North Lincs school makes ICT Excellence awards short list.

August 4th, 2010 by admin No comments »

The ICT Excellence Awards is an awards scheme for schools, local authorities and other organisations supporting schools. These awards aim to identify and reward whole school excellence in ICT and reward those organisations who support school improvement with ICT. The ICT Excellence Awards were established in 2006.

Building on Becta’s self-review framework and the ICT Mark they provide clear examples of excellent practice from schools and organisations across the UK and in Service Children’s Education settings abroad.

Congratultions to  Castledyke Primary Schools on making the short list for Best whole-school – Yorkshire and the Humber and YHGfL for Support for schools (Wider organisations) category.

The winners will be announced in October 2010.

Full details here

Lincoln Theatre Royal Teachers’ Conference.

June 14th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Lincoln Theatre Royal is holding a teachers’ conference to allow teachers from around the county and the surrounding areas to have a say as to how their school trips’ package is put together. The evening is on the 23rd June 2010 at 5.30pm and is FREE to all teachers.

Staff at the Lincoln Theatre Royal are keen for Lincolnshire schools to use their theatre to its full potential, but they fully understand that there are impending issues such as cost, health and safety, curriculum relevance and many more problems that often get in the way of planning outings for children.

They have put together an enjoyable evening for teachers, which is set to include:

• An exclusive performance from cast members of Billy Elliot –a show in their next season

• A tour round the newly refurbished theatre

• Their line up of educational performances from September 2010 will be revealed

• Buffet and refreshments will be provided

• A Question and Answer session regarding teachers’ needs and expectations from the Lincoln Theatre Royal

• An opening speech from Ian Dickens

The theatre has a varied line-up of educational shows for next season which appeal to all ages from foundation stages to degree level. They are very excited about getting involved with Lincolnshire’s schools in the hope that full advantage is taken of the educational opportunities they have to offer.

To reserve a place, please RSVP by Monday 21st June 2010 to 01522 545490 and ask for Marketing or email marketing@lincolntheatreroyal.com

E-learning Foundation Grants available..

June 7th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Grant Round 14

Application deadline – June 11th

We are pleased to announce the launch of Grant Round 14, and welcome applications from affiliated schools who share our conviction that all pupils need access to learning technologies when and where they need them, especially at home.

» Read more: E-learning Foundation Grants available..

YHGFL: Social Networking: A Hands-On Introduction

April 19th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Tuesday 27th April
10.00am – 3.00pm
YHGfL Seminar Room, Scunthorpe

Social networking is everywhere. Wondering what it’s all about?

Public social networking sites, such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo, are an integral
part of the everyday life of many children, young people and adults. The social
networking phenomenon has happened almost overnight with mobile technologies
fuelling their popularity through sites such as Twitter and features such as locationaware.
Social networking tools also have a role to play in education, and we are seeing
the emergence of not only stand-alone products specifically tailored to education, but
also the integration of social networking tools into learning platforms and VLEs.
However, there are also eSafety considerations around privacy of information,
appropriateness of content, unwanted contact and the potential for bullying.
Target Audience
LA representatives, schools and other organisations working with children and young
people who have no previous experience of using social networking sites and would like
to find out more about how they work.
This workshop will be an opportunity for those unfamiliar with social networking to
• Learn more about public social networking sites, and how young people make
use of them
• Create your own ‘practice’ profile on a social networking site to find out in a
hands-on way how they work and what they enable you to do
• Look at ways that social networking tools can be used to enhance learning and
teaching in schools
• Consider the eSafety issues around the use of public social networking sites for
both young people and adults and the ways users can help keep themselves safe
The workshop is free to those within YHGfL member authorities.
To book your place complete the booking form on our website

Social Networking Workshop Agenda

YHGFL Workshop: Making the News 2

April 19th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Making the News 2
Tuesday 18th May
10.00am – 3.00pm
YHGfL Offices
Normanby Gateway Normanby Enterprise Park Lysaghts way

Scunthorpe DN15 9YG
Are you looking for ways to make your lessons more exciting?
Making the News 2 is a fantastic new resource provided by YHGfL to member schools. This web based project provides opportunities for students to create and publish media rich news stories using the online tools to record and edit sound and video clips. Once registered a homepage is created on the Making the News site for your school. The teacher may then create student accounts.
Target Audience
 Teachers, HLTAs and support staff in primary schools.
 Secondary humanities teachers
This hands on session will introduce delegates to the resource and include a range of other useful tools for creating news stories, from image and video editing through to audio recording and collections. The day will look at both the teacher login and also the site as viewed from a student’s perspective.

A detailed agenda is available by emailing events@yhgfl.net

To book your free place visit our website and book online

http://www.yhgfl.net/News-Events/eLearning-Events

Ofsted report The safe use of new technologies

March 17th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Blocking pupils’ access to unsuitable websites does not encourage them to take responsibility for their safety online, Ofsted inspectors say.

“Managed” online systems were more successful than “locked” ones at safeguarding pupils’ safety, they said. In a report, Ofsted said the area most in need of improvement was online safety training for teaching staff.

The report was published in E-safety Week, which aims to raise awareness of some of the dangers of technologies. Ofsted inspectors visited 33 primary and secondary schools, a special school and a pupil referral unit and found e-safety was outstanding in five, good in 16, satisfactory in 13 and inadequate in one.
The five schools judged outstanding for online safety all used managed systems to help pupils become responsible users of technology. Where the provision for e-safety was outstanding, the schools had managed rather than locked down systems.
Blocking pupils’ access to unsuitable websites does not encourage them to take responsibility for their safety online, Ofsted inspectors say. “Managed” online systems were more successful than “locked” ones at safeguarding pupils’ safety, they said. In a report, Ofsted said the area most in need of improvement was online safety training for teaching staff.The report was published in E-safety Week, which aims to raise awareness of some of the dangers of technologies. Ofsted inspectors visited 33 primary and secondary schools, a special school and a pupil referral unit and found e-safety was outstanding in five, good in 16, satisfactory in 13 and inadequate in one.The five schools judged outstanding for online safety all used managed systems to help pupils become responsible users of technology.

Where the provision for e-safety was outstanding, the schools had managed rather than locked down systems

From BBC website

Key recommendations to schools…

» Read more: Ofsted report The safe use of new technologies

21st Century teacher?

March 12th, 2010 by admin No comments »

This booklet helps teachers address the challenge of using technology in daily school life. It provides case studies and practical hints and tips including a checklist and web links.

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Download here

Effective Procurement Training for Schools

March 2nd, 2010 by admin No comments »

The Strategic Procurement & VfM Unit has arranged for 2 half day ‘Effective Procurement’ training courses for schools to be held on Wednesday 12 May 2010 and Thursday 13 May 2010 , both 9.30am – 12.30pm. The course will be held at EDC. The cost is £35 per delegate.

The training course is specifically for schools and will help maximise the value they obtain from their budgets and improve understanding of financial regulations. Positive feedback has been received from schools that have attended the training previously. In particular they have welcomed the advice and guidance on getting the best deal, dealing with sales tactics, understanding basic contract issues and the financial regulations that apply to schools.

Please contact Mel Blagg in the Strategic Procurement & VfM Unit on 01724 296027 or email mel.blagg@northlincs.gov.uk to reserve your place.

Home Access Information for Schools and Parents.

January 13th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Home Access how does it work?

Click to view action chart

Home Access provides grants to low income families to buy computer and/or internet packages so they can learn safely, have fun and

achievemore at school. Following the successful pilot, the Home Access programme is now available nationally across England.

One of the key innovations of the Home Access programme is the move away from a centralised procurement of computers to a model where families have a choice of equipment and suppliers. Under the scheme, low-income families who meet set eligibility criteria can apply for a Home Access Grant to buy a computer and internet package from a range of approved suppliers.

The Home Access packages provided have been designed with a family’s needs in mind. They include one year’s service and support, pre-set parental controls to filter inappropriate content, installed office productivity suite, firewall and an anti-virus package. They also include the award winning e-safety guide Know IT All for Parents, enhanced warranty and reinstatement service in the event of theft, and technical and educational guidance delivered with every package.

All computers come with a dedicated Home Access website set as the home page to help ensure families realise the benefits of Home Access. These Home Access packages will be available for purchase by all.

Below are a collection of BECTA information sources to help get the information to the correct families.

The process can be started by the potential applicant calling 0333 200 1004

Information Sheets

Application process diagram
Background to Home Access leaflet
Intro to Home Access general leaflet
Assistive Technology leaflet
E-safety leaflet
Intro to Home Access for schools leaflet

Presentations

Home Access presentation for schools.

Posters

Partner poster
School poster

Free laptops and broadband for 270,000 families : DCSF Press Release

January 12th, 2010 by admin No comments »

Home AccessThe DCSF have released details of the Home Access scheme.  Application forms are now available for eligible families.

Information for Parents can be found here

Press Release

  • Research shows pupils could improve by two grades at GCSE with a computer at home
  • Unemployed parents say having the internet has helped them apply for jobs and get better skills

The Prime Minister and Ed Balls will today announce the national roll out of a ground-breaking scheme to give 270,000 low income families a free computer and free broadband access, under a major drive to close the digital and educational divide between rich and poor and help keep parents in touch with their child’s progress.

» Read more: Free laptops and broadband for 270,000 families : DCSF Press Release