One of our Primary Website Consultants always talks about the importance of being able to “read” school websites. What can you tell about the school’s location, situation and ethos just from looking at the design and layout of the frontpage of a website. When the notification came through that Brunswick had gone live, I clicked through and instantly I knew this was a school from Brighton – and proud of it. The iconic pebble beach, the sea lapping at the footer of the page, the regency promenade and buildings – it’s Brighton through and through.
This is a great example of a bespoke theme truly reflecting the uniqueness of every school out there. This is no one-size-fits-all, slightly-modified theme we’ve slapped onto a template, this is a theme where care has clearly gone into what the school wants and needs, and this is really reflected in the design.

Part of what has made this site so unique is the circumstances of its formation – Brunswick is a brand new Primary school, combining the previous Davidgor Infants and Somerhill Primary schools – both Webanywhere customers. This has meant that we’ve been able to start with a fresh slate, creating something from the ground up, with new content and ethos.
Another thing you might notice if you view the website (and not just the static image up top) is its animated portions. These subtle accents, done using HTML5 rather than animated GIFs, comprise the children in the image waving and a seagull flying overhead in another nod to the school’s maritime location.Too often animation looks tacky, but here it’s actually used to pretty good effect! Additionally, hover your mouse over the streetlights to see the menu items illuminated.
Overall, a great website and we look forward to many years working together with Brunswick!

Kiwi Primary School is, at first glance, a strange name to give to a British primary school from Wiltshire. In fact, when I first read about it, I assumed it was one of our New Zealand customers, the kiwi not being a particularly diverse species on the Salisbury plain. In looking into it though, I found some truly interesting things out.
The school’s name comes from the Bulford Kiwi, a chalk figure etched into the hillside above Bulford Camp, less than four miles away from Stonehenge. It was created by New Zealand soldiers after World War One (there’s the New Zealand connection!), recuperating in the English countryside. Initially an infant school, Kiwi was merged with a junior school in the 1960s and the more distinctive name was retained.

The antipodean roots are clearly visible in the school’s website, from the smiling cartoon kiwi figure in the header to the names of the class events listed in the event-packed calendar. Every effort has been made to create an attractive, welcoming and informative website. Given the nature of the school’s situation in a military camp, a large number of the children at the school are from military families, so providing information is crucial for a frequently transient population.
Kiwi’s “About us” page is invaluable for anyone who needs to know key information such as enrolment and times – too often features either missing or hidden from school websites. All the information is clearly laid out and easy to find.
Overall, a fantastic website for a truly unique school!

We have all heard someone talk about or be referred to as a ‘tech savvy teacher’, but what does that mean? They use their interactive whiteboard everyday and can programme a floor robot without looking at the instructions? Webanywhere believes that all teachers are tech savvy, but to different levels. If you look on Twitter you will see teachers sharing their planning and add links to fabulous websites to use in the classroom. The other end of the spectrum is a teacher that comfortably uses software and a some well chosen websites in their lessons. Using ICT and technology has to enhance your lesson, if it makes it more difficult and you lose the flow of learning then it is not worth it.
You will find many articles describing and celebrating the ‘tech savvy teacher’ and they are good. Often there are lists of attributes that identify the ‘tech savvy teacher’ and you feel inadequate and bored before item 5. We do not want you to do that to you. At Webanywhere we want to celebrate all teacher’s use of ICT and technology and to give you the confidence to possibly move out of your comfort zone and try something new. We have read the above mentioned articles and would like to offer our interpretation.

Your students read your blog
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will have a professional blog where they share their experiences as a teacher, more aimed at colleagues in the teaching profession but their students like to check it out and comment. Or more realistically you have a class blog where you share class information, homework and resources that you use in class. It will also record what is going to happen in your classroom by your pupils and yourself. To take it one step further it may appear on your school website and parents also comment on the blog, after all it is a fabulous way to keep parents informed and actively engage with them.
You instigate your own CPD online
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ attends in-house training and staff meetings but that may not be where they learn about ICT and technology in a creative and innovative way. So they look to their Twitter feed and Facebook friends. They also read educators’ blogs and learn how to use a variety of new digital learning resources. Then they attend online courses and meetings and contribute to wikis. At a more realistic level you may look at a website that a colleague has told you about with lots of ideas for your lessons, it may or may not include ICT and technology.
You have made an online PLN
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ has a professional, or personal, learning network with whom they engage on a regular basis, possibly work together to maintain a wiki or website and regularly give and receive support regarding teaching and non-teaching information. At the other end of the spectrum you are already in a PLN but did not realise it. You collaborate with colleagues in your school and maybe further a field with your school cluster or colleagues that have moved on. You email each other with help and new ideas and resources that you find.
You share your life with virtual colleagues you have never met
This might sound horrific and contravene all the e-safety messages you know and pass on to your students. But there are those out there that do this. The ‘tech savvy teacher’s’ PLN is so tight and such a regular part of their life that they think nothing of sharing family events and personal achievements with them just like you would your family and friends. They follow people on Twitter that they have never met and congratulated them when announcing the safe arrival of a new bundle of joy! At a more basic level you may share your professional life with others by sharing activities and resources that you have created and used in your class. Learnanywhere and Jotter Learn customers do this on a regular basis and are part of those learning network.
Your weekly schedule involves Twitter chats
Where have you been? These are very popular and a great place to interact with like minded people. The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will most definitely partake in such events. #UKEdChat is a very popular meeting on Twitter for the education community. They vote on the topic and all meetup on Twitter at a preset time and search tweets with #ukeduchat and join in. The conversation is recorded and can be viewed later on their dedicated website. These people will be in the The ‘tech savvy teacher’s’ PLN and they will share their life with them. When you break this down you will most likely find that you do talk with your virtual colleagues, who are now your newly discovered PLN, about many topics that directly relate to your teaching practices. Whether it is asking for advice or sharing experiences. It is all valuable.
Summer break means ISTE and other conferences
No teacher has six weeks off, lets get that out there. You all do research and plan lessons and create resources for September during the summer holidays. SMT members are more likely to attend conferences during the summer break but the ‘tech savvy teacher’ will know what is going on and join in. But will it be totally relevant and useful to the new school year for them? Then there are the local conferences and meetings that you may arrange for your colleagues. You meet up and discuss topics for the new school year or go and visit places that you would like to visit with your students later on.
You know the vocabulary
Well more like acronyms and abbreviations, VLE, LMS and even LOL! The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will speak using these and even create their own. But you know what some of them mean and you don’t mind saying learning platform instead of LP. With the knowing comes the understanding of it. As long as you understand it in your context then all is good.
You turn to colleagues in other countries in times of need
Thinking back to the The ‘tech savvy teacher’s’ online PLN and how they interact with them all of the time, like 24/7. They can do this because their PLN is global. So someone is always online and available to offer advice. It’s great! Just as great, but may take more time to react, is the newly discovered PLN made up of colleagues in your school, your area and maybe just a little further a field.
You are a digital citizen
One hundred percent accurate. The ‘tech savvy teacher’ has the technology, the online presence on all the popular social networking and media sites. They are a good citizen, respectful to others and will not tolerate cyberbullying in any form. They don’t even like pictures of friends on Facebook that are anything less than flattering. They also instill this into their students and e-safety is a familiar phrase in the classroom. Looking at this from a different angle you do not need to have a comprehensive online presence at all. But the rest fits exactly. K. Mossberger, et al, define digital citizens as “those who use the Internet regularly and effectively”* You already do that, well most of the time!.
* Mossberger, Karen. “Digital Citizenship. the Internet.society and Participation By Karen Mossberger, Caroline J. Tolbert, and Ramona S. McNeal.” Scribd. Web. 23 Nov. 2011. (https://bit.ly/1tzEnUP)
You are always hungry to learn, try and tinker with new tech
The ‘tech savvy teacher’ will have RSS feeds setup to notify them of new releases of gadgets, apps and software. They will most likely have an iPhone, an iPad and an iMac all with the same apps loaded on them. They are always contactable, online and their cloud space is permanently 95% full. But can they then learn to use one thing really well and use it successfully in their classroom? You, on the other hand, might  investigate new technologies and apps that take your interest and you think could be of use to you in the classroom or in your personal life. You take an interest in what technology, websites and gadgets that your students use and sometimes pick up a gem for yourself.
We hope that you recognise yourself throughout this article and can smile as you know you are doing a fabulous job. If you are still not convinced just watch your students next time you are using technology or digital learning content with them, you will see them buzzing with excitement and totally engaged.

Having worked with schools for almost ten years now, we here at Webanywhere are experts at creating website designs that schools love.

Take Pye Bank CE Primary School for example. The website for this Sheffield school is full of colour, with fun graphics making it stand out amongst their fellow Steel City schools. A fantastic selection of photographs throughout the site (they clearly have a member of staff very adept at using a camera!) help to promote Pye Bank as a school any parent should consider for their child.

As attracting parents of would-be pupils is as important as engaging with existing pupils’ parents, there is plenty of content that builds up a ‘story’ of Pye Bank. There’s a History Of Pye Bank section, and there’s information about a recent meeting regarding progress and attainment.
Plus, with all Ofsted/DfE-required content included too, this is a highly useful – and effective – website!
Take a look at Pye Bank CE Primary School’s School Jotter 2 website by clicking here.

At Webanywhere we’re lucky enough to have a team of designers and artists to create outstanding designs for school websites – and Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Sowerby Bridge is no exception.

The characters in the School Jotter 2 website’s header echo the feel and the content of the website itself – little children learning and playing, and even a representation of a familiar character!

The website includes pages like the School Bus section – a lovely page detailing the school bus service and where it picks children up from. The parish church also gets its own page and visitors can also see pictures of the Holy Communion.
Take a look at Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School’s beautifully-designed website by clicking here.

School Jotter 2 is being constantly developed, and the latest update has some interesting new features for users.
Existing users signing in now will see an updated file manager, that looks and feels easier to use. The file upload section now allows you to ‘drag and drop’ files, which makes adding files is simpler than ever before.

Plus, you can add a profile picture when you log in – making your log in to School Jotter 2 a little bit more personal!
If you’re not a School Jotter 2 user, contact us today to find out more about this innovative easy-to-use school website system – and find out the full range of features and benefits that come with it. Just fill in the form here.

Fairfield Endowed Church of England Junior School’s website homepage is bright, energetic, fun and lively. The bespoke theme option available with School Jotter 2 has given this Derbyshire based school the opportunity to create a header and footer style theme for their school website that is personal to them. In fact, it’s quite unlike any of the school websites we’ve worked on so far!

The menu is clear and simple, making it easy for visitors to find exactly what they are looking for. One of the school’s aims is for children to ‘be active and healthy’ – this message is backed up by the photos used on their homepage.

Fairfield Junior School’s website is still new, but we look forward to seeing how it develops as they add more content over the coming months!

Take a look at the Fairfield Endowed Church of England Junior School’s website here.

 

Coleshill Church of England Primary School’s bespoke School Jotter 2 theme really brings their homepage to life, with the use of colourful images of the school and school playground.

Testimonials from pupils can also be found on the homepage which is perfect for attracting potential pupils’ parents as they explain how they think their school is fun, friendly and a great place to make friends.

The Birmingham school have also created useful links to resources, Ofsted reports and given links to e-safety and road safety related information.

The homepage is extremely easy to navigate around with a clear drop down menu across the top of the page, and the use of a search bar to enable site visitors to easily find what they are looking for. A useful and popular feature of School Jotter is a scrolling text marquee, which can be found in use on Coleshill’s homepage to make parents aware of things like end of term dates and school closures.

If you would like to create a colourful, engaging website for your school, get some inspiration by checking out the Coleshill C of E Primary School website here. Ask us about creating a bespoke school website design for you by clicking here.

The Federation of Mowden Schools aim to provide their pupils with an environment that enables them to develop to their full potential. This is the impression given in the design and content of their school website.

Their School Jotter 2 website is clear and simple, making it easy to navigate around. Subsequently, it’s easy for parents to find the information they need. The bright colours and professionally-taken photos used on the homepage, showing pupils engaged with their work, are also welcoming to the people who visit the website.

One of the main features of this website is the Parent page, which holds plenty of useful content to increase engagement. They even use a quote from Ofsted on the Behaviour page that compliments the school on being a safe and welcoming environment.

The Federation of Mowden Schools’ website uses a bespoke School Jotter design, created by Webanywhere’s design team. Ask us about creating a bespoke school website design for you by clicking here. Take a look at The Federation of Mowden School’s website here.

At Webanywhere we’re seeing more and more schools opt for exciting, engaging website designs that are a little different to your typical school website.

One such school is Watton-At-Stone, based in Hertfordshire. Their new school website benefits from an animated header, with cartoon children waving at the visitor. Fantastic! Delve further into the website, however, and there’s a wealth of information already uploaded, despite this School Jotter 2 website being only a couple of weeks old.

For example, the Friends of Watton School section has details of funds raised for the school through events and activities, with pictures of some of the things the Friends of Watton School have been able to provide the pupils with.
The Virtual Office section also contains some useful information – in particular the results of a parents’ survey conducted in 2012 – one of the many aspects of this school website that makes it great for engaging with the pupils’ parents.
Take a look at Watton-At-Stone’s school website here. Find out more about having your own animated School Jotter 2 website by filling in the contact form here.