MISSION: COMPLETE Over the last six months, @BenRiceTeach and I have been putting together our NEW Carousel Teaching courses for September, and we've just finished 🥳🥳 We've got three epic new courses: 1. How to Observe a Lesson and Give Feedback This completely groundbreaking and unique course introduces a radically different style of lesson observation. Leaders and teachers across the country are expected to observe lessons as part of their role and professional development, but very few of them have been trained in how. We break apart the core skills, and dwell extensively on the social and cultural conditions required for effective feedback. 2. Classroom Essentials: Better Instructions This complement to our Classroom Essentials: Better Behaviour course is actually one of my favourite things ever. It walks teachers and leaders through the granular details of how to get a class to do what you want at first point of asking, quickly and in complete silence. You want slick routines and smooth classrooms? We got you covered. 3. Smashing Your Starter 2: Purposeful Thinking Thousands of teachers have now experienced our first Smashing Your Starter course, focused on calm entry. This second course is a bit more theoretical, and deals with retrieval practice, prerequisite knowledge and more. It's really interesting (if I can say so myself) and should have a big impact on curricular considerations and planning for long-term memory. It also features a full recording of The Greatest Do Now Ever™️ 🍿🍿. All courses come with: - Lesson footage - Explanatory videos - Summary texts - Contextualisations and FAQs - Quizzes ...alongside a comprehensive set of INSET-style resources so leaders can deliver the content directly themselves. I'm unbelievably proud of what we've done. I think it's innovative and supremely helpful. Please do share with anyone you think might be interested, and you can find out more here: carousel-learning.com/teachi…

These are some of the things that I think mainstream secondary schools should be able to expect of the overwhelming majority of its students: Turn up to lessons on time Start work without talking to anyone Bring your books and equipment to school Don't call out questions, answers or comments Don't get out your chair and wander round the classroom Raise your hand if you want to say something Talk politely to everyone (especially teachers) Don't roll your eyes or kiss your teeth if challenged on behaviour Pay attention to what the teacher is saying Don't turn around to try and get your friend's attention Complete your homework Don't chew gum Don't break the law (e.g. vaping on premises) Don't use your phone If a teacher asks you your name, say it Walk calmly (if not quietly) in the corridors Complete your homework If someone says good morning to you, say good morning back Hold the doors open for people if you can Don't fight Don't playfight Don't swear Comply with reasonable instructions (e.g. "please get your planner out" or "please follow along with class reading" or "please come over here.") For many of the things on the list, students should expect a consequence (like a detention) for not following them. I suspect most of the above sounds entirely reasonable to the public, and schools should not be pilloried for attempting to cultivate these behaviours. This is not an exhaustive list. But these are the ways that students in the best-performing schools I have visited behave. Are there a tiny minority of students who couldn't comply with this list? Absolutely. Sometimes, those students need a different type of school environment, and we should (and often do) have high quality provision for them. Sometimes, those students would comply if they were in a mainstream school where these behaviours were normal and enforced. High performing schools have the same number of -"difficult" students -students on free school meals -students with EHCPs than low performing ones (they often have more). Whatever demographic you pick, there will be a high performing school where those same students are behaving beautifully. Of course, teachers and leaders also have their part to play in this but that, dear reader, would require a different post.