Emergencies in school: Preparing for the unknown All education settings are required to have emergency plans in place. These are designed to help you respond effectively to unforeseen incidents and a range of materials have been published to assist you with this. Suzanne O’Connell takes a look
The power of coaching leadership styles Adopting a coaching leadership style in your school can yield a range of benefits for you and your team. Frances Robertson explains
Searching, screening and confiscation: Dos and don’ts How can schools safely approach searching, screening and confiscation? Safeguarding expert Elizabeth Rose looks at what to do and what to avoid
Technology: Putting pedagogical intentions first Most teachers would agree that technology should serve teaching and learning and not the other way around. To achieve this, Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith says we should practise pedtech
Safeguarding & the quality of education: A case study of Ofsted inspection From updated statutory safeguarding guidance to a focus on prior learning and the quality of education, what lessons can we draw from a recent primary school inspection? Here are some notes from an anonymous headteacher
Introducing unhomework: Five core principles to improve your homework How can we generate successful homework without increasing workload? Mark Creasy labels his approach ‘unhomework’ and his learners always complete the tasks. He explains five core principles...
Cost of living crisis: Conversations with colleagues The cost of living crisis is biting hard. Pupils, families, and school staff are all suffering. In two articles, Sean Harris considers how to support both pupils and school staff. He concludes here with a focus on how we might respond with colleagues who are struggling
How to create a whole-school culture of mental health How can senior mental health leads build a team and deliver a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing provision? Dr Pooky Knightsmith offers general principles of practice as well as 26 specific suggestions 1 comment
Making school uniforms affordable: A case study The introduction of a new uniform at Race Leys Junior School could have presented a financial burden to parents. Head of school Sue-Ellen Lamb explains what they did to ensure this wasn’t the case
School-to-school improvement: Peer review with a purpose Following the nine principles of effective school-to-school peer review, two south London primary schools have embarked on a new collaboration focused on behaviour. Laura McPhee reports
Welcoming and supporting Ukrainian refugees in your school Of the more than 126,500 Ukrainian refugees who have arrived in the UK since the war began, a third are children. How can schools welcome and support them? Sheila Hopkins advises and signposts to resources to help
Cost of living crisis: Conversations with pupils The cost of living crisis is biting hard. Pupils, families, and school staff are all suffering. In two articles, Sean Harris considers how to support both pupils and school staff. He begins by focusing on how we might respond with our pupils and their families
School libraries and reading development Recreational reading. Reading for learning. Reading for life. The school library and school librarian has a vital role to play in supporting pupils to read. Clare Brumpton and Elizabeth Hutchinson look at how they can do this
Twenty books to diversify your school library stock It is crucial that the books we stock in our schools represent our pupils and the world they are growing up in. Sarah Wordlaw offers 20 titles to consider for your primary school library
Closing the Digital Divide: What can schools do? A recent SecEd and Stone Group webinar discussed what schools can do, practically and realistically, to support those families on the wrong side of the digital divide. Panellists Bukky Yusuf and Fiona Aubrey-Smith pick up the conversation...
Beating the teaching plateau: Professional Inquiry Programme New teachers often make rapid improvements in their practice before hitting a ‘performance plateau’. Alex Beauchamp explains how a professional inquiry programme has helped overcome this challenge
Sharing lesson planning with your teaching assistant Good lesson outcomes can be supported by teachers sharing their planning with teaching assistants. Sara Alston offers three key questions to help facilitate this important process
A school policy checklist Statutory, non-statutory, school-specific – how many official policies does your school have, and how do you keep on top of them, ensuring they are reviewed and updated as required? Craig McKee advises
Teacher appraisal: What targets should we set this year? Are your school’s teacher appraisal targets full of well-meaning but poorly thought out statements and objectives. Nick Hart considers how we can give meaning and purpose to appraisal
The changing shape of performance management Decoupling performance and pay does not mean a less robust appraisal system, in fact it can mean quite the opposite. Pay specialist Louise Hatswell advises
Working together on school attendance Attendance still isn’t back on track for many schools and new guidance is kicking in this term, putting this issue firmly at the top of the agenda. Suzanne O'Connell asks what school leaders and attendance leads should be focused on this year.
Are they bothered? Using the curriculum to help ‘level up’ We want our pupils to be ‘bothered’ about where they live. Warrington headteacher Chris Jones explains how the primary schools in his trust have developed a curriculum designed to stem the drain of talent
Literacy: Top tips for instilling a love of reading Summer reading learning loss is a common issue that primary schools face every autumn term, exacerbated this year in the wake of Covid. Dr Sarah McGeown shares some tips to help teachers instil a love of reading this academic year
How governors can support whole-school wellbeing Mental health and wellbeing must be at heart of school governance, but how? In an article adapted from her contribution to a new book on effective governance, Dr Pooky Knightsmith offers some pointers and ideas
Effective whole-school mental health interventions The unprecedented challenges for young people’s mental health constitute a public health crisis and schools find themselves on the front-line. Dr Michelle Jayman considers the barriers and facilitators to effective whole-school mental health interventions
