Discover our teachers 
Part of our role as educators and parents is to facilitate positive mental health. A new resource to raise awareness of the issue has just been produced that may be useful. ‘We All Have Mental Health’ is the title of an animated film for teachers and parents to facilitate conversations with children about their mental […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
There have been some recent demonstrations by young people, pupils and students, who are taking radical action to make their feelings about climate change and the politics surrounding it, known to the wider public. In particular, the lack of priority the government – and educational policies – give to this vital issue. They are drawing […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
The subject of banning smart phones from the classroom has been in the news again. There are arguments both for and against a blanket ban which has been called for by some. Nick Gibb, minister for the Department for Education, takes the view that heads should ban smart phones from schools and classrooms and he […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Specific research into the adolescent brain is a fairly new area of study, in relation to the wider knowledge of the brain collected over all the years of clinical research. But it is already telling us important things about our teenagers that will help us understand them better, not only personally, but educationally as well. […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
With the development of Artificial Intelligence (or AI) the question has been raised as to whether robots could eventually replace our teachers and tutors. As a simple explanation, AI is a form of technology that has been computed to respond in alarmingly human-like ways to environmental stimuli. We’ve probably all seen the clips of figure-like […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
It’s the time of year when many children and parents are involved with the SATs tests. These are the Standard Assessment Tests which are supposed to indicate a child’s educational progress at various stages of their school life; the end of years 2, 6 and 9. But each year there has been an increase in […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
A new award winning film ‘The Silent Child’ has highlighted the need for better provision in mainstream education for children who are deaf or partially hearing. The film is about a four year old girl who is deaf. She is withdrawn and unable to enjoy connecting with others in a mainstream hearing world until a […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Teachers and schools are often the target of much criticism. So it’s a welcome change to read something positive like the report recently about the winner of the Global Teacher Prize. There will be many quiet and unrewarded teachers who work hard under very difficult conditions encouraging children to learn successfully. Particularly as they must […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Not everyone enjoys a museum. They have a bit of a frumpy reputation for being full of boring old stuff no one’s interested in any more. And when there are more appealing trips out for kids like play centres, why would you head to a museum? However, it is perhaps time to take another look. […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
The majority of us are right handers. And if we’ve had no direct experience of left handed children we’re probably unaware of the fact that this can sometimes present challenges for them in a right handed world. And there are challenges, as Richard Easterbrook discusses in his enlightening article written from a left hander’s perspective. […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Parents are generally very keen to encourage their child to take up activities like a new club, a new sport, or learn an instrument perhaps, alongside their education. Many parents like their child’s diary to be full and busy with the range of activities on offer. It helps keep them occupied. It helps dilute the […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
At the start of the year there was some worrying news about the music curriculum. It was reported that one secondary school had instigated a charge of £5 for children to take their music GCSE. It was moved from the curriculum of the general school day to out-of-school hours and meant the employment of specialist […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Our culture changes terrifically fast. Even more so since the advent of the Internet and the smart phone which influences the way we use it. Both give us new and ready access to information, media, gaming and communicating. Along with any new cultural shift comes new language to reference it. Kids ten years ago wouldn’t […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
A little while ago we looked at how gender stereotyping can have a detrimental effect on our children’s confidence, achievement and opportunities. (Read the piece here) Another effect recently reported is that gender stereotyping early on can also contribute to the huge discrepancy between the amount of girls and boys who choose subjects like science, […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
After the recent budget we all brace ourselves for cuts. Although unimaginable figures are promised to improve services, we know there will be hidden economies which will affect us locally through diminished resources – mostly in terms of staffing. There’ll be less policemen, less staff in hospitals and surgeries, and less funding for schools to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Motivating our youngsters to study, learn and achieve is something we all do whether we’re parents, teachers, home educators, or however we’re related to kids. And there are as diverse a range of approaches to that as there are personalities. Some people believe that motivating people, particularly to confront the things they’d less rather do, […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Whether it’s helping with school homework, or home educating, or just in family discussions parents can often lack confidence with the subject of science. It’s also generally felt among parents and educators that science is perhaps not as important as Maths or English, for example. However, science underpins everything we do, everything we need to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
With all the recent campaigning for the election I wonder how many teachers absconded from the classroom for a day or two to get involved? It would be considered shocking in this country to have teachers absent from the classroom because they were busy campaigning. Yet it seems to be quite acceptable if you teach […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Over recent years it has become increasingly common to read articles about children’s mental wellbeing and the amount of stress many of them feel. Much of it is in relation to bullying or body image, family breakups or social media pressures. But a huge contributing factor is school, exams and tests. This article was a […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Many children at school this term face exams. In fact many will have spent recent holidays revising. Each year there is increasing pressure for the kids to do well, from schools, teachers and parents and it’s inevitable that many of them will be suffering from stress. But it’s often the case that this is not […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
A primary Head teacher was recently telling me about a survey he used with his Year 6. It was an activity they did towards the end of their primary years, after all the tedious testing was done and they could relax a bit. The survey asked them about their experience of school. And all the […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
The government is proposing a new curriculum for sex education across all schools. Whereas it was only compulsory for Secondary schools, Justine Greening, the education secretary, wants this to extend to Primaries as well, and include privately run, academies and non-religious schools too. Read a report here. Age appropriate classes will be given to children […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
In a world where students are constantly being warned about employability, the terrible job market and house prices, other crucial aspects of education have been falling by the wayside. Regardless of employability concerns, we should still be investing time and money in a subject that improves the health, concentration and confidence of all students, regardless […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
It may be a company with commercial interests but can Lego change the way we approach early education in this country? There was a very interesting piece in the press lately about the concerns the Lego Foundation have over the neglect of play-based learning. They are funding a research project to investigate its effect. Play […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
The provision of science study at GCSE level in schools is enough to make one’s brain hurt, and questions on the internet show some students are slightly baffled too when trying to pick out which revision guides they should be following. The options are to take a single ‘science’ GCSE which combines chemistry, biology and […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
With increasing access to information and learning online, and the rise in home educated learners, children are able to take charge of their own education more than ever before. But how do we motivate them to do this, when so many are used to a more commonly spoon-fed type of learning experience, and when perhaps […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
The concept of autonomous learning has gained most of its momentum in recent years, although the term was first used back in 1981 by Frenchman Henri Holec, largely regarded as the ‘father’ of learner autonomy. There have been – and remain – many definitions of the term but, in general, it means a student takes […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Watching the advert to attract new teachers that’s been broadcast lately you’d wonder why we have a teacher shortage crisis on our hands; it looks to be such an appealing and self fulfilling job where you have the satisfaction of making a real difference. But the very fact that an advert is necessary, plus several reports […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Fifty children aged five to 11 are sent home on average each day because they have assaulted an adult. That’s 11,420 suspensions for physical assault against an adult in English state-funded primary schools in the year 2013/14, according to the Department for Education, while 240 pupils received permanent exclusions for physically assaulting adults. This is […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
There have been some interesting articles in the media recently concerning the use of technology in the classroom. It’s been sparked by a study which found that large investment in classroom technology and frequent use of technology in lessons has created poorer results in English, Maths and Science. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
We regularly hear about pressure within the school system. An article in the papers last weekend outlined a very sad report about the increasing pressure caused by tests, exams and Ofsted methods of assessment, placed upon our children and schools. The report from the National Union of Teachers says that teachers are seeing unparalleled levels […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Nowadays it is normal to hear even very young children swear. And it’s not only common to hear it on the streets and at home but also in the classroom. This increase in children using profane language is due to a variety of factors, such as TV shows, older siblings swearing but moreover because it […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
A group of children’s authors have expressed concern that the English curriculum and its implementation in the classroom is more damaging to children’s learning than useful. So much so that they have clubbed together to write to the education secretary of their worry, with particular regard to the way in which children are taught to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Looking back, my school days were often bittersweet, if not completely sour. There are particular things that strike a nerve with me to this day that I know are still happening in schools across the country. The ‘things’ I’m referring to aren’t unique to my own school experience; they’re systematic issues to do with the ways […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
I recently wrote an article for Media Diversified on the ‘Counter-Extremism’ questionnaire that is being widely circulated on social media. The questionnaire was given to children of Buxton Primary School in East London, but has also been trialled by other schools in the area. The questionnaire was revealed to be part of a project named ‘BRIT’ (Building Resilience […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
When my mother (now 92 years old) started teaching, it was just after the Second World War. Some of the first classes she faced in north London had 50 pupils. She found it very difficult to keep discipline, and very difficult to keep the attention of every student. The reason the classes were so big […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
You never stop learning, I keep getting told. It’s probably not far off the truth, really. On balance, there are always new things that you can pick up even when you’ve ‘left’ education – in your professional life there are new skills to gain an understanding of, for instance. I know several people who have […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
In the UK and across the world, exams are the main mode of assessment for students and children. Schools in England begin to assess their pupils through exams from the age of 7 in the form of Key Stage 1 SATs. Standardised tests have become the normalised method to determine academic ability within our education system, but — are exams really the optimum […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
There is often justification for teachers’ complaints about the levels of government intrusion into their professional lives. They argue that time spent filling in forms and ticking boxes could be put to better use in the development of effective lesson plans and teacher training courses. However, the Government is now seeking to reduce the bureaucratic […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
A very distinct and concerning pattern emerges when looking through the staff lists of local primary schools. The gender balance is heavily skewed in favour of women. The seriousness of the issue has been highlighted by a recent report showing that 3,680 UK primary schools don’t have any male teachers. What are the reasons behind […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
We are in danger of turning our schools into a pile of schmaltz. It sounds like I’m channelling good old, stiff-upper-lip Michael Gove, but on the contrary, it’s an initiative by his successor as Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, that has caused me to break into ranting. The new plan is to create […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Looking back on my school sex education all I can see are gaps. A majority of what I remember is being lectured about the dangers of STIs and I also have a memory of being taught how to put on condoms. However sex education lessons usually consisted of a great deal of watching videos, usually […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
The slogan ‘Everyone remembers a good teacher’ was key to a high-profile advertising campaign to recruit teachers across the UK. I would argue, however, that most people would also remember a bad teacher, or one who made them feel stupid, or one that praised them when no-one else did; or one that took extra time […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
If your child were held at knife-point by a teacher until the pupil got the right answer – for a joke – would you think it was funny? Probably not. It was this kind of extraordinary behaviour that got one teacher permanently sacked from a school last year. In recent months, the new teachers’ governing […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
In 2013, 37 primary schools had their national test results for individual year groups completely scrapped by exam administrators due to ‘maladministration’. A lovely, euphemistic word. According to the Civil Service’s Standards and Testing Agency (STA), it means in fact that 37 primary schools carried out acts ‘that could jeopardise the integrity, security or confidentiality […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Teacher training recruitment has fallen short for the third year running. In the 2014-15 intake, there were 7,700 fewer trainees recruited then in 2010, leaving a shortfall of 4,000 against the Government’s recruitment target. These students will of course become new entrants to the profession when they qualify. According to the Government’s own figures, the […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
As you are most likely aware, recently damaging cuts on university lecturers’ pensions were proposed, which led to a protest in the form of a marking boycott. This marking strike began on the 16th of November 2014, from which date no assignments or exams were to be marked by staff members, in the 69 participating […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Looking for some inspiration for that special Christmas present for that special teacher? Here are some lighthearted suggestions: Alcohol. They’ve been teaching you or your little dears, they need it. Not just a bottle of nasty Lambrusco – a good bottle of wine, a pack of Stella for the PE teacher, what more could the […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Here are a few ideas you might explore in your classroom to examine elements of the festival of Christmas – you can relate them to all sorts of areas of study. History, music and the traditions of folklore: Deconstruct some popular carols – sing them first if you like! Who was Good King Wenceslas (a […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
It’s difficult getting teachers to work in schools where the students are drawn from among the most disadvantaged households. And where they do, they sometimes suffer from the kind of low expectations which won’t help their pupils to achieve more and break out of the poverty trap. If you are a teacher, what would induce you […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
State schools are free, right? Not any more, apparently. A study published in October 2014 by the Children’s Commission on Poverty showed that, on average, parents of state school pupils face annual bills of £800 per child. This pays for basics such as school meals, equipment, trips and school uniform. Uniform is the worst offender. […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
In a modern and affluent society such as ours, why do kids from poorer or ‘financially disadvantaged’ families struggle to achieve the same level of educational performance as their peers from more affluent families? This blog post looks at the size of the gap and what the Government is trying to do to address it. There […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
In September the Department of Education presented the results of phonics reading tests taken by 5-to-6 year olds in summer 2014. Around three-quarters of pupils reached the required standards – that is, to decode at least 32 of 40 unknown words by using the phonics reading method. That a quarter of children tested did not […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Here’s an interesting report about differences in achievement. It’s a paper by Professor Steve Strand of Oxford University saying that the ‘attainment gap’ between pupils is not to do with the discrepancy in provision in schools, as per Ofsted findings, but is more to do with varying factors in the child’s experiences and opportunities outside school. […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Depending on who you talk to, teachers work anywhere between ‘a cosy amount of hours, leave by 3:30pm and then enjoy massive holidays’ to ‘a horrific number of stressful hours in overfilled classrooms, trying desperately to fit into our exam culture.’ The former will come from disgruntled parents, educational traditionalists and anti-unionists I’m sure. The […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
Teaching can be tough, particularly when you have an unruly class to work with. Every child comes from a uniquely different background. Getting children to conform with classroom behaviour norms can be challenging, if their patterns are already firmly entrenched, and where they have issues such as respecting limits and personal space, or responding to conflict. It is therefore […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 5 minutes to read
I’ve always enjoyed reading The Guardian, ever since they interviewed me on ID cards and young people. Recently I’ve been reading their series on ‘The Secret Teacher’ – an anonymous interview with a teacher who lives and works in the education system that we hear so much about from every media outlet from here to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
I am going to be a bit controversial in this blog post, but am going to be completely honest with you. At Primary School, there were a small number of teachers per class, and as a parent you got the impression that they understood your child fairly well. The feedback that they gave was useful […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
The dangers of cyber-bullying are clear to kids of all ages – schools have recognised this as a serious problem and, to their credit, they are making attempts to make people aware of it. Kids are given clear guidance on who to talk to and what they are able to resolve. I can remember parents […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 5 minutes to read
Kids have always loved the odd inset day now and again – I know I did. The notion of an extra day added to the end of the weekend or another day on holiday was, to be honest, marvellous. Another day for me to possibly get that work done which I had obviously left far […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
So let’s see. You work hard, you get your revision done, you make sure that everything is perfect going into the exam. When you sit the exam, you don’t let the pressure get to you and you manage everything perfectly. You’ve done all you can, haven’t you? All that has to be done is for it […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
It may be not be a surprise to learn that England had the worst language skills in Europe. Following a change in Government policy in England, it will be compulsory for primary school children aged seven and above to learn another language, from September 2014. As the responsibility for education is devolved to Scotland and Wales, […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
PSHE – what’s that, I hear you ask. Well, personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education has been part of the National Curriculum for schools in UK since the turn of the millennium in 2000 and is well embedded into school life. What follows is our recommended list of great websites to help parents and teachers find interesting topics to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
When children start primary school it may well be the first time that they encounter science. It’s only natural that parents will be on the look out for resources that will help them support their learning at home. This blog post includes our recommended resources for Primary School Science. KS1 Bitesize – Science: This resource […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
I’ve never been the biggest fan of academies, I must be honest. It always seemed a strange idea to give schools more money and less controls on how they actually choose to spend the money. It sounds risky, to say the least. Of course, the great argument was that it would cut back on all […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 5 minutes to read
There was an insightful and thought provoking article in the Guardian recently that every parent should read. It shows just how much teachers are in crisis. Before jumping to the conclusion that this is just teachers moaning again and they should appreciate the money and the holidays it would serve us better to understand just how […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
It would seem the ancient argument about term-time holidays has surfaced again. All in all, it’s clear that parents are trying to get a bit militant and take the fight to government policy. 126,000 parents have signed a petition that has been delivered to the Department for Education demanding the reversal of amendments made to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
Scotland has long taken pride in its education system, long before this current Independence referendum was even a twinkle in the Nationalists’ eyes. When the Church of Scotland was founded in 1560 and not long after it set out to provide a school in every parish with free education for the poor. From that beginning, […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Forward thinking schools around the world are abandoning teacher-centred teaching styles in favour of brand new methods which are promising excellent results, at the very least, because they are managing to raise enthusiasm among students who are tired of tightly regulated, chalk-and-blackboard learning. These are a few new methods making the educational world sit up […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Happy New Year everybody! When I look back at 2013, one of the most important things that happened within the UK tutoring industry was the establishment of The Tutors’ Association (TTA). Setting up an organisation like TTA was never going to be straightforward, but its aims and objectives are something that we support here at Superprof. […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 6 minutes to read
It’s not exactly the easiest subject to talk about, it? Regardless of your target audience we aren’t really talking about a conversation about the other parts of life you learn about in schools. I mean, you would worry that a primary school level the kids wouldn’t understand everything and that a secondary/sixth form sort of […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
For all the complaining we do about some of the issues in the British education system, you’d think we have it rough. Perhaps we do – I guess it partially depends on your political interests/affiliation. On one side you have those who think the system is a mess against a lot of ‘traditionalists’ who believe […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 6 minutes to read
We recently wrote about the rights and wrongs of parents snooping on their children online. But how do you feel about their Schools snooping on them too? It may shock you to read that a high school in California decided to spend over $40,000 on hiring a private firm to police students’ social media accounts. Since […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Christmas is a time when children will be doing lots of creative activities. Some parents worry that this is of little educational benefit and they should instead be working at more academic things. But few understand that many vital skills are developed by doing creative activities. Sir Ken Robinson, an innovative educational thinker, is an […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
We tend to accept school as the only form of educational provision. It’s certainly what we’re used to. But is it really the best way to help our children develop? Over ten years home educating, and roughly the same teaching in conventional schools, has raised many doubts in my mind as to the answer to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
It does seem strange, doesn’t it? I mean, the notion that, the better you are at your job, the more you get paid. Surely it seems pretty fair to me. Perhaps then it was no surprise then that there was a bit of tutting and sighing when I read that teacher’s unions were planning to […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Another day, another threatened or confirmed strike in the education sector. It’s almost like nothing is new, or that people seem content to argue all the time. Ultimately it causes disruption all over the place and is a huge inconvenience to everyone involved. Interestingly, the most recent cause of UK educational strikes is in the […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Those of you with an interest in teaching may have seen a very interesting article which popped up recently in the Guardian about teachers feeling under enough pressure to ‘inflate’ grades given to pupils by their Local Education Authority (LEA). Public Concern at Work (Britain’s biggest whistleblowing charity) reported a staggering 80% increase in the number […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 6 minutes to read
The teaching of Gaelic is on the up – with another new primary school, this time in Edinburgh, having opened its doors this term. Now several thousand Scottish children enjoy Gaelic medium education (all classes in Gaelic with English as a second language) instead of a meagre handful two decades ago. Education Scotland has also […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
Remember your school days? Recently the BBC revealed the results of some research about adults recalling nasty school pranks from their childhood, ranging from Chinese burns to being tripped up in the playground. Perhaps the research was intended as some kind of nostalgia for parents as they look back to their school days. Another part […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
How do you remember science lessons at school? Mine were mostly fun – how about yours? If you are passionate about science, you may have been worried about an article published by the BBC recently highlighted a potential danger in schools – science lessons are being too theoretical and practical skills are being lost. The Council […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
This week we’ve learned about a school that has “welcomed” an openly gay pupil as head boy. Will Emery was voted into the role by his peers at Brighton College. The head teacher Richard Cairns said sexuality was a “non-issue”, but then went on to add that “rugby players voted for him along with many […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
So it transpires that my recent article on the temperatures experienced in classrooms across the UK brought up another debate about the power of the two biggest unions in the country for teachers, the NUT and NASUWT. Their total membership covers some 600,000 people, representing the vast majority of teachers in this country. Perhaps one […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 5 minutes to read
Golly shock horror – teachers’ unions seek to improve working conditions for staff. The injunction to ‘Grow up and use some common sense!’ is depressingly typical of a political culture which seeks to demonise unions as irresponsible. It is all too reminiscent of the ‘enemy within’ trope of the 1980s and demonstrates an unwillingness to discuss […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the NASUWT both renewed calls the other week for the government to impose legal limits on the maximum temperature that classrooms should operate. Temperatures in school classrooms have been reaching 32 degrees in some parts of the country. According to the NASUWT Secretary General Chris Keates, “Pupils become […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
A few weeks ago I blogged about the NUS’s call to arms as it looks to recruit UK Universities into backing its new campaign to ban advertising from payday loan companies on campuses across the UK. A ongoing wider debate on the amount of advertising our children are exposed to has hotted up after one lobby group […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
The BBC reported on a worrying upward trend in teachers quitting their jobs, the figure rising by up to a fifth in just a year. The children were flummoxed when Pob turned up to school… Responding to a question posed by Labour, Schools Minister David Laws said 47,700 teachers left their jobs in 2010/11, up 7, […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Ask most students to describe in one word the experience of sitting exams and ‘boring’ would be the response a fair wedge of the time. There’s not much fun to be had sitting in silence for and hour or two in a stuffy hall where the only sounds are the furious scribbling of nibs, the […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Many history degree students at university here in the UK do not necessarily look back fondly on their history classes in secondary school. While some wish to believe that they have chosen to pursue history degrees because they were so deeply inspired by their history lessons in school, this is simply not the case – […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
A report published last week by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner (pithily entitled ‘Basically… porn is everywhere’) found that a significant number of children access pornography. The study reveals that the level of pornography children are exposed to is influencing their attitudes towards relationships and sex, is linked to risky behaviour (such as having […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
I think that most of us hold a particular teacher from our childhood in cherished memory; that special person who ignited fires of inspiration and instilled within us a thirst for learning. There are loads of good teachers out there, but in my experience the special ones are few and far between. Do you remember […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 4 minutes to read
The end of term is finally in sight. And amid all the Christmas celebrations and festive fun is the vexing question about presents for teachers. Should teachers get presents? And if so, which teachers, and what to get them? If my anxiety levels weren’t high enough at this time of year, stress levels go shooting […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Few things in life are more scary than the trip back from school knowing you’re packing an explosive school report hot enough to have you grounded until the next millennium. If you’re unlucky enough to have the report sent directly to your home you may not even get the chance to have a sneaky peek […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
I was talking to my friend’s little sister this morning, aged 17, about her experience in her current sixth form on the Isle of Wight. Above other things, what specifically stood out about her conversation, was her annoyance at her sixth form teachers who were becoming increasingly informal with their pupils. Sixth form differs slightly […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
No, I’m not talking about gussiying them up in the nearest fee-paying school’s uniform and taking out a second mortgage to pay for it all. I’m wondering if there might be some merit in some parent-funded add-ons at the local secondary. We all know local authorities are broke and we all want the best for […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 3 minutes to read
Only this week David Cameron got all tough talking about making kids to stand up when a teacher comes into the classroom. Ooh, respect, hard lessons and stuff. That’ ll do it, Dave. Nice idea. It would be lovely if we could have the respectful and hardworking next generation we want just by bucking up […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
Last week I added a new string to my tutoring bow. I completed training in a collection of software packages aimed at helping higher education students with disabilities, mainly dyslexia, in their studies. It’s been quite an eye-opening experience as I have returned to the role of the student and have been given many handy […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
As parents and educators, we at Superprof we understand that kids learn in different ways, and that if they don’t understand their subjects in class then there is a good chance that they will struggle when it comes to homework and revision. Our one size fits all approach to education, is a cost effective way of […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
“When the timing is right, the ability to learn a particular task will be possible. This is referred to as a ‘teachable moment.’ It is important to keep in mind that unless the time is right, learning will not occur. Hence, it is important to repeat important points whenever possible so that when a student’s […]
8 June 2020 ∙ 2 minutes to read
