Byron Court has the advantage of being located in a desirable neighbourhood of  Wembley. As an ‘outstanding’ school (Ofsted 2012) we are able to attract excellent and creative teachers, ones who are committed to providing our pupils with a solid education as well as extra curricular opportunities that enable all children to succeed and gain confidence in their abilities.

I’m a writer. Sometimes I write for children. I’ve worked on children’s TV series, computer games, comics and I write children’s books. When I visit schools, children ask if I’m famous. I tell them that I’m not famous, but it doesn’t matter. Writers don’t need to be famous, they just write. Dental assistants don’t require widespread public recognition, they just pick up teeth. Teachers, after days at the front, like holidays in the sun – in anonymity. Not being famous doesn’t mean you’re not good at what you do.

Much has been made recently about the importance of STEM subjects, but what about languages? Writer and translator Benito Abramo takes a look at why the teaching of modern languages is so crucial.

Speaking a second language can give students a massive head start in many areas of their adult lives. Not only can it open doors career-wise, it can also introduce people to all kinds of new cultures and experiences. For this reason, learning modern languages should be considered an important part of every school curriculu

Storytelling is an essential part of childhood. The literature we read contributes to our social and emotional development. It enhances our understanding of the world around us. Unfortunately, that literature isn’t always easy to understand. That’s where outdoor storytelling can help.

The iPad has been a great tool for teaching children to become better readers.

There are many apps available that parents can use to help their kids improve their reading skills significantly, whether they’re just starting out or brushing up on some basics. Here are some of the best:

Sentence Reading Magic

Developed by Preschool University, Sentence Reading Magic helps your child read and build sentences. With this app, you can use two learning modes to improve your child’s ability to handle sentences, which makes it a great tool for driving home key reading lessons.

Last month our headteacher gave me the challenge of using an Ipod shuffle creatively in a lesson. The easiest answer would be to use it in a music lesson, upload some tracks that could have been used for a dance session, or to play during a big write. I wanted to try to think outside the box a bit though, and began to focus on using the gadget in a less obvious lesson. I was drawn to the unpredictability value of the shuffle button, and wanted to utilise that in the best possible way. After toying with the idea of recording lots of times table facts to be played at random for the children to write the answers, I eventually decided to go with using the ipod shuffle in Spanish. The children were learning about Las Comidas (food). Here's what I did:

1. Once I had done the initial language acquisition session with the children, I asked individuals to be recorded saying one of the phrases. This was completed on an apple mac recording into audacity (it could just as easily be done using audacity and a microphone on any computer)

Photo credit: Guimo