Anna Scott – 3/21

Anna is the Head of Physics at Longcroft school. She is part of the Teaching and Learning team and is passionate about working with and learning from others. Anna’s blog gives tips on teacher survival, getting great results and preventing teacher burnout.

“It has never been more important to tackle workload issues, to allow teachers the vital time needed to focus on improving student outcomes.”

Kirsty Whitworth – 2/21

This is Kirsty Whitworth’s first blog for the Trust. She is Acting Assistant Headteacher at Pocklington Junior School with the responsibility of leading Literacy. She is passionate about children’s literature and believes that reading is the vehicle that impacts everything in life.  

“I believe reading is the vehicle that impacts everything. It exercises the mind and enlarges the cognitive function of the brain. Reading is an important life skill which leads to many opportunities. How many times do you know of pupils losing a mark on a test because they didn’t read the question properly?”

Charlotte Nicholls – 12/20

Charlotte is the Deputy Head at Woldgate School in Pocklington. She is passionate about education and is a strong advocate for staff and student well-being and morale. She is known for her highly enthusiastic approach to school life! 

“Everyday, people that work with children make a difference by inspiring them, building self-esteem, helping them believe in themselves and their ability to learn…”

Graeme Taylor – 12/20

Graeme is the Head of Teaching and Learning at Longcroft School in Beverley. He has much experience of leading teaching. His blog unpicks revision methods and their applications. 

“The co-operation and interaction of the pupil and the teacher working as a cohesive unit is essential in achieving the long term goals we both want. So being there for them may sound twee, but now more than ever, it seems like a vital part of our job…”

Kirsty McMurdo – 12/20 

This week, we stay with Kirsty McMurdo, the Director of Teaching for the Wonder Learning Partnership. Kirsty’s Blog discusses Pace versus ‘just getting through stuff’! 

“Pace is notoriously subjective. It’s a word that floats around classrooms and corridors, without definite meaning attributed to it. For my subjective take on the word, discussions about pace should consider the following…”

Kirsty McMurdo – 11/20 

On this occasion, we hear from Kirsty McMurdo, the Director of Teaching for the Wonder Learning Partnership. Kirsty’s Blog explores the challenges of mapping a departmental curriculum. 

“There are a raft of buzz words and phrases that accompany discussions around mapping out curriculums in different subject areas. Should a curriculum be skills-based or content-based? What are the threshold concepts? The intent? How does this match the implementation?

In the English department… our conversations have been simple: what do students already know? What do they need to know by the end of year 11? And, how do we get them from one point to another?”