EdBlogs

​He was a kid I'd barely noticed. I'd been teaching the class for just a few weeks and, as is always the case, certain heads had raised themselves above the parapet: the defaulters, the jokers, the forgetful and the attention-seekers. But this lad had been quietly going about his own business. He always gets the work done; he rarely forgets to...

Let's start with the bad news: now that you're a teacher, your to-do list will never be complete. Ever. Part of the deal with having a job that's so important is that you will also have so many demands on your time that working 24/7 wouldn't be enough. It's imperative, then, that you master the art of effective time management early. You can only w...

A data analysis of the effect of coaching on teachers' practice and students' outcomes caused a bit of a stir recently. The meta-analysis of 37 studies found that coaching was an effective method of professional development for teachers. It is worth noting that coaching was most effective in small groups, however. In fact, it was half as effective ...

Every professional who is new to leadership – or takes up a new leadership role – needs to consider how they develop relationships with those they lead. The same is true if you are promoted internally. There are many benefits and potential drawbacks to being promoted to a leadership position within a school where you are already employed. What is i...

When I started in teaching, I wanted to copy everything I loved about the teachers who had made a difference to me. By the time I started in the classroom I was very much in favour of being tough on kids and demanding superb output from them. I was anti-liberal and, looking back, too much so. Teaching English was a huge amount of fun, but in my ear...