Our blog – Oriel Square Blog

Spotlight on… EdTech and digital transformations

Research Manager Hannie Kirkham shares her experience in the EdTech sector and the challenges providers face in remaining distinctive in a busy market.

Listen, read and get involved this #EducationDay

Our top picks of things to listen to, read and get involved with this #EducationDay.

EdTech in 2022: What to look out for

The trip to London’s Excel for the annual Bett show is a familiar ritual to everyone involved in education. This year, of course, we'll have to wait until March for the dancing robots and air-guitar contests. In the meantime, we look back at last year's virtual BettFest to pull out key themes for the next event.

EdTech innovation: 10 minutes with Henry Warren

Henry Warren is a multi-award winning innovation expert and entrepreneur specialising in education technology. He is Chairman of the South African education company Watobe, co-founder of the Turn On The Subtitles campaign, and sits on the boards of several other charities and companies – almost always around education and technology.

Project Insights: Creating online resources to support teachers through school closures

We worked with Hodder Education Group to create online resources, helping teachers to provide dynamic lessons while teaching remotely.

Why representation matters

What does it mean to have authentic representation and why is it important for educational publishing?

Curriculum change: 2022 and beyond

An in-depth look at the issues raised at this year’s BESA Curriculum Conference and what they mean for educational publishing.

Five key takeaways from the 2021 BESA Curriculum Conference

Here we round-up our main takeaways from this year’s Curriculum Conference. Look out for part two of our curriculum change blog series for detailed coverage of the day and what it means for educational publishing.

Project insights: Championing diversity, equality and inclusion through publishing

We were delighted to work with Pearson to promote the diversity of British history through the creation of an eBook about Dr Harold Moody.

The English Curriculum: What can we expect?

In anticipation of this year’s BESA Curriculum Conference, we round up the latest news on the English curriculum and consider what changes may be ahead.

The big picture: ELT in the MENA region

With mixed-ability classes and a patchwork of British, American and other varieties of English being delivered, teaching ELT in the primary classroom poses plenty of challenges. Not to mention the wide variety of contexts across the MENA region.

Q&A: Navigating cultural contexts in educational publishing

Charlotte al-Qadi explains why and how the publishing industry can embrace cultural contexts.

Project insights: Cultural adaptation

Our client was publishing maths and science instructional materials for schools in the Middle East region on behalf of the Ministry of Education.

Spotlight on… learning English in the Middle East

Publishing Assistant Lydia spent half her life studying in a Middle Eastern country before moving back to the UK and continuing her education at university. She discusses her experience of learning English while growing up in Syria.

Reading tips

1. Read what you want Whether it’s short stories or a novel, reading should be whatever you enjoy. It doesn’t matter what you read, reading what you enjoy is a great start. If a book doesn’t entice you, it’s okay. Keep trying until you find a genre that you enjoy. 2. Get comfortable Finding the […]

Spotlight on… primary literacy

It’s a huge privilege being able to work on a book that might be the very first book that a child reads for themselves. Just because it’s a school book, it doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t look great or be interesting and enjoyable to read.

Get into Primary English publishing

Many publishers start their journey with a love of reading, but few end up working on books that might be the very first book that a child reads for themselves. Editorial Manager Liz explains her love of Primary English publishing and shares what she’s learnt in ten years in the industry.

The power of reading: Three ways that reading broadens horizons

Three ways that reading for pleasure positively impacts a child's development.

Project insights: Producing the first Oxford Language Report

An insight into our work with Oxford University Press to produce the first Oxford Language Report.

Turn on the subtitles and let the magic happen!

Did you know that turning on the subtitles while children are watching television can double the chances of them becoming good at reading? We talked to the driver behind the Turn On The Subtitles campaign to find out about this brilliantly simple literacy project.

News, events and insights from Oriel Square.