Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Have Your Say. September 2008
Click here to read September 2009 Have Your Say. Please accept our apologies for this error, we have sent a replacement copy of the September 2009 newsletter with the correct link to all subscribers. Alternately if you wish to read ‘Have Your Say September 2008’ please see below.
Launch your personal vision for the future. We have featured Beyond Current Horizons, the joint project between the DCSF and Futurelab before in our newsletter. It is designed to consult as widely as possible with the UK public on how education could and should look in the future. The latest feature is the ‘Million Futures’ website where visitors launch their own vision for the future in response to six key questions about education. It is possible to view all the other responses before or after you have added your own. A great way to stimulate discussion on vision in your school with learners and staff. There is also a revamped Beyond Current Horizons website.
Explore the world’s largest experiment. It is unlikely that anyone in your school community missed the launching of the Hadron Collinder in CERN on September 10th. There is a fantastic website linked to the experiment which has free educational resources for all ages to help develop the interest in Physics which publicity around the experiment may have triggered in children. There are games, animations, videos, live lectures and posters all free to download as well as the opportunity to talk to a CERN scientist live and take a virtual tour of the experiment. CERN also offers both teacher and student visits to the centre, details are on the website.
The School Food Trust has been given tickets to attend the London Premiere of High School Musical 3 in October and has launched a healthy school dinner competition to win them. Print off a voucher and every time a pupil eats a healthy school dinner and asks the dinner staff to stamp the voucher they can enter the draw to win the Premiere tickets (including travel and accommodation). Stamps have been sent to every school in England. There is no limit to how many times a young person can enter, but the competition closes soon. (October 1st) 100 ipods will be given as runner-up prizes. The competition is the first from The High School Musical 3 collaboration website launched on 8th September and further events and competitions to encourage healthy eating will follow. To print a competition voucher click here.
The National Year of Reading continues with its campaign to encourage and emphasise the enjoyment of reading across all age groups with a new Autumn Challenge. Any teacher or school can enter a reading opportunity, project or challenge they have or are planning to launch, on the NYR website. Winners will receive £2,000 of reading materials and equipment for their school. The site also has a wide range of free resources and downloadable videos of celebrities taking part in reading activities. To see competition details, click here:
Sing Up is a DCSF initiative designed to make singing a central and enjoyable part of every Primary aged child’s experience. There are regular free resources for teachers and schools with a friendly website that includes games and a songbank to select seasonal songs, music and lyrics. All facilities and resources including free CDRoms are available to families as well as schools. Visit the website
European Schoolnet is a not for profit organisation of 28 education ministries across Europe sharing and promoting collaboration and good practice. Regular research projects are commissioned with two currently running on The use of Games in teaching and learning and Primary schools use of ICT. Visit the website to share your school’s experience and practice by taking part in the online surveys. There are prize draws for all those who contribute. The website also contains useful resources from across Europe. The My Europe project has a series of activities and resources designed to develop children’s awareness and understanding of being a European citizen.
Each school in England will receive 10 free chess sets from the English Chess Federation this school year. This huge investment costing £2 million is part of their Chess for Schools Project sponsored by manufacturing company Holloid Plastics. The federation will also set up a national network of Chess Academies to support schools in encouraging their pupils to play chess. The Federation plans to have all sets distributed and academies set up within this academic year. To make sure your school is registered to receive the free chess sets, click here.
QCA Consultations currently running on the Revised GCSE’s for teaching in 2010 in English, Maths and ICT are a valuable place for teachers to feedback insights, views and ideas on the impact of the changes for successful teaching and learning. The consultation closes very soon, September 30th. Click here to take part:
All year seven pupils will be given a free cookery book this year as part of the government’s initiative to tackle obesity in young people. The book includes recipes for some of the most popular meals eaten in England following a consultation asking the public which basic meals and dishes would be most useful for young people to be able to cook. The list includes full main meals such as casserole and lasagne as well as basic cooking skills such as making a cheese sauce. The book also serves as a reminder to parents and teachers that children as young as 11 can cope with knives, ovens and other kitchen hazards if educated about the risks and proper procedures. Some commentators have linked the lack of cooking skills amongst teenagers to a culture of not allowing children to take risks and responsibility. The book does have to be ordered by secondary schools for their year seven students but supports the implementation of compulsory practical food and cookery lessons for all 11-14 year olds in England by 2011. The list of recipes is available here: