Saving lives in schools

Joanna Johnson, Associate Trainer (Grassroots Suicide Prevention), ASIST Trainer (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills), Papyrus Volunteer (Prevention of Suicide in Young People), and  Head of Department and Psychology Teacher, Monmouth School for Girls, UK If you were asked what the leading cause of death was in young people, what would you say? Drugs or Alcohol? Car […]

Supporting students with exam anxiety: In conversation with Natasha Devon

Join us for a timely discussion on how best to support students through exam season using tried and tested evidence-based tips and strategies, with mental health expert, Natasha Devon MBE. Natasha Devon MBE is a writer, presenter & activist. She tours schools and events throughout the world, delivering talks and conducting research on mental health, […]

Refugee Education

This module focuses on approaches to supporting refugee students in schools. Learn more about this module This online learning module has been developed by the Chartered College of Teaching and funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington (part of the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation). The module is specifically designed for school leaders and focuses on […]

Whole-school approach to pre-emptively reduce anxiety by prioritising wellbeing

Cara Carey, Development Lead, Teach First, UK Christopher Terry, Development Lead, Teach First, UK The negative impact of mental health conditions on academic performance is well documented (Agnafors et al, 2021). It is logical therefore to try to address this pre-emptively, ensuring that students are happy and supported at school, rather than only addressing mental […]

Consolidating learning in Key Stage 5 chemistry

Helen Skelton, Head of Science, Beaumont School, UK Knowledge is required to think and therefore to learn. Learning has been defined as ‘relatively permanent changes in comprehension, understanding, and skills of the types that will support long-term retention and transfer’ (Soderstrom and Bjork, 2015, p. 176). The long-term retention of learning is a particular challenge […]

The science of learning: Is it time to bring students into the conversation?

Rachael Thornton, Head of Psychology and Head of Year 12, Dulwich College, Shanghai Pudong, China The notion of teaching students effective study habits is not a new phenomenon, with research indicating that student study skills and motivation are just as strong a predictor of student academic performance when compared with traditional measures, such as prior […]

Bridging the gap from current to effective professional development: A journey towards instructional coaching

Imogen Fletcher-Blackburn, Assistant Principal for teaching and learning at Trinity Academy, London There is strong evidence to suggest that instructional coaching can improve teacher instruction, the quality of teacher–child interactions, pupil behaviour, motivation and attainment (Kraft et al., 2018; Basma and Savage, 2018; Allen et al., 2011, 2015). I was first introduced to instructional coaching […]

Developing literacy in the drama curriculum at Key Stages 4 and 5

Sharon Leftwich-Lloyd, FCCT, Lead Practitioner and Progress Coordinator for Drama and Theatre, The Polesworth School, UK Over 22 years of teaching, I have observed that my students are mostly driven by a love of practical rather than theoretical work when they opt for drama; this preference creates a motivation gap between practical and theoretical achievement. […]

Teacher-driven CPDL: A teaching and learning community in action

Debbie Bogard, Neil Hart and Samantha Hughes, City and Islington Sixth Form College, UK Our intervention sought to empower teachers through providing a supportive and trusting environment for collectively developing practice and ongoing professional learning. Our model was underpinned by the EEF’s recommendations (2018) on the implementation process, with an emphasis on sustained, iterative and […]

Support and advice: Pupil mental health

The Chartered College of Teaching is developing a series of webinars and bitesize CPD resources for teachers and school leaders on supporting pupil wellbeing and mental health in practice, aligned with key themes in the relationships, sex and health education (RSHE) curriculum. The articles and resources shared as part of this online learning include information […]

LET’S GET TOGETHER! The Rethinking Education Conference 2022

THIS CONFERENCE IS BOTH ONLINE AND FACE-TO-FACE OPTION 1: Buy a ticket to the face-to-face conference in London on Sat 17th September. This includes access to the online conference. OPTION 2: Buy a ticket for online conference only. These are donation-based, so you can pay what you can afford. See here for the 32-page programme for the […]

Supporting pupils with anxiety: Selected reading

Decorative image of hand holding a flower

Teachers have a role to play in supporting children and adolescents to understand anxiety as part of the new RSHE curriculum, as well as needing to feel confident that they can support pupils with anxiety and recognise the impact it may have on the children they work with. This reading list collates articles and resources […]

A hard habit to break? The power of independent study behaviours in the Sixth Form

Katie Cork, Head of Sixth Form, St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross Study habits and academic achievement In post-16 education, a student studying for three A-levels has 10 or more hours of undirected time a week within their timetable; this is around half the time recommended for students to spend on independent study (Oakes and Griffin, […]

Can digital collaboration tools be used to build a learning environment that simulates the workplace while also fostering higher levels of attainment?

|Figure 1 shows the collaboration rubric of four questions to determine the level of collaboration from 1 (the lowest) to 5 (the highest). The questions are: Students are required to work in groups? Students have shared responsibility? Students make substantive decisions together? Students’ work is interdependent?

Jonathon Parker, Lecturer, Gower College Swansea, UK Introduction Modern-day students have grown up in a world immersed in social media and digital content consumption, but do these students have the digital competencies to acquire and synthesise information for educational gain or in a career-based context? By using digital collaboration tools to simulate a workplace scenario, […]