EdBlogs

A recent Twitter conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of headteachers having a teaching commitment made me thoughtful. I was a head for 30 years and taught each class of year 7 one English lesson every week throughout this time. I was paired with the English teacher who taught them for the rest of the time. If I had to be out of...

One of our NQT surgeries looked at how new teachers can spend the holidays wisely – with the overwhelming advice being to relax, recuperate and not think about work. We know that's easier said than done, however. But rather than taking on mountains of planning or crafting intricately annotated seating plans (which you'll almost definitely have...

I am a big believer in using researched and proven learning strategies to improve retention of classroom material. I have applied strategies in my high school advanced placement psychology classes and have seen notable improvements in test scores, study habits and students' understanding of their learning. Improvement in test scores is importa...

I originally qualified as a secondary French and German teacher 10 years ago and I had next to no knowledge of computer science. But, as we know all too well, modern foreign languages are sadly in decline, especially German. I decided to take matters into my own hands and over the first lockdown, I taught myself some of the basics of computer scien...

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...