Teaching and learning is crucial to the success of a primary school. Our best practice articles and case studies focus on how school leaders can support their teachers to sustain high quality teaching and learning.

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Five steps for home learning: A practical, realistic and effective approach

We are almost one month into the coronavirus lockdown. As the summer term gets underway, Matt Bromley offers further advice on teaching activities and approaches that are practical, realistic and effective for home education

Home education: Six quick and easy key stage 1 activities

Many of the resources and support being offered for home education focus on key stage 2 and above. Here, Jack Dabell offers six quick activities for younger children in key stage 1

Quick ideas to protect children’s wellbeing during lockdown

The coronavirus outbreak and lockdown could have a significant impact on wellbeing, mindset and mental health. Ross McWilliam advises families on approaches and activities to support their children

Coronavirus: A realistic approach to home learning

As millions of school children – and their parents – knuckle down to home schooling, Dorothy Lepkowska looks at the advice for schools and teachers on how to set work and what the expectations should (and should not) be

Lesson streaming and reduced marking – a coronavirus response

The streaming of lessons for key stage 2 and a much-reduced approach to marking have been two elements of the Warrington Primary Academy Trust’s approaches to supporting home education. CEO Louise Smith explains

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Coronavirus: Provision and teaching in school during the crisis

For the foreseeable future, schools are only open to children of key workers, vulnerable students or those with an EHCP. Matt Bromley looks at what kind of provision we can reasonably offer these pupils at a time of national crisis and staff shortages

Coronavirus: Supporting families and pupils learning from home

Schools face a raft of new challenges as they seek to support the home education of their students. Matt Bromley offers his reflections on what teachers and schools can do to ensure learning continues as much as possible during the coronavirus emergency

Using music effectively as part of your lessons

Music is a powerful tool that teachers can embrace in the classroom to help encourage, calm, motivate, inspire and more. Fiona Aubrey-Smith offers some pointers

Case study: Creating an inspiring reading environment

Drawing on research evidence, Nafferton Primary School has gone all-out to create a reading environment to inspire its pupils and make them want to pick up a book. Lucy May and David Murray explain how

Coronavirus: Home education resources for schools, teachers and parents

A range of resources and education services are being offered to schools and parents to help support the home education of students during the coronavirus crisis. Dorothy Lepkowska looks at some of what is out there, including a number of free-access resources

EAL strategies for multilingual classrooms

The diversity to be found in today’s classrooms requires that EAL strategies be embedded within pedagogy and teaching and learning. Kamil Trzebiatowski offers some advice and signposts free resources

Ofsted’s changed regime: Questions to consider

The Education Inspection Framework is a radical departure from what has gone before. Danny Cuttell considers some aspects that you might have missed and asks some key questions of your curriculum provision

Differentiation: Time to rethink our approach?

Differentiation for pupils, including those with SEN, is important – but it does not have to be all-consuming for the teacher. Daniel Sobel and Sara Alston discuss some simple adjustments to our thinking and teaching

Perhaps the greenest school in England...

How do primary schools translate children’s anxieties about our planet into practical learning opportunities? Nick Bannister spoke to a Greater Manchester primary which has forged a national reputation for its approach to environmental education

Reflections on year 6 reading attainment

The key stage 2 national curriculum tests can give us far greater insights than just a scaled score. Sarah Gibb explores what individual question data can tell us about which skills pupils successfully demonstrate in year 6 and which areas prove more challenging

RSE, health education and parental consultation

Parental engagement with statutory relationships, sex and health education is a vital component of a successful curriculum. Leah Jewett offers her advice to primary schools ahead of September 2020

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Learning environments: A question of light and air

With the darker days drawing in and winter upon us, Fiona Aubrey-Smith considers two issues that do not often make it to the top of school improvement plans – light and air

Improving your pupils’ retention and retrieval

A project to boost the working memories of children in years 3 to 6 has proved a success for Liphook Junior School. SENCO Nicky Parrott takes us through what they did and how it worked

How we created an inspiring school library

This is the story of how a small team created a new, woodland-themed library at Halberton Primary School. Christine Campion explains

Discussion is a key step towards maths mastery

Mathematics Mastery has developed a framework to help teachers use language and communication to increase pupils’ enjoyment, confidence and attainment. Joe Sarchet-Winters breaks the approach down into five tips to enable pupils to confidently articulate mathematical ideas

Teaching climate change

EduCCate Global and a group of Teaching Schools in Derbyshire are supporting teachers to train in climate change education in order to equip children to handle an uncertain future on a warming planet. Headteacher Fiona Cowan explains more about the project and her school’s climate change curriculum

Teaching and Learning