New School Suppliers listed in the School Suppliers Directory this week:
ICT > LanSchool Technologies
School Furniture > Elm Education
School Furniture > JTC Furniture Group
School Furniture > Mogo Direct
School Furniture > Morleys Projects
School Furniture > SICO Europe Ltd
Science > Lab Systems Furniture
School Furniture Suppliers, C2 Furniture Contracts, which specialises in the turn-key design and creation of working environments in the education sector, will be exhibiting for the first time at the Education Show in 2009.
The company will be showing examples of the many university, college and school projects that it has undertaken. These include the remodelling of Esher College’s Learning Resource Centre, the furnishing of three new student accommodation blocks for the University of Sussex, and the redesign and refurbishment of the refectory at Esher College. C2 will also be launching the Danish-designed Chat-Board® range of glass magnetic wall-mounted memo boards.
For more information please contact Clive Cookson at the show on 07956 121361 or visit www.c2-contracts.co.uk
New school suppliers listed in the school suppliers directory this week:
Administration > School PayPoint
Catering/Kitchens > Cunninghams
Catering/Kitchens > CRB Solutions
ICT > Immersive Education
ICT > Matrix Display Systems
Languages > Beelingua
School Furniture > C2 Furniture Contracts Limited
School Playgrounds > Just Toys Ltd
School Websites > PrimarySite
Science > Right Angle Events
Science > The Wonder Project
Trips/Visits > Simply Gardening for Schools
Well it’s just under a month before the BETT Show 2009 kicks off; the worlds largest educational technology event.
With nearly 700 educational suppliers exhibiting at BETT, and over 100 seminars taking place over the course of the 4 day event, it’s set to be the biggest one yet.
Many local authorities are providing or assisting with transport for visitors from their area in a bid to make it as easy as possible to attend, and with over 29,000 people expected to attend, transport is always a key issue.
Many established suppliers like BETT, it’s big, bold and the place where they are expected to be seen. But in reality, does it really make a return on their investment, and ultimately – does it bring the sales in? The usual big names are there including Microsoft, Orcale & HP – but interestingly Apple UK have pulled out of the event, despite it’s crusade to grab a slice of the UK education market. Apple feel there are better ways to communicate with their customers, and that the money can be better spent elsewhere.
Does this mark the beginning of the end for BETT as we know it? Will other suppliers begin to follow suit as the current economic times take their toll? For a long time, despite the high visitor numbers, many have felt BETT is just too big and over-whelming. Is it time for them to downsize, or will it simply allow smaller & newly established suppliers to opportunity to fill the boots of the big boys?
Either way, we shall have to wait and see…
School Suppliers Directory – December News
Well, what an exciting month it’s been. The School Suppliers Directory has been live for just over a month now and the feedback & response we’ve had has been fantastic.
Nearly 50 different suppliers are now listed in the directory, and that number is steadily increasing day by day. We had hundreds of unique visits since the launch, and we’ve only been live about 4 weeks – which is brilliant news!
And our positions in the search engines are gradually stabilising, which will mean our visitor numbers continue to increase.
Your Listing
To get the most out of your listing make sure you’ve added your company logo – not only does it make you stand out, but it also makes to instantly recognisable to customers.
Also, you can now add/edit your company description and keywords from within the Supplier’s Zone. Your description and keywords are important because not only do they give visitors more information on what you supply, but they also make up the basis of our search functionality; therefore the more content you have there, the better your chances of appearing in visitors search results.
Our Blog – Your News
You may have noticed we’ve also got an accompanying blog for the site. On the blog we’ll be publishing industry news and details about site updates, but we’re also keen to publish press releases from suppliers listed in the directory. If you have a recent press release you would like considered for publication (FOR FREE), please email it to info@schoolsuppliersdirectory.co.uk.
That’s all for this month’s news! If you have any comments or suggestions for the site, again, please do feel free to email us.
Warm Regards
School Suppliers Directory Team
Yesterday Children’s secretary Ed Balls announced plans to invest £235m in building new exciting play areas for children, as part of The National Play Strategy.
The strategy forms part of The Children’s Plan, which is designed to provide local authorities with the capital to provide new, or rebuild existing play areas for children in their local area. Most local authorities will receive £1.1m to do this, however 10 ‘Pathfinder’ authorities will receive approximately £2.5m to build state of the art, staffed adventure playgrounds.
“We know that outdoor play has many benefits to children and parents tell us that it is key to a happy and enjoyable childhood. Play is good for children, good for families and good for communities. The best people to say what is exciting and fun are children, which is why we want them to help make the decisions about play services in their local neighbourhoods.”
The plan encourages local children to be as much a part of the planning process as possible, feeling that they will help create fantastic sites that they can safely enjoy with friends.
The capital will be allocated to local authorities in April 2009 and has specifically been made available earlier than planned in an attempt to stem the effects of the current economic downturn.
Although this isn’t directly related to school suppliers of playgrounds and outdoor environments, there has to be something said for their knowledge and experience in this area. Many local authorities will be looking to designers & suppliers of school playgrounds for help, advice and to actually carry out the work, based on their wealth of experience in this area.
So we see this as a really positive sign for suppliers in the industry. Those that aren’t already in contact with their local authorities, really should be!
New supplier’s in the school suppliers directory this week:
Administration > ParentPay
Catering/Kitchens > Cunninghams
ICT > Cambridge-Hitachi
Playground > Fawns Recreational Services Ltd
Uniform > Embroidery Depot
A new website (www.lotc.org.uk) has recently been launched by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom, designed to build upon the success of the Manifesto for Learning Outside the Classroom; a scheme the DCSF announced in November 2006.
The aim of the scheme is to enhance young people’s learning experiences by getting them out and about, and learning!
We believe that every young person should experience the world beyond the classroom as an essential part of learning and personal development, whatever their age, ability or circumstances.
Activities can take part almost anywhere; ranging from the school grounds and other local environments to day visits and residential trips. Not only is the manifesto designed to try and motivate young people and help achieve the Every Child Matters outcomes, but it can be used to combat truancy and school exclusions too.
So what does this mean for supplier’s?
Well, firstly it’s going to mean demand for good quality educational trips, visits & outdoor learning experiences is going to increase, however, suppliers need to do their best to relate any such experiences to specific curriculum areas and try to break down as many of the barriers as possible that often restrict teachers from organising such trips.
This could include providing activity resource packs, not only for pupils whilst on trips, but also including activities for when they return to school. Produce adequate, detailed risk assessments and have available all the necessary information schools are required to gather. But more importantly, provide resources and guideance on how staff can evaluate any activities, and to gauge how successful they were, as this is a key part of the LOtC scheme.
Finally, making trips & visits cross-curricular is a big plus point in the eyes of the school – so where possible, try and incorporate this and ensure you highlight it to staff when they ask.
New suppliers on the School Suppliers Directory this week…
Administration > Sentinel Electronic Registration Systems
Administration > SG World
Administration > Tucasi
Communication > Enabling Communications
ICT > AB Consulting
School Lockers/Storage > Prefect Lockers and Equipment
Music > Drums Agogo – African drumming workshops
Music > Haydock Music Ltd
School Furniture > O.T.T. Pouch
School Furniture > Chris Nangle Furniture Design
School Suppliers Radun have announced the launch of a new biometric version of their already well-known electronic registration system.
The new system, Touch Registration combines the successful, user friendly Sentinel software, which has been used in schools and colleges throughout the UK for over 15 years, with the latest USB fingerprint recognition technology to log pupils in and out and produce comprehensive real-time attendance data. The fingerprint readers plug into the schools existing computers or laptops so there is no expensive and disruptive re-wiring required.
Rob Lewis, Product Manager for Sentinel, commented, “The Sentinel electronic registration system, which interfaces fully with SIMS and CMIS Facility, has been proven to reduce administration time and improve attendance. It produces a wide range of reports, including all required statutory attendance reports, which can be quickly and easily viewed and printed, enabling schools to effectively monitor attendance. The use of fingerprint technology eliminates the need for pupils to carry cards, which can be easily lost or forgotten.”
For further information about Touch Registration, or to arrange a free, no-obligation demonstration visit www.touch-registration.co.uk, email info@touch-registration.co.uk or call 01823 358911.
