Why focus on continuous professional development? Wiliam suggests that ‘teacher quality is the most important ingredient of an effective education system’ (2014, p. 4). A key measurement of the effectiveness of an education is the outcomes of students in the school. Research conducted by Fletcher-Wood and Zuccollo in 2020 suggests that high-quality CPD for teachers […]
“Pupils are potentially losing up to an hour of learning each day in English schools.” (Ofsted, 2014, p. 4) A 2012/13 survey, commissioned by Ofsted, gathered the views of 1,048 teachers on the impact of low-level class disruption and established the above statement. This figure equates to up to 38 full days of teaching per […]
Across my career, I have experienced different formats of CPD. Some of these have been successful, where they have given staff the opportunity to discuss the impact of strategies on their practice, but others have been less so. In considering how to lead change in my department, I have been greatly influenced by the Education […]
One of the biggest causes of stress for teachers is behaviour management (Education Endowment Foundation, 2019). This stress can be escalated when you use every behaviour management strategy under the sun, only to find it unsuccessful. The frustration of why it did not work can bother a teacher for a long period of time, and […]
In a climate where teachers’ response to traditional continuous professional development (CPD) and feedback from formal observations is often ‘passive’ (Danielson, 2009), Teacher Rounds (Del Prete, 2013) are an innovative form of professional learning, which take place in the context of the classroom. The Teacher Round protocols ensure a safe environment for teachers to work […]
The recent green paper ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’ (Department of Health and Department of Education, 2017) highlighted the need for the implementation of proactive and preventative measures within the education sector to promote mental wellbeing amongst students and to assist staff in spotting students who show signs of mental health problems. […]
This research was funded by the Laurel Trust, a charity working in partnership with schools. A summary of the project can be found here. The ‘Research Thrives’ project aimed to understand the impact of embedding and extending a culture of practitioner-led research across schools in our alliance. It achieved this through the deployment of Research […]
We live in an age of rapid change, with pressures that are increasingly global alongside the everyday stresses and successes created by our individual lives. The rapid pace of change is driving opinion on what type of education can best prepare pupils for the challenges and opportunities that are ahead. In its perspective on this […]
Teacher wellbeing – particularly negative teacher wellbeing – is a topic regularly hitting newspaper headlines. The sense of crisis in headlines such as ‘I am getting out before it kills me’ (Busby, 2019a) and ‘Huge rise in teachers welling up at work’ (Speck, 2019), is evidenced in the recent ‘Teacher Wellbeing Index’ (TWI) (Education Support, […]
Current state of children’s mental health The discussion about children’s mental health and emotional wellbeing in schools has become a much talked-about topic for very good reason. Half of all mental ill health manifests by the age of 14, and 75 per cent by the age of 24 (Kessler et al., 2005). In the UK, […]
How might primary school leaders ensure that all of their pupils have access to an excellent curriculum experience while also developing the leadership potential and expertise of their staff? Here I argue that distributed leadership that facilitates subject leadership and expertise can promote curriculum development. Drawing on educational research and my own experience, I suggest […]
“When students get to know that you care about them as individuals… then the teacher’s discipline is judged and accepted within the understanding that the teacher cares about them.” – Bill Rogers (2000, p. 23) I work with young people who are disaffected; sometimes they are still in school (mainstream, alternative and special) but often […]
In 2018, the Education Endowment Foundation published some guidance for schools on Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning, which we are told provides ‘high impact for very low cost, based on extensive evidence’ (p. 4). Naturally, schools are keen to put these impactful ideas into practice. However, teachers are not always clear about what ‘metacognition and self-regulated […]
The basis of teaching in a practical classroom, such as art and design or design technology, is the much repeated and reliable teacher-led demonstration. These demonstrations or modelling approaches allow the teacher to inform, instruct and guide students in their own practical outcomes; however, only recently have I considered the impact of cognitive load theory […]
The decline of the arts in education has recently gained media attention, with headlines like ‘Arts in schools: The end of an era’ (Tambling, 2019). Meanwhile, the Creative Industries Federation have reported that the creative economy accounts for one in 11 jobs and employs 700,000 more people than the financial services across the UK (Creative […]
Please note, the author of this article is Director of Engagement at Lyfta, the subscription-based resource for schools described in this case study. We live in an increasingly connected world. Many of our children are growing up exposed to greater diversity than ever before, through direct contact with people around them, as well as via […]
Schools love to measure things. They like to collect these measurements up and present the numbers as an ineffable truth about a pupil’s progress. The data is exact and can predict what a child might get in a GCSE in a particular subject at some time in the future. And this works reasonably well for […]
‘Cultural literacy’ seems to be a ubiquitous and controversial term in education at the moment. In relation to our curriculum and its aims, the ‘cultural’ part relates to empowering students with the knowledge they need to be able to access their culture and engage intelligently with discussions, debates and political issues, while ‘literacy’ refers to […]
As the focus of Ofsted moves to a broad and balanced curriculum and ensuring that cultural capital is developed alongside knowledge, the inclusion of the performing arts should be at the forefront of any debate around which subjects should be taught at school. There is a strong argument for teaching ‘art for art’s sake’ to […]
With increasing pressures to achieve academic success through rigorous examination processes, I will look at the balance that students can achieve through engaging in an arts-based course, enrichment activity or project. This reflection considers the rationale for engaging students through creative opportunities and an enrichment programme, in conjunction with a broad curriculum offer. Creative projects […]
