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.
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
Keeping Children Safe in Education: Key changes and actions for schools The updated Keeping Children Safe in Education statutory safeguarding guidance has come into force. Elizabeth Rose looks at what has changed and what we should be doing about it in schools
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
'The feeling in the classroom is calm and purposeful' More schools are signing up to transform their classrooms into therapeutic teaching spaces. Shahana Knight looks at the approaches she has helped implement at St Charles Primary School
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
The chronicles of a therapeutic classroom: What a year it's been This year, Shahana Knight has transformed a real-life year 3 classroom into a fully therapeutic environment. As the end of term approaches, she reflects on the project and the lessons learned 1 comment
Safeguarding: Responding to harmful sexual behaviours Responding to and addressing harmful sexual behaviours is a key part of safeguarding. Carmel Glassbrook considers eight forms this behaviour might take for primary-age children and how we can respond
The chronicles of a therapeutic classroom: An inspector calls This year, Shahana Knight has transformed a real-life year 3 classroom into a fully therapeutic environment. But now Ofsted is on its way and the school is on tenterhooks to see what they make of these unusual approaches…
Obesity – what can primary schools do? Recent figures show a sharp rise in obesity among year 6 pupils. While this is a challenge for all of society, what steps can primary schools take to tackle childhood obesity? Tiffnie Harris advises
Simple phrases for calming anxious students The calm of adults is contagious and can quickly help an anxious or stressed pupil to calm themselves. Dr Pooky Knightsmith offers some practical pointers
Avoiding the pitfalls: Teaching assistants, behaviour and learning The role of the teaching assistant in supporting good behaviour in the mainstream classroom is crucial, but there are a number of pitfalls to avoid. Sara Alston offers some practical advice
The chronicles of a therapeutic classroom: Ten low-cost ideas This year, Shahana Knight has transformed a year 3 classroom into a therapeutic teaching space. But not every school can rebuild an entire classroom – so here she offers 10 low-cost, easy therapeutic ideas
Improving attendance for Pupil Premium children Attendance is a priority for Ofsted and the DfE is to introduce new requirements for schools. Xavier Roeseler outlines some strategies for supporting Pupil Premium children to attend
How to improve your workplace relationships People who feel they have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their roles. Leonie Hurrell looks at how we can build positive and healthy working relationships
Statutory RSE – a role for all teaching staff Statutory RSE is not just a list of topics to tick off a list, it should be relevant to children’s everyday lives and reach across the curriculum. Indeed, in many ways, all teachers are teachers of RSE. Lucy Emmerson explains
Welcoming the refugees seeking sanctuary from war Every month there are pupils arriving in our schools from abroad as refugees and the Russian war in Ukraine means this issue is at the forefront of our minds. Suzanne O’Connell considers how schools can support newly arrived pupils, and how they might prepare and plan for longer-term integration
The screen-time dilemma: Digitally driven learning disengagement In the past five years, Claire Orange has seen a diabolical shift in childhood’s goalposts through increasing screen-time in many families. This is leading to learning disengagement in primary school classrooms…
Safeguarding: Getting the basics right – every time The basics of safeguarding revolve around identifying children at risk of harm and we can never take this work for granted. Elizabeth Rose recaps the four main types of abuse, the principles of effective staff training, and the basics of keeping children safe from serious harm
A Champion for Every Child: A case study of one-to-one tutoring provision A Champion for Every Child is a pastoral tutoring programme that has had a notable impact for thousands of Pupil Premium pupils across the Kemnal Academies Trust. Emma Lee-Potter finds out how it works in practice at Smarden Primary School
Hand-washing and hygiene: Improving primary school toilets Toilet areas in schools can sometimes be neglected, resulting in poor hand hygiene and pupils reluctant to use the spaces. Dr Catherine Stones has been looking into how we can change this using some very simple ideas
Inclusion is a verb: Belonging and schools Inclusion boils down to belonging, but how can we ensure that children from a diverse range of backgrounds and with diverse needs feel that they belong in their schools and classrooms? Daniel Sobel offers some tips, reflections – and a checklist!
