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Feeling unprepared for a week of ‘entertaining the kids’? Fear not!  All too often we fall into the trap of over-scheduling our kids (we are as guilty of that as anyone – it’s a tough habit to crack!).  The problem is – the more children’s time is planned and structured, the less time they have to flex the muscle of creativity in building their own play, or following their own interests.  I am yet to meet a home educated or self-directed child who has complained of being ‘bo

“I still have nightmares now about it being the day of an exam, and I haven’t revised.”  Wise words from my dad that I can still hear as an adult. Words that many can relate to.  This is normalised and wide-spread trauma – but is it justified?  Standardised testing has become so central to a state education, that many might (understandably) describe the resulting grades as being “the point of school”.  Here are some of the main flaws with standardised testing (from one of my

Did you know that even brief time spent in nature dramatically boosts children’s mental health and concentration? Recent studies show outdoor lessons lead to better focus, lower stress levels, and happier learners - often equalling the benefits of medication for attention.  For example, after just a 30-minute nature walk, children showed improvements in concentration as great as those seen with prescription medication, and outdoor learning reduced the need for teachers to red

Imagine if, when you signed up to university, you didn’t get to choose your subject – someone else chose it for you…. This is pretty wild: and yet we accept it as ‘normal’ for children under 16yrs old.  Studies repeatedly show that when children are driven by their intrinsic motivation to learn, not only are academic results better, but we see improvements in non-academic skills like confidence, independence and social competence.  Despite this, so much of what state schools

Are these the most traumatic words for a child to hear at school?  A child hearing these words will often interpret them to mean one of the following (or to reach any of a multitude of other conclusions): “We don’t like you.” “We aren’t going to play with you ever again.” “You aren’t nice.” “You are not fun to play with.” Speaking personally, I was lucky enough not to come across this much at school, but the one day when I was socially exiled still lives fresh in my memory ov

Do you agree with this list of things that parents are generally aiming for their children to be?  Happy Fulfilled Successful Productive Ethical & Decent Independent & Self-Reliant Caring & Compassionate Confident Curious Creative Critical Thinkers Good Communicators Tolerant & Embracing differences in others The list comes from the incredible book 'The Schools Our Children Deserve', by Alfie Kohn.  After a detailed analysis of the conventional school system, he concludes tha

When we imagine what school might be like for our children, it’s often easy to assume that it’s mostly the same as it was when we were in school, but we’d be mistaken.  Here’s a canter through some changes that have had a negative impact on the classroom environment: 1999   -            A New National Curriculum was issued – narrowing the curriculum, increasing academic pressure and reducing holistic education Early 00’s -      The Rise of league tables and targets – schools

The profoundly positive impact of creating time for children to play on their learning is not just an airy fairy idealistic idea - it's an observable reality. Schools adopting even small changes, like changing the furniture to incorporate beanbags and more comfortable seating, note the substantial and immediate improvements. From classrooms of kids struggling with concentration, to calm, focussed and engaged. It's a myth that more time learning = more effective learning. Grea

Let us gather here today with hope in our hearts and a vision before us - a vision for children, not just in our community, but far beyond its borders. We stand on the threshold of transformation, daring to dream of a world where education is not a system but a journey; not a test, but an unfolding of human possibility. I have a dream that one day, every child will be free to pursue learning with autonomy and dignity. That they will be welcomed as curious explorers - creators

Anyone who has observed the normal development and determination of a baby or toddler, will know the truth of the below quote. We are born utterly fascinated by the world around us – eager to learn.  We engage fully with the scientific method to come to conclusions about how the world works – carrying out experiments (like throwing or dropping objects to learn about trajectory), hungry for more understanding of our surroundings and our companions in this life.  Unfortunately,

Over 79 million people have watched Sir Ken Robinson’s TED Talk “Do schools kill creativity?” – and for good reason! It is the most watched TED talk in history. If you haven’t yet, I’d recommend it – it’s laugh out loud funny, but answering that question is incredibly important for parents deciding the best way to educate their children (especially given that 94% of hiring managers now cite creativity as a priority skill in future roles). He tells the story of a girl, who was

Imagine if all parents knew that there was a 98% chance that their 4 year-old child was a creative genius, and if they follow the conventional system of education, by adulthood, the odds of retaining that genius, would drop to just 2%! Nasa commissioned a study in the 60’s to study creativity in children, which was led by Dr George Land and Dr Beth Jarman.  They found that 98% of 4-5 year olds that they tested, scored at ‘genius’ levels of creativity.  In the same group of ch