This week’s New Suppliers
May 22nd, 2009
Texthelp Launch Read&Write 3 Gold For MAC
May 19th, 2009
School software suppliers Texthelp are pleased to announce the launch of Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC, the latest version of their Read&Write GOLD award-winning literacy support software for Apple MAC users with reading and writing difficulties.
Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC New Features include:
* New Floating Toolbar
* New Integration with MS Word 2008
* New High Quality Voices
* New Fact Mapper
* New Translator
Texthelp have enhanced the Safari Web Highlighting, Scanning, Phonetic Spell Checker, Prediction Dictionary, Homophone Support and Study Skills Tools to further the user experience. Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC is the most user-friendly, yet comprehensive toolbar available in the marketplace to assist students with reading and writing difficulties.
The software is available in the following ways:
On Disk: Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC Single
On your Network: Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC Site Licence
For further information or to book a one-to-one or group Webinar on Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC, please contact Elaine on Tel: 028 9442 8105 or email: mac@texthelp.com To learn more about Read&Write 3 GOLD FOR MAC, please visit www.texthelp.com
Schools’ spending declines
March 30th, 2009
School suppliers are in for a tough time ahead as school’s being to reconsider what they are spending, more so than ever before.
In a recent survey carried out by educational resource website Schoolzone, 90% of respondents claimed that the current economic climate was having an effect on their spending decisions.
So what does this mean…?
Well firstly, it means school’s are going to be focussing their spending on ‘core’ or essential expenditure first. This includes things like utilities, maintenance and other essential services.
Where schools will be cutting back is on ‘additional’ curriculum resources, ‘nice to haves’ and non-essential software/products/services. This doesn’t mean to say that any supplier that is selling non-essential items will go bust, it simply means that school suppliers are going to have to work even harder to convince budget holders that what they are selling is good value for money and worthwhile.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Whilst schools main purse strings may be being tightened, they are also allocated a significant amount of funding that is ring-fenced, meaning it has to be spent in specific areas. These areas could include ICT, kitchens, playgrounds, outdoor classrooms & SEN to name a few. In these cases, although schools are still going to be careful as to where they spend their money, they do actually HAVE to spend it.
The test for school suppliers will be to see whether they can adapt to the market, reduce costs and find new and initiative ways to promote their products. Embracing social media is one option which some school suppliers, notably ICT suppliers, are doing particularly well not only to gain branding awareness but to get feedback and responses from end users - teachers and school staff, and best of all it’s FREE - all it costs is time.
So with school’s being more careful as to where and what they spend their money on - it’s becoming quite clear that the market isn’t recession proof at all - as it was once thought.
This week’s new suppliers…
March 18th, 2009
New school suppliers added this week:
Catering/Kitchens > Chiller Box
Design & Technology > TechSoft UK Ltd
Early Years > Toys to You Ltd
Early Years > Wooden Toy Store
ICT > Simply Lamps Limited
Media Studies > Mediamerge
Music > Charanga Ltd
School Furniture > Dalen Limited
School Uniform > Dexter & Gordon Limited
Science > Fourier Systems Ltd.
Education Show just over a week away…
March 16th, 2009
With the start of this year’s Education Show just over a week away, what can school suppliers & teachers/school staff look forward to as they flock to the NEC next week?
‘The Big Bang’ feature is certainly going to be a highlight of the show, which has been put on in conjunction with the Science Association, and is designed to make science ‘fashionable’ once again for both teachers and pupils. Hopefully ‘The Big Bang’ will create a real buzz in the exhibition giving school suppliers lots of happy potential customers to talk to.
The show is expected to pull in the region of 15,000 visitors through it’s doors during its 3 day run, and has over 600 exhibitors in attendance.
Interestingly the organisers claim that on average each visitor has £3,988 to spend, accumulating to over £59m, which on the face of it is fantastic news for school suppliers that are showcasing their products and services.
What will be interesting to see is whether the show can still pull the same visitor numbers as it has in previous years, and whether schools are still in a position to spend the same sort of sums they have in the past. With many trade events this year having drops of between 15-25% in visitor numbers, the real test will be whether the guys at Emap have done enough to persuade people to make the trip to The Education Show.
This week’s new suppliers…
March 11th, 2009
Pearson set to take a steak in Espresso
February 26th, 2009
The educational publisher Pearson is rumoured to be the favourite to take a steak in online multimedia curriculum service provider Espresso following an article in the Independent on Sunday.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, who have been tasked with finding potential investors for Expresso have been in contact with a number of interested parties, but Pearson, owner of Penguin books and The FT have emerged as hot favourite, in a bid to strengthen their publishing arm and move further into multimedia delivery.
Espresso is looking for additional cash to fund international growth of their core multimedia service. Chief executive Lewis Bronze, company co-founder, is positive about the move:
This is a highly positive development in the company’s evolution and I am fully committed to driving it forward, and key to that is getting the right partner. We have a unique service and we want to take the company to more places around the world.
Despite the fact that Espresso is already moving into international markets, the company feels it needs the ability to grow rapidly to take advantage of opportunities while they are available. With many international Government’s now cottoning onto digital cirricilum delivery, Espresso feels it needs to move fast to secure strong market positions that mirror its standing in the UK education industry.
This Week’s New Suppliers
February 24th, 2009
New School Suppliers that have joined the School Suppliers Directory this week:
Administration > Gladstone Education
Catering/Kitchens > Venue Furniture
Drama > Pivotal Education Ltd
Drama > Leisurelec
ICT > Autology World
ICT > Brightfilter Limited
School Furniture > Sigma Desks
Education Resources Awards 2009 shortlist announced
February 23rd, 2009
The shortlist of nominations for the prestigious Education Resource Awards was announced last week by BESA, the School Suppliers trade association.
Among those nominated were a number of School Suppliers Directory listed suppliers, and we wish them the very best of luck.
The Education Resources Awards highlight the quality and diversity of educational products and resources, excellent educational establishments and the most dedicated members of the teaching profession and supplies industry, all working together to encourage the very best in education.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony at The National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham on Friday 27th March.
