Education Show
The diverse world of the Education Show 2012 F
rom 15-17 March at the NEC, Birmingham, education experts, associations and policy experts gathered at the Education Show to debate and discuss the pressing issues facing schools at a time of unprecedented change. Looking at issues such as curriculum guidance, Ofsted inspections, teacher training, funding and pupil behaviour; teachers, headteachers and other practitioners gathered over three days to share experiences and debate best practice. “The reason for the show’s focus on information was that it is at a premium right now”, explains Ray Barker, director of the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA), the sector’s trade association.
Barker continues; “We know that the coalition wants to give teachers and schools more autonomy, but the transition from a highly prescriptive curriculum and close management from local authorities, to more devolution of power, needs to be accompanied by guidance. There are schools that have superb strategies for handling behaviour issues or preparing for Ofsted inspections but we saw that there was no clear way for them to share this expertise, unless we provided them with a platform to do so.” The UK’s largest showcase of free, accredited professional development and educational resources also played host to a range of diverse guests, from the Department for Education (DfE), Ofsted, Peter Andre, the World’s Tallest Man, Sultan Kosen and the Olympic Torch. The show was hailed a success by exhibitors, visitors and the organisers. Although its sister technology focused show, BETT, had demonstrated that the market was once again buoyant by attracting an unprecedented number of visitors in January, a day out of school is always hard to justify. So we visited the Education Show and asked visitors to outline how they justify taking time away from the classroom to visit the show.
Getting it right!
What was clear from the show was that schools are starting to become astute investors. BESA’s recent research into furniture and storage investment in schools revealed an increasing recognition of ‘hidden’ costs such as maintenance, repair and long-term physical impact. Back in 2008, the same survey revealed that schools were making the mistake of buying cheap without considering the total cost of ownership. It was clear at the Education
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www.education-today.co.uk April 2012
Show that there is now a growing appreciation across the sector of the need to buy carefully. “When combined with the new ‘freedoms’ given to schools to opt out of local authority control, we have, for the first time in history, school leaders, who were trained as teachers, working as managers of a ‘business’ comparable in size to a large company” said Burker. Understandably, leaders want to use this power to make the right decisions for their schools. Looking at products online or in catalogues can only provide schools with a snapshot view of its functionality, value for money and fit for the specific requirement. Being able to touch, test and compare resources obviously has its advantages and this is where the Education Show is proving to be an essential visit; educators can meet several suppliers of comparable products to evaluate each option, ask all the questions they want and leave the show knowing they have made the optimum decision. As Chris Ratcliffe, sales director at Scholastic Education commented; “the beauty of the Education Show is that we get time to really talk to teachers and school leaders. We can listen to their needs and fully understand their requirements. There are so few opportunities in the year where you can do this.”
Peter Andre addresses teachers at the show
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