Reading and books are as important as ever

Brandon
As the use of mobile devices increases amongst children it is important that they are still given the chance to immerse themselves in real books and encouraged to read. In our primary schools, children are expected to reach a certain level of reading ability by the time they enter key stage two at the age of seven, but this is an enormous challenge for some children who may be reluctant to read not only books, but any printed material. Parents and teachers may need to look for ways to inspire and encourage reading for these children. Learning to read can... Read More »

Keeping things normal at school

Brandon
There has been so much disruption this year for everyone and this has hit some children very hard as they have had an unprecedented amount of time off school and even though they are now back, are finding day to day life very different. Life as a teacher is very different at the moment and you may be finding it hard to get everything you need to taught as it should be whilst adhere to strict rules around social distancing and keeping everyone safe. All of this on top of the extra work loads that many are finding themselves under... Read More »

How are parents’ evenings going to be carried out following on from Covid?

Brandon
Many schools are starting to approach the time when they would usually start to hold parents’ evenings. Parents evenings are important as they allow the teacher to communicate back to the parents or carers as to how that particular student is getting on. Often parents’ evenings discuss all aspects of school life not just academic. For example, many teachers may well comment on how they work with other children, if they have good friendship groups and their behaviour. Although this does not come under your typical subjects, they do form part of the RSHE area which all children have to... Read More »

Organising statutory testing in a small primary school

Brandon
Whichever sort of school you find yourself in as a teacher whether it be a large inner-city school with hundreds of pupils or a small rural school with possibly only forty pupils on roll one thing is certain the pupils in that school will have to undertake statutory testing at some point in the year. Whether you agree with the testing regime or not it is part of your role as a teacher to carry out these tests and submit the assessments to the government. In a small primary school, l there may only be a small number of children... Read More »

Going back to work as a teacher in September

Brandon
With the summer holidays well underway, many teachers are already thinking about their return to work in September. It may be that they have not worked in the school since lockdown due to shielding or simply they were not needed so it may be a big shock to the system when they return. Things are likely to be very different for quite some time within schools. Assembles, lunch times, play times and pick up / drop offs are all changing to allow as much social distancing as possible. As a teacher, this is going to cause quite a lot of... Read More »