CONTENTS Dear Reader,


Welcome to the latest issue of Education Today. We lead off this month with a preview of the upcoming Schools & Academies Show which takes place at London’s ExCel on 1st May, showcasing all the good things taking place at the show and offering a selection of exhibitors for your information.


Our Feature Focus this month is on health and safety at school. In our first feature on the topic, Andrew Wood, Managing Director of leading playground designer and manufacturer ESP Play, explains how health and safety checks for playground installations are almost redundant unless they are carried out by independent qualified inspectors and that school staff should have training to carry out routine checks; while in our second, Mathew Fahy, Managing Director of Inspectas Compliance, explores the changing legislative landscape and how school teams manage the challenges of history and shifting priorities to ensure their schools operate safe in the knowledge that health and safety not only meets, but exceeds industry standards. We round out our features with a look at that perennial favourite, homework, in the company of Claire Nuttall, a former teacher and now Senior Product Manager in Pearson’s Digital and Assessment team. Claire explores how the process of setting homework and managing feedback can be transformed by digital solutions that not only benefit students, but also save teachers valuable time and effort.


Elsewhere in the magazine we have all our usual contributors offering insight and opinion, while in our regular View from the classroom piece this month we hear from Julie Kaleel, computing lead at Ivy Chimneys Primary School, who tells us how the use of a pocket- sized computer is proving to be as easy as Q-W-E-R-T-Y. Remember, we love to hear from you, you can get in touch with us via Twitter @EdTodayMag, as well as by phone or email.


Jonathan Swift Managing Editor On the cover...


Publication Manager: Carl Hearnden Publishing Director: Paul Ryder Managing Editor: Jonathan Swift Artwork Editor: Kirsty Hood Secretary: Tracey Ballard Published by:


Datateam Business Media Limited, London Road, Maidstone, Kent ME16 8LY Tel: 01622 699128 (Advertising) Tel: 07969 141997 (Editorial) Fax: 01622 757646 Email: education@datateam.co.uk Circulation: Curwood CMS Ltd datateam@c-cms.com Tel: 01580 883844 Fax: 01580 883849 Subscription Prices 2020 Number of editions per year: 11 UK: £52 Overseas: £132


The Publishers cannot accept responsibility for any discrepancies either in copy or between products and/or services listed. Nor can they be responsible for illustrations and/or copy for products which lead to infringement of copyright


apetito unveils a pioneering, premium pre-prepared meals system targeting school catering challenges. It offers 150+ meal options, streamlining menu planning and reducing staffing needs, while ensuring food safety. Serving 10,000 pupils daily, it delivers significant cost savings, shrinks kitchen space needs, and increases meal uptake, demonstrating its value for schools prioritising quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.


 https://www.apetito.co.uk In this issue...


4-11 SCHOOLS & ACADEMIES SHOW PREVIEW


12-15 NEWS


Selected stories from the UK education scene this month


16 WELLBEING


With Mark Solomons, Founder of Welbee 18 VIEWS


With BESA’s Policy Manager, Peter Doyle; and Charlotte Rowley


19 BESA CORNER


With BESA members Teacher Tapp and Learning Ladders


20-21 VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM


We hear from Julie Kaleel, computing lead at Ivy Chimneys Primary School 22 CONTRIBUTORS


With BlueSky Education’s Denise Inwood; and Class People’s Naomi Howells


23 SEND With Ann-Marie Oliver and Emma Sanderson 24 EARLY YEARS


With Silvia Cont, Research Assistant, Department for Early Years Education, Faculty of Education at Edge Hill University 25-29 VIEWS & OPINION


Featuring comment and insight from the UK education sector


30-32 FEATURE FOCUS: HEALTH & SAFETY


With Andrew Wood, Managing Director, ESP Play


34-35 FEATURE FOCUS: HEALTH & SAFETY


We hear from Mathew Fahy, Managing Director, Inspectas Compliance 36-37 FEATURE: HOMEWORK


With Claire Nuttall, Senior Product Manager, Pearson 40-42 BUILDINGS, MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT 43-45 COMPUTING & I.T. RESOURCES


46 IN OTHER NEWS...


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