I’ve become obsessed with student inability to focus. Poor written work, lack of classroom engagement, poor behaviour and ultimately poor exam results fundamentally come down to an inability to focus. Confidence, achievement and a high sense of self worth I believe come from hard work and commitment. We teachers know this - getting students to know it is one of the holy grails. I drill this into my classes and make them follow a set format of focus and relaxing for the duration of a one hour lesson. It works! I think I may go down the meditation route, but for now I’ve produced this poster that I prominently display in every room I teach in. I have a greater sense of satisfaction and enjoyment from my lessons - try it.

The survival guide for marking at KS4 & 5. These are just ideas, but they work! Marking is THE issue for all schools - the inconsistency across the school is not going away. Marking outside the lesson and especially taking it home doesn’t work. Planning is what should take place outside of lessons. These are simple but effective ideas for marking in the lesson, when you are with the pupils and where the maximum impact can be made. There are also strategies for pupil peer and self assessment, developing their confidence, independence and understanding of mark schemes

This is a series of activities aimed at starting the thinking process leading up to choosing subjects to study at KS4. Activities are for students to complete individually and to discuss with the class and at home with parents. Rather than looking at specific subjects, the aim is to focus students into thinking about their interests, career ambitions, strengths & weaknesses and some essential does and don’ts.

This is a series of power point lessons covering this time frame. It is based on the standard AQA text and covers the range of knowledge required from this era. The purpose of the lessons is to be direct and concise in covering the required knowledge, specific to what students need to know and with a questioning style designed to embed. This approach allows added time for revision. The topic can be covered comfortably within just over a half term and be confident that students have the required knowledge and questioning skills.

We have developed an email culture and colleagues will typically receive upwards of 50 a day. We consider this time consuming and wasteful. It is damaging both in time and with relationships - how an email is written is often harsher than the spoken word and in its worst form leads to open hostility. Whilst acknowledging the efficiency and effectiveness of emails, this display is a 10 point set of suggestions that colleagues have welcomed - less emails to respond to, less stress and more time in constructive face to face dialogue. For display in all offices. As a constant reminder, it really has made a big difference on staff wellbeing.

One of a series of lessons looking at different career paths and opportunities. It provides a brief overview of the role or profession and entry requirements (character and academic). Each lesson has a number of activities that look at the skills and qualities required in the profession, giving students the opportunity to assess themselves against those requirements. The lessons are taster sessions and encourage students to go on to independently research potential career paths

Brain Gym was the revolutionary idea to motivate, inspire, invigorate and enthuse students of all ages. It had its detractors - mumbo jumbo, it won’t work. Opinion is evenly divided, so give it a go. My own experience is that it can reach most students; at the very least all students buy into what we are trying to achieve and become more engaged with their learning. The activities are short and as such are very good lesson starters. Establish it with the younger year groups and build from there.

A careers lesson designed to enthuse students with the power of ambition, goal setting and how to achieve them. It is based on ideas created by the Honda School of Dreams and the ancient Japanese use of Daruma Dolls. A very effective lesson in getting students to think creatively and planning how to aim for success. This is an essential employability skill.

A careers activity and accompanying poster highlighting the essential skills for employment. They make up the transferable skills that all employers are looking for, looking at students assessing their strengths and weaknesses and building on them. This is designed for a 30 minute tutor session. The accompanying poster keeps it at the forefront of student thinking

AfL is part of the bread and butter of teaching and learning. There are many strategies out there that assess learning and here are a few of the most effective based on many years of experience and watching top performers. This is a display poster of these strategies and is designed to be laminated and taped onto teacher desks to act as a constant reminder of good practice. A very effective CPD tool for senior leaders and Heads of Department