Merrydale Junior School

At Merrydale Junior School, we have always placed a big emphasis on Educational Technology (EdTech) and how it can positively impact teaching and learning to keep children actively engaged and enhancing their learning and development.

We have seen, first-hand, how empowering pupils teachers and parents with technology can help them achieve more. We have seen how the right technology, used at the right time can remove barriers to learning and close educational gaps. And we have seen how, by using technology to put the student at the centre of the classroom, children develop their computer science skills such as computational thinking, innovation and creativity. Children will then have the ability to implement these skills to solve real world problems using STEM equipment such as drone, VR headsets and Spheros.

One of our jobs as educators is to prepare children for the future. As such, we have a responsibility to ensure children acquire the skills necessary to be successful in the world – a world where the use of technology is developing at a rapid pace and most of the jobs that future generations will be doing, haven’t even been invented yet.

For the past year, we have gained our Microsoft Showcase School Status and pride ourselves on staying up to date with recent research. We have multiple Microsoft Innovative Educator Experts and Microsoft Certified Educators across the school.

Our lead teacher, Laurie Davis, has been a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert for 3 years and a Microsoft Certified Educator for 3. Laurie has recently become our Pedtech Specialist Teacher for the Discovery Trust but has been leading computing for the last 9 years.