Best Practice

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


School leadership: Starting afresh in 2022/23?

With summer over and batteries hopefully recharged after a gruelling two years, how are schools and their leaders approaching the academic year ahead? Suzanne O’Connell spoke to four headteachers to find out




Inclusion: How does your school ‘feel’?

The real sign of greatness is not exam results or other measurable outcomes, but how your school makes people feel, what your values are, and how they are woven into everything you do. Daniel Sobel reflects



Teaching emotional literacy in reception year

The reception year comes in the middle of two key transition points when anxiety and other emotions can threaten to overwhelm some children. Neil Henty discusses the importance of promoting emotional literacy in the reception year


Working relationships: Dealing with difference

If we want to build better relationships with colleagues, it ultimately starts with us. But dealing with differences and building workplace relationships is not always easy. Leonie Hurrell advises


'If you do that, you’ll be much happier in the job you do'

Primary school professionals – and brothers – Lee and Adam Parkinson’s podcast has been listened to more than five million times. Emma Lee-Potter caught up with them to talk staff wellbeing, advice for new teachers, online safety and more



Teaching with moral purpose

What is the purpose of education? As retirement approaches headteacher Jim Mepham is more convinced than ever that we want children who know things, can apply this knowledge, but who also understand themselves, others, and the world around them


Multilingual pedagogies for diverse inclusive schools

We should not expect children who use English as an additional language to leave their language and culture at the school door. Kamil Trzebiatowski and Silvana Richardson advise teachers on using multilingual pedagogies




Implementing deliberate practice as part of CPD: A case study

Effective teacher development involves practising the right things, at the right time and in the right way then it is a key CPD tool. In part two of his look at deliberate practice, Robbie Burns explains how his school has implemented this approach


Metacognition and self-regulation in the primary classroom

The explicit teaching of metacognition and self-regulation can bring a range of benefits, not least offering us a powerful tool for improving pupil behaviour, motivation and learning. Anoara Mughal – author of Think! Metacognition-powered primary teaching – offers tips and five concrete classroom ...


The case for one-to-one device access in schools

After a recent Headteacher Update webinar focused on what schools can do to close the digital divide, Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith and Sarah Evans discuss different ways of achieving one-to-one device access and how this approach can unlock powerful learning



Deliberate practice: What is it and why does it matter?

Deliberate practice is often ‘an overlooked servant’ when it comes to teacher development, but if we practise the right things, at the right time and in the right way then it is a key CPD tool. In this two-part article, Robbie Burns explains what it’s all about...


How to write an effective SEF for your school

Are you about to tackle the school self-evaluation form? Ciara Lamb shares some tips for writing your SEF, so you can be confident it is set up to effectively support your school's development




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Headteacher Update is a magazine, website, podcast and regular ebulletin dedicated to the primary school leadership team. We tackle a wide range of leadership issues, offering best practice, case studies and in-depth information, advice and guidance. Headteacher Update magazine is distributed free to approximately 20,000 primary school headteachers.

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