Innovate My School - Ideas, Practices & Personal Insights

Inspiration (98)

What your school must lose to reduce teacher workload

In March 2016 the Independent Teacher Workload Review Group completed their report entitled ‘Eliminating unnecessary workload around marking’. Since the publication of this report, I wonder how much has changed in schools across the country? How many senior leaders have read the report and those written by The Education Endowment Foundation, along with blogs and recommendations from people such as Ross ‘@TeacherToolkit’ McGill? In the report’s foreword, Dawn Copping wrote: “......

DNA and values: every child has a unique profile

Whatever young people's educational journeys, as individuals they all have unique personal characteristics just like their physical fingerprints and DNA sequences. An exciting paradigm shift is taking place in education as approaches to teaching and learning become increasingly creative and student-centred, enabling all learners to develop and blossom in their own, special ways. Just as forensic investigators can identify an individual using DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) to create a genetic profile ...

Going beyond “The sky is blue”

Have you ever found yourself marking the same pupil responses over and over? You asked them to be creative; you asked them to use their imagination. Instead, they regurgitate countless clichés onto their pages, leaving you wishing you hadn’t bothered. “The sky was blue.” “Really?” I thought, as I read this for the thirty-second time. Now, I get that the sky is blue, but it can be so ...

Primary school teachers pitch in for #EduFootyAid charity football match

#EduFootyAid is a new charity football event with a twist: all the players are primary school teachers. It will raise money for Mind, the country’s leading mental health charity. #EduFootyAid is organised by the Striker Boy campaign, which was set up in memory of former primary school teacher Jonny Zucker who sadly took his own life in 2016. Mental health is a key concern for the education sector, ...

4 steps to make this your most innovative year

‘Innovation’ is an interesting word to me; not just because I’m ‘innovation lead’ at Aureus School, but because I think it is a word which (in education) seems to carry many preconceived images. If I say to you “Oh they’re an innovative teacher”, all too often the perception seems to be of a teacher who’s at home using the latest technology, whose classroom is awash with the ...

Our “absolutely phenomenal” roadshow on tackling teacher workload

Our 2018/19 Lead LIVE roadshow kicked off in Wigan, with educators sharing a wealth of ideas to address excess workload in schools. The roadshow features talks from innovative school leaders on tackling teacher's timesinks, a prize draw, and a 'speed dating' session with ten of the best edtech providers in the country. The roadshow is now heading to Wellingborough, Peterborough, Liverpool, Bradford, Hertfordshire&...

How your school can pay it forward

The usual school grading system rewards and highlights academic success, but as educators, we have a responsibility to prepare our pupils to be responsible, active members of the community, with a moral and social responsibility to improve the world they live in and to fight discrimination and reduce inequality. As teachers, we know that theory is one thing, but to embed a thought behaviour, or an action, one must practise ...

5 essential insights into student futures

How best to prepare students for the shrouded world ahead of them? Here, we present a few of the insights put forward in the Innovate My School Guide 2017/18...

4 steps to helping every student develop their BRAND

What comes to mind when I say Nike, Apple, Google, Amazon, Kanye West, Beyoncé? Each of these have a reputation that surrounds their “brand”. Something that is expressed through their art, their product, their services. The brand that makes us love them or loathe them.

Image credit: Burst // Shopify Partners.

Close the gap between school and work

Education systems are failing both students and businesses, claims research by Intern Tech. A shocking 48 per cent of UK graduates stated that they struggle to secure jobs in the technology and marketing industries due to lack of skills, and 93 per cent of UK tech firms claimed that the lack of skills holds their businesses back; surely this is the time for change. So before students even reach university, what more ...

5 ways that schools can live long and prosper through geek culture

Not so long ago, geeks were often considered outcasts - both in schools and in society at large. Although they bonded with other like-minded people, geeks didn’t typically mingle in mainstream culture.

How to encourage financial careers in female students

In 1995, the number of female Fortune 500 CEOs was a grand total of zero; while over the years this has increased, the progress has been slow. In more recent years, the figure rose but remained below five per cent, and in 2016, not one of the 50 new Fortune 500 CEOs were women.