Responding to the changes that Covid-19 has wrought on learning requires building on what we know works, as well as looking ahead to what we know students will need.
Although it may seem overwhelming, the time to start reimagining the future of education is now.
Learning is not limited to the classroom, and its complex, multi-faceted delivery shouldn’t rest on the shoulders of any one individual. We believe brilliant learning environments are created through collaboration and a comprehensive, whole school approach.
Re-engage Persistent Absentees
Every lesson that we can prevent a child from missing is another step taken to a brighter academic future. It’s why we must address the Centre for Social Justice’s findings that by the end of 2020 almost 100,000 UK pupils were missing from more than half of their lessons, even after Covid absence is accounted for.
The causes of persistent absenteeism are complex and numerous, often relating to the most vulnerable young people in the system. While not a new problem, it has been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic which has led to some pupils becoming more disengaged. In addition, disruption to funding has led to vulnerability across support services for schools – impacting the school’s ability to tackle absenteeism.
To pivot persistent absenteeism from ‘too difficult to fix’ to ‘all in class’ will involve a sustained commitment from all involved. Government funding is crucial, but so is having robust procedures in place for day-to-day management of attendance. Whether implementing effective tracking data or targeting pupil premium funding, Smart School Services can support schools to help break down barriers to children being in school.
Building Attachment
A central theme for Smart School’s Education Welfare Service is building attachment between staff, parents and pupils. Promoting a strong sense of belonging and making positive human connections. Developing a School Attachment Plan might include peer support programmes, circle time, rights respecting schools, school council, friendship groups or learning mentors, to name a few.
Assistive Technology for SEND Pupils
Creating a school environment that takes down barriers is a central part of addressing absentees. Assistive technology plays a key role for SEND pupils, supporting them to be more independent and maximise their potential. Offering more options for alternative recording, text to speech, graphic organisers, access to online resources, immersive readers and online manipulatives for recording in maths. Smart School’s Literacy & Numeracy Support Service can offer advice on what’s best for your pupils.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
Responding to the changes that Covid-19 has wrought on learning requires building on what we know works, as well as looking ahead to what we know students will need.
Although it may seem overwhelming, the time to start reimagining the future of education is now.
Learning is not limited to the classroom, and its complex, multi-faceted delivery shouldn’t rest on the shoulders of any one individual. We believe brilliant learning environments are created through collaboration and a comprehensive, whole school approach.
A Space for Curiousity
Spaces that support a school’s reading culture allow learning to flourish. According to the OECD, “Reading for pleasure is more important for children’s educational success than their family’s socio-economic status.”
Ideally, the future for all schools should include an expansive library boasting the latest ICT resources, stocked with a diverse set of books from a wide variety of types and genres; coordinated by a dedicated librarian. But that simply doesn’t reflect reality. 40% of primary schools have no budget for a school library. Where libraries do exist, competition for funding means they are often under-resourced with inadequate stock and no librarian or staff members to oversee them.
How can we close the gap and address the inequality of provision? The answer lies in working together. Supporting schools to manage their resources strategically, utilise their space intelligently and maximise independent learning opportunities. By acknowledging the role a physical space – library, reading corner or study area – plays in teaching children to be readers, we can build best-in-class provision within the parameters of what is possible.
Beyond Books
Meeting the needs of an ever-diversifying curriculum is not easy. Working hand in hand with teachers, librarians from Smart School’s Learning Resources Service research, suggest, and select books, artefacts, equipment, and DVDs from their vast library. Library staff will compile items according to your specific request. All delivered in a ready-to-go resource box.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
Every meeting of the school governing body and statutory committees must be clerked and minutes taken. Keith Revell, Smart School’s Governor Services Manager, shares some key information and good practice in how to ensure that your governing board meetings are recorded accurately and objectively.
WHAT ARE THE GOVERNING BOARD MINUTES FOR?
Minutes must demonstrate how well a Governing Body discharges its functions, in particular their challenge and strategic support for the school. They are part of the primary evidence to show that the school is led and managed in a competent, legal and transparent manner.
Minutes must show that governors are achieving the three core aims: to set a vision, ethos and strategic direction, to hold the head teacher to account for educational and staff performance and to ensure financial resources are well spent. Above all, minutes should show that governors challenge all they are being told and all they are seeing to ensure those three core principles are being achieved. Accurate minute taking by the clerk is vitally important for a governing body to function effectively.
Minutes provide an historical record of the business of the governing body. The minutes must record all discussions that have taken place, the decisions made by the governing body and the action needed by when and by whom. How often do you find that the review of actions under “Matters Arising” are skipped through with unactioned actions being glossed over or simply left to the next meeting? If they were important enough to be allocated, they must be important enough to be completed in the expected timeframe.
WHO READS THESE MINUTES?
Minutes can be read by anyone, but will almost certainly be considered by Ofsted inspectors. They may use them for judging leadership and management. So, you may want to consider the extent to which your minutes show evidence of that as outlined in the Education Inspection Framework.
Have you ever looked at your minutes to see how many strategic Qs and As have been included? It is a quick and easy way to see how much challenge you are making.
WHY IS THE ROLE OF CLERK IMPORTANT?
The clerk plays an important role in governing body effectiveness, not least by ensuring the governors have efficient administration support and are offered procedural advice and guidance. They need to work in partnership with the chair of governors, the other governors and the headteacher, making sure the governing body’s work is well organised.
Smart School’s clerks are all fully trained in how to write minutes and they know exactly what to record during a meeting, but also what not to record. The minutes are not a verbatim record of all the discussion, especially if it’s not strategic or relevant to an agenda item. Above all, they look out for challenge and evidence of leadership. Next time you read your minutes, perhaps bear this in mind to see how you are faring.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
You’ve sat in meetings with IT staff and they started talking and immediately you think that they must be speaking another language – switches connected to which device?… router to connect you to the cloud?… you look up… You are not alone, this is a common problem among most normal people that don’t spend hours of their lives tapping away at a keyboard, climbing under desks and up ladders pulling cables out of cabinets for a living..
So what does your ICT network look like – what components make up a schools network? In basic terms a network is two or more computers that are connected by a cable or wireless connection which enables the exchange of information or data.
If you connected all the computers in your office together with networking cables and spent a little time tweaking the settings in the computer’s operating system (OS) software i.e. Windows 10, you could easily create a working network.
A slightly cleaner solution, looking from the outside that is, would be to create a wireless network without any cables. With a wireless network you connect all of the computers together using wireless network adapters that communicate via radio signals. Nowadays, all laptops (and select desktops) have built-in wireless network adapters. If you find that your laptops / desktops do not have wireless network adapters as standard you can purchase wireless dongles that you plug into a USB port on your computer (usually found on the side or back of the device).
Listed below are a number of key terms that might help you to understand how your school network is constructed and what each component actually does:
LGfL Router: connects your computers to the Internet
LGfL firewall: allows you to manage the flow of data in and out of the schools network
Network Switch / Hub: allows you to connect computers together with cables
Network cabling: provides network connectivity for classrooms, offices and other areas in the school by running cables from network switches around school site to network sockets that you plug your computers / devices into.
Wireless access point: allows computers and other devices on your network to connect to each other without using cables
The image below shows a simple representation of a typical ICT network that is similar to the type of setup you will find in your schools. There are client computers connected to the switch / hub using cables that then connect back to the servers and other devices such as shared printers / copiers. You can also see that connected into the switch is a wireless access point (WAP) which provides wireless access to various clients including computers, iPads and other devices such as Chromebooks. There is a shared printer connected to the switch and because all the devices are connected to the network all wired and wireless clients can use the network printer.
And lastly, you can see that the switch also connects to the firewall and the router connecting the entire network to the internet via the internet service provider (ISP) – in this case the LGfL
A Simple network!
Below you will find a few useful terms that might help you to better understand what is being said the next time you have a conversation with one of the ICT Support team:
LAN: You will often find the network referred to as a LAN or local area network. In the image above, the LAN consists of the router, firewall, switch / hub, servers, shared printer, all the client computers and iPads that are connected to the network by cable or wireless connection.
WAN: Schools that have more than one site, but share the same network and resources connected via the LGfL routers and firewalls have a wide area network or WAN.
On the network: The term simply means that all devices / desktops / laptops / iPads / Chromebooks / printers etc. are connected to the network.
Online / offline: Computers connected to the network and internet will be online, those devices that are not connected to the network are offline. Computers / devices can be offline for several reasons such as a network cable has been disconnected or unplugged, the network connection may have been disabled, the device may be broken, the internet connection is not working – there are many reasons why this could happen.
Up / down: Computers / devices turned on and working properly are referred to as ‘up’; computers / devices turned off or broken are ‘down’. ‘Powering down’ is a term sometimes used for turning a computer off and turning it back on sometimes referred to as ‘powering up’.
Local / remote: Hard drive / CD drive are referred to as ‘local’ as they are part of the computer; ‘remote’ would be related to another device on the network.
Internet: Access to the largest interconnected computer network that spans the entire planet that anyone with an internet connection can access: World Wide Web – a huge collection of information, documents, resources, communication facilities all connected to each other.
Cloud: What is the cloud? Where is the cloud? These are all questions you’ve probably heard or even asked yourself. The term “cloud computing” is everywhere. In the simplest terms, cloud computing means storing and accessing data and programs over the internet instead of your computer’s hard drive or server and can be hardware and/or software services from a provider on the internet.
Hopefully, this simple guide provides some useful information to help you get a handle on some of the typical terms used by the ICT Support team as well as a basic understanding of how your network works. It is important to have an excellent ICT Support team to manage, maintain and upgrade your ICT networks and keep them as secure as possible. It is also important to ensure your school budgets for the ongoing technology developments that will future proof your school. Schools should be budgeting to replace servers, PC’s, laptops and mobile devices at least every 5 years – which is a standard warranty and lifespan for these devices.
Wandsworth ICT Support can provide your school with a full technical audit and health check to provide you with recommendations and support to manage your technology budget and to ensure you are clear on where you need to invest and when.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
As we approach Anti-Bullying Week this year, it’s important to be reminded that preventing and tackling bullying is something we do all year round – and getting the basics right is key to achieving this.
This year’s theme for Anti-Bullying Week is ‘One Kind Word’. Schools up and down the country, including yours, will be delivering assemblies and classroom activities, celebrating Odd Socks Day on Monday 15 November, and holding a ‘Friendship Friday’ on the 19th.
All these things help to shine a light on the issue, but what next? What do you do the week after? Well, it may be a good time for you to consider reviewing and updating your policy and practice and considering how effective your whole school approach to dealing with bullying really is.
Research shows the whole school approach key to success and is what getting the basics right is all about. Involving everyone is the most important way to keep children safe from harm and safe to learn – from parents/carers and school staff (including catering, office, and cleaning staff, not just teachers and TAs) and – front and centre – your pupils.
To help review your whole school approach, consider the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s ‘Ten Key Principles’:
Listen – take the time to consult with your stakeholders. Everyone in the school community will have something important to share, whether it be their experiences, ideas, or concerns.
Include all – make sure you involve those most vulnerable to bullying. These can be children and adults with SEND, young carers, and traveller families.
Respect – school staff are role models to children and parents/carers alike. It’s their duty to protect children and to treat all fairly. School staff set the tone of the school and embody the culture and ethos.
Challenge – words matter, and discriminatory language should be challenged and taken seriously every time it is heard or reported.
Celebrate difference – make everyone feel welcome at your school by ensuring all communities are visibly represented and that your school ethos is one that values uniqueness.
Understand – ensure everyone in your school community knows what bullying is and what it isn’t. You can do this by following principle number 1.
Believe – children and adults must be able to trust that your policy and practice is reliable and robust. Children need to know when they report bullying to an adult they will be believed and taken seriously.
Report bullying – it is important pupils and their parents/carers know how to report incidents of bullying. Schools must have an effective system to collect this information. Ofsted inspectors ask for schools’ data and will want to know what you are doing to prevent and tackling bullying as a result.
Take action – respond quickly to all incidents of bullying. Make sure children affected are involved in what happens to them. Consider implementing a restorative approach to dealing with conflict and the harm caused, if you haven’t already.
Have clear policies – actively involve the school community in writing and reviewing your anti-bullying policy. Make sure pupil voice is loud and clear within it. Make sure it links to other policies, such as the behaviour policy, equalities, online safety, etc.
Support for schools to prevent and tackle bullying, and improve policy and practice is available all year round.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
Making staff aware of health and safety issues can be a chore. Many people can’t spare the time to read safety information in their normal busy day and spare time can be scarce. There are many essential pieces of information which staff must know to work safely to protect themselves, colleagues and pupils.
Placing posters – safety posters can be an excellent tool for emphasizing key safety messages. Placement is vital. Most staff do not have time to stand around, but short messages can be displayed in key places of high traffic areas like bathrooms, breakrooms and near entrances or exit to staff areas.
Simple graphics and short text information placed behind a toilet door allows staff to see the information when they are less distracted.
Another unique way to attract attention is to place all or part of a poster upside down as it may intrigue staff to stop and read the information. Remember to rotate and move information so it doesn’t fade into the background.
Staff briefings – it can be helpful to include a key safety message in regular team meetings or email communications and memos.
Induction – Health and Safety Induction is essential for each employee and it is important that staff have access to information to remind them of the health and safety requirements in the workplace. Providing a health and safety booklet or links to health and safety policies online, will mean your staff can review the information again and again.
Celebrate safety – there are many documented national and international safety and health awareness dates which could be recognised by your teams and pupils throughout the year, to keep health and safety at the forefront of minds. Some examples below;
World Safety and Health Day – 28th April 2022
Sun Awareness Week – 6th-13th May 2022
National Mental Health – 13th-20th May 2022
World Mental Health Day – 10th October 2022
Back Care Awareness Week – 5th-9th October 2022
National Stress Awareness Day – 4th November 2021
Risk Assessment
What is risk assessment?
Risk assessment is the process of evaluating risks to employees’ health and safety from workplace hazards. It is a systematic examination of all aspects of work that considers:
what could cause injury or harm;
whether the hazards could be eliminated and, if not;
what preventive or protective measures are, or should be, in place to control the risks.
Who should carry out risk assessments?
Anyone can carry out risk assessments if they have the knowledge to do so. It is often beneficial to attend a training session to ensure the risk assessment is being carried out correctly and that the risk rating is appropriate.
How should risk assessment be carried out?
There are 5 steps to a risk assessment:
Identify the hazards
Decide who could be harmed and how
Evaluate the risk and existing control measures
Record findings
Review
You should walk around the area you are risk assessing and speak to those in the area to help gain a clear picture of the hazards that may be present.
What should I risk assess?
There should be a risk assessment in place for:
All general site areas e.g.
Corridors
Classrooms
Offices
Playground
School Hall
Site activities e.g.
School trips (see policy for additional information)
Premises officer duties
Working at height
Manual handling
Lone Working
Specific e.g.
Hazardous Substances (COSHH)
Workstation Assessment (DSE)
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations (PUWER)
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment (LOLER)
Stress
New/Expectant Mothers
Fire (Often carried out by H&S team)
When should a risk assessment be reviewed?
All risk assessments should be reviewed on an annual basis, or following any major changes, e.g.
where a significant change has been made to the building or process;
where there is reason to believe that the risk assessment is no longer valid;
following an investigation of an accident; and
where required as a result of an inspection or audit.
Are there resources available to help?
Yes, the Council has a Risk Assessment policy that can be found on Services for Schools that provides detailed information and offers examples. Templates can also be found under the H&S pages for subscribed schools.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
Now in its 26th year, the National Gallery stages an annual exhibition called Take One Picture, and invites primary schools nationwide to take part by focussing on one of its paintings and responding creatively to its themes and subject matter, historical context, or composition. The programme aims to put art at the centre of children’s learning across the curriculum, inspiring a lifelong connection with artists’ work, museums and galleries.
Paolo Uccello
The Battle of San Romano
probably about 1438-40
Egg tempera with walnut oil and linseed oil on poplar, 182 x 320 cm
Bought, 1857
NG583
https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/NG583
For 2021, the National Gallery selected The Battle of San Romano(painted probably about 1438–40) by Paolo Uccello as the source of inspiration. The painting shows a key moment in the Florentine victory at San Romano in 1432, with the commander Niccolò da Tolentino leading a cavalry charge and wearing a magnificent red and gold hat. Uccello’s painting was chosen for the cross-curricular themes and subjects which can be explored: from conflict and battles, to pattern, perspective and Renaissance Italy.
A selection of work produced by schools, based on the painting, is then shown at the National Gallery and published on the website. In order to be considered for the display, schools submit examples of how a whole class or school has used the picture to inspire projects that are child-led and cross-curricular and through which children have learnt a new process and involved members of the local community.
Alderbrook was one of 30 primary schools chosen this year to have their work displayed at the National Gallery and Mara Grkinic, teacher and Creative Arts Lead at the school describes the creative journey of pupils in Year 5 (Summer 2020) through to Year 6 (Spring 2021) when the project ended. Beginning with an online workshop with a professional animator, collaboration with the City Learning Centre (CLC), to how they resolved some of the practical and technical challenges of remote learning during the periods of lockdown.
For the last four years, the school has taken part in this national art project, looking at the chosen painting and deciding how to use the image imaginatively, both as a stimulus for artwork, and to make links across the curriculum. Obviously this past year, going into lockdown meant the school could not do the project as normal, because the children did not have access to the usual resources available at school. Throughout May, June and July 2020, each year group explored the painting, focussing on different art skills and what interested them about the painting. In September, each year group then had a focussed art skill to develop.
The project aim was to do something cross-curricular, so looking at different aspects of the curriculum, whether art and media, art with maths, or art with textiles etc. It should also include the local community and the children learning a new skill. Our new skill was to learn all about animation techniques and software.Most of the pupils were already aware of stop animation, so not a new thing. A massive factor in us choosing to do this option was because of lockdown. I gave the pupils a choice, explaining that we were going to do an art project and here is a list of things that you can do. On the list was animations; can you use objects at home to try and recreate the picture; the option of looking at shadows; maybe a textiles project with the armour and hat; another option was looking at colour in the picture and why the artist had decided to put pink on the floor. I drew up a big grid of all the options and then asked the children to choose. Most of the pupils messaged back straight away via Google Classroom saying that they wanted to do animations! It was far quicker and easier for them to do this online, the pupils were already familiar with using Google Classroom, as they had already been doing a lot of online learning throughout the lockdown. The alternative would have meant dropping off painting materials etc to all of their homes.
The decision to use stop animation was also helped by the pupils having an online workshop with Scott Castles, who is a professional animator from Castles Create. Scott showed us how to sketch something using the software he uses, which is far more advanced, but as a class we decided that as we didn’t have that kind of software, we would need to make a stop motion. It was at this stage that Alex Purssey and David Owens from the CLC came onboard with the project, and suggested that we brainstorm ideas and source a suitable app such as iStopMotion.
The CLC setup a workshop with the pupils on how to use the app and whilst this software was new to the class, some of the pupils were already quite tech savvy having used various other apps, but most of them had not used iStopMotion before.
The creative and technical input provided by the CLC gave us the confidence and expertise we needed to complete the images and video ourselves. The children were highly motivated using the new technology and we gained fantastic new skills to use in the future!
We had been chatting on Google Classroom during the first lockdown in March and April and had discussed how could we link the story of the painting to what we were passionate about at that time. The children said that they could do our modern day battle with COVID, as this is also an historical battle.
As a year group of 41 pupils, it gave us a lot of scope to create a great deal of animation footage. We then decided to spilt the COVID story up so far, spilt the historical battle, and then working in pairs to decide how we could recreate both parts of each story.
My class did the COVID version and the other class in the year group did the other version of the battle with the horses.We decided that if we split the story up,we could include everything that the children had experienced from their own viewpoint. One pupil talked about the massive stock-piling that went on in her family. Everyone remembering the build-up before the first lockdown, going to the Co-Op and Sainsburys in Balham and nothing on the shelves. The pupils had quickly realised they couldn’t go to the cinema, the theatre etc,so they decided to do a animation on that. Once we got all our ideas together on a timeline, we started making the backgrounds.
The children composed the background music using the Garage Band app and they spoke on the piece that links to COVID, creating quite an emotional feel to the whole piece.
I was really conscious that during lockdown many of the children would have extended time at home with nothing much to do, so we decided to also use that time creatively and really threw ourselves into creating a virtual reality gallery on a website called Artsteps VR. This online gallery showed examples of work and how all the year groups had looked at the painting in a different way. We sent a Powerpoint presentation to the National Gallery outlining why we should be one of the schools chosen. We then received the fantastic news that we were one of the schools shortlisted and that we had a place in the exhibition.
Alderbrook school is well-resourced with iPads, chrome books, laptops, interactive whiteboards and has the use of a state of the art Mac computer suite. The school is also fortunate to have the support and expertise of the City Learning Centre (CLC) who are based on site and available to support staff and pupils, ensuring they have the very best computing curriculum available to them. The CLC’s advice and support on this animation project was invaluable and we are looking forward to working with them again on future IT projects.
The CLC also helps schools establish their computing, media, coding and photography clubs that support hundreds of Wandsworth learners develop specific skills that excite and inspire them. These clubs have grown massively across all year groups with some schools running them at lunch time and after school with older students delivering them as Computing Ambassadors.
Digital literacy, creative arts and film-making projects are available to all schools who have purchased a CLC package. The innovative computing curriculum tutors continue to support schools in class and with special stand out projects like this one. The Digital Orchestra, Raspberry Pi environmental challenge and Lego Robot Wars have all been recent projects the CLC has helped schools participate in and to engage pupils with computing and stretch their knowledge.
Further information about the programme, related CPD courses for teachers, and the annual ‘Take One Picture’ exhibition at the National Gallery can be found at https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/take-one-picture
I get asked quite often about what is it that successful schools do to improve attendance. Now, I can advise schools to follow a fair and clear process – just like the one we are about to introduce called Fast Track – and there are lots of strategies schools can put in place. Also, with the support of my team, a multi-agency approach to tackling the problem can be highly effective. Lots of support is usually required for more complex cases and these deep-rooted issues aren’t always for just one service to address.
However, fundamentally for me, creating a school that builds attachment between staff, parents and pupils, that promotes a strong sense of belonging and makes positive human connections are key to a happy, safe and thriving place that everyone enjoys coming to.
Getting the basics right with attendance brings with it all the benefits that being part of a loving (yes, loving) school community can bring, including a healthy attitude to learning that lasts long into adulthood. Schools already foster that sense of belonging in a number of ways; peer support programmes, Circle Time, Rights Respecting Schools, School Council, friendship groups, learning mentors, and the list goes on. It may be that individual pupils and their parents receive more intensive support and a School Attachment Plan is put in place.
If this is something you’d like to trial in your school, please do get in touch. In the meantime, here is some useful research on the subject – Attachment in the Classroom.
Book your Head to Head
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Our response to Covid-19 has taught us a lot about what is needed when assessing risk and planning emergency response. I certainly wouldn’t have expected any incident to result in 18 months of response, with recovery to follow! This pandemic has brought attention to the Emergency Planning profession and highlights how the decisions we make to mitigate impacts are increasingly reviewed and critiqued. As such, we’re always looking to learn and improve the way we do things.
Setting up Covid testing sites across the boroughs saw us arranging deliveries and cleaning of portaloos, and while not something I’d ever expected to spend so long working on (and hope not to again!) it does remind me how wide-ranging a day at work can be and the importance of being prepared for whatever gets thrown our way. The experience we’ve all had since March 2020 will inform many changes, and schools particularly have an important role to play in both protecting children when an incident occurs, as much as educating them in the importance of emergencies and being resilient.
I think there’s an easy emphasis placed on the impact of disasters, rather than the easy and small steps we can all take to best prepare ourselves.
Smart School Services
Emergency Planning is keen to support schools in developing and exercising their business continuity and emergency incident capabilities.
If you would like to know more about our Emergency Planning services, please book a meeting with us to discuss your needs.
Book your Head to Head
If we have piqued your interest in Smart School Services, why not meet with our head team to see how we can work together.To arrange your Head to Head, or for any other enquiry, simply fill in the contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.
Fairy tales are excellent materials to help children understand the story elements such as plot, setting and theme. They teach children to think critically.
One of the wonderful things about fairy tales is the fact that they have captured the imagination of children for generations. The opening line ‘Once Upon a Time’ has the unique ability to immediately take the children to a world packed with magic and dreams.
Twisted tales offer a new and empowering perspective on the well-known stories and characters from fairy tales, adapting them to modern times and themes. The modern version of fairy tales like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood are very different than their originals. The alternative fairy tales are all about the ‘what if’ of the story and exploring a new point of view of the classic narrative. They might include alternative settings, plot twists, funny fairy-tale blend or role reversals.
The twisted tales will not only attract pupils’ attention, entertain them, stimulate their curiosity and imagination, but also correspond with their fears and needs. Child psychologist Bruno Bettelheim, who specialised in the importance of fairy tales in childhood, believed that alternative fairy tales – as equally as the classic fairy tales – can aid children in dealing with anxiety, conflict, and teach them some unexpected lessons. Young children judge characters and events themselves. They confront the real world around them with the world depicted in a fairy tale, a wonderful world, sometimes unrealistic.
The role turnaround in the twisted tales enables the pupils to develop empathy; teaches social skills and skills to understand the importance of acceptance in our lives.
And finally, alternative fairy tales are great fun!
This pack explores five books that put a spin on classic fairy tales. Ignite your pupils’ curiosity and encourage your children to create their own twisted tale.
Goldilocks and just One Bear by Leigh Hodgkinson
A funny and clever twisted fairy tale based on the familiar story ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’. We all know that when Goldilocks made a bit of a mess of the Three Bears’ house, they were glad to see the back of her. But did you ever wonder what happened afterwards?Well, quite a lot actually. Goldilocks is now grown-up living with her family in a rather smart apartment. How will she react to coming home and finding that a very lost Baby Bear has been scoffing her porridge; breaking chairs; and sleeping in her bed? Will she be angry, or is it finally time to make amends?
Jim and the Beanstalk by Raymond Briggs
This well-lived tale has been given new life and freshness.
One morning Jim found the beanstalk growing outside his window. He began to climb up the plant and at the top he found a sad and toothless Giant that doesn’t even want to eat him. But when Jim befriends him, the Giant begins to feel more like his old self and suddenly he has a taste for a fried boy…
The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas
A hilarious take on the well-loved fairy tale and the typical fight between pigs and wolves as you have never seen it before!
It was time for the three little wolves to go out into the world, so they set off and built themselves a splendid brick house. The big bad pig comes along and when huffing and puffing fails to work, he uses a sledgehammer to bring the house down. Next, they build a home of concrete; the pig demolishes it with his pneumatic drill. The three little wolves choose an even stronger design next time round: they erect a house, made of steel, barbed wire, and video entry system, but the pig finds a way to demolish it too. It is only when the wolves construct a rather fragile house made of cherry blossoms, daffodils, pink roses, and marigolds that the pig has a change of heart.
Cinderelephant by Emma Dodd
This funny version of the Cinderella played out by an elephant, with its enchanting illustrations will entertain and spark curiosity with your pupils.
Once upon a time there was a lonely girl called Cinderelephant. She lived with her two cousins, who were known as the Warty Sisters. One day, an invitation arrived from Prince Trunky who was looking for love, so the whole kingdom was going to his grand ball – everyone , except for Cinderelephant. Luckily, for her, Furry Godmouse had a plan…
The Wolf’s story by Toby Forward
The ‘Wolf’s story’ is the well-known fairy tale about Little Red Riding Hood, told from the viewpoint of the wolf who is determined to convince readers that the version we all know is mistaken. wolf was really helping Grandma with odd jobs he did shopping, altered her clothes. Vegetarian cuisine was his new speciality. The wolf was trying to protect the Grandma from the jaw-breaking toffee that Red Riding Hood always brings. However, his tone tells a different story, or does it?
Facilitate activities:
Read
Children should become familiar with the classic fairy tales and have access to twisted tales in the book corner.
Re- write
Pupils begin reimaging the classic stories and then come up with what is known as ‘twisted tales’. Encourage your children to introduce new characters, plot points or different scenery that can add a fun twist on the classic.
Re-enact
Borrow fairy tale costumes from the Learning Resources Service to act out these stories.
Go cross-curricular
Grow beans in jam jars to observe the development of the bean plant after reading ‘Jim and the beanstalk’.
Build houses with recycled materials after reading ‘Three little wolves and the big bad pig’.
After reading ‘Cinderelephant’ survey the sizes, widths, and areas of the children’s feet.
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