Trying to apply educational research to students of all abilities and backgrounds
One of the best parts of my job is visiting lessons. Lesson observations are a funny thing because they are always trying to achieve two things: They are trying to be developmental. They are trying to complete quality assurance processes. In Middle Leadership Mastery I made a partial case for separating these two processes. While... Continue Reading →
A teacher's time is education's most vital resource. In this series of blogs I explore some of the common aspects of classroom practice, give my opinion and what works and suggest some reasons why other things might not be worth our time. The aim is to share what I think are the most time efficient... Continue Reading →
I started my career in 2003 as a Biology teacher. While nowadays I spend more of my time teaching chemistry, I still love to get stuck into some biology. One of the unusual benefits of covid related staff absences last term was the chance to get back to teaching some biology when I covered the... Continue Reading →
**I had to move this post due to a glitch please find it here
Someone contacted me to ask for a copy of our KS3 KOs. They are due to be replaced by trust wide resources next year so I thought it best to share them in case people want to use or adapt them. These we written by my team and me a few years back. They don't... Continue Reading →
Research ED Surrey returned with a bang this year as it was full steam ahead with a packed day of talks and an excellent lunch. Also there were these large cookies that I adored. I ate 5 of them, honestly. Apart from the food there were talks. Here is a summary of a few I... Continue Reading →
As I have done in previous years, here is my summary of my takeaways from the talks I went to and some general thoughts on research ED national 2021. Firstly I was really really impressed at how the day ran. The volunteers and organisation was exceptional. Also the speaker's swag bag included jelly beans and... Continue Reading →
I thought this academic year was the kind of year that warranted some reflection. So this blog is going to be more of a string of personal reflections and thoughts around a year that I have often described as a kick in the nuts. Seems like the teachers pay and conditions negotiations this year. Firstly... Continue Reading →
The government has suggested the schools stagger the start and end of the day to reduce the number of people congregating around the school entrance. Schools, desperate for guidance and support from a pathetically ill-equipped DfE, have taken this on board and most schools have some sort of staggering to the day. They also do... Continue Reading →
I am writing this as I finish my final day of Oak National Academy lessons. I have made 25 lessons in 15 days and my brain is a bit mushy. I thought as it is, hopefully, a one-of-a-kind type event I would just write down some thoughts and feelings on the experience. Getting asked to... Continue Reading →
Reflections on Education 