Social Bookmarking

In an attempt to get our site ranked higher in Google we have gone down the line of Social Bookmarking. So follow me on my adventure of Social Bookmarking and if you have any suggestions I am more than happy to listen to them. Visit our Squidoo lens with info on Jolly Phonics. Add yourself as a fan of our Facebook page, Stumble us or Digg our site. We will be watching over the next few months to see what kind of resluts we are getting. We look forward to getting to know our customers and learning all about Social Bookmarking.

Sats Test

From BBC Website

The Sats tests could end next year, Schools Secretary Ed Balls has hinted.
They may be replaced by assessments tailored to the ability of each child, he told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
The national tests are taken by about one million children aged seven, 11 and 14 across England each May, but this year's marking was a "fiasco", he said.
A five-year contract with ETS Europe was scrapped after it failed to get papers marked in time, and the next contract will be for one year only.
"The current system is not set in stone," said Mr Balls.
"We are looking currently at a way in which we could assess progress child by child with individual level tests where the tests would be chosen in a way which was right for the child, rather than everybody doing the same test on the same day.
"For 2009, we are going to do the same kind of tests as in previous years before the problems with ETS, but for the long term I am really keen to get this right, to listen."

New pupils have to stay until 17

From the BBC Website

Children starting secondary schools in England this week will be the first to be legally required to stay in education until they are 17.
The rise in the age at which pupils can end their studies is just one of several changes taking effect in English schools this term.
New diplomas for subjects such as engineering and construction are also being phased in.
Head teachers say too many initiatives are being introduced at once.
The increase in the education leaving age is the first such change since 1972, when it was raised from 15 to 16.
There are also major changes to the curriculum for 11 to 14-year-olds and to GCSEs and A-levels. The latter will have a new A* grade to help distinguish the very best exam candidates.
But the head of the Association of School and College Leaders, has warned that too much change is happening all at once.
The rise in the leaving age is part of a previously announced government policy to have pupils continue in some form of education or training education to the age of 18. This will take effect for school leavers from 2015.

Do you Know your child's Learning Style

What do we mean by learning styles? It is the way a child concentrates on, absorbs, processes and retains what they are learning. We all have a preferred way of, learning not just children. For example, do you prefer to read instructions or would you just get on with something and figure it out as you go along.

Learning Styles fall in three primary categories.

Auditory
Kinesthetic
Visual

Auditory - children can often follow directions very precisely after being told only once or twice what to do. Some auditory learners concentrate better when they have music in the background, enjoy talking and something may even talk to themselves, they may prefer listening to a story rather than reading one.

Kinesthetic - children usually like to play games and are very active. When learning anything new they will want to get on with it rather than read instruction or listen. Hence they may also fidget and won't be able to sit still for long periods.

Visual - children will prefer to see pictures, colours, maps and drawings. They will enjoy watching a demonstration rather than listening to a story or even just talking about something. They will enjoy drawing and especially doodling.

Knowing your child's learning style can help you, not only when they start school but at home when you are looking for things to do to keep them occupied. Sitting them down to watch the TV when playing a board games would be more appropriate, or going to the cinema when they would prefer to play in the park, can make parents life a little easier.

Sats Results

From the BBC Website


The company behind the late delivery of England's school test results faces penalties that could cost it "tens of millions", the exams watchdog has said.
Giving evidence to MPs, Ken Boston of the QCA, revealed that at one point there were 10,000 e-mail enquiries from markers unanswered by ETS Europe.
Some 70 staff from the National Assessment Agency (NAA) went in to help and a second call centre was set up.
ETS has apologised already and says the situation will not be repeated.
Dr Boston told the children, schools and families select committee that there had been weekly meetings involving the NAA and ETS since last September and daily meetings since the beginning of May.
But ETS repeatedly assured the regulator that it would deliver the results by the 8 July deadline, despite the widespread anecdotal evidence that all was not well.
It was not until 26 June that it had formally notified him that it would not do so, he said.
Onscreen marking
A concern now was next year's test series.
"And the clock is ticking - it's a two-and-a-half year development cycle," he said.
He suggested the answer was on-screen marking, now used for more than half of GCSE examinations and many of the A-levels - but not these "key stage" tests.
"We need to move as quickly as possible to on-screen marking for key stage tests: fast, reliable, secure."
This was the one aspect of what he famously described on his appointment as the "cottage industry" of England's exam system that had not changed in recent years.
But it would not be possible to implement this for 2009.
He stressed that ETS had been responsible for the logistics of the operation.
The people doing the marking were essentially the same as in previous years and there was no reason at the moment to believe the quality of the marking was in doubt "despite the stories and fears that are abroad".
Bidders
The watchdog was asked whether it was true that the reason many of the big exam boards had not bid for the test contract was that they regarded it as having been badly drawn up - and had written to tell him so.
He said he would have to look back over his correspondence from 2006.
But there had been five "very solid" bidders, shortlisted to three from which ETS had been selected after a highly thorough procurement process.
Dr Boston chose his words carefully but said there were "very significant penalty clauses" in the contract and the QCA would be seeking commercial and legal remedies from ETS.
He said there was "reputational damage" in relation to "a failure at this level" that would concern any large company.
"That probably is as significant as the financial penalties which could run into the tens of millions," he said.
Ultimately ETS could lose the three-year contract, he said, but the QCA's approach at present was to work with it to solve the problems.
The committee also asked Dr Boston to send it his own contract of employment.
Blame
He was asked by the committee chair, Barry Sheerman, whether he was saying the blame for what had happened lay with the private sector company's shortcomings.
Dr Boston said there were three parties involved:
The government, which in 2006 had determined what it wanted from the tests
The QCA may well have made mistakes too which might have caused problems
ETS may also have made some very significant mistakes
He said his staff had been "very hands on" in dealing with problems as they had unearthed them.
All these matters would be investigated by the inquiry into the failure, to be led by former Ofsted chief Lord Sutherland.
The marking of the Key Stage 2 tests (taken by 11-year-olds) was complete, he said, and almost all results would be published on Tuesday.
The Key Stage 3 results (14-year-olds) were substantially complete in maths and science but English took longer to mark and it could be into the school summer holidays before all are available.