Finding a common sense approach to protecting personal data in an Education Environment is currently one of the toughest challenges now faced by schools, who are still building accessible Virtual Learning Environments and integrated Schools Information Management Systems.

The system of education for pupils with special needs in England is "not fit for purpose", MPs have said.

Steve Sinnott, general secretary of one the biggest teaching unions in England and Wales, has died aged 56.

Ministers have said that 96 schools out of 570 that it checked have been found to be breaking the code on admissions.

Researchers have found the first evidence that young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year compared to children who do not receive musical training.

Leaving a dead body in the quad may not be the usual method of attracting students to Oxbridge's famous colleges.

The qualification that head teachers in England must have is being made tougher - just as vacancies are increasing.

Stress is a major factor that affects teenagers throughout their school life, especially during the important GCSE exams. To combat this and to encourage students to do as well as possible, the OCR awarding body (Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations) has proposed ‘flexible' GCSEs, where exams can be broken up into modules spread across a two year course.

Universities in England are "strongly influenced" by league tables despite concerns about the way they are compiled, a study has found.

Children and parents are being asked their opinions on the impact of commercialisation on childhood.

A report for England's exams regulator, the QCA, had said exams were costing schools and colleges in England, Wales and Northern Ireland £700m a year.

Children in West Wiltshire have no excuse not to be fit and active with three i.play units to choose from!  Two units have already been installed in Seymour Recreation Ground in Trowbridge and Bearfield Recreation Ground in Bradford on Avon with a third to be installed in Westbury in the coming weeks.

The Police Community Clubs of Great Britain (PCCGB) are currently involved in launching the biggest child safety programme for schools across the UK due to problems that children face because of bullying.

Carillion IT Services (formerly Alfred McAlpine - IT Services) today announced that it will provide IT support for the newly formed University of Cumbria for the next three years. Carillion will provide a full upgrade to the existing IT infrastructure of all six of the university's campuses, supplying IT and security equipment and network support.

A colourful new school building for Wolverhampton City Council is brightening the local area thanks to Alumasc's BBA approved Swistherm system.

The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) is the new sponsor for one of the Teaching Awards most exciting categories, the Award for Outstanding Teacher of the Year which shines a spotlight on excellent new professionals in the classroom.

STAEDTLER recently celebrated another year of strong growth in the education sector by recognising record sales with two key partners.

The number of people teaching in England's state schools without Qualified Teacher Status has risen five-fold in 10 years, figures suggest.

Schools are dealing with the "side effects" of gang culture including weapons, according to research.

The government is planning to close a legal loophole which allows staff at a private Christian academy to smack their pupils.

Black pupils should get extra help so they progress faster than their classmates, a government report says.

The new Education Brochure published by Kinnarps outlines the company's philosophy on providing optimum working environments for learning and provides readers with an overview of the furniture solutions available.

With a new wing now complete, New Woodlands School in south east London is set to build on its already enviable reputation as a centre of excellence for special needs education for children with behavioural and emotional difficulties.  Incorporating six general classrooms, an Art Room, an ICT room and a light and airy gymnasium, the new wing will be a hive of activity once it is commissioned later this year.  Key to its success is the implementation of Part E Acoustic Conditions in Schools regulations.  In this instance, Ecophon, the leading supplier of acoustic ceiling systems, has played a leading role. 

OCR, a leading UK awarding body, will hold four FREE GCSE changes Expo events in Coventry, London, Manchester and Newcastle throughout June and July to provide essential knowledge and support for those teachers involved in implementing the changes to GCSEs.

Qwizdom handheld voting systems (www.qwizdom.co.uk) are now being used by Life Education, the UK's largest children's health education charity, (www.lifeeducation.org.uk) in schools across the country to help children make healthy choices and teach them about the effects and risks associated with drugs. To ensure impact is maximised, the charity uses handsets to engender debate, make the sessions truly interactive and ensure that even quieter children in the group can get involved.

Take a look at new Tiny Stuff from Twyford Bushboard

As well as supplying fine art materials to over 350 accounts in the UK they also distribute to over 70 countries worldwide.

It was as a result of his own experiences as a teenager that Sean Covey wrote "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teenagers."  The book became an instant best seller, and has since sold over 2 million copies worldwide.

The Perse School for Girls in Cambridge recently completed a major building project, adding a whole new wing to the Senior School.  The new construction is home to an impressive new kitchen, dining & hospitality area and washroom facilities.

The first in a new generation of fully interactive, computer-driven playgrounds, which encourage youngsters to exercise and learn, has been unveiled at a primary school near Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.

3M, the diversified technology company, announces the availability of its second generation Super Close Projection (SCP) product combining pioneering short-throw off-angle projection with a modular wall-mounting system for greater flexibility and performance at an affordable price.

Anchor Fast is a Doncaster based manufacturer of a wide range of wood and wood/concrete picnic benches,tables and chairs.It is a long established company and counts thousands of schools,leisure and sports clubs among its customers.

New plans unveiled by the Conservative Party last month, called "Giving Power Back to the Teachers" promise to help schools deal with disruptive children by giving them greater powers. Is this the support teachers have been waiting for, or just more pre-election hype? Stephanie Norbury investigates.

Considering that the vast majority of people are in agreement that we should be aiming for a more sustainable future, it's amazing how much controversy this burning issue has already created. For a start, the one thing that becomes obvious when you begin to engage in discussions about green issues is that everyone has their own ideas about what it is actually meant by sustainability. Put in its simplest terms, the most common definition used (Bruntland) is sustainability means meeting the needs of today without compromising future generations.  The wider implications for which now extend into the sphere of ecological, social and economic responsibility, and we can all play our part.

For most of the population, green thinking is something we have had to get used to. We now know to switch the television off rather than leave the standby light on, we separate our rubbish and we don't leave the tap running too long. Although we worry about our carbon footprint, the message is taking time to get through. But for today's children thinking about the environment is second nature. If schools can encourage green practises they can reap the benefits in a number of ways.

Stormsaver's Michael Farnsworth has literally gone back to school with the company's latest rainwater harvesting system installation.

Warewashing specialist Meiko UK, has taken the first step in implementing a carbon offset programme for every road, air and freight mile undertaken on behalf of the company.  With effect from the

Award-winning off-site construction specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has completed construction of one of the UK's most sustainable modular school buildings.

Mercury Recycling has been appointed to collect and recycle all fluorescent tubes and sodium lamps from the University of Manchester.  The University is Britain's largest single-site university and disposes of over 25,000 fluorescent and sodium lamps per annum. The arrangement ensures that the site is supplied with a number of Lampsafe, and Bulbsafe containers for collection and recycling by Mercury Recycling operatives.

Designed for semi-domestic situations that require the essential equipment for basic cooking, the Mini-Kitchen is a complete and compact kitchen unit featuring cooking rings, fridge, kitchen sink and undersink storage in a single, discreet and easy to install unit.

ICO Europe has been manufacturing in the UK for 40 years.  Whilst engineering excellence is a priority, SICO also strives to make its production procedures as efficient as possible in order to reduce its carbon footprint. This is achieved through the implementation of LEAN manufacturing which focuses on eliminating wasteful processes.

Foster Refrigerator has launched its Eco range of Premier and Pro Cabinets, which offers a staggering 47% saving in energy usage compared to the ranges a year ago when they were already top of the class.

Unless educational institutions or their managed service providers begin to regain control over the vital data increasingly located outside their traditional IT infrastructure, the valuable evolution towards flexible working may be short lived, insists Philip Sansom, Senior Vice President, Kaseya UK.

Mind mapping is a graphical technique of taking notes and visualising thoughts. By providing a radiant structure to place key words around a central image using colours, pictures and drawings, it offers a complete overview of a particular subject.

Daikin UK has recently announced the completion of its industry leading Sky Air Inverter series, offering the education industry cost-effective and energy efficient climate control solutions for their premises.

With all the doom and gloom regarding the global ‘credit crunch', large organisations should think of the strategic cost savings that can be made in this economic environment.

Kennet School is a dynamic and ambitious 11-18 co-educational comprehensive school, serving the population of Thatcham and the surrounding villages.  A Technology College with specialist status in Performing Arts and Languages, the school has 1720 pupils and 250 staff.

One of the education sector's favourite tables is now readily available off the shelf.

Interior surfaces specialist Altro has helped to create an inspirational learning environment at a new school in Gateshead as part of the government's nationwide initiative to improve UK education facilities.

There are many factors that can make a school wish to erect a brand new building as a matter of urgency.

The first government pronouncement on value for money in schools (the "Analysis of Secondary School Efficiency") arrived in July 2006. Since then the issue has worked its way onto the educational agenda, leaving teachers needing to justify each new item of equipment both in terms of its teaching and learning benefits, and its amount of use.

The unique, new Rollastore concept from storage specialists Railex Systems is truly being rolled out in great success - a typical recent example being the installation at the Education Department of Southwark Council in London.

A new interactive whiteboard recently appeared in our meeting room and, being much more versatile than our old dry-wipe board and far more attractive, you would think everyone in the building would be interested in how it works, and all wanting to play with it.

Public and private buildings can provide disability access in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) with the Platform Lift Company's new product, the Gecko stair climber.  Wheelchairs are fixed onto the portable stair climber to enable the disability impaired to move up and down steps easily.

‘Don't worry: I've never been able to do maths either.'  

The online children's art competition website, www.minimecardco.com is giving children the chance to win sponsorship of a wild animal for a year by entering their own card designs into its current competition.

Coolly elegant and contrasting stone effect luxury vinyl tiles from the Polyflor Expona art & design collection have been used to provide the perfect complement to the soaring arches of the refurbished dining room at The King's School, Canterbury - possibly the oldest school in England.

This practical resource is designed to support the SEAL programme for primary schools in England and the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland.

The pace of change within education can be bewildering and for those at the chalkface it can be hard to keep up with the latest developments - even those which have direct impact on their work.

Music provides a unique and powerful means of promoting communication and social interaction in students with learning difficulties. In this collection, Pat Lloyd brings together 46 songs composed or adapted for use with children with communication problems.

It's the National Year of Reading. Just as well, as one in four adults say they haven't read a book in at least a year. With so many other ways to get information these days, do we still need books?