Classroom Connect

One way of connecting the real world to children's learning across the curriculum is to make links to events, festivals, anniversaries and special days. Our 'Calendar Picks' provide a wealth mini-lessons linked to events throughout the year. Whether you are celebrating Harvest Festival, recognising Eid Ul Fitr, exploring the events of D-Day, participating in Road Safety Week or remembering Holocau...

Another Spotlight on Strategies special. Join Ian and Andrew as they discuss the use of the 'Close Encounters' strategy and explore other ideas for enhancing learning with effective strategies linked to digital resources, which are designed to develop children's skills. Espress users can access all of our SOS resources here Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@d...

In this special episode Sophie Withey shares with Ian and Andrew the ways in which digital content is produced and the careful thought processes which go in to ensuring they enhance classroom practice. Sophie is one of our senior producers building the content which is used by children and teachers across the world. As a teacher herself Sophie talks about how this work is rooted in her own classro...

For educators in the modern classroom inclusion is at the forefront of our minds. It is essential that each child is helped to feel valued for who they are and what they are. Digital resources can ensure that children are supported and challenged in ways that meets them at the point of need, thus ensuring they feel a sense of agency over their learning, especially when they find something challeng...

In this episode Ian and Andrew discuss some of the features of effective professional development. Andrew suggests that professional development 'should be motivating and not just for the motivated.' Which in turn means successful PD creates commitment and excellence not simply compliance or competence. PD comes in many form but relevance, immersion, reflection and active participation in tasks an...

There are a wealth of ways in which digital tools can support planning. The ability to adapt our planning (including content provided by others), enables us to iterate our lessons as we seek better outcomes and more personalised learning. Collaboration within and beyond school can further develop this, all of which results in much more flexible learning sequences and a more accurate match to the n...

In this special extended episode dedicated to Phonics, Ian and Andrew meet Sophie Pickles, Early Years expert, instructional designer and part of the team behind the Time for Phonics DfE-validated SSP programme. Sophie begins by outlining 'the why' behind Time for Phonics and gives us the lowdown on how it was created.  Next Sophie discusses with Ian and Andrew the importance of Phase One phonics,...

Our fourth Phonics special episode explores ideas around grouping and streaming. Sophie shares her thoughts and insights on the benefits of different forms of classroom grouping. She also talks to Ian and Andrew about what research suggests and how digital can provide flexibility to support the needs of each cohort. Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discovery...

In this third Phonics special episode Sophie discusses ways we can support children who may struggle with phonics. She shares ideas for interventions, acceleration and remediation with Ian and Andrew, looking at how these can be supported by digital tools and resources. Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com 

In our second Phonics special episode Sophie discusses with Ian and Andrew the importance of Phase One phonics, how they impact on children's ability to make secure progress with phonics. Sophie highlights ways we can support progress and how we can provide a solid foundation for children's future success. Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com 

In this first special episode dedicated to Phonics Ian and Andrew meet Sophie Pickles, Early Years expert, instructional designer and part of the team behind the Time for Phonics DfE-validated SSP programme. Sophie begins by outlining 'the why' behind Time for Phonics and gives us the lowdown on how it was created.  Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discovery...

Inclusive learning and creating equitable access to learning are essential considerations for all teachers to ensure all their pupils can succeed. In this episode Ian and Andrew explore some of the ways digital tools and resources can support with inclusion and equity. Flexibility, adaptability and access to authentic relatable experiences are just some of the ideas covered. They explore ways to s...

At Discovery Education our advisory team work across the country in regions, developing a deep understanding of the schools we work with. In this special episode Ian and Andrew spend some time with Jonny Thelwell a school advisor for the North region and former teacher. Jonny shares with us some of the ideas, opportunities and activities being provided by Discovery Education. Our team support scho...

Online safety is of course a major concern for parents, carers and educators as we try to ensure our children can participate fully in the digital world and benefit from the huge learning opportunities it affords. This week, Ian and Andrew share their thoughts, ideas and experiences concerning online safety. In particular they explore ways to give children appropriate levels of independence to dev...

Access to digital devices can have a huge impact on the ways children can learn using the power of digital. In this episode Ian and Andrew discuss some options for ways to increase availability and access to devices, in order to ensure greater equity. Andrew also shares some of his experiences working with vulnerable refugee communities in the Middle East and discusses some possible lessons we can...

Phonics are the foundation for literacy and learning. A secure understanding of phonics is essential and requires a range of effective resources to teach, reinforce, embed and, where needed, remediate this crucial aspect of learning.  In this episode Ian and Andrew discuss some of the ways digital resources can support here, including whole class, group or independent work, how they can support in...

At Discovery Education our advisory team work across the country in regions, developing a deep understanding of the schools we work with. In this special episode Ian and Andrew spend some time with Ellie Fraser a school advisor for the South West region and former primary school teacher. Ellie shares with us some of the ideas, opportunities and activities she is involved with in her area.  Our tea...

Carefully deploying a range of digital resources can help to support the continuity of learning by making effective links between home and school, providing opportunities for children to secure, develop and apply their learning. This includes keeping children engaged through holiday periods. Ian and Andrew discuss a range of ideas and options - from the use of gamification to support skills practi...

Most teacher like to start the day with purposeful activities to get children thinking as they arrive in class. Ian and Andrew discuss some of the ways digital resources can provide a wide range of options to make these starter tasks rich and engaging, whilst also saving teacher time. Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com 

A key measure for the value of a digital resource is - "Will it improve children's learning?" However this goes hand in hand with - "Will it save me time as a teacher?" If the answer is 'yes' to both of these questions then we can be sure the resource is truly valuable to us as teachers. Ian and Andrew discuss how we can evaluate resources with examples of assets that deliver on both. Please email...

Ian and Andrew are back to discuss some more teaching strategies which can enhance teaching and learning through the use of digital resources. This time they focus in particular on the use of senses to help children to think and connect to learning in richer, deeper ways.  Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com 

One of the powerful benefits of digital learning resources is that they can provide a wealth of opportunities for children to receive immediate feedback and can be rewarded for their engagement and personal progress. In this episode Ian and Andrew discuss some of the benefits of rewards and feedback and how they can really support children's agency in learning.  Please email us with questions, ide...

Enquiry based learning can be a really effective way to create deep learning experiences for children, this requires us to formulate questions that spark curiosity and inspire children to seek the solution to a problem or understand a topic in real depth. Digital resources can provide access to so many sources of up to date sources of multi-modal information to support this kind of learning. Ian a...

As teachers we all develop our own style, we also know our children best and so it is essential that lesson planning is flexible and enables us to create unique experiences in the classroom. Digital resources can have a real impact on the ways on which teachers can plan in flexible ways best suited to their classroom. Ian and Andrew discuss some of the ways we can plan in flexible, adaptive and re...

Digital images can be used in so many flexible ways to inspire learning, they can spark curiosity, develop critical thinking or provide contexts for making connections between learning. In this episode Ian and Andrew consider some of the ways images can be used in the classroom to provide rich learning opportunities.  Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discove...