Are you a traditionalist or progressive teacher?
Teachers are usually reflective on their practice and one subject that comes up time and time again is whether a traditional or progressive approach leads to better outcomes for pupils.
Temporary and Permanent Teaching Jobs
Why is there a teacher recruitment crisis in England?
Back in 2018, TES was already reporting a teacher recruitment crisis in England.
The truth is that now, in 2022, teaching has a real recruitment and retention problem in education across the country.
In this blog, we will look at recent research investigating the causes and suggested solutions to the recruitment crisis in teaching.
How Teachers can support Working Memory in Their Pupils
It can be challenging for teachers to find information about working memory, yet it is often an area that students struggle with.
For teachers who want to carry out working memory interventions, a piece of research by Westby published in 2020 shines a light on some valuable principles.
This post will highlight some of the ideas that Westby has researched to help teachers understand how they can support working memory better.
Using Social and Emotional Learning to Build Resilience
Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a vital area of education that is often neglected. Yet, when tackled positively, it can have an enormous impact on children.
Resilience is a term used more and more as the challenges and obstacles our young people face grow. It involves being able to adapt when encountering difficulties, make adjustments and take a flexible approach.
Improving Transition from Reception to Year One
While many teachers will insist that the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 is the big one, it is often at the other end of the school where problems occur.
The EYFS curriculum offers far more freedom than in year one, and the jump can be stressful for children and their parents. It is not uncommon for year one teachers to struggle with settling children into a year one routine.
So what can schools do about the issue of transition?
This article will explore ideas to transform the transition from reception into year one into something more positive.
Parents and Schools Working Together
Schools working in partnership with parents is nothing new. It was a major focus of the Early Years framework from around 2012, when it was identified as a key factor in improving children’s learning and development.
As children get older, parents often take a step back from engaging with schools. Home based learning during COVID lockdowns certainly alerted many parents to the difficulties in supporting their children’s education.
While schools often focus on parental involvement, it can be challenging for parents to identify how they can support their children effectively with their education. They may fear that their lack of knowledge hinders them or worry they don’t have the time to make a difference.
How to Support Pupils with School Transitions
Whether pupils are moving between year groups, key stages, or primary to secondary school, the transition can be stressful and upsetting. No matter how old we are, change is unsettling, and support will be needed to try and mitigate the effects.
For vulnerable pupils such as those with SEN or those who have other needs, it can be even more challenging, and they will require extra support and planning to help them through the process.
STARS (The School Transition and Adjustment Research Study) gathered a wealth of information to provide practical strategies that help support children through school transitions.
Teachers in England Suffering from Stress
There is a growing view that teachers in England are more stressed than other teachers worldwide. This view is backed up by some recent research and appears to be due to several factors.
Indeed, teachers who leave cite work-life balance and pressure as critical factors in their decision to leave the profession.
Let’s look at what the research has found to be the crucial issues that negatively affect our teachers and cause them stress.
Return to Teaching
There is an ongoing crisis caused by staffing shortages in schools because of the pandemic. Due to the Omicron variant spreading so widely and quickly, many teachers across the country are having to self-isolate. There is immense pressure on the government, particularly from parents, to ensure that schools remain open for face-to-face teaching so that another school year is not lost.
On 20th December 2021, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi put out a call for retired teachers and those who have left the profession to return temporarily to fill the gap.
On 12th January, the government reported that it was estimated that 585 teachers had already signed up to return to teaching.
Supporting Military Service Pupils in Schools
Did you know that whilst many children of parents serving in the British Armed Forces attend schools that have a high percentage of service pupils, the majority attend schools with less than ten service children?
Children in this situation have unique circumstances where they may have been separated from a parent for long periods, moved homes and schools frequently, or even relocated to different countries.
Teachers can be ill-equipped to understand how they can help these military pupils but fortunately, a charity called Little Troopers has developed a programme of resources to help pupils from reception to sixth form. Designed with the help of educational psychologists, behavioural experts and play therapists, the resources are very helpful to any school that has children from a service background.
