Walk into many classrooms today and you’ll see walls bursting with posters, anchor charts, word walls, motivational quotes, and student masterpieces. I’ve been there myself - creating a map of Middle Earth when reading The Hobbit as a display board, and making a 3D display to entice children when creating writing inspired by ‘The Mysteries of Harris Burdick’ by Chris van Allsburg.

What are ‘flight paths’? Picture this: a classroom full of busy students and one teacher weaving in and out of desks like a pilot following invisible routes through the sky. Those routes , the ones…

What are ‘flight paths’? Picture this: a classroom full of busy students and one teacher weaving in and out of desks like a pilot following invisible routes through the sky. Those routes , the ones teachers naturally take as they move around the room, are what I like to call flight paths. BUT! They’re not just about walking around. They’re about being…

💬 “Don’t panic if they forget – plan for it. Forgetting, done right, is how learning becomes stronger.” The Forgetting Fear Teachers and parents everywhere have had the same quiet worry at so…

💬 “Don’t panic if they forget - plan for it. Forgetting, done right, is how learning becomes stronger.” The Forgetting Fear Teachers and parents everywhere have had the same quiet worry at some point: “Will they actually remember this next week?” Fear not! Forgetting isn’t always the villain. In fact, sometimes it’s the secret ingredient that helps learning stick.

We’ve explored the importance of the environment, attention and the working memory. For new learning to stick, we need to ensure that we are constantly checking for understanding, and most importantly, providing the right feedback after we’ve worked out what the children do and do not know. Feedback is one of the most powerful tools we have in education. Done well, it accelerates learning, builds motivation and helps children refine their thinking.

As we head into the first full week back, schools have hit the ground running delivering their lessons to pupils, and parents at home (if you’re anything like me!) are breathing a sigh of relief for the routing and normality! I also look forward to the homework that comes home. We’ve explored how environment and attention shape learning. Now we come to a crucial piece of the puzzle: …

As we get closer to the new term; new academic year, here's the second blog around how we support children learning. I hope you find it useful. If there’s one thing teachers and parents know well, it’s the challenge of getting - and keeping - children’s attention. Whether it’s a buzzing classroom, a phone notification or just the endless energy of being young, attention can feel fragile.

I’ve had a bit of a hiatus with blog-writing; busy work and family got in the way! So I’ve taken inspiration from other writers and decided to do a mini-series as we start getting ready for the nex…

💙We are a Proud CUSP School 🗓️9th June we will host a day to showcase all the CUSP Curriculum has to offer: lesson design, SEND offer and Assessment at St Mary's 🙏Share the link with anyone who'd be interested: https://t.co/FG26EX6hXp @baronbedford @peedleweedle @Edu_Meadows

You wouldn’t build a house by just putting in the front door, would you? Nah, you'd sort the foundations first, make sure every brick’s where it should be, and fix any gaps before the roof goes on. Well, assessment in the classroom’s the same — it's not a flashy end-of-year event, it’s the brick-by-brick work we do every single day to help children build something strong and lasting.

💙We are a Proud CUSP School 🗓️9th June we will host a day to showcase all the CUSP Curriculum has to offer: lesson design, SEND offer and Assessment at St Mary's 🙏Share the link with anyone who'd be interested: https://t.co/FG26EX6hXp @baronbedford @peedleweedle @Edu_Meadows

Curriculum schemes – they’re a hot topic in UK education right now. From the classroom to the staffroom, it seems like everyone’s either trying to adopt one, debating its merits, or wondering if it’s all a money-making scheme that will fall out of edu-sphere as quick as it came in. So, what’s all the fuss about? On paper, adopting a curriculum scheme seems like the ideal solution.

Mental arithmetic is a big deal. Whether it’s calculating a tip at a restaurant (some Brits do do that!), managing your shopping budget, or simply figuring out how much time you need to get ready i…

Mental arithmetic is a big deal. Whether it’s calculating a tip at a restaurant (some Brits do do that!), managing your shopping budget, or simply figuring out how much time you need to get ready in the morning, numbers are everywhere. It’s clear that being comfortable with mental math is essential for navigating life, yet in schools, mental arithmetic sometimes risks being reduced to a drill for tests, especially with the looming pressures of KS2 SATs and the Year 4 Multiplication Checker.

Let’s face it: the world of professional development (PD) for educators can sometimes feel a bit … bleugh. Lots of well-intentioned stuff, but nothing to get excited about. But what if we could spice things up a bit? Over the last 10 months I’ve been reading this book, Josh Goodridge’s Responsive Coaching, and using it to further develop the CPD offer within my MAT – NPCAT.

Check out the schedule for Lead School Visit 2025- St Mary's Catholic Primary

Photo by Vanessa Loring on Pexels.com Right then, teachers and parents, grab a cuppa and settle in – we’re about to have a proper chinwag about oracy. My headteacher and a Primary Standards Officer for NPCAT have been in a debate about disciplinary literacy, and I've come to the conclusion that oracy matters most - especially in primary settings. Now, before you start thinking this is all just fancy talk, let’s take a proper look at why oracy is so important in the primary school years.

Check out the schedule for Lead School Visits - Autumn Term 2024

Hey there, fellow educators and lifelong learners! After listening to a Mind the Gap podcast interview with Julian Grenier and speaking to a great colleague of mine, Kendra Sill (@KendraSill on X),…