Schools and Academies London 2020
The Schools and Academies Show provides a unique platform for senior leaders from Schools, Academies and MATs to access free CPD accredited seminars and hear the latest policy updates across the sector. The event will be returning to the ExCeL in London on the 1st & 2nd July 2020! Supported by the Department for Education, this the must-attend event for senior leadership teams this year. By securing your free ticket, you’ll be able to discover practical advice and innovative solutions to help overcome the biggest challenges facing your school. Why attend the Schools and Academies Show this November? • Meet 200 education suppliers, innovators and solution providers • Network with over 4,000 school and MAT leaders and over 120 speakers. • Government Education Village supported by the DFE and ESFA to provide you with practical advice and policy updates. • The newly launched MAT Matchmaking Area; sponsored by ParentPay, will provide visitors with a dedicated area on the exhibition floor to take part in in-depth roundtable discussions around the biggest topics affecting MATs across the UK • New feature Charity Village will provide registered charities with an opportunity to take part in the exhibition floor and network with all the Head Teachers, School Business Managers, Governors, Finance Directors, Deputy Heads and wider education leaders who attend the show. Click here for more information. • New Feature in the wellness area will showcase a range of classes, mini-presentations, demonstrations and talks aimed at senior school and education leaders with the purpose of tackling the growing mental health crisis within the education sector. • New feature area, the Leader’s Town Hall, will be a ‘Question Time’ style theatre providing visitors and speakers the opportunity to debate the biggest topics within the education sector. Attracting over 4,000 attendees, the event offers fantastic networking opportunities for professionals at UK schools and academies. What’s more, The Schools and Academies Show is free to attend! We’re excited to release the first three episodes of the ‘Schools and Academies Show Podcast’ which will provide education professionals with the latest policy updates and insights concerning schools in the UK. Have a listen to them here: https://bit.ly/31SrXiE Register for our upcoming Schools and Academies Show, The event will be returning to the NEC in Birmingham on the 18th & 19th November 2020! at Excel, London. Click here to register for free.
New Mental Health & Wellbeing Show introduced to Cardiff for May 2020!
Popular award-winning training and events company, Ajuda, have created a brand-new event taking place in May 2020 at Cardiff City Stadium – the Mental Health & Wellbeing Show. The event will take place on Thursday 21st May, which falls during the national campaign of Mental Health Awareness Week (18th to 24th May). An event of this kind is much-needed not only in Wales but across the UK, as according to Mental Health charity Mind “1 in 4 people experience mental health issues each year”. The team at Ajuda want this issue to be addressed and highlighted as much as possible, which inspired them to create this new event. Benefits of Attending Gain knowledge and skills from our 30+ seminar sessions Browse over 50 organisations at our exhibition Network with hundreds of professionals dealing within the mental health & wellbeing sector Free resources, discounts and offers available at the exhibition. Being part of one of Wales’ biggest mental health & wellbeing events. The show will include a selection of seminars focused on topics such as coping with mental illness, ways to promote positive mental health, and how to support people around you who are suffering with ill mental health. Alongside this is an exhibition with over 50 charities, organisations and companies promoting their helpful resources, services and initiatives designed to support positive mental health and wellbeing. To enter the exhibition is free, with seminar tickets costing just £10 each. Speakers on the day include: Andy Lewis MBE, Paralympic Triathlon Gold Medallist at the Rio Olympics, who will present a session on Anxiety and ADHD. School Wellbeing Experts Kelly Hannaghan & Kate O’Connor will run a session on Steps to wellbeing in education Recent MBE recipient Rhian Mannings, founder of the 2 Wish Upon a Star charity who will speak on bereavement. Bollywood star Samira Mohamed Ali, who will run a seminar on meditation and breathing exercises. The full programme can be viewed here. Some exhibitors already confirmed to attend are: Remploy Wales Trauma Informed Schools Jigsaw PSHE Mind Cymru The Autism Directory National Autism Team Zero Suicide Alliance & more which can be viewed here. Company director Dawn Evans says: “Following a number of smaller courses and events around the topic of mental health, we could see there was a clear need for a bigger and more extensive event around mental health and wellbeing in Wales and across the rest of the UK. The team at Ajuda always strive to provide our customers with the training and events that really matter to them, so we decided to create an event to accommodate the rising need for mental health and wellbeing training.” Tickets can be ordered on Eventbrite, or by contacting the Ajuda Events team on 02922 400382 or via email on events@ajuda.org.uk
Schools and Academies Show – November 2019
Schools and Academies Show – 13th-14th November The education sector remains under pressure and faces both new and long-standing challenges. Funding remains tight, inspection frameworks are changing, rates of disadvantage and high needs are increasing, all of which places more work on teachers and school staff. But there is opportunity too, with more solutions, providers, talent and expertise within the sector than ever before. There is also a new Secretary of State, with a background as a Governor and a TA as a wife, promising extra money and support in the coming months. To address these challenges and make the most of the opportunities, the Schools and Academies Show returns to Birmingham’s NEC on 13th-14th November, with a renewed focus on the key things that are important to the sector. Funding and income generation; Wellbeing & mental health, for both learners and teachers; SEND and the Curriculum will be central to the agenda of sessions across the expanded two days. Supporting staff is more crucial than ever, with the extra burdens on their time and greater demands being made of many. To reflect this, we have several case studies on the subject, as well as bringing the Wellbeing Demo Area to Birmingham. This dedicated area on the exhibition floor will showcase a range of classes, mini-presentations, demonstrations and talks aimed at senior school and education leaders with the purpose of tackling the growing mental health crisis and wider pupil health issues within the education sector. Stonewall, Food for Life, and The Teen Yoga Foundation, among other organisations, will all provide practical, free workshops for staff on things that they can implement day today. With policymakers continuing to drive change across the sector, we are proud to host the Government Education Village, returning once more in partnership with the DfE and ESFA, which will include as a new offer for Birmingham, demo sessions running throughout both days. This means that you will be able to explore in detail specific policies and make the most of their expertise and advice, with representatives from Schools Resource Management, Academies Funding, Finance, Educate Against Hate and The Apprenticeship Service. Sharing best practice and innovation is important to you, as it is to us, so we have arranged case study seminars in the main agenda on topics such as Opportunity Areas, Private/Maintained School Partnerships, EdTech Implementation and many more. Minister for the School System, Lord Agnew, will be delivering a speech to open the Show and a representation of the political opposition with education spokespeople from Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party offering competing alternative futures for education on Day 2. The Business & Finance Theatre will be packed with offerings from the DfE and ESFA as well as specialist case studies in income generation and procurement advice. We have partnered with Nasen to bring you the biggest ever SEND Theatre, alongside talks from Dr Adam Boddison the government’s independent advisor and founder of research ED Tom Bennett. Panels will debate Ofsted, the future of work, the curriculum, technology in schools, optimum school resource management and the sad rise of youth violence. We have brought together Public Health England, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, a former young offender and parents to discuss this life-changing issue. New this year is the Charity Village. We recognise the huge contribution charities are making and the good work they are conducting within education. This interactive village of key organisations will provide the perfect opportunity for third sector organisations to showcase their work to you and foster collaboration between the two sectors. We will also offer new opportunities for networking. Key to this is our MAT Matchmaking Area, where roundtables comprised of MAT leaders will share their knowledge on specific issues, with each 45-minute session chaired by an expert. All MAT leaders and wider senior leadership teams that register for the Show will be offered the option to upgrade free of charge to a VIP ticket which will give them access. As ever, we are solutions-focussed, with expert providers such as Sage’s finance software, CENTURY Tech’s ground-breaking AI-powered tools which can improve student performance by 30% and cut teacher workload by 6 hours per week. For schools struggling with staffing, Randstad and Smile Education will be on hand with their specialised recruitment systems designed to give top-class support both inside and outside of the classroom. If your school is looking to expand, look no further than Maun Funding and Arcadis, experts in securing funding and delivering high-quality facilities. Classroom resources abound too, with such successes as Mighty Writer: a brand new, innovative and multisensory resource that transforms children’s literacy almost overnight. Join us for this and more at the Schools and Academies Show Birmingham on 13th-14th November at the NEC. Click here for full agenda and speakers list Click here for 5 brand new features onsite You can register for free to attend by clicking here
Galloway Country Fair pledges support for local children’s charity cash for kids
Cash for Kids has been named as the official charity partner of Galloway Country Fair for the third year running. The Fair organisers have pledged to donate all of the takings from programme sales alongside any cash donations over the weekend, to raise vital funds to support the charity’s work throughout the local area. Representatives from Westsound Cash for Kids will also be on site at this year’s event providing activities and competitions for children to take part in throughout the weekend. Galloway Country Fair has raised nearly £4,000 for Cash for Kids in recent years thanks to programme sales and generous donations from visitors, and organisers are hoping to provide another welcome boost thanks to generous Fair attendees. Anna Fergusson, Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate Manager, said: “We’re delighted to renew our partnership with Cash for Kids by naming it our official charity partner for the third consecutive year. I’m sure the charity activity will be a great addition to the Fair and we can raise a great sum for the cause.” Westsound Cash for Kids aims to support young people and children in Dumfries and Galloway by providing extra care and guidance to those disadvantaged in the community. Debbie Fraser, Regional Charity Manager said: “We are delighted to have been chosen as the charity partner of the Galloway Country Fair for another year. With poverty at its highest for years our applications for grants are at an all time high and all money raised from this great day will be distributed across Dumfries and Galloway to help support children living in the most disadvantaged areas throughout school holidays.” Set in the grounds of the stunning Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate, Galloway Country Fair will take place on Saturday 17 August, from 10am to 6pm and Sunday 18 August, from 10am to 5pm. Tickets are available now online at www.gallowaycountryfair.co.uk, to book a camping spot please contact info@drumlanrigcastle.co.uk. Visit www.gallowaycountryfair.co.uk for further information and keep up to date with the latest news like cash for kids, or check out @GallowayCountryFair on Facebook and @GCF_Drumlanrig on Twitter.
Trybooking – putting the spotlight on ticket sales
How many hours have your staff spent organising events, selling tickets, collecting cash, giving refunds, explaining the details of the events to parents, all during the school’s busiest periods? Trybooking is a service which does all the legwork for staff and can be used from parents’ evening to the Christmas concert – and some of the service is free. Here, managing director Joan Lind answers QA Education’s questions on how it works… Where did the idea for Trybooking come from? Trybooking was founded in Australia and was designed to solve the problem of too much paperwork, admin time and cash handling when putting on any size or type of school event. We were parents in Sydney who enjoyed the ease of booking online with Trybooking from any device and then immediately receiving emailed tickets. Be that for concerts, fundraising events, sports camps, parent teacher meetings etc. When we returned to the UK, we launched Trybooking in 2014 to schools and other community-based organisations – for example charities, choirs and amdram. What does Trybooking offer in terms of booking, tickets, notifications etc? Trybooking enables any type of event to be easily booked online with all details easily completed be that a simple concert with a chosen seat, or a parent-teacher meeting with individual time slots for each teacher, or open days, school trips, exam papers, courses and conferences. All booking confirmations are fulfilled with an automatic email and emailed tickets and booking confirmation which have both barcodes and QR Codes, so great for scanning if required. For example, a concert in a venue outside of the school. Additionally the school can set up various notifications so they get an email when a booking is made, or they can email all ticket buyers at any point to advise new information like a change of venue or start time. They can also set up an email that is sent at the same time as the automatic email, with tickets from them showing further details like a map. Do schools buy a one-off product or a subscription to your service? Neither, it is a simple pay-as-you-use approach. They can use us as regularly or irregularly as they wish. All clients open a complimentary account. We only get paid when the school is being paid for an event. All free events are free to manage via Trybooking. Details of our transparent and simple pricing approach are on our website. How many schools offer Trybooking? We work with hundreds of schools, colleges and universities as well as educational associations, across a mix of independent, state and grammar schools. Because we are not a software solution, but a cloud-based solution, we sit nicely alongside other software solutions in schools to enable much easier event management of bookings and ticketing. There are so many nuances to events be it registration forms for trips, dietary requirements for a fundraiser or time slots for parent-teacher meetings. And of course easy and quick payment means improved cashflow for the school. Is Trybooking suitable for primary as well as secondary? Yes it is, but we find most of our schools are secondary as primary schools don’t always see it as relevant, as they think they are too small. This is not the case, and those primary schools who use us find it incredibly valuable and saves staff time, as well as making it easier for parents. Primary schools mainly use Trybooking for parent-teacher meetings, fundraising events and concerts, especially the Christmas nativity, to manage numbers. So if they have a smaller hall, they can limit tickets per family or show it over two nights and parents book their preferred evening. What kind of feedback have you received from staff and parents? All positive! Before Trybooking, Holly from The Hollywood Studio of Performing Arts in Kirkby Lonsdale spent countless hours sorting registrations, collecting data, selling tickets and chasing payments and less time doing what she loves. She needed a solution that would work quietly in the background and enable her to focus on teaching. She came to Trybooking and found everything she was looking for and more. Holly said, “TryBooking has been the best experience for selling tickets that we have tried. It’s so simple to use and easy to operate.” They now have a new virtual staff member that works 24/7, collecting registration details and payments. The Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls are currently hosting several events with us, including an open-air cinema in September, and other schools we work with include Kingston Grammar School and Cardinal Vaugham Memorial School Concert (Sunday Times State School of the Year). See trybooking.co.uk for details.