Director of Studies - Teaching Expertise

Do you know your way around educational employment law? Does your school's pay and remuneration package meet or exceed minimum standards? Tamara Ludlow gives a legal overview of essential information for both leadership teams and staff

It's the dilemma every secondary school faces: how do you set an amount of homework that satisfies parents across the board? Roy Tarleton, headteacher of South Dartmoor Community College, thinks he's cracked it

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 read more

Thinking skills can never be crossed off a teachers 'to do' list, argues David Leat. Here he challenges some emerging dogmas about objectives and lesson planning

Improving your gifted and talented provision depends on being able to pinpoint strengths and weaknesses in your current approach. The Institutional Quality Standards (IQS) is a self-evaluation tool for doing just that, and supports the introduction of personalised education across the whole school, writes Deborah Eyre read more

The BERA Professional User Reviews, published in 2003, aimed to critically inform the thinking of practitioners about research. Kate Wall uses them as a focus to argue that the closing of the theory-practice divide is becoming more and more relevant in 2008 read more

If the spirit of creativity were allowed to flower, could we cope? David Leat looks at the way that everyday constraints leave schools ill-equipped to teach creativity and the way that it can flourish when those constraints are removed

The intention of raising standards is one that seems to run through all sorts of current ideas about education. But which 'standards' are being referred to and in what sense (if any) are they being raised? Pam Woolner examines the issues read more

Staff at the Grammar School for Girls, Wilmington, decided it was time for a change. Six months later there is a real sense of staff and students working together for the future. Chris Love describes how learning to learn was introduced to his school

What are the legal restrictions on how we should teach religious studies in school?

Lesson study is a form of classroom enquiry from the Far East that focuses on improving an aspect of teaching and learning through collaborative long-term study. Pete Dudley describes its background and how it has been adapted for use in England

Guy Claxton invites debate on his eight character strengths and virtues for the learning age

Boxercise classes and boxing clubs in schools can be used to improve fitness and behaviour, as well as tackle bullying and racism says Rob Bowden

Lisa Symonds looks at the benefits that skiing can offer schools and provides some tips on arranging a school skiing trip read more

Education writer Dorothy Lepkowska reports on how Study Plus – a course designed to support students who have the ability to improve their academic performance – is being implemented and received in the classroom read more

Roger Smith considers tried and tested ways of improving teaching and learning and a few new ones

Primary headteacher David Dixon applauds many of the changes that the Key Stage 3 review heralds, arguing that many of them will bring about practices already embedded in the best primary schools

Education writer and former head Gerald Haigh talks to Dr Keith Bothamley, deputy head (curriculum) at Horsforth School, and Richard Brown, principal of Minsthorpe Community College in Wakefield, about the new KS3 curriculum

Philip Adey, one of the original proponents of CASE (cognitive acceleration through science education), reviews developments in the approach and critically examines its use in schools read more

Georghia Ellinas, Secondary National Strategy regional adviser, describes an initiative that allows pupils to enjoy a Shakespeare play in their own time and space

Is the concept of personalised learning really all that new? Roger Smith investigates

Many of your teachers will not be science specialists. Angela Youngman has been looking at innovative approaches to the teaching of science that help encourage children’s inquisitiveness read more

The curriculum review section of most direct interest to SENCOs concerns organising the curriculum. SENCO Update reports read more

We look at two examples from a booklet produced by the West Midlands Regional G&T partnership describing the experiences of 16 ‘test bed’ schools as they have engaged with the IQS and taken a lead in their implementation read more

Liz Thomas describes how a holistic ESDGC strategy for action operates in Wales read more

Students in St Margaret's High School in Liverpool have designed and successfully marketed a computer game. David Dennison and Les Hankin report on a striking demonstration on economic wellbeing as a diver of school activity read more

An outline of the content of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and what schools need to consider when deciding to apply to deliver the curriculum it offers. By Tristian Stobie

Ofsted’s last report on PSHE observed that parenting is frequently ignored in secondary schools. Dr Sue Dale Tunnicliffe outlines ways forward for 11-19 year olds. read more

Cooperative learning strategies aim to promote feedback loops relating to assessment and reflective learning in the classroom at Fallibroome High School. Jane Gormally and Francis Power describe the developments.

We are constantly trying to drive up standards of teaching and learning with new approaches, preferably those with a strong evidence base. But is ‘What Works?’ the right question? Should we really be asking ‘How do good teachers get better?’ Elaine Hall reflects on the messages from a meta-analysis of teaching and learning interventions

The DfES, QCA and the National Strategies have got plans for changes to teaching and learning. Is this news? We have learned to live with change. read more

Paul Grainger outlines strategies for high-quality careers provision

Marilyn Tew takes a look at what the Nuffield Review of 14-19 Education and Training has to tell us about whether current strategies will improve the education on offer to teenagers. read more

Sarah Blenkinsop and Marian Morris examine young people’s decision-making patterns, the role their school plays, the skills they require and other influences on the choices they make at core points in their school career. read more

The key change to the curriculum at Key Stage 4 has been to increase the breadth of choice. Alan Monks, Deputy Headteacher, describes the impact on Ellis Guilford School and Sports College, Nottingham

Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), looks at the different interpretations of personalised learning and what they might mean in practice. read more

Do students have something constructive to say about their own education? Putting pupil consultation at the forefront of her research into tacking underachievement allowed Helen Lee to highlight some new areas of concern for her school

Antidote development director Marilyn Tew describes what she learned from a recent seminar on how music education affects student wellbeing. read more

Judith Harwood, senior regional adviser for the primary and secondary strategy, describes what one school has been learning from its involvement in the Social, Emotional and Behavioural Skills (SEBS) pilot. read more

With closer cooperation between schools and FE colleges in 14-19 education on the horizon, Lee Davies provides an overview of recent changes to CPD for teachers in further education

This articles discusses using the National Programme for Specialist Leaders of Behaviour and Attendance (NPSLBA) to transform behaviour and raise attendance

Lisa Crosswood describes the benefits of a modular Masters degree in Education. read more

Teaching Expertise is delighted to announce our sponsorship of a teacher’s expedition to Antarctica, exploring how humans cope with extremes. read more

Questions for whole-school change – A suggested planning framework for providing citizenship education with a global dimension. read more

This scheme of work has the theme of Rich World Poor World. read more

Global citizenship benchmarks for secondary schools. read more

This project supports the National Framework for PSHE and the National Healthy School Standard, as well as supporting the development of Citizenship throughout the school with some 1400 pupils

Our theme was 'Rich World, Poor World'. How do we open the eyes of children to equality issues? read more

This project has shown how some 'blockages' to greater global awareness in schools can be unblocked. The challenge now is to share and learn from our experiences. By Sandy Betlem, NEAD. read more

If citizenship with a global dimension is taught and learned in all schools, great things can be achieved! Heather Swainston from Cheshire Development Education Centre explains how. read more