The Naace Annual Strategic Conference and Exhibition opened in Torquay in early March 2008. This is the definitive ICT Conference in the UK for all those involved in advancing education through the use of modern technologies in learning and teaching.

'Moving ICT National Agendas Forward: Policy-makers and LAs working together'. The conference is organised by a partnerthip between The School House Partnership, Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Advisers, YHGfL and Naace. The target audience is LA ICT Strategic Leaders. The conference will be held at the Park Plaza Hotel Leeds, Boar Lane City Square, Leeds, LS1 5NS from 9.30 am Thursday to 1 pm Friday, 29 - 30 November 2007.

A wide range of Primary classroom activities, reviews and resources has been developed and published over the years originally by MAPE and, more recently since the merger in 2004, by Naace.

This short article aims to highlight the background, key features and current vision of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) project at Ranvilles Infant School. The full version of this research project is available through the University of Winchester library: Aubrey-Smith, F.S., (2007) 'How the implementation of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) can affect the strategic development of a whole school. MA(Ed) Dissertation. University of Winchester.'

'Sharing Success' is a monthly e-magazine that focuses on schools' and teachers' use of ICT to contribute to successful achievements. Features freqently focus on recent issues, with the opportunity for Members to post comments directly onto each Article.

The Direct2U service was a weekly email service produced by Becta in partnership with Naace. The service was for primary teachers and offered lesson plans featuring ICT in activities based on six subject strands. The service is discontinued but you can view the lesson plans in this archive.

An ICT Co-ordinator in an infant school decsribes how she has set up an after-school Internet Café for children and their parents.

In 2006 Naace and QCA held a joint Think tank to try to get to grips with what we really mean by the term 'e-learning'. Like quite a few other e-words that have sprung up in the last year or so, we cannot assume that everyone will use the term in the same way. Does the 'e' just mean electronic, as in 'email', or something more profound?

Anyone who works with pupils who have additional or special educational needs will understand when I say how difficult it has been to try to cover the range of needs that this encompasses. I am delighted to have such a diverse and talented group together in one publication and between them have created a magazine that should have something for everyone and lots more to make you think and consider how your classroom practice could benefit from their experience. I hope you enjoy reading the articles and that you are inspired to try out some new ideas in your classroom.

Sandra O'Neill
Guest editor

Within these pages you'll find many ways in which you can deliver a rich curriculum through a range of topics. We have chosen to focus on just five. For younger children there are some exciting ways to learn about Food. Margaret Allen highlights the versatility of IWBs and Susie Arnott and Marie Hindmarch suggest ways of using stories as a starting point. Andy Pierson brings inspiration and help when teaching music in a Seaside topic. Photographs of beach huts, taken by Roger Keeling, provide a stimulus for mathematical activities.