Articles - Teaching and Learning

Sharing good teaching practice

Coaching is falling short of its potential but is at its best when it is a two-way process. Rachel Lofthouse and David Leat as they describe the findings of their research

New team at the Department for Education

The new Department for Education demonstrates the unfamiliar look of coalition politics with Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather taking on the role of Minister of State for Children and Families under the new Conservative Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove

Teaching primary schools MFL

Teaching languages in primary school will become compulsory in 2010. So what support and resources are available to teachers dealing with primary modern foreign languages?

Learning from home with ICT

Learning from home and using online education can provide a safe haven for children who are bullied at school. Special Children talked to one mother about the solutions she found for her autistic son

Classroom ideas: studying Darwin

Brian Asbury looks at Darwin's life and work and suggests classroom ideas for studying the man and his theories in a primary science context

Enriching primary maths

Teachers are now expected to enrich their maths lessons, but how easy is this to do in the classroom? Caroline Clissold offers advice and ideas for key stage 2

Teaching primary literacy with ICT

Can technology help or hinder in the classroom? Rebecca Jenkin looks at how ICT resources can support different areas of learning at primary level, and how they can benefit you the teacher

Baby P: lessons to be learned

What can schools learn from the Baby P case? Jenni Whitehead examines the report on Haringey children’s services and gives advice on how to prepare for unannounced inspections

Child initiated learning

Jenni Clarke, early years consultant and author, looks at the importance of practitioners' planning to support young children's self-initiated learning

Early Years PiP Cards: 3.2 Supporting every child

Supporting every child is an important concept in EYFS effective practice, and is explored within a range of practical ideas which underpin the information in the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice cards

Motivating students to take responsibility

Motivating students with a positive learning environment can inspire staff as well as pupils to aim high, achieving more progress than they had imagined possible and achieving student responsibility

Developing an enquiry-based curriculum

Two teachers involved in a project to develop an enquiry-based curriculum in their school share their thoughts about the process. Victoria Bonner and Kerry Lane are both English teachers at Bedlingtonshire Community High School in Northumberland

Collaborative professional enquiry in schools

How can participating in collaborative professional enquiry foster pupil learning and professional learning in teachers? Alison Fox from the University of Stirling and chartered teacher Jan Brophy describe how

How can aspiring footballers be encouraged to gain academic qualifications?

Students with desires to be professional sportsmen need to be encouraged to gain academic qualifications - but this is often no easy job. Chris Wall, Exeter College's sports academy development coordinator, describes how they are doing it

How to develop independent student learning

Does combining SEAL, Philosophy for Children (P4C) and thinking skills seem like a recipe for effective independent student learning? If so, read Kate Mawer's description of William Parker School's curriculum development for Year 7s

Mixed-ability teaching: a case study

Mixed-ability teaching in an American High School led to higher attainment and improved relations between students, observed Jo Boaler

A day in the life of a learning support assistant (LSA)

Anna Holland works as a learning support assistant (LSA) with students ages 13 to 16 years, at Gosford High School in Newcastle upon Tyne. Here she explains her role and the nature of her work as part of the student support base

Philosophy for Children (P4C)

Hanneke Jones looks at the Philosophy for Children method of introducing thinking skills. This method of learning, developed by SAPERE, develops cognitive skills and philosophical methods

A successful community learning centre: a case study

An on-site community learning centre opens up opportunities to adult learners and school learners. Jackie Lees, senior strategic leaders at Mitchell High School Business and Enterprise College, shares the development of their CLC, with tips for organising community learning provision

Philosophy for Children: intergenerational dialogue

The Philosophy for Children programme has great potential benefits for intergenerational dialogue. Michelle Whiteworth, coordinator of Age Concerns' intergenerational project in North Tyneside, discusses those benefits for pupils — and also the challenges

Early years learning environments

High-quality learning environments for young children are vital to their early development. Sian Rees-Jones, headteacher of Bognor Regis Nursery School and Children's Centre, shares her team's approach to learning environments

Planning quality provision for early years

What are the early years processes involved for quality provision and planning positive outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? Early years consultant Jane Cole has a look

Keeping traveller children safe online

It is important to highlight e-safety when it comes to traveller or fairground children, who depend on ICT to keep up with their education. Roger Feltham hightlights the success of Surrey County Council's e-safety programme

Early Years PiP Cards: 3.1 Observation, assessment and planning

Observation, assessment and planning are important areas of practice to get right when dealing with early years. Early Years Update offers a range of practical ideas to underpin the information in the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice cards

Ways to soothe teacher stress

Teachers can promote their students wellbeing by taking time to meditate themselves. Teacher and healer Dave Read offers three exercises to perform easily in the classroom to reduce teacher stress

Talking to parents about child protection

Jenni Whitehead discusses the difficulties faced by named persons, or child protection coordinators, in talking to children's parents about their concerns and the need to follow child protection procedures

Magic science lessons

Inspire your primary pupils with these science lesson ideas that combine essential scientific theory with magic tricks

The future of primary maths

What does the future hold for primary mathematics following the Williams review? Caroline Slissolf looks at the review of framework in detail and asks how recommendations on primary maths training and specialism will translate into reality

How primary schools can work with parents

Close working between primary school staff and parents is vital for the identification of children's learning needs, making an effective home-school partnership essential

Avoiding pupil misconceptions in primary science

The targeting of misconceptions is seen as a critical skill in the teaching of science, but how can these pupil misconceptions be effectively targeted? Hazel Bennett offers some essential advice to teachers of science

Teaching maths to EAL children

Teaching mathematics to children with English as an additional language (EAL) can be a difficult task. EAL pupils will often struggle with maths and teachers may find it a struggle to overcome the language barrier, but Lorraine Barber has some helpful tips

Teaching spelling: how to

The importance of teaching spelling, and its affect on literacy, was highlighted in recent interim reports from the Primary Review; so what should schools be doing to teach the core skill of spelling? Debbie Hepplewhite looks at current thinking, requirements and problems

White boys' achievement

Last year Ofsted expressed increasing concern about the educational outcomes of white boys from low-income backgrounds. This year it has highlighted good practice in 20 schools which are meeting boys' needs

A qualification for life skills development

Do your pupils struggle to reap the benefits of GCSEs? Would your school benefit from courses which reward your students' personal effectiveness and social skills? Bedminster Down School in Bristol feels that it did

Using ASDAN to reward PSHE

The ASDAN curriculum offers pupils a unique opportunity to achieve recognition for personal and social development skills. Chief Executive Roger White charts the development and benefits of this curriculum framework and explains why it is as relevant today as when it started

Learning logs to encourage reflective learning

Introducing learning logs can help pupils to reflect on their learning by identifying their attainment and progress says Steve Gibson, director of music and public performance at Carmel RC College, Darlington

Teaching citizenship in six easy steps

How can you create an exciting series of citizenship lessons that will develop knowledge and understanding amongst your key stage 3 students? Catherine Johnson discusses her successes

Deep learning: structuring a coherent approach

How does your school approach 'learning to learn'? A bit of 'accelerated learning', a few 'thinking skills', some 'emotional intelligence' and a commitment to 'assessment for learning' for good measure? The QCA has acknowledged that schools need a coherent, consistent approach to learning - Graham Powell examines how to do it

Inspiring interest in literature with Manga

Manga is a Japanese style of print cartoon or graphic novel. Angela Youngman looks at how Manga novels might be used to inspire children in school towards an interest in literature

Focusing on relationships in schools

Schools need to be redesigned with a focus on relationships in order to raise achievement, says policy adviser Charles Leadbeater

Maintaining good order and discipline: what powers do teachers have?

What powers do teachers actually have when it comes to disruptive pupils at school? Dai Durbridge discusses with reference to the use of force and confiscation

Supporting children of prisoners within school

There are important issues to consider regarding the children of parents who are in prison. This article gives advice as to what educational support can be put in place and the role that some SENCOs might play in coordinating this

Ashura and self-flagellation

What can and should schools do when they learn about cases of self-flagellation, as part of religious ceremonies like Ashura in the Shi'a Muslim community?

Female genital mutilation: what schools can do

20,000 girls may be at risk of female genital mutilation in the UK. The charity Forward urges schools to watch out for the signs

Self-evaluation to improve early years provision

Self-evaluation has an important place in improving the quality of provision in early years education. Early Years Update discusses how self-evaluation can be used for maximum benefit

The EYFS principles: a breakdown

The Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) principles are designed to celebrate the importance of play and learning, by putting the child back at the heart of early years practice. Sally Jaeckle, senior regional adviser for the EYFS, South West, discusses

Early Years PiP Cards: 2.4 Key person

A key person has special responsibilities when working with small number of early years children. They are an important part of good early years practice, for which Early Years Update offers a range of practical ideas to underpin the information in the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice cards

Bridging the gap between school and home

Building links between a child's school and home is an excellent way to approach their behaviour and emotional literacy, says Virginia Robinson

Developing thinking skills

Using thinking skills across the curriculum can be an effective way to boost learning. Anne-Louise Gibbon describes her experiences of developing thinking skills activities as part of a school working party

Advancing learning through KTP

The knowledge transfer partnership (KTP) at Bedlington Community High School aims to improve learning for staff and students at Key Stage 3. Anna Reid describes the two-year project and how it aims to develop an assessment framework for enquiry using ICT

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