New Pasture Lane Primary School Crowned Ed Tech Champions
New Pasture Lane Primary School, in Bridlington, has won the Ed Tech Award at the annual TES Schools Awards.
The way New Pasture Lane uses technology was described as ‘impressive’, with ed tech not taught as an add-on but as an integral part of teaching across the curriculum, bringing lessons to life and ensuring engagement.
New and older media are combined. For example, the school has its own daily radio station, which broadcasts student work alongside student-led interviews with visitors, such as the local MP.
On the more modern end, children use tablet computers to make animations, adding music and effects.
Students have also done extensive work with QR codes. When scanned by electronic devices, such as phones or tablets, these barcodes take the user to a web page, or to a video or audio presentation. These codes have been used to give parents access to a virtual museum of their children’s work. And recently, students have started to incorporate augmented reality.
Safety is paramount and the school has also set up a mentoring scheme. Certain students are trained in online safety and act as a first point of contact for others to raise concerns.
The judges found this approach to safety particularly worthy of praise and were impressed that, rather than the school using gadgets for the sake of it, technology was made to earn its place in the classroom.
New Pasture Lane Primary School’s victory was witnessed by over 600 people gathered to celebrate the sector’s achievements at the awards ceremony held at the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge.
Mrs Alison Tadman, head teacher, said: “I am absolutely delighted that the school has been recognised for all the innovative and exciting technology that supports every area of the curriculum.”
Now in their sixth year, the TES Schools Awards aim to celebrate and reward the extraordinary innovation, dedication and hard work of those schools, individuals and teams who every day are making a real difference to the lives of future generations.
Councillor Julie Abraham, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s portfolio holder for children, young people and education, said: ‘’It is a remarkable achievement for New Pasture Lane Primary School to have won this award and all those responsible for the foresight in introducing the new technology and embedding it into the ethos of the school should be proud of themselves. It will give the pupils of the school a head start in all sorts of ways, both in their future academic life and in their personal life where technology plays such a huge part and where it is essential that young people know how to stay safe online.’’