This week’s website of the week comes to us from the North Featherstone Junior and Infant School based in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. This school believes in “excellence through enjoyment” and it seems to be really focused on making sure that all children feel safe, valued and included in the school life.

I really like the slideshow with some nice pictures of students on the homepage. These pictures go very well with the overall style and the colours of the website. I wish the school added more pictures as it is a great way to learn more about school life without having to search for image gallery. What is more, having images of students on the homepage can help to create the feeling that the website is personalised for children which is a great way of encouraging them to use the website more.

The website layout makes finding everything you need very easy. The main contact details can be found at the top right corner. One of the things that the school did really well was highlighting some of the main pages and putting them in the middle of the homepage with some nice icons. ‘Calendar’ page is very useful in terms of helping students, parents and teachers to stay up to date with school events and other important dates. What is more, the ‘Classes’ page is useful for finding all information relevant for each class.

I think this school website is an example of keeping a website very simple but still making it look good. Well done to North Featherstone Junior and Infant School!

We’ve got another great website of the week that has been created by Pinehurst Primary School based in Liverpool, Merseyside. Great design, a lot of good content and relevant information are some of the main features that a good school website needs, and this school did a really good job!

I think this school website has a very unique design. It seems that the homepage includes quite a lot of different features while still looking organised and easy to navigate. You can notice the school values as soon as you open the website. They are followed by the photo gallery with some nice pictures of students and the information about school.

There is a useful navigation bar for finding information and a language bar which translates website into any language you need. I really like how the school included ‘latest news’ and ‘upcoming events’ on the homepage. It’s nice to see that the school is regularly updating these two sections with latest news and events. This information can help engage with students, parents and the wider community. What is more, the school has included a link to their Twitter page and a live Twitter feed which is another great way for engaging with everyone.

Overall, a really well-designed primary school website with great content. Well done to Pinehurst Primary!

We have recently introduced a new feature to School Jotter 2 which allows you to make content blocks on the website time sensitive.
In the example below,we are going to create an important notice that is set to display between a specific set of dates. Here is how to do it, step by step:

Step 1:
Make sure you are logged in to the website and click Edit Page in the green bar at the top.

Step 2:
Click on Insert Item and decide which type of block you are going to add to the page. In this example, we are going to add a Text block, so select Text from the Insert Item menu. See the screenshot below for illustration.

Step 3:
Decide where you are going to add the block to the page and click the black Insert text here bar.

Step 4:
Type in the text you wish to use as an important notice. In this example, we are going to type “IMPORTANT NOTICE: School re-opens on 5th September.”

Step 5:
Highlight the text that you have just typed in and use the font size icon in the toolbar to set the size of the text. If this text is going to be an important notice, make sure that it is large enough so that it is clearly visible on the page. In our example, we are going to set the font size to 18pt.

Step 6:
When you are in Edit Page mode, you will notice that a set of white configuration icons appear when you click on a specific block on the page. In order to make our Important Notice time sensitive, we are going to left click on the block we have created and then we are going to left click the white cog shaped icon. See the screenshot below which shows where this is located.

Step 7:
You then need to enter the dates that the block will be visible from and when it will be visible to. You can enter the date directly into the box provided using the correct format of yyyy-mm-dd. Alternatively, when you click the box, you will be provided with a mini calendar that can be used to select the date manually.

Step 8:
Once you have entered a date into each box, you can click the Save button, then click Save and Publish.
Please note that the time sensitive block you have created will always be visible when you are logged into the site as an admin. You should therefore log out of the website to test to see whether the time sensitive block appears or not.

If you need further help with editing your School Jotter 2 website, please visit our new online help system at http://wa.schooljotter2.com/

Making use of new the features for tables in School Jotter 2

Tips from Primary Support Desk Analyst, Matthew Basierak

On the support desk we are often asked how to add and work with tables in School Jotter 2 and we have recently introduced some new features to the system which makes working with tables easier than before.
You can now change the colours of individual cells in a table.  In order to get started you first need to create an empty table by using the table icon in the grey editing toolbar.

Once you have added the table to the page, you need to select and highlight the cells where you wish to change the colour.
See the screenshot on the right.

Once you have highlighted the cells, the next step is to go to the Table menu in the grey toolbar, select the Cell option from the drop down menu then click on Cell Properties.  See the screenshot below which shows exactly where this option is located.

You should now find yourself in the Cell properties dialogue box.  If you then click the advanced Tab in the following window there are options to set the border width, style and colour.
In order to change the colour you can either enter a value into the background field, or alternatively you can click on the small back to the right hand side.  After selecting the colour you will notice that this information is automatically added to the style box.
Please see the screenshot below, which shows the background colour box with a new colour added to it.  You can now click on the OK button to save the changes.

If you need further help on working with tables, please see our help guide using the link below:
http://wa.schooljotter2.com/sites/insert-items/tables

Abercerdin Primary School’s new website is both professional and eye catching. Using the key colours from their school uniform and emblem, their website cleverly encompasses the school’s branding.

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The last time we featured Hawes Side Academy was back in December 2012. Since then the school have upgraded to School Jotter 2 and have had their site redesigned.

The home page is very easy to navigate around, even for the non tech savvy among us. The colourful pictures and colours represent not only the branding of the school, but each section of the website, providing a clear and user friendly site.

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From their school website, it looks like being a pupil at Mereside CE Primary School is lots of fun! A key feature of this School Jotter 2 website is the News and Latest School Events boxes on the right hand side of the homepage: Here, visitors can see that the school is winding down to the end of term in fine style, with Back To Front Day (everything’s backwards!) on July 23rd, and a report on the recent Summer Fair!

Professional photographs depict children learning and having fun, and throughout the website visitors can find all the information they need about this Shrewsbury-based school – Ofsted/DfE requirements for school websites have clearly been met.
Mereside CE Primary School is an example of a School Jotter 2 website that is stylish and fun yet is very functional and informative. You can find out more about how School Jotter 2 can bring your school to life online by getting in touch here.
To take a look at Mereside CE Primary School’s website click here.

Although not quite finished yet, Birstwith C of E Primary School have made a brilliant start to their School Jotter 2 website. Using a bespoke design has given the school’s website a stylish, local feel: As you can see from the homepage header, this can only be a school in Yorkshire!

The Harrogate school have created a warm, welcoming homepage by including a welcome letter from the Headteacher. The menu is clear and simple enabling site visitors to find what they are looking for. The menu includes a page for each class, filled with images and videos of activities that have taken place throughout the year. A useful School Jotter tool used on their homepage is the scrolling marquee text to inform site visitors of important information – this is a popular feature for many schools and is easily updatable with new messages by even the least tech-savvy teacher.

With a page dedicated to the school’s newsletters, parents can be kept up to date with the latest news and events. Plus, with the School Updates app option, School Jotter 2 can send newsletters directly to parents’ smartphones. Once a newsletter is added to the website, School Jotter will automatically send a notification to every parent who has downloaded the app.

Take a look at beautiful, Yorkshire-esque styling of Birstwith Church of England Primary School’s website here.

 

Enniskillen Integrated Primary School have just upgraded their school website to School Jotter 2 – and they are clearly making full use of it already!

The brightly-coloured, beautifully-created homepage draws you in immediately. However, it’s the content that really brings this school website to life. Go into the News section, and you will see pictures of a recent visit from not just David Cameron – but Barack Obama too! The Prime Minister and the US President recently visited the school, and Enniskillen have used their website to show everyone what happened.

The News section also includes a fantastic video created by the school’s pupils. It features the entire school singing along to We’re All In This Together from the High School Musical soundtrack, all captured in one single shot as the camera travels around the school. It’s certainly the most innovative way to capture the fun of your school that we’ve ever seen!
Enniskillen Integrated Primary School’s website is one of our favourite examples of School Jotter 2 – and your school could have a website just like this! Just fill in the form here to request your free School Jotter 2 demo.
To view the Enniskillen Integrated Primary School website click here.

School Jotter 2’s bespoke themes allow you to creatively build a website style that is personal to your school. With the use of bright colours on their homepage, Highbury School’s School Jotter 2 bespoke theme gives a really welcoming first impression.

The menu on the homepage is clear and simple, enabling people to easily navigate around the site. The What’s On box on the homepage is also a useful inclusion, as is the search bar. This is a helpful feature of School Jotter 2; here it is used on every page to help visitors find exactly what they are looking for.

The School Newsletter page has a great feature that allows parents to subscribe to the school’s newsletters by simply entering their email address. As soon as a newsletter is uploaded onto the website, the parents receive it automatically. Take a look here!

Another handy tool for parents is the contact form; parents can submit queries to the school by filling out just a few details. There’s also a useful tool called Google translate – this can be used to translate the whole website into another language.

There’s plenty of photos and useful information throughout the website, to really get an idea of what this Brighouse, West Yorkshire-based school is about. One of the most useful aspects for parents of potential pupils is that in just one click you can be directed to the Ofsted website, to view latest reports and information about the school.

Take a look at the Highbury School website, with its bespoke design, here.