Blog
SEMH, lockdown and return…
Optimus Education invited me to lay out how we can best support young people who are dealing with trauma, abuse, neglect, mental health issues in our schools.
When children feel safe, they learn.
When classrooms are safe and secure all children, and young people have a desire to learn. In this post, guest blogger Yasmeen Multan gives some practical insights on how we can ensure this as we return to school buildings.
Meet my team!
I often get complimented on my website, my ability to stick to a deadline, seemingly-ever-present-blogs and social media, and of course, THAT photo.
This is not something I have achieved on my own…
How do we transition back?
The short answer is that we cannot go back to normal. I recently spoke about this for #GlobalBrewEdIsolation – you can watch the video for it in the post.
Pass the mic
I believe that Education can be an incredible force for good when it comes to social positive change. As such, in this blog I #PasstheMic – to share my platform and magnify the voices of the educators in my community who are different from me.
What are you getting taught about behaviour?
In this guest post, I asked Reena Patel to talk about how we can understand more, from a trainee’s perspective, about how trainees currently experience behaviour training.
Behaviour Tip #1 – Listen
I recently got invited to contribute to #Eduteachertips channel on youtube, curated by Sarah Mullin, author of What they didn’t teach me on my PGCE.
I was asked to share a top tip for teachers and trainee teachers.
For Flourishing’s Sake
This month I was thrilled to be a part of the For Flourishing’s Sake book launch. I am a contributor to the book (in fact a quote from me is on the first page, which got be a little bit excited!) and I chaired the first panel with some of the other guest contributors.
Wellbeing for School Leaders during difficult times
Headteachers, Governors and School Leaders have had to make some impossible decisions lately. In the UK our lack of clear guidelines from government, has led to many Heads having to interpret – but not really know if they are doing the right thing.
A free, easy tool to support wellbeing AND academic progress (during lockdown, transition AND in the classroom)
Whilst writing a chapter for my book I found myself getting all re-excited about one of my favourite classroom practices. It’s free, can help you build relationships, prepare pupils for exams, work with any year group and can be adapted for foreign learners, SEND and different subject – Free writing
Getting connected after isolation – 3 words to reconnect kids to the joy of school
This week, fellow Midlandser Mark Goodwin shared a blog post that moved me – it encapsulates many of my own thoughts and hopes for our eventual transition back into schools. Mark has allowed me to share it with my community here.
Education Wellbeing Collective
During lockdown I was honoured to help form and join the Education Wellbeing Collective. We are a group of teachers, heads and consultants who are supporting and championing the evolution of wellbeing in schools and their communities.
The one big thing I have learnt from remote teaching – (which will be useful for schools *when/if/ahhh* we go back…)
Teaching pupils with behavioural needs is fun at the best of times – and now we’ve been doing it remotely. Aside from the the steep technical learning curve, I have learnt some new things about teaching.
Establishing Relationships quickly with pupils you don’t usually teach
I was recently asked to write on this topic for Optimus Education. Here is the opening extract, the full article is on the Optimus Education website.
Why can’t they just behave? – SEMH pupils
What is SEMH? How do we differentiate for them? What is it like to have EBD – and why can’t they just follow instructions and behave? In this post I look at ways of understanding and supporting SEMH pupils.
Homeschooling children with Behaviour Needs
This week I was invited to host a live webinar for the members of The Adopter Hub on Homeschooling for children with additional Behavioural Needs – during lockdown Covid19. This blog post outlines the main points we covered.
Finding balance in a Topsy-Turvy world
This week’s guest blogger is someone I regard as an esteemed colleague – really moving and shaking the educational world at its core! Kate McAllister re-caught my attention recently during a live panel discussion we were both invited to contribute to – Mental Health & Wellbeing Panel in Education during Covid19.
Wellbeing tips in high stress situations; for teachers, SLT and whole school management approaches
Guest blogger Anna Harrington; Occupational Health Advisor and co-founder of Wellbieng & Health in Business (WHIB), offers us some practical tips on how to manage ourselves, our staff and our schools during times of high stress.