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Editor
Pete Henshaw – 020 7501 6771
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Deputy editor
David Taylor – 020 7501 6772
david.taylor@markallengroup.com
Chief reporter
Chris Parr – 020 7501 6750
Illustrator
Parents offered bonuses
Christos Mais
Editorial advisory panel
Paul Ainsworth, Deputy
headteacher, Belvoir High School,
Leicestershire. Mark Blois, Browne
Jacobson. Hilary Moriarty,
National director, Boarding
for out-of-term holidays
Schools’ Association. Neill
Morton, Headteacher, Portora
Royal School, Enniskillen. Helen days during school-time as the county reached record levels this John Hays, managing director
Nurton, Assistant headteacher,
by Dorothy Lepkowska
book by the end of February. A
further £1,000 will be given to the recession hits family budgets and year and this scheme has played of Hays Travel, which is promot-
Guildford County School, Surrey. Jo school the child attends. the falling value of the pound its part in achieving that success. ing the scheme, said: “We’ve been
Smith, Deputy headteacher, Long Parents are being offered cash According to figures published inflates the cost of foreign travel. Children taking a holiday during running similar schemes across
Field School, Melton Mowbray.
bonuses for not taking their children last month, term-time absence due Off-peak holiday prices can be term-time is one of the major causes the North East for seven years
Tina Stockman, Teacher, Harlaw
out of school during term-time to go to holidays was the second biggest as much as half those faced by of non-attendance and is a great and from what we have seen they
Academy, Aberdeen. Ray Tarleton,
on cheap family holidays. reason for a rise in truancy rates last families travelling during school concern to schools. can make a genuine and substan-
Headteacher, South Dartmoor
Education chiefs in Durham year, after illness. breaks. “Parents book holidays when tial difference to school attend-
Community College, Devon. Dr
have negotiated a deal with a local Nearly 65,000 pupils skipped Heads can grant pupils up to 10 they are cheaper during the school ance figures. In that time more
Bernard Trafford, Headteacher,
travel firm which guarantees par- lessons each day during the last days off a year, but this should be year in the mistaken belief that a than 10,000 families have taken
The Royal Grammar School,
ents a 10 per cent discount if they school year, up by 3,000 on done only in exceptional circum- few days lost won’t make much advantage.”
Newcastle upon Tyne. Simon
book during scheduled school holi- 2007/08. Unapproved family holi- stances, for example to fit in with difference to their child’s edu- The latest provisional school
Viccars, Headteacher, Leon School
days, rather than going for off-peak days made up 1.8 per cent of overall parental work commitments. cation. They couldn’t be more attendance figures for the county
and Sports College, Milton Keynes.
packages. absences last year, up from 1.5 per Claire Vasey, Durham’s cabinet wrong. Good, consistent attend- show that the secondary attendance
Alex Wood, Headteacher, Wester
As an additional incentive, fami- cent the year before. member for children and young ance at school is crucial in giv- rate has reached a record 92.89 per
Hailes Education Centre, Edinburgh
lies are being offered a chance to Rising numbers of parents are people’s services, said: “Attendance ing children the best chance of cent, compared with 92.67 per cent
win £1,000 in a cash draw if they willing to face fines to take holi- levels in secondary schools in the success.” the previous year.
Sales director
Matt Govett – 020 7501 6735
Business development
manager
School wins
STEM online resource to go live
A new online resource offering The £5 million National STEM lighted that teachers can currently
Abdul Hayee – 020 7501 6776
teachers of science, technology engi- Centre is due to open in the spring have difficulty finding the right
Classified sales neering and maths (STEM) access to
Rachel McElhinney – 020 7501 6728
national outdoor
and is an extension of the NSLC resources due to the large number
a wide range of curriculum materials that will work to provide resources of service providers, something he
is set to go live in March 2010. for STEM practitioners. says this new toolkit will help to
Subscription manager The National STEM Centre is Speaking to SecEd at the event,
tackle.
Chris Hoskins
aiming to provide teachers with an Tom Button, a maths specialist at Professor John Holman, director
Circulation director
Sally Boettcher
learning award
array of free digitised resources, rang- the National STEM Centre, said: of both the NSLC and the National
ing from 1960s textbooks to interac- “We are digitising as much as pos- STEM Centre, added: “We want to
tive games. They will cater for stu- sible online and our archive will go build a definitive set of resources.
dents from primary school to A level. back 30 to 40 years. Not every teacher can look at the
Circulation department:
A Sunderland school that gets its own work at an exhibition that The plans were unveiled at “It is better for a teacher to be physical collection so it is impor-
Tel: 01722 716997
students out of the classroom on they organise themselves, with a House of Commons reception online rather than in a dusty library. tant that they can access them
Fax: 01722 716926
email: subscriptions@
a daily basis has won a national students being responsible for last Wednesday (November 25) This resource will give teachers the online. I think this initiative will
markallengroup.com
award recognising its commit- venues, advertising and market- hosted by the Network of Science chance to try out different materi- become subject-wide. It is flexible
ment to outdoor learning. ing. Learners, a regional network led als.” he added. and can be adapted to non-STEM
UK annual rates:
Sandhill View School took Another example that by the National Science Learning Nigel Thomas, director of edu- subjects.”
the National Learning Outside impressed judges was the recent Centre (NSLC), a national provider cation at the Gatsby Foundation, For details, visit www.science
Personal £50
the Classroom award after judges “Carnival de Sandhill View”, of CPD for STEM teachers. which is funding the toolkit, high- learningcentres.org.uk
Institutional (libraries,
praised its “inspiring and exciting which saw the school collapse its
companies etc) £110
approach to getting children out timetable for a week so that stu-
Europe annual rates:
and about”. dents could get involved in activi-
Personal £92 The award recognises the com- ties out of the classroom involving
Eating disorder poll reveals
Institutional £165 mitment of schools in England to citizenship, arts and culture.
Rest of world annual rates: outdoor learning and is run by the Joan Nix, curriculum area
Personal £113 Council for Learning Outside the manager at Sandhill, said: “We
Institutional £209
Classroom. never made a conscious decision
the extent of bullying link
Sandhill offers daily learning to make learning outside the class-
Printed by
outside the classroom experiences room our guiding ethos – it has Almost half of young people suf- Sue Gardner, chief execu- Men Get Eating Disorders Too.
Pensord Press, Wales
to all its students, with a focus just always been the way we have fering from eating disorders believe tive of the charity Eating Disorder He told SecEd: “I was subjected
on both vocational and academic gone about things. that bullying has contributed Networks, which aims to help those to homophobic bullying because
Published by
education. “With the community literally towards their illness. with conditions such as anorexia my classmates thought I was gay. I
At key stage three, students on our doorstep, we have been The claim comes after research and bulimia, explained: “A lot of was bullied throughout high school,
take on joint history, geography, able to knock on doors and find from Beat, a charity supporting those eating disorders are down to low and in year 9 it started to become
art and drama work at Warkworth ways to work with locals to get with eating disorders, which polled self-esteem. Bullying is about get- physical – I was punched in the
Castle in Northumberland; while pupils outside the classroom.” 600 affected young people and dis- ting to the character of the person, school grounds.
St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road
at GCSE, art students display their Judges said: “Teachers have covered that around nine out of 10 and it is isolating. Food can be a “I used to hide in the boys’ toilet.
Herne Hill, London SE24 0PB
made sure students have regu- had experienced bullying. Of these, distraction for some victims. I used to binge eat and it would
www.markallengroup.com
lar hands-on experiences during 47 per cent felt it was one of the rea- “As they are isolated, not eating make me feel sick. I started to make
the school day – sparking their sons they developed their condition. becomes a way of taking control in myself sick and that made me feel
imaginations and improving their Susan Ringwood, chief execu- their own way. However, it takes better. During this time, it devel-
understanding of subjects from tive of Beat, said: “These results over, and these people don’t have oped into bulimia. I didn’t realise it
across the curriculum.” show just what a traumatic effect the confidence to deal with their was an illness, but I recovered when
MA Education Ltd is an independent
Sandhill was one of just two this sort of behaviour among peers eating disorder.” I was 21.”
publishing company also responsible
secondary schools to win in the can have. Bullying undermines Ms Gardner wants to see Of the young people involved in
for education titles Early Years
award’s regional finals, the other young people’s self-confidence and what she describes as “a lack of the research, nearly half were bul-
Educator and 5to7 Educator.
being Chatsworth High School lowers their self-esteem raising the understanding” in schools about lied for a period of two to five years,
© All rights reserved. No part of SecEd may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any
Out and about: A student and Community College in the risk of eating disorders. Eating dis- eating disorders tackled by making and 11 per cent were subjected to
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise without prior written permission of MA Education
takes part in Sandhill’s North West. orders are complex with no single it a topic in PSHE lessons. bullying for more than six years.
The publisher accepts no responsibility for any views or opinions
expressed in SecEd.
outdoor urban art project For more, visit www.lotc.org.uk cause, but bullying is a significant Sam Thomas, 23, is a recovered For further information, visit
ISSN 1479-7704
factor for too many people.” bulimic who now runs the charity www.b-eat.co.uk
 SecEd • December 3 2009
02-03 news.indd 2 30/11/09 17:30:59
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