Best practice

Back to School Guide: Teaching & Learning

In this 12-page guide, we consider what teaching and learning should look like in schools from this September when all pupils are due to return following the Covid-19 lockdown...

Language difficulties: Assessment and action

Given the importance of language skills, the assessment of difficulties early on is vital. SENCO Nicky Parrott discusses her schools’ approach to spotting problems and some of their interventions to improve outcomes

Working effectively with vulnerable children

There are many things schools and teachers can do – both little and large – to understand and support vulnerable children. Educational psychotherapist Angela Greenwood advises

SEND: Engaging with your parents

In the last of three articles on parental engagement, Dorothy Lepkowska looks at SEND – an issue where effective and open collaboration and communication between parents and schools is vital

Attachment and SEMH: Supporting our children

Pikemere School has been working to prioritise issues of Attachment as well as social, emotional and mental health challenges. Emma Lee-Potter explains how the school trains its staff and supports pupils

Understanding and supporting SEMH pupils

Drawing on the outstanding work of Adelaide School, a special provision in Cheshire catering for pupils aged nine and upwards, Sarah Barlow offers advice to mainstream schools on supporting students who face social, emotional and mental health challenges

The rising tide of sensory troubles: An overview

In a three-part series for Headteacher Update, inclusion specialist Joanna Grace addresses the sensory challenges that many pupils face, the resulting behaviours we may see in schools, and how teachers should handle these problems

Case study: Inclusion – the secret to success at Thames View

Thames View Infants Academy is in the top three per cent of schools for attainment but is located in the most deprived ward of the sixth most deprived authority in the country. Suzanne O’Connell finds out how inclusion is at the heart of what they do and the secrets to their success

Attachment-aware schools

Attachment-aware and trauma-informed practice can help to support some of the most vulnerable pupils in our schools, including those who are looked after. Virtual school head Darren Martindale advises

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Supporting looked after children in your school

Specific support for looked after children is essential if they are to thrive. Darren Martindale focuses on three key elements – the designated teacher, the Personal Education Plan, and the virtual school head

Vulnerable pupils: Parent-school meetings

In Headteacher Update this year, Daniel Sobel will be tackling common problems and questions when it comes to supporting vulnerable pupils in school. In his first article, he looks at the challenges and secrets to successful parent-school meetings

Inclusion, equality and the law

There are a range of statutory requirements that all schools must meet to ensure the inclusion of children and young people with disabilities and SEN. Navin Kikabhai looks at what the law requires and offers best practice advice

Interventions: Pre and over-learning

The one teaching intervention that could most benefit a range of pupils, including EAL and SEN, is – according to Daniel Sobel – the use of pre-learning and over-learning. He discusses these concepts, including how they can be introduced in the classroom

Inattentive ADHD

The hyperactive version of ADHD is well-known and often spotted, but students with inattentive ADHD frequently go undiagnosed, as Daniel Sobel knows from his own experience

Attachment theory in schools

The implications of attachment theory are becoming more and more relevant to the work of schools. Professor Elizabeth Harlow looks at the research and signposts a range of resources, training and support

SEN: It’s goodbye to P scales

They were never flawless, but P scales have become the accepted currency of SEN attainment. Now they are set to go, Suzanne O’Connell looks at what’s replacing them and what schools think about it

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Headteacher Update is the only magazine delivered directly to every primary school headteacher in the UK. It is published six times a year, at the beginning of each term and half-term, to keep headteachers up-to-date with everything going on in primary education.

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