Murray Hudson's blog from Gratnells
Primary
Avery good idea
Mar 28th
We are excited to have teamed up with leading label manufacturer Avery and classroom resource website Twinkl to supply brand new tray labets to fit Gratnells trays. From April all Gratnells orders will come with a customised sheet of Avery tray labels. Teachers can then go online and download and print free label template designs from twinkl. This will make it really easy for teachers to have attractively labelled trays. And the stickers have ‘smart’ glue which peels off when needed with no sticky residue.
Twinkl is an online resource centre created just for those teaching in the early years and Key Stage One
Education show talk brings a tear to the eye
Mar 20th
Last week we were kept busy at the Education Show in Brimingham. Gratnells had our stand there as usual mainly showcasing our Junior storage range, and we also had Gratnells Educational Consultant and Learning Rooms partner, Roger Cole, giving a talk on ‘Teaching and Learning for the Next Decade’. Roger is an inspiring speaker and is passionate about how we should educate children. His talk had an enthusisatic reception and even reduced one young teacher to tears as she was so moved.
You can see a copy of the slideshow from Roger’s presentation here.
Education Show 2012
Mar 14th
This week we’re at The Education Show in the NEC in Birmingham. If you’re going to be there, be sure and drop by and say hello. We’re on stand H10 which is just to your right at the main entrance. We’re also hosting a talk with Roger Cole at 2pm on Thursday. You can find full details of the talk here and the show here.
Gratnells trays storm Audi showrooms in Holland.
Feb 21st
Cars and trays (and furniture!)
Gratnells trays have been selected as the tray of choice for the children’s play areas in a number of VW/Audi showrooms in Holland. With furniture designed by the respected educational furniture manufacturer Klassehout, two pieces were created to keep children happy while Mum and Dad bought the latest car. Klassehout design creative and flexible furniture for primary schools. All their furniture is manufactured according to current standards and safety with necessary certification.
Everything there is to know
Feb 7th
After much blood, sweat and tears we have completed our Gratnells International Brochure. It was primarily designed for our overseas customers, but it’s just as relevant for our UK partners too. It clearly demonstrates our complete product range and potential applications for third parties, and has a full colour chart and lots of technical information too. There’s even a glossy pull-out poster for that space above your desk that needs brightening up!
If you’re interested in having a look at what we do you can download a pdf, or see a flicky version online. I’ll even post you a copy if you email me your details.
New for 2012 – Stand for Gratnells Quadrant tray.
Nov 18th
Stand for single Quadrant tray
We have developed a fantastic new stand for our quadrant tray. As you can see from the pictures it can be used as a single or joined together to create the perfect sand and water play area. For more details and costs please contact me directly on murrayh@gratnells.co.uk
Four in perfect harmony
Educating Essex
Sep 28th
We were pleased to see our local school Passmores Academy featuring on Channel 4′s Educating Essex last week. For those who didn’t see the programme, Passmores is a comprehensive school in Harlow, Essex – just down the road from us here in Gratnells HQ. The school has just been awarded Academy status and is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and has actually moved into a brand new state-of-the-art building since filming the programme.
The TV series follows a group of GCSE students, and the staff who teach them, as they face the most important year in their education using cameras around the school. And while everyone else was following the plot we were playing ‘Spot the Gratnells tray’. As you do!
A school to be proud of
Sep 22nd
Grape Jelly trays chosen for each classroom.
I was with Lesley Tollefsen from the Hampshire County Supplies for our annual get together and she told me about how she had worked with The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead to source furniture and fittings for Manor Green School, a state-of-the-art specialist education unit in Berkshire. The school is a newly built specialist school catering for 150 pupils with special needs and physical disabilities. Facilities include a hydrotherapy pool and parents room as well as specially designed classrooms. The classroom shown here has individual height adjustable tables along with Gratnells tray storage. The result is a stylish, modern school suitably equipped to meet the varying needs of its pupils.
The appliance of science
Sep 20th
We are very pleased that our Science Technician of the Year award was featured in this month’s Education in Science magazine. The Prep Room section is a feature about this year’s ASE National Technicians Conference and our lucky winner – Sandra Wollerton – receiving her award from Professor Kathy Sykes who said “I often describe science technicians as unsung heroes … and these awards have acknowleged the great contribution they have made to the furtherence of science education in our schools”
Education in Science is published five times a year by the ASE (Association for Science Education) covering all phases of education: early years, primary, secondary and post-16, as well as carrying material for teacher educators, student teachers, technicians, researchers, curriculum and professional developers, in the UK and worldwide. Members of the ASE can read the article online here
Learning Rooms Lifts Off
Sep 6th
The first module of our new Learning Rooms project for teachers is now available to subscribers. Learning Room is Gratnells new project which aims to give primary school teachers a useful resource to create the best possible learning environment in the classroom. Together with educational expert Roger Cole we will be producing a whole series of workbooks and audio recordings. The first workbook has just been sent to subscribers and looks at how well the classroom is currently set for the functions that a teacher would want to perform in it with their class and how they can improve upon this.
You can download a copy of the pdf here or see a whizzy online flippy version here
Visit the Learning Rooms site for more information
