Pedagogy

Maintaining high expectations for learners using EAL

22 February 2021

That a student uses English as an additional language should not be an excuse for lowering our expectations for learning and progress. Kamil Trzebiatowski considers some strategies and resources to ensure high expectations in your lessons

Emotional literacy: The secret to learning engagement

22 February 2021

Being emotionally literate can help students to engage with learning, but it is through dialogue that emotional literacy develops and makes its contributions to learning. Sanjo Jeffrey discusses

Providing effective feedback and closing the loop

17 February 2021

Effective feedback is perhaps the most crucial aspect of high-quality teaching and has a real impact on pupil progress. Leann Collingwood offers some strategies for how we can close the feedback loop

SEN: Getting the last five minutes of your lesson right

17 February 2021

The last five minutes of any lesson is vital if we are to avoid disengaged students, sensory overload, and anxiety – especially for those with SEN. Sara Alston advises

Using CPD to support effective remote teaching

26 January 2021

CPD to support remote teaching & the use of ed-tech has become commonplace during the pandemic. Maria Cunningham advises on how schools should approach using CPD programmes to develop effective remote teaching practice

Remote teaching: How to develop staff expertise

26 January 2021

From setting clear goals to providing short feedback loops, Jacob Senior offers some suggestions for how schools can develop their teachers' remote teaching and ed-tech skills

Building back better: Teaching, pedagogy and learning

24 January 2021

Some schools have already begun changing and adapting their in-school teaching practices in light of their experiences during remote education. Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith asks how your school is already 'building back better'

Lockdown teaching and learning: A quick guide for teaching staff

13 January 2021

Feeling daunted by the return to remote teaching? In this two-part series Sara Davidson and Sean Harris look at some of the basic research-informed principles that can help teachers and parents to navigate learning at home. In part one they offer advice tailored for educators

Closing the gap: Supporting the most disadvantaged EAL pupils during the pandemic

8 December 2020

When supporting learners with English as an additional language to catch-up with their studies following this year’s disruption, formative assessment is vital to understanding new starting points. Emily Curran continues SecEd’s recent focus on supporting EAL pupils

Teachers and technology – six key research findings

25 November 2020

Your teachers and your technology – what do you need to be thinking about next? Fiona Aubrey-Smith looks at the emerging findings from new research into teachers’ technology use during the pandemic

Ten ideas for developing life-skills in the classroom

16 November 2020

How can teachers teach life-skills as part of their day-to-day lessons? Louise Treherne suggests 10 practical ideas

What should remote education look like in your school?

11 November 2020

What is remote learning? What isn’t it? And how are schools approaching it? Tom Middlehurst takes a practical look at what school leaders and teachers can and should be doing to fulfil their legal and moral obligations this term and beyond

Student wellbeing: Maslow before you Bloom

11 November 2020

The idea of ‘Maslow before you Bloom’ is once again gaining traction in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. SENCO Sanjo Jeffrey says this approach is crucial to supporting academic outcomes this year and beyond

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Closing the Covid-19 gap for EAL pupils

9 November 2020

SecEd has previously outlined the risks presented by Covid-19 to learning and progress for specific pupils with English as an additional language. Continuing this focus, Emily Curran now offers some practical socially distanced strategies to support EAL pupils during the pandemic

Some big questions about CPD and learning this term and beyond

20 October 2020

What has been the impact of coronavirus on staff professional development in your school? What are the questions you and your teachers should now be asking? Fiona Aubrey-Smith gives us some food for thought

Six steps for a positive mindset in the maths classroom

13 October 2020

If a student believes they are not good at maths it can have a negative impact on their attitude and confidence. Alexandra Riley offers six tips to help shift young people’s mindset and make a positive difference to their outcomes

Covid challenge: How to make blended learning engaging for students

29 September 2020

From the end of September, government Covid guidance requires that schools have in place remote learning contingency plans. Colin Hegarty looks at what your blended learning strategies must consider

Behaviour: Verbal and non-verbal communication

28 September 2020

There are many children who expend much of their time and energy trying to decipher adult communications and masking their responses with ‘poor behaviour’ when they feel that they have misunderstood. Sara Alston looks at verbal and non-verbal communication

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Lost learning? Why we must avoid a deficit teaching model post-lockdown – and how we can do it

23 September 2020

The rhetoric around ‘lost learning’ is not helpful and should be avoided, says Matt Bromley. Drawing on the words of David Ausubel and Dylan Wiliam, he looks here about why we must avoid the deficit model when teaching this academic year

Creating inclusive classroom environments: Practical advice & ideas

23 September 2020

How can we best support pupils who struggle with behaviour or emotional wellbeing? What does a positive, inclusive classroom environment look like? Virtual school headteacher Darren Martindale offers some advice and ideas

Language and communication strategies as part of good pedagogy

16 September 2020

Language challenges are often considered as part of SEN strategies. However, Daniel Sobel and Sara Alston argue for language and communication strategies rooted in general good pedagogy and offer five easy classroom tips

Curriculum impact: Assessment, pace, progress & outcomes

9 September 2020

Having already tackled intent and implementation in SecEd this year, Matt Bromley now turns his attention to the third Ofsted ‘I’ – impact. In the second of two articles, he offers practical advice for schools, focusing on how we teach the curriculum and the pace of pupil progress and outcomes