Author Archives: suecowley

EYFS Reforms Consultation Response

Posted on July 9, 2020 by suecowley

Given the ongoing concerns around the reforms of the EYFS, I have decided to publish my response to the consultation here – all 16 pages of it. My response includes a mix of comments taken from a reference document published … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Learning: Not At School

Posted on March 19, 2020 by suecowley

There is no ‘right’ way to deal with educating your children during the current situation, but here are some thoughts about what we learned from the experience of supporting our own children’s learning when they weren’t in school. 1. A … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning, Road School | Leave a comment

Simply Put

Posted on January 16, 2020 by suecowley

It sounds so wonderfully simple doesn’t it? All you have to do to become ‘smarter’ is to know more words. And this ties so perfectly into the learning is memory narrative – memorise more words and hey presto! You are … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Wagging the Dog

Posted on January 8, 2020 by suecowley

In 1992, the same year that I started my teaching degree, a new organisation was established to inspect standards in education. The national inspectorate known as Ofsted replaced the previous system of inspections, which were carried out by HMIs within … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Bold Beginnings, Children, EYFS, Ofsted | 2 Comments

Growing Weather

Posted on February 23, 2019 by suecowley

You have to time it right, sowing. Start too early and your seedlings will become leggy and soft as they wait to be planted out. Sow seeds outdoors in cold sodden soil, and you might as well throw them in … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children, Learning | Leave a comment

Coping with Critique

Posted on February 6, 2019 by suecowley

These days, when you put anything into the public domain, you can expect to receive critique on it. On the world wide web, the world is watching and many people will be perfectly happy to tell you what they think … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity, Learning | Leave a comment

Humble

Posted on January 31, 2019 by suecowley

I have a complicated relationship with humility. I suspect we all do. On the one hand, I like people who are humble about their achievements; who do what they do for the sake of doing it, and not for any … Continue reading →

Posted in Allotment, Learning | 1 Comment

A Child Called It

Posted on January 15, 2019 by suecowley

Just before Christmas, Ofsted published a suite of materials on curriculum, ahead of the consultation on their new Inspection Framework. One of the videos is  on ‘Early Reading’ and it features Ofsted’s Regional Director for the South West – Bradley … Continue reading →

Posted in EYFS | 3 Comments

The Medium and the Message

Posted on January 11, 2019 by suecowley

Just before Christmas, Ofsted published a series of short videos on YouTube about their proposed new Education Inspection Framework, with specific reference to the focus they are going to be putting on Curriculum in future inspections. The Framework is going … Continue reading →

Posted in Bold Beginnings, EYFS, Ofsted | 1 Comment

Joining the Dots

Posted on December 8, 2018 by suecowley

At the same time as testing increases and we put ever more pressure on children to achieve high academic results we see rising rates of poor mental health in young people. At the same time as schools are being put … Continue reading →

Posted in Accountability, Behaviour, Government, Ofsted | 1 Comment