23Jul

Message Ninja

July 23, 2021 Josh 40

What is the purpose of Message Ninja?

Message Ninja is our free premier communication and engagement hub between schools and parents.

Who is Message Ninja for?

Message Ninja can be used as a communication hub between the school and parents, or a hub for internal school communications.

Who can I interact with on Message Ninja?

You can engage in group chats with other parents or teachers while maintaining the privacy of participants’ contact details. Chat permissions are fully customisable and can be used for one way or bidirectional communications.

Can I make payments through the app?

Yes you can make and take payments easily and securely directly through the app for things like school trips or fundraisers.

How does a school benefit from using Message Ninja?

Schools can create parents’ evening slots or any other type of booking event, link payments as required. In the event of school closures or reducing person to person contact the feature can be used to schedule remote calls with parents. Quickly share news real time with the whole school or relevant selected groups or individuals. Create events, generate forms, menu choices, obtain digital consent, link payments, in-app calendar view, add to personal calendar, google map locations and more. Promote different initiatives that parents can donate to through the app. Parents can also complete surveys and watch carefully filtered adverts in the fundraising section of the app that generate funds for the school. And much more.

What else sets Message Ninja apart from the rest?

Well besides the above features, Parents and Teachers can also take advantage of our remote meetings, sickness reporting and scheduling features making Message Ninja a truly one stop shop for all your communication needs.

Message Ninja can be used as a communication hub between the school and parents, or a hub for internal school communications. To find out more about Message Ninja and our other services check out our website here.

19Jul

Zap Maths

July 19, 2021 Josh 43

What is the purpose of Zap Maths?

Zap Maths brings the maths curriculum to life encouraging student participation and empowering teachers with tools to enhance their students’ learning experience.

Who is Zap maths aimed at?

Zap Maths supports any curriculum in the world, the content creation engine enables teachers to create new content or tailor the existing content to the needs of their particular curriculum. Zap Maths comes preloaded with the full United Kingdom primary school curriculum covering key stages 1 and 2.

Can I quiz my child with Zap Maths?

Yes you can, Zap Maths enables teachers to easily create or trigger regular Multiplication Tables Check testing, automatically marked and customisable. Teachers are also able to adjust the time between questions which some teachers value as a helpful feature.

Does Zap Maths actually teach my child the subject?

Yes, The app contains mini-tutorial videos introducing the various subject areas performed by the host of the weekly live tournament quizzes.

Does Zap Maths give my child questions based on their current knowledge?

Yes, The student progresses through the curriculum based on their knowledge level. The student is also able to revisit questions and games to improve their time and earn additional coins to be spent on customising their avatar.

Does Zap Maths show how my child is progressing?

Yes the areas covered by the student in the course of using Zap Maths are reflected under their stats, each topic area and the students confidence in the area are broken down to granular detail. This helps parents and teachers to see how the student is progressing and also gives the teacher the ability to easily direct their students to focus on specific areas of need.

How does Zap Maths help me as a teacher?

Zap Maths allows teachers to analyse class data through graphic presentations of results, progress and areas requiring attention. In due course compare against national trends. Teachers are able to control what areas of learning the students have access to. Teachers are able to create or use an existing quiz to challenge their students on topics they have just learnt about. And finally, the full KS1&2 UK curriculum is covered by a comprehensive library of quiz questions and games. Teachers love how Zap Maths empowers them to create their own worlds and paths and input questions to create their own games and learning experiences.

How is Zap Maths fun for my child/students?

Students are further incentivised to engage with learning and revision through the ability to spend coins earned through engagement and task completion on customising their personal avatar scenes.

How does Zap Maths work ?

Zap Maths incorporates the scientific methodologies of retrieval, spaced repetition, visual cues and rhythmic interaction. These independently proven methodologies are shown to increase knowledge retention and improve outcomes.

Zap Maths is created with your children’s learning experience in mind. That’s why we have crafted Zap Maths to best boost your child’s knowledge retention while having fun. If you would like to find out more about Life Ninja as a brand and our services please visit our website here.

16Jul

Mega Maths Fun Afternoon.

July 16, 2021 Josh 44

On Thursday 8th July, Life Ninja attended Captain Cook Primary School in Middlesbrough to deliver an ice-cream party for the class of the winning child of the Mega Maths Competition.

Leonardo, Year 2, was the overall winner gaining over 3,000 stars. Leonardo’s mum said: ‘Leonardo really enjoyed working his way through the different planets, he liked that he could move through the different levels at his own pace and that he wasn’t restricted by year group level. He is currently working above his typical age level so enjoys learning new things.’

The competition started on 8th March 2021 until 28th May 2021, with the aim to promote additional learning following the third lockdown.

Over 300 children downloaded Zap Maths and tens of thousands of games in the learning paths were played by the students.

On Thursday afternoon the children were super excited to have their party and we were thrilled to be providing this reward for Leanardo’s hard work. After the children had their ice-cream the children were visited by Mayor of Middlesbrough, Andy Preston, and Deputy Mayor, Mieka Smiles, where they had races on the school field with Andy and chatted to Mieka about her favourite flavour of ice-cream. The party was a huge success and it was lovely to celebrate Leonardo’s huge achievement.

We were delighted to receive some fantastic reviews from Captain Cook Primary School. Mrs Harrison, maths lead,said: ‘The Zap Maths competition was a fantastic opportunity for the children in our school to engage with all aspects of maths in a fun way. Lots of our children commented on how enjoyable and educational the app was and the ice-cream party for our winning pupil received great feedback from staff, children and families.’

Following the party Mrs Acheson, class teacher, said: ‘The children really enjoyed the party and meeting Andy Preston. It was a lovely way for us all to recognise and celebrate Leonardo’s achievement after all his commitment and hard work.’

Thank you for having us Captain Cook Primary School, the children were absolutely delightful, and staff extremely welcoming.

We are building on this success and have launched a new competition to run over the summer holidays until 30th September 2021. Stockton Mega Maths competition is open to all Key Stage one and two pupils registered in a Stockton Primary School and parents can sign up for this by following this link https://subscribe.zaplearning.co.uk/stockton.

06Jul

10 Great walks for families this summer holiday

July 6, 2021 Josh 46

1. Preston Park

Preston Park, located in Eaglescliffe is a very popular park for families as it offers a vast playground with activities for all ages, beautiful riverside walks and even an ice cream shop!

Preston Park has many other features to its vast lands; it has a skate park, a museum, a miniature golf course and much more. As you can see by the map Preston Park has so much to offer for all families.

Facilities: Cafe, toilets, free car park, mini golf, miniature railway ride, children’s playground, picnic area, Butterfly World, The Museum and an animal enclosure.

Open 10am – 4pm everyday.

2. Albert Park

Located in Middlesbrough, Albert park is another brilliant example of an all round family experience. With a plethora of activities for everyone to get involved with. Albert Park is a public park which has recently undergone a programme of restoration. Features include a boating lake, bowling green and bandstand. Albert Park is also home to the Dorman Museum which often has very special exhibitions from around the world. Due to Covid booking is mandatory and can be found here.

Facilities: Toilets, cafe (Needs to be booked), free parking, gift shop, play area, museum, boating lake and sport facilities.

3. Stewart Park

Another park located in Middlesbrough, more aimed towards walking and nature loving families with its vast open spaces and many different walking routes. Stewart Park is home to one of Askham Byran’s college campuses, covers approximately 120 acres and consists of both mature woodland and arboretum. The park has an indoor cafe, a splendid playground and multiple animal enclosures. Stewart Park also has two sets of lakes to provide a habitat for our water fowl, a pets corner with many types of domesticated animals, fallow deer, llamas and goats and the park also features a children’s play area, trim trail and outdoor table tennis and much more. The park also houses the Captain Cook Museum. The site of the cottage where Captain James Cook was born is in Stewart Park, although all traces of the building have now disappeared. It is marked by a granite vase which is close to the centre of the museum.

Facilitates: Toilets, cafe, gift shop, play area, lakes, trim trail, table tennis area, museum, free parking, animal enclosures.

4. Ropner Park

The splendid pavilion houses a café and toilets. The café is run by the Friends of Ropner Park, who also organise a programme of concerts on the bandstand and run other events in the park. With a fabulous play area, tennis courts, bowls club and large grassed areas for games and picnics, there is something for everyone.

Facilities: toilets, cafe, free parking, play area, tennis courts, bandstand, and a lake.

5. Wynyard Woodland Park

Located near the village of Thorpe Thewles, the former railway line now offers an excellent route for walking and cycling, with linking footpaths enabling visitors to wider parks including Thorpe Wood Local Nature Reserve, Tilery and Brierley Woods and the splendid Pickard Meadows. The old station has now been transformed into an amazing cafe which is great for refreshments and ice creams. The park also has a recently refurbished play area, stretching through three different areas all made for different ages.

Facilities: toilets, cafe, play area, free parking, planetarium and observatory and vast walkways.

6. RSPB Saltholme Wildlife Reserve

If you’re new to birdwatching or love nature, Saltholme is the perfect place to start. This family-friendly, adventure-filled grasslands have a helpful visitor’s centre, hides and screens which let you get up close to multiple species of birds, plus a family discovery zone, cafe, play area and accessible trails. The visitors centre is home to a cafe, gift shop and arts and crafts area. There is something for everyone to do at Saltholme, from enjoying the peaceful walks to the bird watching areas, climbing about on the massive play area or having some refreshments in the cafe. There is an small entrance fee for those who aren’t members of the RSPB

Facilities: Toilets, cafe, gift shop, free parking, arts and crafts area, play area, bird watching hides and flower gardens.

7. Hardwick Park

With free admission (other than car parking charges), you can stroll through the historic parkland admiring the natural beauty of the lake, woodland and wildlife. And no visit is complete without calling into the visitor centre to learn about the history and restoration of the park, taking a look in the gift shop and the Tower Cafe. With a small play area and vast nature walks, Hardwick park is aimed more towards the adventurous walkers. Facilities: toilets, cafe, gift shop, adventure trails (Seasonal), play area, visitors centre and many lakes/ponds.

8. High Force Waterfall

High Force is an incredible sight to behold at any time of year, the beautiful walks up to the fall are spectacular. This beautiful landscape has been shaped by millions of years of Earth processes and thousands of years of people living and working here. Upper Teesdale is home to some of the UK’s rarest plants and most iconic birds. You’ll discover rocks from dramatic origins, the ice age, ancient settlements and vast wildlife. The convenient kiosk not only sells admission tickets for High Force waterfall but also a delicious range of ice creams, snacks and drinks to take away. The Waterfall kiosk is open seasonally and has a fantastic range of delicious ice creams from local creamery Brymor. And if you’re looking for something a little more, a pub lunch awaits you at the High Force Hotel. High Force can be extremely dangerous and unforgiving by nature; you must respect its tremendous power. Children and pets should be kept under close supervision at all times, especially at the water’s edge. Please find more information here.

Facilities: toilets, kiosk/pub, free parking, peaceful walks, beautiful surrounding village and a range of activities around the area.

9. Brimham Rocks

The natural spectacle of Brimham Rocks, with its giant rock formations, was created by an immense river 100 million years before the first dinosaurs walked the earth, and a visit to this amazing landscape is truly a journey into pre-history. Some rock features can be seen after a ten minute walk, while to see all it can take around four hours. Making it an amazing family day out, with a main communal picnic area with a kiosk selling refreshments and also a gift shop with an indoor cafe.

Facilities: toilets, kiosk/cafe, gift shop, beautiful views and long walks.

10. Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens

When John Aislabie inherited Studley Royal, he set about creating an water garden of ponds and statues, incorporating the romantic ruins into his design. Lawns stretch down to the riverside, a perfect spot for a picnic. Riverside paths lead to the deer park, home to Red, Fallow and Sika deer and ancient trees. There is also a play area, a visitors centre which houses a cafe and a gift shop.

Facilities: toilets, cafe, gift shop, deer park, picnic area, water gardens, play area and a visitors centre.

Check out our Medium blog page here

16Jun

Looking Beyond INNOVATE UK

June 16, 2021 Josh 44

As a start-up company we were incredibly pleased and grateful to be granted match funding from Innovate UK to build out our vision for the primary school focussed Life Ninja Engagement Platform. The project drew to a close at the end of May and we are delighted to have achieved our goal of completing our platform that fosters collaboration between student, teacher and parents around the life and learning of the student.

The platform can be described as a powerful dashboard that utilises the latest technologies to power the core Life Ninja Communication and Home Learning Apps as well as enabling third party applications and content creators to plugin to the engagement and gamification features the platform facilitates.

We have a mission to impact 1 Million students and their parents by 2025 as part of our vision to democratise access to the best quality edtech and learning resources. Our innovative financial model enables schools to benefit from our free feature rich communication and home learning hubs and even generates revenue to pay for their additional edtech and learning resources needs.

Now that the Innovate UK project is complete our eyes are on the next six months where we have a few key areas of focus:

1) We eagerly await the results of our bid to implement the platform including the gamified Maths and English apps from Zap Learning which are part of the Life Ninja Network across the entire Teeside Region. 1 out of 4 students in the region are achieving below expected results for key stages 1 and 2 which is translating into higher unemployment and underachievement among GSCE leavers. We aim to help change this.

2) With the support of UK Department For International Trade in North East we are currently collaborating with a few stakeholders including The Unconnected.Org and The Wafaa Smart School in Lebanon to set up a pilot school in focussed on Syrian refugee children. The pilot is focussed on how the Syrian Curriculum can be delivered in a cost effective, measurable and engaging way using the Life Ninja Platform. The aim is to roll out a successful model across the region to meet the pressing needs of Syrian Refugees across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, the Mena region and Europe.

3) In Q4 we will launch a crowd equity fund raising round to enable us to take the business to the next level, this will be our first funding raise and we anticipate our exciting business focus and model to capture the imagination and interest of the crowd equity community.

In conclusion we are looking forwards to the imminent Tees Business Awards where we are one of three finalists in the running for Small Business of the Year. We are truly appreciative of the support and recognition we have received from the Middlesbrough community and local government this past year and can’t wait to see our vision to impact young peoples lives gather momentum in the months to come.

14Jun

How to create a lifelong reader in your home.

June 14, 2021 Josh 41

As an English teacher, I am always promoting the importance of reading with my students. Being an avid reader myself, I always have the next book waiting for me and have instilled that passion in my own children.

1 in 6 people in the UK have poor literacy skills, and in Middlesbrough 40% of adults have literacy skills below Level 1. The national average is 11%. Life Ninja are working with schools in the area to have a positive impact on pupils in local primary schools to tackle this problem. One of the most beneficial ways to improve literacy skills is to become a competent reader.

Do you know the benefits of reading?

Reading improves your vocabulary and writing skills. Even as adults we can always learn something new. You may have come across new words or unusual phrases which can then be used in your own writing.

It also helps to build confidence and broaden your horizons. Perhaps a meaty novel is not your thing, so why not try some travel writing instead and learn about a new country and culture?

Furthermore, reading helps to reduce stress, improves sleep, develops your creative side and best of all: it is fun!

How can you promote reading at home?

Many parents ask me how they can promote reading at home. My top tip is to become a reader yourself. Children learn from parents and if they see your interest, they will most likely copy your behaviour. Always have books available for your child. You don’t have to buy the latest best- seller, use your local library, in my experience they are always more than happy to order books in.

Also, show an interest in your child’s reading. Discuss the books they are currently interested in, ask them questions about the characters and what they are enjoying most about the book.

Additionally, it really helps if children have a quiet time during the day or at bedtime which is dedicated to reading.

Some website which may help in choosing a great book for yourself or your child:

https://www.fantasticfiction.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/19095.Fantastic_Children_s_Books.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/the-new-york-times-bestsellers/_/N-1p3n

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08Jun

Middlesbrough Mega Maths Winner

June 8, 2021 Josh 42

The Middlesbrough Mega Maths competition came to an end on 28th May 2021. We had hundreds of students joining from across the region which is absolutely amazing.

The winning student, from Captain Cook primary school in Marton, achieved an astonishing 4,597 stars and played many, many hours of Zap Maths. This student will be receiving their prize in the coming weeks so watch this space for some photos of the happy occasion. The winning primary school had a total of 95 pupils involved in the competition, with a total of 18,042 stars being earned from 8th March to 28th May.

Hundreds of pupils have been playing Zap in their own time, helping to ensure they make up for any lost learning as a result of the pandemic. Not only does this show the value students place on their own learning, but also just how enjoyable playing Zap Maths was.

Overall, we had 340 students sign up to the competition, 37,750 stars earned and 81 hours of maths games being played by children! We are hoping to have made a positive impact on the education of hundreds of students in the area and work with schools to raise the attainment of students in the area from 25% not reaching the expected level of attainment to being more in line with national average.

Find more of our blogs on our medium page here

02Jun

Finalists in the Tees Tech Awards!

June 2, 2021 Josh 46

Life Ninja is a finalist in the Tees Tech Awards in the Small Business of the Year category. We are absolutely thrilled by this and are really looking forward to the finals in July at Hardwick Hall.

Like so many businesses, it has been a tough year. Working from home, schools closing for the vast majority of pupils, and adjusting to this new way of living has been a challenge. We have managed to power through 2020, and so to become a finalist in this year’s awards is a real privilege. We are up against two other really amazing businesses, Circle Cloud and Intasite, and we look forward to meeting them on the big night.

There are so many fantastic and credible businesses taking part, it means that we will be amongst Teesside’s finest on the big night. It will be a great evening networking and meeting other businesses in a social setting. We hope to connect with many like minded people and celebrate living and working together in the Tees Valley.

We are so proud of our achievements this year, from taking on two apprentices, success with the Innovate UK grant, Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition for all Middlesbrough schools, through to working on a Smart School pilot for the delivery of an education for refugee children in Lebanon. It has certainly been a busy year and we expect 2021 to be equally as exciting.

Check out the Life Ninja Medium page here

18May

How is Life Ninja helping employment in the Tees Valley?

May 18, 2021 Josh 45

In March 2020 as most businesses were closing for a period of time due to restrictions, and concerns regarding unemployment in the area of 16-19 year olds claiming benefits at 5.6% which is higher than the national average, Life Ninja recruited our first apprentice. Jack Hobson is working towards his level 4 Software Development having started with us in June 2020.

Jack has been working hard to complete his training, undertaking part of it at home under lockdown, but still under supervision from Tom Bailey, C.T.O. His dedication to his work has helped the business with the development of its Life Ninja Network and the successful delivery of the Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition.

With youth unemployment above the national average, it is hoped that by participating in apprenticeship schemes we can be part of the aim of the creation of 25,000 jobs in Tees Valley by 2026.

In April 2021 we recruited our second apprentice, Josh Hunt, who is working towards his Level 3 Digital Marketing. Josh has made a great start to his apprenticeship, already completing his first module last week, and has been hard at work ensuring social media posts are posted daily, also creating and distributing our newsletter.

It is really important to Life Ninja that we support the local community in any way we can, providing training opportunities, employment, working with graduates from Teesside University, and we have also put ourselves forward to provide a work experience placement for a local secondary school in 2022. We hope to inspire students currently at school to see the fantastic opportunities in the local area and encourage them to remain in the area in adulthood.

In the next six months, we hope to secure funding to employ a number of teachers to work in local primary schools, assisting them with the delivery and use of the Life Ninja Network and Zap range of educational software.

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.

17May

How we have helped to close the attainment gap in Middlesbrough

May 17, 2021 Josh 45

Life Ninja has been running the ‘Middlesbrough Mega Maths Competition’ since March 2021. The competition is free to all Middlesbrough schools and finishes on 28th May 2021. Our aim is to help close the attainment gap in the area and by releasing Zap Maths to all pupils. We have been overwhelmed with the amount of maths games students have played! One pupil played over 2,000 games, which is amazing.

According to the Tees Valley Economic Assessment, 25% of pupils in Key Stage 1 are not meeting the expected level in reading, writing, maths and science, this is compared to 15% nationally. We have been working with schools in the area to improve the attainment of pupils. Over twenty schools in the area have become involved in the competition, with hundreds of pupils playing maths games on a daily basis. This is in addition to their learning within school and is going to have a huge impact on closing the gap in the area as a result of the pandemic.

The attainment of students in the area is so important to us at Life Ninja, we have decided to offer Zap Maths free to all pupils in Middlesbrough for an additional three months until the end of this academic year.

What is next for us? Our aim is to have helped 1 million students by 2025, so with this in mind, we are hoping to receive some funding to enable us to make the Life Ninja Network available to all Tees Valley schools for free for two years! This will not only help us to achieve our goal, but also means we can do something positive for the area. There are almost 67,000 students studying in primary schools in Tees Valley, using the Life Ninja Network which includes both Zap Maths and Zap English, will help children to accelerate their learning therefore closing the attainment gap.

Check out our Medium page for more blogs.