Employers looking to prevent and defend claims of stress, and employees who are suffering from stress at work, should make time to read the complex litigation involved, urges Tamara Ludlow
Pupils’ challenging behaviour tops the list as the most stressful part of teaching; but can it be managed by teacher training? The effects of CPD on behaviour management are investigated by Elizabeth Holmes
Can the Teacher Learning Academy double the number of teachers it has enrolled by 2011? What are the benefits of signing up? Four teachers describe their involvement with the academy
With 20% of children leaving school with lower than expected literacy levels, additional support is needed. Reading Recovery, a reading intervention programme developed in 1993, offers exactly that, say Rebecca Jenkin and Isobel Goss
Louise Coigley enhances and develops the communication of SEN children and adults through inclusive storytelling. Michael Jones describes seeing her in action
Muriel Thomson tells how she has transformed the way support staff are used at Brixham College, Devon, bringing wide-reaching benefits across the school
What impact will Every Child Matters have on CPD in schools? According to Steven Coombs and Mike Calvert, it will be huge; and schools need to be ready
Academic or obscure, instrumental or professionally liberating? CPD Update editor Cliff Jones asks what we can expect the new Master’s degrees for all teachers to look like
To allow full use of teaching assistants, curriculum managers need to ensure both TAs and teachers have the support they need. This involves quality line management and a clear understanding of how to plan for effective learning, Lynn Maidment explains
Are schools rising to the challenge of CPD for the whole workforce? Elizabeth Holmes investigates what schools need to do to ensure everyone receives professional development
How can the process of developing thinking skills be put into practice? A glimpse into the environment within a day nursery in south-east England shows how
Early Years Update focuses on the importance of well being, as part of a range of practical ideas to underpin the information in the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice cards
With increasing pressure to deliver personalised learning, John Blanchard offers strategies for putting it into practice where it counts: the classroom
Crispin Andrews looks at how staff at two children’s centres are reaping the benefits of information communication technology
Early years practitioners have used ICT to support young children’s learning in diverse ways, writes Julie Steer
Early Years Update focuses on the importance of inclusion, as part of a range of practical ideas to underpin the information in the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice cards
A project aimed at raising the profile of plenaries at Sandringham School, St Albans, has evolved into a catalyst for change that allows students to make their voices heard in the school. Deputy head Ceddy de la Croix explains
Comment-only marking is vital in helping students to reflect on their own learning, but implementing it can be a challenge. Jason Edwards, vice principal at Priory Community School, Somerset, describes how his school has overcome the initial problems
Michael Farrell considers provision for pupils with moderate learning difficulties (MLD)
Early Years Update focuses on development and learning as part of a range of practical ideas to underpin the information in the Early Years Foundation Stage Principles into Practice cards
Antidote’s development director Marilyn Tew describes how schools can encourage learning by promoting ‘CLASI-ness’ – where children feel capable, listened to, accepted, safe and included
Sarah Whitehead describes a project that she undertook as part of a postgraduate professional development course for SENCOs. She highlights the value of having time for systematic professional reflection, and how this can be used to good effect when introducing ‘Catch Up’, an intervention designed to support reading development
Gross motor skills are the movements of the large muscles of the body. These activities will help to develop and improve gross motor skills.
Pragmatics refers to the ability to communicate in social situations. These classroom activities will help all children to develop social communication skills.
These classroom activities can help develop grammar skills, particularly syntax and morphology
Jo Smith provides some practical tips on how to develop questioning skills as a tool for promoting participation and learning
A six-phase programme for teaching phonics aims to help children become fluent readers by the age of seven
A research study on tackling low achievement suggests that children with special educational needs form a large percentage of low achievers but more could be done to assist them through their schooling
Is it possible to create a more ‘gender balanced’ learning environment? Natalie Griffiths explains how she investigated the effect of gender on learning in the D&T classroom and developed strategies to benefit pupils of both sexes
Pam Woolner looks at the variety of ways in which the widely-used term ‘learning environment’ is employed
Katrina Foley describes how young children’s independence and self-management skills can be promoted in an environment which celebrates risk, challenge and empowerment
Crispin Andrews looks at the increasing emphasis on topic-based learning and offers some ideas to teach science through the topic of birds
Trevor Millum outlines a truly novel way to get pupils to enjoy manipulating and using words
The idea that it is possible to raise attainment by teaching according to individual learners’ styles is a popular one, but is it grounded in strong research evidence? Elaine Hall reports
Kris Lines surveys this highly litigated area — and suggests a step-by-step approach to safety within the law
Barry Mapp introduces the capabilities of Mind Mapping and explains some of the features that make it unique
What is it like for a former pupil to return to her old school as a G&T teaching assistant?
Inclusion of SEN students requires lots of involvement from teaching assistants. Enid Alston introduces a new training course designed to help
The relationship between teachers and teaching assistants is a changing one. Angela Youngman investigates and offers guidance to ensure effectiveness
This article examines the role of the learning mentor and how they can be deployed in the school for the benefit of the whole learning community. David Morley reports
Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton explore ways to use the children’s curiosity about their world to become self-motivated, independent learners.
Maggie Parker-Heys urges practitioners to appreciate the skills required to form even the simplest letters.
In his introduction to a new column, Dr Graham Haydon focuses on choice and discusses how the decisions we make influence our everyday life.
David Watkins argues that homophobia is something we should talk about and offers practical advice for creating LGBT-inclusive schools.
Psychologist Sylvia Clare discusses the importance of physical touch in helping children and young people reconnect to learning.
In an edited excerpt from his new book, clinical psychologist Steve Killick writes about the importance of listening to young people.
Secondary drama teacher Julie Leoni writes about how she teaches through the darkest days of winter
Child abuse can affect a child’s ability to learn. In the second of two articles, Jenni Whitehead looks at ways of helping such children in the classroom.
How can you handle children’s surprise at a new classmate’s disfigurement in a way that is positive for everybody? Jane Frances of Changing Faces offers some practical ideas.
Lev S. Vygotsky is the subject of Steve Mynard’s article on the psychology of child development.
Jenni Whitehead looks at signs that show a young person may be at risk of abuse.
Dr Tracy Packiam Alloway of the University of Durham has researched the difficulties faced by children who have a low working memory.
Any primary school teachers out there with workshop ideas? I’m organising a few Antarctica mornings for local primaries and I’m trying to work out what to do
Sarah Treneer and Claire Kendall describe how they developed a technique for encouraging children to reflect on their own and others’ learning through the use of peer feedback.
Jane West looks at some misconceptions about giftedness and how to dispel them.
Small children can get quite noisy and frenetic. It can take time to calm them down. Angela Youngman investigated one very popular method – to teach the children to give and receive simple massage.
Communication is by its very nature a two-way process. Children need to have these skills if they are to particpate in shared and meaningful communications. In this Inset package, based on the need for effective communication and engagement as described in the Common Core, Roger Hurn provides information and activities to help your staff think about ways of helping children to practise and develop their communication skills.
Angela Youngman talked with Justine O’Driscoll of the Bedford Just Learning Nursery about making computers accessible for children in the early years.
Pauline Cox explains what was involved in taking part in the Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project.
The Effective Early Learning (EEL) Project, aims to improve the quality of children’s learning in early years settings. Pauline Cox explains the project’s aims.
Attachment theory is explored here by Steve Mynard, who summarises some of the research and suggests ways that you could use this in your setting.
Semantic knowledge is the ability to understand narrative. This includes the ability to understand the meanings of words in different contexts, as well as a knowledge of the meaning of relationships between words. The activities listed here will help develop semantic knowledge.
Word finding is the ability to access vocabulary from the long-term memory. These activities can help develop word finding skills and can be used in lessons for the benefit of all pupils.
Listening is the ability to attend to sounds across a range of stimuli. Pupils with listening and attention difficulties have one of two problems…
Spatial awareness is the ability to be aware of oneself in space. Awareness of spatial relationships is the ability to see two or more objects in relation to each other and to oneself. These activities will help develop spatial awareness skills and can be used in lessons for the benefit of all pupils
Visual comprehension is the ability to listen to information that has been given orally, then remember it, understand it and use the information across a range of tasks. These activities can help develop skills in this area, and can be incorporated into lessons for the benefit of all pupils.
Visual perception is the ability to recognise, interpret and organise visual images. The activities listed here will help develop visual perception skills and can be incorporated into lessons to benefit all pupils.
This series of classroom activities will be useful for SENCOs, teachers, assistants and mentors. Each page focuses on a different skill set – from spatial awareness to visual discrimination to semantic knowledge
Auditory memory is the ability to recall information that has been given orally. The activities listed here can help develop auditory memory and can be incorporated into lessons for the benefit of all pupils.
Visual memory is the ability to recall information that has been presented visually. The activities listed here can help develop visual memory and can be incorporated into a lesson for the benefit of all pupils.
Visual discrimination is the ability to recognise similarities and differences between visual images. The activities listed here can help develop visual discrimination skills and can be used in lessons to benefit all children.
Phonological awareness is the ability to be aware of sounds within words and to be able to break down words into syllables and into phonemes. The activities listed here can help develop phonological awareness and can be used in lessons for the benefit of all children.
Auditory discrimination is the ability to detect similarities and differences when listening to sounds. The activities listed here can be used to strengthen auditory discrimination skills and can be incorporated into a lesson to benefit all children.
Rob Sanderson of Wigan Schools Library Service offers some practical advice for building an early years library.
Former head Roger Smith looks at ways of promoting creativity in schools, arguing that the concept needs to have its place at the centre of the curriculum.
To mark Martin Luther King day, students wrote poems on social responsibility themes.
On Martin Luther King Day, suggestions from Year 8 and 9 students at Benjamin Britten High School.
Many schools would say their students have a voice, but do they really? What about at Whalley Range?
Use all the openings possible to encourage your children to express themselves through the written word, says Lynn Cousins.
This seasonal assembly for infants looks at the carol service or carol concert – an annual fixture in many schools
Angela Youngman finds out about a scheme to improve communication in early years settings through the use of sign language.
What is inside a learner’s head?
The human brain learns best when it has a variety of ways to take in new information. The key is to provide children with a smorgasbord of methods to sample new information, because the brain searches for novelty.
From a selection of teaching tips by Clinton Lamprecht.
Writing frames undoubtedly have their uses, but they can also limit the creative talents of the more able, writes Frank Bruce
The environment around you can have a profound effect on how you feel and function and whether you feel creative, focused and relaxed. Creating an energetic environment around you can have positive effects on your health,efficiency, enjoyment and speed of completing certain tasks.
An alternative approach to behaviour management.
Build a sense of community responsibility and belonging, supported by reconciliation and the identification of positive ways of resolving difficulties and tensions.
Improving your time management skills means being aware of the things that eat into your time and prevent you getting on with the important and urgent tasks.
Is Your Teaching Meeting Children’s Learning Needs?
Traditionally, teaching used to primarily teach pupils and then test them. The ‘chalk and talk’ methods and ‘auditory modes’ of instruction have now been widely discredited. In fact, one of the main reasons why some schools fail their OFSTED reports is because the conventional teaching methods they adopt do not meet pupils’ learning needs.
A form of Relationship Management.
Susan Norman explains non-conscious learning. Do you know what’s going on in your classroom when your back’s turned? Or even when it isn’t?
Mark McKergow explains how to develop soundtracks for your classroom – and highlights the benefits
Andy Bowman reflects upon some of the learning preferences he has observed in his class, and discusses the steps he and his colleagues have taken to begin to support these
10 Ways to Promote a Calm Classroom.
If pupils feel safe, secure and, above all, happy at school, they are less likely to play truant and the atmosphere is more likely to be conducive to learning.
Music can be used as themain activity in the classroom todeliver subject content, as it is motivating and inspiring. Here are some practical ideas from Sarah Todd, an AST at Stanchester School near Yeovil.
Andy Bowman explores strategies to begin to develop independence and resourcefulness in young learners.
Sometimes, regardless of how much effort we put into planning, stimulating and rewarding, we will still come across the pupil who is determined to disrupt at all costs. In this instance, conflict is probably unavoidable and will have to be confronted.
September can be a scary time of year if you are a newly qualified teacher (NQT) who is facing your own class, sometimes for the first time ever. This article suggests 5 simple ways to impact upon your new class
Susan Norma suggests ways of influencing students’ behaviour from a NLP perspective.
Considering the carrot or the stick: which incentives are you giving?
Sadly, the number of children with back pain is increasing. In recent years, growing interest has spurred studies that support this worrying trend. Tessa Hicks explains how teachers can help protect their pupils from unnecessary pain.
Linda Trapnell examines the impact of TOC on playground behaviour.
In her final article on how teachers use emotions, teacher trainer Susan Gibbs discusses why emotional safety is so important in enabling children and young people to learn.
Some key findings from research on how teachers can use groups to boost young people’s achievement
A new review group has been set up to recommend ways of:
Groupwork needs a bigger role in classroom practice, according to the findings of the SPRinG (Social Pedagogic Research into Groupwork) project, carried out over five years by researchers at the universities of London, Cambridge and Brighton.
Want to inject some freshness into the learning space? Richard Churches and Rogert Terry show to make a real difference in your classroom
Is your voice in control? What sound does your voice make? What kind of impression does your voice make? Lesley Hendy explains how the way you move can affect the quality of your voice. You will also discover more about how to use the acoustics of a room to your advantage and how to vary the tone and pitch of your voice to increase your vocal ‘tool box’.
There are pros and cons to all seating patterns
Win it or lose it within the first three minutes, by Nicola Fahey
What would you do if faced with a child having an asthma attack? Jo Viner Smith, BAppSc, lays out a quick guide for teachers as explained in SportEX Health magazine
SENCOs will find two recent publications helpful for developing dyslexia-friendly schools – one for adult literacy and numeracy skills, the other from the primary national strategy.