February 24, 2022 / Ben / 0 Comments
There are many qualified teachers
who are going down the supply teacher route as they are unwilling to sacrifice
the amount of time full time teaching requires. Supply teaching allows the
teacher to choose their own days of work and although not paid during the
school holidays the rate of pay when working is good.
Most schools have an expectation that
a supply teacher will be well organised, punctual and conscientious and will
follow the school’s policy and procedures and so it is important that any
supply teacher should be aware of these especially concerning rewards and
disciplines.
Some teachers will leave work for
the children to do and expect this to be conducted according to their instructions.
This is especially the case with older children who often have a fixed curriculum
to cover in a given timeframe. If this is the case it is important to follow
the teacher’s instructions as much as possible. A brief note to the teacher
outlining how the day went is an important way to communicate but should focus
on the positive aspects of the day.
Occasionally a supply teacher is
needed to cover for an unexpected absence in which case work may not have been
allocated so it is a good idea to have generic lessons prepared that can be easily
adapted to the age group you are required to teach.
January 13, 2022 / Ben / 0 Comments
With so many students missing out
on valuable time at school, it should come as no surprise that many have fallen
behind where they need to be. Although this is nothing to worry about as all
students are in the same position, it does mean that by the time they come to
leave school they may not have learnt what they needed to. It also means that
if they have exams coming up they may not do as well as they normally would. As
a parent you may want your child to do as well as possible and if you feel they
have fallen behind or are struggling to catch up then you may consider paying
for extra tuition for them. Sometimes the school may offer catch up classes
that are either free or very low cost but if you want something a little more then
you want to look at hiring a professional tutor.
Private tutors often charge
between £30 and £60 per hour depending on their experience. They may be able to
reduce their fees slightly if they are doing the lessons remotely but you need
to access whether this is the best thing for your child. Often one on one
tutoring is the best way to help your child catch up as they tutor can tailor
the lessons to suit their way of learning rather than having to do it for a
whole group.
September 27, 2021 / Ben / 0 Comments
Maths word problems are used
commonly in primary and secondary school. It is a way in ensuring that children
can only do mathematical sums but also work out how to extract information from
a question to do the correct sum. This is useful as in life you may be
presented with a problem or situation where you first need to work out the
correct sum to do before doing it.
Word problems is something that
many children and some adults struggle with. You need to find ways of working
out what is the important information and what information you don’t need. If
your child is struggling with this then the best way to help them is with
practise. Very often the maths activity books you can buy have a lot of word
questions in them but you can also find examples online.
Your child needs to find a method
that works well for them so it may be underlining all the information they need
and writing the sum out first before trying to work out the answer. Some
children can do this step in their heads where as others may need to see if
written down. If you are concerned then do speak to their teacher as they may
be able to advise you on other techniques you could try.
August 10, 2021 / Ben / 0 Comments
This year we have been very lucky
to have a few nice blocks of hot and sunny weather. There have even been a few
heatwaves where the temperatures have reached in to the low thirties! This
weather can make people flock to the beach or pools in desperate need of a dip
but sometimes people also choose to venture to lakes and rivers. This can be
dangerous especially if you are not a strong swimmer.
It is very important that all
children are given the opportunity to learn how to swim from a young age. It is
a life skill and one that they may well need a number of times throughout their
life. Not only can it help to keep them safe when in the water but also possibly
help them save someone else.
Often schools only take the older
pupils such as years five and six swimming, so until they are around 10 they
may have little or no experience in the water. Some schools have started to see
how important it is for all pupils to be given the opportunity and therefore has
started taking the whole school swimming for a set number of weeks usually
through the summer.
Giving these children the
opportunity to get confident in the water and to learning to swim small
distances can be a lifesaving skill.
July 8, 2021 / Ben / 0 Comments
Many schools are now on the
countdown to the last few days of school. The government have announced that they
are hoping that from 19th July all social distancing rules will be
scrapped and that includes school bubbles. From September, when children return
things will hopefully be more like normal. Although each school will be able to
decide how exactly they operate, it is likely that children from other bubbles will
be able to play together again. It may be that assemblies can resume in the
hall, with al years taking part and even Christmas plays may be able to resume
this year.
Some children may embrace the
changes whereas others may find it a little too much or even worry about the
lifting of restrictions.
Teachers and parents all over the
country just want their child to be able to resume their education as much as
possible and enjoy their time at school. As restrictions have been in place for
a long time now, it may take a bit of adjusting back and you could find that there
is a noticeable change in your child’s behaviour whilst they adapt to the
changes. All you can do is offer support and make sure that you reassure them
of any changes that may be taking place.