Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked questions:
- What do other schools think about Motivate conferences?
- What happens in a Motivate conference?
- Why do you do it that way?
- How much does a Motivate conference cost?
- What do we have to do to get involved?
- Help! We can't take up our place after all. What do we need to do to cancel?
- How many students can take part?
- Are Motivate conferences only for G&T students?
- How do we know if there's room on a conference we want to take part in?
- The conference we want to do seems to be full. Is it possible to take part?
- We'd like to run a special maths day for our own school or group of schools. What do we have to do?
- We'd like to run a series of double lessons on a particular topic. What do we have to do?
- We're interested in long projects. How do we find out more?
- What equipment do we need?
- How much does the equipment cost?
- We're just a small school, and we don't have regular technical help. Will we be able to cope?
What happens in a Motivate conference?
We have two main models for our conferences, two-VCs and day conferences:
- The two-VC model consists of two VCs, about 75 minutes long (but shorter for younger children) and about a month apart. The first VC is led by the presenter, with short activities for students, and the second consists of presentations by participating schools, who then respond to questions and comments from the other schools and the presenter. Between the two VCs, schools work on project ideas suggested on our website.
- Day conferences consist of cycles in which the presenter leads initially, with short activities for the students, then schools do longer tasks off camera followed by feedback to all participants. The day ends with longer presentations from the schools and/or an interactive game.
We also have some sessions which last a half day or less. What happens in these depends on the time available, the age of the participants and the content.
How much does a Motivate conference cost?
Cost depends on the school phase for which the conference is intended, the number of students who will participate, and the type of conference. The cost given is per VC centre, so can be shared between schools participating from one centre. For the year 2009-2010, costs are:
| School phase | Number of students | Type of conference | Cost |
| Primary | Up to 40 | Two-VC or day | £75 |
| Primary | 40 or more | Two-VC or day | By negotiation |
| Secondary (11-16) | Up to 40 | Two-VC or day | £195 |
| Secondary (11-16) | 40 or more | Two-VC or day | By negotiation |
| Post 16 | Up to 15 | Day | £130 |
| Post 16 | 15 or more | Day | £195. |
Other sessions will be costed according to the time and content. Sessions arranged specifically for your school or group of schools have a separate cost structure:
- £120 for up to 1 hour
- £170 for up to 90 minutes
- £220 for up to 2 hours
- £450 for a full day (normally 10.00-15.00)
- other times by arrangement, but in line with these amounts
What do we have to do to get involved?
Use our online conference request forms.
Help! We can't take up our place after all. What do we need to do to cancel?
We have a cancellation policy. After confirmation of a booking for a conference for which we make a charge, cancellation may leave you still liable for a charge.
- Cancellation within one calendar week of event - 100% of the cost of participation.
- Within two weeks of event (but more than one week) - 75% of the cost of participation unless we can find another school to take up the place.
- Within three weeks of event (but more than two weeks) - 50% of the cost of participation unless we can find another school to take up the place.
Cancellation requires an email or phone call by the teacher responsible for the school's participation in the conference to the Academic Coordinator, Jenny Gage:
motivate@maths.org or 01223 764278
A discussion of technical difficulties between the school technician and Adrian is NOT enough.
How many students can take part?
That's entirely up to you! The more, the merrier, as far as we are concerned. Factors to consider:
- How big is the room the VC will take place in?
- How much adult supervision will you have available?
- How many students would benefit from participating?
Are Motivate conferences only for G&T students?
Absolutely not! We believe that all students both can and should have opportunities to take part in enrichment activities. However if you wish a class with a signficant proportion of lower achievers or students with special needs to participate, it would be a good idea to let us know so that we can ensure we take their needs into account.
How do we know if there's room on a conference we want to take part in?
Look at the detailed information for the conference. You will find a list of participating schools, the waiting list if there is one, and information on whether we can still take bookings or not.
The conference we want to do seems to be full. Is it possible to take part?
It's always worth submitting a request if you want a place. Schools do withdraw sometimes, especially if a booking was made some time before a conference is due to start, and we then offer the place to schools on the waiting list in turn. If we get enough interest in a conference, we may be able to offer it twice.
We'd like to run a special maths day for our own school or group of schools. What do we have to do?
We'd like to run a series of double lessons on a particular topic. What do we have to do?
We're interested in long projects. How do we find out more?
Long projects start in September/October, and last until the following June/July. Information for a new school year is made available from Easter. Schools which complete the booking procedure by the end of May get our 'early bird' rate.
What equipment do we need?
We connect up to 5 (occasionally more) schools together via the JVCS service. This is free to schools, and you will find a lot of useful information on their website about videoconferencing. Because we connect a number of schools, often whole classes, webcams are not suitable, and you will need some kind of videoconferencing camera. The connection can be made through a broadband internet link.
How much does the equipment cost?
How much can you afford to spend? If the answer to that is 'not much', you may be able to buy second-hand. We can sometimes lend equipment to schools, so it is worth emailing us (or phone Adrian on 01223 765669) , particularly if you are interested in taking part in a long project or series of special days or sessions, or if you want help in starting VC from scratch.
We're just a small school, and we don't have regular technical help. Will we be able to cope?
We support a number of small schools who do not have regular technical help. Just email us (or phone Adrian on 01223 765669) to discuss what support you may need.
