Teacher Workloads
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Teacher Workloads in England

In October, the Department for Education (DfE) published its Teacher Workload Survey for 2019, which attempts to act as a national ‘barometer’ for teachers’ working conditions. It also forms a key part of the DfE’s commitment to improving the evidence base on what drives unnecessary teacher workload and what works to reduce it.

Throughout the DfE’s report, which gathered results from a nationally representative survey of teachers over a three-week period, comparisons are made to the same publication in 2016.

Despite small wording changes to the 2019 survey, and efforts to minimise response bias, it is now possible to ask the question, “Teacher Workloads in England – Are They Improving?”

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websites for teachers
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15 websites that every teacher and educator should know about

Professional development is at the heart of teacher practice. But in addition to learning on the job and formal training courses, you can increase your confidence and competence as a teacher by accessing the abundance of resources available online today, starting with the following:

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Work after school
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Teaching Pupils About the Realities of Work

In order to help pupils develop their employability skills, teachers should always be thinking about how to integrate careers advice into the curriculum. However, this is easier said than done…

Thankfully, the research and training charity IGD has a number of free activities available as part of its Educator Hub, which should make it easier to teach pupils about the realities of work, even if your curriculum is becoming increasingly congested.

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(SPaG) Tests: Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Do Teachers Have Enough Support to Deliver Them?

In 2013, the UK government introduced compulsory ‘SPaG’ (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) tests for all state schools in England at the end of Key Stage 2. This was because statistics revealed that children between 7-11 were below their expected level for writing ability.

A further test was also introduced in 2017 for children at the end of Key Stage 1, with the original KS2 test revised according to the National Curriculum. That year, despite arguments against the test, 77% of children reached the expected standard of the SPaG test.

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Testing Children Too Much?
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Are We Testing Children Too Much?

Jeremy Corbyn recently pledged that if elected, Labour would scrap formal tests in primary schools in England. Speaking to members of the National Education Union in Liverpool, Corbyn claimed that SATS leave children in floods of tears or vomiting with worry.

He also said that the move would free up schools struggling with funding cuts and congested classrooms, and help teacher recruitment and retention.

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Cognitive Theory
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Cognitive Load Theory – What You Need to Know

In recent years, an increasing number of teachers and schools have started to adopt research and evidence-based practices.

One notable example is cognitive load theory, which has been described by Dylan William as “the single most important thing for teachers to know.”

But what do we mean by cognitive load theory? And how can it impact the classroom? Here’s what you need to know.

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School Examinations Failing Some Pupils
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Are School Examinations Failing Some of Our Pupils?

It is fair to say that throughout life, people are measured and judged against certain benchmarks, which don’t always paint true-to-life pictures of character or capability.

The exact same thing can be said for our current examination system, which ignores the individuality of each student – it’s simply the strongest and fittest who survive.

So, does that mean to say we are failing our pupils with school examinations?

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ofsted
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How Do Ofsted Select A School For Inspection?

Every week, Ofsted carries out hundreds of inspections and regulatory visits of services providing education and skills for learners of all ages.

For many years, it has used statistical models to ensure proportionate inspection of maintained schools and academies as well as independent educational institutions and programmes.

But in March 2018, Ofsted released a publication outlining the risk assessment process for good and outstanding maintained schools and academies, which involved individual assessment of published data alongside a more in-depth ‘desk-based’ review of a wider range of available information.

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Educational Trends
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The Most Common Educational Trends

It’s fair to say that education is in a constant state of flux. All governments make promises about making changes, then make more changes when they realise things aren’t quite going to plan, and the cycle continues like this for evermore. It’s also fair to say that if these sweeping changes and trends had a positive impact, we would all welcome them with open arms. But are they successful? Let’s take a look at the most common educational trends and look a little closer at their effectiveness.

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AI Robots in Class
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Does AI pose a threat to teachers?

Teaching in the 21st century has been heavily dominated by technology. From digital eLearning tools to student created media, the classroom experience is benefitting from the latest and greatest trends in a number of ways.

But does artificial intelligence (AI) pose a threat to teachers? It’s already having an increasing influence in daily life with smartphone personal assistants and self-driving cars. So, whose to say it won’t be commonplace in schools and colleges in the years to come?

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