A blog for students on the FDLT and BALT courses at the University of Northampton

at Leicester and UON

July 30, 2019
by Jean
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Changes to QTS tests

You might have seen in the media recently that the one of the parts of the teacher training application has changed: the QTS skills tests in English and mathematics.  The government statement says: “To support this, the government today announced … Continue reading

June 13, 2018
by Jean
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FDLT year 1 field trips

Last week the FDLT year 1 students went on field trips to explore different ways of supporting learning outdoors. Led by Ken Bland and Georgina Hand, they explored fieldwork around a river including mapping the meander, measuring depth; testing speed … Continue reading

June 7, 2018
by Jean
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Can your pupils sew on a button?

Great British Button Challenge! Hobbycraft did some research and found that out of the 10,000 people they surveyed 1 in 5 could not sew on a button, with 52% never taught this at school (Hobbycraft, 2018). This summer they’re running … Continue reading

May 31, 2018
by Jean
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Springwatch Wild Academy

Nature live, straight into your classrooms! The Springwatch team are excited to announce eight new live programmes especially for schools! Beaming direct into your classroom, the Wild Academy will open for business at 1:30pm on Monday 4th June. Join us Monday … Continue reading

April 27, 2018
by Jean
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30 days wild!

The Wildlife Trust invites you to something wild every day in June: random acts of wildness. You can sign up here to get a free pack including a wall chart, interactive booklet and some stickers. There is also an app. … Continue reading

January 12, 2018
by Jean
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500 words – live lesson!

On Monday 15th January at 2pm there’s a live lesson available to watch to inspire your participation in the BBC Radio 2 500 words writing competition. You can see information about the live lesson here. Calling all story writers! Now … Continue reading

December 1, 2017
by Jean
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Record Playback

This week the year 2 students used their phones or tablets to make short films exploring terms and ideas used when learning English. Their challenge was to define and explain their word in a one minute film using just the … Continue reading

September 29, 2017
by Jean
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Children’s Laureate

The current Children’s Laureate is Lauren Child and she is in this role from 2017 to 2019. This is what the Book trust said about her: “The role of Children’s Laureate is awarded once every two years to an eminent … Continue reading

September 22, 2017
by Jean
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Changes to assessment in primary schools

Last week the government published plans for changes to the way pupils are assessed at primary schools. You can read the announcement here. “The reforms will: improve the way that writing is assessed, so that teachers have more scope to … Continue reading

July 24, 2017
by Jean
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Looking out for opportunities to learn

As a student of education there are many sources that you use to gather information to support your studies. As you begin your course you will be introduced to university resources to help you access academic books and journal articles … Continue reading