COMPETITION Win a week in California!


SecEd has teamed up with Lightspeed Systems to offer one school the chance to win a week’s work experience for one of their students – in America!


users access to resources that make learning engaging and collaborative. Since 1999, Lightspeed has been partnering with,


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listening to, and supporting IT staff in schools – making their day-to-day tasks manageable and their educational goals reachable. Today, its solutions are used for more than seven million students in the US, UK and Australia. The products have won numerous awards and the company has been recognised on the Inc 5,000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies for the last four years. This term, as Lightspeed gets ready to attend


January’s BETT 2012 technology in education event in London, the company has teamed up with SecEd to offer one student the work experience trip of a lifetime. The competition is offering the winning school


a place for one of its students and either a teacher or a parent for a week’s work experience at the US headquarters of Lightspeed Systems in California. The prize includes return flights, airport transfers


Moral support: NCB Understanding our children


The voices of our children are as important as


those of our ministers and we must listen to them, says Dr Hilary Emery


FOR THOUSANDS of young people starting the new school year, the final days of the holidays were likely marked by feelings of excitement and apprehension. For many, a new school year brings new responsibilities and new challenges. In supportive schools and with family support, enduring friendships and past experiences of success, most young people quickly find their feet. But my thoughts this September are particularly


with those whose experience of school has been mainly one of failure – whose home lives are disrupted by family breakdown or disadvantage; who find friendships hard to make and sustain; who fear their difference from other children makes them more likely to be isolated and excluded. Good schools share this concern and evidence tells


us that where schools offer children opportunities to actively participate in their school community, their learning and behaviour improves and they begin to see themselves as part of a community in which they matter. Too many of our most vulnerable children still


have little say in the decisions that adults take around them. How can we help them to have their voices heard and their wishes and aspirations considered? At the heart of everything we do at NCB are the


voices, interests and wellbeing of children. Their participation is integral to our work in schools, in helping to influence our policy support and in research and project development. Children can tell us what really works for them and enable us to understand what helps them thrive.


We have heard little from young people about the


riots of this summer. Despite the majority involved being over 18, much of the media focus was on the minority of younger rioters which perpetuated a negative stereotype. The vast majority of young people are as dismayed as anyone else. But, it is undoubtedly true that the behaviour and conduct of a minority causes grave concern to families, communities and schools. We cannot excuse criminal activity but we need


to understand why some young people choose to behave in this way and come to robust conclusions about what we as a society can do to stop this happening again. None of us, schools included, should be afraid


to discuss these issues with our young people. We need to hear their views. By providing opportunities for participation in school, young people can help us make better sense of what has been going on. It may feel threatening to open up such a dialogue


but young people need to develop skills to talk about difficult issues and schools can provide a safe developmental environment in which this can happen. We as adults need to show we are prepared to hear the sometimes difficult things our young people may say. In the week following the riots I was struck


by these comments from a member of Young NCB: “Seeing it happen in my town, I felt they were just destroying our own community. It was heartbreaking. I was angry. But it was clear that this was just a rare moment of lawlessness in which everyone felt that there would be no consequences. Once that realisation sets in, I think you’re going to see a massive collective guilty conscience.” These are the voices we need to hear. They


are as important as those of politicians, law- makers or headteachers. Without them, we risk misunderstanding both the needs of young people and their capacity to respond positively to the challenges we all face.


• Dr Hilary Emery is chief executive of the National Children’s Bureau, a national charity which works in partnership with a range of educational charities to improve the lives of children, especially the most vulnerable. Visit www.ncb.org.uk


IGHTSPEED SYSTEMS is based in Bakersfield, California with its European offices in Essex. The company provides a wide


range of solutions for UK schools which are designed to make it safe, secure, and easy for IT staff to give


Coming to America? Lightspeed System’s American headquarters in Bakersfield, California


both here and in the US, meals, accommodation, and a tailored itinerary which will be created by the winning school and Lightspeed Systems. The winning student will experience a week’s


work experience with the Lightspeed team in the US. This could include working with the IT developers and support team, the business development team, the marketing team, the staff members who work on the My Big Campus service, among others. During the week, Lightspeed will also work with


the teacher or parent to tap into their perspective when it comes to web safety and filtering among other issues. Lightspeed’s products, among others, include the


Lightspeed Suite, a solution for IT to manage school network usage, health, and security; My Big Campus, which extends the classroom with a safe, engaging online environment; and Campus Mail, which allows


schools to open up communication with safe email accounts and private file storage. After the trip, SecEd will also be inviting the


winning student and teacher/parent to contribute an article to the newspaper about their experience.


The prize (and conditions)


The winning school wins one student place for a week’s experience at Lightspeed Systems in California and a second place on the trip for a parent or a teacher. The prize includes return flights to Los Angeles


International Airport, UK and US airport transfers, all meals, and accommodation at the Padre Hotel, which is based near to the Lightspeed HQ in Bakersfield, California. Lightspeed Systems Europe will agree the itinerary and the exact dates for the trip in collaboration with the


Book reviews Understanding Challenging Behaviour: In Inclusive Classrooms


By Colin Lever Publisher: Pearson Books Price: £19.99 ISBN: 978-1-4082-4827-0 Visit: www.pearson-books.com


THIS HANDBOOK is aimed at teachers wanting to understand why children behave in a certain way and author Colin Lever offers ideas on how bad behaviour can be tackled and prevented in the classroom. The book provides a series of case studies offering practical ideas


for how teachers can allow a child’s voice to be heard and understood. It also encourages educators to reflect on their behaviour management and offers tips on dealing with specific situations. Mr Lever looks at the difficulties teachers can face when


supporting children who suffer from conditions such as autism and dyslexia, and also with those young people who are victims of bullying and who have problems in their home life. Chapters include dealing with students on drugs, truancy and


teaching English to young people for whom it is a second language. The author has worked in mainstream schools for 34 years and is


an advocate of a child-centred approach to teaching. He is currently a behaviour specialist in a mainstream school working as part of a multi-agency support team as well as a social and emotional behaviour disorders team.


Invisible Teaching: 101(ish) ways to create energy, openness and focus in the classroom


By Dave Keeling and David Hodgson Publisher: Crown House Publishing Price: £12.99 ISBN: 978-184590742-6 Visit: www.crownhouse.co.uk


INVISIBLE TEACHING looks at how teachers can control the atmosphere in their classroom and change it to suit their needs. The book offers examples and aims to show that any teacher can control their classroom environment if they use the right techniques. Included in the book are a range of activities for teachers to


use with their students, alongside tips on how to build a rapport with classes and how to promote a positive and focused classroom atmosphere. The majority of the recommended activities in the book last for


five to 10 minutes and can help engage students for the rest of the lesson. They include setting tasks for students to solve puzzles and brainstorms for specific topics. The co-authors both have a vast amount of experience working alongside teachers in education. Dave Keeling has been a professional actor for 15 years and a “stand up” educationalist for 12 years. Whereas David Hodgson is a training consultant working to motivate


teachers and teenagers across the UK, including working with the Institute of Careers Guidance and the Association of Graduate Careers Services.


winning school. It is for the winning school to decide which student and which teacher or parent should win the prize. The winning school must accept liability for the


trip under the guidelines for school trips and outings as laid down by their relevant local authority or governing body. The school also undertakes to complete any relevant risk-assessment forms for the trip. All other costs for the trip – including any costs


arising from insurance requirements, additional fees such as visa payments, and spending money – will not be covered by SecEd or Lightspeed Systems and must be met by the school or the winning student’s family. The winners must have a valid passport for travel to America.


How to win


To stand a chance of winning this prize, just answer the following question: Where are the US offices of Lightspeed Systems? The competition is strictly limited to one entry per


school and entries must come from a member of school staff. It is only open to schools based in the UK. The deadline for entries is Friday, October 14, and


the winning school will be drawn at random from the correct entries and announced in January during the BETT 2012 technology in education event at London’s Olympia.


How to enter/further information


Email your answer to the above question, including your name, school and contact details, to Pete Henshaw, the editor of SecEd, on pete.h@markallengroup.com. All entries will be passed on to Lightspeed Systems


and for further information, email the above address or telephone 020 7501 6771. This competition is awarded by Lightspeed Systems


and neither SecEd, nor any of its employees, accepts any liability for the non-delivery or failure to comply with any of the terms stated herein.


Lightspeed Systems


For further information on any of the Lightspeed services, visit www.lseurope.com, telephone 01277 240630 or email sales@lseurope.com


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SecEd • September 8 2011


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