Homework has taken a lot of flack lately. Unduly so, I believe. There is a push – and even a hashtag, #ditchHW – to end the practice of teacher-prescribed homework for students. Most of those who oppose it cite either a lack of evidence for its effectiveness or a more pressing need for quality family time. I totally sympathise with the argument for...
EdBlogs
Any discussion among teachers about good practice will get around, at some point, to learning outcomes. Conversation will often turn to Bloom's Taxonomy and the attendant verbs connected to the "lower" and "higher" order "thinking skills". And then someone will raise the idea of SMART targets, which, in conjunction with Bloom's, enable us to develo...
A recent study found that students' minds are most likely to wander in class on Mondays and Fridays. Getting rid of weekends (which are clearly very distracting) isn't an option, but there are ways to help improve their concentration, even from a very young age. Here's how. Encourage them to eat a healthy breakfast There is a growing bod...
My school is an outstanding secondary located in London and was one of the first schools to convert to academy status – and we have recently joined a multi-academy trust (MAT). As a governing board, we were quite aware of what is happening nationally; collaboration is top of the agenda now, and there are benefits that come from working with other s...
Getting 'the call' from Ofsted is rarely met with joy (to put it mildly), but it doesn't have to be a moment of panic for school governors. Last week we hosted #ukgovchat and asked the great school governor minds of Twitter for their advice and wisdom on how to (or whether to) prepare for an inspection. What Ofsted says: @EdCentral @HarfordSean wh...