Early Years School

Why are the Early Years so important for a Child’s development?

The early years in a child’s life have been acknowledged for some time by experts as vitally important to growth, learning and overall development, but it is now recognised that it also impacts mental health.

Indeed, Ofsted published some international research in June 2023 that suggests high-quality early years provision can provide extra benefits to those from low-income backgrounds.

In England, the Early Years Curriculum Framework cover children from birth to the end of their reception year at school.

Here, we will explore why the early years are important for a child’s development.

Read More

School leadership

Thinking about School leadership?

Schools are not just looking to recruit teachers. They also need to find new school leaders.

Stepping up to school leadership is rewarding but requires a complete change in perspective with an increased workload and far more responsibility.

In this guide, we will examine what school leadership means and what you need to consider before making the leap.

Read More

Repetition

Why Repetition is Vital to Learning

There is plenty of talk in teaching regarding mastery and ensuring pupils develop their understanding of new concepts, but it is essential not to forget the role that rote learning plays in education.

Repetition allows pupils to rehearse knowledge, retrieve facts and practice their understanding. It enables the brain to develop automaticity, which is vital for many aspects of mastery, e.g. times tables.

Read More

Quizzes in the Classroom

Guide to Using Quizzes in the Classroom

Lesson planning involves many aspects of teaching and learning. One of the vital components is ensuring that pupils have an opportunity to practice retrieval to help them consolidate new information.

You may well use more formal tests at the end of units, but there should also be opportunities for pupils to demonstrate and rehearse their learning more frequently.

In this guide, we will explore some ideas to help you use quizzes more effectively in the classroom.

Read More

Curriculum Planning

How to Make Curriculum Planning Easier

Maybe you are one of the teachers who love curriculum planning, or perhaps you find it daunting.

Whatever your feelings, we can all agree that it can be a time-consuming and often confusing process.

The best way to make curriculum planning creative and fun is to reduce the impact on workload so you do not lose evenings and weekends to the task.

Here are some of our best ideas for making curriculum planning easier.

Read More

report writing for teachers

Can AI make report writing easier for teachers?

The summer term may bring teachers one step nearer to the summer break, but first, there is the onerous task of completing report writing.

Every school will have a different format for their reports, but whatever the system used, it is often a long-winded chore. Indeed, many teachers spend their evenings and weekends preparing detailed reports that accurately show each pupil’s progress over the year.

Read More

ChatGPT

Using ChatGPT in Schools

There will be very few teachers who have not heard of ChatGPT. This new release of artificial intelligence (AI) uses text-based language to generate human-type responses.

The main issue for school leaders and teachers is that using ChatGPT in schools raises some ethical questions.

In this article, we will examine some of the primary concerns and advantages of using ChatGPT in schools.

Read More

Guide to Understanding Memory – for Teachers

Understanding how their students’ memories work is a fascinating learning area for many teachers. Improving your knowledge of how memory works is always beneficial as it will positively impact teaching strategies.

Getting to the bottom of cognitive science can be difficult, but here are some publications that are enjoyable to read and informative.

Read More

neuroscience

Should teachers learn more about neuroscience?

The connection between neuroscience and education is undeniable, yet there has been very little progress towards applying neuroscience directly in the classroom.

The main barrier to incorporating neuroscience is that there has been very little development in applying it to pedagogy and classroom support.

Many experts now think that neuroeducation should focus on helping teachers to learn more about brain development and functions.

Read More