10 Questions to ask when choosing a Primary School

Are you currently looking around Primary Schools for next September ready for your child to start in Reception class, or, Foundation stage 2? Are you wondering what questions you should ask when choosing a new school? What things you should be looking for when looking around a new school or classroom?

 I found it really hard to approach this task with my 'parent hat' on, rather than my 'Teacher hat'. As many of you will know, I am a Primary School Teacher who specialised in the Early Years (EYFS) and I am extremely passionate about active, free-flow, play based learning. 

I have compiled a list of questions to ask when trying to choose a primary school below, some of which I asked when looking around the schools...some that I wish I had asked! Anyway, here is the benefit of my hindsight, carefully set out for you to use when researching schools for yourself... and once you've chosen, you can pop back and read my post all about school readiness and how to help our children prepare for Reception class. 

Internet safety | teaching kids to be safe online

 As a former ICT and class blog co-ordinator within my former teaching role, online safety was a key part of my job - but it is an ever changing landscape and something that we as parents (and Teachers) need to keep on top of. 

 

This blog post looks at the use of blogs, phones, games and devices whilst at school and at home and explains how to discuss online safety with your child and give them the tools needed to keep themselves and others safe. We also have a list of dos and don'ts for device use with children.

How to add Culture and Diversity to your home and learning environment

 How can we make sure that  we are including or adding culture and diversity into our everyday learning environments? 
It is so important that we give children the tools, exposure and understanding of differences and similarities, between themselves and others, from an early age. We want to create an environment where certain differences are viewed by children as usual, every day life. Where all children can readily access resources that are made with diversity in mind, so that children grow to learn that we are all different, and we are all the same.

Today, I have Lauren, an Early Childhood Educator with a wealth of training and experience within culture and diversity, explaining a little about how we can add culture and diversity into our learning environments both at home and in a setting...

Are Private Schools Really Worth It for Kids?

As a parent, one of the most significant decisions you’ll make is where to send your child to school. The debate between state and private schooling is ongoing, with strong arguments on both sides. Many parents consider private schools to offer a better education and more opportunities for their children, but this comes at a high cost. So, are private schools really worth it for kids? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the various aspects of private schooling to help you make an informed decision.

Covid symptoms before vaccines vs after when pregnant

Back in March 2020, at the start of the first lockdown I contracted Corona Virus, or, Covid19 as it is more commonly known. This was before vaccines were available, and even before routine testing - although my symptoms were all in line with covid and became severe enough to warrant a visit from the emergency services. 10 months later I was also diagnosed with 'long covid' as my symptoms and the after affects took such a long time to improve. 

 

At the time, I quarantined in my bedroom away from my family for 7 days as per the rules at the time. I have since had both vaccines and a booster jab at 12 weeks pregnant making me 'fully vaccinated'. I am currently 25/26 weeks pregnant with my third child and have (along with the rest of my family) contracted covid again.

During my first bout of covid I started a video diary of my symptoms. I never did publish this video to my YouTube channel as my recovery took such a long time it seemed pointless by the time I felt better! However, looking back at this video has enabled me to create a comparison of day by day symptoms which I have listed in the post below....

A Homeschooling Poem

As we start 2021 in another lockdown, most of us faced with homeschooling our children whilst also trying to work/run a business/ stay healthy, it goes without saying that this is an incredibly tricky time for a lot of us. I think we all know how difficult the current situation is for us all, and although I toyed with the idea of writing a poem in solidarity with the feelings of many of us, I decided to step back at look at things from a totally different angle. I thought about the silver lining of homeschooling...the little things that will make the biggest difference, and the way we might look back on it for the moments we gained, rather than the moments we lost... It has helped me to take a more positive view on our days of homeschool and to remind me that I now have the ability to change our days and find the fun when our children need a breather too. x

As always, please remember that this poem is subject to copyright and must not be copied, pasted or republished anywhere. If you would like to share this you may use the URL of this website to share, or use the social media share buttons here or on my social channels. Thank you. 

Are Virtual Nannies and Virtual Tutors the way forward for parents AND professionals?

Right now we are in the middle of a pandemic. Schools are closed, parents are working from home and the balance of the scales between educational curriculum, child-care and work are tipping furiously back and forth, leaving many feeling like they are attempting to be a jack of all trades, yet master of none.
 

Disclosure: Paid partnership post

Parents are holding their hands up in a ‘me too’ movement, admitting to tapping into the babysitting powers of Peppa Pig whilst they try to steal a precious half hour to undertake a conference call or draft an email. Phrases such as “in a moment” are thrown towards our children and our work, as we try to ‘do it all’ – where doing it all really just means doing the basics...

The Day the World Stayed At Home | Poem

The Day the World Stayed at Home - Poem

Why I didn’t return to Teaching after the birth of my first child

I loved my job as a Primary School Teacher. I had specialised in Early Years during my teacher training and landed a role teaching Reception in a one form entry school in West Yorkshire. Play based learning is my passion. Children and their development both intrigue and fascinate me. (Make me invisible for a day and I’ll spend it watching a child at play and analysing every little thing they do). I felt like I’d found my calling and I genuinely loved going into work every day and making lots of small differences to the children in my care. I felt privileged to be in a position where I was making a difference in those critical early years of life.
   

I’d just started to put plans in motion to further climb the rungs of the career ladder when I found out I was expecting. I’d been recommended for a position elsewhere, closer to home which felt perfect for me, but suddenly the moves I had been making in this game of life felt like they were being played for someone else. As much as I wanted to climb higher, I felt a huge responsibility towards any future school, or children, to place myself in a position which I knew I would be leaving shortly afterwards – albeit temporarily! I decided I had no choice but to stay put and continue to strive for inspirational learning opportunities and fun, worthwhile days within my current Reception Class. I had an amazing Teaching Assistant and Support Assistant who totally ‘got’ my ethos and did everything they could to help me guide my class towards the type of learning environment befitting of 4 and 5 year old children. I carried on...

Should year 1 children still have continuous provision and Learning Through Play in KS1?

“The dilemma still exists as to whether play can provide any kind of ‘excellence’ in relation to ‘real’ learning for children as current and future citizens” (Moyles 2005, p. 3)

  

As you perhaps know, Learning Through Play is a huge passion of mine - the benefits of which I feel are far reaching and long lasting. This blog post focuses on a research investigation I undertook whilst training to be a Teacher: "Should year 1 children still have continuous provision?" - it is a watered down version of the original, but I hope will encourage you to make time and space for planning in play based learning for both younger and older children (year 1, year 2 / KS1 and even beyond) whether you are a professional or a parent, based on research fact alongside personal opinion....

I sent my child to nursery* for a better life - and what happened next shook me to the core

This nursery was the kind of place where dreams come true - or so we were told. Our children would be happy and safe. They would have better life chances and the opportunity to make friends with a diverse range of people. Of course, there would be a settling in period and like most places, we would be able to stay with our children until they were confident and comfortable with the adults in the setting...

This particular nursery can be rather exclusive and over subscribed. Places are usually reserved purely for those of a certain level of financial wealth, a family or friend recommendation or those who simply ‘fit the mould’....but we had heard about an opening and we took our chance. We clawed together a reservation fee to save our place and went on our way.

The first day of nursery arrived and we were all feeling a little nervous about how it would go. We packed our bags and waved goodbye to our home ready for our adventure. Holding hands tightly I tried to hide the fact that I was slightly worried about the kind of reception we would receive once we arrived, we aren’t the usual type for this particular setting but I told myself we had just as much right to a great future for our children than anyone else in this world right?


Wrong.