www.ie-today.co.uk


accessing grants; get ing enough information about companies before using them; and fi nding companies available to work with schools. That said, there are also reasons to be optimistic. Responses show that 94 per cent of headteachers and school business managers are willing to recommend, rate and review


companies with experience of working with their school in order to help others with their buying decisions. How goods and services are


procured by schools is also changing. The internet is now the most important source used by school leaders to fi nd out about prospective suppliers – 62 per cent of respondents used the web to fi nd out about companies they could work with, while 57 per cent of school business managers


preferred to go on line to source trusted education suppliers.


Peter Melville, school business director at William Edwards School in Grays, Essex and founder of


Incensu.co.uk, says that the survey’s fi ndings highlighted the need for action to improve the procurement experience for schools – and


suppliers. “The survey is revealing, showing school procurement to be a rapidly changing and increasingly important area of responsibility,” he says. “We


s maths initiative


over the coming months as they begin to plan how they will implement the


new programmes of study from next year. This is an extremely busy and exciting time for fi nancial education – and this resource is just one of the ways we are supporting all teachers involved in giving their pupils the skills, knowledge and confi dence they need to manage their money well.” “In the last three years, over 11,500 teachers and 55,000 students across the UK have registered to receive our MoneySense resources and over 800 of our employees have volunteered their time, knowledge and experience to teach children about the importance of saving and understanding money,” adds Les Matheson, interim UK retail chief executive, NatWest.


The updated ‘Introducing Financial Mathematics’ resource is available at ht p://bit.ly/1gRki8T


need to work together to provide school procurement training and share information with each other about which companies are best to do business with.


“The results give us baseline data from which to assess future


developments. The impact of the survey will come from shared best practice between schools, training in procuring the best suppliers at the best value and the implementation of support off ered to buying clubs and consortia for schools. The survey results will also be an eff ective tool for suppliers when planning their education


marketing – an area that is recognised as particularly important to get right.”


NEW PIANOS FOR TAUNTON


Nineteen new Yamaha upright and grand pianos have been installed at Taunton School following


discussions with Yamaha. The school is the latest educational institution to join the Yamaha Partner in Music Education programme, designed to enhance the musical experiences of students and support the teaching of music in UK schools and colleges. In addition to benefi t ing the senior school music department, the pianos will be used by Taunton Prep School and International School across a range of activities and musical disciplines. The school’s director of music, Mark Cracknell, says: “It is essential that we have quality instruments in order to help raise musical standards, particularly in chamber music and solo performance. Music plays a vital role in all areas of the school. The acquisition of these pianos and the newly-established partnership with Yamaha represents a huge step forward and will greatly enhance the musical life of Taunton School.” Yamaha enlisted the support of piano dealer Coach House Pianos, who advised on suitable models for diff erent rooms and assisted with the disposal of existing pianos.


TOP SCHOOLS’ SPANISH TURN


Groups of students from Bancroft's, Eton, Haberdashers' Boys, Harrow, Latymer Upper, St Paul's Boys and Whitgift joined girls from NLCS to perform fi ve- to 10-minute extracts from Spanish-speaking plays as part of a Hispanic Theatre Festival. These included works from diverse authors ranging from Shakespeare’s contemporary Lope de Vega to Federico Garcia Lorca to Laura Esquivel’s Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water For Chocolate), made into one of the highest- grossing Spanish fi lms of all time. The aim of the festival was to stretch the pupils’ linguistic, dramatic and creative talents in Spanish and immerse them in Hispanic culture. The event was organised by Xiomara Yerbury of NLCS and hosted in the school’s Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday 9 October. Prizes and trophies were awarded by prestigious judges from the Spanish and Colombian Embassies and the Instituto Cervantes. Deputy head of mission at the Colombian embassy, Juan Manuel Uribe Robledo, said: “The festival was a fantastic initiative which immersed young people in learning about Hispanic culture. The quality of Spanish was exceptionally high and the performances were outstanding.”


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