30 May 2024 15:47
Last year I worked as part of a team to set-up a new alternative pathway in my mainstream secondary school. The aim of this pathway was to support students going from year 9 into 10 who were at risk of being permanently excluded.
13 Mar 2024 18:49
I have the privilege of working with a whole range of professionals in my school. For example, we are lucky to have two play therapists in school and this blog has been kindly written by one of our therapists, Jenny. It offers food for thought about the inclusive environment we strive for at school.
18 Feb 2024 12:55
There is much talk about the gap in attainment between advantaged and disadvantaged students in a school. The definitions of disadvantaged vary widely but a simple definition of disadvantage is based around the idea of students who come from a low income family and so are entitled to a free school meal.
13 Feb 2024 19:45
"Gallimaufry" is the word selected by Mary Myatt to describe the mixed diet of curriculum that the UK education system had in 2018. Many of the topics studied by students seemed to be quite random. In the past 6 years there has been a great deal of time and effort put into sequencing the curriculum for students and on the whole improvements have been made. Part of this has been pushed through by the current Ofsted framework which puts a great deal of pressure on leaders in schools to be able to explain their curriculum. This focus on sequencing a knowledge-rich curriculum is good news. But what consideration is made for vulnerable students to access this carefully sequenced curriculum?
13 Feb 2024 19:45
Six months ago I started a CPD course about relational practice run by The Restorative Lab. I'd read a little about the topic before but it all seemed a little "fluffy" to me. I believed students need boundaries and school needs to ensure we teach discipline, particularly to those that need the most support. After all, if you're not being taught how to behave at home then we need to do this - or at least so goes the conventional wisdom. Fast forward to the course and what a change in my thinking.