It won’t be as bad as you think! Picture: Terrified, by Terry Freedman

8 Tips for Newly-qualified teachers

September 16, 2025

Your first few weeks at school may seem terrifying, but hopefully it won’t be as bad as you think! Here are 8 tips you may find useful.

8 Tips for NQTs

September 3, 2019

Your first day at school may seem terrifying, but hopefully it won’t be as bad as you think! Here are 8 tips you may find useful.

Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash — Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

10 questions new headteachers should ask about the education technology in their school

July 30, 2018

If you’ve just started in a new school, how can you quickly evaluate how well the education technology is being used?

Recent book reviews

For your Eng Lit colleagues? The Penguin Book of the International Short Story -- two reviews in one!

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!

Two reviews in one: Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals -- art and history

One for your colleagues, perhaps: art, art history, ploitics with a small ‘p’.

Two reviews in one: State of Ridicule: A History of Satire in English Literature -- politics, history, English

One for your colleagues, perhaps. Sperrin has provided a wealth of information that can be used to provide a rich experience for students of politics, history and English literature.

Two reviews in one: A Little History of Mathematics

I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.

The Learning Rainforest Great Teaching in Real Classrooms Great Teaching in Real Classrooms.jpg

Review: The Learning Rainforest: Great Teaching in Real Classrooms

This is a great book for dipping into in order to read about different teaching and assessment strategies, backed up by research.

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Review: Outstanding Formative Assessment: Culture and Practice

This book contains numerous assessment for learning techniques.

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Review: New Media in the Classroom: Rethinking Primary Literacy

This provides a great deal of information about the different aspects of "literacy” and how digital tools can be brought into the service of literacy in the primary school.