schools Archives - Not A Frumpy Mum

Not A Frumpy Mum February 25, 2015

Why I’ll Never Be Outstanding!

Once upon a time in the not to distant past I strived to be an outstanding teacher. I wanted to be the inspirational educator students told their future kids about. Okay, I was young and naive back then but it was where I aimed to be. After 13 years in the job I now know that, according to Ofsted criteria, I will never be outstanding and for the following reasons: 1. I don’t care about QMA (Quality Mark Assesment) sheets being completed in their books. I have taught them, marked their books, marked their tests, returned their tests with feedback…

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Not A Frumpy Mum August 15, 2014

Highlights of Childhood {The Prompt}

“The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh so hard that food came out of his nose” Garrison Keillor One of the highlights of my childhood is when I left school. It’s one of these days you spend years looking forward to and then when it arrives, it’s just a bit terrifying. One of my own students summed it up perfectly this year, “Miss, school is all I’ve ever known and now it’s gone. I don’t know anything else.” That’s scary and exciting all at the same time. The final day always had a huge build up. We…

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support January 30, 2014

What happened to letting kids be kids?

Another day, another new idea about how to improve education. Paul Kirby, an ex government adviser, thinks school days should be 8:30am until 6pm and for 45 weeks a year. In his opinion, this will be a real vote winner in the next election. As a teacher and a parent I hate this idea from both angles. As a teacher I know how hard that final lesson of the day is. The kids are knackered and are starting to switch off. I don’t blame them, a full day of learning is tiring. I can’t even begin to imagine how they’d…

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support December 4, 2013

My Teaching Magic Moments

I feel at the moment I’m pretty negative most of the time about what I do and sometimes I need to take a step back and remember why I do this job. I do it because I am lucky enough to work with a bloody fantastic group of kids, who make me laugh on a daily basis and when I’m feeling shit will always put a smile on my face. A few of my fave teaching moments: 1. On a residential trip with year 7 we had to clear the tables and chairs at the end of quiz night ready…

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notafrumpymumofone November 13, 2013

Is Teaching A Family Friendly Career?

When I first told my mum I was applying for teacher training, her response was “a great job for a woman”. Okay, slightly sexist but I see her point. 13 weeks holiday a year, and you work half 8 til half 3, don’t you? It’s a no brainer! Don’t get me wrong, the holidays are fantastic and as soon as Mr Gove starts to take those away I will be looking at alternative careers, but how family friendly is this job during term time? I have pretty much come to terms that I will miss assemblies and sports days that…

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