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
Are they bothered? Using the curriculum to help ‘level up’ We want our pupils to be ‘bothered’ about where they live. Warrington headteacher Chris Jones explains how the primary schools in his trust have developed a curriculum designed to stem the drain of talent
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
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
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
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 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
Beating the drum for literacy Can we use music to help boost recovery and wider literacy lessons in the primary school? Nicola Hankey discusses the approaches used in her school and the benefits of building music into school literacy recovery strategies
Seven starting points for interrogating your curriculum What are the seven starting points that will ensure you have a healthy, open conversation about your school’s curriculum? John Tomsett, co-author of a new book on curriculum conversations, discusses some of the key questions we should be asking…
The power of words: Teaching vocabulary It is said that learning floats on a sea of talk. So how can schools build systems, processes, and strategies to make sure students develop powerful word knowledge over time? Robbie Burns advises
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
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
Covid recovery: When the SENCO knows best Communication and language skills have taken a hit during Covid, but techniques to support children with SEN can also improve outcomes for mainstream learners. Victoria Annan describes three interventions in particular
Top 10 tips for... Lesson-planning How should you be planning your lessons to ensure the most efficient use of your time and to best support your pupils’ learning? Mark Creasy offers five dos and five don’ts
Teachers collaborating on the curriculum It is teachers who deliver the curriculum, so curriculum design and implementation through collaboration is a clear way to improve teaching and learning quality, says Richard Jackson
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…
Phonics: The debate continues... Synthetic phonics is the accepted way of teaching young children to read in the UK. The phonics screening check, backed up by Ofsted, has ensured this. But not all teachers or researchers are convinced. Suzanne O’Connell reports
Wrap-around provision as part of Covid recovery Before and after-school clubs have been hit hard – first to be cut, the last to be reinstated. But they could be exactly what disadvantaged pupils and your Covid recovery plan need, says Suzanne O’Connell
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
