Let me introduce you to James. James finds it hard to articulate his thoughts due to limits to his vocabulary and a difficulty in understanding complex language in class. He can rely on simple words,...

Are schools a voyage of self discovery or a gateway to the world?

Schools need support to break away from An Inspector Calls to cover texts by authors from more diverse backgrounds, say experts

When should we give a name to something we do as teachers? This question is on my mind this week following a post I wrote about adaptive teaching last week. I wrote the post because I keep coming a…

One of the most common metaphors to describe what the first few years of medical school is like is that it is like drinking water from a fire hose. There is an overwhelming amount of information that ...

The astronaut tells us about his unusual path to the stars, and how he would like to see Stem develop in UK schools

Imagine that you are at a summer barbeque. You arrived late and everyone has already drifted into their cliques. You grab some food and a drink, then linger, listening into the conversation happeni…

The longer a teacher talks for, the more likely it is the number of pupils paying attention decreases. The trick to sustaining attention is to ask pupils questions and to expect 100% participation …

I recently enjoyed this short (6 minute) podcast from Bennie Kara on the subject of ‘Charisma’.  I agree with Bennie that ‘charisma’ isn’t necessarily something we should see as…

Being a Headteacher was what I wanted to do since I first stepped into the classroom in 1996. I turned 50 last week. Properly old! I've also been asked by the lovely people at Bloomsbury to write a bo...

Observations are a topic which provokes strong feelings in teachers. Many of us went through years of high stakes observation where a single lesson could be used to determine the future of your car…

It is natural for students to lose attention during an explanation. In this post, I share two of the highest leverage strategies you can use to secure 100% attention. I explain why this should be o…

Are your pupils more polite at the end of Year 7 compared to the start of Year 7? Do pupils in Year 8 work harder than pupils in Year 7 because their habits of working have improved over their time…

Join the team Information for prospective staff Growing a new school is the greatest privilege in the world.  This is a career-defining opportunity to develop the culture of a brand new school…

We make a mistake trying to inject fun into lessons - we should simply aim to make schools more fun in general

View our Geography for all our futures, an overview of the key challenges and opportunities for our subject...

Writing long responses was always an issue for students, says Zoe Enser, until live modelling bridged the gap between knowing and showing

We look at how likely pupils are to progress to study A-Levels, broken down by gender, ethnicity and level of disadvantage.

An easy way to relate to students and start a discussion about using more advantageous learning strategies like retrieval practice and spaced practice.

Every teacher can be sure of cyclical change. Governments come and go and the national curriculum and assessment shifts along with them. Teacher professional development trends come and go too. We ar...

It’s been a long day. I’ve been in and out of lessons throughout with a range of staff. I’ve grabbed a minute here or there for individualised feedback and did a working break and…

Curriculum is all about power. Decisions about what knowledge to teach are an exercise of power and therefore a weighty ethical responsibility. What we choose to teach confers or denies power. To say ...

The war is killing tens of thousands, but not getting the attention it deserves. The reasons why are as complex as the conflict itself, asks Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland

How does the classroom seating arrangement impact student behavior?

Photo by Kiptoo Addi on Pexels.com In my recent experience, teachers and leaders are well aware of the perils of low participation in lessons (well explained here by Adam Boxer). We have …