grades before the end of July, and there will be an option to sit an exam at the earliest reasonable opportunity or appeal your grade. For further information or support, please head over to Justin Craig Education: https://www.justincraig.ac.uk/here-to-help-latest-news-from-ofqual-ucas/
Department for Education appoints Sigma as its user experience partner
£1.5 million contract for Manchester and North of England partnership UX design and development agency, Sigma has been appointed by the Department for Education (DfE) as its user experience (UX) and design partner in Manchester and the North of England. The appointment will see Sigma support the Department for Education on the development and improvement of a range of its products and services over the next two years, as part of its digital transformation strategy. The contract, valued at up to £1.5 million, starts in Spring 2020 and will run for two years. It will enable the department to draw upon cutting edge expertise from one of the UK’s leading UX design agencies, during a period of unprecedented growth in its digital ways of working. Sigma’s scope of work will include improving the user experience of services designed for, and delivered to, teachers, schools, parents and children. It will specifically focus on designing and developing end-to-end services that fit together as a coherent, consistent offer for users. Shaun Gomm, commercial director at Sigma UK, said: “This is a pivotal partnership for Sigma, and one that will see our expertise put to use as a leading UK user experience and design agency. We are looking forward to further developing our relationship with the DfE and working closely together to improve the everyday lives of teachers, parents and pupils. Jack Collier, deputy director of digital at Department for Education, said: “We need to think beyond just building digital products and transactions. We want to consider the longer-term experience of our users over time and build stronger relationships with them. This will give us richer insight and a deeper understanding of their changing needs. That insight will enable us to get better and better at supporting them to achieve their goals.” Sigma is a leading specialist in user experience (UX), with an inclusive approach to improving the accessibility of digital products and services – covering websites, intranets, mobile apps and software. It is also an experienced Gold Partner with Umbraco, the flexible, open source Content Management System chosen by the charity.
Mobilising 500 staff to support key workers childcare during the Covid-19 outbreak
Kings Active Foundation, a charity established to get children active, is working to create additional resource to support schools providing critical childcare for key workers during the Coronavirus crisis. Their 500 staff are normally looking forward to getting children active over the Easter holidays but now they’re being mobilised to support the childcare efforts for key workers. Without the normal function of schools, providing childcare over the next 2+ months will be a challenge, especially to cover NHS shifts and weekends. So organisations like Kings Active Foundation are working to supplement the provision already underway in local schools. Their DBS-checked, qualified and motivated staff have experience of delivering engaging programmes for children – giving an ideal complement to the existing classroom-based provision. They are already in talks with NHS Trusts, the Police, local authorities and schools to better understand how they can support the national childcare effort. Richard Holmes, Chief Executive of Kings Active Foundation adds, “These are unprecedented times and we must use our resource and expertise to support the response to the Coronavirus outbreak together. The need for quality childcare isn’t going to go away and, by working with schools and agencies, we believe we can positively contribute to this national effort. Our Active Childcare model is deep-rooted in our mission to get children active, having fun and leaning together, whilst adhering to additional safety guidelines. It provides key workers and organisations with complete flexibility. Just like the many schools, agencies and local authorities we are speaking with – this is new for us too. By working together, we can combine our efforts to provide comprehensive childcare for the key workers who need it the most.” To speak to the Kings Active Foundation Active Childcare response team, email andrew.busby@kingsfoundation.org or call 0114 263 2150. Alternatively, you can find out more at https://www.kingsactive.org/education/active-childcare/.
CircleLoop pledges free remote phone service to UK schools
Tech company pledges free remote phone service to all UK schools to support their communication challenges during Coronavirus outbreak CircleLoop, the cloud-based phone system for business, today announces that it will fund a pledge to provide free business telephony to any school, healthcare provider or charity who is facing remote working challenges, due to the unprecedented outbreak of Coronavirus across the country. The service will be offered free of charge for the next 3-months to any existing or new customers who need to facilitate remote, mobile or flexible working at short notice. The internet-based phone system can be live in a matter of minutes, following completion of a short online form, with no card or payment details required. It supports calling, call menus and greetings, voicemail transcription and a range of other features. Since it was founded in 2016, CircleLoop has rapidly established itself as an alternative to the normal telecoms approach, as businesses continue to shift to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and cloud services generally. CircleLoop operates as a self-service tool and it works anywhere over the internet in desktop and mobile applications instead of using traditional desk-phones. As such, organisations required to self-isolate, but which may not have existing structures in place to facilitate remote working, can use CircleLoop to maintain connectivity and accessibility for their workforce, with immediate notice. Damian Hanson, co-founder of CircleLoop, commented: “Here at CircleLoop we recognise the unprecedented issues that the Coronavirus outbreak is causing for businesses of all shapes and sizes. As a team we wanted to do something to try to make the pressures experienced by schools, healthcare providers and charities a little easier when needing to work remotely during self-isolation periods in the coming weeks.” Schools, healthcare providers and charities looking to take advantage of this free remote phone service can sign-up instantly at https://www.circleloop.com/coronavirus
Free remote phone service to all UK schools from CircleLoop
CircleLoop, the cloud-based phone system for business, will fund a pledge to provide free business telephony to any school, healthcare provider or charity who is facing remote working challenges, due to the unprecedented outbreak of Coronavirus across the country. The service will be offered free of charge for the next three months to any existing or new customers who need to facilitate remote, mobile or flexible working at short notice. The internet-based phone system can be live in a matter of minutes, following completion of a short online form, with no card or payment details required. It supports calling, call menus and greetings, voicemail transcription and a range of other features. Use CircleLoop to maintain connectivity Since it was founded in 2016, CircleLoop has rapidly established itself as an alternative to the normal telecoms approach, as businesses continue to shift to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and cloud services generally. CircleLoop operates as a self-service tool and it works anywhere over the internet in desktop and mobile applications instead of using traditional desk-phones. As such, organisations required to self-isolate, but which may not have existing structures in place to facilitate remote working, can use CircleLoop to maintain connectivity and accessibility for their workforce, with immediate notice. Damian Hanson, co-founder of CircleLoop, commented: “Here at CircleLoop we recognise the unprecedented issues that the Coronavirus outbreak is causing for businesses of all shapes and sizes. As a team we wanted to do something to try to make the pressures experienced by schools, healthcare providers and charities a little easier when needing to work remotely during self-isolation periods in the coming weeks.” Schools, healthcare providers and charities looking to take advantage of this free service can sign-up instantly at circleloop.com
How to get a free handwriting app from Kaligo
Schools across the globe will be closed for the foreseeable future, as COVID-19 takes its toll across the world. It’s a well-known phenomenon for school leaders that there is a fall back in progress that can occur when children are away from school for long periods of time. So, what can parents do now to help ensure their child doesn’t fall too far behind in these extraordinary long absences from school? After listening to the concerns of teachers and senior leaders, Kaligo, the company behind the intuitive handwriting app wanted to help minimise learning loss. “It’s a worrying time and particularly for children in the younger years for whom learning is at an important stage. We wanted to see how we could help support pupils, parents and teachers throughout this time and help to keep the children learning at home,” Said Faisal Hamid, Director at Kaligo. Kaligo have decided to provide the practice version of their intuitive handwriting app for free to all schools closed for a period of one month, to help support schools, teachers, pupils and parents with handwriting whilst they are away from the classroom. Talking about the generous initiative, Philippa Wraithmell, Head of Digital Learning at Cranleigh Abu Dhabi said: “The next few days and weeks will be difficult for those who are not used to home learning, which is most of us. Kaligo can give the confidence as a parent that they are supporting their child’s development in a positive and meaningful way which will enhance all their work.” Philippa added: “Handwriting is a core skill to every Child’s development and as a school we also have an expectation for children to be able to write as part of the broader curriculum. Over holidays and times where we are not practicing these skills children’s progress can slow or halt. “Kaligo can allow the home-school support which is needed to ensure that children are still able to practice their writing skills. Kaligo also sets writing tasks which are suited to the child’s age and ability, then supports them with direct reflection on the letter formations which they need to practice. It’s a brilliant thing for the company to do and will really help provide continuation of learning at home and help to minimise learning loss.” Kaligo is a handwriting app which combines years of neuroscientific research with the latest AI technology. Children use a stylus and tablet to trace letters through colourful and intuitive screens, which most children are already familiar with. This makes the task of handwriting more exciting, Kaligo then stores the data so parents can easily monitor their child’s progress. “It’s great that we can help the education community during these difficult times. We hope they enjoy using Kaligo and come back to school ready to share their wonderful handwriting skills. Initially it’s free for a month, but if that needs to be extended in line with school closures we will review it.” added Faisal To download the practice version of Kaligo for free on iPad or Android visit kaligo-apps.com
Free learning resources to help parents and carers
A global educational publisher is providing free learning resources to over 630,000 teaching and learning materials to support teachers, parents and carers as schools close or prepare to close as a result of the coronavirus. The materials available on the Twinkl website range from activity sheets, information packs and interactive presentations to online educational games and videos. These cover all core subjects for all ages and include a huge range mapped to each curriculum in the UK. Twinkl is sending out codes to schools, teachers and parents across the world as well as sharing information on social media to provide free access. The company has already reached out to over 50 countries and regions across the world, including the UK and is continuing to reach out to any not yet contacted. Teachers, parents and carers in the UK can get access to Twinkl by visiting www.twinkl.co.uk/offer and entering the code CVDTWINKLHELPS alongside an email and password. Access will initially be granted for one month, but Twinkl is dedicated to extending this. Anyone with an existing Twinkl subscription using the code will be upgraded to get access to all of Twinkl’s resources if they do not already have this. No payment information is taken when accessing this offer of help and there is no obligation to use Twinkl after the help is no longer needed. Any accounts created with the code will later revert to a free Twinkl membership that gives access to a selection of over 40,000 free resources that are already available on the site. Jonathan Seaton, Co-Founder and CEO of Twinkl, said: “After hearing about the necessary precautions that are being taken at schools around the world because of the coronavirus, we recognised that our digital resources could help teachers, parents and children who may be unable to attend school. “Our mission has and always will be to help those who teach and we know that we need to do this right now more than ever. The things schools, teachers, parents and carers are doing to help their children is incredible and we hope this will go some way towards supporting them. It is also so important to us that children have access to learning, whatever the circumstance, and continue to learn throughout this situation. “We’ve already had an amazing response, with over 170,000 people using the code so far. We’re so proud to see how this offer of help has already impacted so many. The help we are offering would not be possible without the continued support of our members and we would like to thank them for enabling us to provide this, globally. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the coronavirus.” Twinkl is used around the world as a trusted provider of high-quality educational materials. All Twinkl resources are created and checked by current and former teachers and they are used in over 200 countries and regions across the world. The company has created a guide for teachers and schools, which also has useful information for parents about how they can support children with home learning: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/blog/how-to-utilise-twinkl-during-the-coronavirus-shutdown-a-guide-for-schools Information about how parents and carers can use Twinkl can also be found in this guide: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-par-82-twinkl-parent-free-user-guide Bespoke resource packs to support children learning at home can also be found here. Each pack contains resources to help with distance learning: EYFS https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/xrh0w KS1 https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/qznc0 KS2 https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/1bm381 SEND https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/z2mha KS3 https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/gywrf GCSE https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/f5o2n So far over 170,000 people have accessed the resources, including 73,161 in the UK and over 30,000 parents worldwide. Twinkl is continuing to contact schools, teachers and parents and carers across the world to provide support. The company is contacting people directly to help but further information can also be found here: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/blog/how-to-utilise-twinkl-during-the-coronavirus-shutdown-a-guide-for-schools