Numerical skills are one of the most crucial things a child can be taught when growing up. The ability to perform basic mathematical functions, along with more advanced techniques, is key to their eventual path to a happy adult life. If you are looking for fun, yet effective, resources to Read more…
I grew up in the 1980s, a time when children’s shows were on TV for about an hour after school in the week, and a couple of hours on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Saturday afternoons were for the football scores, and Sunday afternoons were a time when we never even Read more…
I received a call yesterday asking me to go on the Victoria Derbyshire Show to discuss a new report from Save the Children. I was unable to attend, but once we began discussing the contents of the report, I found that I actually had quite a lot to say about Read more…
We were excited to be sent a DIY Electro Dough Kit from Technology Will Save Us. Here’s the inside of the box: The kit is marked for ages 4+, which I didn’t realise when I agreed to review it. I wasn’t sure S (who is 3) would “get” the Read more…
Last Tuesday was National Women in Engineering Day; you might have noticed the #NWED hashtag trending on Twitter. As part of the day, British Gas invited me and several other awesome bloggers to a panel discussion in London. The panel was chaired by Dickon Ross, editor of Engineering and Technology Read more…
According to a report from the Institute of Health Equity at University College London, nearly half of all children in England are not ready for school when they finish their reception year at the age of five. Apparently children from poorer areas are more likely to not be ready for Read more…
You know that bit at the beginning of Parklife where Phil Daniels says “I wish you’d just shut up”? That’s what I think of, every time I hear a news story about Sir Michael Wilshaw. His latest words of wisdom were spoken to the Times, and include: If parents didn’t come Read more…
The news today is full of stories of children being sent to school in nappies. Apparently as many a nine per cent of head teachers and senior staff have had children rocking up for school in nappies, up to the age of seven. I heard a deputy head teacher on Read more…
I’m reading a book at the moment, called The Element by Sir Ken Robinson. I bought it after seeing a Ted Talk he gave about how schools were killing creativity. In both the talk and the book, Robinson talks about Gillian Lynne. When she was at school in the 1930s, Lynne’s Read more…