Mixed cut out letters on blue background

An introduction to ESSENTIALspelling

Blog
10 Jun 2021
Michelle Nicholson introduces ESSENTIALspelling, an exciting new resource from HFL Education.
Hand holding a glass ball

Introducing environmental issues to children

Blog
14 Jul 2021
This is our moment. We cannot turn back time. But we can grow trees, green our cities, re-wild our gardens, change our diets and clean up rivers and coasts. We are the generation that can make peace with nature. Let’s get active, not anxious. Let’s be bold, not timid #Generationrestoration
Red butterfly

Five ways for children to connect with nature

Blog
01 Jun 2021
Engaging ideas to encourage children to explore and connect with nature.
Book-ends

Five books for linking science and English

Blog
04 Mar 2020
There are so many fantastic books to support the teaching of science. Here are five which are among my current favourites.
Shadow of family holding hands on the beach

Linking science and English for impact – developing standards of writing and science across the school

Blog
28 Nov 2018
Jane Andrews and Charlotte Jackson discusses linking science and English for impact: developing standards of writing and science across the school.
Pupil writing in book

Do I have to write it up?

Blog
19 Oct 2018
Charlotte Jackson, teaching and learning adviser for science, reflects on why children do not need to be writing up full investigations.
Christmas themed coffee cup in front of laptop

Forget the geese-a-laying! Six festive computing activities

Blog
06 Dec 2019
It’s that time of year again, and whilst many children’s priorities may not be those of computational thinking skills and creative ICT, there are plenty of fun, seasonal computing activities we can run in class.
Two children looking at a computer monitor

How the National Centre for Computing Education can help your school

Blog
19 Mar 2019
The National Centre for Computing Education (NCCE) is a DfE funded organisation that aims to support the teaching of computing in primary and secondary schools across England. Through a range of online and face-to-face CPD and support from local area computing hub schools, the NCCE is working to increase teacher confidence in computing and drive up participation and attainment in GCSE and A Level computer science.
boy in yellow shirt using computer

Text based programming in primary schools - three ways to get started

Blog
20 Nov 2018
Whilst not essential in primary schools, exploring the basics of a text-based programming language can help solidify children's understanding of programming principles, as well as gain some experience of 'real' coding. In this blog post we look at three easy ways to access text-based programming for beginners.
Child hands typing on laptop

Six things we can do with programming tools

Blog
02 Dec 2016
As I mentioned in a recent blog post about apps for programming, we are rather spoilt for choice in the number of learn-to-code tools that are available today.