We are all about to enter unchartered territory with the possibility of long term school closures. It’s a daunting prospect for parents as they need to balance having to work from home while trying to ensure their children do not fall too behind in their learning. I am sure schools have worked incredibly hard to…
Last week I highlighted my fears that Scotland’s progressive curriculum was leaving its education system in crisis. Now a Scottish education think-tank, Upstart Scotland, is calling for the country to follow the lead of some Scandinavian countries and raise the age children start school to seven. In my view, they’re focusing on the wrong issue.…
From next year it will be compulsory for every Year 4 student to sit a quick five–minute times table test. It’s already been piloted in some schools and already there are critics crawling out of the woodwork. Some are bemoaning that children are being taught to the test and others have complained it’s making the…
It’s a fact that must not be ignored – children cannot do the most basic of sums without knowing their times tables. Times tables are essential for grasping multiplication and it’s impossible to do short and long division without knowing them. It’s not ‘old-fashioned’ or ‘learning by rote.’ Knowing your times tables is the fundamental…
It’s taken long enough but at last education chiefs are recognising the need for children to get the basics right in maths. A key part of this is learning their times tables. The government has announced that all 11-year-olds will be tested on their times tables before leaving primary school. During the progressive education revolution…