EdBlogs

Back in 2021, our curriculum was topic-based, creative and our children enjoyed it. As an approach, it had served us well, but we had begun to sense it had taken us as far as it could. In a topic-based model, the subject is often a servant to the theme. You start with "The Rainforest" or "The Victorians" and build activities around it. It looks coh...

At the start of my NQT year, I took an assertive approach to discipline with my classes. I had high expectations for pupils and I established boundaries quickly. Although this worked to an extent, I couldn't help feeling that something was missing. I just didn't have a connection with any of my classes. I was enjoying what I was doing, but the...

It's not just the kettle that gets heated in the staffroom. A combination of pressure from pupils and pressure from management often results in outbursts directed at the wrong people. "You've only been here five minutes, I've got 20 years' experience" was the inappropriate response levelled at a newly qualified teacher (NQT) in my previous school, ...

I have a son who's 11 and has been doing his SATs this week. He's a bright little boy and he also has autism. He's got a sense of logic that would give Mr Spock a run for his money, combined with a social detachment which leaves him unable to understand why he needs to (in his words) "do yet another stupid maths paper, which will be exactly the sam...

​Welcome to the inaugural Teacher Olympics! Due to the current funding crisis, we regret to inform you that the opening ceremony has been cancelled. Instead, we will launch straight into the first event: weightlifting. Teachers from across the land will compete to see who can struggle from classroom to car with the heaviest plastic box of unmarked ...