Teach Secondary 13.8

CONTENTS Regulars 10 MAKING SENSE OF … BAR AND PIE CHARTS Both may be familiar, but both have strengths and weaknesses students might not yet appreciate, advises Colin Foster 12 THINK PIECE The offer of in-school mental health interventions may be counterproductive, cautions Matilda Gosling 17 DICTIONARY DEEP DIVE David Voisin examines the hidden origins and surprising behaviours concealed within our everyday vocabulary 21 NATASHA DEVON If we want a SEND support system that works, let’s stop seeing SEND requests as impositions and treating adjustments as an afterthought 90 YES, MINISTER John Lawson invites the Education Secretary to look, listen and learn Features 18 LOOK AND LEARN It’s time to end lesson observations that pile on the stress, only to present distorted and misleading impressions of what’s actually happening in classrooms, argue Professor Geoff Baker and Craig Lomas 35 TURN THE PAGE No one expects students to develop of a love of books overnight, concedes Kelly Ashley – but subtle changes to your school’s literary culture over time can transform their motivations for reading 37 AND THE WINNERS ARE. . . We invited resource providers from across the education sector to submit their entries. Our judges put them to test and reported back to us. Now the time has come to unveil those products, publications and services that came out top in this year’s Teach Secondary Awards 52 GET THE BALANCE RIGHT Paul Dix explains how the best behavioural approaches are those that successfully balance strict adherence to consistency, with the kindness needed to bring students on board with what you’re doing 56 HOLISTIC TEACHING It can be tempting to see ‘holistic teaching’ as a novel form of practice that may or may not work in your setting – but chances are, you’re using elements of it already, says Nikki Cunningham-Smith 58 WHEN FLAWS BECOME STRENGTHS There will always be some parts of our practice and personalities that are weaker than others, reasons Colin Foster – but what if we could turn them to our advantage? 73 THIS WAY! The cybersecurity planning and administration that all SLTs should be engaged in, if they’re not already 77 THE PATH FORWARD Alessandro Capozzi talks us through the ways in which new school absence guidelines may affect users of online alternative provision 79 THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW The new curriculum priorities set to be unveiled next year will hopefully take account of the technological developments dramatically reshaping modern workplaces, writes Meena Wood 81 WHAT WE’VE LEARNT ABOUT… HOW TEACHERS VIEW PARENTS From tense phone calls to full-on verbal abuse, we take a look at where the main flashpoints are with respect to teachers’ interactions with parents TS Special – Outdoor Learning 24 WHAT’S STOPPING YOU? You don’t necessarily need dense woodland and extensive green spaces before being able to incorporate effective forest school practice into your outdoor lessons, says Gordon Cairns 27 PLAN OF ACTION The key to getting that great idea for a school trip approved is to start laying the groundwork with the people that matter as early as possible, writes Daniel Harvey 28 KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE Jenny McLeod explains why secondary schools need to push back against the narrowing of outdoor learning opportunities that can take hold once students transition to secondary TS Focus – SEND 62 CHANCES TO SHINE With careful thought and planning, a few minor adjustments to your lessons can go a long way towards helping neurodiverse students show what they’re truly capable of suggests Alice Guile 65 PUPIL PASSPORTS No student should have to put up with endlessly explaining their needs and requirements to teachers in lesson after lesson, reasons Rebecca Leek – but with a pupil passport, they won’t have to... 66 US TOO When attending to the lesson adjustments that may be necessary for students with autism, teachers should be mindful of those often overlooked needs that can be unique to girls, advises Hannah Day Learning Lab 83 BE INSPIRED The 5-step guide to being a great teacher mentor; the trick to embedding classroom rules; and why, with the right mindset in place, students’ outcomes can extend far beyond what you could ever imagine NOV/DEC ‘24 Publishers: Joe Carter, Sam Reubin, Richard Stebbing Editor: Callum Fauser, callum.fauser@artichokehq.com , 01206 505115 Group Advertising Manager: Samantha Law, samantha.law@artichokehq.com , 01206 505499 Advertising Manager: Ria Bentham, ria.bentham@artichokehq.com , 01206 505928 Deputy Advertising Manager: Hannah Jones, hannah.jones@artichokehq.com , 01206 505924 Art editors: Richard Allen, Sarah Barajas Customer services: secondary@artichokehq.com Accounts: artichokemedialtd@integral2.com Published by: Artichoke Media, Suites 2 & 4, Global House, Global Park, Eastgates, CO1 2TJ The views in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publisher. 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