Lucy's blog

  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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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,...