Best Practice for Schools

This week the <a href="http://www.cfbt.com/" target="_blank">CfBT Education Trust</a> has published a series of reports that may be of interest to readers of this site, particularly if you're a teacher or just starting your PGCE. The series is entitled <a href="http://www.cfbt.com/en-GB/Research/Research-library/2013/r-school-improvement-series-2013" target="_blank"><i>School Improvement: International Reviews of Best Practice</i></a> and covers areas such as inclusion, assessment, successful leadership and more.<br /><br />Outside of the series, they have also just published a report simply entitled <a href="http://cdn.cfbt.com/~/media/cfbtcorporate/files/research/2013/r-teachers-2013.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Teachers</i></a>, which addresses the question of what characterises an effective teacher.

Best Practice for Schools

This week the CfBT Education Trust has published a series of reports that may be of interest to readers of this site, particularly if you...

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New National Curriculum Framework

If you're a teacher or trainee teacher, you're going to need to read today's post... The DfE has just published the framework for the new National Curriculum, which will come into effect from September 2014. <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-curriculum-in-england-framework-for-key-stages-1-to-4" target="_blank">Click here</a> to find links to the various parts of the framework, as well as links to the individual programmes of study it contains for different subjects.

New National Curriculum Framework

If you're a teacher or trainee teacher, you're going to need to read today's post... The DfE has just published the framework fo...

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Teachers' Standards

Following a request from one of our new PGCE students yesterday, here's a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/208682/Teachers__Standards_2013.pdf" target="_blank">link to the <i>Teachers' Standards</i></a> which you'll need to familiarise yourselves with during your course. The Standards were initially introduced in September 2012, and revised in June of this year. Further relevant information about the Standards is <a href="http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/reviewofstandards/a00205581/teachers-standards1-sep-2012" target="_blank">available here</a>.<br /><br />Don't forget that you can read previous teaching related posts by clicking on 'Teaching' in the Hot Topics menu on the right of the screen. There is also a Teaching section on the Links page of this site.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XcaSdWj7Y3PrWJs80QZocAzbfLvY6KBxoIM8yIk4_UioamOmBm6WiiZ-pM76IeIt19xW1zfKBR3gLAfS83jQVk80OCHE2m4VLgUHYo2leYdYTONdjgSnXuPkQ52G2JaNExpGzgrzQA/s1600/Teaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3XcaSdWj7Y3PrWJs80QZocAzbfLvY6KBxoIM8yIk4_UioamOmBm6WiiZ-pM76IeIt19xW1zfKBR3gLAfS83jQVk80OCHE2m4VLgUHYo2leYdYTONdjgSnXuPkQ52G2JaNExpGzgrzQA/s200/Teaching.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><br />

Teachers' Standards

Following a request from one of our new PGCE students yesterday, here's a link to the Teachers' Standards which you'll need to ...

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Something for Everyone

I've been away for a week, during which time a number of useful items have been published, so today's post is a quick summary of what's new:<br /><ul><li>The DfE has issued new guidance on <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211646/Early_Years_Teachers__Standards.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Teachers Standards for Early Years</i></a>; these are applicable from September</li><li>On a similar note, new guidance is also available for <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211644/Early_Years_Educator_Criteria.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Early Years Educators (Level 3)</i></a></li><li>The Family and Childcare Trust has just released a <a href="http://www.familyandparenting.org/Resources/FPI/Documents/Holiday%20Childcare%20Costs%20Report_final.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Holiday Childcare Costs Survey 2013</i></a></li><li>The National Day Nurseries Association has recently published a <a href="http://www.ndna.org.uk/Resources/NDNA/Public%20Factsheets/BPS%20Insight%20Report%202013%20FINAL.pdf" target="_blank"><i>UK Nursery Insight Report</i></a></li><li>The Sutton Trust has published <a href="http://www.suttontrust.com/public/documents/readinggap.pdf" target="_blank"><i>The Reading Gap</i></a>, which looks at how children's socio-economic status impacts on their reading skills</li><li>And if I've missed anything, it's probably covered by the <a href="http://www.nfer.ac.uk/what-we-offer/information/ontheweb/pdfs/June2013.pdf" target="_blank">latest issue of <i>On the Web</i></a>, which rounds up education reports from around the world</li></ul>

Something for Everyone

I've been away for a week, during which time a number of useful items have been published, so today's post is a quick summary of wha...

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Teaching and Learning Toolkit

I'm a little late with today's item, but then it has been a busy few weeks for the early years sector. <i>The Teaching and Learning Toolkit</i> is the result of a collaboration between the <a href="http://www.suttontrust.com/" target="_blank">Sutton Trust</a> and the <a href="http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/" target="_blank">Education Endowment Foundation</a>, and is a really useful document for all teachers, describing itself as "an accessible summary of educational research which provides guidance for teachers and schools on how to use their resources to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils."<br /><br />Basically what it does is to examine the effectiveness of 30 different teaching approaches (eg ability grouping, after school programmes, mentoring), using evidence to rate them for cost and the impact that they have on pupils' learning. Future editions of the toolkit are promised, so watch this space...<br /><br />If I've whetted your appetite, then <a href="http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/toolkit/Teaching_and_Learning_Toolkit_%28Spring_2013%29.pdf" target="_blank">here's the link</a>.

Teaching and Learning Toolkit

I'm a little late with today's item, but then it has been a busy few weeks for the early years sector. The Teaching and Learning Too...

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Research for Teachers

One for the PGCE students today... Back when the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) was still around, they published a series of research summaries entitled <i>Research for Teachers</i>. Each summary was around 20 pages long, and approximately 60 were published in total - the idea behind them was to provide a quick guide to a particular educational topic, and to help teachers make links between theories and their own classroom practice. Hopefully that's clear as they could be very useful - if it isn't, then just <a href="http://www.tla.ac.uk/site/Pages/RfT.aspx" target="_blank">click here</a> to view the full list with links to the full text of each one.

Research for Teachers

One for the PGCE students today... Back when the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) was still around, they published a series of re...

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The Education Debates

Required listening over the next couple of weeks: John Humphrys is presenting a 3 part series on Radio 4 entitled <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01m5jsq" target="_blank"><i>The Education Debates</i></a>, in which he interviews leading educational thinkers on what we should be teaching in the 21st Century, and how we should be teaching it. The programmes are broadcast on Wednesday evenings, repeated on Saturdays, and are also available on iPlayer.

The Education Debates

Required listening over the next couple of weeks: John Humphrys is presenting a 3 part series on Radio 4 entitled The Education Debates , in...

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New Teachers

If you're a PGCE student who's shortly going to be starting their teaching career, or even if you're just beginning to consider a career in teaching, then you'll probably find the <a href="http://newteachersblog.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">newteachersblog</a> site useful.<br /><br />The site is curated by former teacher <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/alan-newland" target="_blank">Alan Newland</a> and contains honest, candid descriptions of what a teacher's life can be like. It also attempts to get its readers thinking about professional issues by describing incidents or scenarios which involve a professional or ethical decision, whether that be within a classroom, or dealing with colleagues or parents. Recent topics have included learning from your mistakes, the importance of your professional reputation, and the shortage of male primary teachers.<br /><br />But if all that sounds a bit heavy going, it can also be very funny in places too. Well worth checking out.<br /><br />You can also get a flavour of the sort of topics covered in the short Teachers TV film below:<br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=948211330001&playerID=940636289001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAA2uzqQrE~,6OG0BmXJ4lLjPBIrsIprnJtmkHdesQfW&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true"><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&isUI=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=948211330001&playerID=940636289001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAA2uzqQrE~,6OG0BmXJ4lLjPBIrsIprnJtmkHdesQfW&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" swliveconnect="true" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" width="480" height="270"></embed></object>

New Teachers

If you're a PGCE student who's shortly going to be starting their teaching career, or even if you're just beginning to consider ...

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Twitter for Teachers

If you're a teacher (or trainee teacher on a PGCE) then you may be interested in <a href="http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Creative-Education-Twitter-for-Teachers-Final.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Creative</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Education Guide to Twitter for Teachers</span></a>. This is a detailed 34 page guide put together by the team behind the <a href="http://www.creativeeducation.co.uk/" target="_blank">Creative Education</a> website, and provides plenty of advice, tips and guidance in using the service. Strongly recommended if you're toying with using Twitter in a professional capacity but don't know how to get started.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPQJhL_l51aOP-6P4oewsp6vVyG7QOiuLyG_G46F4joEF5FbOOOVxZ4k7Cf6xezWiuQFe8pG6R4H1yA9suToQhrbfohcqjElca37ZV9G99uDMtaQ7MlQb-VpkvjUjm0eLJq9ODT2s2Q/s1600/Twitter.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5704168378825283266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpPQJhL_l51aOP-6P4oewsp6vVyG7QOiuLyG_G46F4joEF5FbOOOVxZ4k7Cf6xezWiuQFe8pG6R4H1yA9suToQhrbfohcqjElca37ZV9G99uDMtaQ7MlQb-VpkvjUjm0eLJq9ODT2s2Q/s200/Twitter.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 155px; height: 155px;" /></a><br /><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" class=" down" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link"></span></span>

Twitter for Teachers

If you're a teacher (or trainee teacher on a PGCE) then you may be interested in The Creative Education Guide to Twitter for Teachers ....

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New from the Department of Education

A new batch of reports have just been released by the Department of Education. There are too many to list all of them here, but here's a pick of the titles that this site's users might find most relevant:<br /><ul><li>The <a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/OSR17-2011-Main%20report.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey 2010</span></a> gives a very detailed overview of provision of these services in England. A summary of the main findings can be <a href="http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/rss/1096346/OVERVIEW-Childcare-Early-Years-Providers-Survey-2010/" target="_blank">found here</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/Childhood%20bereavement%20literature%20review.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Childhood Bereavement: A Rapid Literature Review</span></a> is a useful introduction to the issues surrounding children's grief.</li><li><a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR156.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Review of Best Practice in Parental Engagement</span></a> examines the effectiveness of interventions aimed at supporting and improving parental engagement in the education of children aged 5-19.</li><li><a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR151.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Profile of Teachers in England from the 2010 School Workforce Census</span></a> contains information on the teacher workforce, covering topics such as pay, ethnicity, gender, performance, qualifications and much more.</li></ul>A full list of the Department of Education's publications is <a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications" target="_blank">available here</a>.

New from the Department of Education

A new batch of reports have just been released by the Department of Education. There are too many to list all of them here, but here's a...

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Return of Teachers TV

A couple of weeks ago (see <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2011/04/goodbye-teachers-tv.html" target="_blank">previous post</a>) I mentioned that the Teachers TV website would no longer be available. Since then, two separate websites - <a href="http://www.schoolsworld.tv/" target="_blank">SchoolsWorld.TV</a> and <a href="http://www.teachersmedia.co.uk/" target="_blank">teachersmedia</a> - have both been set up with the promise of providing free access to the entire archive of 3500 programmes very shortly.<br /><br />It's a little confusing as both sites claim to be run by people who were behind the original Teachers TV website! Anyway, it seems as though fans of the original service will once more be able to view the programmes. There is also the promise of possible new videos being created so keep watching this space...

Return of Teachers TV

A couple of weeks ago (see previous post ) I mentioned that the Teachers TV website would no longer be available. Since then, two separate w...

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Goodbye Teachers TV

The <a href="http://www.teachers.tv/" target="_blank">Teachers TV</a> service will no longer be available from Friday 29th April. The channel was originally set up by the previous government and broadcast through Channel 88 on Freeview, but due to funding cuts it has only been available via its website since last year, and is now set to close completely.<br /><br />The Department for Education has agreed to give other information providers access to all programmes produced by Teachers TV, provided that they are streamed freely at the point of use. More information about this can be found by <a href="http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/toolsandinitiatives/teacherstv" target="_blank">clicking here</a>; if parts of the Teachers TV archive are again available in the future, then this site will provide information on how you can access them.

Goodbye Teachers TV

The Teachers TV service will no longer be available from Friday 29th April. The channel was originally set up by the previous government an...

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Guardian Teaching Network

A major new free resource has become available to teachers today, with the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/feb/15/teacher-network-free-resources" target="_blank">launch of the Guardian Teacher Network</a>. The site contains materials from the learn.co.uk website, which had previously been accessible only to subscribers. You must register to use the new site, but this is free and only takes a minute.<br /><br />There are a range of resources contained in the site, from tips articles and news stories, to interactive exercises and lesson plans. You can also choose to search by the level of activity, as there is material covering each level from the Foundation Stage up to GCSE. To visit the site, <a href="http://teachers.guardian.co.uk/teacher-network/" target="_blank">click here</a>.

Guardian Teaching Network

A major new free resource has become available to teachers today, with the launch of the Guardian Teacher Network . The site contains materi...

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Effective Classroom Strategies

The latest research review from <a href="http://www.c4eo.org.uk/" target="_blank">C4EO</a> examines evidence surrounding the issue of closing the achievement gap for children living in poverty. The report was compiled by a team from the University of York, who looked at "what works" in improving learning outcomes for disadvantaged children. In particular, the researchers focussed on strategies and interventions to improve core literacy and numeracy across early-years, primary and secondary settings.<br /><br />To read the full text and study the conclusions of <span style="font-style: italic;">Effective Classroom Strategies for Closing the Gap in Educational Achievement for Children and Young People Living in Poverty, including White Working-Class Boys</span> (quite a lengthy title!), <a href="http://www.c4eo.org.uk/themes/schools/classroomstrategies/files/classroom_strategies_research_review.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>.

Effective Classroom Strategies

The latest research review from C4EO examines evidence surrounding the issue of closing the achievement gap for children living in poverty....

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Maintaining Classroom Discipline

It's retro film time again... While digging out some information on behaviour management in the classroom, I came across the little gem which you can view below. It's a US video from 1947 entitled <span style="font-style: italic;">Maintaining Classroom Discipline</span>. But if you think that it has little relevance to modern teaching you may be surprised - when the video was uploaded to the <a href="http://www.behaviour4learning.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Behaviour4Learning</a> website, the site managers discovered that it quickly became one of the most popular items on the site - <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6008302" target="_blank">click here</a> to learn more.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gHzTUYAOkPM?fs=1&hl=en_GB"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gHzTUYAOkPM?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480"></embed></object>

Maintaining Classroom Discipline

It's retro film time again... While digging out some information on behaviour management in the classroom, I came across the little gem ...

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Impact of Early Years Education

The <a href="http://www.gtce.org.uk/" target="_blank">General Teaching Council for England</a> (GTCE) have published <span style="font-style: italic;">The Enduring Impact of Quality Early Years Education</span>, which summarises research from the <a href="http://eppe.ioe.ac.uk/index.htm" target="_blank">EPPE Project</a>. This new report uses case studies to evaluate how different influences (both school and home) can have an impact on the development of young children.<br /><br />To read the full text, <a href="http://www.tla.ac.uk/site/SiteAssets/RfT1/06RE058%20The%20enduring%20impact%20of%20quality%20early%20education.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>.<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPn-H6acTpizGvRZD5t2U6N7joLt2uoIVpVqwQS4KZKl8ZPX4BJ_FDw4kDGaoNIkZaVE1klSRrxDNModhjI9DXHgNYHJFiuYdVVYydEbPhSMocklEW_AhF5FHZg8vEfi4jlpIjfbJOA/s1600/Holly3rdJan2011.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561617508358569394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPn-H6acTpizGvRZD5t2U6N7joLt2uoIVpVqwQS4KZKl8ZPX4BJ_FDw4kDGaoNIkZaVE1klSRrxDNModhjI9DXHgNYHJFiuYdVVYydEbPhSMocklEW_AhF5FHZg8vEfi4jlpIjfbJOA/s200/Holly3rdJan2011.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 150px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 200px;" /></a>

Impact of Early Years Education

The General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) have published The Enduring Impact of Quality Early Years Education , which summarises rese...

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Teachers / Safeguarding

Two new reports which should be of interest to many of the site's visitors:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/LSGL01/LSGL01.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Safeguarding Children: Literature Review</span></a> is a new report from the NFER which examines changes in safeguarding practice since the Laming Review of March 2009.</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.gtce.org.uk/documents/publicationpdfs/teach_survey10.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Survey of Teachers 2010</span></a> is a publication from the General Teaching Council of England (GTCE) to explore teachers’ experiences of various drivers of quality in teaching, and of the support they receive to maintain and improve teaching standards. Particular attention has been paid to the experiences of teachers from a black or minority ethnic background.<br /></li></ul>

Teachers / Safeguarding

Two new reports which should be of interest to many of the site's visitors: Safeguarding Children: Literature Review is a new report fr...

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Class Blogs

Looking for ideas on how to use online teaching tools with children? An article from the Guardian website entitled <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/mortarboard/2010/nov/04/class-blog-alex-wilson" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Class Blogs: a Better Way to Teach?</span></a> contains plenty of suggestions for useful free applications and links to examples of how teachers are already including online technology in their work.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8hLcAjRUckt_vVxhH9QA9z4_7t8zlp5ZNrV5esAgs7DWMWq2e-lbm7DV9oNxLPX0UxJRGe9nvdjlzhNn8e0E-1-uqgpx2_6htKW3vq0kt8JVsQ1idDupUPBqatLZUc1zzPe1oiaXCw/s1600/ChildComputer.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536049531124047010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8hLcAjRUckt_vVxhH9QA9z4_7t8zlp5ZNrV5esAgs7DWMWq2e-lbm7DV9oNxLPX0UxJRGe9nvdjlzhNn8e0E-1-uqgpx2_6htKW3vq0kt8JVsQ1idDupUPBqatLZUc1zzPe1oiaXCw/s200/ChildComputer.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" /></a>

Class Blogs

Looking for ideas on how to use online teaching tools with children? An article from the Guardian website entitled Class Blogs: a Better Way...

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Teaching Resources

A big welcome to all of the new PGCE students at UCB. As promised in this morning's session, here are some of the websites out there which have particular relevance to your chosen course...<br /><br />Hopefully you've already realised the importance of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Times Educational Supplement</span> (aka <span style="font-style: italic;">TES</span>). The <span style="font-style: italic;">TES</span> <a href="http://www.tes.co.uk/" target="_blank">website</a> gives you free access to thousands of news stories and feature articles on all aspects of school life that have appeared in the weekly publication since 1994. The site also contains job listings, lesson plans, a discussion forum, and other interactive features. For further news and features about the profession, try looking at the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/teaching" target="_blank">teaching section</a> of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Guardian</span> website.<br /><br />The previous Labour government set up the <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Teachernet</a> website to support the teaching profession, and it contains a mass of information about all aspects of the job, from classroom management and ICT to whole school issues and continuing professional development. The site also contains plenty of links to other useful sites, and can be used to download official education-related publications. Like many government webpages its future is currently uncertain, but for now at least it remains a useful resource.<br /><br />Also very useful is <a href="http://www.teachers.tv/" target="_blank"><span>Teachers TV</span></a>, which broadcasts programmes on all aspects of school life, and often has themed weeks where a series of programmes on a particular topic are shown. Although the service is now based purely on the internet (until earlier this year it could be watched on Freeview), the channel <span style="font-style: italic;"></span>continues to produce new programmes of a high standard.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.ttrb.ac.uk/" target="_blank">Teacher Training Resource Bank</a> contains materials to help support your professional development; these can include news stories, research reports, government guidance documents, QTS standards and much more. The 'Glossary' section of the site is also very useful in helping you to make sense of all of the jargon that you'll need to get to grips with during your training.<br /><br />Other teaching-specific websites that may come in handy include the <a href="http://www.tda.gov.uk/" target="_blank">Training and Development Agency for Schools</a> (TDA), which is responsible for the professional development of the school workforce, and the <a href="http://www.gtce.org.uk/" target="_blank">General Teaching Council for England</a> (GTCE) , the professional body for teachers; again, both of these organisations face uncertain futures, with the GTCE likely to be abolished by the end of the year. Also worth a look is <a href="http://www.teachingexpertise.com/" target="_blank">Teaching Expertise</a>, an "information and learning website for teachers and other education professionals" which has been put together by the publishers Optimus Education.<br /><br />As the PGCE contains a significant element of SEN content, you may want to familiarise yourself with the work of the <a href="http://www.nasen.org.uk/" target="_blank">National Association for Special Educational Needs</a> (NASEN). Students can access their publications through the library's online resources, but the NASEN site is also worth viewing as it provides news stories, research summaries, and links to the websites of similar organisations. Teachernet also has an <a href="http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/wholeschool/sen/" target="_blank">SEN area</a> with important information, and the Guardian's <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/specialeducationneeds" target="_blank">Special Educational Needs area</a> contains relevant news stories.<br /><br />For reference purposes, you may also want to occasionally check the <a href="http://curriculum.qcda.gov.uk/" target="_blank">National Curriculum</a> and <a href="http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/earlyyears" target="_blank">Early Years Foundation Stage</a> sites; these contain detailed information on what skills children are taught at different levels, as well as providing supporting materials.<br /><br />A recent publication which has caused a stir is <a href="http://www.cfbt.com/evidenceforeducation/pdf/15349_ECE-Blocks_v5.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">A Systematic Review of Research on Early Childhood Programmes: A Best Evidence Synthesis</span></a>. This is a report which was published by the <a href="http://www.cfbt.com/" target="_blank">CfBT Trust</a> that examines 28 different early education programmes around the world and concludes that <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/ByDiscipline/Childcare-and-Early-Years/1026376/Instruction-outshines-play-says-study/" target="_blank">instructive and teacher-led programmes are more effective than play-based ones</a>. Some organisations have already queried the findings, what do our readers think?<br /><br />Finally, don't forget to check this blog regularly for details of new reports on teaching as and when they're published. You can view a list of previous posts relating to teaching by clicking on 'Teaching' in the 'Hot Topics' list on the right-hand side of this page<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>, while the 'Links' page available at the top of the screen contains more generic education and child-related sites which are worth a visit.<br /><br />That should keep you all going for now. If any readers are aware of a particularly useful teaching-related site that isn't mentioned here, why not share it by putting a link to it below this post in the form of a comment? Here's <a href="http://bcftcschildhoodeducation.blogspot.com/2007/06/leave-comment.html" target="_blank">how to do it</a>.

Teaching Resources

A big welcome to all of the new PGCE students at UCB. As promised in this morning's session, here are some of the websites out there wh...

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Something for Everyone

Bear with me, today's update is going to be a monster. I've been away for a week, during which it seems that the childcare sector has gone into overdrive, so here's a simple update of significant news stories and new research with summaries where available:<br /><ul><li>Today the government have announced a <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/10508835.stm" target="_blank">review of the Early Years Foundation Stage</a>, which could have wide-ranging implications for all professionals who work with young children. Yet the results of research published today by the Daycare Trust show that the EYFS has <a href="http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/rss/1014327/EYFS-overwhelming-support-among-childcare-providers-survey-finds/" target="_blank">strong support among childcare providers</a>.</li></ul><ul><li>A brief research report looking at free schools in Sweden (the model for the proposed changes to many schools in the UK) argues that they have <a href="http://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/rss/1012946/Swedish-free-schools-no-impact-achievement-research-finds/" target="_blank">no impact on the achievement of poor or immigrant children</a>. The summary of research evidence by Rebecca Allen of the Institute of Education can be <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/cmpo/publications/bulletin/researchissue10.pdf" target="_blank">read here</a>.</li></ul><ul><li>This week (Monday 5th July - Sunday 11th July) is <a href="http://www.mendcentral.org/ncow" target="_blank">National Childhood Obesity Week</a>. To find links to previous research on this topic, take a look at the 'Hot Topics' section in the right-hand column and click on 'Child Obesity.'</li></ul><ul><li>Eurydice has published a new, extensive report entitled <a href="http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/thematic_reports/120EN.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Gender Differences in Educational Outcomes: Study on the Measures Taken and the Current Situation in Europe</span></a>.</li></ul><ul><li>ICT bods may be interested in new research from the NFER entitled <a href="http://www.nfer.ac.uk/nfer/publications/LWT01/LWT01.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Children and Young People's Views on Web 2.0 Technologies</span></a>.</li></ul><ul><li>The National Centre for Social Research has published <a href="https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/eOrderingDownload/DFE-RR098.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Characteristics of Bullying Victims in Schools</span></a>, which assesses the relative importance of a range of factors that can lead to the bullying of young people.</li></ul><ul><li><a href="http://www.rcslt.org/about/campaigns/ccc_report_2010" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Engaging for their Futures and our Society</span></a> is the title of a new report from the Children's Communication Coalition, and examines how to improve the life chances of children with speech, language and communication needs.</li></ul><ul><li>The Centre for Policy Studies has published <a href="http://www.cps.org.uk/cps_catalog/Cutting%20the%20Children.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Cutting the Children's Plan</span></a>, a report which suggests areas where savings in children's services can be made in the forthcoming public sector cuts.</li></ul><ul><li>The latest official set of statistical <a href="http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000939/SFR19-2010.pdf" target="_blank">data on children with special educational needs</a> has just been released; very useful if you have an interest in this area!</li></ul><ul><li>Teaching enthusiasts may find <a href="http://www.gtce.org.uk/documents/publicationpdfs/bfl_anth_pbfl2_0310.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: italic;">Behaviour for Learning</span></a> useful; this is a research anthology which examines the different learning styles of pupils and teachers' attitudes towards them.</li></ul><ul><li>The National Childminding Association (NCMA) has launched a free <a href="http://www.ncma.org.uk/partnerships/childrens_centres/engaging_childminders.aspx" target="_blank">childminder engagement tool</a>, to <a href="http://www.cypnow.co.uk/bulletins/Daily-Bulletin/news/1013182/?DCMP=EMC-DailyBulletin" target="_blank">enable childminders and children's centres to collaborate more closely</a>.</li></ul>

Something for Everyone

Bear with me, today's update is going to be a monster. I've been away for a week, during which it seems that the childcare sector ha...

Read more »