204 Blogs Later

I write for a wide variety of publications and websites.

I started contributing blogs to @TeacherToolkit at the end of 2016 and I’ve written over 200 pieces for them. Please take a look:

1. Why is Finnish education so good? See Those canny Finns
2. How do you spot a ‘coasting’ teacher and how can you support them? See The Coasting Teacher
3. Do students value their learning more if they have had a say in how it is constructed? See The IKEA Effect and SOLE
4. Is an early start to the school day detrimental to learning? See Sleep On It…
5. Can you imagine what it’s like to teach without a tongue? See Gobsmacked
6. Is it okay for teachers to steal resources? See Stop Thief!
7. Is it easier for teachers to tell their students to ‘shut up’? See Shut Up!
8. Do teachers naturally improve over time? See Kung Fu Sully
9. Isn’t it time teachers took an oath? See Let’s Make Teaching Great Again
10. Do you suffer from FOLF (Fear of Looking Foolish)? See Just Kidding!
11. We know that teaching is a wearing occupation, but does it really matter what you wear? See Parrot Fashion 
12. Is there a dearth of teachers in the UK? See Shortage? What Shortage?
13. Time to talk shop: how much do you value and prioritise oracy? See Talk Turkey
14. Should we share learning objectives with pupils? See Invisible Sun
15. Would you allow pupils to wear slippers in class? See No Shoes Is Good Shoes
16. Should we spread our ideas like viral margarine? See 100 Reasons To Visit Suomi
17. How do you get children interested in the news? See In The Picture
18. Are teachers playground professionals? See A Sense Of Duty
19. What’s happening in the world of education over the pond? See The States In A State
20. Should you answer school-related emails at home? See Leave Me Alone!
21. Do our classrooms overstimulate pupils? See Clever Classrooms
22. Should we encourage rumours in school? See Rumour Mill
23. Should schools engage in clinical supervision? See Clinically Tested
24. Why would anyone want to be a teacher? See 156 Reasons To Teach
25. Are you looking for love? See Lonely Hearts
26. How well off are you when it comes to your working conditions? See Are You Well Off?
27. Should teachers have role models? See Casserole Teachers
28. Should we embrace multidisciplinary studies? See Press ‘Shift’ To Learn
29. Are you for real? See Reality Check
30. What can school leaders do to promote wellbeing? See Just Get Out
31. Should pupils clean their own schools? See Tidy Up Time!
32. Do you teach on the edge? See Cutting Edge
33. Do you play background music in your classroom? See Face The Music
34. Do you suffer from professional guilt? See Gilt-Edged Guilt
35. What ‘fail-safe’ resources do you use? See Puppet Powers
36. How do you define greatness? See Just Great
37. Does dyslexia exist? See The Dyslexia Migraine
38. Is your headteacher an ‘innie’ or an ‘outie’? See High Viz Heads
39. Why do we still have asbestos in our schools? See Killer Schools
40. Is formative assessment dead? See Fragile – Do Not Drop – AfL Inside
41. Should primary schools ditch homework? See Home Sweet Home
42. What do parents write to you about? See Letters From Parents 
43. What do you set your sights on? See Eyediology
44. Do schools work together? See Mutual Benefit
45. What is a ‘square’? See Square Peg
46. What do you do if you lose your mojo? See Reward: Lost Mojo
47. Are you a lazy teacher? See Lazy Teachers
48. Did you become a teacher to ‘make a difference’? See Punk Learning
49. Is it ever acceptable to name and shame pupils? See The Shame Game
50. What does the future hold for Welsh education? See Keep The Faith 
51. What type of teacher should you be? See You Are Fabulous
52. Should schools allow the use of mobile phones? See Banning Mobile Phones Is Old School
53. Is there too much negativity in teaching? See Stop Moaning!
54. How do you promote speaking and listening skills? Balloon Debates
55. Do you believe in the learning styles approach? See We’ve Been Conned
56. Do you have classroom presence? See Make Your Presence Felt
57. Do we need to take a different world view? See What’s Up With The World
58. How brain-friendly is your teaching? See 10/2 Chunk And Chew
59. What is the number one secret to classroom management? See Can You Keep A Secret?
60. How do we optimise behaviour? See Behave Yourselves
61. What does behaviour look like in your school? See Take No Prisoners
62. Do your school resources go AWOL (Absent With Out Leave)? See Resources That Walk 
63. Should children be allowed to visit the toilet during lessons? See Bog Standard
64. How do you manage stress? See At The End Of My Rope
65. What superpowers do you possess? See 50 Teacher Superpowers
66. Do you jump for joy when a staff meeting is cancelled? See I Love Staff Meetings
67. When is the best time to learn? See The Afternoon Effect 
68. How good are you at making mistakes? See Epic Fail
69. What makes you a teacher? See 50 ‘Teacherisms’
70. Sshh! Isn’t it time we stopped talking? See Silent Discussion
71. How do you start the day? See Amuse-Bouches
72. Have you ever tried asking some Fermi questions? See Fermi Questions
73. Should we encourage children to make mistakes? See Grow Your Brain
74. How do you get the attention of children? See 66 Salami Teacher Tips
75. Have you got to lead some training? See 14 Tips For Presenting CPD
76. Did you get a good night’s sleep? See Our Secret Weapon
77. How do you get attention without speaking? Classroom Quick Fix: Attention
78. Do your pupils tell you what a great job you are doing? See How Do I Teach You?
79. What type of political animal are you? See Fox, Owl, Sheep Or Mule?
80. How can we use mobile phones for teaching? See Text Me!
81. How can we grab attention like a Venus flytrap? See 60 Second Tips: Engagement
82. How do you deal with students who don’t bring equipment to class? See Classroom Quick Fix: Equipment
83. Is teaching a profession? See Just The Job
84. Are you a professional procrastinator? See Become A Time Stealer
85. How can we increase pupil engagement? See Purple Cows And Pirates
86. How do we manage pupils who swear? See 10 Tips For Managing Swearing
87. Does your classroom need some air? See Airheads
88. Can the SATs survive another year? See SATs – The Dark Spider
89. Do crazes get you in a spin? See No Spin Zone
90. How can we improve the running of our schools? See The Toyota Way
91. Does class size matter? See The Class Size Enigma
92. Should all kindergarten’s be like this? See Schools Of The World: Tokyo
93. Do you find your job stressful? See No Pressure
94. Do you have ‘favourite’ pupils? See Teacher’s Pets
95. What does ‘life after levels’ look like? See Life After Levels – LOL
96. How can we make our schools safer? See Safer Schools
97. Are you a workaholic? See Workaholic Teachers
98. Are schools making children sick? See Dirty Schools
99. Should children wear face masks at break times? See Is ‘Pollution Play’ The New ‘Wet Play’?
100. Must we always meet indoors? See Take It Outside
101. How often do you have a ‘Miranda’ moment? See Embarrassing School Moments
102. How balanced is your teaching staff? See Is Teaching A Young Person’s Game?
103. Are report programmes making a fool out of teachers? See End Of Year Reports Are Not Good Enough
104. Are your children sun safe and smart? See Stay Sun Safe
105. How can we keep motivated? See 7 Ways To Stay Motivated
106. How can we make our classrooms happier? See 8 Strategies For Happier Classrooms
107. Why do primary schools not employ specialists? See Why Primary Teachers Are Failing Our Children
108. How can you keep yourself fighting fit? See 10 Ways To Keep Well 
109. What makes the summer term unique? See 29 Summerisms
110. How good are you at setting boundaries? See 10 Boundaries You Need To Set
111. How can we help children cope with bad news? See Talking About Terrorism
112. Are you suffering from teacher burnout? See Recognise The Signs Of Teacher Burnout
113. How many are your bosses committing? See The 7 Deadly Leadership Sins
114. Do you spend your own money on school? See Propping Up The School Budget
115. What is Asperger’s syndrome? See Understanding Asperger’s Syndrome
116. Are you ready for sport’s day? See Sports Day Checklist
117. How do you champion oracy in your school? See 25 Ideas For No Pens Day Wednesday
118. What’s going to happen to all those fidget spinners? See Fidget Spinners Are Over And Out
119. Should sports day be non-competitive? See Sports Day Dilemma
120. Will you do nothing this summer holiday? See It’s Time To Combat Teacher Burnout
121. How do you handle classroom conflict? See 10 Strategies For Managing Conflict 
122. Could flexible working solve the teacher shortage? See Let’s Make Flexible Working Work
123. What are we like? See 10 Things You Should Know About Teachers 
124. Do you know enough about online safety? See Internet Safety
125. What is dyscalculia? See Understanding Dyscalculia
126. What does a good leader do best? See 8 Things Good Leaders Do Best
127. Do you want to be an outstanding teacher? See Forget Outstanding
128. Should teachers accept ‘end of term’ gifts? See Giving Teachers Gifts 
129. What do you do when you make a mistake? See When Things Go Wrong
130. How confident are you? See 10 Confidence Building Strategies
131. How can we help dyspraxic learners? See 10 Tips To Help Dyspraxic Learners
132. Why do you love teaching? See 10 Reasons To Love Teaching 
133. Should we ditch our own desks? See Make Your Teacher Desk Redundant 
134. How can we combat childhood obesity? See Combatting A Sedentary Education
135. How do you set up your new classroom? See 12 Tips For Classroom Readiness
136. Should teachers and pupils eat together? See Eat Together, Learn Together
137. How much do you know about education? See End Of Term Pub Quiz
138. Have you ever tried a golden lesson? See The Golden Lesson: Take A Risk
139. Should you smile before Christmas? see Smile, You’re A Teacher
140. Why is it important to take a break? See It’s Time To Take A Break
141. What do talented teachers do? See 6 Habits Of Talented Teachers
142. What are the common mistakes some new teachers make? See 5 Mistakes New Teachers Make
143. Should you lay down the law at the start of the term? See Are You An Elephant Teacher
144. What do you need to think about before welcoming your new class? See 10 Tips For New Teachers
145. Should we meet and greet students every morning? See Golden Handshakes
146. How do we bring about change? See 7 Tips For Implementing Change
147. What does the twelve days of Christmas look like in your school? See The 12 Days Of Christmas
148. What was the last bandwagon you jumped on? See 12 Educational Research Myths
149. Have you used The Learning Pyramid? See Research Myth 1: The Learning Pyramid
150. Have you fallen for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs? See Research Myth 2: Maslow’s Hierachy
151. Have you succumbed to using Learning Styles? See Research Myth 3: Learning Styles
152. Are you a left-brained dominant learner? See Research Myth 4: Left-Right Brain
153. How many intelligences do you possess? See Research Myth 5: Multiple Intelligences
154. How much of your brain do you use? See Research Myth 6: You Only Use 10% Of Your Brain
155. Are teachers reclaiming lesson observations? See Watch And Learn
156. Can Brain Gym lead to optimal learning? See Research Myth 7: Brain Gym
157. Are pupils digital whizz-kids? See Research Myth 8: Pupils Are Digital Natives
158. Do girls perform more poorly than boys at maths? See Research Myth 9: Boys Are Better At Maths Than Girls
159. Does setting homework make a difference? See Research Myth 10: Homework ‘Works’
160. Why do we bother with ability grouping? See Research Myth 11: Ability Grouping
161. Is it a myth that teachers do not need to teach knowledge anymore? See Research Myth 12: We Don’t Need To Teach Facts 
162. Why do we turn East for help teaching maths? See Educational Fad: Maths Mastery Teaching
163. Do you miss Assessing Pupil Progress (APP)? See Educational Super-Fad: Assessing Pupil Progress
164. Does anyone still use lollipop questioning? See Educational Fad: Lollipop Sticks
165. Do your senior managers still insist on triple marking? See Educational Super-Fad: The Madness Of Triple Marking
166. Does your school have a zero tolerance behaviour policy? See Educational Fad: Zero Tolerance Approach To Behaviour
167. Do you write detailed lesson plans? See Educational Super-Fad: Detailed Lesson Plans
168. Do your pupils write out their lesson objectives? See Educational Fad: Lesson Objectives
169. Do your students sit in rows? See Educational Fad: Sitting In Rows
170. Have your students come to rely on iPads? See Educational Fad: iPads
171. Are you a fan of using textbooks? See Educational Fad: The Silver Bullet Of Textbooks
172. Do your lessons follow a recipe? See Educational Fad: The Three-Part Lesson
173. What life skills do children really need? See Educational Fad: Personal, Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS)
174. How effective is collaborative learning? See Educational Fad: Collaborative Learning
175. Are you still using verbal feedback stamps? See Educational Fad: Verbal Feedback Stamps 
176. Do you have an Ofsted banner outside your school? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Ofsted Banners
177. Has your school ever had a ‘mocksted’? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Mocksteds
178. Do you still grade lessons Ofsted-style? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Ofsted Gradings
179. Do you mark by frequency and colour? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Marking By Frequency And Colour
180. Is your school still grading lesson observations? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Graded Lesson Observations
181. Why does the progressive-traditional debate still rage on? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Progressive Versus Traditional 
182. When was your last performance appraisal? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Appraisal
183. Are book-looks dangerous and unreliable? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Work Scrutinies
184. Is collecting data the biggest waste of teacher time? See Teaching Ideas To Bin: Data Drops
185. Why has resilience and wellbeing been dumped onto teachers? See Are Teachers Too Fragile To Teach?
186. How do we positively engage children in talking about their mental health? See How To Improve Our Children’s Mental Health
187. Do you know what you are doing? See Newly Qualified Teachers And Impostor Syndrome
188. Is your curriculum long in the tooth? See Do You Have A Sabre-Toothed Curriculum?
189. Does talking shop mess with our mental health? See Are You Sabotaging Your Own Wellbeing?
190. Is it time we banned the PowerPoint presentation? See PowerPointless: How Not To Do A Training Session
191. Where do you score on Ofsted’s new inspection framework? See The School Happiness Standards Agency
192. How will you survive the week before Christmas? See It’s Christmas Crackers Being A Teacher 
193. What do the 12 days of Christmas look like in your school? See The 12 Days Of Christmas
194. Are you a good teacher? See 365 Characteristics Of Good Teachers
195. Why should we ditch colour-coded worksheets? See Colour-Coded Differentiation
196. What should reasonably be expected of a teacher? See When Teachers Behave Badly
197. Is your classroom identity safe? See Creating Identity-Safe Classrooms 
198. Is teaching a job with a consumption problem? See Workload: Are Teachers Just Too Greedy?
199. Does your language make or break your school? See Who Are The Teachers In Your School?
200. What should we look for in CPD? See The 7 Characteristics Of Effective Professional Development
201. Are 21st teachers stuck in a time warp? See Should Pupils Call Teachers By Their First Name?
202. What’s the most powerful word you can use in the classroom? See The Most Powerful Word In Education
203. Is your headteacher a people person? See 35 Things Great Headteachers Do
204. Has your school banned toilet rolls? See Risk-Averse Schools Drive Me Potty