That's Technology: Open Source Open Days from Sirius

That's Technology: Open Source Open Days from Sirius: Sirius is launching an Open Source Open Day programme to educate Government, Public Sec...

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

That's Green: National Trust launches new competition to capture...

That's Green: National Trust launches new competition to capture...: The National Trust has launched a new amateur photography competition called 'Your Space' which will celebrate green spaces and the life of...

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.