November 2021

With 10% of children and young people having a clinically diagnosable mental health issue it remains concerning that 70% have had no appropriate interventions.  The impact of this is evident in schools where Mental Health and Wellbeing is being placed high on agendas. 

Next week is Anti-bullying week, an annual campaign run by the Anti-Bullying Alliance. The theme for Anti-Bullying Week 2019 is ‘Change Starts With Us' and will run from Monday 11th November - Friday 15th November. We know it's important to make sure children feel happy and safe at school and online, so we've compiled some helpful resources to help start the anti-bullying conversation and promote kindness this Anti-Bullying Week.

This month is #NonFictionNovember - a national celebration that aims to promote reading non-fiction for pleasure, to allow young readers to indulge in their fascination for facts and to celebrate the breadth, depth and richness of non-fiction writing. In this blog, On Track English author Catherine Casey explores the positives of reading non-fiction.

Get ready for bonfire night by starting your English lessons with this firework themed reading comprehension quiz from Question Bank.

Join us on the fourth and final part of our journey with St Barnabas Church of England First and Middle School as we explore their use of our termly standardised assessment suites PiRA, PUMA, GAPS and NTS Assessments. St Barnabas also makes full use of MARK, our free online assessment and reporting tool trusted by over 6,000 schools.

As Black History Month draws to a close, Hamish Baxter (Assistant Commisioning Editor at Rising Stars) discusses the importance of diversity in children's books and reading schemes. 

Let’s be honest how much time do we have for giving pupils quality feedback in History? The answer is usually very little as our attention is still firmly focused on raising standards in literacy and numeracy. 
Here are some ideas to ensure that even when you are short on time your feedback has the necessary impact to move learning forward.

Eye of newt and witches brew, Question Bank has an early halloween treat for you...

Join us on the third part of our journey with St Barnabas Church of England First and Middle School as we explore their use of our termly standardised assessment suites PiRA, PUMA, GAPS and NTS Assessments. St Barnabas also makes full use of MARK, our free online assessment and reporting tool trusted by over 6,000 schools.

The Reading Planet Tour is over but what a fantastic few weeks it was! We met Take a look at some pictures from the events which took place across the UK.