Resources to support remote-learning

BESA has relaunched and repurposed its online educational technology trialling portal LendED to help connect teachers with content, software and materials from reliable suppliers that can be used to help support remote learning

Even though the BESA offices in London are now temporarily closed that doesn’t mean the BESA team stops – we are fully operational, working remotely and available online.

In these unprecedented times we have been refocusing all our operations and activities to make sure we are still providing full support and guidance to our members and the wider education community.

We have now relaunched and repurposed our online educational technology trialing portal - www.LendED.org.uk which is supported by the DfE. Those of you who have used LendED before will now see the website focuses on amplifying members’ efforts to share many more general resources, guidance, and support to the UK’s teaching community and those who are looking for advice on how to continue effective teaching and home learning during the schools closure period.
Whether teachers are looking for an online maths learning platform, a foldable work desk and webcam, or printable resource packs, LendED offers a wealth of resources that can be accessed both on mobile devices and offline.

Caroline Wright, Director General of BESA, said: "In this current crisis BESA is uniquely placed to help connect teachers with content, software and materials from reliable suppliers that can be used to help support remote learning. The LendED website offers over 220 products from more than 200 trusted companies, and it is growing all the time. It offers a free-to-access, single source of information, saving teachers time researching different solutions, and a quick and easy way of accessing the resources."

The benefit of using the LendED website, is that all the companies and products on the site are provided by BESA members and Launchpad subscribers, and all product entries have been checked and approved by BESA before appearing. At this crucial time, it is now more important than ever for schools, colleges, teachers and parents to be able to rely on trusted, quality suppliers who adhere to the BESA Code of Practice and who follow quality standards.

As a user of LendED you can search via a dedicated ‘Home Learning Resources’ link on the homepage which will allow you select products that have identified themselves as ‘Home Learning’. In addition to this many companies are adding links on their product pages to their websites where you can access their resources directly – keep an eye out for products that have the ‘ACCESS HOME LEARNING RESOURCES’ button on them.

Furthermore, a dedicated Tips & Advice page now provides guidance on best practices in implementing home learning strategies, covering issues such as how to get the best out of existing technologies and ensuring online safeguarding. We will be looking to add new blogs, webinars and podcast content to this Tips & Advice page on a day to day basis.   

As well as helping teachers source home learning materials BESA is also working with key Government departments, including DfE, DIT, BEIS and the Treasury to help companies continue to provide their essential support and services to the education sector. In March, BESA wrote to the Secretary of State for Education to flag some of the most urgent matters. Most importantly it called for the DfE to introduce ringfenced funding for learning and school resources (print, hands-on, and learning furniture as well as digital).

Finally, do please look at www.LendED.org.uk and feel free to share with your colleagues during this difficult period. We will also be actively flagging LendED on our Twitter social media channel @besatweet.