I’m a former Deputy Head and Class Teacher for 22 years so I know first hand about teaching Reception Class children – I taught 35 four year olds! I’ve also raised 2 children. So, I’m rather shocked by the new survey by Early Years charity Kindred² 93% of teachers say their school is increasing […]
Britain’s schools are facing an epidemic of bad behaviour. As a former Deputy Head & Class teacher for over 22 years I read with interest this new research. Poor behaviour seems to have worsened in recent years. A poll of 500 primary school teachers found that, since the pandemic, 84 per cent believe attention span […]
As a former Deputy Head and class teacher for 22 years I read with interest the article in the Daily Telegraph about 15,000 teachers being off sick from school every day. I often coach teachers and Senior Management Teams on leadership skills and I see many highly stressed teachers battling paperwork, insolent kids, disaffected parents […]
Here is today’s story from my never-ending note book and everlasting coloured pencil ! Comfort Zones Two seeds lay in a shallow depression in the field where the farmer had thrown them. As the autumn days passed, birds searching for worms, and the wintry wind, loosened the earth, which slowly began to cover them. Patiently […]
As a former Deputy Headteacher I read with dismay a rather unhelpful tweet from Lord Andrew Adonis to say he’d written to Ofsted chief, Amanda Spielman, concerned that schools are not providing enough online learning. Teachers who were just recovering from Sir Michael Wilshaw’s Newsnight suggestion that schools should work evenings and weekends to […]
An interview with my great pal across the pond – Dr. Lynne Kenney on how kindness and collaboration can improve children’s behaviour in the classroom. Lynne Kenney, Psy.D., is a practicing pediatric psychologist, author and international educator in Scottsdale, AZ. With a keen interest in changing the trajectory of children’s learning through cognitive-exercise, Dr. Kenney […]
My frank interview with Dr. Lynne Kenney – a practicing paediatric psychologist in Scottsdale, AZ with advanced training in forensic psychology and developmental paediatrics. She is the author of Bloom Today on #Bloombrainsmarts the UK’s respected parenting expert Sue Atkins and I have a frank conversation about helping complicated, intense, or behaviourally disruptive kids in […]
As a former Deputy Head & Class Teacher for over 22 years here’s a blog for all my teachers – ready to hit the last part of term up and running! Here is a simple but effective exercise to change your negative thoughts about problem behaviour into positive targets. Make a list of the top […]
On Tuesday 3rd May tens of thousands of parents are going to keep their kids at home and do fun educational activities to make the Government aware of how children are being robbed of the joy of childhood & their right to play. I can only say that I am so glad I left teaching […]
I can only say that I am so glad I left teaching 10 years ago as I just watch in horror at my friend’s stress levels as they continue to battle the obsession with data driven, stress imbued, teaching and learning. Stressed teachers create stressed learning environments so children as young as 5 equate learning […]
I’m being interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds today about an Ofsted Report that says how chatter, calling out without permission, swinging on chairs, play fighting, throwing paper planes, using mobile phones and quietly humming was “very common” in schools. As regular readers of my blog know – I used to be a Deputy Head and Class […]
Here’s a beautifully heartfelt letter I discovered on Mamapedia as kids return to school this week. Dear Teacher, Today I relinquish my precious children into your care. Do you know how important you are to me? To them? From this day forward, you are a valuable force in what defines them. You will encourage […]
Today thousands of teachers in the UK are on strike. I sympathise because education has become a world of what I call “Tick Box” Teaching – where teachers are snowed under with data. Ticking boxes about whether a 5 year old in Year 1 can “ Recognise common graphemes and common alternative pronunciations” in […]
As Tony Parsons said last night on Twitter “ It takes one night to burn down a neighbourhood – and it takes generations to rebuild it.” The House of Reeves furniture store survived the Great Depression and Hitler’s bombs but last night the rioters came and razed it to the ground. Reeves Corner was set […]
