What is going on for our learners? How do we know? Why does it matter? The innovative Spirals of Enquiry model is an action research technique that can give us great insight into our pupils' attitudes and learning. Killian Moyles shares the experience of staff and children at Mayfield Primary School
Case study: An effective plan for CPD How does your school plan and implement effective professional development? Drawing on his work at Springfield Junior School, Daniel Jones shares the main principles and logistics behind their approaches to using CPD to develop and sustain high-quality teaching
Teaching assistants: The right ethos, good CPD and effective deployment Getting the best from your school’s teaching assistants means creating the right school ethos, proper training and effective deployment. Hannah Foster offers some practical advice and reflections
Partnership and collaboration: No more sink or swim Partnership and collaboration can really help to tackle the problem of teacher retention, according to Dean Boyce. He discusses why all schools should look to work together
Leading EAL in your primary school EAL support is a core responsibility for every school. Catherine Brennan considers the key roles and duties for those leading EAL within primary schools and offers some tips on how to embed sustainable EAL provision within schools and support your teaching staff
The role of governors in supporting CPD How much does your governing board know about effective staff development – and to what extent do governors support and challenge your school’s work in this crucial area? Maria Cunningham advises
Looking after your teaching voice As a teacher, losing your voice can be debilitating and is an ever-present risk given how much we talk day-to-day. Do you look after your voice? Nikki Doig offers some practical tips
A responsive, research-informed CPD cycle Designing and implementing an effective, research-informed CPD cycle for your school requires five steps. Alex Beauchamp explains
The four Cs of effective teaching assistants Professional collaboration between teachers and teaching assistants is crucial to high-quality lessons and teaching. Matt Bromley outlines his four Cs for creating outstanding working relationships 1 comment
CPD in the EAL classroom As schools become linguistically and culturally diverse, it makes sense to ensure that teaching staff are adequately prepared. Silvana Richardson looks at CPD to enable teaching staff to work effectively in diverse multilingual classrooms
Recruitment: Selling your school Primary schools with 200 to 600 pupils are the most common school type in England, making for a crowded recruitment market. Imogen Rowley outlines how you can refresh the way you advertise this year and ensure your school stands out
The challenges facing primary science education Primary science education faces some key challenges since it was overhauled in the national curriculum reforms, including questions over how well ‘working like a scientist’ is promoted and how confident teachers are to deliver lessons. Deborah Roberts explains
Making school-to-school CPD collaborations work The benefits of schools working together to deliver effective CPD can be far-reaching. Maria Cunningham looks at some practical steps schools might take to overcome the barriers to school-to-school CPD collaboration
Addressing secondary traumatic stress Secondary trauma occurs when the act of supporting a traumatised young person becomes traumatic in itself – and it is a danger that teachers should be aware of. Darren Martindale advises
Ofsted's Education Inspection Framework: Finally moving in the right direction? The consultation over Ofsted’s draft Education Inspection Framework is almost at an end. With its new focus on curriculum breadth and balance and with the chief inspector speaking out against teaching to the test, the framework has been broadly welcomed. What are the key talking points?
Retaining our new and experienced teachers With more teachers leaving the profession than joining, improving retention rates is crucial to tackling the on-going supply challenges. The government has recently announced new plans to boost teacher retention, particularly with additional support for new teachers. Dorothy Lepkowska reports
How do you choose your CPD ‘experts’? Many schools work with CPD experts to support staff development, but what should school leaders be looking for when forming these partnerships? Maria Cunningham advises
Supporting EAL learners in your classroom Continuing our series on supporting learners with English as an additional language, Emma Parsons recommends strategies and resources for teachers and support staff to use in class and offers her suggestions for CPD and sharing good EAL practice within your school 3 comments
Workload reduction: What will 2019 bring? In 2019 there will be a new Ofsted framework, the introduction of a mental maths test and the return of Baseline Assessment is on the horizon. So what hope for Damian Hinds’ pledge to support schools to tackle workload?
Making job-sharing work How can flexible working conditions, such as job-shares, improve the recruitment and retention of teachers? Caroline Cafferty speaks to headteacher Angela Pagett to get her perspective on job-sharing in a primary school setting
Reflections on recruitment Getting it right is absolutely imperative. Get it wrong and that has a tremendous impact on productivity, morale, workload and outcomes for children. Rachel Jones offers her reflections on the recruitment challenge
Using video as part of CPD The impact of video feedback on teacher-led CPD in Ross Newman‘s schools has been notable. Here, he explains how video feedback was implemented and offers some tips for other schools
Staff wellbeing: Showing your vulnerability Julian Stanley talks about the importance of schools leaders showing vulnerability and the positive impact this can have on staff
New year, new roles, new networks As the new year begins, the importance of having supportive professional networks around you is clear. Fiona Aubrey-Smith gives us some suggestions
Coaching: More than just a queue of questions Investing more time in coaching approaches to professional development could pay dividends for your schools, says assistant principal Laura Mackay. She offers some tenets of good practice
