Brighton Steiner School are hosting a Festival of Steiner Education on 26th & 27th September 2008 giving families a chance to discover for themselves what Steiner education is really about. Many parents, concerned at the emotional costs of a targets-driven approach to education, are looking ‘over the fence’ to see how the Steiner approach to education differs, and what it might offer their children.

We have worked very closely in recent years with many schools and colleges, helping them to develop both financial and other key administrative systems to handle the relentless and ever changing Government demands intended to streamline the efficiency of education at all levels in this country. 

Schools which most successfully revive after being labelled failures have strong leadership, self-knowledge and sense of identity, Ofsted says.

The leading voice of the independent schools sector has resigned after two months after sparking controversy by criticising state schools.

The "poorest-performing schools" in England are being threatened with closure if they do not improve.

William Atkinson, a head teacher who turned around a struggling west London school, has been made a knight in the Queen's birthday honours.

There is to be a renewed emphasis on mental mathematics in England's primary schools, with 13,000 maths specialists to spearhead better teaching.

Children's minds are being damaged by a culture of therapy in the classroom, a leading educationalist has argued.

East Midlands based specialist IT company, Primo IT, has won a place on a major framework agreement supplying a variety of IT Related Accessories and Parts (ITRAP) to education purchasing consortia up and down the country including HEPCW, LUPC, NEUPC, NWUPC and SUPC.

The Holgate School in Hucknall has raised over £700 for charity with the support of local school uniform supplier Price & Buckland.

Almost one in five secondary schools in England is to be given a warning to improve exam results or face closure.

Only half the extra resources meant to help educate children from the poorest backgrounds reaches the schools that they actually attend, a report says.

More than one and a half million young people in England are to become eligible for £7,000 each to spend on improving their qualifications.

A group of parents who dreamed of having a school in their village have seen their dream come true - they have been given permission to open one.

The use of teaching assistants in schools should be subject to much tighter controls, a union has said.

A leading education college in Dorset is using the 2012 Olympics as a springboard to get its sports facilities in shape.

Gleeds, the International Management and Construction Consultancy, has just completed their work as Contract Administrators and Cost Consultants for the new £11.3 million Creative Arts building at the University of Huddersfield.

The Government has been applauded for its radical new initiative to get young people from deprived areas involved in large-scale orchestral music projects.

Lord Coe says the London Olympic games will leave a positive educational legacy by "changing attitudes" among young people. The chairman of the 2012 organising committee rejected the stereotyping of young people as "hoodies".

20 star judges. 3 musical genres. 1 amazing opportunity

Could you or someone you know be the the next Oscar-winning film composer, world-famous orchestral composer or a jazz pioneer?

CFS Carpets has supplied textile and fibre bonded carpets and carpet tiles into hundreds of educational establishments for over 25 years. Ranges such as Chinook and New Typhoon broad and narrow rib fibre bonded products have become firm favourites with contractors and specifiers throughout the UK. CFS Carpets also has several ranges of extremely hard wearing textile carpets and carpet tiles that are suitable for use in communal areas, staff rooms and halls of residence. CFS Carpets products are regularly specified in large universities and City Academies.

Versatility and all round performance make resin flooring an ideal choice for schools, says Patrick Lundie of interior surfaces specialists Altro. 

Wacom today announces a UK ‘Certified Education Partner' programme, which will enable educational institutions and students to purchase Wacom products from specially selected, certified dealers at a discounted rate. As well as offering educational pricing, the certified dealers will be able to provide advanced Wacom product advice to ensure that educational customers find the most appropriate Wacom solution for their requirements.

Worn, torn and unfixed floor matting is costing retailers and the public sector millions of pounds unnecessarily, according to Ben Colbourne, Director of fixed matting specialist, Gripfit.

That simple phrase uttered by parents has frustrated and annoyed maths teachers for years.  It not only eats away at the pupils' willingness to work at maths, but also gives them an excuse for not worrying about it.

Saville Audio Visual has completely redesigned its corporate website at www.saville-av.com. Designed and built entirely in-house by the company's studio design team, the site now has a clean, fresh look, with easy navigation through the company's six main areas of operation.

Advanced Hygienic Cladding has recently been selected to install new shower enclosures, utilising the company's maintenance-free rigid PVC wall cladding system, in the new multi-purpose sports hall of St. Bede's School, The Dicker, near Hailsham, East Sussex.

Mindjet®, the global leader in software that enables people to visually organise, communicate and act on their ideas, recently announced Mindjet Connect. Mindjet Connect is an all-new SaaS platform that helps people achieve breakthrough insight into their work by visually tying together all of the ideas, information and people related to any project or plan. Available in September, it extends the capabilities of MindManager®, the company's flagship mind mapping product. 

With obesity levels rising and school meals increasingly hitting the headlines, there is more pressure than ever on schools to provide a healthy choice for pupils. Booth Wood County Primary School in Loughborough, Leicestershire is leading the way with a thriving breakfast club offering healthy food in a safe learning environment, now aided superbly by a professional slot toaster from catering equipment specialist Hatco.    

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and this is especially true for growing minds and bodies. However, research suggests that more children are missing out on breakfast due to time constraints in working households.

The Government announced a raft of new proposals last month aimed at tackling the problem of "failing" schools. A total of 638 schools were identified in this category and as many as 270 could be threatened with closure.

A recent incident in a Scottish school has demonstrated that rather than going away, the problem of arson remains one of the major challenges faced by those seeking to protect life and property from fire.  St Stephen's High School in Port Glasgow was the victim of an attack by local youths who torched a petrol can taken from a cycle shed.  Only quick thinking by the school's janitor, who called the fire brigade before using a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, prevented what could have been a major fire.

Have you thought about your fire alarm installation recently? No? Then maybe you should, particularly as the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (RRFSO) has now abolished the old system of fire certificates and placed the responsibility for fire protection firmly with the occupier and/or user of a building.

In line with recent legislation, those responsible for fire safety in the education sector must ensure that fire doors are properly installed and maintained. Because fire doors work like any other door it's easy to forget that they need regular maintenance if they are to perform properly and save both lives and property. 

Maintaining the integrity of fire compartment walls and floors in buildings often depends on the effective fire sealing around service penetrations, such as cables and pipes. To ensure the most stringent fire requirements are met, Rockwool has now launched its own high quality coated batts at extremely competitive prices.

School trips are probably among the most valuable learning tools available to teachers. However, with the excitement that comes from leaving the classroom behind, there is also trepidation at the thought of managing a group of students in an unfamiliar situation. Yet, with careful planning and preparation, it should be possible to organise trips to even the most exotic destinations without encountering unexpected difficulties. Education Today asks an expert for advice:

Approximately 7 million pupil visits already take place every year. From a geography field trip to a week at a residential activity centre, out of classroom education can help bring a subject to life.

Recent years have seen monumental investment within education, it seems almost every week another Government policy is unveiled and a new multimillion pound school opens its doors to the local community. The IT suites, the sports facilities and media centres are all kitted out with cutting edge equipment but still school furniture widely remains unchanged.

The famous BRIT School in Croydon is the latest education establishment which has turned to Railex Systems for a mobile storage system - rapidly becoming the design of choice for the teaching sector - and reflecting the Railex pedigree as the longest established British manufacturer in its field. .

Quality, flexibility and a ‘wow' factor were all criteria that led Horizon Primary school to source its new furniture from Kinnarps.

Infants and pre school children will love sitting on these miniature grown up chairs from Gopak's soft seating range. Vibrant and soft, these durable chairs are perfect for group talks or reading areas.

Evidence from the back pain charity, BackCare, suggests that 25% of all school pupils have time off for back pain and 20% of pupils suffer recurrent back pain by the age of 16, often as a result of sitting at desks and on chairs that are the wrong height.

School and university caterers are increasingly being encouraged to use healthier recipes and more raw ingredients to provide freshly cooked meals. This means that children and students can now expect better quality and more nutritious food, less processed food, and healthier more balanced meals.

Biddle Air Systems is promoting a new version of its highly successful Innovair heat and ventilation unit.  Innovair School has been specifically designed to comply with the latest regulations for fresh air ventilation in Britain's classrooms.

Cistermiser's new AV Range is a specialist vandal resistant range of touch activated washroom controls for use in high risk or demanding public environments, such as schools, sports facilities and secures accommodation.

The multipurpose sports hall at Huddersfield's Shelley College has been given a new lease of life following the installation of  700m2 of Polyflor Sport 67 indoor sports flooring, complete with line markings.

Library furniture and learning resource suppliers LFC launch two new e-catalogues that transform static printed pages to give customers an environmentally friendly option to browse for the latest, innovative products.

This book is intended to help trainee and newly qualified teachers come to grips with the daily lesson planning required from them. It shows how the time spent planning good lessons can help to ensure that time in the classroom is effective, productive and enjoyable.

Concise, simple, yet motivating and inspiring, Haigh's book hones in on the essential ‘big' ideas behind the craft of teaching, condensing them into manageable sections which can be put into practice in the classroom from Day One.

From monitoring access control and intrusion detection to surveillance for vandalism, arson, burglary and bullying, a well planned and maintained security system not only creates a safe and secure learning environment for pupils, staff and the wider community, but it is also much easier to install than many people would think.

From the smallest school to the largest city campus, protecting critical infrastructure and maintaining a learning environment which is safe and secure from internal incidents and external threats doesn't happen without proper planning and engaging the right security taskforce.

We are currently seeing the largest ever capital investment in our schools throughout England via the £45 billion ‘Building Schools for the Future' (BSF) project and the £7 billion ‘Primary Capital Programme' (PCP). Ten percent of this investment will be allocated to the provision of ICT facilities. It is therefore essential when planning this provision that security is a key priority!

Schools face a variety of risks, ranging from vandalism, to the theft of computer equipment and all these issues are superseded by the need to ensure a safe environment for children and staff. A holistic approach to security must be considered to counter these risks and secure your school, explains the British Security Industry Association's Kiri Gray.

In today's schools, management teams are under pressure to provide far more than high standards of education. In order to achieve their prime objective, Head Teachers, Financial Managers, Governors and Local Education Authorities are also responsible for providing cost-effective security, to enable the smooth day-to-day running of their premises. With acts of vandalism, arson, and theft driving-up insurance premiums, and threats against staff on the increase, the provision of effective security systems able to deter and detect such incidents is crucial; to help to protect pupils, employees and property.

Many of the best ideas come as a spin-off from developing a product for a particular, but different use.

Designed for use by the utilities, water and waste and local government departments, the new Draeger Polytron 3000 is an intrinsically safe gas detector for the continuous monitoring of toxic gases and oxygen in ambient air.   Featuring innovative "docking station" and transmitter technology, it offers a very low cost of ownership, is simple to maintain and eliminates the need for traditional service.

As part of the health and safety directive in schools and colleges of further education, Showers & Eyebaths Services Ltd has been working with Greater Manchester-based Wigan and Leigh College in the provision of effective on-the-spot emergency eye and face wash facilities.