Ideas, Practices & Personal Insights

How to preserve your sanity as a parent-educator

When Boris Johnson announced the lockdown at 8pm on Monday 23rd March, I wept. I was relieved to know that I wouldn’t go home after a busy day of teaching 150 different children feeling terrified at the possibility of bringing death into my home. But after suffering from postnatal depression last year following the birth of my first child, I was shaken with the dawning familiarity of feeling trapped and ...

Maintaining momentum during lockdown

Global society has been transformed in ways not seen for generations. We are all facing massive challenges in terms of health and education. School leaders, teachers and families around the world have all asked:

Let's equip young people for a new now

My Grandma was becoming a teenager at the start of the second world war. Now in her nineties and ensconced in a lovely care home in South Devon she plays the role of an aging matriarch from an Agatha Christie novel to a tee. With several biblical resurrections to her name I am beginning to wonder whether she will outlive me, let alone the generation between us.

Ensuring that school staff are appreciated

Eyres Monsell, the only Primary School to hold a Princess Royal Training Award for its work around mental health, has joined forces with TAP (Thank And Praise), enabling parents to digitally thank school staff.

Lock it down, skill it up!

For myself and every teacher friend I have, the end of a term has us dragging ourselves towards the holidays like the bright shiny beacon that is a chance to sleep, eat and use the loo at a time of our own choosing.

Global #BrewEd event to be streamed on 16th May

On Saturday 16th May, educators around the world will head to teacher Graham Andre’s Twitter page for #GlobalBrewEdIsolation. Here, Graham explains where April’s #BrewEdIsolation came from, and what people can expect from this exciting sequel…

Teacher bashing has got to stop!

Over the last few months, I feel like we have been suspended in reality, dangling along the edge of a black hole where every minute feels like hours or days…

6 Drama activities for home learning

I guess, like all teachers, I panicked when I heard schools were shutting. But I think there’s a special kind of panic that teachers of practical subjects had – how on earth was I going to replicate my practical, collaborative, entirely group-work based drama studio when they were all sitting behind a computer, miles apart?

Bringing creativity and focused practice into the home learning environment

In recent weeks, I’ve found the idiom ‘how long is a piece of string?’ has entered my daily vocabulary. With parents, students, teachers and even Joyce next door all asking ‘how long will this last, do you reckon?’, it seems the monotony is getting to everyone. Throw into the mix the demands of home learning and progress concerns, and we’ve got a seemingly endless summer of stress coming ...

Bridging the gap between remote teaching and remote learning

Nic Ponsford, as well as being an IMS contributor for six years (*gasp*), is also known for her work in education and technology, and more recently as the co-CEO and founder of the GEC. Knowing that online learning and remote working are central to her makeup, we knew that she would have a few things to share with us, and you.

GCSEs in the Lockdown age

The Lockdown bombshell for pupils and teachers: “GCSE grades will be cancelled…”

5 historical heroes who inspire and motivate

Have you been struggling with motivation? So have I! Tasks that would have taken me about 10 minutes to complete at school are taking me 1 hour at home. I have always been someone who has been very self-motivated and driven therefore this season has been very odd.