The Benefits Of Integrating eLearning Into Primary School Science Lessons (Hannah McCarthy)

The value placed on incorporating eLearning into many fields of education has seen a tremendous increase in recent years. eLearning is a broad term used to describe electronic media and virtual teaching materials. The extent of eLearning tools available is vast, since it includes forms of audio material, images, animations, videos and text. Although there have been many web-based eLearning activities created, it is not the only form on offer; CD-ROMS, audio tapes, video tapes and television can all be mediums through which this special learning style can be delivered.

eLearning is particularly effective in primary schools, not least because one of its great advantages is that it is extremely engaging, naturally interactive and incorporates many different techniques to suit the various learning styles. Although there are a lot of children who will already be familiar with technology from a young age, it provides children with wider access to these new opportunities, whether they are already tech-savvy or have not had as much experience with such equipment.

There is much value in using eLearning in primary school science lessons in particular. It is a fantastic way for teachers to show pupils the many different aspects of science in the curriculum, but it also allows children to appreciate certain features on a much wider level as well. For example, virtual experiments can be shown, or set up, for the children to conduct themselves. This provides an ideal supplement to practical projects, either by offering additional visual material as well as materials the teacher already uses, such as written text.

Furthermore, experiments can be shown that the school would usually be unable to set up themselves, particularly if there are constraints in terms of time or available resources. As a result, pupils can become familiar with experimental procedures, even if not conducting the experiment themselves. By using eLearning video tools, students can also watch experiments progress at a much faster rate than if they waited for results in the classroom, because observed events can be recorded straight away and put together to show the experiment's progression. This provides teachers with more time to ensure that their pupils have a full understanding of the events that are unfolding, rather than always having to conduct the experiment in the classroom.

Improved communication in the classroom is another great advantage of eLearning in science lessons. Depending on the resource being used, children are encouraged to work together and communicate with each other to solve a problem or discuss the results of an experiment. At the same time, it also enables teachers to effectively monitor their pupils' progress, since this can be shown when children complete various tasks. It does not matter whether eLearning is used as an activity at school, or whether it constitutes some of the homework tasks given to children to complete in their own time.

eLearning certainly enhances the educational experiences of children and adults alike, but introducing it at primary school level is definitely advantageous and extremely worthwhile. Children obtain a much more extensive knowledge on a chosen topic than they may otherwise have, given inevitable limitation on time and resources available in standard classroom lessons. Depending on the task in hand, it encourages children to not only work and think independently when completing tasks, but also to co-operate with their classmates and teachers. Importantly, it can be used to appeal to many different learning styles and creates a sense of fun and excitement around the given topic to be studied, engaging everyone together. What's more, it is an extremely enjoyable way to inspire pupils.

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Helping Primary Pupils Who Have Limited English (Hannah McCarthy)

The number of children entering UK schools who have limited English or who can't speak it at all is increasing. This means that language barriers in classrooms are becoming an ever more common problem, one which head teachers and staff will have to work hard to address to keep their school's standards high and avoid criticism from Ofsted.

The growing number of pupils whose first language is not English has seen some schools in certain regions come to comprise of more non-native English speakers than English-speaking children. In schools where there are such statistics teachers are likely to find it a struggle to get their pupils to the required standards especially as sometimes children who can't speak English may have limited opportunities to speak with fluent peers.

In February, the papers were all talking about the first discovered primary school to have an entire student base made up of pupils learning English as an additional language (EAL), which, despite the hurdles and challenges it faced, managed to achieve a 'good' rating from Ofsted. If Gladstone Primary, with 450 pupils speaking 20 different languages managed to overcome its previous 'inadequate' Ofsted rating after just over a year, then surely there are some practices schools can employ to make sure all their pupils, whatever their mother tongue, can do their best?

Methods for helping EAL pupils
Some practices which Gladstone Primary and other primary schools with a diverse student body have used to good effect include buddy systems and mentoring. Gladstone's buddy system partners pupils with English speaking pupils from other schools so that they can play and learn together in each other's schools once a fortnight. For the English speaker, this helps them to learn about other cultures while the non-English speaker benefits from learning English from a peer in a casual and fun environment where they are less shy. Schools which have a mixture of English speakers and non-English speakers can do this within their own school to encourage integration. In Cambridge, the Bell Foundation has launched an initiative to have sixth formers from local private secondary schools trained to act as special mentors.

Other outside help some schools use are teaching assistants. Some primary schools have employed people from the community who speak one or more foreign languages to assist in classes and help children having any difficulty with the English so that they can follow and keep up with the lesson.

Teachers themselves can also do a lot to help their students with limited English. Aside from being encouraging and approachable, there are various techniques teachers can use to lighten the environment so that children aren't afraid to ask questions. Running through the English vocabulary for a new topic at the start of the lesson suggests to children that they are not expected to know every word so they don't have to worry if they stumble across something new. Equally, providing a running commentary through lessons ensures that teachers help students to match objects to words.

Lastly, the schools which are really successful when it comes to integrating their EAL pupils and helping them with their English are those which reach out to the parents. Having a good website, language help for parent's evenings and parent workshops encourages foreign parents to take an interest in their child's learning without feeling intimidated.

Hannah McCarthy works for Education City, which provides eLearning teaching resources, for maths, English, science and foreign languages. Education City's website also provides resources for learning English as an additional language.

Celebrating Success Stories With The Pupil Premium Awards (Hannah McCarthy)

The Pupil Premium Awards have been established to celebrate effective use of the Pupil Premium to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils. From its introduction in 2011, the Pupil Premium has been an invaluable source of funding for schools, amounting to an impressive ?900 per pupil eligible for free school meals (FSM) for the year 2013-2014. Using the funding appropriately to get the most out of it can prove a challenge for schools though, particularly those which receive a lot of funding and which are therefore expected to achieve a lot. That's why the government has decided to make an active effort to recognise schools who do well, rewarding them with prizes and holding them up as an example to inspire other schools via the Pupil Premium Awards.

Schools can nominate themselves for the awards but there are helpful guidelines they should consider to see how appropriate a nomination is for their school that year. For example, schools which narrow the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils are unlikely to be rewarded if the overall standards of attainment have dropped. This is because the funding has been allocated with the objective of improving attainment across all disadvantaged pupils, whether they were high achievers before or not; it is not designed to fund 'catch up' programmes. Schools which do submit themselves for consideration must be prepared to provide evidence that objectively demonstrates how they have used their Pupil Premium funding to achieve measurable progression among their disadvantaged pupils.

The best schools in each English region will be recognised and regional winners will go on to the final where overall prizes will be announced, which, according to the Deputy Prime Minister's announcement last year, could be anything up to ?10,000. The reception will take place in London, this year on the 8th of July. The awards are to be judged by an independent panel of education experts who will be looking for the continued use of innovation and professionalism to achieve progression among disadvantaged pupils within the selected schools. All regional and national winners will be recognised.

Unfortunately, the closing date for this year passed in April so schools which have not entered should set their sights on next year if they think that their school deserves attention. In order to prepare, schools need to establish a logging system so that they can collect objective data on the attainment of their disadvantaged pupils which can be used as evidence. Without this data, schools are unlikely to be considered. Schools can also submit supporting material but it must be relevant to their entry and cannot exceed three documents of a maximum of 2 pages long. Most of all though, to really be in with a chance of winning prizes for their schools, Head teachers and staff need to think of innovative ways in which they can use their Pupil Premium allocation to make a lasting and obvious difference within their school. There have been many successful programmes across the country including mentoring, one to one tutoring, after school clubs and many other ideas so schools will have to find what works for them. Schools which do help their disadvantaged pupils are a success in themselves whether it is recognised or not but a Pupil Premium Award is certainly an added bonus. Hannah McCarthy works for Education City, a supplier of primary teaching resources and modules. With extensive information about the Pupil Premium the Education City website offers helpful information and resources which their glowing testimonials from schools attest to.