INSPIRATION

I tweet and blog a lot about my network and how being an outward-facing leader who is connected to a wider educational community fuels me. It the last few years through Twitter, StaffRm, #womened and now #bameed, through #teachmeets, #leadmeets and #researched I have met a plethora of fantastic educational contacts who have inspired me, empowered me and connected me. Through these connections I have ended up meeting brilliant educators and collaborating on some fantastic projects. These collaborations have reignited my passion for my profession.

Student Ross Lowe, 16, discusses his journey with the micro:bit, from user to contributor, to designing and releasing his own ‘Maker’s Kit’.

I worked as a principal at a wonderful inner-city school in Ottawa, Canada. The school has a high immigrant population and many of our families live in poverty. This was my last assignment as principal and our little school afforded me wonderful opportunities to innovate and try new things.

Every school year is a cycle of activities that require administrators to maintain attention to detail. At the same time you must keep an eye on the big picture.

Filmmaking projects that inspire, empower and improve literacy attainment in the classroom. Children at Tubbenden Primary School in Bromley recently completed a literacy and filmmaking project by A Tale Unfolds – a social enterprise (formed of teachers) striving to improve children’s literacy skills through digital storytelling and filmmaking.

Here, two Year 6 teachers from the school, Laura Venn and Sarah Davey, discuss their experiences of using one of the projects as well as the impact that a digital literacy focus had on their pupils:

Back in 2010, the United Arab Emirates launched the Vision 2021 project, which addressed key development issues across the nation. As part of this, the Emirates have implemented the ‘First-Rate Education’ plan, with the aims to implement dramatic reforms to the curriculum, improve teaching through professional development and encourage schools to develop the 21st Century skills young people need to succeed.

Editor’s note: Were you at this amazing event? If so, share your experiences of the day in the comments below. Be sure to get in touch, as we’re keen to collaborate with as many Primary Rockers as possible!

When I tell my colleagues about Twitter, I often get the eye-roll. ‘Here he goes again, banging on about Social Media.’ ‘I don’t understand a word of what he’s saying.’ Use the words ‘edu-chat’ and I’ve lost them completely.

1. Tell us about how you got into teaching.

We’re proud to announce a new addition to our Podcast page: The ED Files. Billed as a fortnightly podcast on educational news, views, reviews and resources, the programme is hosted by Leon Cych (“web designer, coder, teacher, artist, educationalist”) and Alex Weatherall (“teacher of Physics and Computing”).

For schools, getting children to engage with learning is the first step. However, some pupils struggle with this, including disadvantaged and looked-after children (LAC) pupils, with the Department for Education (DfE) finding the attainment of LAC in KS1 and KS2 is lower than it is for non-looked after children; only 63% of LAC at KS1 achieved a level 2 or above in writing in 2015 compared to 88% of non-looked after children. Although this isn’t the case for every LAC, many can become disengaged and their attendance at school may not be as good as their peers, so as a result, they fall behind during lessons.

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