For reasons known only to the style gurus, catalogues became hip in the mid-1990s. Sad as it may seem with an ironic new-century perspective, the Next catalogue became an acceptable accessory for the coffee table.
Sadly for teachers, the catalogue craze has returned and if you’ve just started out in the job, you’re going to have to consult with a catalogue or two if you want to build up a decent collection of teaching resources.
For ICT, you should get hold of a copy of the TAG catalogue, which lists some really innovative cross-curricular products. The TAG Learning team puts a premium on creativity and has some nifty resources that can be used in a range of subjects.
TTS Group offers a range of resources, from dice for overhead projectors in its Active Maths catalogue to polystyrene heads in its Active Damp;T catalogue. Other titles in the TTS range include Ethos, which offers a mix of religious and citizenship resources, English in Evidence and Active Science.
Probably the biggest supplier for science is Griffin and George. Its catalogue has everything you need for sensible science lessons. Less extensive but wackier are the offerings from Commotion Science. The firm offers standard equipment such as multimeters and magnet kits as well as posters of Einstein, rockets made from plastic drinks bottles and fruit clocks.
Don Johnston and Rompa both have dedicated special needs catalogues. There are two good options for PE:Davies Sports and Newitts.
The Hope catalogue, which features thousands of products mainly for key stages 1 and 2, has a good rewards and incentives section.
If you still can’t bear the thought of a catalogue, all the above companies have online shopping facilities. For a more extensive list of educational suppliers, go to the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) website at www.besanet.org.uk or call for a free directory of suppliers.
Tag Learning Tel: 01474 357 350 Web: www.taglearning.com.
TTS Tel: 0800 318 686 Web: www.tts-group.co.uk.
Griffin amp; George Tel: 01509 233 344 Web: www.griffinandgeorge.co.uk Don Johnson Tel: 01925 256 500 Web: www.donjohnson.co.uk Rompa Tel: 01246 211 777 Web: www.rompa.com. Davies Sports Tel: 0870 6000 195 Web: www.daviessports.co.uk.
Newitts Tel: 01904 468 551 Web: www.newitts.com Hope Tel: 08702 412 308 Web: www.hope-education.co.uk
