JESSICA JOHNSON, HEAD OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, UNITED LEARNING, UK SARAH HORN, DIRECTOR OF SEND (SECONDARY), UNITED LEARNING, UK Over the past decade, the landscape of special education provision in England has changed significantly. In the nine years to 2023/24, the number of children with education, health and care plans rose by 140 per cent. This increase […]
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 […]
REBECCA MACK, PHYSICS TEACHER, LOUGHBOROUGH GRAMMAR SCHOOL, UK Introduction Physics has a long-standing image problem. The Institute of Physics (IOP) Limit Less campaign promotes diversity in physics by tackling stereotypes and broadening participation. It highlights diverse physicists, reframes problems to include different perspectives and addresses unconscious biases. The campaign supports underrepresented students at all stages, including […]
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, […]
AIMEE WILLIAMS, DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, THREE SPIRES TRUST, UK As the future of education hangs in the balance, our trust’s principals gathered with a shared sense of responsibility to respond to Becky Francis’s ‘call for evidence’ on 25 September 2024 (DfE, 2024). This was more than just a conversation; it was a call to action! Through […]
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 […]
IAN YOUNG AND SEAN STOCKLEY, THE BRITISH INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM Introduction: The first study It began in a corridor at the British International School (BIS) of Ho Chi Minh City in around February of 2022. Two department leaders – one for learning support (LS) and the other for physics – were […]
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 […]
SAMUEL FOXON, HEAD OF MUSIC, ST BIRINUS SCHOOL, RIDGEWAY EDUCATION TRUST, UK Introduction The reason boys may not be singing is because something is wrong with the music teaching not the boys. Ashley, 2015, p. 190 The inclusion of boys in singing within the secondary music curriculum is an essential yet often overlooked aspect of music […]
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 […]
