It's Showtime for Maths, ICT and English. At the Royal Albert Hall!

There's a great set of resources available at My Resource Cloud. They look ideal for anyone looking to make Functional Skills a bit more interesting, covering Maths, English and ICT with guidance in videos from real staff at the Royal Albert Hall as to the work involved in putting on and promoting a new show.



The complete set of resources are free, charity-commissioned and designed and developed by Bongo LLP, available for PC and Mac computers.

Download the software at this link.

Some of the illustrative shots of kids taken as if from up a ladder with an odd lens and an unfortunate freeze frame on the video summary above might benefit from a little adjustment as well as some spelling! Very classy stuff for all that, though and should provide many teachers next term with a good few weeks' worth of ready-made and modern activities.

Money for something old, something new, something, er.. Big Bang...

European Prize for Cultural Heritage - 10,000 Euros

The European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage (Europa Nostra Awards) celebrates excellence in cultural heritage conservation, ranging from the restoration of buildings and their adaptation to new uses, to urban and rural landscape rehabilitation, archaeological site interpretations, and care for art collections.

Each year, up to six prizes of €10,000, and up to 25 non-financial awards are given to architects, craftsmen, volunteers, schools, local communities, heritage owners and media.

Prizes are awarded in the following categories:

Category 1 - Conservation

Category 2 - Research

Category 3 - Dedicated Service by Individuals or Organisations

Category 4 - Education, Training and Awareness-raising
The deadline for submissions to the 2013 Awards is 1 October 2012.

Start-up Loans - up to £2,500 + support for young entrepreneurs in England 

The Government has announced the launch of a new £82.5 million student-loan style initiative for young entrepreneurs in England who are planning to start a new business.

Initial plans for the StartUp Loans scheme were first announced by the Government in the 2012 Budget. Based on the current student loan system, the scheme will enable young people who choose not to go to university to access low interest loans to help them start up a company.

Young entrepreneurs taking part in the initiative will be awarded a small amount of capital to help them get started. Loans of up to £2,500 per individual are available.

In addition to the loan, applicants will receive business support and mentoring and a free copy of the StartUp Loans Kit, which offers guidance on starting a business, together with more than £500 worth of offers on products, from business cards to websites, netbooks and work suits.

The scheme is open to 18-24 years-olds who are planning to start up a business enterprise in England. Applicants will need a "viable" business idea in order to qualify for support.

Applications may be submitted at any time.

LSIS funding for 'Big Bang Near Me' fairs - up to £10,000 

The aim of The Big Bang programme of events is to engage, inspire and motivate learners to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

LSIS is now offering funding to enable FE and skills providers to plan, deliver and evaluate their own Big Bang fair during 2012-13. The events should offer a valuable CPD opportunity for staff, and inspiration for current and future learners, all centred on STEM subjects. This will involve working in partnership with employers in local STEM-related industries and other organisations.

There is a maximum grant available for Raising awareness of STEM opportunities with learners through 'Big Bang Near Me' fairs of up to £10,000 per project. The Big Bang team will provide an online toolkit and telephone support.

Applications can be made by completing the attached form and sending by email to tlpfundingportal@lsis.org.uk by midnight on Monday 11th June 2012.

Funding for Business: A New Choice for School or College Leavers

Under the Youth Investment Fund Pilot for Upcoming Entrepreneurs there is an anticipated overall budget of £10 million available for a scheme to assist young people who choose not to go to university to access low interest loans for starting up a business.

It will be based on the current student loan system but instead of funding course fees and academic study the money can enable a new business idea to get off the ground where, currently, only the few with ample security or exceptionally impressive cash-flow forecasts for something almost guaranteed to succeed stand much chance at that age.

Outline details of the proposed Youth Investment Fund were announced in the 2012 Budget. It has now been confirmed that the scheme will be piloted in partnership with the National Youth Enterprise Working Group, whoever they are. Loans are expected to be worth between £5,000 and £10,000 per individual, young entrepreneurs aged 18-24 who are planning to start up a business enterprise in the UK will be eligible to apply for a loan.

This should also provide interesting opportunities for those with project development and business experience not only to assess the feasibility of proposals but also to provide guidance en route. It does rather beg the question, though, as to how that assessment would work. To get the funds to attend university the terms are pretty clear: get the grades the institution requires and away you go. No questions asked thereafter. How strong will the business proposal have to be? Too heavy feasibility requirements and few students will stand a chance, and only those who might reasonably have expected to get funding through traditional routes (or a Dragon's Den type of scheme, which, incidentally is also being proposed) would get any. A too easy-going, "Here's some cash, go see what you can do with it", approach risks huge waste of public funds.

Then there is the question of the proportion of the £10 million that actually reaches the youngsters. When information learning technology and e-learning were all the rage a decade ago there were billions floating around a nation of quangos, agencies and associations of the good, bad and, unfortunately plain ugly too, of which precious little trickled down to classrooms and training for those that needed it. My first reaction to seeing this fund was to think "Yes, I'd like to run one of the organisations assessing applications, doling out the dosh and monitoring the budding businesses." That was, frankly, because it could be a nice, well-remunerated job requiring skills that very much matched mine and they'd need quite a few of us as well, of course, as a Board or Executive of the Great and the Good who would also share in the rapidly diminishing £10 million. Assuming, as one must I suppose, that it is well run and not just a budget-rescuing scheme for failing Further Education Colleges then this could be a great opportunity for those who have good skills and a good idea to do something constructive and, if nothing else, it will provide a far better experience of the real world than their colleagues either at university or lounging around at home will receive.

The Government is currently looking for private and third sector organisations to help run the scheme nationwide during its pilot phase, which will commence before summer 2012 and last for one year. The Government is planning to have the scheme running fully and evaluated in time for the 2013 Budget. So if you're Great or Good, apply soon before the sharks do.

The scheme is yet to open to applications. Details and deadline information (if applicable) will be advised when available.