Welcome to our blog

Martin Waddell's Room for a Little One is the basis of today's free English lesson plan!

For the 12 days of advent, Rising Stars are bringing you a fantastic English lesson plan idea to use with your pupils. Today's is based on Paul Rockett's Close-up Continents: Mapping Europe. Our thanks to Maddy Barnes, Assistant Head Teacher at Sacred Heart Catholic School and English Consultant, for her superb lesson plan!

This is the final article in our working memory series. Our thanks to Dr Richard Skelton for this fantastic article on working memory training.

Difficulties with concentrating means that children aren’t able to use their Working Memory to process and make sense of information in class, which can lead to underachievement across the curriculum, including literacy and numeracy.

Back in the summer term, the Switched on Computing team ran an e-safety competition to promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology. We sent out a free e-safety poster to all schools, challenging children to design their own e-safety poster! The brief was clear – it needed to be colourful and eye-catching with a strong e-safety message.

After much consideration, the judging panel (including HES and Switched on Computing author Miles Berry), announced Alex from Smawthorne Henry Moore Primary School in Castleford as the winner! They were really impressed with the creative design, attention to detail and the positive e-safety message. As a prize, the poster was recreated by one of our top designers and professionally printed.

Working Memory is the ability to store and process information over a short period of time. This provides children with the capacity to think and learn.

With thanks to Nick Hart, Deputy Head at Penn Wood Primary and Nursery School in Slough, for this fascinating article on scaffolding.

In one episode of the Simpsons, Bart moves school and is immediately put into a remedial class.  He joins a lesson where they are continuing their work from the previous day – the letter ‘a’.  Bart’s observation is: ‘Let me get this straight.  We’re going to catch up to the other kids by going slower than them?’

Join Rising Stars and the National Science Learning Centre for a free online science CPD course on Working Scientifically!

We are delighted to invite you to a free online science CPD course hosted by Rising Stars and the National Science Learning Centre. 

This course will explain what working scientifically means in the new curriculum and will provide practical activities to support you in the classroom. All attendees of the complete course will receive a CPD certificate of attendance from the NSLC.

Ellie Boylan and Sophie Quinn, Assistant Educational Psychologists share their experiences of using MeeMo as a working memory intervention at Our Lady’s and St Edward’s Primary School in Birkenhead.