Parenting Magazine Flying Start
Pregnancy, Birth, Parenting, Babies and Children
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From award winning temporary safety tattoos to its key product range of personalised labels, UK-based Simply Stuck makes life easier for busy parents. Flying Start takes a look at how the company has grown from strength to strength since its inception.
Words: Olivia Frances
Established in August 2000, Simply Stuck was originally set up as a paper-based mail order business to meet a niche demand in the market for simple, easy to use labels to name all children’s school uniform and personal belongings.
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Steeped in history, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn is one of the top independent schools in the UK. Flying Start finds out why.
Words: Olivia Frances
With a history that dates back almost 500 years, Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Blackburn, Lancashire is now a thriving, co-educational school that offers the best in modern education to boys and girls aged from three to 18 years.
It is one of the leading co-educational independent day schools in the North West, offering its 600 pupils a first-class academic and extra-curricular education, as well as excellent pastoral care all on one site.
There are four component parts to Queen Elizabeth’s: The infant school covers the whole of the foundation stage, plus years one and two; the junior school provides a strong foundation for the future for years three to six; its senior school takes pupils through to GCSE; the dedicated sixth form for A level study is located in the spacious Singleton House. An extended hours facility is available for ages three to 11 years from 7.45am up to 6pm, which also operates as a holiday club during half term and throughout the summer.
Co-educational since 2001, girls have been educated at Queen Elizabeth’s for many years and have been an integral part of the sixth form since 1976. A testament to the school’s reputation and its pupils, a number of past female students have gone on to contribute hugely to school life, including taking on senior responsibilities at the school such as Head and Deputy Head positions.
The issue of co-education generates more heat than almost any other among schools. Parents often get drawn into the debate and a number have strong views, but most just want to find a good school for their child. Queen Elizabeth’s Headmaster Simon Corns, a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), which represents the Heads of over 250 of the leading independent schools in the UK, wrote an article addressing the issue of co-education recently stating: “Presented often as a clinching argument, we are frequently told that the reason boys and girls must be educated separately is that they learn differently. This is of course a very good argument for educating them together – so they recognise the different way in which the sexes learn.”
Queen Elizabeth’s is featured in the Good Schools Guide. A review snapshot from this found that the pupils were “bright, industrious and confident without appearing complacent or alarmingly sophisticated.” It went on to say that the house system enables pupils of all abilities to play competitive sport and the sports department organises combined year teams and has had a highly successful netball team, with the current head inheriting a golden crown. The under 16s netball team was town and county champions in 2010 and the previous year, with the under 15s finalists in the Under 15s HMC North West competition.
The school also participates in a range of charitable activities throughout the year – including raising money for Children in Need and Help For Heroes – which are managed by the Charities Committee.
Open days at Queen Elizabeth’s tend to run throughout the month of October; however visits to any part of the school, including the Infant and Junior School, can be arranged at any time.
Flying Start looks at the increasing number of solar panel installations in schools across the UK and the difference that renewable energy can make to our environment.
Words: Olivia Frances
More than ever, people are attempting to live as ‘green’ as possible. From recycling to car sharing, many are adapting a new way of living in order to help reduce the size of their carbon footprint.
The country is also starting to see a gradual shift in the type of energy that we use and one change that can make a big difference is the use of solar panels as a cleaner form of energy. As one school in Lincolnshire recently proved, harvesting the sun’s powerful energy doesn’t have to be confined to just our homes.
In an effort to boost funds and teach pupils about renewable energy, plans to place 42 solar panels on the roof of Stamford Queen Eleanor School were approved at the end of September.
The panels, which should be fitted by the start of November, will cost about £30,000 to install, £20,000 of which will come from a grant from Stamford-based Cummins Generator Technologies. “The project to install energy saving solar panels at the college fits well with our aims of bringing benefits to local education and the environment, but also gave our local engineers the chance to bring their technical expertise to the team at the college, helping prepare the specifications for the solar panels and making this project a reality,” George Swindale from Cummins Generator Technologies told Flying Start.
After the installation, the school will be able to support a proportion of its own energy needs during term-time, therefore reducing its electricity bill, and during the holidays it can even sell the energy back to the grid. Additionally, it gives children the opportunity to learn about what being green really means and to demonstrate firsthand what it provides.
Cummins Generator Technologies believes that we will start see an increasing number of schools turning to renewable energy: “Schools will potentially install even larger solar panels as technology continues to progress. Renewable energy is becoming a more and more popular sustainable and eco-friendly source of electricity.”
In September, British Gas announced a new, updated Generation Green programme, a practical and innovative schools and education programme, originally launched in 2008, which is dedicated to helping UK schools community become sustainable for 2020.
It works to empower teachers to drive real and measurable changes in their schools and communities through providing free teaching resources on sustainability and a termly prize draw for schools to win practical prizes, like solar panel installations and biomass boilers.
This year, through its ‘MySolar School’ solar panel competition, British Gas invested £15m in providing solar panel installations for up to 750 schools across England, Scotland and Wales, worth as much as £40,000 per installation. The long-term investment in solar panels will enable schools to benefit from solar energy, cut down on energy costs and help reduce their carbon emissions. It’s also a valuable lesson for pupils to use energy more sparingly and, where possible, to generate it from renewable resources.
As the country’s gas and oil reserves decline and as we become more reliant on imports, renewable energy and micro-generation is making an increasingly important contribution in both energy generation and tackling climate change. But through greener behaviour, UK schools really can help make a big difference to our environment.
The benefits of school panel installation:
· Cutting down on energy costs brings sustainability to life and is a valuable lesson for pupils, teachers and parents on how greener energy can help the environment.
Flying Start discusses the many benefits that private education can offer your child
Words: Olivia Frances
One of the most important decisions a parent has to make is where and how to educate their child. And when it comes to the subject of education, arguably the biggest question to have to face is ‘private or public school?’
You don’t want to be hit with unnecessary tuition fees if the cost won’t benefit your child, but independent schools certainly offer many alternatives that are worth considering. Smaller class sizes, superior facilities and extra-curricular opportunities are just a few among a number of many benefits that private education can offer your child.
Smaller class sizes offer pupils increased individual attention, which improves the learning environment and is thought to boost academic performance. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) serves the associations that represent 1,234 independent schools and educate more than 500,000 children in the UK, Ireland and overseas. The ISC Census 2011 found that the pupil-teacher ratio is 9.4:1, compared to an average of 16.6:1 in maintained mainstream schools.
The census also found that although ISC schools vary in size – from fewer than 50 pupils to over 1,700 – most schools have fewer than 350 pupils, with the average school having around 410 pupils. Smaller classes and a higher quantity of teaching staff may also allow class sizes to be tailored according to pupils’ individual needs.
Since independent schools don’t have to follow the National Curriculum, there is a wider range of extra-curricular activities for pupils to choose from, including clubs, societies and excursions. In addition, many private schools organise a range of trips including foreign exchanges and skiing outside term time, giving children more opportunity to experience life outside the school gates.
Being self-governed means that private schools are able to offer more diversity, not just in the way of activities for pupils, but parents also have more to choose from. Independent schools vary in the type of education that is offered, from boarding, to single-sex, to various faith schools, to nursery. The flexibility of children being able to board ad-hoc for example suits the support that parents who work full time or travel with work may need.
When it comes to single-sex independent schools, research has found that their pupils excel in exams. Helen Wright, president of the Girls’ Schools Association, which represents the UK’s independent girls’ schools, says: “Academically, single sex independent schools top the league tables despite the fact that co-ed schools are in the majority in the UK. This does not mean that children in co-ed schools cannot match the examination performance of those in single sex schools – of course they can, and do. But what it does mean is that single sex schools punch well above their weight when it comes to public examination results, and this pedigree matters to parents – and young people.”
There are of course fees to also consider when it comes to private education and according to the ISC, the overall average term fee is £4,393 (excluding nursery fees), with the average boarding fee at £8,384 and the average day fee at £3,736. However, most private schools do offer means-tested bursary schemes and scholarships can also be made available. Almost 165,000 pupils now receive help with their fees and among the schools that completed the ISC Census in 2010 and 2011, the number of pupils receiving help with their fees rose by 2.2 per cent. The value of this help totals more than £660m per year, so help is at hand.
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Private education has the capacity to provide parents and children with a community environment and opportunities that they might not have the chance to experience elsewhere. The real argument, however, covers the intangibles about growing up and becoming a confident young adult. This includes all the things it is difficult to measure and quantify, but which form the essence of who we are as individuals. These are the elements of education that are the most important because it is these aspects that contribute most significantly to children’s happiness and confidence, as well as to their ability to make their way in the world with a strong, secure sense of self.
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Private or Public? Please feel free to have your say below.
We are currently compiling a directory of Independent Schools. For an example of how you will soon be able to find your nearest school, please type in one of the following area examples:
Every mum knows that while babies are a joy, they can also bring with them the occasional challenge… Thankfully, eight fantastic products have arrived in order to make parenting that little bit easier! And even more good news, every single one of them was thoughtfully invented by the most qualified people in the business – mums!
Baby and All Bag
Debbie
I came up with the idea of the Baby and All Bag when as a mum of two, I struggled to carry my baby and everything else, especially when a buggy was impractical. I decided that combining a shoulder bag and safe baby carrier would definitely make my life easier. And so with a few ups and downs and stringent safety tests the Baby and All Bag was born. It’s a great looking bag that carries all your essentials and the baby too!
Buggy Tug
Di
I invented BuggyTug when I replaced my second hand Bugaboo which was in terrible condition with a new pram which did not come with a wrist strap. I realised how dependent I had got on it especially on hills, at a similar time a pram rolled under a train in Melbourne and I started researching how to buy one. I could not find one anywhere and the rest is history!
ewan the dream sheep
Lynda
“The sleep routines of my first 5 children soon fell into place but when baby number 6 arrived, bedtime wasn’t quite so easy! After many sleepless nights I decided to design a product to help children settle. Cute cuddly ewan the dream sheep™ can be used from birth and helps babies establish a healthy sleep pattern by using a combination of soothing sounds and a calming glow. Advice to others: watch your cashflow, be unique and grab all the help you can get!”
Hamster buggy bags
Lara
I loved my lightweight buggy but I often overloaded it which made it tip backwards. After one such incident I came up with the idea for the Hamster buggy bags. They attach to the sides of buggies, give mum and dad plenty of storage space and stop buggies from tipping backwards! My advice for business start-ups is: doing it all yourself is a false economy, build a good team around you.
Skibz
Helen
“Being out and about with a dribbly baby used to give me two options: sodden clothing or covering up with ugly plastic bibs – not cute and so i decided to fix it! Skibz aren’t just the perfect funky accessory to any outfit, they’re designed to keep baby dry and comfortable, too. I genuinely think only a mum could have designed this product…Only a mum would have taken such care to create a dribble bib both stylish and practical!”
Little Jet setter
Sherry
“After travelling to over a dozen countries with my daughter before she was 2, I saw the opportunity for quality products designed specifically for babies who travel. The Little Jet Setter Grab and Go Pack was born! We now have British Airways and Virgin Atlantic as clients and our range includes other unique, mess-free, reusable and fun toys and toiletries. Our mission is to make travelling with babies stress-free – either around the corner or around the world!”
TUMTUM,
Suzanne
“Having watched our toddlers’ battle to keep peas on forks and scoop food onto spoons we realised they needed better tools for the job and decided to create our own! The TUMTUM range, so called due to our daughter’s reference to her tummy, was designed to help…with patented elements, such as bowls and plates with ‘scooping corners’ and stable beakers with straws which reach every drop! Our advice to others creating their own product is never give up, dig deep and seek advice.”
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