Innovate My School - Ideas, Practices & Personal Insights

Inspiration (134)

Liverpool schoolkids Roar! for Diversity

Two major sporting organisations – the Premier League and ECB – joined forces to launch the Roar! for Diversity competition and school resources last week. Lawrence Community Primary School in Liverpool was chosen for the inspirational inaugural lesson where the pupils received an unexpected, but welcome, surprise from a number of sporting stars. The school’s deputy head Karen Ford reports on the day and describes how the new resources will ...

How adaptive EdTech can close the attainment gap

Recent reports by the Education Policy Institute thinktank and the Fair Education Alliance have highlighted that, despite efforts of schools and policy-makers, the attainment gap at KS4 is actually widening. For educators driven by a desire to help every student do the best they can, this discrepancy is a tragedy, especially considering that students with lower prior attainment tend to have the greatest opportunity to make gains. The circumstances seem ...

Creating and recognising an evidence base of education technology

EdTech is one of the fastest growing areas of the technology industry. But with budget constraints and a plethora of online edtech platforms, tools and resources on the market, knowing how much to spend and what to buy are not easy decisions for schools.

The gender gap in apprenticeships

Participation rates in apprenticeships are running pretty much 50/50 for men and women. Ostensibly, it appears that apprenticeships are a success story for equality. Indeed, for the last ten years participation has slightly tipped in favour of women; but this year, for the first time, more men started on apprenticeships than women. What does this tweak in the statistics tell us about how apprenticeships are evolving?

Gender neutral uniforms in Wales

In April 2019, the Minister for Education in Wales, Kirsty Williams, announced that school uniforms in Wales are to become more affordable for families, with a limit on single-supplier, branded items that have become commonplace in recent years. What struck me most from this announcement was the ruling that uniform is to be gender neutral.

The Unconscious Bias Toolkit

Earlier this year, London CLC, in collaboration with Queen Mary University of London, launched TechPathways London, a new programme of free training for educators working with young people aged 11-24 in London.

How to be more inclusive in your school [interview]

For those working in education and have not heard of the shell-suit wearing, #PrimaryRocks, BAFTA-nominated BBC documentary legend that is Graham Andre, shame on you! A Primary school teacher from the Isle of Wight, Graham has been jetted into the consciousness of thousands of educators through his passion for inclusion and progression. Nicole Ponsford, co-founder of the Gender Equality Collective, caught up with Graham and asked him to share his ...

How we became market leaders in appraisal software

Since its foundation in 2006, Derventio Education has built a reputation amongst schools, colleges and training establishments for delivering intuitive software that saves educators time. Flagship product SchooliP, which streamlines appraisals, professional development and school improvement processes, is used by thousands of teachers and school leaders. Here, we explore the company’s journey from inception to market leaders.

Avoiding unnecessary ‘null point’ in SATs questions

During his 10 years in education, Darryl Keane from Learning by Questions marked the key stage 2 SATs papers of students from all over England and Wales. In this time, he noticed that the same mistakes, many often easily avoidable, were made by students. With this year’s SATs being sat in the same week as the Eurovision Song Contest, Darryl gives us his Eurovision Song Contest style countdown to the ...

How Bridge uses technology to support low-income countries

The global shortage of learning is truly shocking. Today, most children in the world are not reaching even basic levels of literacy and maths as they are either not in school or they’re in a school but not really learning. It’s an uncomfortable fact reinforced by the World Bank’s inaugural report on education. The crisis is worst in sub-Saharan Africa. It is home to more than half ...

Microsoft Teams: an alternative VLE?

While there are many different virtual learning environments available on the market, some with high running costs, Microsoft Teams is a practical solution for teachers who want to incorporate educational technology into the classroom.

Being yourself, even with big shoes to fill

I'm standing in front of a group of newly qualified teachers, about to embark on their first teaching post in new schools, with new roles, and new stationary. I share that this new term brings with it new challenges for me also.