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Welcome to the Schofield & Sims blog, featuring news, information and advice about primary education in the UK.

Tutor vs. home learning: how to prepare for the 11+

01 February 2024

Tutor vs. home learning: how to prepare for the 11+

Are you preparing your child for the 11+ exam? In this blog post, we’ll be exploring the importance of feeling ready for the 11+ and the different ways to prepare.

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How the four P checks can help your pupils master handwriting

22 January 2024

How the four P checks can help your pupils master handwriting

Handwriting is a complex skill for children to learn. The physical nature of it can lead to some children taking longer to develop fine motor skills than others, making the teaching of handwriting a challenge. Problems with handwriting often stem from the physical side of writing, but these can be limited by laying secure foundations and instilling good habits early on.

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Our short guide to understanding the 11+ exam

21 December 2023

Our short guide to understanding the 11+ exam

Is your child due to take the 11+? Find out more about the process and learn how you can help your child feel confident and ready with Our short guide to understanding the 11+ exam.

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Save time while teaching phonics with our Classroom Kits

14 December 2023

Save time while teaching phonics with our Classroom Kits

In 2022, we launched My Letters and Sounds, a systematic synthetic phonics programme to guide teachers through the challenges of teaching phonics from Reception to Year 1. Now, we’re thrilled to introduce the all-new Classroom Kits.

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How to set impactful primary school homework

01 December 2023

How to set impactful primary school homework

In this blog post, we explore how manageable homework tasks can nurture positive mindsets, develop good habits and reinforce the practice of basic skills learnt at school.

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SATs: making the most of the home advantage

30 November 2023

SATs: making the most of the home advantage

In this blog post, we delve into the connection between passionate football fans and effective parental engagement. We’ll uncover how schools can leverage a ‘home advantage’ and outline what parents need to support their children.

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Enhance your phonics library with 10 brand-new readers

15 September 2023

Enhance your phonics library with 10 brand-new readers

Arriving this autumn, 10 new Phase Two decodable books will provide some much-needed additional coverage of GPCs in the first nine weeks of phonics teaching.

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Working with parents and carers on phonics

08 June 2023

Working with parents and carers on phonics

Parents and carers play a crucial role in supporting a child’s learning, and evidence from the EEF suggests that effective engagement can make up to three months of positive difference in a child’s learning. In this blog post, phonics trainer Jacqueline Harris discusses ways that schools can leverage this by involving parents and other adults in their children’s phonics learning.

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How to get reading back on track

13 May 2023

How to get reading back on track

In this blog post, Complete Comprehension authors Laura Lodge and Jo Gray share their advice on identifying pupil literacy gaps and provide strategies to help children become stronger readers.

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Phonics: how to teach Tricky Words

16 February 2023

Phonics: how to teach Tricky Words

Phonics trainer Jacqueline Harris shares her advice on one of the most frequently asked topics in early reading. Learning tricky words, or common exception words as they are sometimes known, relies on memory more than spelling rules, so how do you best support children that struggle with them?

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