As a teacher it can be annoying to see the "back-to-school" signs in shops and adverts on TV seemingly before the summer holidays even start. However, as you get close to the end of the summer term some of you may also be thinking ahead to the new academic year.
Going back to school after the long summer holiday break can be tough. To make it easier on LGfL customers, we have identified some ways you can use LGfL support, resources and services to make the reality of going back to work a tad easier and to help you get the most out of your school's LGfL Let's Get Digital subscription.
Make sure you are using our curriculum resources to their fullest: by mapping our resources to your school’s curriculum, browse by subject/Key Stage to see everything relevant to you at a glance or search for a national curriculum statement for a specific lesson need.
Read and subscribe to our Curriculum Blog: to keep up to date with our latest resources, we have our Curriculum Blog (which you’re reading at the moment!) This blog is updated regularly and offers topical pieces relating to how best to use LGfL content within your school setting. Hit the subscribe button so that you can get the latest post straight to your inbox.
Get involved in our EdTech Hubs Programme: LGfL and EdTech UK are working in partnership to develop communities of practice that provide peer-to-peer support for the effective use of technology for enhancing teaching and learning in schools and colleges. We are developing communities of practice that provide peer-to-peer support for the effective use of technology for enhancing teaching and learning in schools and colleges across England. Soon we will be publishing an update to our EdTech Hubs site, where the four broad categories we consider schools and MATs fit into will include targetted material for schools self-identify which category the believe best fits their current position and where they aspire to be in the future.
More schools and MATs have joined the programme as Lead Schools, so there are more Discovery and Study Tour Days available for you to take part in during 2024-25! For the dates and booking details refer here and keep an eye on the latest news from the EdTech Hubs programme (which is full of links to recent events).
Check out our training hub: We will continue to add a huge range of unique training to our Training Hub. Browse and book now, or why not share the link with colleagues? Training is FREE for all schools; you can find out more about the courses on offer and how to sign up here; there is computing training, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Online-Safety training featuring CEOP and much, much more.
Sign up for our newsletters: Every month we send out a range of newsletters via email to everyone who has signed up, this is a great way to hear about updates to our online learning resources, updates to education legislation and news on how we can help you to keep your students safe and learn more with LGfL, just sign up here.
- Educators newsletter: general updates from the curriculum team about resources, training and SEND (see the archive) and the IncludED archive
- Safeguarding newsletter: safeguarding updates for DSLs and Online Safety/RSHE leads (see the archive)
- Cybersecurity newsletter: what’s going on in the world of education cybersecurity that will help you keep your school secure: the latest LGfL protections and services, plus news and guidance.
Also keep an eye on the latest news section on LGfL's website.
Like and follow us on Social Media: For all of the latest news, events and updates to our resources and support.
LGfL is on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
SafeguardED is on Facebook and Twitter
IncludED is on Twitter and there is also The IncludED Conversation
CyberCloud is on Twitter
Check out our Inclusion Resources Centre: Across LGfL, there are many resources which support inclusion. Our Inclusion resources centre means you can search for resources to support your learners faster than ever before and now has extra information. There are several CPD resources such as Learning Through Movement (focusing on the importance of movement, handwriting & maintaining focus) and Multisensory Learning (to support understanding of multisensory learning) which could be used on INSET days.
Update your online safety and AUPs: The SafeguardED Team will be busy over the summer updating our Online-Safety policy and AUP (Acceptable Use Policy). There are a range of differentiated templates so that all learners can stay safe online. Check back for the latest updates here; you will also see they have a handy 'Start of the Year" pdf guide you can download.
Book a free bespoke training session: It’s never too late to book a free school session with our Learning Resource Consultant. Our expert LRC will create a bespoke training session for your staff so that your school can get the most out of the LGfL’s curriculum content. Our consultant offers flexible sessions including after-school sessions; they generally last an hour or we can offer a whole or half-day INSET. Just email training@lgfl.net to organise a date for your free session.
Finally, we hope you enjoy the well-deserved break over the summer holidays and however you start the new academic year, the LGfL curriculum team wish you the very best of luck! We hope that the information in this blog will support you and your school/MAT whilst planning for the year ahead.