Administrator

Working memory – lightening the cognitive load for pupils

This article was written for SecEd Magazine. I moved house last month. Those who claim it’s one of the most stressful things you can do in life are not wrong. The solicitor’s bill alone was enough to send my blood pressure through the roof. But, contrary to popular opinion, the stress does not dissipate theContinue reading “Working memory – lightening the cognitive load for pupils”

Early Career Teachers: Classroom rules and routines

This article was written for SecEd magazine. Aristotle once said that “excellence is not an act but a habit”, and so it is with teaching: the foundations of a successful classroom are built of routines, regularly repeated and reinforced. Without this essential ground-work the edifice of learning would simply crumble. Let us take aContinue reading “Early Career Teachers: Classroom rules and routines”

Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 5

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. Earlier in this series I shared some common characteristics to help teachers and school leaders identify speech, language and communication needsContinue reading “Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 5”

Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 4

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. So far in this five-part series on supporting pupils with speech, language and communication needs, we have explained how important itContinue reading “Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 4”

Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 3

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. In the first two articles of this five-part series, I explained what SLCN is and how schools can correctly identify pupilsContinue reading “Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 3”

Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 2

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. In the first part of this series last week (January 10), I asked the simple question: what does SLCN stand for?Continue reading “Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 2”

Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 1

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. Before you picked up this article, did you know what SLCN stood for? Don’t worry if not. I polled several secondaryContinue reading “Supporting pupils with SLCN – Part 1”

Leading PSHE – Part 2

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. In the first part of this article on leading PSHE, I recounted my own experiences as “Keeper of the Poisoned Chalice”Continue reading “Leading PSHE – Part 2”

Leading PSHE – Part 1

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in January 2019. You can read the original version on the SecEd website here. You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here. A few years into my teaching career, I was appointed head of PSHE in a large comprehensive school. I knew evenContinue reading “Leading PSHE – Part 1”

Why the Pupil Premium doesn’t work and what we can do about it

This article was written for Children & Young People Now Magazine and first published in December 2018. If you have a subscription, you can read the full article on the CYP website. What is the Pupil Premium? One in four children in the UK grows up in poverty and the attainment gap between rich and poor isContinue reading “Why the Pupil Premium doesn’t work and what we can do about it”