This line is not straight!
By: Dean CottonI was invited by a local authority to carry out a behaviour audit of primary schools. This audit involved spending a day in each school within the authority and producing a report of what the school did well and what the school needed support with, purely from my own perspective. This wasn't akin to a mini Ofsted inspection and the schools could choose to either ignore or take onboard my views, it was simply a chance for behaviour in the schools to be viewed with a fresh pair of eyes and provide feedback.
A plea for a new compassionate system of schooling
Teachers have to adapt to a world where they recognise that they need children and not the other way around. Should this be the end for schooling? Certainly it will never be the same again; and here I suggest that the system of disciplining the child cannot be the same again. Em. prof. Wilf Carr, from the University of Sheffield, foresaw the end of schooling as a modern phenomenon. He suggested that schools would have to adapt or perish because in the age of online learning platforms schools that don’t recognise this in the post Covid-19 world, whenever the schools return, will inevitably lose out.
Working lives of teachers & leaders
By: Toni WhittleJust before you all went off for Easter half term, the government published its research report into the working lives of teachers and school leaders (Department of Education, 2023). It will come as no shock to you what was reported.
Can Tik-Tok trends be educational or are they creating further barriers to inclusion and achievement?
By: Toni WhittleThe popularity of Tik-Tok (and other social media) amongst children and young people is hard to deny. Over the last few years we have seen teenagers creating inventive dances, jumping on trends and using social media to connect with other people. No doubt this was a saving grace to many young people’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media can be such a useful tool to remain connected to other people and it can also be quite enlightening and educational at times. There are many people raising awareness on social media platforms of living with conditions, disabilities and mental health issues. It is great we can use these platforms to raise an awareness of conditions, to promote inclusion, diversity and come more aware of other people’s unique experiences. But can there be a down side to this?
