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Last Monday, I was at work for a total of 5 minutes before I read a message telling me to isolate for two weeks after having come into contact with a friend who tested positive. Literally 30 mins later, I was teaching my first proper lesson via Microsoft Teams and have been ever since. Since … Continue reading 6 Tips For Online Teaching

About a week ago, I received the tweet below from the BBC. Naturally, I was keen to know what it was about so obviously I replied. They then DM’d me their details and an outline of Bitesize Daily. Basically, they wanted me to help deliver some of the online lessons which were to commence after … Continue reading Stop Taking Advantage of Teachers: My Experience With the BBC

When the Adults Change Everything Changes: A Discussion Pupil behaviour and how to manage it has been a persistently contentious issue in education for as long as I can remember. From educators who feel it necessary to issue harsh sanctions for the most minor of infringements, to educators who consider the concept of punishment to … Continue reading When the Adults Change Everything Changes: A Discussion

I totally forgot to mention in part 1 that Sue Cowley came to my then school to film a documentary for Teachers TV about how to manage behaviour, particularly as an NQT. As well as answering our questions, the behaviour pundit also came into some lessons. She worked closely with a friend of mine and … Continue reading My NQT Year: Part 2

Often when the NQT year is discussed, there is much talk of ‘surviving’- rarely of ‘thriving’- and for me this is an area of permanent confliction. As someone who mentors and supports NQTs, I obviously want you to thrive, but at the same time, for some teachers at some schools, the NQT year really is … Continue reading My NQT Year: Part 1

You finally get time to enter your data. Joe Bloggs - 56% . . .  box turns red. Jon Smith - 48% . . . box turns red. Emma Jones - 61% . . . box turns red.  One by one, you watch with despair as you witness a large chunk of your group underachieve. … Continue reading When Your Class Underachieves

Collect your personal belongings and we’ll escort you to your car. Was what a middle leader was once told after he allegedly sent an email to his department which was perceived as undermining SLT. Upon entering his car, he was told to have no contact whatsoever with any member of staff until investigations were complete. … Continue reading Why You Must Join a Union

We no longer grade lessons, but if we were to it would definitely have been an ‘Outstanding.’ Wow. Nothing like an academy with integrity, eh? We’ll say we don’t do something but we’ll do it anyway. You know, a bit like the ‘learning walk’ that lasted 45 minutes, or the Saturday revision session that was … Continue reading ‘We no longer grade lessons, but’: Why lesson grading needs to end

Exam season. While we are likely to be more on edge than usual, many of us cannot help but enjoy exam season somewhat. For me, the sense of camaraderie between staff, between pupils, and between pupils and staff, is enough to take away the dread of potentially disastrous results from Michael Gove’s new curriculum. The … Continue reading Intervention and Entitlement: Why We Should Not Run Holiday Revision Sessions