First impressions from Geography teachers of the new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) published by Ofsted in May 2019 are overwhelmingly positive. Let’s start with the fact that the new framework puts the focus of inspection on the school curriculum and specifically what is being taught in the classroom i.e. subjects – and in our case, […]
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When I started teaching students with special educational needs, the educational landscape was a different place. Special schools and mainstreams were separate entities and what happened inside special schools was an enigma to mainstream teachers. For me, the transition from mainstream to special education was a challenge, and I learned from many mistakes. Fortunately the […]
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By Sam Holyman Are you concentrating at the end of term? At school we are getting ready for the new academic year, sorting labs, stock taking and making sure everything is labelled. And concentration has become the hot topic of debate! We use the term concentration all the time, and in everyday life this gets […]
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By Gemma Bott At last the final half term of the year has arrived. The time of year when you can get caught up with all of those jobs you’ve been putting off or just not had time to do. For secondary school teachers, exam classes have left, hopefully leaving extra PPA time in the […]
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So, just like that, another exam season is over and the GCSE Geography exams of 2019 are completed. With this being the second cohort of Year 11s to sit the reformed Geography specifications, I think that many Geography teachers were intrigued to see another set of live papers – what would be tested this year? […]
Read moreLesson Study in Japan is a model of teacher-led research in which a group of teachers collaborate to target a particular area for development in their students’ learning. Based on their prior teaching, the group of teachers work together to research, plan, teach and observe a series of lessons, using ongoing discussion, reflection and expert […]
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The sun is shining and the holidays are just around the corner, so what better excuse to roll out a list of recommended reads to see you through the summer. Here’s my pick of the top five reads for ten to thirteen-year-olds. Scavengers by Darren Simpson If you like stories where things aren’t quite what they […]
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Andy Chandler-Grevatt Back to School. The end of the summer break and the new term. New students, new timetable, new you? What will you do differently this school year? An often neglected part of our ambitions, planning and targets is looking after ourselves. How are you going to look after yourself this year? Teachers are […]
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Professor Chris Kyriacou I have spent more than 30 years teaching about and doing research on what constitutes ‘effective’ teaching. Over the years I have become more and more convinced that the key to being a successful teacher, both in terms of the quality of learning you promote, and in terms of maintaining your own […]
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In my first blog I wrote about how my headteacher had wanted to create a ‘culture of reading’ at my school. This time last year, in quiet moments, I worried that it would be impossible. I forgot that creating cultures is something teachers do all the time. Whether it be a culture of neatly presented […]
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