All ages

Many PE staff and colleagues in primary school will be donning their summer kit this term and teaching track and field athletics.

Athletics is one of the most basic activities that we do in PE; running, jumping and throwing are activities that pupils of all ages love.

A useful idea for teaching on grassy fields is to have your own handy marker in the shape of a cheap and cheerful container of talcum powder.

Talcum powder provides quick and easy lines to line up behind and aim for when throwing, gives clear marks for pupils learning a difficult technique such as the triple jump and can also be useful for highlighting unpainted take-off boards in long jump.

In your athletics bag, also include a stopwatch, a clipboard and a pencil.

The container of talcum powder can be a helpful aid to your teaching.

Your pupils will love seeing instant lines appear and will instinctively remain behind them if you require it.

The lines will not remain for too long so fear not the wrath of an unhappy groundsman as nature will soon blow the evidence away

Chris Conway is assistant headteacher at Archbishop Grimshaw School in Solihull