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NEWS
WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT 2008 CEREMONIES
The tenth anniversary year of the Teaching Awards reaches another high point next week with the first of 13 summer ceremonies across the UK.
Cheers and applause will greet the names of 413 finalists in 11 categories, beginning at Canterbury Cathedral on June 10 and ending with a flourish at London's Café Royal on July 1.
 
As usual, finalists are invited to bring colleagues, pupils and family members to join in the party atmosphere. A number of VIPs will be presenting awards including Lord Puttnam, Baroness Shirley Williams and Henry Winkler, aka The Fonz, star of the American tv hit sitcom 'Happy Days'.
 
 

Supporters from St Brigids Primary School
Henry is the author of a gently humorous series of children's books, based on his childhood experiences, about a dyslexic boy called Hank Zipzer – 'the world's greatest underachiever'.
At the London ceremony, Henry will talk about the influence of his teachers, particularly his music teacher in high school, Mr Rock, who believed in him and who is now a character in the Hank Zipzer books. They are published by Walker Books this summer and serialized in First News, the children's newspaper.
New venues for the Awards ceremonies this year include The Sage at Gateshead, the Riviera Centre at Torquay and the Arena and Convention Centre in Liverpool, European Capital City of Culture.
WINNERS’ UPDATE
URBAN CHINA LINKS WITH VILLAGE SCHOOL
     
  The Whitsun break is becoming a popular time for school staff to build links with schools abroad – and some go further than others.  
 

Elisabeth Sladen and Jim McManners from Cassop Primary School
 
Jim McManners, headteacher of the 2007 DCSF Sustainable School of the Year, travelled from Cassop, his 110-pupil village primary in County Durham, to the 1,200-pupil Xixiang Number 2 School at Shenzhen, a city of 10 million people. It was his second visit.
 
'Everything is on a massive scale,' said Jim whose commitment to sustainability feeds his interest in urban China. 'The Friday morning assembly was spectacular, with all the children doing exercises in unison and marching. When I gave a lesson in front of 100 parents the children lined up afterwards for my autograph!'
 
     
 
Last month Cassop's international reputation grew with the opening, by Government minister Kevin Brennan MP, of an environmental laboratory. The new lab has two wind tunnels in which children from visiting schools can demonstrate turbines they have designed and made. Cassop's Victorian school site has a wind turbine and solar panels which export electricity to the National Grid.
 
'The Government's aim is for every school to be a sustainable school by 2020,' said Mr Brennan. 'I'd like to thank Cassop Primary School for leading the way and setting such an excellent example for everyone to aspire to.'
 

Children from Cassop Primary School: DCSF Sustainable School of the Year
 
WOMEN IN SCIENCE GET A VOTE

Who is the female scientist that you most admire – living or dead? That's a question being posed at Cheltenham Science Festival today by participants in L'Oreal's campaign 'For Women in Science'.
     
  Zoe Bidmead, winner of the 2006 Guardian Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, was invited to a Festival discussion to propose her own favourite female scientist. She joins a panel of eminent women in the field including Patricia Fara, a fellow of Clare College, Cambridge and author of Scientists Anonymous, and five female students from University College, London.  
     
  L'Oreal's 'For Women in Science' is concerned that, despite women being at the forefront of advances in many scientific disciplines, they are not represented equally; women make up just a quarter of those in research.  
     
  A website showcasing women's contribution to science and its impact on the world is also being launched today at www.womeninscience.co.uk. Visitors will be invited to add more names.  
     
 

 Zoe Bidmead, advanced skills teacher of science
 
Zoe, an advanced skills teacher at North Kesteven School, Lincoln, is herself helping to combat the shortage of science teachers in schools by featuring in a recruitment film made by the Training and Development Agency for Schools.
 
She was filmed teaching Year 9 students about aerodynamics in a lesson called 'Mission to Mars'. 'Science will never be the same again,' said one of Zoe's students, 'because we simply don't know what she is going to come up with next!'
 
 
WINNER RUBS SHOULDERS WITH BUSINESS GURUS
Nick Wergan, UK winner of the 2007 TDA Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year, who gave up a career in the City for a career in teaching, will visit Downing Street next month as a guest of Business in the Community (BITC), a charity of HRH Prince of Wales.
 
Later in the day (July 7) Nick will co-present the Merrill Lynch Education Award, supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, at the Royal Albert Hall alongside Sir Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks and Spencer, and Lionel Barber, editor of the Financial Times.
 

Nick Wergan and Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families
 
The BITC Awards for Excellence identify and celebrate businesses that have made a significant contribution to their local community, environment, market or workplace. The Award for Education, for which TA chief executive Caroline Evans is also a judge, recognises sustained partnerships between companies and schools.
Nick, head of English at Sackville School, East Grinstead will be moving at the end of term. In September he becomes an assistant head at Blatchington Mill School, Brighton and Hove.
OPPORTUNITIES
EXCELLENCE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 
The General Teaching Council for England will soon have the honour of presenting the 'GTC Award for Excellence in Professional Development' at all 13 Teaching Awards ceremonies over the next three weeks.
 
The Award, which was piloted in three English regions in 2007 and has now been extended, is given in memory of Carol Adams, the GTC's founding chief executive.
 
Professional development is a key focus of the GTC's research and education policy advice. The GTC also supports teachers' learning and development through its professional networks and Teacher Learning Academy (TLA).
Through the TLA, teachers gain recognition for their own learning and are encouraged to work with existing research, gather their own evidence, evaluate and reflect. They are supported to enrich their own and their pupils' learning, to innovate and to share their discoveries with colleagues. More information about the Teacher Learning Academy is available at www.gtce.org.ukl/tla
FAMILY LEARNING FESTIVAL
This October the Campaign for Learning is extending its annual family learning campaign into a month of celebration called the Family Learning Festival. Last year thousands of family activities, from 'fun with numbers' to bread making, were organised by schools across the country.
Running an event during the Festival and welcoming family involvement can provide the perfect platform to strengthen relationships with parents and promote schools within communities.
 
Activities can be used to introduce parents in an informal way to the school curriculum, to overcome barriers around education and build confidence. As a result of taking part last year one school has reported a 50% increase in attendance at parents' evenings among parents who don't normally attend.
 

Parents get involved in Campaign for Learning
The Campaign for Learning can help schools with tips on organising events, promotional goodies and activity ideas – all under the umbrella of a national celebration.
Their website, www.familylearningweek.com  has all the information you need to get involved. Alternatively, you can email the team at flw@cflearning.org.uk  or call 020 7766 0001 for a chat.
EDUCATIONAL EVENTS
Date Event Information
15 June BT Giant Sleepover

The giant sleepover is for children aged 5-16 years old.

On the night of Saturday 14 June 2008, thousands of children all around the world will join together to have lots of fun and to raise money for Save the Children. For further information or to get involved click here.

2 July 9.30–3.30pm Reading for Pleasure : the importance of poetry in schools

At the Guardian Newsroom, 60 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3GA.

Full day conference for primary and secondary teachers on inspiring and spreading a love of poetry in schools. Speakers include poet Roger McGough and Claire Armitstead, the Guardian's literary editor.

For further information click here.

Email newsroom.education@guardian.co.uk  or phone 0207 886 9806/7.
 
To share your news and updates in the Teaching Awards E-Brief, please call
Sarah Bayliss on 020 7736 2340 or email sarahb@teachingawards.com

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