Top 10 tips for... Better school break-times How does your school organise its break-times? As part of her top 10 tips series, Suzanne O’Connell considers making break-times better 1 comment
Recruiting and retaining our teaching assistants How can schools hang on to their teaching assistants? Sara Alston considers the barriers to retention and how supporting TAs’ preparation, training and professionalism will help
School staffing: It’s time to take the menopause seriously How does your school support colleagues who may be affected by menopause symptoms? Legal and HR expert Kelly Rayner offers some important advice and practical tips
School funding: Teaching assistants in the firing line… Despite the £2bn funding injection, schools still face tough decisions when balancing the books – and teaching assistants are prime targets. Suzanne O’Connell on why we might regret letting our TAs go...
Staff wellbeing: Complete the stress cycle and avoid burn-out Stress hormones have an important job to do, but they are not designed to stay in our systems permanently. Emily Kenneally offers seven ways to complete your stress cycle and three tips to avoid burn-out
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
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
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
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
How your school library can help pupils and staff An effective school library can support the whole school. Clare Brumpton and Elizabeth Hutchinson look at how libraries – and librarians – can play a key role in raising standards and improving outcomes 2 comments
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
Inclusion: How to plan lessons with your teaching assistant How can we work and plan with teaching assistants to support inclusion and learning for SEN and other pupils throughout the lesson? Sara Alston offers some pointers
Social media, teachers and schools: How to avoid the pitfalls Planned changes to safeguarding law could see schools conducting social media checks on prospective teachers. Legal expert Sarah Linden considers the common pitfalls of social media use for teachers…
How would you respond? When pupils get angry In her articles this year, Shahana Knight is spotlighting common behaviours or classroom scenarios, looking at why they might occur and how we can respond therapeutically. This time, she looks at pupils who are angry
Meet the two Mr Ps... The Two Mr Ps in a Pod(Cast) is one of the most popular educational podcasts. Emma Lee-Potter meets the two brothers behind the show and shares some of their anecdotes about primary school life
Flexible working: How can it work for your school? Over the last 18 months more school staff will have worked flexibly than ever before, but what does flexible working actually mean in the school context? Louise Hatswell looks at employment law, best practice and offers some guidance for employers
Achieving workforce diversity (while avoiding tokenism) How do we create meaningful representation in our schools? Hannah Wilson, director of the Diverse Educators network, advises how we can diversify our workforce while avoiding tokenism
Employment law and Covid-19: The key issues With a new term upon us, where do we stand in relation to our school staff, vaccinations, self-isolation and other key Covid-related issues? Employment law expert Jane Hallas offers her reflections
The unsung heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic… The Unsung Heroes report has revealed the key role played by teaching assistants during the pandemic. However, Jon Richards says that if these support staff are to play their part in the recovery effort, then they need proper training, a healthy career path and a decent wage
Teachers & teaching assistants: Eight principles of effective working partnerships Effective working between teachers & teaching assistants are vital. Sara Alston considers eight key principles to emerge from recent snapshot research of what makes effective teacher-TA working partnerships
Staff wellbeing: Five resilience hacks Protecting the wellbeing of our education workforce is crucial during the pandemic. Martina Witter offers five resilience hacks for teaching staff to help support wellbeing during these times of change and uncertainty
Effective remote CPD: Five practical tips The recent review of the evidence around remote CPD for teaching staff has outlined approaches that could prove effective, including by using video and coaching. Nihad Cehic considers five ideas for how schools can used video as part of remote CPD
Using CPD to support effective remote teaching CPD to support remote teaching & the use of ed-tech has become commonplace during the pandemic. Maria Cunningham advises on how schools should approach using CPD programmes to develop effective remote teaching practice
