What happens when you privatise your national schools estate and fail to put in adequate governance and accountability?
I’ve spoken before about the Tory government flagship educational policy of privatisation of the national schools estate through the mechanism of creating Academy chains to replace local authority control of … Continue reading
10 Simple Steps for Reducing Toxic Stress in the Classroom
Thanks to Sarah Morgan for bringing this article by Jim Hickman and Kathy Higgins in Education Week to my attention. Sarah highlights the need for early interventions to ensure the … Continue reading
School/Parent Relations and SEND Pupils
The relationship between schools and parents can be a fraught one. It is often characterised by an arm’s length relationship, which exacerbates when the child enters secondary school and the … Continue reading
Project-Based Learning: Some Hiccups Along the Way
This blog has long advocated Project Based Learning (PBL) as a key conduit towards creating a 21st century curriculum in schools. PBL is the basis for transforming a teacher led … Continue reading
Labelling Learners: The Effects, Intended and Unintended
I am again indebted to Professor Amanda Kirby and Dr Mary Cleaton of Do-It Solutions for this really clear exposition of the pros and cons of labelling in the field … Continue reading
Phil Rooke’s 15-minute Music Break: Music Building Learning!
I’ve been conversing with Phil Rooke on matters about the future of education for almost a decade and his passion and innovative insights never fail to impress me. At a … Continue reading
Good grades and a desk ‘key for university hopes’ | BBC News
Having a desk to work at, good grades and high expectations from parents, as well as being happy at school, are key factors in encouraging children to go on to … Continue reading
Inside the primary school class with 63 pupils | BBC News
A primary school was thrust into the spotlight last month when it was revealed it was teaching children in classes of more than 60 pupils. BBC News spent the day … Continue reading
Marginalising the Arts: A Travesty of Learning!
There has always been a hierarchy of subjects in school, ranked according to their perceived value. Although we need to qualify the word value, depending on the perspective of those … Continue reading
Five moments that define Sesame Street’s first 50 years | BBC News
Sesame Street has produced nearly 5,000 episodes, won 193 Emmy awards, and now broadcasts in 150 different countries. Since first airing on television on 10 November 1969, millions of children … Continue reading
Stress Awareness Week: Some Considerations from Professor Amanda Kirby
Professor Kirby’s work in the field of neurodiversity had featured regularly in this blog. Her work challenges the idea that there are people who are able and those that are … Continue reading
Teacher Workload: A crisis which can only be solved with new thinking
There has always been a crisis over teacher workload in British schools. When I began my teaching career it was related to marking. The assumption that you would keep on … Continue reading
How women students put a rocket up Cambridge | BBC News
Women’s long struggle to gain fair access to university is commemorated in an exhibition at the University of Cambridge library. What’s most shocking, perhaps, is that it’s all so relatively … Continue reading
Commoditising Children: The link between exclusion and social ills as reported by Barnardo’s
One of the by products of the move to academisation in England has been the growth in the number of students at risk of, or experiencing exclusion. Prior to the … Continue reading
Honing Students’ Speaking Skills | Edutopia
Some guidelines for teaching all students to speak credibly and confidently—an essential skill for college and career success. Read the article here: Honing Students’ Speaking Skills | Edutopia
Neuroscience, Behaviour and Motivation
Our friends at Edutopia, and Judy Willis in particular, have put together this short paper on using neuroscientific principles to ensure that students are engaged and motivated across the span … Continue reading
Accommodating Students with Dyslexia | Edutopia
For many of us, reading is as automatic as breathing. But for the millions of students with dyslexia, reading is a difficult task that poses constant academic and emotional challenges. … Continue reading
What’s Lost When We Rush Kids Through Childhood
A reductionist approach in many western nations has meant an undue emphasis on developing reading, writing and arithmetic as the foundations of success in learning. This in turn has led … Continue reading
Empowering Students to Curb Bullying | Edutopia
Standing up to bullying can be frightening, but students can use these low-risk strategies to support peers who are bullied. Read the article here: Empowering Students to Curb Bullying | … Continue reading
The back-to-school question some believe we should ditch | BBC News
Teachers and former students debate whether you should ask children what they did during the summer. Read the full article here on the BBC website: The back-to-school question some believe … Continue reading
7 Back to School Tips for Teachers | ThoughtCo
Going back to school after summer break can be exciting, nerve-racking, and hectic for teachers. It may be the most important time of the year. Read the article here: 7 … Continue reading
8 Proactive Classroom Management Tips for New Teachers | Edutopia
New teachers — and experienced ones too — can find ideas here on how to stop disruptive behavior before it begins. In the 1950s, psychologists Jacob Kounin and Paul Gump … Continue reading
What is Really Needed to Succeed: Emotional Quotient vs Intelligence Quotient | medium.com
Why have Emotional Quotient vs Intelligence Quotient become so vital topic for discussion? The truth is that the terms have a direct connection with the professional activities and are interrelated … Continue reading
Neurodiversity in the workplace | ACAS
Neurodiversity is a relatively new term that many people may not yet know much about. However, learning more about neurodiversity and taking steps to better support it in workplaces can … Continue reading
15+ Strategies to Help Build Self-Regulation Skills
Source: 15+ Strategies to Help Build Self-Regulation Skills
Helping Students Use Improvement Plans to Develop Self-Regulation | Edutopia
Guiding students to create on an ongoing cycle of growth in self-regulation starts with having them set explicit goals for themselves. Self-regulation is a skill that takes a long time … Continue reading
5 Ways to Get Girls into STEM | Edutopia
Engineering consultant and author Karen Purcell stresses the importance of capturing young girls’ interest in STEM subjects and career paths, offering five strategies to make this happen. …the lack of … Continue reading
