Show and Tell: Applying for the BECTA SRF

An excellent day was spent sharing  outstanding practice focussing on the harnessing of new technologies to engage children across the city.

A group of teachers started the day being inspired by the children at Oakwood Junior School in Southampton. ( Aided by head teacher Mr Taylor) Colleagues were introduced to:

Blogging- children at Oakwood Junior school participate in creating the school's interactive online blog. All hosted at no cost to the school.

Twitter- Using this social networking tool, Mr Taylor is able to contact all parents and staff by sending one FREE message from the twitter site. An invaluable tool for communicating important information to parents and he wider community.

Film making using you tube- Children demonstrated a range of films that have been made and posted to you tube for parents and families to view from home.

Speaking and listening with the smart board- Children demonstrated how they share their written methods in numeracy with the wider community as well as demonstrating to their teachers that they can use a range of written methods.

Planning- making the use of both the school's network and SMART technologies- The head teacher demonstrated how he has freed his teachers up to focus on the content of their lessons linked to Assessment for Learning.

Teachers then visited Shirley Warren Primary to observe IT being used to support learning in all areas of the curriculum.

Here colleagues had the opportunity to interact with the new Becta SRF framework and to share their own long term action plans.

Many thanks to the host schools, who engaged all in the day, they are well worth a visit! 

As well as a big thank you to all the children undertaking the challenge of new technologies with relish and enthusiasm- Perhaps I should film these days so that all school's could share in the experience.............

Afternoon at the Transition Conference

The afternoon saw input from the school library service, who shared work organised for the summer to support children's reading across the city.

The Southampton School Library Service supports all local authority schools in Southampton.

We provide resources and advice on the organisation and running of School Libraries. This page gives you more information about what we do.
Contact Details:
Address: Chris Thomas, Senior Schools Librarian: School Library Service, Warren Crescent, Shirley Warren, Southampton Postcode: SO16 6AY Telephone: 023 8078 0507Email: christobel.thomas@southampton.gov.ukFax: 023 8070 2783

Details of service:

We have a large collection of resources, books and cassettes. Your school can borrow these on a bulk loan basis. Our allocation is 2 books per pupil in secondary schools and 3 books per pupil in primary and special schools. The school can exchange items at the School Library Service Centre or through the School Library Mobile. The mobile visits primary schools regularly. To view the timetable click here.
Advisory Services
We offer a range of advisory services to support schools and give advice on all aspects of library management. We help with:
• Help with documentation: We help write library policy documents and development plans.
• Stock management: We help assess stock, evaluate old materials and make suggestions for new stock
• Designing library areas: We advise on new shelving and equipment including library management and security Systems.
• Promotion: We help staff with display techniques and the promotion of books.
• Help for senior management: We help them appoint staff for their library. We also loan videos and specialist texts about libraries.
• Promotional events: We help organise Book Weeks and other events like storytelling and book promotion sessions. We also give talks to PTA and Governor groups.
• Emotional Literacy: We offer advice and resources to support teachers. Click here to find out more.

christobel.thomas@southampton.gov.uk

Library Service Information

http://www.southampton.gov.uk/childrenandlearning/cslpro/educationpro/school-libraries.asp

Patsy Rath shared the pivotal work undertaken by Saints Study Centre, and passed on an invitation from Chris Meach to both Year Six and Year Seven teachers to visit the Study Centre in the Summer break. Teachers from secondary schools shared previous experiences and fed back how important these short visits were to children coming to their schools. Please contact Chris Meach if you need any information about the program for the summer term.

Many thanks to Chris for organising this!

Unfortunately I had to leave before the end of the day, however the feedback from all staff was most positive. Thanks to all, it was an inspirational day.