Neat printing which is uniform in size is particularly important for display work, such as poems, labels and captions. To save time spent ruling lines and then rubbing them out, prepare a large sheet of cartridge paper with ruled lines of the appropriate spacing, drawn in thick black felt pen. This can be placed under the sheet on which children are going to write, providing guidelines - like the sheets found in writing pads but on a larger scale. The lines can then be used repeatedly and master sheets of varying spaced lines can be prepared for different purposes.

MARGARET FILERE

Deputy headteacher in Gwent

Don’t let yourself feel intimidated by OFSTED inspectors. You know more about your children than they do. Before the inspector leaves your classroom, say to him or her: “Here are the three most important things that happened during this lesson.” Otherwise, the inspector cannot know that Susan’s painting and Shafiq’s story were significant milestones in their learning.

MARY JANE DRUMMOND

Cambridge University Institute of Education

To help children who have difficulty copying from a chalk board, swipe board or wordcard, use different colour pencils or chalk for each line, sentence or sum. This way, when they look up from their books, they immediately know which colour line they were on.

SANDRA WOODMAN

Tyning Hengrove School, Bristol

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