News
Top universities back drive for new physics teachers
The Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), the Institute of Physics (IOP) and the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) have secured some of the country’s most high profile universities and leading schools to launch a new innovative teacher training programme, which combines physics with mathematics.
The 32 universities, including Oxford and Warwick, will recruit 306 trainees onto new physics with mathematics courses from September 2012. These courses, on top of the more traditional physics only courses, will mean that universities will be aiming to recruit 1,150 physics trainees in total – a record number. This builds on the recruitment of 864 physics specialist trainees this year, the highest number since records began in 1979. Rather than covering all the sciences, physics with mathematics trainees will focus on two traditional subjects which are undergoing a renaissance in schools. Trainees will gain work experience in schools, including some of the new Teaching Schools judged as outstanding at training and developing their staff. This will give trainees the best opportunity for employment when they qualify.
Physics with mathematics trainees with a 2:1 degree or higher, will also have access to the TDA’s Premier Plus service, and training bursaries or the IOP’s teacher training scholarships, each worth up £20,000. Dr Jane Medwell, Director of Teacher Education, University of Warwick, said: “At the moment we do not have enough highly qualified physics teachers in schools. Physics teachers are essential to our children’s future and that of the economy. The University of Warwick is delighted to offer an innovative new teacher training route for physics and engineering graduates. The new physics with mathematics courses will offer recent graduates and career changers high quality training in schools and good employment opportunities.”
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uwww.tda.gov.uk Register for record breaker
Parents and children are being asked to check that their schools have signed up for a charity world record breaking attempt taking place in February (2012).
Deaf healthcare charity, SignHealth is organising the challenge for the most young people signing and singing simultaneously on February 8 and wants as many schools as possible to take part. Chief Executive of SignHealth, Steve Powell said: “We are asking parents and children to check that their schools have signed up to take part in our Guinness World Records sign2sing event. “Almost 95,000 children took part in our first sign2sing event earlier this year and smashed the previous record, which was 13,418. “On February 8, we are once again inviting schoolchildren and also parents, if they’d like to join in, to take part in the sign2sing world record attempt for the most people signing and singing a song at the same time. “More than 750 schools have already registered, which is equivalent to approximately 130,000 children, but we are hoping around 1,000 schools will participate in the event. We hope parents and children will urge their schools to sign up.”
The closing date for registrations for sign2sing 2012 is Friday, January 20, 2012.
The event is designed to raise awareness of deafness and the work of SignHealth, as well as acting as a fundraiser for the charity through sponsorship from businesses and a suggested donation of £1 for everyone taking part.
Young people from all over the country and overseas will learn to sign a song, entitled ‘Sign2sing’, which has been composed especially for the event. The lyrics were written by Garry Slack, author of the award-winning ‘Sign with Olli’ books and the music was composed by Paul Fairey, who has written various theme tunes for television and radio.
January 2012
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BESA ‘support for all’ website
W
ithin the education sector, BESA is the conduit between schools, suppliers and government. To mirror this tripartite supporting role, its new website offers information, guidance and advice to companies, educators and parents, ranging from information on suppliers and resources to information on the implication of government policy announcements for both schools and suppliers. The BESA member area of the site provides information on new business opportunities, tenders, research findings, sector awards, daily sector news feeds and a broad range of other services. The member section of the new site is also linked to a BESA member LinkedIn page where members can hold closed conversations sharing ideas and opportunities in order to help drive innovation.
For schools and parents, the site offers information on BESA member suppliers who adhere to the BESA code of practice which ensures that resources are fit for purpose, along with advice on getting the most from investment in educational products and services through case studies. The site also offers access to the work of BESA’s Special Interest Groups, sector news and a link to the new BESA Facebook page where they can communicate with other schools to share best practice ideas or potentially form purchasing consortia to make the most of school budgets.
Ray Barker, director of BESA, explains: “As the sector’s trade association our role is to support both the suppliers and schools. It is therefore vital that our website reflects this all encompassing service. The more we can help suppliers provide high quality products and services that reflect the needs of schools the better we support the optimisation of school’s budgets and the improvement of standards within the sector.”
British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA)
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