Teach Primary Issue 19.6

WE L COME Hello! POWERED BY. . . JONBIDDLE Explores friendship, school, and peer pressure with Jenny Pearson’s Shrapnel Boys “The last hundred pages are some of the most dramatic I’ve read in the last few years” p89 AARONKING Shares his top tips on effectively including British sign language in your classroom “Learning sign language can enhance children’s concentration and empathy” p46 NAILAMISSOUS on why Black history shouldn’t be relegated to a month-long ‘celebration’... “This isn’t about political correctness. It’s about historical integrity” p36 Don’t miss our next issue, available from 6th October www.teachwire.net | 3 W elcome back! How are you feeling? Raring to go? Tired already?Well, wherever your head is, I hope the following pages will help you out in some way. We’ve got a bumper issue lined up to start the year off with a bang, and it’s packed to the rafters with advice and resources for 2025/26. It wouldn’t be a new academic year without a revised government scheme; behold, the new Writing Framework. Don’t worry if you haven’t had chance to pore though its 150 pages yet though, Lynn Sear breaks down the key points and how they will affect your teaching over on page 73. Friend of the show and beloved poet Pie Corbett is back, too, this time with three new dragon poems, along with teaching notes on how to inspire your pupils to use these fiery creatures as the basis for their own verse. Check it out on page 78. If you’re keen on developing an oracy approach in your school, take a look at our profile of Rokesly Juniors, starting on page 53. I was lucky enough to visit at the end of last term, and met the team that has transformed the entire school’s ethos through a seemingly simple focus on speaking – very inspiring. We’ve also got a subject focus on the humanities this month, and learn how powerful your immediate area can be in engaging your pupils. Read about how one school took its entire cohort on a local pilgrimage to help understand religious journeys (page 60), and how understanding your community and your school’s surroundings can provide children with a much broader geography curriculum than youmight think (page 63). Thanks so much for reading, and best of luck for your first term! See you next time, Charley Rogers, editor @TeachPrimaryEd1 @charleytp.bsky.social