Last year, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at St Nicholas’ CE Primary School contacted Playforce about an outdoor development project they’d been planning in their meetings. They were looking for someone to help them develop their playground with equipment that encouraged their pupils to play outdoors at every opportunity. They turned to us to help make their outdoor space outstanding.

Implementation of digital content seems to be widely misunderstood. You can’t just drop in a sophisticated digital programme without a really good implementation program. Like with everything in education, it comes down to the person. If teachers are ill-equipped to use new programs, they will fall back on traditional teaching methods.

Gratnells, best known for 40 years of designing, manufacturing and marketing advanced storage systems, has developed a smart, responsive approach to meet the increasing demand for digital technology in schools and colleges. The company has used its in-depth knowledge of the education sector to react to this rapidly-growing trend, delivering storage systems that are compact, lightweight and versatile while providing security and additional functionality.

Bett, the leading global education event, will from 25th to 28th January return to ExCel London, with a fresh focus on game-changers within education. The event attracts more than 30,000 educators from across the world each year who come to see the latest and most innovative learning resources and to learn from the various seminars. The Bett Show is free to attend.

Multi-award winning science laboratory software LabCamera, after 5M+ sold licenses, is now free for teachers. Designed by Intellisense to spice up lessons and grab pupils’ attention, LabCamera is an innovative Science exploration app which allows teachers and pupils to explore scientific concepts using either their own device’s built-in camera, or any external camera.

After spending twenty years of my life working with educational technology and seeing how people utilise it in a number of different global markets, I’ve learnt that schools across the globe are worlds apart when it comes to the application of technology in the classroom.  This is most apparent when we look at schools in the UK compared with schools in the US. Teachers using IT in the classroom in the UK are likely to feel frustrated when looking across the pond where technology has become truly integrated in the classroom. So, what can we in the UK learn from our friends in America about incorporating edtech in the classroom?

One thing that I have found is that to have a successful makerspace in your school, you need to keep up the momentum. What are the new activities that need to be added? How do we integrate what we are making with our curriculum? How do we get more teachers and students involved in maker culture?

Playground equipment providers Playforce have launched a selection of new products specifically designed to help KS1 and KS2 children to develop mathematical skills outdoors. The range of equipment, which also helps pupils to develop physical skills through climbing activities, was developed in collaboration with the Wiltshire-based company’s partner schools. Playforce offer free consultations to schools looking to find innovative ways to improve learning and play opportunities in their playgrounds.

At the Bett 2016 conference earlier this month in London, Promethean demonstrated to thousands of teachers how their ‘Modern Classroom’ solutions can be used to support a wide range of teaching and learning strategies. The organisation’s head of Education Consultancy, Dr John Collick, also took to the Bett Arena stage with his informative (and often humorous) presentation ‘Future education technology - the real challenges’.

Gratnells, manufacturers and marketers of Britain’s best known and most widely-used range of storage systems and trays in schools, is adding a highly engineered modular staging system to its offer for the education sector. Created by renowned industrial designer Anthony Hill, Gratnells Stage is easy to assemble, robust and affordable for schools.