RICHARD HARVEY-SWANSTON, SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON, UK KERRI BURNS, SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT ADVISOR, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON ACADEMIES TRUST, UK TIFF COLE, FACULTY LEAD COACH, UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON ACADEMIES TRUST, UK Introduction This article reports on research that evaluated the effects of a trust-wide professional development (PD) programme for middle leaders, designed, delivered and evaluated in partnership between the […]
SARAH COTTINGHATT, RESEARCH LEAD, STEPLAB, UK; PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT, AUTHOR AND COACH ADAM KOHLBECK FCCT, DEPUTY HEADTEACHER; CO-FOUNDER, EDUPULSE, UK CHRIS PASSEY FCCT, DEPUTY HEADTEACHER; CO-FOUNDER, EDUPULSE, UK Instructional coaching, a form of professional development, may be a strong bet for schools (Sims, 2019). While there is debate about the definition, for the purposes of this article, we […]
SYM PITSIALIS, SENCO, HENDON SCHOOL, UK HELEN LANGSAM, ASSISTANT HEADTEACHER, HENDON SCHOOL, UK Introduction This case study details our journey to enhancing special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) provision in our secondary school by strengthening adaptive teaching practices across the school’s faculty teams. It explores how an external SEND review, collaboration with faculty heads and a tailored […]
JULIA TRICKEY, ASSISTANT PGCE PRIMARY PROGRAMME LEADER AND SEND AND INCLUSION SPECIALIST, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK BECKY MANTON, PROGRAMME LEADER, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK CHARLOTTE MOSEY, ASSISTANT HEAD OF DISCIPLINE: PRIMARY ITT/E, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK The importance of preparing early career teachers to be able to facilitate progress for all learners has been put into focus in […]
ALEX TOMKINS, HEADTEACHER, GREENSIDE SCHOOL, UK; EDD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK In 2019, I wrote an article for Impact exploring how Greenside special school had developed a curriculum for our complex cohort (Tomkins, 2019). My school educates children aged three to 19 with severe learning difficulties (SLD), many of whom have an autism diagnosis. The […]
PAULA FIELDHOUSE, MATHS LEAD, LEARNING WITH PARENTS, UK Children’s attitudes to mathematics and their beliefs about whether they can succeed in it are influenced by their parents* (Mohr-Schroeder et al., 2017). Attitudes matter; if you believe that maths is something to be afraid of, then you are unlikely to be motivated to learn it. If you […]
KATHRYN DOWNS, TEACHER OF MATHS AND EVIDENCE LEAD, DIXONS UNITY ACADEMY, UK I’ve been privileged to spend much of my teaching career working with a high number of students with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities). As a neurodivergent wheelchair user, I have a unique understanding of what it is like to face significant barriers to […]
EMMA LOUISE PRICE, PRIMARY TEACHER AND EDUCATION DOCTORATE STUDENT, BIRMINGHAM CITY UNIVERSITY, UK Introduction Imagine a school environment where every request, no matter how small, feels like an insurmountable challenge. From the perspective of a student with pathological demand avoidance (PDA), the rigidity of mainstream classroom learning environments only heightens their anxiety and avoidant behaviours, […]
STEPH HILL, ECT 1, SPRINGFIELD JUNIOR SCHOOL, UK DAVID KERSHAW, SENIOR LECTURER IN EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF DERBY, UK In modern education, the imperative for an inclusive curriculum is undeniable. An inclusive curriculum ensures that all students feel valued, represented and equipped to engage critically with their learning and the wider world. However, traditional educational systems often fall […]
NATASHA GUY, CENTRE FOR MATHEMATICAL COGNITION, LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY, UK LUCY CRAGG, SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, UK CAMILLA GILMORE, CENTRE FOR MATHEMATICAL COGNITION, LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY, UK Knowing and using multiplication facts is a fundamental mathematical skill. Quick recall of these facts frees up valuable cognitive resources, allowing for faster and more accurate calculation of more complex […]
LOTTIE BOND, TRUST ENGLISH LEAD, LEARNING ACADEMIES TRUST, UK Why focus on sentence-level work? In many settings, the pressure on leaders and teachers to achieve higher outcomes has led to staff expecting children to do too much, too soon. Over recent years, at the Learning Academies Trust, leaders have been working to simplify Year 1’s English […]
ANDY CROFT, MATHS LEAD, SNOWFIELDS ACADEMY, UK Introduction As a maths teacher in a specialist school for students with autism, I navigate a persistent tension: preparing students for qualifications and future study while ensuring that they develop the numeracy skills needed to thrive in daily life. A recent discussion at a Kent special schools networking event […]
MATTHEW COURTNEY, TEACHER AND CURRICULUM LEAD, WANDLE LEARNING PARTNERSHIP, UK The books that we use to teach our English curriculum matter. These are the texts with which children will spend an extended amount of time engaging, listening to them being read aloud and, perhaps, using them as a stimulus for writing or drama work. Alongside […]
MIRIAM HUSSAIN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL, WEST MIDLANDS, UK ELIZABETH FORD, INTERIM HEADTEACHER, WORCESTERSHIRE, UK The drive for consistent, high-quality instruction has led many schools to embrace pre-planned curricula, promising efficiency and standardisation. However, this trend carries a significant risk: the potential de-skilling of teachers, particularly those early in their careers. This is especially concerning in today’s classrooms, where […]
TIM BROGAN, HEADTEACHER, ST ALBAN’S CATHOLIC VOLUNTARY ACADEMY, UK This case study explores the successful implementation of ‘priority pupil meetings’ (PPMs) in a multi-academy trust school in Derbyshire, highlighting their effectiveness in reducing barriers to learning for vulnerable and disadvantaged students, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). PPMs align effective safeguarding practices […]
LISA JONES, PRIMARY MATHS TEACHER AND LEADER IN LEARNING, THE BRITISH SCHOOL AL KHUBAIRAT, UAE As a teacher with over 20 years in the primary classroom, in both the UK and UAE, I have experienced numerous changes in educational policy and curriculum. These changes, coupled with broader shifts in education culturally and pedagogically, have shaped my […]
TOM MOLLOY, DIRECTOR, TOMMY FLOWERS SCITT, UK As the director of an initial teacher training (ITT) programme and an external moderator for others, it is a privilege to be welcomed into classrooms across the country and to see student teachers develop. Observing and holding discussions with novices and their mentors also gives an insight that few […]
WILL BERARD, DOCTORAL STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON, UK At the age of 38, when I trained to teach computing in 2021, I started becoming aware of my ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), this thanks to the emphasis put on SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) in both my PGCE (postgraduate certificate in education) programme (at the […]
JO TREGENZA, READER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, UK This study considers how primary schools in areas of high levels of social disadvantage are achieving better than expected progress in reading development. Better than expected progress has been defined by the Department for Education (DfE) as higher percentages of children meeting the expected standard in […]
MATTHEW TRAGHEIM, LECTURER IN PRIMARY EDUCATION, OPEN UNIVERSITY, UK Inclusive education has been the leading educational principle in the Western world since the ratification of the Salamanca Statement in 1994 (UNESCO). Although Schuelka (2018) and, more recently, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2024) have sought to influence the depth, design and delivery of inclusive education policy […]
