The Future of Teaching: Teacher recovery – the state of teacher wellbeing

In this Future of Teaching event, Professor Dame Alison Peacock CEO, Chartered College of Teaching, is joined by the Shadow Minister for Schools, Stephen Morgan MP and Tes Editor, Jon Severs, to discuss the importance of supporting teacher recovery. What is the current status, and what needs to happen in government and elsewhere to support […]
A principle-led approach to initial teacher training

Paul Maiden, Curriculum Leader, King Edward VI Sixth Form College What’s the idea? Using guiding metacognitive principles as a basis for planning lessons, rather than topics and subject content, has potential to improve student motivation. This guide offers practical suggestions for embedding metacognition in the classroom, and the benefits which a small-scale study suggested this […]
Shinrin-Yoku: Enhancing mental health and wellbeing

Scott Buckler and Harriet Moore, Holy Trinity School, UK What’s the idea? Shinrin-yoku is translated as ‘forest breathing/bathing’ and was developed in Japan during the 1980s, integrating the senses through mindful practice, while immersed in a forest environment (Hansen et al., 2017). The Chinese character for ‘mindfulness’ comprises five characters: eyes, ears, heart and mind, […]
Social learning theory and teacher learning in an age of online teaching and learning

Claudette Bailey-Morrissey, Careers Development Institute, UK What’s the idea? Teaching and learning is a social activity. According to Bandura (1971), social learning theory explains human behaviour in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioural and environmental influences. Moreover, Bandura (1977, p. 22) states that ‘learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if […]
Annual Equity in Education & Society Conference

Friday 15th July – 13:00 to 18:00, including networking reception from 17:00. Saturday 16th July – 9:30 to 16:00, with 10:00 Keynote start. Audience: Anyone interested in ‘equity’ issues in educational, social and/or work contexts. Keynote Speakers: Naheeda Maharasingam FCCT, Headteacher, Rathfern Primary School Dr Anna Carlile, Head of School of Professional Studies, Goldsmiths University […]
Creating an effective learning environment, post COVID-19

Janet Goodall, Associate Professor, Swansea University, UK When I was asked to write the editorial for this issue of the Chartered College of Teaching’s journal, I was flattered and very happy to do so, having been an advocate and supporter of the Chartered College since its earliest days. And the topic, of creating effective learning […]
Exploring the evidence base: The role of routines in creating an effective learning environment

Ann-Marie Argyropulo-Palmer, Subject Leader for Music, University of Birmingham School, UK Whether introduced by individual teachers or employed school-wide by leaders, routines – a specific sequence of actions regularly followed – are a common feature of UK classrooms (DfE, 2011). Routines as recommended classroom practice can also be seen at a national level, with the […]
In it for the long haul: Building trusting relationships with parents

Jean Gross, independent consultant and author, UK Nicola Noble, co-headteacher, Surrey Square Primary School, UK; Trustee, Magic Breakfast, UK Liz Robinson, Co-Director, Big Education, UK; Trustee, National Literacy Trust, UK A large body of research (Castro et al., 2015) has found substantial associations between students’ attainment and the extent of their parents’ engagement with their […]
Students’ perceptions of oracy: Implications for schools

Victoria Cook, Laura Guihen and Amy Gaunt, Voice 21, UK This article draws on a growing evidence base illustrating the positive difference that oracy education makes to children and young people’s outcomes and opportunities. We explore students’ perceptions of oracy, drawing on data collected from 1,994 primary and secondary students across England who had undertaken […]
Motivation for learning in an asynchronous environment: Oak National Academy in action

Katie Marl, Curriculum Manager, Education Team, Oak National Academy, UK Oak National Academy was created in April 2020 to support teachers and students during lockdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. It hosts over 10,000 lessons, covering the entire National Curriculum for students aged four to 16, and includes 600 lessons for pupils with specialist needs. […]
High aspirations, clear expectations and positive behaviour management are key ingredients for creating an effective learning environment

Bethan Coles, Teacher Education, University of Bedfordshire, UK Introduction Students with either high aspirations or high expectations have higher school achievement than those with both low aspirations and low expectations. (Khattab, 2015, p. 731) Low teacher expectations do not necessarily negatively impact on students’ behaviour if there are high aspirations and achievement in place. The […]
Growth mindset and brain plasticity – the neuroscientific underpinnings of learning

David Bowman, Teacher of Mathematics, GLOW Maths hub, UK The article ‘Mistakes, mindsets and mathematics’ (Bowman, 2018) discussed the four academic mindsets (Farrington et al., 2012) that are the core of the ‘YesUCan’ message (Figure 1). ‘YesUCan’ is a belief that, with effort and great teaching, it is possible to improve in all things. It […]
Be Your Best Self: A reflection on fostering children’s motivation and self-regulation through metacognitive journals

Ella Louisa Martin, New Horizons Children’s Academy, The Thinking School Academy Trust, UK Over the past three academic years, the multi-academy trust that I work for have embarked on a journey to develop our children’s understanding of themselves as learners. This has coincided with a drive to embed evidence-informed teaching and learning across the trust […]
Shaping the space: Learning environment and SEMH

Beth Greville-Giddings, Learning and Development Lead, Raleigh Education Trust, UK The term ‘learning environment’ includes many factors. Tapia-Fonllem et al. (2020) discuss the attributes of learning environments across five different dimensions: physical: spaces, furniture, decoration academic: curricular materials social: interpersonal interactions institutional: governance and administration wellbeing/ cultural: psychosocial environment. This review considers the physical […]
It’s easier to be what you can see: Supporting EAL learners in multilingual classrooms

Johanna Thomson, Primary Link Tutor, The Tommy Flowers SCITT, UK; EAL Content Writer, Twinkl Educational Publishing Ltd, UK One and a half million students in England are English as an additional language (EAL) learners (The Bell Foundation, 2020a). Yet too often in school, being multilingual can be viewed as a barrier to making academic progress […]
Equity and English as an additional language: Looking beyond deficit and asset lenses

Jacob Huckle, Head of EAL at an international school; part-time doctoral student, University of Bath, UK According to the latest school census, 19.3 per cent of students in England’s schools are learning English as an additional language (EAL), which is around 1.6 million students (Explore Education Statistics, 2021). Although there is no specific data, it’s […]
Connecting to school and each other: Towards a new paradigm of a school response to mental health

Colleen McLaughlin, Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Cambridge, UK Where are we now? The landscape of mental health and schools The lesson is that the goals of schooling must include social features as well as the transmission of information. (Rutter, 1991, p. 8) We have known for a while that school has a significant […]
Integrating inclusive practice for EAL students: All phases

Samantha Torr, Alpha Teaching School Hub, UK Context and demographics In line with increases in the number of EAL students across the country (Demie, 2017 DfE, 2015).), the ATSH has experienced a significant increase in students with EAL in schools within the areas that it serves. This has led to project involving 11 schools across […]
Creating possible spaces with possible learners: Exploring how refugee young people negotiate ‘educational help’

Kathryn Kashyap, School Improvement Adviser for Achieving for Children My research question set out to consider how a group of Somali young people who had recently migrated and who might be considered to require ‘educational help’ (DfE and DoH, 2015) negotiated their learner identities at home and at school. To understand their lived experiences, I […]
Reimagining adaptive teaching: Creating a supportive environment for all learners

Charlotte Mosey, Senior Lecturer in ITT/E, University of Derby, UK Jack Bryne Stothard, Lecturer in ITT/E and Teacher Education, Research and Innovation Lead, University of Derby, UK In-service teachers, due to time constraints, often have little time to thoroughly reflect upon their pedagogy, and as such it becomes increasingly difficult for innovative and inclusive practices […]