FROM THE JOURNAL
Encouraging a Growth Mindset at Home (Without the Empty Slogans)
Read the article ↗
A little inspiration.
A useful next step.
For the adults behind every learning journey. Explore ideas for home, the classroom and school life.
Explore all articles ↓Find something for your world
38 articles
Encouraging a Growth Mindset at Home (Without the Empty Slogans)
Growth mindset gets used as a feel-good slogan, but the real research is both more useful and more limited than the posters suggest. Here's what Carol Dweck's studies actually found, what later research got wrong about classroom interventions, and the specific language shifts that are genuinely evidence-backed for parents.
Healthy Screen Time Habits That Don't Require a Daily Battle
UK guidance on children's screen time has moved away from strict hourly limits toward a simpler what, when, who approach, and the evidence backs that up. Here's what's actually worth watching for, and the everyday habits that make screen time less of a daily fight.
Supporting an Autistic Child at Home: Practical, Respectful Strategies
Supporting an autistic child at home starts with understanding, not fixing, how they experience the world. This guide offers grounded, respectful advice on sensory needs, routines, communication, meltdowns and shutdowns, and working with school, written for parents who want practical help without judgement.
Preparing for SATs Without the Stress: A Realistic Parent's Guide
SATs week doesn't have to take over your spring term. This guide explains what Key Stage 2 tests actually measure, how to spot real test anxiety in a ten- or eleven-year-old, and how to support your child at home and on the day without adding to the pressure.
What Executive Function Is (and Why It Matters More Than IQ)
Executive function, not IQ, may be the strongest predictor of how children cope with school and life. Here's what working memory, self-control and cognitive flexibility actually look like day to day, and simple, everyday ways to build them without a single flashcard.
Working with Teaching Assistants Effectively (Not Just Supervising Them)
The Education Endowment Foundation's research is clear: the Velcro model of parking a TA beside the same pupil, lesson after lesson, tends to hold that pupil back rather than help them. Here's what the evidence actually recommends instead, from briefing and independence-building to rotation and the working relationship that makes it all stick.
Staff Wellbeing: What Actually Moves the Needle (Beyond a Wellbeing Day)
The DfE's Education Staff Wellbeing Charter and this year's Teacher Wellbeing Index tell two different stories, one of formal commitments, one of workload still driving staff to breaking point. Here's what actually closes that gap, beyond another wellbeing day.
Ending the Homework Battle: What Actually Helps (and What the Evidence Says)
Homework fights are one of the most common flashpoints in family life, and the evidence on whether homework even works is more nuanced than either side of the debate admits. This guide explains what the EEF's research actually shows by age, why evenings escalate, and practical ways to lower the temperature without abandoning homework altogether.
Marking and Feedback That Actually Helps Pupils Improve (Not Just Your Workload)
Deep and triple marking became standard practice in many schools despite a thin evidence base, driving teacher workload to breaking point for little pupil benefit. This piece unpacks what the DfE's 2016 workload review and the EEF's feedback guidance actually found, and how whole-class and verbal feedback can meet a sensible marking policy without the guilt.
Teacher Recruitment in a Shortage Subject: Practical Strategies for Heads
Physics and computing recruitment hit record highs in 2025/26, yet both subjects still missed their national targets. Here's what actually moves the needle beyond another job advert: current bursary and retention-payment figures, flexible working, grow-your-own routes, and keeping the specialist you've already got.
School Marketing and Admissions: Filling Places Honestly
With primary rolls falling across much of England, schools are under real pressure to fill places. This piece looks at what the statutory Admissions Code actually permits, and what honest marketing, real open days, genuine testimonials, straight talk about what a school doesn't offer, looks like in practice.
School Governance: Working Effectively with Your Governing Board
Governance and management are meant to be different jobs, but the boundary blurs constantly. Here's what actually builds a governing board that gives you real challenge, real support and real cover, from the chair relationship to what belongs in your headteacher's report.