I had an interesting chat with my class last week when one asked me what I wanted for Christmas. My answer of “nothing” clearly bamboozled them. The thing about children is that they are naturally curious and my answer most definitely caught their attention. “Why not” tumbled from the mouthes…

I teach in the SEMH sector. After a really challenging week I am so glad that most young people just conform at school. Imagine if they realised what they could actually get away with? Imagine the nervous breakdowns mainstream staff would have if they found themselves teaching in our sector…

Worksheet Relays — cut a worksheet into multiple pieces and leave it in a heap on the other side of the classroom. Team relays, collecting one piece at a time and sticking the sheet back together. You’d be surprised at how much of the sheet they actually read whilst trying…

No matter where you are or what you do, kindness can make a difference. In some circumstances, particularly high pressured ones, the difference is even more powerful. I currently work in an SEMH provision with young people from some very challenging backgrounds and who may be in some very difficult…

The first thing I heard across the airwaves this morning was an call from a TA who was on gate duty. Robbie had climbed over the gate to get into school. Crazy, right? You’d think that climbing out of the school would be more likely but this is in fact…

You have a deadline to meet and a pile of work that requires internal verification. You have left yourself ample time to complete the task, allowing for the fact you have to be reasonable to the member of staff from whom the work has come. The programme for the internal…

Most people will have an opinion on the topic of school cross country. For many it was a cold and unpleasant experience. My memories of cross country at school include the PE teacher getting a good telling off from a local resident as thirty of us stamped mud off our…

It always amuses me when people ask what I ‘do’ because I always get that look that says ‘seriously?’ Well I’m a teacher. I’m also a farm hand. I deal with young bulls and young humans. The two are really quite similar. They both need firm boundaries which are consistently…