Category Archives: teaching

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”

Working with teaching assistants

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in November 2018.  You can read the original version on the SecEd website here.   You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here.  This article was published as part of SecEd’s NQT special supplement in November 2018. During your teacher training you probably feltContinue reading “Working with teaching assistants”

Best practice: Making sense of metacognition – Part 2

This article was written for SecEd Magazine.  This is part two of a two-part article. Read the first part here. In the first part of this article last week, I defined the terms “metacognition” and “self-regulation” and sought to explain what they look like in the classroom (Metacognition explained, SecEd, November 2018).I explained what pupilsContinue reading “Best practice: Making sense of metacognition – Part 2”

Best practice: Making sense of metacognition – Part 1

This article was written for SecEd Magazine. This is part one of a two-part article. You’re lucky. As a teacher today, you have access to a wealth of research evidence about what works in the classroom. But knowing what evidence to look at and what it means in practice remains a challenge – especially forContinue reading “Best practice: Making sense of metacognition – Part 1”

SEND and school governance

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in November 2018.  You can read the original version on the SecEd website here.   You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here.  The foreword to the SEND Code of Practice (DfE, 2015) states that “Our vision for children with SEND (should be) theContinue reading “SEND and school governance”

How to solve a problem like teacher retention – part 2

There’s a staffing crisis right now in England’s schools.  In part one of this blog I explained why this was the case.  I explained that pupil numbers were growing, that there were not enough new secondary school trainee teachers coming into the sector, and that we were losing too many experienced teachers from the profession. In JuneContinue reading “How to solve a problem like teacher retention – part 2”

Curriculum matters: Part 7 – the language of learning

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in September 2018.  You can read the original version on the SecEd website here.   You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here.  This is the sixth instalment in a 7-part series. Read part one, part two, part three, part four, part five and part six. ThisContinue reading “Curriculum matters: Part 7 – the language of learning”

Curriculum matters: Part 6 – making the KS3 curriculum count

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in September 2018.  You can read the original version on the SecEd website here.   You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here.  This is the sixth instalment in a 7-part series. Read part one, part two, part three, part four and part five. In lastContinue reading “Curriculum matters: Part 6 – making the KS3 curriculum count”

How to solve a problem like teacher retention – part 1

In June 2018, I was asked to conduct a review of academic literature on the subject of teacher retention. It’s a hot topic because we are experiencing a staffing crisis in England’s schools. Why is this? Firstly, pupil numbers are growing. This is due to a demographic bulge which is travelling through the education system,Continue reading “How to solve a problem like teacher retention – part 1”

Curriculum matters: Part 5 – Curriculum mapping (backwards)

This article was written for SecEd magazine and first published in September 2018.  You can read the original version on the SecEd website here.   You can access the full archive of my columns for SecEd here.  This is the fifth instalment in a 7-part series. Read part one, part two, part three and part four. So far in thisContinue reading “Curriculum matters: Part 5 – Curriculum mapping (backwards)”