What’s on at the Centres for St Helens Schools?

Teaching & Learning Opportunities

Initial session delivered via video conferencing in order to assist with preparation work prior to your visit to the CLC, for example, bookings related to:

• Podcasting
• Chroma Key
• Shadow Puppets
• Animation
• and much more

This is a fantastic opportunity for you and your pupils to engage in a 'live' interactive link up via video conferencing.

This will provide pupils with an insight into the learning which will take place, provide pupils and teacher with the opportunity to ask questions and to ensure full preparation is given prior to your visit to the centre.

You will be advised at the time of booking that you will be required to arrange a video conference, in advance of your visit to the centre.

This will generally be a '15 minute link-up' and will be arranged in close proximity to your visit to the centre, at a time to suit you.

Why not engage in our newly developed learning opportunities for Primary MFL/Transition – exciting and stimulating learning opportunities not to be missed!

Are You Confident in the Use of ICT?

Would You Like to Engage in Some Team Teaching?

Would you like to engage in some of the learning opportunities taking place at the centre without the need to transport your pupils up to the centre?

We are now able to deliver some of our learning opportunities from the centre via Video Conferencing, for example:

Our staff will deliver through the use of V.C equipment, to your school, this may be for example, the design process for the sublimation activities in which the CLC will take the lead role in delivering the session, facilitated by yourself at your school.

This could be done in several ways, depending on the size of your Learning Zone, i.e. this could be delivered to a full class or alternatively, smaller groups rotated at times to fit in with your timetable; in which case, it may be possible for your support staff to work with the pupils on these occasions.

Following completion of the design process, all designs can then be e-mailed to the centre at a later date.

You could arrange to supplement this with an additional link up via video conference in which pupils would be able to watch the sublimation process and speak to the 'expert' to ask questions and learn about the sublimation process.

This is a great opportunity for you to maximise use of the centres for other activities which cannot necessarily be delivered via video conferencing. This also has the added advantage of providing your staff and support staff with CPD. This is an ideal opportunity for team teaching!

Loan Equipment

We have a range of specialist equipment which can be loaned out to your school. This is also an ideal way for you to engage in some team teaching delivered from the CLC via video conferencing and will ensure that you receive CPD whilst utilising the equipment with your class in a 'supportive' environment. This will allow you to make use of the new technology/software, whilst being supported remotely from the CLC and will ensure that at a later stage, you are able to deliver yourself in school, without the need for support.

Simply decide on the learning opportunity you would like to engage in and we will deliver a lesson from the CLC to your school via video conferencing. This could for example be the delivery of Music Technology or any of our Apple Mac based software (for example Comic Life) to assist with delivering a part of the curriculum. As an example, comic life software is an excellent cross-curricular piece of software which pupils enjoy using to produce a piece of work in an enjoyable way.

In this situation, the CLC would commence with a starter activity in which to set the scene of the learning to take place and would be able to demonstrate to your class, through the use of our latest technology, the application we are using. From the children’s perspective, this would be akin to a virtual classroom situation. The teacher at the CLC will remain linked up to your class and will engage with both the teacher and class when necessary. The plenary session will pull together the learning which has taken place. Again, a wonderful opportunity not to be missed!

The loan of CLC Lego Mindstorm kit will assist you in the teaching of Control Technology and once again, can be delivered by us through the use of your Video Conferencing Equipment. This will provide you as a teacher with CPD and will increase your confidence to be able to deliver this exciting part of the curriculum, independently.

Enhance your Teaching and Learning Through the use of Video Conferencing Equipment

The Only Limitation is your Imagination!

A multitude of teaching and learning opportunities accessed via video conferencing are endless!! We are currently developing working groups who are in regular contact with each other through the use of video conferencing. If you have any ideas or are keen to form a working group to develop ways of enhancing the curriculum using V.C to deliver/link up to other schools, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Connecting to Other Schools Within the Local Authority!

What's Working?

Team teaching via the use of video conferencing is ideal. Would you like to deliver to another class whilst teaching your own class or engage your class in the delivery of another lesson, delivered by a different teacher in another school? All this is possible via the use of your video conferencing equipment.

Linking Up with Other Schools in the Authority is as Easy as Making a Telephone Call!

Schools are linking up to engage with other pupils, discussing projects which they are currently working on/have completed. This boosts the pupils’ confidence and develops speaking and listening skills as they deliver/talk to an 'audience'. Some schools are linking up with other schools to share ideas on Eco councils, school councils, ECM etc.

Please note, Conferencing to Authorities within the North West Learning Grid does not require a booking through JVCS (currently the support mechanism we use to conference out of the authority, please contact the centre for further details on how to do this).

The call is identical to the way in which we contact other schools within our own Authority. NWLG is developing a regional broadband education network linking schools and authorities in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and parts of Lancashire. The current members are Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Bury, Cheshire, Halton, Rochdale, Salford, Sefton, St Helens, Stockport, Trafford, Manchester, Oldham, Wirral, Liverpool, Warrington and Knowsley.

Primary MFL

Linking up with other schools in the authority who are studying the same language is an ideal opportunity for pupils to develop their speaking and listening skills and will develop confidence in preparation for linking up with schools in other countries.

We would encourage schools new to the teaching of Primary Modern Foreign Languages to utilise this exciting piece of equipment to link up with teachers and pupils in other primary/secondary schools to support/work collaboratively and excite the pupils’ learning, by providing pupils with the opportunity to demonstrate their newly acquired language skills.

Connecting to Other Schools Outside of the Local Authority

It is now possible to link up to other schools outside of the authority, generally, without incurring any costs, please contact the centre for further details on how to do this.

What's Working?

• Some schools have been linking up to other schools across the country to share work on for example, Comparing and Contrasting Localities, which has given pupils a greater insight into the geographical/historical ‘make-up’ of other cities/towns and raised cultural awareness, which, without this technology, would not have been possible.

• One of our schools has regular contact with a school in Northern Ireland through the use of their video conferencing equipment. This has greatly aided the cultural understanding of the pupils, has boosted the children’s speaking and listening skills, whilst exciting the pupils’ learning. These two schools continue to work collaboratively.

• Annual General Knowledge Quiz – A number of our primary schools have been involved in this exciting opportunity, following the SATs examinations. They have competed against each other in the battle to gain a place in the final against a school in Leeds to win the Grand Final inter-quiz trophy. This has been running for the last two academic years. Next year’s quiz will be targeted at High Schools.

• We have a number of schools across the country that are keen to engage in teaching and learning opportunities to excite, engage and enhance pupils’ learning. Are you keen to be involved in and work on developing projects? Please contact the centre for further details!

Which Other Organisations Am I Able to Video Conference With?

There are a large number of organisations (most of which are free of charge) who deliver content via video conferencing, namely in the style of workshops which can be booked at a time to suit you, details of which can be found from the following links:

National Archives

National Space Centre

Maths Motivate

Nelson Thorne's Distance Learning

National Maritime Museum

These are just a few content providers; however, there are lots more. It is worth visiting these sites on a regular basis to seek conferences which may assist with a particular area of the curriculum that you are about to teach, once again without the need to take pupils out of school for a visit. This is an excellent way to gain on teaching time in the classroom.

What's Also of Interest to us as a High School?

In addition to the loan equipment mentioned above, the two centres now have a range of specialist equipment which makes it possible for you to utilise, without the need to visit the centre if you so wish. This will make it far more accessible to you and your class as you are able to fit this into your lesson, at a time to suit you. It is possible to schedule a session with a tutor at the centre who is an 'expert' on using the specialist equipment and will engage in a live interactive session with your class, providing pupils with the opportunity to ask questions about the learning taking place. Schools have already been engaging with the CLC in this way, please refer to the section on 'Learning & Teaching Opportunities' to ensure you are providing your pupils with the opportunity to make use of equipment utilised in industry and are fully aware of the range of specialist equipment which is housed at the centres.

In Need of Additional V.C Equipment?

Speak to us regarding a project you have in mind and we will aim to loan you an additional piece of V.C equipment which can be located in your classroom/a suitable location which may be accessed by you and your class at times to suit you.

Additional Equipment to Enhance the Delivery of Lessons via V.C

We have on loan from the centre, a concert box which can easily be linked up to a laptop and provides the wonderful opportunity of sharing data from one remote site to another. This is ideal for sharing pupils' work and can also be used as a teaching tool to explain a particular aspect of your teaching/demonstrate the task in hand. We provide CPD on using this piece of equipment.

Further Training in the Use of your Video Conferencing Equipment?

If your school/department requires CPD/curriculum support with our video conferencing equipment, please see contact details below:-

Contact Details

For all curriculum queries, CPD, suggestions and information regarding the use of our video conferencing equipment, please contact Karen Lackenby at the centre on 01744 678050.

or alternatively, email: karen.lackenby@sthelens.org.uk