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Lucy's blog

Don’t demoralise our teachers, Mr Gove!

  I recently read this in-depth article in The Guardian about the reasons teachers are leaving the profession. A number of teachers are interviewed about how targets and inspections are affecting them – and more importantly, school children. The...

Children, fresh fruit and vegetables - are we too obsessed?

I had to share this piece by Tim Lott in The Observer last week. Tim talks about the struggle he had to get his eldest daughter Ruby to eat fruit and vegetables as a child. Ruby refused to eat anything remotely healthy and the article starts with him talking about the...

Is breast-feeding actually best?

I read this article in the Independent in June and it made me so cross that I couldn't bear to blog about it. However, following all the international coverage about The Duchess of Cambridge breast-feeding - and having calmed down somewhat(!) - I thought I should share...

Michael Gove's Phonics Test

So what do we all think about Michael Gove's phonics check? There's been a flurry of Twitter activity in the past few days and lots of arguments for and against. Whatever your view, this week all Year 1 pupils in maintained schools, academies and Free Schools will be...

The most wonderful time of the year

I have to admit that I’m a bit of a Christmas fan. And if I’m really honest, I start getting excited about Christmas around August! It's not so much that I put my decorations up in November, but I’m definitely with Andy Williams when he says that...

Should Leonora Rustamova have been fired?

Yesterday on the Guardian website, my attention was grabbed by the headline - "I taught my pupils to enjoy books, and got fired." It seems that teacher, Leonora Rustamova, in an effort to engage with five teenage 'rebels' (the Guardian's words, not...

A Little Love for our Libraries

I was an extremely lucky child - not in terms of material goods - but definitely in terms of love and attention. I remember clearly that mine was a house where there was always someone willing to sit and read to me. So much so, that way before I could actually read, I did a...

Shout Out for a Sure Start

I'm a big believer in the importance of the Sure Start centres so I was really saddened to hear from one of our venues that the breakfast and after school clubs in Camden and Haringey will all be closing in September. According to a press release from 4children.org.uk,...

On Having the Courage of Your Convictions

Parenting is undoubtedly tough. Whatever we do, there are books telling us we're doing it wrong, family members telling us we're doing it wrong, complete strangers telling us we're doing it wrong... Just a couple of weeks into the New Year, there's some new...

Tuition Fees - The Fallout

It's with great sadness that I've watched the various stories surrounding the tuition fees unfold. While I don't condone violence in any form, I can't help but feel that a unruly minority has over-shadowed what is a very valid protest. As you'll know,...
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