Teach-Secondary-Issue-14.5

45 IN THIS TOGETHER With money tight as it is, schools have limited scope for helping parents financially – but there are some things you can do, advises Sue Birchall 48 ART FOR ALL Setting aside several days for students to explore their artistic curiosity might seem indulgent – but ‘art weeks’ can bring the whole school together, says Hannah Day 50 BETTER LATE THAN NEVER Ofsted is gradually coming round to the idea that teaching oracy at secondary may be a worthwhile venture, notes Jennifer Hampton... 52 SCIENCE SUPERSTARS We all know that climate change is bad – but far fewer among us know about the scientific breakthroughs we’ve made while trying to prevent it 66 A REASON FOR BEING As the country becomes ever more secular, surely RE’s days as a school subject are numbered? Not so, counters Andy McHugh... 70 GENIUS KNOWS NO BOUNDS Alice Guile asks whether schools are doing enough to elevate the talents of gifted SEND students 73 THINKING VERSUS DOING Why computing classes should focus less on IT consumerism, and more on the thought processes of IT creators TS Special – Literacy 28 ONE MORE CHAPTER. . . Find out what happened when Wey Valley Academy,Weymouth extended its school hours for the purpose of giving students more dedicated reading time 33 DON’T BELIEVE YOUR EARS Spoof comedy shows can be an enjoyably effective tool for acquainting students with the essentials of media literacy, suggests Andrew K. Shenton 34 WORD PERFECT Meera Chudasama presents a series of activities designed to make the process of learning subject-specific terminology that little bit more enjoyable CONTENTS Regulars 11 DICTIONARY DEEP DIVE David Voisin examines the hidden origins and surprising behaviours concealed within our everyday vocabulary 12 THINK PIECE The restoration of linear A Levels 10 years ago ushered in a paradigm shift that students have been benefiting from ever since, says Neil Davenport 17 MELISSA BENN When it comes to Ofsted’s accountability systems, in Labour can afford to be much bolder than it has been thus far 19 NATASHA DEVON In light of some alarming statistics regarding teens’ knowledge of the 20th century, should we reassess how schools teach history? 38 OFF THE SHELVES Brilliant titles for you and your students to explore 69 MAKING SENSE OF… ANGLES IN THE SAME SEGMENT Why do all the angles in the same segment of a circle have to be equal? 82 SERVANTS OF THE PEOPLE John Lawson casts a wary eye at the anti- teacher sentiment that US educators are increasingly having to grapple with Features 21 MASCULINE IDEALS To what extent could your school’s male teachers provide teenage boys with positive behavioural role models? 22 HOLD THEIR INTEREST We can’t expect students’ interests to overlap with everything they learn at school – so let’s make our subjects irresistibly fascinating… 24 INTELLIGENCE GATHERING Martha Evans shares her advice on how schools can better detect when bullying is taking place, where, and to whom 37 NO MERE ‘ALTERNATIVE’ Far from being a ‘fallback option’, T Levels and apprenticeships are now among the fastest growing post-16 routes to employment 40 THE HUMAN TOUCH If you’re concerned about being replaced by AI, don’t be – because our human qualities are about to become very valuable indeed… 43 TELL, DON’T SHOW As a rule, we don’t allow addictive substances and practices in schools – so why do some still cling to the idea that social media use should be allowed within education environments? JUL/AUG ‘25 Publishers: Joe Carter, Sam Reubin, Richard Stebbing Editor: Callum Fauser, callum.fauser@artichokehq.com , 01206 505115 Group Advertising Managers: Samantha Law, samantha.law@artichokehq.com , 01206 505499 Hayley Rackham, hayley.rackham@artichokehq.com, 01206 505928 Deputy Advertising Manager: Hannah Jones, hannah.jones@artichokehq.com , 01206 505924 Art editors: Sarah Barajas, Richard Allen 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. We try to ensure the veracity and integrity of the companies, persons, products and services mentioned in this publication, and the details given are believed to be accurate at the time of going to press. However, no responsibility or liability whatsoever can be accepted for any consequence or repercussion of responding to information or advice given or inferred. ©Artichoke Media Ltd TS Focus – Maths 56 PROBLEMS SOLVED Ama Dickson examines the issues that can emerge when students are tasked with applying mathematical concepts to real- world scenarios 61 GIVING NUMBERS LIFE Rebecca Ginger discusses the learning barrier that can keep some students shut out of maths lessons, and the approach that can make all the difference 62 FROM THE GROUND UP If that foundational maths knowledge seems to be missing among your Y7s, how should we go about filling in the gaps? Learning Lab 75 BE INSPIRED How exploring nature through poetry can improve your students’ wellbeing; the increasingly pressing need for lessons in digital resilience; and why the support given to dyslexic students shouldn’t begin and end with coloured overlays... 04 teachwire.net/secondary