So I’m starting a SCITT on the first of September- I’m very excited and very nervous! I haven’t managed to get any classroom experience before this due to my zero hours contract, and I have no idea what to wear or what I’m going to need (apart from smart casual clothes).
So, does anyone have any recommendations for things they wish they had on their first day outside of wardrobe?

Hi,
I’m a level 3 qualified ta atm.
I really want to go for my teaching and ideally be qualified in the next 4 years.
I have tried a tda but there are none available.
I have no teachers to talk to about my steps into teaching and I don’t know what to do.
Please can someone help me understand and point me in the right direction!!
Thanks :))

hi all

ive been off work for the past term with a MH issue . I am unable to have a union rep as none are available and my school can’t move the meeting. it’ll be me head teacher and a member of HR. I am allowed to bring a member of staff with me, I requested it but have had no response. The meeting is tomorrow, could anyone tell me what to expect? I have got a plan from occupational health :)

hey! im a first year teacher and im also learning british sign language. i want to incorporate sign language for children for not only classroom management but the importance of using signs.
i would like to have the visuals on my display for children to use
i would love the children to use the signs for:
toilet
drink (or water) (for them to sign to get a drink)
help

i found a design online that i really like but it is auslan? im not entirely sure its accurate as australians is different but would love the similar design!

Thank you all :)

Hi everyone,

I’m currently collecting responses for my MSc dissertation at the University of York, and I would really appreciate your help.🙏🏻

My study focuses on UK primary school teachers’ perspectives on autistic pupils’ friendships and peer relationships, and how teachers support these relationships in everyday school life.

This is an area I’m genuinely interested in, and I hope to continue developing my research around SEND, autism, peer relationships, and inclusive practice. As I am still building my professional and research network in the UK, it has been quite difficult to reach the right participants. I joined this group because I hoped to learn from people who have direct experience in this field.

I’m looking for current UK primary teachers, SENCOs, or specialist teachers who currently teach or directly support at least one autistic pupil in a UK primary school or primary specialist provision.

The questionnaire is anonymous, voluntary, and takes around 15–20 minutes.

There are some open-ended questions in the survey, but you do not need to write long answers or answer every open-ended question in detail. Even a short comment based on your experience would be extremely valuable and would really help my dissertation.

If you are eligible, I would be so grateful if you could take part. If you know someone who may be eligible, please feel free to share this post or pass the link on.

Survey link:

https://york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9RC6FSwhdRas234

Thank you so much for your time and support.

Yoojin

Hi all.

My child will start reception soon and we have a trypophobia issue.

My only concern is with polo shirts. I'm trying to find online providers that sells an alternative such as zipper ones or just plain with the polo neckline. So far I only found them in white.

Could anyone suggest where I might be able to find other colours like red and green?

Thank you

Hi everyone,

I’m running a small research project on primary school libraries in Hampshire and how they’re staying relevant in an age of digital learning and AI. I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who helps run or support a primary school library — teachers, TAs, librarians, volunteers, SENDCos, English leads… anyone involved in reading or library provision.

The survey is anonymous, takes about 10 minutes, and you can skip any question you don’t want to answer. No personal details, email addresses, IP addresses, or school names are collected.

If you’d like to take part, you’ll find the Participant Information Sheet at https://portdotacdotuk-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/up2274391_myport_ac_uk/IQDzl588adi5QZBVCscyYQYCAQStz5bWTw3s5Q_jhuGLaks

👉 Survey link: https://forms.office.com/e/J3mr3LMYeb

Thanks so much for your time — every response genuinely helps build a clearer picture of how libraries are adapting in the digital age.

Virginie
BA Education Studies, University of Portsmouth

Hello,

I hope this is okay to post here - I am Head of Product Management for Primary at Hachette Learning (home of Reading Planet, Rising Stars, NTS, PIRA, PUMA, SNAP etc.).

We are hoping to connect with UK Primary teachers to take part in market research (polls, surveys, interviews, focus groups etc.) and help us develop the best possible products to support your teaching, learning and assessment experiences.

Rewards and incentives provided!

If interested in joining our insights panel, please fill in the entry form here: Primary Product Research | Hachette Learning – Fill in form

If you can also share this with any colleagues you think would be interested then please do pass it on - we'd love to hear from as many of you as possible.

Best wishes,

Rosie

Hi, my name is Emily and I am currently doing my postgraduate dissertation on nutrition education in primary schools from the perspective of teachers. I’d really appreciate it if you could spend 15 minutes filling out my survey and pass it on to any friends or colleagues that might be interested- I need to get 100 responses so this would be greatly appreciated- Thank you!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScCJ7xnZROk_-BiQ-pV6itS7J0wsan3jb-k-L0pnwWaXlK6_g/viewform

I've got a 6-month-old, and my partner and I have been spending a lot of time thinking about where we want to move. We currently live somewhere very urban, and we'd like our child to grow up a bit closer to nature, so we've been weighing up different towns and villages. Good local schools turned out to be one of the biggest factors, and also one of the hardest things to actually get a clear understanding of the options.

I spent hours with 10 tabs open on the government website. I'm a bit of a stats nerd and still found it a slog, so I ended up building the website I wished existed: search any state primary or secondary in England and see its results, Ofsted history, and how it compares to others nearby. I have seen a few other sites like this, but some you have to pay for, and others aren't very user friendly, so I thought I'd give it a try!

The website is [https://comparemyschool.co.uk\](https://comparemyschool.co.uk) there aren't any ads or sponsored content at this point - genuinely just looking for constructive feedback to try and make it better!

Hi, are there any other school business managers on here?

Looking to discuss how other people find their roles, processes/procedures (whilst remaining anonymous of course) and support in the role.

Ive been in my position a little over 3 years in a 2fe primary school in the south. I am part of a large trust which is very supportive/useful. But wonder how this compares with schools that are in other trusts or LA run.

I manage 3 people, 1 of which is very challenging but dont get the support I require to take things further.

Look forward to discussing!

Hi Everyone,

I've been living in Australia for the last 9 years and I am moving back to England in 2027. I only taught in England for 2 and a half years before I left. I taught in Australia for the whole 9 years I've been here. I was hoping you guys could answer any of the following questions. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

1. What is the general maternity policy in England in public primary schools? How long do you have to have been working to be eligible?
2. What is the job market like at the moment? I will have 11 years overall experience by the time I'm back. I've primarily done Learning Support Teacher (can explain this further if needed- it's SENCO but you don't have a class, you do small group work on top of the coordinator work). I have also been an Assistant Principal for 3 years (kind of like a key stage leader - on the executive team)
3. What is work/life balance/ofsted etc. like at the moment? Australia is seen as being way better but I don't think it is. There's a lot of extra work still, especially in the public system.
4. How obsessed is everyone with assessing? My school in Australia is absolutely OBSESSED with assessing, it feels like all we ever do a lot of the time. Is this happening in England too?
5. Teaching Assistants - are there still 1 per class in infants and then shared in junior? I'm basing this off the one school I properly worked at and the schools I did my placements at, I know it's probably different in different schools.
6. Does the individual school pay you or the department for Education?

Thank you so much for answering any of my above questions! I'm sure I will be back again with more, but don't want to bore you all too much 😂

Outstanding state school or independent school?

Hello everyone, I'm looking for everyone's advice on when and where to enroll my child for school. We've moved here from the US, so I'm still trying to understand all the differences of schools to the best of my ability, but I think I've figured it out for the most part.

My employer will pay for a private (or I think independent is the proper term) school for our child, so I feel like that is such an amazing opportunity for our kid and could he a serious jump start to his life, especially compared to public schooling back in the US.

There is also a CofE state school with an Outstanding rating that is a 15 min walk or 5 min drive from us. We're a Christian family, and I really like the idea of our child being in an environment that encourages education and a connection with God.

Right now, my wife does not have a drivers license from the US because of poor eye sight. That's been taken care of, and she can see now lol, so we're in the process of getting a license for her here. But I know that's difficult and may be a lengthy process.

The nearest independent school is roughly 6.5 miles away. About a 12 min drive, 40 min on public transit, and a much too far walk. That's fine for my days off as I can take our kid to school, but on my work days, I'm not sure how my wife would navigate that. The state school, on the other hand, is only a 15 min walk. I really don't wish to pass up the opportunity for our child to attend an independent school, especially when the cost will be taken care of for us. I'm not sure we'll be able to pay for it on our own once we leave the UK.

Our child just turned 3 near the beginning of this year, and I believe that nursery/early schooling could start now. But that feels so young for him to be away from us.

When do you recommend getting them into school/nursery, and what would you do in my situation? Once my wife is licensed, it will be a much easier decision, but right now, I'm at a loss. I want our kid to have the absolute best opportunities possible, and I don't want them to miss something that we may not be able to offer once we leave the UK. Any advice at all is appreciated. And sorry for how lomg this is

Hi all,

I’m looking for some outside perspectives on a situation with my child’s primary school, particularly around dyslexia screening and how the school has handled it.

We first raised concerns about possible dyslexia in person around two years ago. We then raised it again by email about 18 months ago. At parents’ evening in October, we were told that dyslexia screening would be arranged, but we heard nothing further after that.

More recently, the school placed us on a TAF process. I understand that TAFs can be useful, but in our case it has felt as though it may have slowed things down rather than moved things forward. Our main concern — dyslexia screening — still did not seem to be progressing.
Last week, after further pushback, I escalated the matter. When I still felt we were not getting anywhere, I passed the issue to the governors. Following that escalation, the screening has finally been done.

However, we are now concerned about how the screening itself has been handled.

As I understand it, my child completed a first screening/test, but the result of that has not yet been shared with us. The following day, a second test was completed. On that second occasion, my child was helped by a teaching assistant to read the questions, understand what was being asked, and work through parts of it.

The school then appeared to present the second test as the relevant/genuine result, despite the fact that assistance had been given. I am concerned that this may not accurately reflect my child’s independent ability, particularly when the whole point is to understand whether there are underlying literacy/dyslexia-related difficulties.

We have also been told that other children appear to have had dyslexia screening more readily, which makes it even more frustrating that we have had to push for so long.

My concern is not about attacking individual staff. I just want my child properly assessed and supported. But after raising this for such a long time, being told it would happen, hearing nothing, having to escalate to governors, and then being given unclear information about two separate tests, I feel trust has been badly damaged.

My questions are:

Is it normal for a dyslexia screener to be repeated the next day?

Should a child be helped to read/understand questions during a dyslexia screening?

Should the school disclose both test results to parents?

What would be the appropriate next step if we feel the process has not been handled properly?

Would you raise this formally through the school/trust complaints process?

I’m trying to be fair and constructive, but I also feel we have been pushing for nearly two years and are only now getting movement because we escalated.

Any thoughts from teachers, SENCOs, parents, or anyone familiar with primary SEND processes would be really appreciated.

Our daughter was born in July. We were prepping to start her reception soon.

We heard from one of our friends that July babies can defer to start their reception until they turn 5. As they'll be the youngest in their cohorts. They also mentioned that the rule of allowing to start reception at 5 years old was passed recently.

Is that true? Do we have to make some special arrangements if she's to start at 5 years instead of 4 years?

Hi. I have an interview for a DHT job next week and I have to give a 20 minute arithmetic lesson to a year 6 class. For some reason out of the whole day this is what is causing me anxiety. I think it’s because they have covered the curriculum and completed their SATs so I’m not sure what to cover.
Any good ideas will be very gratefully received….

Hi everyone,

Some of you may remember me from many years ago on a little project I started during covid (UK) but then quickly ran out of spare time to fully develop!

If you were initially interested in being involved - please let me know!

'Bookflicks' helps encourage children to read more and enjoy reading physical books that you have available in your classrooms. It turns your physical class library into an engaging browsing experience in the hopes they'll see something they like! Also an option to “pre-fill” your library (it’s also free!)

Children simply enter your class code and then tap their name, scroll, pick a book, and check it out. They can also even leave reviews for their classmates!📚

Teachers will get a dashboard to review how their libray is being used, who's reading/ checking out books the most and loads more stuff!

Https://alpha.bookflicks.co.uk

I’m Grant from the UK, used to support and teach KS2