New furniture catalogue introduces extended range

Furniture manufacturer, Gopak, has launched its new 2012 catalogue. Showcasing a wide range of sizes, shapes and colours of practical furniture – the new-look catalogue aims to help customers to find the right product first time, every time.

Featuring more than 100 pages of established and market leading products the catalogue also includes an array of new functional tables from Gopak’s ever growing Enviro range – including stylish and practical tables for educational facilities of all age groups.

Taking its lightweight but strong Enviro technology to a whole new market, Gopak has introduced the new Enviro Early Years range for playgroups, nurseries and reception classes. Available in a range of bright colours and unusual shapes, these vibrant tables will create stimulating learning environments for young children.

For a contemporary school, the new Enviro Classroom Tables combine style, strength and durability. Lighter in weight than most school tables, they can be supplied square, rectangular or trapezoidal to fit perfectly into a number of classroom environments.

Also featured is Gopak’s new range of Enviro Coffee Tables. Demonstrating the versatility of the strong and stable Enviro frame system, these tables are available in three top colours, four edge colours and two frame colours – adding a smart and functional finish to virtually any reception area.

Based in Hythe, Kent, Gopak has a successful 50 year legacy in producing high quality furniture. All of the company’s products offer a five-year guarantee and are designed and manufactured to meet the high standards of BS EN 9001:2000.

To request a copy call 0845 702 3216, e-mail info@gopak.co.uk or download the complete brochure at www.gopak.co.uk.

Sports stars back school games

Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds and Olympic greats Denise Lewis, Darren Campbell, Jason Gardener and Gail Emms are among the star names that will be supporting the Sainsbury’s 2012 School Games finals.

 Backed by National Lottery funding from Sport England, the Sainsbury’s 2012 School Games is a multi-sport event for school-aged elite athletes that will take place on 6-9 May 2012. 1,600 young people will compete across 12 sports, six of which include disability competition. 

The Olympic Stadium, Velodrome, Aquatics Centre and ExCel Centre in London will be among the venues hosting competitions.

Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games gold medallist, Ellie Simmonds, said:  “I’m very proud to be an ambassador for Sainsbury’s Active Kids which is all about inspiration, inclusivity and encouraging young people of all ages and abilities to try sports and really pleased that Sainsbury’s are sponsoring the 2012 School Games.”

Health and education must work together demand

The Communication Champion for children and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists – RCSL – have released a publication which stresses the need for health and education services to work more closely together to ensure the needs of children with speech, language and communication needs difficulties are met in the best possible way.

Better Communication: shaping speech, language and communication services for children and young people provides practical help on how health and local authority commissioners can work together and share resources to tackle speech and language difficulties, which affect 7-10 per cent of all children.

It looks at ‘what to commission’ by featuring examples of some of the most established early intervention and prevention programmes that are now in a position to demonstrate measurable impact, and provides case studies of speech and language therapy services that are redesigning their services to deliver both quality and cost-efficiency.

The report includes examples of coordinated, community-wide, multi-agency strategies to upskill the children’s workforce and empower parents to give their young children the best start in life. These successful multi agency strategies include Stoke-on-Trent’s ‘Stoke Speaks Out’, which has seen the incidence of language delay on entry to nursery fall from 64 per cent to 39 per cent.

To read a copy of the report see website www.rcslt.org.

College gets £500 from 500 facebook ‘likes’

In an innovative fundraising bid, National Star College that provides specialist education, training and personal development opportunities for young disabled people has received £500 from 500 new ‘likes’ on its Facebook Page.

Converge Networks, an IT services company based in Staverton, agreed to sponsor the college’s social media page, donating £1 for every new follower gained to increase the college’s social media reach.

 The campaign was launched in mid-2011 and ran for several months. Each time a status update was posted promoting the initiative, the page received several new followers. Current members reposted and encouraged their friends and family to ‘like’ the page also.

 Laura Brookes the project co-ordinator at  National Star College said: “We are keen to increase our audience on Facebook as the social media channel is such a flexible and cost effective way for us, as a charity, to communicate with people. Converge Networks has been a great partner and we hope it might be something that other businesses might be interested in supporting in the future also.”

Young Epilepsy response to Lancet article about specialist nurses being under threat

Josh Coleman, Young Epilepsy director of national services said: “Young Epilepsy wholeheartedly supports the issues raised in Mario Christodoulou’s Lancet Neurology article which should ring alarm bells for those commissioning health services across the country. As a charity we are gravely concerned about any threat to the provision of services to those living with epilepsy and that includes provision of epilepsy nurses.

 “Specialist nurses play a significant part in care management, ensuring that patients are well informed and their condition is appropriately managed. 

“National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines recommend people with epilepsy have access to epilepsy nurses and there is significant evidence the work of epilepsy nurses can lead to reductions in emergency hospital admissions and lead to greater efficiencies for the NHS.”

East Ayrshire student named student of the year for Scotland

East Ayrshire based student, Mark Ferguson of Daldorch House School in Catrine, has been awarded the title of Sky Sports Living for Sport Student of the Year 2011 for Scotland.

Sky Sports Living for Sport, delivered in partnership with the Youth Sport Trust, is a free secondary schools initiative that uses sport stars and sport skills to improve the lives of thousands of young people by boosting confidence, changing behaviours and increasing attainment.

The Sky Sports Living for Sport Student of the Year awards have encouraged schools across the UK to nominate pupils whose involvement demonstrates how sport has supported them in developing skills such as confidence, respect and a sense of achievement.  

With the help of Sky Sports Living for Sport, Daldorch House School devised a project for Mark and a fellow pupil, to challenge their abilities both physically and mentally. Mark, who has autism, finds communication difficult and struggles to adapt to social situations so a task with a high degree of structure was decided to be appropriate. The boys were tasked with increasingly difficult walks to increase their stamina before reaching a final objective of climbing Cairn Table, a 2000ft stark moorland hill in Ayrshire. They increased their strength and learned skills that were totally new to them, including packing their rucksack, planning rest breaks and preparing their own lunch. Mark completed each stage of the task and was presentenced with a certificated by Sky Sports Living for Sport Athlete Mentor Steve Frew.

Specialist Cumbria school praised by Ofsted

Priory Eden Grove School, near Appleby in Cumbria, has celebrated a glowing report from the regulators, Ofsted.

The school, part of Priory Education Services, the country’s largest independent provider of special education and a division of the Priory Group, was marked as ‘good’ for its overall effectiveness following a recent inspection.

It also received a ‘good’ grading for the outcomes for the young people, safeguarding, leadership and management and equality and diversity practice.

Eden Grove is registered for children and young people aged from eight years to 19 years with emotional, behavioural and educational difficulties, including those on the autistic spectrum.

Special education needs workshop hosted by Young Epilepsy

National charity Young Epilepsy hosted a workshop about special educational needs funding.

 The one-hour workshop, which was part of a half-day Open Day at the charity’s headquarters, took place on Wednesday 14 March.

 The workshop was open to anyone that cares for a child with special needs. Delegates had the opportunity to learn more about tribunals, which rule on disputes between parents and local authorities about young people’s education.

 Parents and carers also had the chance to hear about the experiences other people have had in securing funding for their child’s special educational needs, something that affects around 3 per cent of all school children.