Learning barriers, not labels
Let me introduce you to James. James finds it hard to articulate his thoughts due to limits to his vocabulary and a difficulty in understanding complex language in class. He can rely on simple words, repeat phrases, and non-verbal communication to get through the school day. In science, he particularly
Should we scrap An Inspector Calls?
The canon of English literature - and what is taught in English classrooms - is always the stuff of fierce debate and news headlines. A new TES article claims schools 'need support to break away from An Inspector Calls'. So, we should ask the question, should it be
School Improvement: Detecting Voltage Drops
Making change in education is hard. Making a change at scale is even harder. Whether it is a new secondary school, growing their departments and staff, or a school trust mushrooming in size, this type of scale up can easily suffer what has been termed a ‘voltage drop’. The book,
The 3Rs - Reading, writing, and research to be interested in #60
British summer time is about to begin and the year continues to tick over at pace. If things are moving a little too fast, perhaps take a few minutes to reflect and read about the latest reading and writing in education. This edition includes writing on the state of writing
What is happening with writing?
Writing problems, and solutions, can too often go undetected in schools. Unlike reading, there are relatively few specific writing assessments to detect issues that schools can use, so it is hard to follow clear trends. As a result, when national exams reveals issues – such as the drop in primary pupils’
The 7 Deadly Sins of Exam Revision
Year after year, teachers conduct assemblies, workshops, and share resources on effective revision. Despite all that effort, students continue to fall for the all-too-common seven deadly sins of exam revision. So, what are these ever-present sins that beset so many students? 1. Procrastination and cramming. Perhaps the most famous sin
R&D and being 'penny wise, pound foolish'
The proverb ‘penny wise, pound foolish’ was first recorded back in the eighteenth century. It represents how people can focus on being stingy with small amounts of money, but may be wasteful with larger sums. When it comes to specifically spending on research and development (R&D), you can