Category: CPD

Purr-fecting your teacher look: developing the classroom presence that communicates expectations

Photo by ClickerHappy on Pexels.com Cat stares I may be about to lose readers with this confession, but here goes. I do not like cats.  I am hideously allergic to them and even a brief interaction can leave me wheezing with bloodshot eyes for the next few days.  Consequently, I devote a fair amount of … Continue reading Purr-fecting your teacher look: developing the classroom presence that communicates expectations →

Developing your subject knowledge as a beginning teacher: a marathon, not a sprint

Photo by Manuel Camacho-Navarro on Pexels.com At the start of the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) year most beginning history teachers have two major anxieties: Will I be able to manage the behaviour of pupils Will I have enough subject knowledge to be able to teach all the different periods of history on the curriculum I … Continue reading Developing your subject knowledge as a beginning teacher: a marathon, not a sprint →

Consistency, Consistency, Consistency: Articulating Ground Rules and Establishing Expectations in the Classroom

Photo by Caleb Oquendo on Pexels.com Every year my main message when teaching beginning teachers about behaviour management is CONSISTENCY. This week, I’ve been dropping my child off at a holiday club being held at their primary school. I've been struck by how the parents of the pupils who usually attend the school have abided … Continue reading Consistency, Consistency, Consistency: Articulating Ground Rules and Establishing Expectations in the Classroom →

Mentoring beginning and early career teachers: A thank you to our mentors

Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com From the outside, teacher mentoring can look like a simple weekly meeting, a quick post-lesson conversation, or a shared planning session squeezed in before home time.  But mentoring is multi-dimensional work.  It involves constant shifting between encouragement and challenge, between stepping in and stepping back as mentors do the … Continue reading Mentoring beginning and early career teachers: A thank you to our mentors →

From ITT student to colleague: sustaining relationships beyond ITT

Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com This week, in the middle of a PGCE interview, the applicant asked: “Is there any ongoing support for your trainee teachers after they leave your programme?” I smiled, partly because it is such an important question, and partly because I was thinking about what had happened in the last … Continue reading From ITT student to colleague: sustaining relationships beyond ITT →