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Important update from TheSchoolRun

For the past 13 years, TheSchoolRun has been run by a small team of mums working from home, dedicated to providing quality educational resources to primary school parents. Unfortunately, rising supplier costs and falling revenue have made it impossible for us to continue operating, and we’ve had to make the difficult decision to close. The good news: We’ve arranged for another educational provider to take over many of our resources. These will be hosted on a new portal, where the content will be updated and expanded to support your child’s learning.

What this means for subscribers:

  • Your subscription is still active, and for now, you can keep using the website as normal — just log in with your usual details to access all our articles and resources*.
  • In a few months, all resources will move to the new portal. You’ll continue to have access there until your subscription ends. We’ll send you full details nearer the time.
  • As a thank you for your support, we’ll also be sending you 16 primary school eBooks (worth £108.84) to download and keep.

A few changes to be aware of:

  • The Learning Journey weekly email has ended, but your child’s plan will still be updated on your dashboard each Monday. Just log in to see the recommended worksheets.
  • The 11+ weekly emails have now ended. We sent you all the remaining emails in the series at the end of March — please check your inbox (and spam folder) if you haven’t seen them. You can also follow the full programme here: 11+ Learning Journey.

If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you for being part of our journey it’s been a privilege to support your family’s learning.

*If you need to reset your password, it will still work as usual. Please check your spam folder if the reset email doesn’t appear in your inbox.

Is technology changing the way children learn?

Class sat at computers
If you’ve ever seen your toddler load a DVD, then you’ll already have realised just how quickly today’s children take to technology. But why is technology so important in primary education? Camilla Chafer reports.

Technological innovations are moving faster than ever. In our own childhoods we had cassettes, video players and rotary home phones - all now obsolete. Indeed, many of us now wonder how we coped without technology we now take for granted, such as laptops, personal media players and Wi-Fi.

Technology also plays a role in the classroom. In the 80s a classroom was extremely lucky to have a computer, now children are learning mouse and keyboard controls during the Early Years Foundation Stage and many primary schools have ICT suites. By the end of primary school, children are also competent users of whiteboards, digital cameras, mobile phones, handheld games consoles and many more electronic devices.

With IT skills increasingly valued in the workplace and software skills a big draw on CVs, it’s understandable that parents want their children to learn new technologies in order to compete in the future workplace. It’s even been suggested that ICT should join English and maths in a triad of core skills that children need to understand and use. While research into the effectiveness of technology, the web and digital media within schools is in its infancy, both parents and schools are still keen to employ technological techniques. Indeed, with digital technology so widely available in family life, it seems only natural that school life follows.

How is ICT used in the classroom?

ICT is playing an increasingly fundamental part in class based learning.

This primarily involves using a computer to learn about keyboard skills, browsing the web and learning with interactive whiteboards. The latter is the modern day take on the blackboard. Instead of scratchy chalk scrawls, the whiteboard works with a projector and computer and can be used for a variety of activities such as software and multi-media demonstrations, presenting information and making digital notes over other information shown.

For the teacher, it is easier to present material to pupils, focus the attention of the class, and helps to involve students directly in activities. In other activities, digital cameras and video recorders enable children to record images and movies, helping them to gain awareness of their environment.

 

What ICT might be used in your child’s school?

  • EFYS: Whiteboards for viewing images and drawing; computers and software for writing and drawing
  • Year 1: Using a digital camera to photograph the environment around them
  • Year 2: Creating images on a computer using different tools, such as ‘fill’ and ‘brush’
  • Year 3: Learning how to send and receive emails and understand digital communication
  • Year 4: Using a data package to present information such as pie charts
  • Year 5: Introduction to spreadsheets, using labels and formulae
  • Year 6: Creating multimedia presentations with complementing images and text