Schools want to get CPD right, but when you take into account personnel, timing and funds, this can be an area of difficulty. Here, BlueSky MD Denise Inwood answers some frequently-asked questions on the topic of teacher CPD.
1. Is continuing professional development (CPD) in schools becoming more important? If so, why?
CPD has always been an important and central part of the development of any good teacher, precipitated by reflective ...
Bowie. David Bowie. Yes, that’s right, the chameleon of pop music. What would Bowie do if he was in charge of the education system? This is a question I have been coming back to over the last few months. With all the educational changes, upheaval and strikes, I have been thinking more and more about what would happen and change if Bowie was in charge.
Helping pupils develop their minds is what teachers do, but how can they go about making sure that young learners are safe, both in school and at home? Christian McMullen, head of the NSPCC’s safeguarding in education service, tells us exactly what teachers need to look out for, and what actions they can take.
Teachers and others working in schools are uniquely well-placed to spot a child at risk ...
We’ve been lucky to feature a host of enthusiastic SEN teachers on IMS, all of them fighting to make sure that pupils with such hurdles are afforded an excellent education. Here, freelance musician and music educator Jonathan Westrup discusses what best practice looks like for SEN pupils in music education.
The question posed by that title would no doubt have given many music services professionals the jeebies even a ...
Some time ago, the school I was working in decided to move to longer lessons in order to allow more time for in-depth learning, and to solve some practical problems related to rooming and movement around the school. Initially, these lessons became doubles – two hours – and eventually, the school moved to a three lesson day of 1hr 50 mins per lesson. Many schools are doing the same thing. The problem, though, ...
How should perfectionism be viewed, and is it a healthy virtue for the classroom? SEN teacher and mental health professional Julia Sharman puts forth her argument.
Nearly everything about the modern world is about striving for excellence, and for some it is about striving for perfection. Is there such a thing as perfect? All around them, students are being lead to believe that anything less than perfect is unacceptable; body ...
How do schools go about using their allocated funds? Learnmaker co-founder James Hannam takes a look at the best methods available to school staff.
In the 2014-15 academic year, English schools will receive their biggest ever pot of pupil premium, the additional funding designated to disadvantaged pupils to help ‘narrow the gap’ in the classroom. For any child eligible for free schools meals in the last 6 years, primary schools have ...
Edtech is progressing at an incredible speed, and it can often be difficult to see what’s ahead. Dominic Norrish, group director of technology at United Learning takes a look at what we can expect for tablets and 1:1 learning.
Innovate My School asked me to write about ‘the classroom of 2017’ a while back, and I responded with a thousand words of wild speculation and unfounded assertion. It was a lot ...
We know that it’s important to get kids reading, but how can we best go about this? Dan Graham, editorial director at Loved By Kids, discusses what makes pupils want to pick up books and immersive themselves in a world of possibilities.
I can still vaguely recall the immense sense of achievement that I derived from being told that I could move on from word cards and could start ...
It has been quite a time since I started to use CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) as a hook to engage students into a range of key (and often for them, boring) subjects. For me it was Science and ICT (Information Communication Technology), but it can be used to develop literacy and numeracy skills, as well as those soft skills such as collaboration and problem solving that can be difficult to ...
Schools are all under a significant obligation to provide certain information on their school websites these days. This is a bit of a problem for lots of schools in itself. The reality is that schools have to compete more and more on every level and having a website that is fresh, modern and regularly updated is key to your success.
Robotics are fun and interesting, but how can a school go about implementing them into their school? Restech’s Zan Nadeem gives her top tips on the topic.
The changes to the curriculum, although daunting in some ways, are hugely exciting. Most people, kids and adults, have a love for making things. The power to create/ and the joy from finishing a self conceived model, drawing, cake, knitted jumper etc, ...
