Welcome to our Classroom Secrets blog!

Every Child Achieving and Thriving The new white paper from the DfE is wide-ranging. It covers trusts, complaints systems, data reform, AI and much more. With so much to go through, we’ve narrowed it down to what matters for those of you who work in a primary school.

Introducing Primary Maths Tutoring Resources Searching for tutoring resources, finding none and thus making your own, takes time and effort. It’s also wholly frustrating.

I hope those of you who are on half term are managing to take time to relax and switch off from work. We’ve pulled together some resources for when you are ready to turn the laptop on. Here’s just a selection of what you may be teaching when you return.

As we approach half term and hopefully a rest for you all, here are some resources we think might help you face the last week of term.

Science lessons can sometimes feel like a struggle – planning engaging investigations, ensuring you’ve taught the required scientific knowledge and skills, or worrying whether you’ve defined new vocabulary correctly.

Squirrels are one of those animals children think they already know. “They like nuts.” “They climb trees.” “They run away when you get close.”

As it’s Energy Saving Week, we’ve pulled together some simple and effective ways to involve children in sustainability throughout the school day. Small actions can have a big impact, especially when children are given responsibility and ownership.

One of my longest-standing memories of teaching was taking a class of children from South London into rural Surrey. Like all school-trips, the mood was high and the children were excitedly observing the world outside of the coach windows. Not long into our journey, we passed a field of farm animals, happily minding their own business. Now, whilst there are some wonderful city farms in London (Kentish Town and Spitalfields I can very much recommend), cows are not something we are used to seeing every day, so I fully appreciated the shrieks of joy. But when a handful of children weren’t able to identify these beautiful creatures, it made me think.

Have you ever noticed that as Christmas draws closer, the excitement of the children sort of spills into that slightly more hysterical, dysregulated type of behaviour and actually it starts to feel… not fun? Here are some tips to support children during this time so that it can be enjoyable!

Well, the Curriculum Review has finally landed and with it, no doubt, will come all manner of people claiming huge changes are now needed or trying to sell training and services on the back of it. But here’s the thing, you don’t need to do anything right now.

If you are wondering why you keep hearing Fine Motor Skills mentioned and why it matters so much, then get ready for a good read! Developing fine motor skills in early years is essential for helping children build independence, prepare for writing, and develop confidence in everyday tasks. These small muscle movements in the hands and fingers allow children to button coats, hold pencils, and use tools effectively. Without strong fine motor control...

Effective parental engagement can add, on average, +4 months’ additional progress per year (EEF, 2021). The strongest evidence for younger pupils comes from...

Parental engagement. That’s what they call it. It sounds official. A bit distant.  But what it really means is this...

As Black History Month approaches this October, I know that many of us are reflecting on how to approach this topic in our classrooms. Black History Month is a vital opportunity to shine a light on the contributions of Black individuals and communities throughout history.

We’ve all been there, right? Here sits your new class, and within it there are one or maybe multiple pupils who have a diagnosis of Dyslexia, or are displaying dyslexic tendencies, and you just do not know how to narrow the gap in their progress against their peers.

This week the Children’s Commissioner (Dame Rachel de Souza) published The Children’s Plan: The School Census 2025. It is the first national survey undertaken by this office to ask every school and college what children really need to thrive.

Welcome to the final blog in our graphic organisers series! This time, we’re diving into spider diagrams, a versatile tool that helps students visually map out ideas and key concepts. Whether for planning writing, structuring information, or fostering critical thinking, spider diagrams are a simple yet powerful tool for boosting learning across subjects.

Ofsted’s updated School Inspection Toolkit, released on 9th September 2025, brings major changes to how schools are inspected and judged. With a new grading scale across six key areas plus safeguarding, this framework gives schools clearer guidance on what inspectors are really looking for. From curriculum design and inclusion to leadership and wellbeing, this comprehensive guide breaks down exactly what teachers and school leaders need to know — and how to prepare effectively for a successful inspection under the new system.

Chris explains how the Frayer model can deepen pupils’ understanding of key concepts through structured vocabulary development. This versatile graphic organiser is perfect for use across the curriculum and supports critical thinking, oracy, and retrieval practice.

As part of our series on graphic organisers, Chris explores Carroll diagrams—a simple but powerful tool that helps pupils sort and compare information using clear yes/no choices.

Chris tells us about how Venn diagrams, one of the most familiar graphic organisers, can be used to strengthen retrieval practice and help pupils make meaningful comparisons.

Graphic organisers are a brilliant way to help children make sense of how different pieces of information connect together — you’ve probably used a concept map within a lesson at some point but there’s a whole world of graphic organisers beyond concept maps waiting to be explored. In this series of blogs, we’ll dive into five different types of graphic organisers and how they can slot seamlessly into your classroom practice. We’ve even thrown in handy links to downloadable versions to save you precious planning time!

As teachers, we’ve all experienced that moment when a lesson seems to be going well—clear explanations, lively pace, lots of content—only to realise some pupils look overwhelmed, distracted or are simply not learning what your short-term lesson plan dictates they must know by the end of the lesson. It’s not always a question of effort or attention; sometimes, it’s just too much information at once. That’s where cognitive load theory comes in.

The benefits of Circle Time in EYFS are huge. For one thing, it is a really brilliant way to get to know your class or group. Circle time games also provide great opportunities for developing social skills as well as improving listening and attention skills, gross motor skills, cognitive development, community building, and encouraging emotional intelligence.