Category Archives: Children

A Stupid Idea

Posted on May 28, 2016 by suecowley

I’m baffled as to why anyone in the DfE would think that SATs resits in Year 7 are a good idea, so I made a list of 10 reasons why they should just listen to teachers and NOT DO IT. … Continue reading →

Posted in Children | 6 Comments

Voice of a Child

Posted on May 26, 2016 by suecowley

“Smiling slightly, she peeked through the H2O sign; she had a faint Mona Lisa smile.” Fronted adverbial + comma + pronoun + verb + adverb + noun + semi-colon + pronoun + verb + adjective + proper noun + noun … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Writing | 2 Comments

The One Disruptive Child

Posted on May 15, 2016 by suecowley

I am the one disruptive child The one you’ve labelled as too wild I scatter chaos through your class Destroying lessons as I pass. I like to make my classmates laugh By doing stuff you think is daft You worry … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children, Poetry | 4 Comments

No Country for Young Creatives

Posted on May 12, 2016 by suecowley

   There are various ways to try and get your children to achieve the best possible results in their SATs tests, so that your school does well in league tables and avoids a data-related-forced-academisation-takeover disaster. You could trust that your … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Creativity, Testing | 2 Comments

Outside my Experience

Posted on May 11, 2016 by suecowley

Although you don’t have to have experienced something to understand it, experience helps a lot when it comes to avoiding misunderstandings. On today’s news there was a story about the Queen. She was overheard discussing a visiting Chinese delegation, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Experience, Testing | 3 Comments

Don’t Forget to Have Fun!

Posted on May 5, 2016 by suecowley

I’ve spent the last two days at the stunning St George’s Park, doing some sessions on creativity for the FA. It feels a bit weird to be saying that, but hey, go me! (#10%Braver @WomenEd) I was there to do some … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Creativity, Learning, Play | 2 Comments

No Excuses and the Case of the Slow Drying Sun

Posted on April 27, 2016 by suecowley

It’s Sunday night and “Houston, we have a problem”. It’s not that the kid hasn’t done her homework; the problem is that the homework isn’t dry yet. This time round the homework was to celebrate the end of the Solar System topic … Continue reading →

Posted in Behaviour, Children | 2 Comments

The Source of the Knowledge

Posted on April 23, 2016 by suecowley

What would happen if you handed over the management of a setting to the parents of the children who went there? Would they be excessively demanding, expecting things to be constantly adjusted for their own child? Would they put the … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Parents | 2 Comments

Jumping the Hurdles

Posted on April 21, 2016 by suecowley

When your babies are small, the thing you really can’t wait for them to do is to walk, because that means you don’t have to carry them anymore. The tiny baby bit is lovely, if you like that kind of … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Testing | 4 Comments

Clap Along

Posted on March 3, 2016 by suecowley

“Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof Clap along if you know that happiness is the truth” Pharrell Williams When Michael Wilshaw appeared at the Education Select Committee this week, he said various things guaranteed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Early Years, Engagement, Happiness, Learning | 6 Comments