The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the importance of data and how it is represented. The teaching of this occurs in several subject areas including maths, the sciences and geography. Equally important, is to teach children to understand that data can be represented to support specific arguments or opinions. These are four of…
It was inevitable that cancelling examinations would cause conflicts and chaos, whatever alternative system was used to grade students. I said in March that the decision would lead to terrible problems. We were aware then that the peak of the virus outbreak was likely to be in April. While holding GCSEs would have posed difficulties…
Primary school children should be taught basic numeracy and literacy when schools resume in September. The lockdown inevitably means many children will be behind, and knowing these basic building blocks is vital. Even for those who are on top of the subjects, a refresher term is no bad thing because numeracy and literacy are so…
There have been many changes in the educational system since the late 1950s and early 60s, including a big move to a more progressive approach. This threw aside most of the traditional teaching methods in literacy and numeracy. Literacy focused less on grammar, syntax and good spelling – the structural elements of language – in…
The longer children are not in school, the more they will suffer through their educational journey and beyond into the workplace. The government was correct to identify that children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 are being particularly hit by the school closures. Reception and Year 1 children are learning basic numeracy and literacy…