The National Grid for Learning

Dear Colleague,

We hope you had (are still having for some) a great Easter holiday and enjoyed the glorious weather.

Please read on for more information on:

• Platinum Jubilee Art Competition
• ERA Awards Winners
• Arctic Quest 22 Expedition
• Maths Week London & TeachMeet
• ReadingZoneLive BookClub Events
• CyberSecurity Schools Audit with NCSC
• FREE LGfL Training
• Recent Curriculum Blogs

Platinum Jubilee Art Competition

As you know LGfL has a dedicated resource for The Platinum Jubilee. 

LGfL in partnership with Royal Collection Trust is running an art competition to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The competition is an opportunity for pupils to create their own celebration to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee in the form of an original art creation. Submissions can be across different age ranges but no more than 10 in total per school.

The deadline for the competition is midday on Thursday 9th June 2022.

Across the age categories, there will be twelve designs chosen. The pieces of art will be specially printed (A2 print size) and displayed prominently in the Family Pavilion at Buckingham Palace between July and September 2022. 

The winners will also be invited to see their printed artwork in Buckingham Palace on a chosen date in September (yet to be confirmed).

ERA Education Resources Awards 2022 

LGfL achieved great success at the Education Resource Awards on the 6th May in Birmingham. An unprecedented three ERA awards were won with a highly commended entry also achieved. Find out the full details here

Winners and Quotes From The Judges:

• Supplier of the Year 

“Judges were impressed by LGfL’s long history of outstanding service to schools in deprived areas. With a wide range of digital resources for schools, which are commended highly by those it supports. Judges could clearly see the impact of support during Covid 19 and noted that their customers speak highly of impact of devices.”

• Free Educational Resources (Child Bereavement). A summary video of this important resource can be viewed here

“Our judges described The Child Bereavement Toolkit as an amazing, sensitive resource which helps staff in school, learners, parents and guardians to support one another through the bereavement process and praised it as a really important resource for supporting a community in bereavement from a trusted Q.A source.”

Special Award for Outstanding Achievement in Education:

• John Jackson - LGfL CEO received a special award in recognition of his leadership of LGfL and its transformation from a London based service provider to become the National Grid for Learning providing key resources and services to the education sector during Covid.

Highly Commended:

• Hardware (Picoh Robot in partnership with LGfL)
  During 2021, LGfL undertook a pilot with 4 LGfL schools to explore the potential of the Picoh Robot head. There is an inclusion case study filmed with Waterside Primary School showing how they used the Picoh to explore its support for pupil self-expression which can be viewed here.

Arctic Quest 22 Expedition

Following the success of Quest 21 (please see here), we are pleased to announce Arctic Quest 22. Once again, there are a variety of opportunities to get involved in:

• LGfL School Logo on the flag - Friday 20th May
• Expedition Logo Competition - Friday 20th May
• Writing Competition - Deadline Wed 25th May
• Pupil Event - Meet the Explorer -  Thursday 26th May
• Post Expedition Pupil event - Tuesday 12th July 

You can also follow Quest 22 Live - visit here to create a profile

Please complete the form below to let us know which opportunities you would like to be informed about:

Maths Week London

We are delighted to be supporting Maths Week London, taking place 27 June - 1 July 2022. Maths Week London’s mission is to ignite a love of maths in children across the capital. Numeracy is a vital skill and we believe it can and should be enjoyable, relatable and accessible.

Join in the celebration and register below to take part!

The Virtual TeachMeet is back! It is an invitation to talk about anything you’ve seen/experienced that works well (or perhaps doesn’t). It will be a chance to share with colleagues a range of different ideas and take something new back to your own classroom.

When? Thursday 23rd June 2022, 15:45 – 17:00 

Where? Online Zoom

Cost? FREE

ReadingZone Live BookClub Events

Join the ReadingZone Bookclub programme of free virtual author events this term. The bookclub is aimed at classrooms keen to develop a love of reading and is aimed at ages 5-11 years. 

• Revisit Journey to the River Sea with Emma Carroll's sequel
  Friday 10th June, 2pm - 2.45pm For Years 5 & 6 
• Phil Earle introduces When the Storm Rages
  Friday 17th June, 1.45pm - 2.30pm For Years 5, 6 & 7 (Please note the earlier time for this event).

To sign up for any of these free events, and for more details, email info@readingzone.com

CyberSecurity Audit Tools with NCSC

We are pleased to once again be working with the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC, part of GCHQ) to take a snapshot of the state of cybersecurity in all UK schools in our cybersecurity schools audit.

The survey is live now at securityaudit.lgfl.net (English and Welsh versions) and is open until the end of May.

LGfL Training

Online training events are free for all school staff to attend (*with the exception of the Designated Safeguarding Lead Training which we offer to LGfL customers only). Please click the button below to see the extensive training programme available. (You should also be receiving a Summer 2 listing very shortly before the Half Term holiday).

LGfL EdTech Online Hub Event - 7th June 2022

‘Preparing for a successful September: where next for EdTech in your classroom, school and community’

This panel discussion will feature lead practitioners from the Tower Hamlets and West Midlands EdTech Hubs and will be chaired by Ty Goddard from EdTech UK

Key topics covered will include:

• The Critical Role of Senior Leaders - How to develop a coherent vision and lead the changes required

• Covid Keepers - How to consolidate on the gains made during the period of remote learning and school closure

• White Paper Implications - Opportunities to embed EdTech in school improvement planning

• #Pedtech - Understanding the relationship between pedagogy and technology and how it impacts successful adoption.

On Tuesday 7th June 2022 16:00-17:00 via Zoom.

Recent Curriculum Blogs

• The Queen's Platinum Jubilee 2022
• Walk to School Week 2022

Some of you get may get this e-mail when a colleague forwards it to you; if that's you, do consider signing yourself up to keep up to date. 

Don't forget there's lots happening at LGfL for other areas of the school beyond the curriculum:

• Low stock on our Bridge the Divide Chromebooks - below cost price
• Free Security School Report with CyberCloud
• Other free training from LGfL teams
• Find out all we do beyond broadband here or make the most of your subscription here
• Sign up for one of the other newsletters

Regards,
Your Learning Resource Consultants
Laura Smith and Bradley Dardis

Join our growing community