What does your school need to know about Natasha’s Law?
Coming into effect on 1st October 2021, Natasha’s Law will require schools to label all their pre-packaged food with a full list of ingredients and allergens. With high numbers of people suffering from an allergy, this legislation is being introduced to protect allergy sufferers and to give them confidence in the food they buy. What …
How Many Followers do You Need for Your Voice to be Heard?
It was announced this week that GCSE media studies will cover Marcus Rashford’s campaign to ensure all children received free meals during the school holidays. Whilst I applaud Marcus Rashford for highlighting this issue and applying such public pressure to the Government, I find it very sad that a large number of people have long-held …
1:1 Device Ratio: A Fad or the Future?
The pandemic has significantly changed life and schools have had to adapt in the way they deliver teaching and learning. Discussions around having 1:1 devices have been around since long before the pandemic, as far back as the 1990s in some schools. With the number of manufacturers offering exceptional value on devices and the pandemic …
Improvement Through Governance
On a balmy evening in early September, I was scheduled to present my Governance Review report to a Governing Board who had invited me. I was unsure that the prospect of sitting in a Zoom meeting would triumph against enjoying the sunset during a surprising London mini-heatwave, but I was pleasantly surprised by the large …
It’s great to get out: the benefits of a Governor Awayday
Sarah Beaumont, Head of Governance at NPW – The Education Space, talks about governor development, cinematic showdowns, and being on a boat. Being invited to speak at a school governor awayday today was an absolute joy for two reasons: (1) it was one of the first physical events I had attended post-lockdown, and (2) it …
COVID – What’s really happening in schools
Throughout the pandemic, the DfE has been collecting data on COVID infections in schools and sharing this with local authorities. This data is reported directly by schools via the Department for Education’s daily education settings survey. It is not the primary source of data on infection, incidence, and COVID-19 cases overall but it continues to …
The Importance of First Aid
The football world and many outside it were rocked recently when a 29 year old professional footballer (Christian Eriksen) collapsed on the pitch whilst suffering a cardiac arrest. It is hard enough to deal with a situation that requires first aid without having millions of people watching around the world and thousands watching in the …
What is Web Accessibility and Why Does it Matter?
Web accessibility is the practice of making sure a website can be accessed and used by as many people as possible. Having a lovely website that showcases your school is essential these days and you should feel confident that anyone can visit and enjoy your website regardless of visual, motor, auditory, or cognitive ability. These …
How Important is Effective Messaging?
Can we learn anything from the Super League or Disney? You would have to have been living under a rock for the past 3 weeks not to have heard something about the Super League. With everyone and his dog chiming in to explain how terrible it would be for football. Even the Prime Minister …
Remote Learning: An End to Snow Days?
The pandemic has seen a fundamental change in the way education has been delivered in the UK for the past year. Whilst some schools or education establishments have delivered lessons remotely for some time, the mainstream education system was all about face-to-face lessons, with ratios ranging anywhere from 1 to 1 up to 1 to …
