Learning
The future of education
Have you ever heard of Professor Sugata Mitra? You can be forgiven for not knowing about this Professor at Newcastle University – but he has some interesting things to say about education. He’s used some interesting strategies to help children generate learning. He’s shown [...]Read more
Green fingers!
With the Chelsea Flower Show fresh in our memories, it’s a good time to talk about teaching young people about gardening. Some schools have a school garden and sessions where the children are involved in planting and growing a variety of plants. However, gardening doesn’t seem [...]Read more
Going dotty – Introducing Braille
A guide dog can help a visually impaired person to find their way and get around town and at home, but they cannot read for them. That’s where Braille comes in. Braille is a way of writing any language in a way that visually impaired people can read. Each braille character is [...]Read more
The Brain Drain
Back in the 1960s there was a great deal of talk about the Brain Drain. Then it was about losing highly qualified young Britons to commerce and scientific institutions in the USA. Now it’s back in the news – but in a different way. The UK has established a reputation for a very [...]Read more
Teaching children to think big
Children start young with big aspirations. They don’t start off seeing any career as a tough nut to crack – they dream big and don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t become anything from an astronaut to a zoologist. As they get older they respond to being told ‘you’ll have to [...]Read more
When the teacher is away …
What happens at your child’s school when a teacher is absent? Hopefully, a suitably qualified replacement will take over, but few schools have a bank of teachers sitting in the staff room waiting to cover absence. At primary level where one teacher may teach several subjects, [...]Read more
Is your child taking the 11 plus this year?
Although many teachers are unable to provide specialised support for youngsters who want to take the 11 plus, as a parent you can help. The first step is to understand the kind of questions your child will have to answer. Take a look at these samples taken from a typical test* [...]Read more
Where should you live to give your child the best education?
According to the Pisa rankings released at the end of last year the answer is Singapore! The children in Singapore topped the scores in reading, maths and science, while the UK was lagging behind coming 15th in science, a disappointing 22nd in reading and a dreadful 27th in [...]Read more
Help your kids get past test nerves
Does your child fall apart when faced with a test or exam? It’s not unusual for kids who perform well in class and get good grades for homework assignments to find nerves wipe their memory clean of all they’ve learned in a test. There’s no magical cure – and you certainly don’t [...]Read more
Exams – how to help your child prepare
The year-end exams may be a little way off, but the earlier you start the preparation the better your child will be able to perform well. Exams are a serious stress zone – not only for the youngster who has to sit the exam, but also for the parents. Every parent wants their [...]Read more
Starting them young
Life seems to move faster and faster, work-life balance is constantly challenging and stress is now something we expect to suffer from on a daily basis – not just a very occasional issue. We look back at our schooldays and wish we could go back to when all we had to do was play [...]Read more
Is your child good at puzzles?
What’s the point of being good at puzzles? Because they’re often based on maths and it’s a fun way to encourage children to exercise logical reasoning. There’s more to maths than the basics of add, subtract, multiply and divide – when you get to more advanced concepts it’s all [...]Read more