Keeping Your Students Safe in the Summer Holidays
A recent online poll from Barnardo’s has shown that this summer, more than ever, children in the UK are at greater risk of exploitation. Their research suggests that the holidays will be especially ha …
Anxiety and Hyperactivity: A Teacher's Guide
Mental health, how we think, feel and regulate our emotions, is something that we all have. Just like our physical health, mental health is something that can deteriorate at different points in our li …
Developing Oracy Skills at Key Stage 2 with Speech Therapy Strategies
This week Minister for school standards Robin Walker acknowledged phonics is crucial to reading development but ‘learning to decode words is just one element of becoming a fluent reader. Without a sol …
Helping students with autism return to school
The past year has seen immense changes in how we live our lives, and inevitably these changes have impacted our mental health. For some, this has meant a period of loss and uncertainty; for others, it …
Top-tips to start using Makaton signing in your classroom
As a speech and language therapist and qualified early years teacher, if I were to choose a communication tool that enhanced the learning environment for all children, it would be Makaton. Let me set …
Could poor communication skills be holding students back in maths?
With hundreds of pupils starting school with poor speech and language skills and even more children struggling with basic social skills, there is no wonder we are seeing the impact this has on other a …
5 things teachers ask me about Auditory Memory
Difficulties with Auditory memory can have a significant impact on a pupil’s ability to attend and learn at the same rate as the rest of their class. I have worked as a speech and language therapist f …
A Guide to Vocabulary Teaching: Part 2
The second part in a series of 3 blogs about vocabulary teaching: the ‘how’ and the ‘who’ How? – how do we begin to teach children the vocabulary needed to engage in all aspects of the curriculum? Who …
Everything you Need to Know about Oracy and Dialogic Teaching
In this blog series, I will give you everything you need to know about Oracy and Dialogic teaching. I work with children at Key Stage 2 so I will explain what is meant by dialogic teaching and cover p …
How do you measure the impact of speech and language therapy?
When “he’s doing really well” just doesn’t cut the mustard. Here’s the thing, without evaluation, it is impossible to know whether an intervention is having a positive impact on learning. It can be te …
