I am a fan of children reading - that is no secret. I am also a fan of parents reading to their children. New research is proving me right. There seems to be direct correlation between reading to toddlers and the language skills these children pick up even before they enter school. There is a […]

Is your child struggling to read? Do you suspect that your child might be dyslexic because he/she is a reluctant reader? Are you wondering what you can do to support them? There are as many ways to learn to read and write as there are children. So it’s a fine line between not worrying too […]

Welcome back...continuing from the Part 1 post on Saturday about SATs... ...Sir Ken Robinson has suggested home schooling as a way to avoid the test-oriented culture of schooling. The Let the Kids Be Kids organisation is urging parents to bow out of SATs because they, well, don’t let kids be kids and have a negative […]

It’s that time of the year again and teachers, children and parents across the country are gearing up for the high stakes Standard Assessment Tests or SATs. These tests were initially designed to indicate a pupil’s progress at various ages, and were supposed to be administered without students even knowing they were being tested. Cut […]

...but the closing of Sure Start centres around the country in record numbers shows that Britain is creating a problem for the future, rather than preventing one. A research study by Oxford University academics states that about 1,000 Sure Start centres may have closed since 2009. This number is much higher than what the government […]

With a week to go until Primary SATs I wanted to share with you some practical advice to help prepare your child for these tests. Try to manage and limit the amount of time your child spends on revision and follow the 'little and often' rule which will allow your child time out as well […]

Lots of singing today as our younger pupils learnt their alphabet and we started to build our phonics and develop basic writing skills. Younger pupils love looking at the brightly coloured chart on our learning space wall and as they become proficient they will learn to write the three letter words and four letter words […]

Our younger pupils today looked at and used the multiplication table poster to support their understanding of the times tables. Singing the tables out loud re-inforces learning and improves retention for those who are visual learners and who like to learn through repetition.

In today's lesson we talked about dinosaurs and prehistoric ages and what it may have been like to live in times when dinosaurs were alive. The younger children used plastic and rubber toys and models to plan stories and to add pictures to their words. We also used picture books and factual books to support […]

In today's lesson we talked about the ocean and the creatures that we may find in the world's seas and oceans. We discussed how plastic waste is ruining and polluting the oceans. One pupil used tracing paper to trace a sea picture and added my name to it as a present for me! I love […]