Dear Colleagues,
I’m sure you’re aware of the recent postal strikes happening in London and other parts of the country. Communication and Workers Union (CWU) members have now voted in favour of national strike action so we thought it important that we contact you.
If you don’t already and have the facility, why not pay us by BACS (bank transfer) and help us to beat the post strikes? Payment will reach us guaranteed within 3 working days or same day if your bank offers the new faster payments.
If cheque payment is the only option for you then rest assured that we are processing cheques on the same day we receive them to try and ensure there is little or no disruption to your accounting systems.
Please see your invoice or contact us for banking details.
If you don’t pay the bills please forward this information to whoever has that unenviable task.
Confused? Need some help? Just give us a call on 01427 667 556 / 0794 383 8819.
Thanks for your help,
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
Tuesday, 13 October 2009
Trick or Treating Guidelines
Preparing Children for Trick or Treating
Dressing up to go trick or treating is very exciting for children and it creates lasting memories for both children and parents. Help children prepare for trick or treating with these five strategies.
1. Select a Costume – Help children select a costume that fits properly and is safe. Children may be uncomfortable with anything on their face especially make up. Some children may not like masks because of sensory issues or limited vision. Keep these factors in mind when selecting an outfit. For children who have difficulties with masks, holding a mask rather than wearing it or not using one at all may make the evening more enjoyable.
2. Set Costume Guidelines – Children often want to wear their costume other times than trick or treating. Let them know if/when they can wear it besides trick or treating. Be sure to tell them this before they buy the costume and after it is purchased. Explain why they can wear the costume only at certain times. For example, “You can put it on in the evening for a few minutes to see how you
look, but you can only wear it for a little while so it doesn’t get dirty before Halloween.”
3. Practice Going to People’s Doors – Role play going to someone’s door, saying “Trick or treat,” holding a bag out, and saying “Thank you.” Remind children to be polite, wait their turn, and take only one piece of candy when they are asked to select something. It is tempting to rush to a door and take a handful of things when offered a basket or bowl to select from so multiple opportunities for review are important. Be sure to practice other things that may happen such as someone not
being home or someone complimenting them on their costume.
4. Establish Guidelines in Advance – Prepare children for factors such as: What time trick or treating starts and ends; How they know when it ends; Where they can trick or treat (e.g. only houses with lights on, only people the child knows, only homes in a four block radius, etc.); and What the rules are such as staying with a sibling or parent. Be sure to review these guidelines days in advance with a story, visual cards, or written rules. Before trick or treating, review them again so children clearly understand expectations.
5. Set Candy Guidelines– Children become very excited about getting candy and other treats while trick or treating. Set rules in advance about eating candy. Let children know before trick or treating that they need to bring all of the candy back for you to check before they can eat it. Make sure children have dinner before trick or treating so they are not hungry. Have guidelines about the number of pieces they can eat per day and create a schedule for when they can eat their candy. Display the candy plan where they can easily look if they have questions.
From: Sandbox Learning
Dressing up to go trick or treating is very exciting for children and it creates lasting memories for both children and parents. Help children prepare for trick or treating with these five strategies.
1. Select a Costume – Help children select a costume that fits properly and is safe. Children may be uncomfortable with anything on their face especially make up. Some children may not like masks because of sensory issues or limited vision. Keep these factors in mind when selecting an outfit. For children who have difficulties with masks, holding a mask rather than wearing it or not using one at all may make the evening more enjoyable.
2. Set Costume Guidelines – Children often want to wear their costume other times than trick or treating. Let them know if/when they can wear it besides trick or treating. Be sure to tell them this before they buy the costume and after it is purchased. Explain why they can wear the costume only at certain times. For example, “You can put it on in the evening for a few minutes to see how you
look, but you can only wear it for a little while so it doesn’t get dirty before Halloween.”
3. Practice Going to People’s Doors – Role play going to someone’s door, saying “Trick or treat,” holding a bag out, and saying “Thank you.” Remind children to be polite, wait their turn, and take only one piece of candy when they are asked to select something. It is tempting to rush to a door and take a handful of things when offered a basket or bowl to select from so multiple opportunities for review are important. Be sure to practice other things that may happen such as someone not
being home or someone complimenting them on their costume.
4. Establish Guidelines in Advance – Prepare children for factors such as: What time trick or treating starts and ends; How they know when it ends; Where they can trick or treat (e.g. only houses with lights on, only people the child knows, only homes in a four block radius, etc.); and What the rules are such as staying with a sibling or parent. Be sure to review these guidelines days in advance with a story, visual cards, or written rules. Before trick or treating, review them again so children clearly understand expectations.
5. Set Candy Guidelines– Children become very excited about getting candy and other treats while trick or treating. Set rules in advance about eating candy. Let children know before trick or treating that they need to bring all of the candy back for you to check before they can eat it. Make sure children have dinner before trick or treating so they are not hungry. Have guidelines about the number of pieces they can eat per day and create a schedule for when they can eat their candy. Display the candy plan where they can easily look if they have questions.
From: Sandbox Learning
Sunday, 11 October 2009
Twitter on the Blog
"What?" I hear you say!
Well it's not as geeky or complicated as it sounds. Purely a way to save looking at two web pages at once. Those of you who visit our site regularly will know that we use twitter to share resources which we feel may be useful. Well, now you don't need to open twitter for the latest updates because if you look to your right, you'll see they are here on the blog.
And to get back to the main website...
Just click on the 'Good Teaching Practice' logo on the right.
Well it's not as geeky or complicated as it sounds. Purely a way to save looking at two web pages at once. Those of you who visit our site regularly will know that we use twitter to share resources which we feel may be useful. Well, now you don't need to open twitter for the latest updates because if you look to your right, you'll see they are here on the blog.
And to get back to the main website...
Just click on the 'Good Teaching Practice' logo on the right.
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Forward Thinking Practice in Sheffield
School to allow use in class while union rages at ‘potentially offensive weapons’#
Mobile phones: 'untapped learning resource'
Original paper headline: Say hi to mobile phones, the ‘untapped learning resource’
Pupils at a school in Sheffield could soon be allowed to use their mobile phones in the classroom, despite one teaching union describing them as “offensive weapons”.
The radical move is being proposed at Notre Dame High School by assistant headteacher Paul Haigh, who believes pupils’ phones are a huge “untapped resource” for teaching and learning and an important cost-saving measure.
“We realise as a comprehensive state school we could never afford to buy every student all the IT and mobile devices we would like them to have. We already have 800-plus computers and, much like adding lanes to the M25, when we buy more we use them all,” Mr Haigh said.
“It would be great if students could have access to a range of tools, PDAs, cameras, voice recorders, laptops and netbooks, but it would be very expensive and wasteful to maintain and upgrade all the equipment. Most students own many of them anyway - they’re just hidden away in their school bags.”
He added: “What’s more they are experts in using them, knowing all of the short cuts and characteristics of their own devices as they use them every day.”
But the move has been blasted by the NASUWT, which claims mobile phones give pupils the opportunity to “bully and abuse” teachers by uploading comments on social networking sites.
Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: “These sites are fed by pupils’ misuse of mobile phones. The time has come for mobiles in schools to be placed in the category of a potentially offensive weapon and action taken to prevent their use by pupils while on school premises.
But Notre Dame says wants to create a “robust policy” that will enable teachers to dictate when and where mobile devices are used.
Mr Haigh added: “It should be completely at the control of the teacher; if its not the policy isn’t clear. It’s being made plain to students that having a phone out and checking messages throughout lessons is not acceptable and we would still confiscate the phone. If it’s not being used to support learning we don’t want to see it.”
And despite the NASUW’s criticism, a spokesperson for government IT agency Becta said: “It is very encouraging to hear of schools tapping into the technology that is sitting in virtually every student’s pocket.
“Today’s mobile phones are capable of so much more than texting and can - with the right kind of school-student agreements in place - be an excellent tool for learning.
“Students can download their homework, do research on the internet as well as collaborate with other classmates.”
From TES 9th October
Mobile phones: 'untapped learning resource'
Original paper headline: Say hi to mobile phones, the ‘untapped learning resource’
Pupils at a school in Sheffield could soon be allowed to use their mobile phones in the classroom, despite one teaching union describing them as “offensive weapons”.
The radical move is being proposed at Notre Dame High School by assistant headteacher Paul Haigh, who believes pupils’ phones are a huge “untapped resource” for teaching and learning and an important cost-saving measure.
“We realise as a comprehensive state school we could never afford to buy every student all the IT and mobile devices we would like them to have. We already have 800-plus computers and, much like adding lanes to the M25, when we buy more we use them all,” Mr Haigh said.
“It would be great if students could have access to a range of tools, PDAs, cameras, voice recorders, laptops and netbooks, but it would be very expensive and wasteful to maintain and upgrade all the equipment. Most students own many of them anyway - they’re just hidden away in their school bags.”
He added: “What’s more they are experts in using them, knowing all of the short cuts and characteristics of their own devices as they use them every day.”
But the move has been blasted by the NASUWT, which claims mobile phones give pupils the opportunity to “bully and abuse” teachers by uploading comments on social networking sites.
Chris Keates, NASUWT general secretary, said: “These sites are fed by pupils’ misuse of mobile phones. The time has come for mobiles in schools to be placed in the category of a potentially offensive weapon and action taken to prevent their use by pupils while on school premises.
But Notre Dame says wants to create a “robust policy” that will enable teachers to dictate when and where mobile devices are used.
Mr Haigh added: “It should be completely at the control of the teacher; if its not the policy isn’t clear. It’s being made plain to students that having a phone out and checking messages throughout lessons is not acceptable and we would still confiscate the phone. If it’s not being used to support learning we don’t want to see it.”
And despite the NASUW’s criticism, a spokesperson for government IT agency Becta said: “It is very encouraging to hear of schools tapping into the technology that is sitting in virtually every student’s pocket.
“Today’s mobile phones are capable of so much more than texting and can - with the right kind of school-student agreements in place - be an excellent tool for learning.
“Students can download their homework, do research on the internet as well as collaborate with other classmates.”
From TES 9th October
Friday, 9 October 2009
Warning on liquorice in pregnancy
Pregnant women who eat large amounts of liquorice could negatively affect their child's intelligence and behaviour, according to research.
Experts from Edinburgh and Helsinki universities studied eight-year-olds born in Finland, where consumption of liquorice among young women is common.
The children of women who ate a lot of liquorice when pregnant did not perform as well as other youngsters in tests.
Researchers said a component in liquorice may impair the placenta.
They said the component - glycyrrhizin - may allow stress hormones to cross from the mother to the baby.
High levels of such hormones, known as glucocorticoids, are thought to affect foetal brain development and have been linked to behavioural disorders in children in previous studies.
Of the children who took part in the Finnish study, 64 were exposed to high levels of glycyrrhizin in liquorice, 46 to moderate levels and 211 to low levels.
They were tested on a range of cognitive functions including vocabulary, memory and spatial awareness.
Behaviour was assessed using an in-depth questionnaire completed by the mother.
Shorter pregnancies
The results suggested that women who ate more than 500mg of glycyrrhizin per week - found in the equivalent of 100g of pure liquorice - were more likely to have children with lower intelligence levels and more behavioural problems.
The eight-year-olds were more likely to have poor attention spans and show disruptive behaviour such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the researchers said.
Professor Jonathan Seckl, from Edinburgh University's centre for cardiovascular science, said: "This shows that eating liquorice during pregnancy may affect a child's behaviour or IQ and suggests the importance of the placenta in preventing stress hormones that may affect cognitive development getting through to the baby."
The research comes after a study which suggested that liquorice consumption was also linked to shorter pregnancies.
The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8292392.stm
Experts from Edinburgh and Helsinki universities studied eight-year-olds born in Finland, where consumption of liquorice among young women is common.
The children of women who ate a lot of liquorice when pregnant did not perform as well as other youngsters in tests.
Researchers said a component in liquorice may impair the placenta.
They said the component - glycyrrhizin - may allow stress hormones to cross from the mother to the baby.
High levels of such hormones, known as glucocorticoids, are thought to affect foetal brain development and have been linked to behavioural disorders in children in previous studies.
Of the children who took part in the Finnish study, 64 were exposed to high levels of glycyrrhizin in liquorice, 46 to moderate levels and 211 to low levels.
They were tested on a range of cognitive functions including vocabulary, memory and spatial awareness.
Behaviour was assessed using an in-depth questionnaire completed by the mother.
Shorter pregnancies
The results suggested that women who ate more than 500mg of glycyrrhizin per week - found in the equivalent of 100g of pure liquorice - were more likely to have children with lower intelligence levels and more behavioural problems.
The eight-year-olds were more likely to have poor attention spans and show disruptive behaviour such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the researchers said.
Professor Jonathan Seckl, from Edinburgh University's centre for cardiovascular science, said: "This shows that eating liquorice during pregnancy may affect a child's behaviour or IQ and suggests the importance of the placenta in preventing stress hormones that may affect cognitive development getting through to the baby."
The research comes after a study which suggested that liquorice consumption was also linked to shorter pregnancies.
The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8292392.stm
A Little Bit of Knowledge???
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom 'suffers from Asperger's'
The Phantom of the Opera's tormented leading character suffers from Asperger's syndrome, according to the stage actor who plays him.
Ramin Karimloo said he believed the Phantom showed clear signs of the condition, which is a form of autism. Sufferers often have difficulties with communication and social relationships.
According to Karimloo, who joined the West End production two years ago, the syndrome would explain the Phantom's eccentric traits, his musical talents and an inability to interact with others which led him to hide away beneath the Paris Opera House.
Daily Telegraph
The Phantom of the Opera's tormented leading character suffers from Asperger's syndrome, according to the stage actor who plays him.
Ramin Karimloo said he believed the Phantom showed clear signs of the condition, which is a form of autism. Sufferers often have difficulties with communication and social relationships.
According to Karimloo, who joined the West End production two years ago, the syndrome would explain the Phantom's eccentric traits, his musical talents and an inability to interact with others which led him to hide away beneath the Paris Opera House.
Daily Telegraph
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