Teach Secondary 13.7

A new report fromWWF- UK and The Education Company has sought to gauge how frequently schools are offering pupils opportunities to explore the natural environment. According to the ‘Schools for Nature’ report, 27% of all schools integrate aspects of outdoor learning into their curriculum – though the numbers seem less encouraging where KS3/4 is concerned, with 56% of secondary schools found to offer their pupils no outdoor learning opportunities at all. The report also draws attention to some marked social disparities. At state schools with a relatively low proportion of students receiving free schools meals, 52% of students were given daily opportunities to experience nature – a figure that falls to just 18% among state schools with high proportions of students receiving free school meals. Across those schools with some form of outdoor education provision, involving pupils in the growing of food was identified as the most common nature-related activity, practised by an impressive three quarters of all primary respondents. While also the most popular such activity at KS3/4, only 40% of secondary schools could say the same. The factors most commonly cited by respondents as barriers to providing more outdoor education included tarmacked and astroturfed school grounds, excessive teacher workload, lack of curriculum time, staff confidence levels and lack of available funding. The full ‘Schools for Nature’ report can be downloaded via tiny.cc/ts137-LL1 Got a great learning idea? Email editor@teachsecondary.com or tweet us at @teachsecondary TEACHER WALKTHROUGH ZEPH BENNETT IS A PE TEACHER AND SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT LEADERWITH 25 YEARS’ TEACHING EXPERIENCE; YOU CAN FIND MORE OF HIS EDUCATIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS BY FOLLOWING @ZEPHBENNETT.BSKY.SOCIAL TRENDING Our pick of the recent resources and launches teachers might find useful... POSITIVE STARTS Secondary schools are being invited to sign up for a free personal development assessment aimed at supporting primary to secondary pupil transitions. Organised by Lessons4Life, the assessment consists of two 25-minute test sessions for Y7 students, the anonymised data of which will then be used to assist efforts at providing primary schools with improved staff training and assessments to better support Y6 pupils’moves into secondary schools. lessons4life.org HERE’S ONE ITMADE EARLIER Oak National Academy has launched an AI-assisted lesson planning tool. Going by the name of ‘Aila’, it promises to aid teachers in creating personalised lesson plans with accompanying resources in a matter of minutes, entirely free of charge. labs.thenational.academy On the radar REFRAMING BEHAVIOUR – PART 6 PART 6 OF AN ILLUSTRATED EXPLAINER, BASED ON A BLOGPOST BY @TEACHLEADAALI 1 GIVEWARNING A school’s discipline policy is meant to support staff and students. If you must issue a sanction, ensure students are given opportunities to change, and receive plenty of warning before you do so. 2 CELEBRATE ACHIEVEMENTS Consistent praise is a great tool for creating a climate of positive change in the classroom. Celebrate students’ achievements by letting them know when they’ve done well. 3 MEETAND GREET Meet and greet all students as they enter the classroom, if possible. Just a simple ‘ How are you? ’ can build a positive narrative and provide insight into students’ demeanour ahead of the lesson. 4 BE GENEROUS Be more generous with your praise than your sanctions if you can. Prove a point – that you are here to recognise their achievements and encourage their learning. 5 FOLLOW-UP CONVERSATIONS Following up sanctions by engaging the student in conversation can help to drive home the impact their behaviour had. Raising any concerns with parents will often help to resolve issues quicker than you’d expect. Not enoughnature? L E A R N I N G L A B 79 teachwire.net/secondary