Worksop College, set in 330 acres of woodland just outside the town centre on the A57 in north Notts, is an independent, broad-ability school with a rich 125 year history educating students from year 7-13, while its feeder school, Ranby House, provides wrap-around education for children aged 2-11. The school was embracing online learning across the board before the pandemic struck, which meant it was a seamless transition for the students to learn from home when lockdown started – even for one of its pupils in Cyprus who hasn’t missed a single lesson despite his teachers being more than 2,000 miles away.

15-year-old Colin Worthen is a full-time boarder at the school, so when lockdown happened in March he flew home to Cyprus to be with his parents. He said:

“I’ve really enjoyed all of my lessons throughout lockdown and the fact they’re being done online doesn’t affect how much I’ve learn at all.

“I’ve carried on with my GCSE syllabus for all my subjects, even practical ones like science, and I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything at all. The only difference is that my day starts a little later as there is a 2-hour time difference with the UK – but I don’t mind that!”

Headmaster at Worksop College and Ranby House, Dr. John Price, said the fact that the school, which offers boarding as well as day places, is home to several international students meant it was prepared for a remote learning scenario well before other schools and academies. He said:

“We could see what was coming in the early months of this year, so we very swiftly ensured that all of our students from year 4 upwards were trained in how to use Microsoft Teams and we introduced our youngest pupils to Zoom as it allowed them to see lots of their friends’ faces on the screen.

“When lockdown was announced, we were ready. That very Monday all lessons went live online, all feedback and mark books were accessible online and of course all resources too, many of which we already used digitally, such as text books.

“It wasn’t just a case of making do. We were and still are using the technology at our fingertips innovatively to ensure each and every one of our students gets the individual, tailored education they deserve. For example, during one practical Biology lesson I was teaching recently, our pupil in Cyprus, Colin, could momentarily see the experiment better via Teams than the students at the back of the classroom, so they logged on to Teams too in order to have as good a vantage point as Colin!”

Dr. Price added that his overarching concern once remote learning become the temporary ‘norm’ was for every student and parent to feel that they had structure in their day. He said:

“I keenly wanted structure for all of our pupils and parents, because we all immediately, overnight, found ourselves in a situation we’ve never experienced or expected – and I knew that structure was vital to everyone’s sense of wellbeing. The timetable was maintained, the lessons weren’t at all disrupted and our assemblies brought everyone together once a week. I’m extremely proud of how the teachers and pupils have worked together throughout this very unsettling time to ensure our sense of community was never lost.”

Reception teacher at Ranby House, Adam Newton, brought his creative skills to the fore to keep his very young class engaged during lockdown, making his own YouTube clips and kinesthetic lessons from scratch. He said:

“Reception is perhaps the hardest year group to teach remotely, purely because of how young the children are. They didn’t associate home with school and so I had to think of ways to bring the lessons to life through the screen.

“I made short YouTube clips for phonics and maths lessons which they could watch any time and basically got into the character of a CBBC presenter in order to bring as much fun and energy to the children as possible! Thinking creatively was key – for example I did a video where there were two of me, throwing a 3D object back and forth and in others I used puppets.”

Adam also held a weekly parent-pupil quiz via Zoom during lockdown and sent suggestions for tactile learning such as having a star gazing session at home and coming to the Zoom call the next day with observations. Dr Price added:

“As the pandemic continues, with no guarantee that schools won’t have to shut again, we feel fully prepared for all eventualities at Worksop College and Ranby House. It’s a credit to our teachers, parents and students that we’ve navigated such a chaotic and unsettling time so smoothly and I’m incredibly proud of the entire school community.”

Sustainability and nutrition can seem like daunting topics to teach 9-to-10-year-olds. But young people are more and more media-savvy each year, and have an awareness of these topics even if they don’t fully understand them yet. By introducing sustainability and nutrition into the classroom in an open and relatable way, pupils can understand how small changes can have a big impact on themselves and the world around them, and be a great encouragement to live healthier lives. In my experience, the best way to do this is to face the topics head-on, and to find topics in the news that can help to bring a real-life context to the importance of a sustainable diet and how it contributes to their own future.

In order to implement healthy eating we have multiple initiatives, including only fruit and vegetables at break, visitors to the classroom themed around healthy eating, and our School Council discusses health strategies for the whole school. This has had noticeable results in the classsroom as pupils are calmer, more settled and ready to learn. Sustainable eating has great links to PE and PSHE, and I make sure that this is connected to their families and home life by giving them homework to build habits in and out of school. My advice for teachers looking to introduce healthy eating and sustainability into the classroom is that you can get children on board by explaining the importance of building healthy habits in an honest and easy way they can understand. 

The need is there to then not only instil sustainable eating habits but also to break bad habits that may have already been developed. Eat Like a Champ is then an extremely useful resource as it helps with this by having put together a series of lessons which are both informative, current and engaging for the children of upper key stage 2. The six Eat Like A Champ lessons are linked to the UK curriculum, meaning teachers can feel confident that the Eat Like A Champ resources are supporting what they have to teach. In addition, ‘thinking’ questions have been provided in the toolkit to encourage pupils to think in-depth about sustainability issues. Pupils can consider and research these questions by themselves, with their family or with classmates.

You can download the resources now at: https://eatlikeachamp.co.uk

1. Apps Central – a one-stop-shop for parent communication

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 from 61 reviews

Apps Central provides parental engagement apps to over 600 schools across the UK. It is a one-stop-shop for parent communication. In the app is the school calendar, the news, an information section that can link out to websites and attach in the important school policies, and a messages section where unlimited number of messages can be sent to all users who have downloaded the app.

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2. mySchoolApp – Keeping the ‘mobile generation’ of parents updated

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.9/5 from 19 reviews

Say goodbye to relying on scrunched up letters in school bags and say hello to mySchoolApp. Schools are using it to keep the mobile generation of parents updated on school news, events, payment requests and last-minute changes such as snow days and event cancellations. One tap or click will get through to all the parents you want.

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3. Carter’s Yard Phonics Flashcards – teach phonics at home

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 from 14 reviews

When learning happens at home with the support of parents and carers, outcomes can dramatically improve. Carter’s Yard Phonics Flashcards are a set of 64 interactive, augmented reality ‘talking’ flashcards that unlock the difficulties of teaching phonics at home. The flashcards support families as they progress from producing individual sounds to reading words and allow them to learn at their own pace, with or without input from an adult.

4. MarvellousMe – 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 from 1 review

Designed by a once disengaged dad, MarvellousMe engages parents in their children’s learning and character development. It boosts family conversations about school and makes it easy for parents to help their children’s education and say: ‘Well done!’. MarvellousMe is special because it encourages and helps teachers to focus parent communication on learning and positive behaviours, as well as giving leaders insight and tools to ensure it’s consistent and sustained in every class.

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5. School Spider – parent payment system, mobile app and more

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.75/5 from 14 reviews

School Spider has everything your school needs in order to succeed online with a website designed specifically for your school, a parent payment system, mobile app and loads of features for parents, pupils and teachers. The software is extremely easy to use and with everything all in one place it is one login and one place to go. Simple, easy to use and cost effective.

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6. Epraise – homework, messaging, parents’ evenings and activities

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.55/5 from 10 reviews

Epraise is designed to do three things: motivate students, engage parents and save teachers time. Although recognising achievement is at the heart of much that they do, they are far more than a replacement school rewards system. Epraise aids in the transformation of schools through features such as leaderboards, digital badges, certificates, clubs and activities, the shop, draws, charitable donations, marksheets, homework tools, parents’ evenings, messenger, interventions and seating plans. They work closely with their schools to develop features that will engage parents in the right way.

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7. Learning Ladders – formative assessment and parental engagement, connected at last

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4.9/5 from 16 reviews

Learning Ladders is how outstanding schools accelerate learning, improve wellbeing, and save teacher time by connecting teaching in school and at home.

Forced to close their doors to such excursions in March, the conservation charity is pleased to be able to once again help children reconnect with nature in a safe and secure environment.

A survey conducted by the charity Young Minds revealed that 80% of children felt that the coronavirus pandemic had made their mental health worse. Young people across the UK have had their lives turned upside down by the pandemic, having had to adjust to dramatic changes in their education, routines and home life. The positive impact of time spent in natural environments is well documented and a visit to wetlands allows children the time and space to reap the benefits of the wild outdoors.

WWT’s national formal learning manager Mark Stead said:

“We’re so excited to be welcoming schools back to our wetland centres. It hasn’t been the same without them and many of our regular visitors have told us that they’ve missed seeing children learning about the importance of protecting wetlands and their wildlife.

“The last few months have been a challenging time for teachers and we’ve been working hard to ensure that they and their pupils can still have a fantastic time whilst remaining safe on site. It will be great to once again see children’s faces light up as they discover the wonder of wetlands and their wildlife.”

WWT’s curriculum-linked learning sessions make the most of the sprawling open-air environment at the wetland centres and are suitable for a range of ages and abilities. Led by experienced staff, sessions are hands-on, promoting learning through exploration and discovery.

Staff have been spending the last few months putting in place all of the steps necessary to keep school groups and other visitors safe and are now taking bookings. All of the wetland centres have been accredited with the “We’re Good to Go” UK-wide COVID-19 safety standard, which ensures WWT is operating within the relevant government and public health guidance in relation to Coronavirus.

As the current situation remains uncertain, WWT are also guaranteeing that schools can re-book or cancel free of charge should they be unable to visit due to coronavirus.

To find out more, visit WWT’s Learning Zone to find out what’s happening at each centre.

We’ve worked in close partnership with Adobe to make Spark free for teachers and learners in Wales, accessed using Hwb login details and supported by community, curriculum-ready resources and training, making it easy to embed creative and digital learning practices into lesson plans across all subjects.

Hwb users can use Adobe Spark for Education to easily turn ideas into beautiful graphics, web stories, and video presentations, through Spark ‘Post’, ‘Page’ and ‘Video’, developing the digital literacy skills of learners, helping to set them up for future success.

We marked the official launch of Adobe Spark through Hwb with an action-packed day of activity:

• ‘Spark’ creativity with the release of new, bilingual remix templates
• Launch of our brand new Adobe EdEx Cymru page http://edex.adobe.com/wales and http://edex.adobe.com/cymru
• Launch of ‘Adobe Creative Educator’ bilingual lesson plans and resources on Hwb
• Live webinar which took place on the 14th October – view on demand here

The 45-minute webinar is suitable for you if:

• you are brand new to using Adobe Spark ‘Post’, ‘Page’ or ‘Video’
• you want to see the latest features of the Spark tools
• you need a refresher of how to use the Spark tools
• you are looking for inspiration for using Spark

Adobe Spark was made available earlier in the year to help support teachers and learners during the period of school closures due to lockdown. The Hwb and Adobe team offered online training sessions which were attended live by over 1000 practitioners across Wales, and, to date, have been viewed over 4000 times on demand. You can watch all the sessions on-demand here.

Teachers across Wales can also join the Adobe Community Cymru team which has evolved into a self-sustaining support network of over 1000 educators. The Team is full of answers to questions and inspiration for using Spark in the classroom.

In addition, we supported a group of teachers in Wales to complete the Adobe Creative Educator Level 1 and Level 2 training – becoming the first teachers in the world to earn the badges. The teachers have created lesson plans and resources which we are making available bilingually on the Hwb platform and on the new Adobe EdEx page for Wales – http://edex.adobe.com/wales

The Adobe Edex page features carefully curated content relevant to the needs of teachers in Wales. The Adobe team have translated Adobe Spark for web into Welsh and we are continuing to work with Adobe to provide further bilingual resources.

For more information on using Adobe Spark please visit our Support Centre or join the Adobe Community Cymru team.

New additions to the site – now available free to all primary schools nationwide – include book extracts, lesson plans, worksheets, activities and comprehension quizzes relevant to Years 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 co-developed by Leo Academy Trust and charitable trust LGfL. A range of question types are employed – such as multiple choice, matching and ordering and long and short answers – which mirror those found in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 SATs papers. This provides children with the opportunity to practise, develop and apply the skills required to answer specific questions. It also provides teachers with assessment and moderation evidence.

Questions are presented in a progressive order to support pupils of differing abilities, and text and questions can be read and answered independently by a pupil, or in discussion with the teacher. Pupils are also encouraged to read widely, reflect on what they have read, and discuss viewpoints and genres.

These additional activities that complement the video interviews inspire young people to explore new authors and genres and to develop their own creative writing. Contextualised cross-curricular opportunities ensure that learning extends beyond English, covering elements of the Science, History, Geography, Art, Music, DT and Computing Curriculum for Primary Schools.

Pupils and teachers can also access live stream author events broadcast from a variety of host schools, where authors discuss their writing, the theme or the process used to plan and develop the characters, setting and plot, before moving on to answer questions submitted by viewers. Students gain insight into how authors think.

ReadingZone Live is a development of the existing partnership between LGfL and www.Readingzone.com. It brings regular interviews and live video conferences with some of the best contemporary children’s authors to schools. 

Over 50 contemporary children’s authors have already joined the ReadingZone Live programme including Oliver Jeffers, Anthony Horowitz, Michael Morpurgo, Anthony McGowan, Joseph Coehlo, Mini Grey and Maz Evans.

Commenting on the new site, LGfL Content Manager Bob Usher said, “This newly-revised version of the ReadingZone Live platform unlocks the potential of the 1,000+ videos which have been captured over the last 10 years of live events hosted by LGfL and ReadingZone. The video clips offer unique insight into the creative process of some of the most successful and popular children’s authors at work today in the UK. The expert literacy team at Leo Academy Trust has further enhanced the effectiveness of the material with related teacher support for KS1/KS2 literacy. We hope that our young readers and writers are inspired by the energy, enthusiasm and humour shown by our authors and that it is reflected in their own creative writing.”

For free access to ReadingZone Live please visit https://www.lgfl.net/learning-resources/summary-page/readingzone-live

These free digital resources for key stages 3 and 4 include an assembly and lesson plan to help students understand the stories of Black British, African and Caribbean service people who have often been unfairly excluded from the history books and help students consider some of the reasons for and effects of these omissions.

The Army’s Black History Resources

Supported by consultancy from The Black Curriculum and BlackPoppyRose, the assembly resource profiles service people from throughout history, while the interactive lesson resources offer source materials to help students explore the contributions and stories of Black Britons, West and East Africans and Caribbean service people during World War One. The resources also offer examples of the role of Black women in the armed forces and document case studies of a Trinidadian, British and East African (from the Tanzania-Malawi border region) woman during WWI.

J Ahle, History Teacher at Abraham Moss Community School said: “The resources are excellent, really useful and provide a strong grasp of the diversity within the British Army. I will certainly be using them within my department.”

Major Jennifer Close said: “We’re very pleased to release these resources for Black History Month 2020. These resources address the important historic contributions by Black British, African and Caribbean service people and help facilitate discussions on race and diversity in the classroom.”

Sergeant Major Alhaji Grunshi of the Gold Coast Regiment, 1918

The Importance of Black History

These resources also aim to explore the importance of Black History within the wider curriculum. Questions at the end of each resource help facilitate discussions that address the significance of Black History Month and studying Black History more broadly and how this relates to modern discussions on race and diversity, including reflections from current Black soldiers to help build student’s discussions.

Selena Carty, Founder of BlackPoppyRose said: “History has so many layers, we are now exploring a wider narrative to be able to understand the impacts of choices made in the past. These Army Black History education materials are an extremely useful resource to start an overdue conversation.”

King’s African Rifles on the march, 1916 Image Credit: National Army Museum, NAM. 1965-06-73-14

Where are the resources available?

You can download the resources now at: https://britishar.my/BlackHistory

New additions to the site – now available free to all primary schools nationwide – include book extracts, lesson plans, worksheets, activities and comprehension quizzes relevant to Years 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6 co-developed by Leo Academy Trust and charitable trust LGfL. A range of question types are employed – such as multiple choice, matching and ordering and long and short answers – which mirror those found in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 SATs papers. This provides children with the opportunity to practise, develop and apply the skills required to answer specific questions. It also provides teachers with assessment and moderation evidence.

Questions are presented in a progressive order to support pupils of differing abilities, and text and questions can be read and answered independently by a pupil, or in discussion with the teacher. Pupils are also encouraged to read widely, reflect on what they have read, and discuss viewpoints and genres.

These additional activities that complement the video interviews inspire young people to explore new authors and genres and to develop their own creative writing. Contextualised cross-curricular opportunities ensure that learning extends beyond English, covering elements of the Science, History, Geography, Art, Music, DT and Computing Curriculum for Primary Schools.

Pupils and teachers can also access live stream author events broadcast from a variety of host schools, where authors discuss their writing, the theme or the process used to plan and develop the characters, setting and plot, before moving on to answer questions submitted by viewers. Students gain insight into how authors think.

Award winning author Michael Morpurgo, OBE, presenting at a ReadingZone Live event hosted at The Grey Coat Hospital, Westminster. Photo by Trish Anderson, School Photographer. 

ReadingZone Live is a development of the existing partnership between LGfL and www.Readingzone.com. It brings regular interviews and live video conferences with some of the best contemporary children’s authors to schools. 

Over 50 contemporary children’s authors have already joined the ReadingZone Live programme including Oliver Jeffers, Anthony Horowitz, Michael Morpurgo, Anthony McGowan, Joseph Coehlo, Mini Grey and Maz Evans.

Commenting on the new site, Bob Usher LGfL Content Manager, said, “This newly-revised version of the ReadingZone Live platform unlocks the potential of the 1,000+ videos which have been captured over the last 10 years of live events hosted by LGfL and ReadingZone. The video clips offer unique insight into the creative process of some of the most successful and popular children’s authors at work today in the UK. The expert literacy team at Leo Academy Trust has further enhanced the effectiveness of the material with related teacher support for KS1/KS2 literacy. We hope that our young readers and writers are inspired by the energy, enthusiasm and humour shown by our authors and that it is reflected in their own creative writing.”

For free access to ReadingZone Live please visit https://www.lgfl.net/learning-resources/summary-page/readingzone-live

These are:

1. Expansion of free school meals to every child from a household on Universal Credit or equivalent, reaching an additional 1.5million 7-16 year olds

2. Expansion of holiday provision (food and activities) to support all children on free school meals, reaching an additional 1.1million children

3. Increasing the value of the Healthy Start vouchers to £4.25 per week (from £3.10) and expanding into all those on Universal Credit or equivalent, reaching an additional 290,000 pregnant women and children under the age of 4

The National Food Strategy was written by Henry Dimbleby.

The #endchildfoodpoverty campaign is supported by the Child Food Poverty Task Force which was formed by Marcus Rashford, a further 20 charities and key names in the food industry. They are calling on Government to allocate sufficient budget to the three National Food Strategy recommendations, as part of an urgent recovery package for vulnerable children this Autumn.

Data released by the Food Foundation today reveals 18% of 8-17 year olds (1.4 million children) reported experiences of food insecurity over the summer holidays. 

Experiences of food insecurity included:

1. Having to eat less and make food last longer because of lack of money to buy more (6%)

2. Parents not eating because there wasn’t enough food at home (5%)

3. Children being hungry but not eating to avoid using up food at home (4%)

4. Children being hungry but not eating because of lack of food at home (4%)

5. Not eating a proper meal due to lack of money for food (4%)

6. Eating at a friend’s house because there wasn’t enough food at home (3%)

6.3% of children said they were worried about going hungry during the October half term.

Rising numbers of families are struggling with an 11% (850,000) of children aged 8-17 reporting that either they or their families had visited a foodbank in the summer holidays. This was over 60% higher in non–white British ethnic groups.

The Food Foundation’s recent You Gov survey showed that 31% of parents of children on Free School meals across the UK said they received no form of help over the summer holidays. For those that did get help, most (75%) received vouchers. 10% of all parents said that changes in the household budget affected their ability to purchase food over the summer holidays.     

You can show your support and sign the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/554276/

The Food Foundation is also launching the Children’s Right 2 Food Dashboard which is a one-stop-shop for data and research on what children across the UK are eating and the effects on their wellbeing and long-term health. http://www.childrensright2food.co.uk/

Following the history-making moment at the INEOS 1:59 Challenge, the 1851 Trust, a charity committed to taking science beyond the textbook by engaging young people in the cutting-edge technology of high-performance sport, launched three new, free, digital learning resources inspired by Kipchoge’s historic sporting feat.

Hosted on the Trust’s digital education platform INEOS STEM Crew, the resources, which are aimed at 11-16 year olds, take young people into the INEOS 1:59 Performance Team and explore the science and theory that went into giving Kipchoge the best possible conditions to make history in Vienna. 

The resources have proved extremely popular – with an estimated 35,000 young people inspired so far – and are set to become even more so as this academic year continues.  

Commenting on the legacy of his challenge, Eliud Kipchoge said “It is brilliant to see so many schools are using the INEOS 1:59 Challenge STEM Crew resources, learning the science behind my record-breaking sub 2-hour marathon. I hope that my challenge will continue to bring STEM subjects to life for pupils and showcase that no human is limited.”

Following the successful launch of the resources in July, the Trust’s Education Team delivered a day of live lessons to the Bohunt Education Trust, with key worker pupils in school and hundreds of students learning at home.

Director of Education at Bohunt Education Trust (BET), Phil Avery explained: “At BET, we provide excellence in education and prepare our students to become ‘game-changers’: to make a difference in the World and change things for the better. The project with INEOS STEM Crew highlights the power of multidisciplinary learning: how scientific concepts are applied, the importance of teamwork, how failure helps us move forwards – and creativity and dreaming inspire ambition.”

Feedback received from pupils and their parents was extremely positive with one parent commenting: “My son was in school today and, for a child who isn’t into sport, he loved it. Your team did a fantastic job making the day accessible not only to the few in the class, but to the hundreds learning online as well.” 

In celebration of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge anniversary, these live lessons have now been made available on the site. The resources focus on three key aspects of the huge task Kipchoge and the INEOS 1:59 Performance Team faced; the pacemaker strategy, nutrition and course selection. Students can put themselves into the roles of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge Performance Team and investigate what it takes to do something that has never been done before, running a sub-two-hour marathon, by carrying out engaging hands-on practical work in physics, biology and maths.

The resources include class-facing presentations, activity and lab sheets as well as a project workbook to guide students through the challenges. All lessons are fully linked to the UK National Curriculum and are completely free www.stemcrew.org/ineos159challenge