Every so often the issue of marking and feedback emerges and fractious debates kick off. Teachers with marking ingrained as a daily habit, can view it as essential; whereas, many teachers see it as extraneous to their core work and simply not worth the time and effort. So, if marking is murder, is it worth the …
The run up to a general election often trots out the good, the bad, and the ugly, of education policy. We know that what sells to the voter on the doorstep often doesn’t translate well into the reality of a well-functioning school system; evidence & experience are often trumped by the demands of party ideology …
General Election ’17: An Education Policy Overview Read More »
You can almost smell the burning indignation of Daily Mail readers as they read the following story on ‘Duvet Days’ for teachers. “Lessons in Laziness from lie-in teachers” is the war-cry. If you dare, take a look below the line at the comments, and wade through a sea of stereotype-laden opprobrium. Bloody lazy teachers, eh? Now, …
This last month, the Department for Education, the teaching unions and OFSTED united. Yes, you heard me right. The topic that saw this unique collaboration: teacher workload. The recruitment and retention issue faced by schools is meeting a demographic boom. Add that to stagnant school budgets and a deeply embedded accountability culture that sees compliance …
Take a moment to imagine the scene. You are standing on the goal line and you have the privilege of being the goalkeeper of your nation – in a major championship no less. Your heart is scudding into you ribcage. Sweat tumbles into your eyes and you nervously wipe them away before readying your position. What …
We all know the recommended dietary intake of 5-a-day for fruit and veg. Is it a simple shortcut to remind us to eat better because we need it. Now, the 5-a-day principle can extend more widely than that and convey a simple but powerful truth, breaking down a task into smaller, achievable parts can have …
Sometimes a mythic tale stays with you and lingers in your mind years after the first reading. For some reason, the trials of Thor have stayed with me since their first telling at Primary School. There were three trials: drinking from a mead horn, lifting a cat and wrestling an old lady, with each trial …
