School World

Experience suggests that success in French speaking and listening exams comes in three ways. Obviously a well-grounded knowledge of the language is needed. But also the student needs confidence and the ability to use the knowledge of the language that he/she possesses.

Unlike most books that deal with speaking and listening, the copiable volume “How to get top marks for my French speaking and listening exams” deals with all three issues: knowledge, confidence and the application of knowledge in relation to Foundation and Higher Tiers GCSE and Core and Extended IGCSE French.

As the book stresses to students on the first page, “Success is deliberate.” In these exams, the author says, intonation, exam skills, and vocabulary are the key. Along with a real motivation to get better at speaking French.

And because motivation is considered so important, the book starts with exercises in motivational techniques. It may seem unusual that in the opening few phrases there is no French, but the fact is that without motivation and a sincere desire to pass the exam the student will not improve.

When the focus does move to the language, there is a constant focus on the nature of the task in hand. Listening is made a central part of the task in hand, and from here the work in French begins to flow.

In all there are 100 copiable pages, provided either as a copiable text or on CD Rom so that they can be loaded onto the school’s learning platform for all students to access.

The sheer variety and down to earth honesty of the book will enthuse the students, and they will particularly appreciate the section on “bluffing and improvising” which shows them how to deal with unknown words and phrases.

Indeed it is sections such as that, that enthuse the students to work in much greater depth and with much greater focus when they work through the dialogues.

This is a truly remarkable book.

How to get top marks for my French speaking and listening exams is available as a book or CD and comes with a full photocopy license for use of the book within your school so yiou can share it with colleagues. You can see a sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/modlang/T1780.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1780EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 815 6

Prices

Photocopiable book: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £24.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Book and the CD £31.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.
You can purchase the report… please quote the order ref: T1780EMN

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct., Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By phone to 01536 399011

By fax to 01536 399 012
On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=756

If the introduction of sublimation printers has had one effect it is that they have changed the expectations of students.

Now, with the highest quality finish available for printing on clocks, bags, mugs, jigsaws and coasters, students are able to take their work into completely new areas.

There are two ways of starting – or indeed expanding – the sublimation work within your department. The first involves purchasing a complete sublimation starter kit. The other focuses on the printer, allowing you to increase the range of options available for your students.

The starter kit

The starter kit contains everything you need to get going with sublimation printing including a Ricoh GXe3300 A4 printer, 4 colour Sublijet R cartridges, a 28cm x 38cm Apollo heat press with in-built timer, 50 sheets of ‘special’ sublimation paper, 110 sheets of Ricoh A4 paper and 2 rolls of heat tape.

The starter kit has been reduced to £749 + VAT.

The Ricoh sublimation printer and cartridges

The A4 Ricoh GX e3300N sublimation printer is capable of producing up to 144 colour prints per hour and comes complete with 4 colour Sublijet R cartridges.

This printer and cartridge set has been reduced to £269 + VAT.

The details

Both offers are available for immediate despatch.

Details on both of these offers can be found on our website by clicking here

If you would like any further information on how you can benefit from sublimation printing, please do call us on 01223 893900.

There is no doubt that in every school there are students who have grown so used to the internet that they see it as a prime source of information and have ceased to see books as being a central reference point as part of their studies.

Unfortunately, because of the range of material on the internet this can be a particular problem. Indeed, as the January 2012 Ofsted framework says, it is vital for schools to minimise the risk to young people through having effective procedures for safeguarding.

What today’s students often want and need is the breadth and quality of information that they would, in an earlier generation, have found in text books and encyclopaedias, but within their preferred medium.

With this in mind we have developed Autology, an educational search engine, within which all content is verified and mapped to the curriculum. It thus allows students to find the information they need, with the added guarantee that what they are finding is quality information.

It means that students from KS3 to Post 16 can access the very best and most informative materials online, either at home or in the school. The Autology resources include online versions of many Heinemann books, Letts text books, encyclopaedias and access to over 1000 web sources.

Through its “walled garden” approach to using the internet it is possible for schools to switch off access to Google and instead focus on highly reliable and, above all, safe resources.

However, that is not all. As we know, Ofsted also requires that schools narrow the gap between the performance of different groups of students in the school.

The Autology approach assists in narrowing this gap by particularly aiding those students who find research and identifying appropriate resources difficult or unengaging.

In short, Autology meets the requirement of Ofsted by successfully engaging students in their learning. This enables them to develop the skills to learn for themselves, and enables the setting of appropriate homework to help develop these skills. This in turn helps to develop their understanding by providing equality of access to resources when they carry out their homework.

As a result students still use the same amount of time as before, but you will now know that time is focussed on retrieving and using information of the highest quality.

To see how Autology works, a free trial is available by clicking here.

Alternatively, to talk through any aspect of our service please call 01244 560966 or email keithe@autology.org

You can also view the product at www.autology.org

Autology is provided by Autology World Ltd, Daresbury Innovation Centre, Science & Innovation Campus, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, Cheshire, WA4 4FS

The Day chooses three of the most interesting stories in the news each day and provides analysis, background, curriculum links, further research ideas, activities and debates – all on one sheet of A4 or online.
Written and designed by a national newspaper team of journalists, The Day helps to bring the curriculum alive, making it relevant and encouraging debate. 
Click here for sample stories
Teachers find that The Day is an ideal resource for form time but also a topical starter or stimulus for classwork in the full range of school subjects from Geography to Drama and beyond. Click here for case studies
You can view our online demonstration to learn more.

To read what teachers and students think about the service, please visit our testimonials page. Take a no-obligation three week trial of the service. For further information, please call our office on 0207 727 6959

‘This might be that rare thing, an online teaching resource that saves me time and does what it is supposed to do!’

Matthew Bunning, Burlington Danes Academy.

This book will enable you to ensure that students are well-prepared to sit their final exams in GCSE Media Studies.

The book takes a practical approach to the full integration of acquired knowledge and skills in preparation for the final exam, addressing areas that are common to all examination systems. It looks in particular at the three principal types of exam questions: Media Evaluation, Media Production and Unseen Analysis. For each of these the book provides a brief revision of the terminology and concepts, a plan for tackling the specific type of question, at least one exemplar of a very good response to an exam question and worksheets and/or suggested activities.

The emphasis is placed on the most common forms and genres of Print media (newspapers, magazines and advertising) and Moving Image media (television and films). Frequent references are made to popular texts to clarify meanings and engage pupil interest.

You can see some sample pages at http://www.pdf.firstandbest.co.uk/media/T1707.pdf

Publisher’s reference: T1707EMN ISBN: 978 1 86083 776 0

Prices

Photocopiable report in a ring binder, £25.95 plus £3.95 delivery
CD with school-wide rights: £25.95 plus £3.95 delivery
Both the Ring Binder and the CD £32.94 plus £3.95 delivery
Prices include VAT.

You can purchase the book… please quote the order ref: T1707EMN

By post to First and Best, Hamilton House, Earlstrees Ct, Earlstrees Way, Corby, NN17 4HH
By fax to 01536 399 012
Email sales@firstandbest.co.uk

On line with a credit card at http://shop.firstandbest.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=52&products_id=535

£10 off your order when you spend £50 or more on MFL rewards and resources at SuperStickers. Just enter code PCHL2 at the checkout online or include this code on your school order. Offer ends 30th June 2012.

Decorate your classroom with colourful and informative posters and borders. The vocabulary and grammar will sink in without pupils even realising it!
www.superstickers.com/posters

Forget worksheets; boost their confidence in speaking the target language with French and Spanish themed puppets.
www.superstickers.com/puppets
Vocabulary is more easily remembered when it’s learnt using card games instead of recalling lists.
www.superstickers.com/cardgames
Practising verbs and tenses can be fun! Prove it with this super dice game.
www.superstickers.com/dicegames
Don’t forget, order before 30th June to claim your £10 discount!1

The Team at SuperStickers

Terms & Conditions

1. £10 off applies when you spend £50 or more only
2. Offer ends 30/06/12
3. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer
4. Orders can also be faxed to 0800 0272833. Remember to include code PCHL2 on your order to claim your discount.

It is a common observation that students’ flagging attention can be lifted by a change of lesson format. Likewise it is often observed that students can be reinvigorated by being offered an occasional quiz based on a recognised format.

In each case, the fact that the event is centred around past exam questions is no longer the focal point: it is the format that heightens the level of involvement.

QI – American Politics for A-Levels is a resource based upon the popular TV show of the same name.

In total there are 270 questions and answers provided on each section, ranging from ‘Elections’ to ‘Constitutions’.

It can be given out to students on the basis of a self-test resource or used as a classroom activity, with students either in teams or working as individuals.

In each case the resource highlights gaps in the students’ knowledge which they can then focus on. At the same time it reminds students of knowledge which they do have but which might not always be brought to the fore when faced with an unusual question.

This resource contains 33 copiable masters which are available as a spiral bound book, as a PDF CD or as a Word file on a CD. The price of £29.99 + VAT is the same for all formats.

Once purchased the CD can be freely copied and networked throughout the school.

To see sample pages please email sales@classroom-resources.co.uk quoting the order code 2050.

You can order QI – American Politics in any of these ways:

On our website
By phone on 0117 940 6409
By fax on 0117 940 6408
By email (quoting a school order number) to sales@classroom-resources.co.uk
By post to: Classroom Resources, PO Box 1489, Bristol, BS99 3QJ

SAFEcic’s popular and successful seminar “Safeguarding: The essential management issues” will help schools comply with the new Ofsted requirements (January 2012) for safeguarding policies, procedures, rigorous recruitment, staff training, record keeping, multi agency working, whistleblowing and eSafety.

Held at the prestigious Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon (Junction 12, M40, Warwickshire) 09.00 (for 09.30) to 15.00 on Friday 22nd June 2012, schools are invited to attend at the discounted price of only £59 per head for the day. This fee is inclusive of tea/coffee, finger buffet lunch, parking and free entry to the museum after the seminar.

The day will include presentations from both SAFEcic and the employment experts ELAS (the fastest growing UK business support specialists). There will also be plenty of opportunity for delegates to ask for clarification and advice.

The first 50 delegates to register for the seminar will also receive a free certificated online safeguarding training course, normally worth £27 (choice of four courses).

To register for the event or to discover more, please click here:

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e5wvqhue22319ae5&llr=zcp77ogab

Best regards

The SAFE Team

Contributor to the Volunteer Safeguarding Training for the 2012 Olympic Games

For further details or to find out about our Child Protection Training packages for schools and colleges (not available on our website), please contact us: marc.t@safecic.co.uk

Tel: 01379 871091

www.safecic.co.uk

It is a simple fact that few schools have access to anyone who is trained in the issue of contracts and Procurement.

As a result, when major purchases are made in schools (such as printing systems, telephone systems, major equipment items for departments, book purchases, etc) it is generally the supplier who writes the contract and sets down the terms and conditions.

Of course, if these contracts were between companies and individuals then the Sale of Goods Act would apply. But with contracts between companies and schools this Act does not apply. While the terms and conditions of a purchase can’t be unfair, they certainly can be written to favour one party (usually the supplier) rather than the other (the school).

Most suppliers are perfectly reasonable people, but they need to make a profit, and the issue therefore is, are they making a reasonable profit or are they trying to exploit the school for their own benefit?

Corporate Contract Management runs the School Procurement and Contracts seminars to help senior managers in schools get to grips with the procurement process, reduce the risk to the school and ensure their school gets the best out of their purchases.

An overview of our training course and details of forthcoming presentations are given at http://www.admin.org.uk/CCMseminars.html

Full details of everything covered within the one day course are given at www.admin.org.uk/CCMoneday.html

If you have any questions about the course please do call 01536 399007 or email sam@admin.org.uk

These courses are promoted by the School of Educational Administration on behalf of Corporate Contract Management

This is going to be an extraordinarily busy summer and to help pupils focus on the activities happening in the country GrowStoryGrow are offering free stories each month for schools to use.

The stories cover The Jubilee, The Olympics and William Shakespeare and are available in English (for English as an Additional Language) and in French, Spanish and German.

The reason these stories are special is because of the way that they ‘grow’: they slowly become harder with the addition of high frequency words.

What’s more, the stories include interactive games and resources.

To access the free stories, simply go to www.growstorygrow.com/story-of-the-month and enter your details and use the password: 123456

We are also are running a story competition entitled ‘A day in the life of an Olympic athlete.’

The winner will have their story translated into several languages, animated, and produced using sound effects.

If you would like to find out more, please contact me at the email address below. Simply add competition to the subject line. The deadline is June 18th and certificates will be given to runners up.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me: val@growstorygrow.com

Kind Regards

Val Thornber
GrowStoryGrow, online stories and games for learning languages
www.growstorygrow.com
val@growstorygrow.com

“To say they enjoyed the stories is an understatement!” Christine Brown, Hillary Primary School

GrowStoryGrow is winner of the Commitment to Excellence Award by Best Practice
GrowStoryGrow has been shortlisted for:
the BETT awards 2011
the Nielsen Innovation of the Year Award 2011
the Frankfurt Book Fair Digital Award 2011
the Linguascope Product of the Year Award 2011