While there are several things most teachers disagree on, the one thing everyone has in common right now is COVID-19 and dealing with its disruptive consequences. Most notably, moving away from physical teaching to online education and distance learning.
This is where Education Platform can help. It offers flexibility to plan and prepare lessons from home or elsewhere, providing support for teachers working in state and independent schools.
Beyond the logistics of schools themselves, such as government decisions, the following trends and predictions could soon be part of your regular routine.
If any of the following concepts feel somewhat unfamiliar, your school could be falling behind others in terms of its approach to education and support for teachers.
What has been the reason behind the recent increase in pupil exclusions? Despite the fact several people in the education world have tried to provide an explanation, it’s actually down to a number of contributing factors.
Matters aren’t helped by the fact that almost a quarter of teachers and school leaders (23 per cent) feel they lack confidence when it comes to managing behaviour and exclusions.
With this in mind, here’s six facts about pupil exclusions and what they mean.
For some, the start of a new year means healthier eating and more exercise. For others, it represents an opportunity to set goals and be more successful.
So, what about teachers? Well, it’s fair to say that most in education will have a number of hopes and fears for 2020, which are likely to include the following.
A few years ago, a US study suggested that teachers should stop using red pens because the colour is associated with ‘warning, prohibition, caution, anger, embarrassment and being wrong’.
The research revealed that students think they’ve been assessed more harshly when their work is covered in red ink compared to other colours. It could even have a negative impact on teacher-student relationships and learning outcomes.
News of the report was met with ridicule by many, including Tory MP Bob Blackman who said: “It sounds to me like some petty edict which is nonsense. It is absolutely political correctness gone wild.”
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?”
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:
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.
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.
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.