Primary: ‘The best resources teachers can seek out are each other’

An area that all primary children will have missed out on over the past 18 months is the performing arts: teaching drama, dance and music remotely was incredibly tough, and even once we were back in school, social distancing and bubbles prevented collaboration between classes in these subjects.

Writing, too, has suffered. We all know that writing is a challenging and complex skill that requires strong subject knowledge and grammar. However, what is not usually discussed is how it feels to be a writer. Teachers could therefore develop their knowledge and practice of this by reading about how writers write, and also by doing some writing themselves. 

Putting Covid gaps aside, music can be an especially challenging subject for many primary school teachers to teach. In initial teacher training, music “input” can be half a day. 

Schools should consider continuing professional development in this area: why not run a session on singing, for instance? Think about how you can go about encouraging even the quietest children to raise their voices and sing with pride. 

The best resources teachers can seek out next term are each other; whether you’re worried about gaps in reading, or struggling to find inclusive or diverse texts to use in drama, or songs to use in music, someone will be able to help.

James Biddulph is executive headteacher at the University of Cambridge Primary School

English: ‘Resist the temptation to go back to the “good old days”’

How best to prepare for this term? First, the obvious: be kind to yourself, your colleagues and your students. It’s been a stressful couple of years - everything will feel strange and heightened when we return, so don’t plan overly ambitious schemes of work, don’t try to change everything all at once and don’t worry about “catching up” to some arbitrary level.

There’s always a tension in English between teaching classics and something more diverse. For my Advanced Higher English class, I’ve decided to do both: Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart, including some honest and critical discussions about race and representation. These are texts I know well but haven’t read in a while, and re-reading good literature - prepping notes on these novels - is honestly some of the best continuing professional development. It’s relaxing and challenging at the same time, almost like being back at uni. If I can bring even a fraction of this passion to my lessons, my students should become engaged and enthusiastic, too.

Another top tip is more technological in nature. We all learned a lot in lockdown about the limitations and possibilities offered by tech. 

It’s important to resist the temptation to ditch it all and go back to the “good old days” because it’s what we know well, but it would be a massive mistake not to capitalise on the digital skills we have developed.

I’ll be making even more use of OneNote to coordinate all my notes for my class, to encourage collaboration, to support students’ practising RUAE (reading for understanding, analysis and evaluation) and to ease my marking load. It’s worth spending a few minutes setting up your notebooks in advance - reusing pages and sections from last year, if appropriate - to save you the time later when the school year is in full swing.

Even an e-learning expert can’t know everything, which is why I will be making much use of the Microsoft Educator Center. 

It’s a free site that’s packed with shorter courses and longer learning paths, showing you how to use different Microsoft tools as part of your teaching arsenal. In particular, I’m in the middle of a study programme on 21st-century learning design, which is fascinating, and is really making me re-evaluate what and how I teach. 

Whether you’re a total novice or experienced with e-learning, there are courses for you.

Andy Leask is a teacher of English and head of e-learning at St George’s School for Girls in Edinburgh

Maths: ‘Make the most of what resources are freely available’

It’s not my place to do so but let me apologise, on behalf of Covid, to all of you who started your teaching career in 2020-21. It’s not usually like that.

It was easy to lose sight of the joyous, fulfilling, day-to-day reality of the job while the banter was curtailed (gutting). Events such as Maths Camp were cancelled (devastating) and there was no Pi Day in school (unthinkable). 

Take things gently at first. I’d advise against greeting the kids on day one dressed as Pythagoras, singing a medley of mathematical songs or setting up a zombie-apocalypse lesson. Instead, it would be extremely helpful to take time to re-establish those routines that make for smooth lessons. Kids will appreciate you spelling these out as they relearn what’s expected of them from the minute they walk into your classroom again.

As you settle back in, you won’t have the time to create endless resources so make the most of what’s already freely available. Let me suggest a few handy sources you won’t want to miss.

The fifth annual Maths Week Scotland is coming up at the end of September. Thankfully, you don’t need to concoct your own showstopping plans for this: there are loads of resources, competitions, activities, videos and ideas ready to use immediately at mathsweek.scot.

The Scottish Mathematical Council produces annual journals for primary and secondary, organises the national Mathematical Challenge and provides the best continuing professional development for maths teachers in Scotland every year (sign up for the March conference as soon as registration goes live).

Although Twitter can be toxic, the maths community on there is amazing, generously sharing unbelievable resources and helpful advice every day. It’s a treasure trove of mathematical awesomeness. Oh, and I write a free weekly maths newsletter for more than 4,000 subscribers. It contains puzzles, lesson ideas, resources, mathsy trivia and general geekiness. Get signed up by emailing aap03102@gmail.com.

Last year was tough - but do your best, trust your colleagues, appreciate your pupils and you’ll smash it this year.

Chris Smith is a maths teacher who was Scotland’s 2018 teacher of the year. His weekly maths newsletter is on issue 563

History: ‘It’s a great subject to teach without always using screens’

I have a confession, which may seem strange for someone who uses websites and social media with my pupils: I really don’t like too much screen time. One of my goals for teaching history this year is to get pupils off screens. Let’s face it, they already use them too much.

Fortunately, history is a great subject to be taught without always using screens. One simple activity - especially for older pupils - makes them use books, albeit some pupils greet the task as a form of torture. My Higher history pupils are given a chapter and are told to simply read it, even if it takes the full period.

Some are put off by reading for that long; others cannot understand why reading without necessarily writing anything is useful. After this, they are given different tasks or challenges, such as finding the historian’s arguments, or evidence to support or oppose an opinion.

As well as taking them away from the comfort blanket of Google, this teaches valuable concentration and research skills.

Other helpful activities involve debates and public speaking. Spending time at home has isolated many young people; the more they can directly engage with fellow pupils, the better. A class debate or speech is only ever the end of a series of lessons; pupils first need to research or discuss initial thoughts with others before they prepare their arguments.

Of course, many young people don’t like class speaking - and months of home learning may have hardened these attitudes. Approaches to fix this may include whole-class speeches as part of a team or debates within small groups.

The best thing teachers can do is to get pupils back into a clear routine with some specific goals identified. For me, it’s largely about less screen time for young people when learning about history.

Matthew Marr is a teacher of history in Ayrshire. He tweets @mrmarrhistory

Design and technology: ‘We’ve seen students’ creative design skills waver’

In DT, students have, understandably, lost some core hands-on skills. As they haven’t been able to go out as much and visit places for inspiration, we’ve also seen students’ creative design skills waver.

A spiral curriculum, in which students carousel and regularly revisit common skills, can really enhance practical knowledge. In the autumn term, teachers should consider putting demonstrations, small-group working and scaffolding at the centre of their provision, and use a variety of instructional techniques to help students understand the material.

Another significant gap is in young people’s confidence levels. Therefore, the most useful thing for teachers to brush up on is their approach to engagement. Positive affirmation in every communication is going to be crucial.

Staff are always looking to develop their specialist skills. We encourage our staff to upskill in their use of computer-aided packages. Getting skills in programmes such as Photoshop, for example, is vital, and some of my team are being supported to upskill on sublimation printers.

Often, the best continuing professional development is time spent watching other professionals. Through observations, we see other people’s approaches and we can be more reflective about our own practice. 

Sital Patel is the head of art, design and technology at The Parker E-ACT Academy

Science: ‘Understanding how to explain concepts clearly is crucial’

The students who are likely to have the biggest gaps are Year 7s [S1s], who’ve had the past two years of primary teaching disrupted. 

Instead of brushing up on particular areas of subject knowledge, teachers should read up on effective formative assessment and think carefully about how they will assess necessary prior knowledge before teaching a topic or a lesson, and plan for what they will do to address any gaps that this might identify. 

Responsive Teaching, by Harry Fletcher-Wood, is an excellent introduction and the Best Evidence Science Teaching resources have helpful diagnostic questions that could be used as a starting point to identify knowledge gaps. Teachers should also consider revisiting the content taught remotely during January and February of this year. If students don’t have a solid grasp of key concepts such as diffusion, osmosis and active transport, then they’ll struggle further down the line.

The areas in which science teachers generally need more support are when teaching out of specialism, so there is huge value in having conversations within departments about common misconceptions and knowledge gaps, and how to explain things clearly to students. Understanding how to explain concepts clearly is a crucial aspect of subject knowledge.

Connecting with other teachers on Twitter is also really helpful, and questions posted will usually get rapid answers or promote really valuable discussions. The @CogSciSci, @ChatBiology, @ChatChemistry and @ChatPhysics communities are particularly helpful.

If you’re looking to reignite your own passion, there are some fantastic programmes on BBC iPlayer: for example, Michael Mosley’s Pain, Pus and Poison series of programmes. Bill Bryson’s book, The Body, is also a trove of numbers and facts. 

Helen Skelton is head of science at Beaumont School. Shuna Neave is an excellence pioneer and science teacher at the George Spencer Academy

Geography: ‘Consider creating a climate-change club’

These practical tips will help you adjust back into the rhythm of educating during this autumn term.

Make sure the case studies you are using are up to date and relevant - from fresh examples of the impact of climate change to interesting countries in continents pupils might not know much about, for example, South America.

Study the school-support directory and allow it to inform your seating plan. There is a range of additional support and medical requirements that pupils face and this may influence where in the class that child should sit.

Set out your positive expectations. You’ll want to emphasise how young people should behave in your classroom, keeping communication positive. Tell new classes a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming a teacher.

Rather than just informing your classes about course and assessment outlines, a more creative approach, such as a quiz or a picture round, enables pupils to try to guess what topics they will learn. Don’t forget that geography is a visual subject and should be fun. Provide checklists to learners that they could use for subsequent revision. Consult SQA changes to courses and communicate them to pupils - for example, there is no assignment this year.

Climate change deserves a lot of recognition within education, so get the ball rolling. Young people are passionate about this important issue, so channel this into a lunchtime club, which could also improve geography uptake and engagement.

Shiv Das is a geography teacher in Edinburgh. He tweets @shiv_teaching

Music: ‘Effective daily practice can be achieved with these tips’

After a year of hugely challenging and often restrictive guidelines for music teachers, we are looking forward to a year of in-person teaching and will be starting with a focus on practice techniques.

As the phrase often shared by our artistic director, cellist William Conway, goes: “One of the great things about practising is that you can really hear it getting better.”

It is indeed true that a young musician who works patiently and efficiently during their music practice will make very good progress in the year ahead. Although it is perfectly fine to play your pieces through, effective daily practice is about so much more. Being in a positive mood for practice, for example, and setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) targets, are two powerful optimisers.

These are the tips we use, posting them on noticeboards and copying them into pupil notebooks:

• Before: be clear in your mind about what you want to achieve. Be realistic about what you can do in the time available. Set out to feel good about and enjoy your practice. Every minute counts. And only practise with full concentration.
• During: always warm up. Repeat things three times, three days in a row. Make difficult passages into daily exercises. And practise slowly. 
• After: do your “cool downs”. Think about what you’ve achieved today; plan tomorrow.

To quote pianist and composer Harold Craxton: “Amateurs practise until they can get it right; professionals practise until they can’t get it wrong.”

For further inspiration, try our video, ‘Practising’ Advice to Young Musicians (bit.ly/PractisingYM).

Paul Stubbings is director of music at St Mary’s Music School in Edinburgh

Modern foreign languages: ‘Get them talking and normalise paired speaking’

La rentrée in a nutshell: clear the clutter, polish the pedagogy and get stuck in.

Refresh the learning environment with pupil work, curated cultural capital and working walls. Restart the routines with target language (facial gymnastics, situational cues). Regroup with colleagues to “Hinch yourself happy” with the curriculum (Google “Mrs Hinch” and “clutter” if that means nothing to you).

The intercultural aspect of learning a language is core to giving context to that language. Create the “ooh” moments so young people can discover the music, films, landmarks and stories. Put working resources on walls with language prompts (that are big enough to read!), and cues to remind students of key structures and punctuation.

Maximise target language use in classroom routines and channel your inner travel correspondent. Students need to hear the language (while you’re still wearing a mask, the rest of your face will need to do the work). Language needs to be heard to be learned, and we need to get children talking again. Don’t be afraid of the noise - get them talking and normalise paired speaking. 

Capitalise on the newly discovered technology that we have worked with. Make sure there’s a lot of listening, access to authentic materials for reading and real-time images of the countries of the languages we are learning.

Of course, we can use pre-existing apps and sites to recycle and reinforce structures and language, but this is most definitely the moment to get back to the productive skills of a teacher.

Looking at the curriculum, what can we put in storage? What goes in a basket? What goes in the trolley to get wheeled around the room? It’s time for a clear-out. Let’s teach language that is relevant, age-appropriate and that gets our students being creative. 

Hinch yourself happy with the curriculum, recreate the places we love to travel to and get the students creating language and communicating with each other. Reconnect, drink tea, talk to colleagues and get stuck right in. Bonjour, la classe!

Gillian Campbell-Thow is a languages quality improvement officer in Glasgow and a former Scottish teacher of the year

RE: ‘More support is needed in some areas’

Next term, teachers will be putting various strategies and interventions in place to identify where there are gaps and determine how best to tackle them.

This is likely to be time-consuming for less experienced classroom practitioners, so it will be essential for heads of department to offer additional support.

In addition, teachers of RE have commonly told me that they need more support with the following areas of subject knowledge:

• Hinduism
• Sikhism
• Buddhism
• Non-religious worldviews
• Philosophy and ethics

For help brushing up on key areas of RE, or if you simply want to rekindle your passion for the subject, try:

• RE:ONLINE
• The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion
• The RE Podcast
• Making Every RE Lesson Count, by Louise Hutton and Dawn Cox
• Outstanding RE Lessons, by Andy Lewis
• 100 Ideas for Teaching Religious Education, by Cavan Wood
• World Religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, by Robert Orme and Andy Lewis
• World Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism, by Tristan Elby and Neil McKain
• Philosophy and Ethics, by Robert Orme

Aamir Nore is faculty director of humanities at Ark Victoria Academy in Birmingham

PE: ‘Remove as many barriers as you can’

When children returned to school last autumn, teachers noticed a drop in young people’s fitness levels, as well as an increase in mental wellbeing issues. After another year like no other, there is a lot that PE teachers can do to support good physical and mental health next term. 

Key priorities should include creating a safe and welcoming environment where pupils feel comfortable participating. Be aware of different motivations and ask them about the activities they want: are they participating for fun, friendship, competition? It’s always important to ensure lessons and clubs are inclusive to all. 

Encouraging social connectivity through PE should also be a priority. Teachers should consider running “welcome back” activities focusing on fun, friendship, confidence and fitness. 

Re-establishing baseline fitness levels, especially for those who are least active, should be achieved via engaging activities. Have a look at the quickfire 60-second challenges we have on the Youth Sport Trust website.

Remove as many barriers as you can: it might be as simple as asking pupils to come to school in their PE kit or doing a session that doesn’t require getting changed. 

We also need to consider how we can raise awareness among parents and carers of the importance of getting children active. Research shows that many parents are unaware of the recommendation for young people to average 60 minutes per day of physical activity. 

The Olympic and Paralympic values can be a great source of inspiration. Use the concept of “personal best” to inspire greatness in every young person and think about the teachable moments of sporting events. 

Kate Thornton-Bousfield is the Youth Sport Trust’s head of PE and achievement

Art and design: ‘It’s an ideal opportunity to consider the issue of diversity’

Art and design requires specialist facilities and materials, which most pupils struggled to access from home during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Even when they were back in school full time, some bubbles were based at the opposite end of the school from the art and design rooms. And, of course, many gallery and museum trips couldn’t go ahead as planned. 

On returning to school, teachers should first undertake baseline assessment to indicate where pupils need help and support - and then adapt their curriculum accordingly.

While reflecting on lesson content and what might need to change, it’s an ideal opportunity to consider the issue of diversity. The Anti-Racist Art Education Action group’s checklist is a helpful resource here.

As part of the recovery curriculum, art, craft and design will play a really important part in supporting mental wellbeing. 

Digital media can provide opportunities for personal expression through excellent initiatives, such as The Photography Movement. In September, it will be starting its Show and Tell No.2 - which consists of a series of films and workshops, alongside an exhibition with a focus on “photography for life, not likes”. 

Liz Macfarlane is president of The National Society for Education in
Art and Design

Drama: ‘Put practical group work at the centre of lessons’

Students have been denied a lot of practical drama time - remote schooling and physically distanced face-to-face lessons made it tough for classes to take part in ensemble work. So, teachers need to put practical group work at the centre of lessons, and allow students time to reconnect with making, performing and responding together.

As an executive committee member of our subject association, National Drama, and a subject leader in research-informed initial teacher education, I am often asked for support on delivering a more representative curriculum with greater awareness of whose voice is telling and whose is being heard. National Drama has plenty of resources, research and continuing professional development to assist teachers with this, and Open Drama’s Developing a Representative Drama Curriculum, by Carolyn Bradley and Matthew Nichols, is another good resource.

More broadly, in the context of drama and social justice, I’d recommend Andy Kempe’s Drama, Disability and Education and Kathleen Gould Lundy’s Teaching Fairly in an Unfair World, which includes a lot of drama-based ideas. 

Simon Floodgate is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a lecturer and subject leader in drama at the Institute of Education, University of Reading

This article originally appeared in the 20 August 2021 issue under the headline “Changing the subject”