Last week CSIE received the gift of a free Zoom licence and webinar licence from Schools OUT UK, who had themselves received a number of complimentary licences from Zoom. It is a wonderful and significant gift which will help CSIE to continue many of its activities online as the pandemic continues. Furthermore, thanks to this gift CSIE hopes to be able to reach even more people, spreading our vision for all children to be safe, included and learning in their local school.

Here are some of the ways CSIE is planning to use this fantastic gift:

• To facilitate easy, internal communication between CSIE’s staff and volunteer whilst we continue to work remotely.
• To enable easier contact between CSIE’s staff and Trustees. CSIE will hold all regular Trustee meetings on Zoom as well as additional meetings such as Risk Committee meetings and regular management meetings.
• To organise and run a three-day training activity involving learning support assistants from five European countries, which was originally planned to take place in London as part of CSIE’s contribution to the IMAS II project.
• To hold meetings with representatives of schools, local authorities, independent consultants and Ofsted, contributing to CSIE’s ongoing and very exciting restructuring process.
• To use the webinar function to hold an online screening of the film Intelligent Lives, after the planned screening in Sheffield could not go ahead due to the pandemic.

This generous gift is much appreciated and provides a real opportunity for CSIE: both to make internal communication more effective and to innovate regarding how CSIE carries out its work on promoting equality in education. We would, therefore, like to extend our sincerest thanks to Zoom and to Schools OUT UK. Thank you!