Sirius Corporation Implements Open Source at Ysgol Maesydderwen

Sirius Corporation, the Open Source services provider reports that it has been working with Powys County Council; introducing a combination of Open Source and proprietary software within the newly refurbished Ysgol Maesydderwen based in Ystradgynlais, near Swansea.

The project, funded by Powys County Council, involved the installation of a complete infrastructure and included the installation of brand new desktops and laptops for both the staff and pupils as well as a hundred new iPads for the pupils to use in class activities and projects.

Nick Talbot, Strategic IT advisor to the Schools Service at Powys County Council commented "We approached Sirius for an innovative solution to our school ICT requirements for the major redevelopment of Ysgol Maesydderwen. We were delighted with Sirius' proposed solution drawing from the best elements of Open Source and proprietary software. We commissioned them to make this vision real, which they did against challenging deadlines and this work has significantly increased the school's ICT confidence and capabilities".

Extensive and thoughtful planning allowed rapid delivery; from emails to document sharing, and a suite of specialist desktop applications which includes Serif, ProTools and Creo. A reliable back-end infrastructure has been put in place with built in redundancy, allowing the school to continue working should either of the server rooms be taken offline. Active Directory was deployed for authentication and management of desktops and laptops, with files being served from Samba running on Debian. Other services such as inventory management have been deployed as virtual machines running on GNU/Linux KVM. Google Apps was selected in consultation with the school to provide email, productivity and remote file services. This is significantly more powerful than their previous solution as well as representing a cost saving, being free for Education use.

Richard Lashley, Deputy Head at Ysgol Maesydderwen said that "the Sirius team were quick to identify our priorities by immersing themselves into school life and listening to learners, staff and governors". He went on to say "any glitches encountered were dealt with professionally to enable the school to have a state of the art system that we continue to refine for the improvement of teaching and learning and we are extremely excited about the future possibilities".

Ysgol Maesydderwen is a small and inclusive school where pupils of all abilities are encouraged to succeed in a caring, orderly and supportive environment. As an 11 – 18 school we can offer continuity for our students and welcome those who choose to join us from other schools. Located in Ystradgynlais, near Swansea, Ysgol Maesydderwen encourages pupils to participate in extra curricular activities and is involved with charity and voluntary organisations within the local community. For more information go to www.ysgolmaesydderwen.co.uk

Sirius is reputed to be the UK's flagship open source solutions provider with 15 years’ experience supporting mission critical enterprise applications and infrastructure. Our consultants, business analysts, IT architects and support engineers work with central and local government agencies, blue-chip multi-nationals, SMEs and start-ups to identify, deploy and manage feature-rich and stable open source solutions. For more information go to www.siriusopensource.com

Former Minister of State for Schools encourages schools to join in major classroom technology study

Former Minister of State for Schools encourages schools to take part in major classroom technology study

Lord Knight, former Minister of State for Schools is calling for primary schools to participate in major new research commissioned by maths resource provider Learning Clip. The study expects to reveal compelling evidence of the benefits of increased feedback by using student response handsets in classrooms.

The research, designed and monitored by the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) at the University of York, follows two earlier studies conducted in 2011/2012. Both demonstrated significant improvements in engagement and achievement in pupils who were taught maths and literacy using the handsets.

“This is an exciting project for schools to participate in. In addition to helping school children improve their numeracy skills, it could pioneer a wider breakthrough in maths learning. Student response technology has been around for some time, but the true potential of these systems is only just coming to be understood,” said Lord Knight.

“In terms of engagement, every pupil participates with every question, but the real impact is in the instant feedback provided to both pupil and teacher. Each knows within seconds when an answer is wrong, allowing the teacher to intervene at the moment when it is most meaningful to the pupil.”

Andrew Foster, Education Consultant at Learning Clip added, “With the initial studies showing pupil attainment levels increasing by 30% and more, we’re extending the research to definitively prove how much impact student response handsets can really have.”

The organisers are appealing to Year 4 teachers in larger primary schools in London to take part. In return, schools will receive a set of Promethean Activexpression student response handsets and a subscription to cloud delivered interactive learning resources from Learning Clip.

For more information or to find out more about getting your school involved in the study contact a.walker@learningclip.co.uk.

For more information about Learning Clip visit www.learningclip.co.uk

Learning with Student Response Handsets

Questions are delivered to pupils on the screen of their handset; their answer can be submitted as text, numeric or multiple-choice and are sent back to the teacher’s computer.

As soon as a pupil has answered, the next question will appear on their screen. Children who are more confident or able can work at a quicker pace, while those who need more time to answer will feel less pressured to keep up and are able to respond discretely.

No marking is required and teachers save preparation time by simply logging on to the Learning Clip website and choosing from a bank of prepared activities and questions. The Learning Clip system collects and marks the answers providing instant feedback to pupils, and a detailed snapshot of the class’s performance for the teacher.

Kyocera take on apprentices

Following the launch of the Pearson in Practice programme for ‘Advanced Apprenticeships for Print and Document Solutions’ earlier this week KYOCERA Document Solutions is delighted to announce that its first two apprentices have already started their training with the print solutions company.

Nineteen year olds Jordan Church and Thomas Parsley started their inductions with KYOCERA Document Solutions last week. Jordan said: “KYOCERA is clearly committed to the Apprenticeship scheme and this offers us the possibility of branching out into a number of different fields rather than just the field service option. Everyone we have met has been extremely welcoming, friendly and helpful. It is a great opportunity – we will get out as much as we put in. I feel I’ve definitely made the right decision as I have the chance to break into the industry – something that is difficult to do without experience.”

Thomas added: “I’m really looking forward to getting some hands on experience. We’ve already watched a technician preparing a machine for installation and we’re going to get the opportunity to try it for ourselves tomorrow. Learning the theory is great but you learn so much quicker by having a go. We can’t wait to have a go at actually fixing something – it will be great to be a service engineer – self-sufficient and able to get things fixed.”

KYOCERA Document Solutions drove the formation of the Apprenticeships Programme as Ian Allan, Training Manager, explains: “As an ex-apprentice myself I knew the value of Apprenticeships and recognised that our industry was crying out for a structured qualification which would give young people an excellent grounding. I spoke to CompTIA and we worked with Pearson in Practice and other print solutions vendors to create a genuine industry standard. Every manufacturer has had the opportunity to input what the Apprentices should have to cover and we now have an Apprenticeship, designed by the industry for the industry, which will deliver a young, enthusiastic and qualified workforce.”

Sandra Rogers, Human Resources Manager, KYOCERA Document Solutions commented: “We’re finding that the hardest thing is to recruit the right people with the right skill set combined with a genuine desire to develop and grow with our company. Over the last three years we’ve grown 77% organically and identifying young talent is vital for our continued growth. Jordan and Thomas have the option to become Field Service Engineers, to work on our Technical Help Desk or in our Workshops – we are flexible enough to accommodate the career path they want to follow.”

The Apprenticeships Programme runs for at least 12 months and involves on the job training as well as classroom learning at a Pearson in Practice Training Centre. The Apprentices will study for the following qualifications: CompTIA PDI+, CompTIA A+ and Advanced Apprenticeship for IT, Software, Web and Telecoms Professionals.

Pearson in Practice is the UK’s leading provider of Apprenticeship training, working with thousands of companies across many industry sectors. Pearson in Practice recruits quality young people and deliver them, job ready, for interview.

FCA reports educational success for care leaver

FCA has announced a care leaver from Cwmavon has secured a place at university to study event management.

Zoey Morgan (18) who has been in care for the past five years with Foster Care Associates (FCA), was thrilled to receive her A-level results last month, confirming her place at Glamorgan University. Zoey has all the backing from FCA as well as her committed foster carer, Julia Cox who has supported the youngster throughout her teenage life.

Zoey's triumph at A-level included a pass in the Welsh Baccalaureate as well as English Literature, English Language and Health & Social Care. It follows her GCSE success where she attained four B grades and two C grades. A former pupil at St Joseph's 6th form centre in Port Talbot, Zoey now has her sights firmly set on fulfilling her ambition to become a wedding planner.

Commenting Zoey said: "I am so thrilled to be going to Uni and can't wait to start. This marks a new and exciting chapter in my life.

"I will really miss my carer Julia who has been my rock, supporting and encouraging me with my studies."

Zoey came into care with FCA at the age of 13 and has flourished with the help of her carer Julia. As a single carer, Julia has demonstrated unswerving commitment to the youngster with compassion and understanding. Stability in a family setting has been the backbone to success.

Education liaison officer at FCA Cymru, Darren Sykes Wilks added: "At FCA our focus is about meeting the individual needs of every child or young person we look after.

"In Zoey's case, FCA was able to offer private tuition to support her school studies. We are hugely proud of Zoey and her achievements. She has worked incredibly hard and we wish her the very best of luck as she continues on her journey through life. Thanks to the dedication from foster carer Julie, this achievement is certainly worth celebrating."

FCA Cymru is a leading independent foster care agency in Wales. With regional headquarters in Swansea, the organisation works in partnership with local authorities, delivering quality care in a family setting for vulnerable youngsters who are cared for by the agency's 200 foster families across the whole of Wales.

Those who think they could make a difference to the life of a young person through fostering can call FCA Cymru on 0800 023 4561 or visit www.iwanttofoster.com.

Parents to Quiz Teachers directly on knowledge of left-handed issues

Parents of left-handed children across the UK are harnessing parent power to address the lack of appropriate teaching their children receive in school, particularly relating to handwriting. As the school term begins, parents are able to download a survey form to take directly to their children’s school in an effort to establish how much or how little guidance is given to their child that is appropriate to learning new skills as a left-hander.

The survey marks the first stage of the Rights of Left-Handed Writers Campaign by the Left-Handers Club (LHC), the leading pressure group for left-handers in the UK. The campaign is a result of the constant concerns of parents among their 100,000+ members at their children’s difficulty mastering the basic essential skill of handwriting. Their concerns and frustrations are evident from the hundreds of heartfelt comments on this topic on the Left-Handers Club website, and the unprecedented interest in the subject by a record number of visitors to the site for the campaign launch on August 13th 21012 - Left-Handers Day.

Being left-handed does not, in itself, make handwriting difficult, but it does require different techniques for pen grip, posture and paper positioning to those of a right-hander. Lauren Milsom, expert on handedness and author of "Your Left-Handed Child", confirms that attempting to write using the same techniques and positioning as right-handed children leads to a number of problems for left-handers including:

- Cramped hand grip,
- Poor pen control,
- Bad posture
- Slow laboured letter formation
- Smudged writing

As Ms. Milsom points out "All of these difficulties can be avoided if the left-handed child is properly positioned at the desk and in the classroom, and shown some simple, specific techniques for left-handed writing."

Having spent many fruitless years in discussions with teaching authorities, Teacher Training Agency and the Minister for Education attempting to ensure left-handed writing & cutting techniques become compulsory knowledge for all teachers, the LHC are now harnessing the energy and commitment of the parents of these left-handed pupils to take the necessary information and training directly to the teachers in their own local schools.

The first stage is to determine the level of awareness that individual schools have of the issues facing their left-handed pupils, and even whether a child’s hand preference is noted. (Many schools are not aware of how many left-handed students they have in the school and no policy for noting a child’s hand preference on any records).

A free Questionnaire has been produced by the LHC which parents can download and take in to their child’s class to harness directly the assistance of teachers to establish how well left-handed students are catered for.

The survey form covers:
• Whether schools note the handedness of pupils and have any policy or guidance in place for teachers on how to help them
• Whether teachers have been given any training regarding left-handed children either while they were qualifying or in their schools.
• What provisions are made to help left-handed children with handwriting
• Information on scissors and other tools and the level of support available.

The LHC have committed to collate all the information with the aim of producing a set of suggested guidelines for best practice in appropriate teaching for left-handers in schools.

Any parents of a left-handed child or adult involved in teaching or education in any way can download the free survey form and complete the simple process here-:

http://www.lefthandersclub.org/teachers/survey.html
(three A4 pages with 20 questions in total)

Give it to their child's teacher and explain what it is for
Get the completed form back together with copies of any documents that are available and enter the results into the LHC web form available at the same address as above

RonaDeck Tree Pit System enhances building project at Middlesbrough School

Ronacrete Approved Contractor Route One Highways laid over 200 square metres of RonaDeck Tree Pit System at Beverley and Tollesby School, Middlesbrough.

The landscaping work was part of a large new school building project combining two special schools in the area which provide education for students with autism and behavioural needs.

The new trees planted at the school are relatively small, but will grow and develop over the years and will provide pupils of the future with a green pleasant environment in which to learn.

The RonaDeck Tree Pit System protects the trees from damage without inhibiting their growth. The tree pit system surrounds the tree in a solid but porous construction which allows the passage of water to the tree roots and keeps the tree nourished and healthy.

Ideal for use in public areas such as school playgrounds, streets, car parks and other areas where tree are enclosed by hard landscaping, it is easy to keep clean and so prevents the build up of hazardous and unsightly litter which often accumulates in tree pits, particularly the recesses of metal grilles.

Higher Education Returns to Reading College as University Fees Multiply

Reading College, the Thames Valley’s leading further education institution, today announced that it is bringing higher education back to the College. Six new courses driven by the local job market’s need for specific skills will be on offer across a range of subjects for the 2012 – 2013 academic year.

As the substantial rise in university tuition fees starts to deter many students from higher education, the College was keen to support the local community by introducing a more cost-effective option. Studying at the College can increase the financial stability of students in a number of ways including: paying significantly lower tuition fees, continuing to live at home and having the opportunity to work either full or part time while studying.

For students looking to break into the engineering and construction industries, a Higher National Diploma in Electrical and Electronic Engineering is available in addition to a Higher National Certificate in the same subject as well as Construction. A foundation degree course is available in Business and Enterprise and the College will maintain its great tradition in arts and design by offering a foundation degree in the subject. Reading College will also provide a Professional Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) – a must have for graduates looking to enter the teaching profession.

Lesley Donoghue, Principal of Reading College comments: “I’m delighted that we are able to offer top quality higher education to the local area. This is very timely as university tuition fees treble this year and many people need a more cost-effective option available locally. The key strength of these courses is that they are designed by employers for employment. I’ve seen students start to worry about their job prospects after completing a degree, so we have worked closely with local businesses to ensure our higher education leaves students with the best possible chance of gaining employment after completing their course.”

Since the Oxford and Cherwell Valley College (OCVC) Group took charge of Reading College in 2010, it has always planned to offer a higher education program that’s relevant to the local employment market. In the National Student Survey of 2010-2011, 95% of OCVC higher education students said they were satisfied with their course, which is 12% above the national average. Of the OCVC higher education students in their final year, an average of 98% achieve their qualification.

The Foundation Degrees and PGCE are awarded by Oxford Brookes University through its partnership with OCVC and delivered at Reading College. OCVC has indicated that it will look to expand its higher education offerings at Reading College in future.

For more information on the higher education offered at Reading College please visit: www.reading-college.ac.uk/HE

Full Steam Ahead For UTC Reading

The Oxford and Cherwell Valley College (OCVC) Group, lead sponsors of the new University Technical College that will be based in Reading, today announced the official name and other important developments, including the project receiving formal approval from the government and the procurement of a site.

Reading’s University Technical College will be called UTC Reading and the site has been secured on Crescent Road in East Reading which will accommodate 600 students when at full capacity. This location is in a central position to serve the proposed wide catchment area, which includes young people within a 15 mile radius of postcode RG1 5RQ in East Reading, extending to Newbury, Slough, Basingstoke and Farnborough. UTC Reading’s site offers extensive playing fields for sport and recreational activities, to ensure that the 14 to 19 year olds starting in September 2013 have all of the facilities for the planned programme of extra-curricular activities.

The recruitment drive to appoint a new principal for UTC Reading is also underway and the sponsors plan to have the chosen candidate in post by January 2013, to be in place to spearhead the launch. Other teaching and support staff will be recruited soon after. Another key development has been an agreement between Schools Minister Lord Hill and the sponsors. The signing of a ‘funding agreement’ is a key milestone in the process of developing the UTC to open in September 2013, as Chief Executive of OCVC, Sally Dicketts, comments:

“The funding agreement being signed means that this project is really happening. Now that we have a name, location and this funding secured we are on the right path in seeing the dream of UTC Reading become a reality. By 2013 I am confident we will have a leading-edge facility that Reading and the region will be proud of, that can inspire the next generation of computer science and IT specialists through education.”

UTC Reading will specialise in computer science and software engineering, taught alongside the national curriculum. This means that students get the benefit of practical study of the specialist subjects whilst still taking the GCSE’s and A-levels that they would take at a regular school; getting the best of both worlds. The specialist curriculum proposed by the UTC will appeal to secondary school-aged pupils interested in computer science and/or engineering who are keen on pursuing and developing their talents.

Making all of this happen is a committed partnership made up of sponsors and partners. These include Reading College, Reading School, the University of Reading, Microsoft, Cisco, Network Rail and Peter Brett Associates. Together the sponsor and partners believe they can help create a new kind of facility for 14 to 19 year olds, that brings together the combination of education and industry to give them the best possible start in their professional life.

Steve Beswick, Director of Education for Microsoft and a key Industry Partner for UTC Reading, comments: “Microsoft has a long and proud history supporting education in the UK. One area of focus for us is the promotion of computer science in schools for young people. This promotion is essential so that we can develop talent and ensure the UK continues to produce world class computer science and programming graduates. The Memorandum of Understanding we have signed with the new UTC Reading represents a further deepening of our commitment to this cause and underlines Microsoft’s strategy of transforming the way technology is used and taught in schools.”

Apprenticeship Race – Get Ahead of the Pack

With thousands of students picking up their GCSE results this week, school leavers across the country will be making the choice to stay on for A-levels or get out there into the world of work.

Apprenticeships are a great option, providing trainees with the chance to earn while they learn. However, securing an apprenticeship is like applying for a job – you will need to ensure your CV stands out.

One of the most popular apprenticeship choices is to become an installation electrician. Iain Macdonald, Head of Education and Training at the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), gives his top tips for making your CV stand out from the crowd this summer, whichever industry you choose to work in:

1. Consider your options and think carefully about which apprenticeships you want to apply for. There’s no point applying for a building apprenticeship if you want to be a plumber.

2. Ask friends and family for advice. If you know someone who works in an industry that interests you, speak to them – they may not be able to get you a job, but their guidance will be invaluable. They may even be able to arrange some work experience to strengthen your CV.

3. Check out the local paper; the majority of companies will advertise entry level positions there.

4. Look on the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) website (www.apprenticeships.org.uk) to find an apprenticeship placement. Or you can get advice from an industry training provider’s website. The largest and best known of these is JTL (www.jtltraining.com).

5. When applying to companies directly, send a covering letter and a copy of your CV. A CV is a great way to showcase your strengths and achievements to potential employers.

6. Avoid sending a generic covering letter or CV. Do your research and tailor each one to the specific company and job role – demonstrate the strengths you can bring to their specific business.

7. Check, double check and triple check your CV, and ask somebody else to proof read it for you. Sloppy mistakes are an instant turn-off for employers.

8. Be proud of any extra-curricular achievements or activities – being involved in sports clubs or gaining a Duke of Edinburgh Award are fantastic for demonstrating team work.

9. If you are successful in getting through to an interview stage, don’t be afraid to emphasise your strong points and sell yourself! During the interview, listen to the questions you are asked and take time to think carefully about your answers.

10. Remember, you’re asking an employer to invest time and money in you – show them why you’re worth it! Even at the initial enquiry stage, knowledge on the company and its competitors can really help you to stand out.

Much-needed Youth Contract funding for NEETS most welcome, says Perspective

Perspective, an industry leader in individual learning plan software applauds a Government initiative announced last week (Friday 20 July) which is worth £126 million and anticipated to help 55,000 NEETS (young people not in education, employment or training) into employment.

Part of Nick Clegg’s Youth Contract, unveiled back in February, this new scheme has enlisted the help of private companies, including 24 further education colleges, in an attempt to train and teach unemployed 16 and 17 year olds spanning the nation.

For every young person they help, the Government will pay charities and businesses up to £2,200 provided they meet the criteria for keeping the person in employment or education for a minimum of six months.

Paul Davis, managing director of Perspective, a respected company which has developed a student management system says: “This financial support from the Government comes at a welcome time as the UK continues to struggle with an uncertain and unstable economy, yet the skills’ gap in the nation continues to widen.

“Although, from what I can see in the education industry and within the private sector, there is real willing to help young people get the training and education they need and deserve, there is limited resource and budget to help dedicate both time and salary – until now.

“Initiatives such of these are of paramount importance to help rebuild our fragile economy. They also give young people the incentive and confidence they need to build successful future careers.”

Perspective is a leading provider of student and learning management software. Its Sunesis system is currently being implemented by a number of local authorities and businesses across the UK. For more information, please visit www.perspective-uk.com or call 0121 506 9540.

TradeSkills4U MOD1 & MOD2 courses approved for accreditation by C&G

ity & Guilds have just approved TradeSkills4U’s MOD1 and MOD2 courses to be processed for accreditation.

TradeSkills4U are already recognised as an industry leader when it comes to electrical training. They are one of the first companies to introduce packages of courses making it easier for students to identify the courses they need and train to achieve their specific goals.

Many years ago TradeSkills4U introduced their MOD1 course. This practical workshop is a foundation electrical installation course which shows students how to install in a domestic setting. At the time there wasn’t really anything else like it in the market place and TradeSkills4U were able to create a course that specifically met the demand for new entrants to the industry to learn how to carry out domestic installations.

TradeSkills4U recognised that this course although created in house should be represented by some kind of certification. As a result they applied to City & Guilds to see if the course could be accredited and have just heard it has been approved for accreditation. They are now going through the process of getting the full accreditation for the MOD1 and should finalise the details shortly meaning it will be accompanied by a City & Guilds certificate in the near future. This not only gives customers even more confidence in the quality of the training they will receive from Trade Skills 4U it also means their initial training will be recognised by City & Guilds.

Managing director Carl Bennett said: “We have worked very hard to ensure our training is first class. We are very proud of our MOD1 course and are extremely happy it is going to receive the recognition it deserves. This further concretes our status as Britain’s premiere electrical training provider and shows our commitment to go the extra mile for our students.”

“We have already been given the go ahead from City & Guilds that these courses will be accredited, we are just waiting for the details to be finalised before we start handing out certificates.”

Trade Skills 4U have also heard that their MOD2 course covering the Principles of Electro Technology will also be accredited. This means that every course in their Bronze and Silver course packages will now be accredited by City & Guilds.

Trade Skills 4U were established in 2005 as a training company covering a range of trades. However since then they have made the shift to focus purely on electrical and renewable energy skills. This has led them to developing state of the art facilities and industry leading courses.

Their commitment to first class training is evident in the training they deliver and the feedback they receive from their students as a result. In 2011 more people passed Trade Skills 4U’s range of City & Guilds electrical courses than any other electrical training provider and even during these hard times the company continues to go from strength to strength.

Trade Skills 4U is reputedly the UK’s premiere electrical training company. They have been established since 2005 and provide the widest range of electrical courses and renewable training courses from one facility in the UK.

All the training takes place from their state of the art facilities based just next to Gatwick Airport in Crawley.

Innovate Services announces partnership with Mary’s Meals charity

Innovate Services Ltd, the innovative catering facilities operator to the education sector, has announced it is supporting Mary’s Meals as its designated charity. Mary’s Meals is a global movement that sets up school feeding projects in some of the world’s poorest communities, where poverty and hunger prevent children from gaining an education.

The idea behind Mary’s Meals is a simple one that works. The charity provides one daily meal in a place of learning in order to attract chronically hungry children into a classroom, where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty.

Mary’s Meals began by feeding just 200 children in Malawi in 2002. Today, the charity is providing daily meals to over 650,000 hungry children every day in 16 different countries across the world, including Kenya, Haiti, Uganda, Liberia and India. It costs Mary’s Meals just £10.70 to feed a child for a whole school year.

As part of its commitment to the charity, Innovate will be donating 4p for every bottle of water sold at its 65+ sites across the UK, which is enough to feed one child at school for a day.

Representatives from Mary’s Meals will be visiting a number of Innovate’s school sites over the coming school terms to provide students with an insight into the work the charity carries out and to educate them about how donations are used to provide vital food aid to vulnerable children across the world.

Abeer Macintyre, Head of Supporter Care at Mary’s Meals, said, “We are delighted and excited by this initiative by Innovate. By simply purchasing a bottle of water, you can buy a meal for one of the world’s poorest children. That meal will be life-changing for them. This is a perfect example of global citizenship and we are extremely grateful to Innovate for playing its part in creating a more equal world where those of us who have so much are able to share with those who lack even the most basic things.”

Nick Freeman, Student & Client Liaison, Innovate Services said, “Mary’s Meals is such a worthy cause, providing food to hungry children in their local schools in areas where poverty and hunger is a major issue. The work the charity undertakes offers a double benefit as not only is the child receiving a vital meal but gaining an education, which may help towards improved future prospects. Here at Innovate, we are so pleased to be working with Mary’s Meals to raise awareness of famine in the Third World, by presenting the campaign to students here in the UK.”

For further information regarding Innovate Services, visit http://innovate-services.com/marys.htm. For more details regarding Mary’s Meals or to make a donation visit http://www.marysmeals.org.uk/.

New NetSupport School 11 instruction & management software set to meet challenge of 21st century classroom

Includes new tablet version for teachers

Education software specialist NetSupport is pleased to announce the immediate availability of NetSupport School version 11 – the latest evolution of its market-leading classroom management solution.

Version 11 adds to the product’s unrivalled range of PC monitoring, instant assessment and collaboration tools with over 200 new and updated features - all wrapped in a totally refreshed interface that ensures teachers have instant access to all key features.

NEW IN VERSION 11
Highlights in version 11 include a new and unique student and peer assessment module, a wealth of new features for technicians, a new tablet version for teachers, added platform support for Windows 8 and Google Chrome OS and improved file transfer and video performance.

Built around current teaching practices for the continual assessment of learning, the new Question and Answer module is an exciting addition to NetSupport School’s range of assessment and collaboration tools. With existing features such as the custom Test Designer and instant Student Surveys already giving teachers the ability to electronically assess student attainment, the new module is further proof that NetSupport has taken note of current classroom challenges.

The module allows teachers to verbally ask questions to the whole class, gauge student answers and understanding, introduce new questioning styles to the lesson (such as basketball questioning) and develop peer assessment opportunities, as well as track rewards against both the individual and, where appropriate, teams.

SUPPORTING NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Schools are increasingly embracing new PC technologies and in recent years NetSupport has introduced support for environments including thin/zero client computing, terminal server, virtual desktops and shared resource computing.

The Google Chromebook is the latest cost-effective, easy-to-manage computing solution set to put technology into the hands of more students and, from version 11, NetSupport School provides support for the Chrome OS.

NetSupport also hasn’t ignored the impact that hand-held technology is currently having in the modern learning environment.

When paired with an existing NetSupport School Windows desktop Tutor, NetSupport’s new Tutor Assistant app (compatible with both Apple iOS and Android tablets as well as, uniquely, iOS and Android smartphones and available as a free download from the Apple iTunes store and Google Play) increases a teacher’s mobility around the classroom, enabling them to retain key control and monitoring of all student workstations. It also allows teaching assistants to better support the role of the teacher in monitoring student progress.

ENHANCED AND IMPROVED
School technicians and network managers can look forward to a major refresh of NetSupport School’s Tech Console – delivering a number of additional system and policy management tools including the ability to apply a new set of school-wide internet, application, printer and USB restrictions that are operational 24 hours a day, a new security monitoring feature highlighting any computers that have potential vulnerabilities based on pre-defined criteria, as well as additional technician tools such as remote registry editing, a remote command prompt and extended inventory capabilities.

The already-unique Digital Student Journal option has been further enhanced to aid in lesson recording and improve the provision of content for students outside of the classroom. Teachers and students can now continue adding content to an existing ‘master’ journal in subsequent lessons. Teachers can add chapters to the journal, create bookmarks and even synchronise missing content in their journal with a student who has missed a lesson.

The Record and Replay feature is another area of existing functionality to undergo a makeover. The feature provides the perfect tool for building a library of recorded demonstrations, either captured in class or pre-recorded for future lesson use. Version 11 introduces a Video Editor; allowing Replay Files to be trimmed and edited before being exported to common video formats.

The unique Student Toolbar in NetSupport School has also been enhanced, providing instant access to lesson objectives and expected outcomes, additional options for silently requesting assistance from a Teacher or Assistant, quick access to USB resources as well as progress tracking of any electronically delivered coursework.

And if you’re looking for a solution that optimises the delivery of files between machines, you’ll definitely be pleased with the performance improvements that have been introduced into version 11. File and video transfer performance is now 10x faster and uses up to 50% less network bandwidth than any comparable solution available.

Commenting on the new version, NetSupport’s Managing Director, Al Kingsley, said: “The IT landscape of the modern school continues to change and classroom management software vendors need to ensure their solutions remain relevant. New computing platforms not only provide inspiring learning environments for students but, more than ever, teachers have the opportunity to enhance teaching practices through the use of technology.

“{{NetSupport School 11 is an exciting step forward on the road to ensuring our solution continues to meet current classroom challenges.}} The product has undergone a complete visual refresh, many existing features have been enhanced and the new and unique added functionality is sure to appeal to the education community.

“The Question and Answer module adds to our set of collaborative tools and further aids a teacher’s ability to instantly assess student understanding. And with mobile technology high on the agenda, our Tutor Assistant app for tablets and mobile phones is set to transform the way teachers interact with students within the ICT suite.

“We’ve also been quick to acknowledge the impact Google Chrome is likely to have across education along with the pending release of Windows 8 and this, combined with the product’s extensive feature set, ensures NetSupport School 11 is definitely fit for purpose in the 21st century classroom.”

While NetSupport School continues to raise the bar for Windows-based classroom management, NetSupport has also recognised the emergence of the multi-platform classroom. NetSupport Assist, launched in Spring 2011 and recently named Network Computing Magazine’s 2012 New Product of the Year, delivers a focused set of classroom management tools for Macâ and Linux environments. The addition of Assist to the company’s education portfolio saw NetSupport become the first classroom management software vendor to offer compatible solutions across Windows, Mac® and Linux environments, providing complete flexibility for mixed platform classrooms.

Visit www.netsupportschool.com for an in-depth overview of the new features and to download a free 40-PC trial copy.

Capita SIMS Independent backs Independent School Awards 2012 to wave flag for educational excellence

Capita SIMS Independent has announced it has signed a two-year deal as headline sponsors of the prestigious Independent School Awards.

Now in their third year, these are the only awards solely dedicated to the independent education sector. The awards recognise excellence in the strategic and financial management of fee-paying schools delivering British education across the UK and abroad. Entries for 2012 have more than doubled since their launch in 2010.

Julie Booth, head of SIMS Independent, said: “British fee-paying schools are considered among the best in the world and the Independent School Awards provide a wonderful opportunity for them to celebrate their achievements.

“The level of commitment in our schools to delivering the highest standards of teaching and learning should be championed and we are delighted to be a part of what has become such an important fixture on the independent education sector’s calendar. I wish all this year’s entrants the very best of luck.”

Entries to this year’s awards will be judged in 12 categories and a list of finalists will be revealed in September 2012. The winners will be announced at a black tie event to be held on 14 November 2012 at the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham.

Andrew Maiden, editor of Funding for Independent Schools magazine and organiser of the Independent School Awards, said: “The quality of British education being delivered in our schools is the envy of the world and the awards are designed to help raise the profile of some of our best institutions. Capita SIMS Independent is committed to developing the technology and services independent schools need to run efficient and effective businesses and we are thrilled that they have come on board to support the event.”

Twitter cue: #CapitaSIMS backs Independent School Awards 2012 to wave the flag for British educational excellence http://bit.ly/Sza0M3

Training 2000 uses Intuitive Dashboards to Drive Enhanced Performance

Training 2000, one of the North-West’s largest and most successful Group Training Associations (GTA), has deployed Intuitive Dashboards, the advanced dashboard solution from Intuitive Business Intelligence, to provide them with a vastly more accurate, consolidated dashboard view of their business and organisational performance.

Intuitive Dashboards empowers Training 2000’s senior managers with timely, accurate insight into their team and company performance, monitoring a vast array of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across operational areas including contract performance, people measures and customer service. In addition, Intuitive Dashboards will provide enhanced visual reporting on the training company’s financial management, integrating directly with their Sage 200 financial software. Future deployments will provide full integration with Training 2000’s Sage CRM implementation.

Steve Gray, Chief Executive Officer of Training 2000, comments, “Before we implemented Intuitive Dashboards, we had different systems which gave us sight of the performance of the company; this was a time-consuming manual activity, collating data from all our databases and it usually lagged behind the real-time position of the company performance too. As a result, we could not be 100% certain that we were seeing a true accurate reflection of what was really going on in our business. Each department would have to go through a difficult process to access and verify key management information. Without a standard method for producing our management information, the resulting reports often showed discrepancies and fell short of our vision to have real-time accurate data presented visually. Intuitive Dashboards has revolutionised how we manage our information assets. It consolidates all the relevant information into a single, accurate and consistent dashboard view that is easy-to-use and easy to access. Now, we can instantly pinpoint business areas that require our immediate attention. As a result, it has dramatically enhanced our decision-making.”

Gray continues, “Intuitive Dashboards enables us to eliminate many days of staff time spent collating, checking and creating management reports. Managing our key performance information is now simple, effective and visible. I’d recommend other training organisations consider using Intuitive Dashboards to dramatically enhance their business and operational performance.”

Steve Clarke, ICT and Corporate Strategy Manager at Training 2000, concludes, “We chose Intuitive Dashboards because it provides us with a definitive viewpoint of our management data. The transparency, visibility and quality of our dashboards allow us to present a single version of the truth in a highly-professional manner, which we rely upon to drive excellence in every part of our business.”

Tony Bray, Managing Director at Intuitive Business Intelligence, comments, “I’m delighted to welcome Training 2000 to our rapidly-expanding list of training and work-based learning clients. Intuitive Dashboards will enable them to instantly access an accurate, highly-visual perspective of their performance, allowing managers to focus on improving operational efficiencies. Ultimately, Intuitive Dashboards will help Training 2000 to make faster, more accurate management decisions to enhance business performance and the delivery of quality training services to their clients.”

Intuitive Business Intelligence Limited (www.intuitivebusinessintelligence.com) is the author of Intuitive Dashboards which brings together critical information from multiple sources, allowing business users to create and customise their own graphical, interactive dashboards. This empowers users with invaluable insight into their organisational performance, enabling them to make faster, more accurate decisions. Completely Web-based, so it can be used on-premise or in the Cloud, Intuitive Dashboards is easy to use, highly-visual and ultra-fast to implement, delivering a rapid return on investment. Intuitive Business Intelligence is headquartered in Manchester, UK with offices throughout the UK and the US.

Training 2000 (www.training2000.co.uk) won six outstanding grades at its latest Ofsted inspection. In 2011, Training 2000 was awarded with Beacon status and was also listed as of the best places to work for in the public/third sector in The Sunday Times 100 Best Places to Work. Training 2000 is a certified Training Quality Standard (TQS) provider, with excellence in Automotive, Engineering and Healthcare.

Training 2000’s Apprenticeships are renowned for their relevance to industry requirements and the completion rates exceed the national average. Sectors where courses are available are: Automotive, Business, Construction, Dental, Engineering and Manufacturing, Environmental, Health and Social Care, Health & Safety, Leadership & Management, Mechanical Handling and Scaffolding.

Long Term Youth Unemployment Needs Addressing, Says Perspective

New data from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has found that the number of young people out of work for at least a year has increased by 800 per cent in the last decade, a shocking statistic that needs to be addressed, according to individual learning plan provider Perspective.

The report, which compared data over the last ten years, revealed that the number of 18 to 24 year-olds out of work for a year or more has risen eightfold from 6,260 in 2000 to 60,995 in 2012. The last 12 months have seen the biggest increase with joblessness rising by 264 per cent.

Paul Davis, managing director of student management system provider Perspective, commented: “Youth employment is a huge problem in this country that needs to be tackled. Young people lack the skills and experience of their older peers and therefore can find it more difficult to secure a job. Taking this into account along with the decline in entry-level jobs in sectors such as production, due to manufacturing moving overseas, there is a real need to help the next generation of workers get long term employment.

“Vocational training is one way of decreasing youth unemployment and the government has introduced the Youth Contract, a subsidy of £2,275 for employers who take on and train young people, to do just that. I am hoping over the next year more businesses will see apprenticeships as a more attractive offering, and a way to train staff with the right skills.

Perspective is a leading provider of student tracking software, with its student management system, Sunesis, being implemented by numerous local authorities and businesses around the UK and subsequently being responsible for monitoring millions of learners. For more information, please visit www.perspective-uk.com or call 0121 506 9540.

Gaming NEETS way to help, say experts

For the nearly 1 million young million people who are classed as ‘NEET’ (Not in Education, Employment or Training) their future in the current economic climate is very uncertain.

For those who are lacking in qualifications their future may be bleak.

So Eureka Youth has been pioneering new training methods for these young people.

Their approach is to engage with the students using a medium that they enjoy and respond to - the world of electronic gaming.

If you were to drop in on a Eureka training course you would see a group of young people playing on a Playstation.

However if you were to stop and look more closely you would see the students developing skills in sales and marketing, ICT, CV writing, time management and project skills.

Trainer Donna Cranny said “Electronic Games are an area to which young people can relate and, more importantly it is an area they are willing share their opinions and knowledge of. At Eureka we’ve taken the Playstation platform to develop practical training that gives young people transferable skills that they can take to an organisation”.

But the gaming industry was not only chosen because it is a sector to which young people can relate.

Patricia Seabright, Director of Eureka Youth said, “The gaming industry as a whole now makes more money than Hollywood and the UK is a leading play in the gaming sector. This is an industry which is constantly adapting with new product development, sales and marketing all playing a crucial part in the success of businesses operating in this sector making it a perfect choice on which to build our unique training around.”

Eureka Youth offers training for both NEETS and Pre-NEETS and is currently offering training courses in the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and London areas.

Eureka is one of the UK’s leading experts on training NEETs and ensuring that they get the life skills that they need to become a success in life.

Based in Hertfordshire, they specialise in engaging young people though gaming and other innovative techniques.

Eureka Youth

Student competition to design for older people steps up gear with mentoring prize

Swivel Hatch encourages neighbourliness

Student design competition, “Designing for the Future”, stepped up a gear this year with winners being offered a mentoring package in addition to a cash prize.

“Designing for the Future” run by The Future Perfect Company in conjunction with the University of Brighton is now in its third year and encourages student designers to think about the challenges and issues affecting our ageing population – and to create innovative and attractive designs which allow older people to continue to live enjoyable, active and independent lives.

Winner Xenia Moseley, (BA (Hons) 3D Design) and runner up Florence Pike (BA (Hons) 3D Design) competed against a record number of entrants to secure a combination of mentoring and cash.

Founder of The Future Perfect Company, Philippa Aldrich explains : “The Designing for the Future” competition has come a long way since we started it three years ago. Begun as a brief for one small group of students within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Brighton, the Competition has steadily gained recognition as a touch point for discussion about design for our ageing population, whether at the Age UK national policy conference, the BSRA Science of Ageing conference or the Mobility Roadshow.

As the Competition has grown, I have become increasingly aware that in order to create and sustain an innovation pipeline for this area of design, the students would benefit from a mentoring approach to help them develop their projects and also launch themselves into the design world after graduation The mentoring package will consist of product development advice from designer Richard Child who is currently bringing his own unique crutches design to market and I will be adding business support, drawing particularly on my experience of using social media to launch and build The Future Perfect Company”.

Comments judge Richard Child: "The "Designing for the Future" competition has been an excellent showcase of young British design talent and I’ve been very impressed with the standard that was set by the students at the University of Brighton. Each student applied their design intuition to real world problems, relating to our ageing population, requiring nothing less than professional results. I look forward to seeing how the students progress during their time at Brighton.”

Says Anne Boddington, Dean of Faculty of Arts at the University of Brighton : “This Competition and Philippa’s commitment have provided us with an important nudge to think differently about some of the most important immediate and future challenges. Our students have produced some very thoughtful sophisticated and high quality work.”

Winner Xenia Moseley took inspiration from her own family history to design a Family Tree card game which allows people to discover and remember the person behind the name.

Runner up, Florence Pike was horrified by her research that suggested that as many as one million people over the age of 65 say they are often or always lonely. Finding that neighbours in particular can play a crucial role in providing a source of companionship for the elderly, Florence’s products “Tea for Two” and “The Swivel Hatch” transform the garden fence from a barrier to a meeting point by creating an ad hoc tea tray.

The competition received entries from two year groups of Product Design and 3D Design students at the University of Brighton and was coordinated by tutor Gareth Neal and judged by Anne Boddington, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Brighton; Philippa Aldrich, founder of The Future Perfect Company; Gretel Jones, senior consumer markets policy adviser at Age UK; and Richard Child, Technical Director of Hymid R&D.

Other entries included a memory decanter which uses QR codes to access family photographs, an eccentric carrier which incorporates a gyroscope into a playful carrying tray, a face recognition device for people suffering from prosopagnosia (faceblindness), a coffee table which incorporates a foot massager and a lap garden for the bedbound.

FACTFILE:
The Future Perfect Company (www.thefutureperfectcompany.com) was born when owner Philippa Aldrich was looking for ways to make life a little easier for relatives and friends facing the challenges of later life. When investigating what products could and should be available to help the over 50s, she was horrified by the many dull, utilitarian products which looked as if they belonged in a hospital. In time, Philippa became increasingly determined to champion the need for thoughtful design so she took the plunge and – after 20 years as a city lawyer – made her passion a reality in 2009 when she established The Future Perfect Company.

The Future Perfect Company is an online destination for older people and their carers to find beautifully designed products to help them live a better life. The company aims to offer alternatives to the utilitarian and uninspiring products available to older people and to generate debate around issues affecting older people as a catalyst for change.

The “Designing for the Future” competition with the University of Brighton is now in its third year and has been showcased at the Mobility Roadshow, the international BSRA Science of Ageing Conference and a public expo. Philippa has spoken about the challenges of the UK’s ageing demographic at Age UK’s annual policy conference, collaborated with the Technology Strategy Board’s Tomorrow Together initiative and is judging the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) student design awards. Philippa was recently invited to become a RSA fellow.

Start of Water Safety Awareness Week

The majority of deaths from drowning are due to lack of awareness of water dangers, research has shown. News from the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) reveals that more than half of people who drown, knew how to swim. This is the message from the charity at the start of its Water Safety Awareness Week drowning prevention campaign.

Taking place from June 16 – 24, RLSS UK - the national water safety and drowning prevention charity - hopes its national campaign will help to reduce the annual number of accidental deaths from drowning in the UK.

Latest available figures, from the National Water Safety Forum, show that there were 420 accidental deaths from drowning in 2010 – one nearly every 17 hours.

Nearly 50 per cent of the deaths by drowning were people who did not intend to be in the water.

The highest numbers of death by drowning tend to occur in April, June and August, coinciding with school and bank holidays. Flash floods can also be a serious issue.

Di Standley, chief executive of RLSS UK, said: “Water Safety Awareness Week is all about education. If people can become aware how to avoid dangerous situations in, on, or near water, then lives will be saved.

“I expect that many people will be surprised by how many people who die from drowning can swim. There are many reasons why this happens. Common ones are that, firstly, people who can’t swim tend to stay away from water. Secondly, some swimmers become complacent about their own safety and fail to realise the impact that sudden immersion in cold water can have. Another common factor is alcohol. As we all know, when people drink their judgement becomes impaired and they may take unnecessary risks. We always urge people not to mix alcohol with water-based activities.”

To make themselves and their loved ones safe, members of the public are being asked to read the water safety tips on the Water Safety Awareness Week website www.watersafetyawarenessweek.org.uk

RLSS UK is also calling on people to make sure that their children learn how to swim, and also to find out about lifesaving classes that take place in their local leisure centres.

Everyone is also asked to pass on the water safety message by letting their friends and family know about the Week and by including the hash tag #WSAW2012 in social media conversations during June 16 – 24.

Water Safety Awareness Week is being headed by UK Olympic diver Nick Robinson Baker, who rescued the life of his fellow diver Monique Gladding in the water at a diving competition in Russia last year.

The launch of Water Safety Awareness Week follows a spike in drownings across the UK and Ireland in recent weeks.

Money raised from Water Safety Awareness Week will help RLSS UK to deliver water safety packs for school children, free community lifesaving sessions and the charity’s ‘Don’t drink and drown’ campaign.

Find out more about Water Safety Awareness Week at www.watersafetyawarenessweek.org.uk . Show your support on twitter by following @WSAW_RLSSUK and like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/WaterSafetyAwarenessWeek

Celebrities Attend 'Be Inspired Secret Summer Dinner' To Help Young People's Mentoring Scheme

Louis Theroux, Dan Gillespie Sells, Brix Smith Start, Amber Atherton, Amal Fashanu, Nick Ede, Hardeep Singh Kohli and TOWIE's Jessica Wright are among the VIP guests attending the YOUYOU Mentoring 'Be Inspired Secret Summer Dinner' on Tuesday 3 July.

The intimate, glamorous and fine dining fundraising event has been curated by Disappearing Dining Club and will be hosted at a secret location in Shorditch, East London.

The celebrity supporters of YOUYOU Mentoring, a scheme that helps young people aged 17-21 gain practical on hand skills and career building development with mentoring from renown individuals in creative industries.

Louis Theroux said: "I'm delighted to be supporting YOUYOU. Join me for a fantastic night for a fantastic good cause that is helping and giving today's young people opportunities to develop their talents and job prospects. "

Guests will be treated to a welcome drinks reception, 5-course meal created by Fred Bolin and exclusive after dinner performance from Martina Topley-Bird. Mercury-nominated singer songwriter, female vocalist on Tricky's Maxinquaye and prolific collaborator with Damon Albarn.

A silent auction will be held where guests can bid on beautiful items to include Atelier-Mayer 1950's diamante pendant necklace, snap up stunning photographs by rock music photographer Andy Fallon, illustrations by Big Active and once in a life time food experiences at The Cube Electrolux at The Royal Festival Hall.

Amongst the guests will be some of the young people benefiting from YOUYOU.

These will include:
Nicola Jones (20) from Greenwich who aspires to be a music journalist. Her mentor is Q Magazine former editor in chief Paul Rees. Nicola recently interviewed Little Boots with published work in Q Magazine.

Laura Pratt (19) from SW London, a keen photographer mentored by portrait photographer Richard Bailey. Lauren's photographs along with nine other young photographers had their work exhibited in January at YOUYOU's photography exhibition Close-Up at The Strand Gallery.

Farhan Mannan (20) from Acton. Farhan a budding singer songwriter and musician has been mentored by songwriter and producer Guy Chambers, 3 times winner of the acclaimed Ivor Novello Awards. Farhan has recently recorded his first professional track 'Remember Yesterday' at Guy's private studio in London.

Sarah Francis (18) from Ilford, Essex is one of three mentees selected to be mentored by TV Celebrity Stylist & Brand Expert Nick Ede (Owner and Creative Director of EdenCancan.) Mentees will be styling the outfits for Dan Gillespie Sells, Amal Fashanu and TOWIE's Jessica Wright who are attending the dinner on the 3rd July.

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Mac® and Linux classroom monitoring and instruction software – introduces optimised File Transfer and Power Management capabilities

UK education software supplier NetSupport, developer of the market-leading classroom management solution for Windows, NetSupport School, is pleased to announce the latest update to its Mac® and Linux-compatible classroom monitoring and instruction tool, NetSupport Assist.

Originally released in Spring 2011 and named Network Computing’s 2012 New Product of the Year, NetSupport Assist responds to the growing use of Mac® and Linux technology within today’s modern learning environments, providing teachers with a powerful combination of monitoring, presentation and collaboration tools that help with the efficient delivery of computer-led lessons.

The addition of Assist to the company’s education portfolio saw NetSupport become the first classroom management software vendor to offer compatible solutions across Windows, Mac® and Linux environments, providing complete flexibility for mixed platform classrooms.

Highlights in Version 1.10 include the introduction of NetSupport’s Delta File Transfer and Send/Collect Work technology, helping teachers and trainers automate the movement of coursework and files between teacher and student machines.

Using a simple drag and drop interface to transfer files from the teacher machine to a selected student machine, NetSupport’s intelligent ‘Delta File Transfer’ technology is recognised as being one of the most efficient and powerful on the market, reducing data transfer times when overwriting files that already exist by checking individual blocks of data within a file and only transferring changed data.

Further extending a teacher’s ability to automate and manage the distribution of work files, the Send and Collect Work feature enables a pre-prepared file to be sent to multiple student machines. At the end of the lesson, each file, appended with the individual student’s details, can be automatically retrieved by the teacher.

Another key addition in the new version is Power Management, enabling all classroom computers to be centrally powered on or off with a single click.

Commenting on the release of version 1.10, NetSupport’s Development Director, Rob Hawkins, said: “Our Windows-based classroom management technology is widely acknowledged as the market leader and we are confident that as more and more schools, colleges and universities adopt Mac® and Linux technology, NetSupport Assist will become the classroom instruction software of choice for these environments.

“This latest update continues the product’s evolution by adding our tried and tested File Transfer and Power Management technology and, in doing so, further enhancing a teacher’s classroom management toolkit.

“The technical landscape within the modern school is continually evolving and we are naturally conscious that our software needs to keep pace. NetSupport Assist has already come a long way since it was launched, as recognised by our recent Network Computing award, and customers can expect further exciting updates in coming months.”

Learn more about NetSupport Assist by visiting www.netsupportassist.com.

Sam Sykes Ltd - The Adventures of Sam Sykes

Sam Sykes Ltd, named after its founder, was created to make the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme as accessible as possible to young people. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is the world’s leading youth achievement award, created to inspire young people to generate challenges that are enjoyable and fulfilling providing them greater success in life.

Sam has harnessed his thrill seeking spirit of adventure into an exciting but safe environment for young adults, by providing courses with key objectives, such as ‘improving self belief’ and ‘understanding for others’.

During the time Sam, and before that his father, has been running these courses, there have been highs and lows, spills and thrills, struggles and triumphs. Why did they do it? What did they learn? What challenges did they face, and what motivates Sam to push on to a higher level?

The higher risks and demands in Health and Safety have made it difficult for schools to easily provide students this opportunity. Sam Sykes offer parents and teachers the peace of mind that the expedition groups are in good hands.

Sam Sykes has 30 years experience in delivering Duke of Edinburgh expeditions and has a degree in Outdoor Studies and extensive experience in running facilities and designing and implementing Health and Safety systems. Sam Sykes’ father has even received an MBE for the work he has accomplished for young people in transforming their lives.

The scheme aims to provide young people (16-24) with a gold Duke of Edinburgh award but also the life skills and attributes most desired by top employers and professionals; self belief, self confidence, independence, team work and risk management. By encouraging each participant from the initial step to achieve their gold award, Sam Sykes is encouraging drive and determination in each individual attending the exhibition.

Expedition destinations extend from The Lake District to the Peak District, Scotland and Wales and as far afield as Alaska, Germany and Peru. Each level of a Duke of Edinburgh award has 4 sections which need to be completed; Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition and there is a fifth section for achieving gold which is residential. Sam Sykes offers tailored experiences ranging from bronze to silver and gold.
Sam Sykes

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Primary School Wins Hartley Greenhouse in RHS Competition

Hook Lane Primary School, in Kent, has won a greenhouse from Hartley Botanic, worth £2500, for staging the most ‘inspiring’ Get Your Growing event. They held a presentation one morning last week.

Part of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, Get Your Grown-Ups Growing is an initiative designed to encourage adults to get involved in school gardening, after an RHS survey found that parents are lagging behind when it comes to gardening knowledge.

Hook Lane Primary School has been a member of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening since 2008. The Campaign encourages schools to develop gardens to be used as teaching resources, helping pupils to learn outside the classroom.

In October last year, a record 1329 schools held Get Your Grown Ups Growing events and 226 schools submitted a 100 word description of their event. These submissions were judged by the RHS, who decided the winner based on how inspiring the event sounded. Hook Lane Primary School was the winner and 25 runners-up received prize packs from CJ Wildlife containing a plastic feeder, a 5kg feeder seed and a food storage bin, for their school garden.

Liz Doherty, who runs the school gardening club at Hook Lane Primary School , said: ‘We are absolutely thrilled to have received the greenhouse from Hartley Botanic – the children love it and it makes life much easier.

‘I’ve been working with the children in the garden for several years now and they get so much out of it. It’s fun, accessible to everyone and they get to learn while they have fun – it’s perfect, and the addition of the green-house has made it even better, so thanks to both the RHS and Hartley Botanic.

‘It’s so important to get grand-parents and parents gardening with the kids so we will definitely be getting involved with Get Your Grown-Ups Growing again later this year!’

Jacky Chave, Strategic Schools Manager, RHS, said, ‘Congratulations to Hook Lane Primary School . Having a school garden is a fantastic asset for teachers and pupils as it provides a multitude of learning opportunities, but we know it can take a lot of hard work to maintain. By involving parents and other local adults, through an event like Get Your Grown-ups Growing, we hope that school gardens will be looked after all year round, and enthusiasm for gardening and growing will spread beyond the school gates and into children’s homes.’

Hartley Managing Director, Johnny Mobasher, said: ‘We are delighted to support the RHS’ important schools campaign and look forward to hearing how the pupils at this year’s winning school develop their growing skills under glass.’

A survey, commissioned by the UK’s leading gardening charity, asked 500 parents, grandparents and primary school-aged children about their gardening habits, to discover if there is a ‘lost generation of gardeners’. The survey found that fewer than 1% of parents were taught to garden while at school, compared to 55% of grandparents and 40% of children.

Get Your Grown Ups Growing, is part of the RHS Campaign for School Gardening, and was launched by the RHS in October 2009 and is a month-long drive to get parents and the wider community to support school gardening. To find out more please visit: www.rhs.org.uk/schoolgardening.

A guide to public liability insurance in the run up to Jubilee Celebrations

Across the nation, people are getting ready to celebrate 60 wonderful years of our Queen on the throne. You may have seen in recent news the restrictions on jubilee street parties and the need for public liability insurance. Endsleigh is on-hand to give street party organisers the advice that they need in making sure that liability for any trips, slips and falls are covered.

Public liability insurance provides cover in the event that a member of the public is accidentally injured and an organisation is found liable. With most of the UK getting in the party spirit and organising events for the big day, Endsleigh is urging communities to consider public liability insurance.

Chris Tuck of Endsleigh Insurance, said: “The jubilee is such a special occasion, we want to make sure people have the assurance that they are financially protected so they can have a great time. Don’t forget that there are some basic elements such as public liability to be considered. Having public liability cover in place means the festivities that you have planned will be covered allowing you to enjoy the festivities.”

Here are a few tips on planning for a successful and memorable jubilee party:

Talk to your local authority or council
Although public liability insurance is not currently a legal requirement, many local authorities set limitations and request that street parties have a public liability insurance policy in place. Talking to your local authority will provide you with information on the level of cover that they expect you to have, as well as information on closing your road for the day and any other restrictions that have been put in place.

Speak to residents or residents association
If you have a residents association then plan a meeting to discuss your insurance policy, inform your residents of what policies you need to have in place and what the financial implications are.

Think about the risks
Everybody wants to have a great celebration, but risks always need to be considered. Even if your local authority doesn’t demand a public liability policy, think about the importance of having one anyway. Risks could include food poisoning and broken limbs from trips and falls; public liability insurance will keep you assured that if something did go wrong you are covered.

Endsleigh Insurance offers a range of competitive policies for street parties, businesses and personal purposes. Policies can be tailored to cover legal fees, expenses and third party costs.

Youth Unemployment Schemes Need To Be Simplified, Says Perspective

Perspective, a top UK provider of education tracking software, believes current youth unemployment schemes are over complicated and are in fact having an adverse effect, causing an increase in youth unemployment figures.

Perspective’s comments come in light of the recent release of figures from the LGA. LGA’s research found that the £15 billion system was ‘awash with different strategies and age ranges’ and as such is proving overly complicated. The LGA also cited the growth in ‘core-neets’ – young people who weren’t in education, employment or training for more than 12 months as an indication that current training schemes were failing.

David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: "The growing number of core-neets is particularly frustrating for councils, which have a responsibility to look after the welfare of all young people in their area but are restricted in their ability to do so by nationally driven approaches that are failing to get to grips with local issues.”

LGA’s findings suggested that 13 to 24-year-olds, on average, received support from at least eight different national organisations that funded 33 employment schemes across 13 age boundaries. It is this over servicing of available roles and options for young people has led to confusion among young people and the eventual growth in youth unemployment.

Paul Davis, managing director of individual learning plan provider Perspective, commented: “Clearly more needs to be done to lower the ever-increasing level of youth unemployment in the UK. Although £15 billion may have been set aside for schemes to lower unemployment levels, the providers of these schemes need to simplify their availability to encourage as many young people as possible to find work and reverse this growing trend.”

Perspective is a leading provider of learning management software to the UK education market. For more information, please visit www.perspective-uk.com or call 0121 506 9540.

Furze Platt and Misbourne schools renew Innovate catering contracts

Takes Innovate’s contract renewal tally up to ten consecutive renewals since the start of 2012 -

Furze Platt Senior School in Maidenhead and The Misbourne Arts & Technology College in Great Missenden have renewed their catering contracts with Innovate Services, making it ten consecutive contract-wins for the catering operator since the start of the year.

Furze Platt, a co-educational mixed community school for 11 – 18 year olds, renewed its contract following positive feedback from pupils, staff and parents. “We like the food, the service, its value for money and the fact that Innovate is always coming up with new ideas. For example, the new Simply Fantastico range of pasta dishes that have been designed by Gino D’Acampo are now available in the café and are very popular,” commented Lesley Peat, Business Manager for Furze Platt Senior School.

The Misbourne has been “extremely happy” with Innovate’s café-style catering model that came on-board five years ago and so opted to renew the contract, as well as introduce a biometric cashless system, explained Debbie Grimsdale, School Business Manager at Misbourne School. The school has signed up for an additional five years with Innovate as a result.

Furze Platt uses Innovate’s biometric system, but some children still bring in cash. Since Easter all cash is now entered onto the biometric system in the morning. “We want to move across to entirely cashless, but in the interim we are adopting this approach, so that parents know money is being spent on school meals,” explained Lesley Peat.

Free School Meals are also administered via Innovate’s biometric system at Furze Platt. Each eligible student is therefore able to select their lunch and then check-out with all other students, making the process seamless. To make this even easier, Innovate has created the ‘iClub, which offers ‘meal deals’ on a range of foods and drinks for a set price, which is the same as the Free School Meal allocation. “This works extremely well as the students can’t be identified as someone redeeming a Free School Meal, it’s easy for them to select the food they want without exceeding the allocated meal cost, plus parents can track what their children have been eating online,” Lesley Peat said.

The Misbourne School currently offers both a cashless and cash till in the cafe. Parents can also send in a cheque or top up cards online. But the school is looking to move to a totally cashless biometric system from Innovate. “With a cashless system parents know that the money has been spent on school meals, and not on the way to and from school. Parents also like the fact that they can check on what their children have eaten that day online,” Debbie Grimsdale said.

Children eligible for free school meals at The Misbourne are able to use the cashless system to make their purchases in the school Café. “This works extremely well as it avoids any social stigma, as the transaction is managed via the cashless card and so are anonymous,” concludes Debbie Grimsdale.

Adds Derick Martin, CEO and co-founder, Innovate Services: “To achieve our tenth consecutive contract renewal is a fantastic achievement and I am very proud of the team for working closely with all our schools, academies and colleges to create a catering service that meets their individual wants and needs. We don’t provide a one-size-fits-all service but instead work with each school’s leadership team and students to design a service that fits with their requirements, and will ultimately be enjoyed by all those that use it.”

For further details visit http://www.furzeplatt.com/, http://www.misbourne.bucks.sch.uk/ and www.innovate-services.com.

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Revolutionary electronic cycling jacket launches to improve cycling safety

Cyclist wearing Visijax

An innovative new electronic cycle jacket Visijax® www.visijax.com has been launched by British company Li & Co Ltd, which will improve the safety and visibility of cyclists and aims to reduce the numbers of cycling accidents.

The Department of Transport reports that 60% of bicycle fatalities take place between rush hour (7-10am and 4-7pm) with the number of cyclists either killed or seriously injured in the first half of 2011 rising 12 per cent year on year.

According to road safety experts RoSPA, turning in front of fast moving vehicles is one of the biggest hazards faced by riders.

In direct response to this issue, Li & Co has developed cutting-edge technology, ‘Intelligent Motion-Activated Signalling System’ (iMASS ™) and ‘implanted’ it within the high-design Visijax® commuter cycling jacket.

This new feature, unique to the Visijax® jacket, detects movement so when a cyclist raises their arm to indicate, an amber flashing signal is automatically turned on, which can be seen clearly by motorists and other cyclists on the roads. The flashing signal remains on for around five seconds after a cyclist has put down their arm to allow sufficient time for them to turn safely.

Supporting the iMASS™ system, are 23 integrated high intensity LED lights arranged in clusters with standard vehicle lighting codes i.e. white for the front and red for the rear. For additional cyclist safety, the lights on the back of the jacket are positioned in a backpack-friendly area so cyclists can be seen clearly from behind. The complete system is powered by three AAA batteries, which have a total life of 200 hours – a ‘one-touch’ button placed in the front of the jacket activates all lights and the iMASS™ system.

Visijax® has been developed with all areas of cycle safety and comfort in mind.

Additional features of the jacket include:

• High visibility luminous colour
• Rainproof and breathable fabric – outside zips have been specially designed to ensure that rain doesn’t leak into the gaps
• All round ventilation including advanced armpit ventilation points to allow for increased airflow

Andy Li, CEO of Li &Co comments; “Visijax is a breakthrough cycling product, designed with passion, driven by technology and road-tested for safety. There is nothing like it available on the market and it’s a great example of how leading-edge technology and British design can improve our day-to-day lives. The jacket was designed with a single focus to improve visibility and safety of cyclists. We strongly believe Visijax fills a gap in the market for stylish cyclewear for commuters, offering unparalleled levels of protection to improve cycle safety on UK roads.”

Visijax® is currently available exclusively at www.amazon.co.uk for an introductory price of £129* (offer ends 31st May 2012.) Visijax® will be available internationally from Autumn 2012.

For more information on the specification and features of the jacket visit: www.visijax.com.