CONTENTS Dear Reader,


Welcome to the latest issue of Education Today - and the very first issue of the new school year! September is a time when


lots of schools like to take stock and think about what new approaches they might want to take, or improvements they might want to make, for the year ahead. This month’s features have been curated to reflect this, highlighting three entirely different yet equally important areas on which schools can focus to make changes happen.


Our Feature Focus for this issue is Mental Health &


Wellbeing, as Billy FitzJohn, Associate Director of the Education Division at Endsleigh, shares his thoughts on why it’s so important to provide mental health support to pupils - and what schools can do to develop a culture where pupils feel supported. We also take a look beyond the ‘core knowledge curriculum’ with our Successful Innovative Teaching Practices feature, as we find out from the Open Minds Foundation why the soft skill of critical thinking is so crucial for children, and intrinsically linked to agency, self-esteem and future success.


For our Smart Procurement Strategies feature we hear from Andrea Smith, Executive Director, Procurement at YPO, who walks schools through the recent Procurement Act, including all the changes and challenges this could bring for educators in the UK. Elsewhere in the issue, Altro’s Dave Ford tells us how schools can hit the ground running with the right flooring choices, while DI Dan Giannasi, Head of Cyber & Innovation at NWCRC talks cyber security strategies to implement at the start of the new term. As ever, you’ll also find our usual news, views, and thoughts from our expert contributors. Don’t forget, we love to hear from you, and you can contact us via X @EdTodayMag, phone, or email to share your own news or opinions!


Enjoy the issue! Charlotte Westwood Managing Editor


In this issue... 4-10 NEWS


Selected stories from the UK education scene this month


12 WELLBEING


With Mark Solomons, Founder of Welbee 13 Q&A: BROMCOM


With Bromcom’s Managing Director Ali Guryel 14 BESA VIEWS


With BESA’s Peter Doyle and Alex Harris from BBC Teach


16 BESA CORNER


With BESA members Collins and Staedtler 17 CONTRIBUTORS


With Class People’s Naomi Howells; and Teacher Development Trust’s Gareth Conyard


18-19 VIEW FROM THE CLASSROOM


We hear from Belgrave St. Bartholomew’s Academy’s Meg McDonagh 21 SEND


With Ann-Marie Oliver and Emma Sanderson 22-26 VIEWS & OPINION


Featuring comment and insight from the UK education sector


27 ONLINE ALTERNATIVE PROVISION


Academy21 talks online alternative provision 28-30 FEATURE FOCUS: MENTAL HEALTH & WELLBEING


With Billy FitzJohn, Associate Director of the Education Division at Endsleigh 32-33 FEATURE: SUCCESSFUL INNOVATIVE TEACHING PRACTICES


With the Open Minds Foundation 34-35 FEATURE: SMART PROCUREMENT STRATEGIES


With Andrea Smith, Executive Director, Procurement at YPO 36-38 FEATURE: BUILDINGS, MAINTENANCE & REFURBISHMENT


With Dave Ford, Specifications Manager - North at Altro 42-44 COMPUTING & I.T


With DI Dan Giannasi, Head of Cyber & Innovation at NWCRC


On the cover...


Publication Manager: Carl Hearnden Publishing Director: Paul Ryder Managing Editor: Charlotte Westwood 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


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