How to balance work with family life: a teacher's survival guide

Accept your to-do list will never end and remember to communicate. Teacher and mother Hayley Earl shares her work-life balance tricks .

 The hardest task of all is finding some time for yourself, writes teacher Hayley Earl. Photograph: Alamy

Open any newspaper or turn on any TV and the chances are you will see a negative report on the state of teaching. From heavy workloads to rising stress levels, times are tough.

But there’s lots to feel positive about too: I love my job. And despite the fact my life should be a recipe for disaster – I have two young children and a husband who is training to be a teacher – it’s actually not.

I’ve worked hard to find some sort of work-life balance. It’s not been easy and I don’t always get things right. Finding time for yourself is incredibly hard, and I am lucky to have a great support network (my in-laws help out, I have a flexible childminder and close friends for emergencies).

Can teachers ever have a work-life balance?

 

Read more

Along the way, I’ve developed a few survival tricks and I wanted to share these. I’m keen to hear how other working parents cope, so post your views in the comments or share them via @GuardianTeach:

Avoid taking on too much

I’m fortunate to work in a school where we think very carefully about the potential gains and pitfalls before launching any new initiatives to avoid unnecessary work. We already have a lot of good practice in the school which we don’t want to change unnecessarily.

Always weigh up your childrens’ needs and whether they’re likely to benefit before agreeing to take on more work. Teachers are often keen to make a good impression but it’s better to do your job well, rather than take on loads and collapse under it.

If you’re feeling pressured to do more, talk to someone at school, such as your line manager or headteacher. If they know that you are struggling, they should put strategies in place to help you. If you’re being asked to do more, remember to negotiate time in school to do it so you don’t have to take extra work home.

Prioritise and don’t procrastinate

Decide what needs doing immediately – don’t waste time on things that aren’t urgent. For everything else, make sure you keep a reminder. I always check that my planning and marking for the next day are done first, then prepare my resources for photocopying, and finally check minutes, agendas, handouts or presentations needed that day.

 Hayley Earl and family. Photograph: Hayley Earl

When you’ve worked out what needs to be done, try to avoid meeting our old friend procrastination. I break jobs down into smaller ones so they’re more manageable. You don’t want to add stress and panic so get straight on to tasks, regardless of how laborious they may be.

Find what works best for your family

Ofsted inspections and parents’ evenings sometimes make workloads less manageable, but I made a rule as soon as my son came along that I would not work during the daytime on days off. End-of-year reports can’t always be scheduled to fit around my children, but for the vast majority of the year the rule stays.

Colleagues with children sometimes stay later to avoid taking work home. My childcare arrangements don’t fit in with this, so working at home works best for me. What’s important is to find a routine that fits with your family life. I have at least one night off a week and always have dinner with my family.

Don’t worry if everything doesn’t get done

Your to-do list will only get bigger and you will never reach the end of it – even in the depths of the summer holidays. Once you accept this, it takes the pressure off. I find that positive thinking about what you’ve achieved is better than being negative about everything you have left to finish.

Communicate with your family

Sometimes, having another teacher in the house can be a blessing – my husband understands why I give up my free time in the evenings. But we do have to make sure we’re aware of the seasonal times when workloads increase. As a trainee he also has a particularly demanding workload. On top of the usual school work, he has paperwork and assignments. We try hard to spend time together, whether it be shutting down our laptops to watch a film, having a nice meal together or having a night out. It’s important.

Before he became a teacher, he would often be frustrated by the lack of time I had. The only way to ease this was setting aside time to spend together and making sure we had nights out.

Talk to the others in your house about their feelings towards your workload. If you have to miss an evening with the children because of parents’ evenings or school events, help them to understand why. I know my son found it difficult when I had my last Ofsted inspection as I went to work early and came back late, so I explained it all to him. He knows that when I do come home late, the first thing I always do is kiss him goodnight if he is in bed.

The most challenging point is probably making time for you. Even if it’s just stopping to watch TV or write a diary; give yourself a few minutes to breathe and unwind.

Hayley Earl is a class teacher and assessment leader at Beech Green primary school, Gloucester. She blogs here. Follow her on Twitter @hayleyearl.

How to use brain science to engage students after the holidays

 Neurologist and former teacher Judy Willis explains how techniques such as walking backwards and changing the furniture in your classroom can motivate students on the first day back of term

 It can be hard enough for teachers to feel motivated after the holidays, nevermind trying to excite students who just want to talk about what they’ve been upto. Photograph: Alamy

As the holidays come to an end, thoughts of students and lesson plans replace time spent indulging in puddings and turkey. But teachers know all too well that it’s challenging enough to motivate a class on a Monday morning after a weekend, nevermind after a longer break. To reignite energy levels this January here are my tips as a neurologist and former teacher:

What gets the brain’s attention?

All learning starts as information perceived by the five senses: vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell. There are also millions of sensory nerve endings throughout the skin, muscles and internal organs. But the brain is only able to process about 1% of this information and it gives priority to certain things.

With the help of brain imaging, we can see that the sensory information that gets priority is that which helps mammals survive. This tends to be information that is unexpected – our attention filter first takes in sensory information about change and novelty.

On the first day back get your class to share stories

After a break, there is a higher than normal amount of new sensory information competing for access to the brain. Students have not seen each other for a while and the novelty of returning to school is enhanced by their interest in what classmates did during the holidays.

So beginning the first day back by returning immediately to routine is unlikely to get your students’ attention and can cause bad behavior and inattention. But if you know that a child’s brain is programmed to be curious about new experiences and what friends have done, you can use it to promote important qualities.

Students are likely to want to tell their class about what they got for Christmas or a trip they’ve been on. Tell them they can do this but only if they also share something that they did for others or generous acts that they saw or heard about.

Get class attention through curiosity

Once students have had the chance to satisfy their curiosity about classmates, you can redirect their focus to classroom instruction by starting with sensory input that is most likely to get through the attention filter. Through neuroimaging research, we know the types of novelty or change that get attention priority include movement, curious objects, pictures, videos, unexpected class visitors or speakers, changes of colour and things you do that are unusual. So why not wear something unusual? Have music playing when children enter class, open with a dynamic video clip, a curious picture, or an optical illusion?It’s essential that students remember the information you teach them. For this to happen, you can use strategies to make sure the sensory information you provide (through what you say, show, do or have them experience through physical movement) gets through their attention filters.

Here are some other suggestions:

What you say (or don’t say). A sudden mid-sentence silence is a curiosity the attention filter wants to know more about. A suspenseful pause in your speech before saying something important increases alertness and memory of what you will say or do next.

Change the furniture arrangement. Or put up photos of last year’s students doing an activity your students will be doing in the unit they are beginning, light a candle, put a new exciting poster relating to the new unit under the one that has been hanging and when you walk by, “inadvertently” bump into the wall so the old one falls down and the new one is suddenly revealed.

Get moving. Since movement gets high priority, you can move in an unexpected way such as doing what you usually do (handing out papers or posting information on the walls) while walking backwards. That could lead to a lesson about negative numbers, negative electric charges, going “back” in history, or the past tense of verbs.

Rotate techniques, lest the unexpected become expected. Greet students at the door with a riddle or a note card with a vocabulary word. They can seek their new seats by looking for the table with the note card that has the riddle answer or the definition of their word.

Good teachers are highly responsive to their students’ moods and needs. Knowing a bit of the neuroscience can help you prepare for times when it’s harder to get your students’ attention. I recall a poster that read: “A Mind Stretched Will Never Revert to its Original Size.” That mind stretching is what teachers do. Using strategies to first captivate their attention will hook into their brains’ intake programing, stimulate their curiosity, and sustain the attentive focus needed to turn information into knowledge.

Dealing with behaviour issues - a guide for new teachers

I bet you don’t feel like a teacher yet, do you? No. You feel like a fraud. It’s as if the pilot just fainted and someone put the joystick in your hands. You’re wondering when a grown-up will be back to take the class. Well, buster, the grown-up is you. Their lives are in your hands. Suddenly, life is no longer a training exercise; suddenly, you are live, on air.

But what if they don’t do what you want them to? Because they won’t, I promise. Unless you possess the telepathic glamour of Professor X – and I will assume you don’t – then they will, however biddable, resist your intentions.

It’s terrifying, I know. You’re inhuman if you tacitly assume that they will tap dance to your command. Most new teachers I know could barely give a flying fig about whether they know enough about the topic. What they care about is behaviour. And they should; because good behaviour is intrinsic to good learning.

Believe me, a well-planned lesson is useful, but it is not the way to guarantee good behaviour. It helps, but so does a deep voice. It’s a tool, but it isn't the power drill. Almost without doubt, you’ll experience misbehaviour.

Children misbehave because they are children; because they can; because they, like any human, want to pursue their own interests, not other people’s. If you think the default sentiment of humanity is altruism and mutual cooperation, then I have some real estate on the Moon I would like to sell you. What most children want doesn't involve sitting at desks, learning maths, or practising verbs and vowel sounds.

But the fact that they would rather be doing something else doesn't mean you’re a failure; it doesn't mean you’re weak or pathetic; it just means that you’re going to have to get them into your habits, not theirs. And that takes time.

Remember that although some of them will come from backgrounds that have gifted them an impeccable sense of socialisation, many others will be less obedient. Their family home may be unstructured; they may compete for affection and attention; they may have learned survival habits at home that are positively peculiar when they come into the more rigid maze of your lessons. So don’t assume they’ll comply; don’t assume deference; don’t assume anything, except that you have a job to do.

What behaviours can I expect?

Some of your children will be natural teacher-pleasers. You’ll spot them in about two minutes; they devote themselves to anticipating and meeting your every demand, and for a moment you imagine that this teaching lark is a cinch. Be warned; if you get a full hand of these Jacks and Jills you are fortunate indeed. Most decks come with a few jokers. And it only takes a few for the teaching experience to become very tricky. One egotistical time bomb can sink your ship for a lesson or a day. But mostly, the real troublemakers are few and far between, and the class will probably follow a bell curve of compliance.

Here is some wisdom; you’ll get to know the names of the naughty kids in about five minutes flat. And you know what? That’s exactly what they want. Most kids who misbehave are looking for fun and attention and often don’t care what the source of either is. It doesn't make them devils, merely childish and selfish, which is to some extent the natural inclination of the human spirit.

The most common type of misbehaviour is what is often referred to as “low-level” misbehaviour which makes it sound relatively harmless, until you realise that it is kryptonite for your lesson because it’s the kind of misbehaviour that doesn’t justify the riot squad, but is just enough to keep them in your room.

It’s low level in the sense that a river running over a slab of granite is low level, until eventually it cuts it in half with persistence. It’s whispering, humming, chair rocking, pen tapping, turning around, arriving a few minutes late, throwing a pen at someone...this is what you’ll face. To an outsider it sounds like nothing; to the insider, it’s Chinese water torture. Make no mistake; ignore this, and your lessons will crumble.

Far more unlikely, yet looming large in the average new teacher’s nightmares, is high-level disruption, ranging from a rolling scrap to actual confrontation. Chair chucking is rare, but it’s like being struck by lightning – unlikely on a given day in mainstream schools (in special schools it can be common), but terrifying when it rains and you’re on the roof fixing the aerial.

Mistakes you mustn’t make

For God’s sake, don’t try to be too pally with them. The whole “Don’t smile until Christmas” thing has become dogma, but I assure you it is wisdom. Of course you can smile; it isn't a catalyst for mayhem. But take it slowly. Kids want to know many things about you, but high on their list is: “Is he/she strict?” If they decide in five minutes that you’re not, then good luck to you, and you certainly won’t be smiling before Christmas, you’ll be weeping. Don’t forget to set out your rules and boundaries. Don’t assume that they know how to behave; they probably do, but they need to see that you do too. Remember, they’re testing your boundaries as well.

How do I show them who’s boss?

Act like one. Be prepared for teaching: a tidy room; resources prepared; smart appearance; lesson ready for them as they walk in. Be on the door; make eye contact with them as they enter and say Good Morning, but don’t smile. Not yet. Resist the temptation to answer their questions; merely indicate that they should go to the back. When they are all in, get them quiet and then give them a seating plan. They will fuss and moan, but this is nothing to you. Get them into their seats, because that means you can learn who they are. Like demonology, naming gives you power.

Then – and I assure you this is wise – spend a good amount of time introducing yourself and telling them what the rules are. Don’t negotiate with them; don’t ask what rules they think would be wise. This doesn't get you buy-in; it merely shows them that you’re open to persuasion. Why should you? I know what the rules of the room should be because I'm an adult, and so are you. So tell them what you want. You can find a good set of basic rules on my resource list on TES Resources.

Tell them what the consequences of meeting and breaking the boundaries are. And make sure you tell the truth. Don’t shy away from talking about detentions, calling home, losing “golden time”, whatever. Go in hard in the first few days and you will reap the benefits later on. Don’t do it, and you’ll spend the rest of the year persuading them that you’d like them to behave. In the first meeting, I tell kids I care deeply about them; so much so that I'm prepared to police their behaviour with vigour. My room, my rules. If you’re uncomfortable with that then get used to it, because it’s essential to the job.

Learn the school behaviour policy

Don’t be afraid to get help, because that’s how we become mighty. The kids aren't master criminals and all but the most adamantine will succumb to being worn down. But you must be persistent. This is the magic ingredient. Don’t give a few detentions and think “it isn't working”. It just hasn't worked yet. We play the long game. We’re here to change their lives. That doesn't happen in a day or a week. Sometimes it takes months and years of dedication, guts, mindless repetition and fraught hours of confrontation and stress. But it’s worth it. So are you. And so are they.

Source: http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/content/dealing-behaviour-issues-guide-new-teachers

How to develop teacher presence and command attention in class

How to develop teacher presence and command attention in class

Why do some teachers struggle to control a class while others manage to get a lesson flowing seamlessly with apparently little effort?

It could simply be down to the “presence” they have in the classroom. This is a vague term, but learning how to have presence, or build on what you already possess, could create a more harmonious and effective classroom and strengthen your relationship with your pupils. Broadly, the word means being able to use your personality and body to command attention.

Teachers are not actors and developing more presence is not about trying to transform yourself into a Hollywood star. But, as public speakers and communicators, they will be more successful if pupils find their lessons memorable and they have good interpersonal skills.

Being in the spotlight can be frightening and nerves make us behave differently. Developing presence can help to prevent paralysing symptoms such as breathlessness or a dry mouth. Those who already have it are often more aware of the impact of their body language and use gestures, or even a glance, to create the effect they want.

Developing teacher presence

Anyone can learn these skills, according to Mark Almond, a senior lecturer at Canterbury Christ Church University who trains teachers in the art of creating presence. But not everybody gets the chance.

“Some educators blanch at the idea that teacher presence should be included in training, as it is such a vague term,” he says. “But I believe this is an area teachers want to be trained in. They think their existing training lacks how to develop interpersonal skills, how to create your own identity and connect with pupils.”

Some actors use the Alexander technique to relax – gently realigning the body, breathing from deep in the lungs and using the body economically. This can also be useful for teachers who struggle to relax.

“You may be feeling awful at having to walk into a classroom of 15-year-olds, but if you display your anxieties to that class, you will have problems,” Mr Almond says. “Walk in to the room slowly with your posture straight, chin up, make eye contact and speak to your pupils in a clear and audible voice.”

Looking physically confident will help to create presence. A good posture makes a person look strong and commanding. Keep your head still when you talk, and speak slowly.

Guy Michaels, an actor-turned-teacher who now runs courses for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) on how to create classroom presence, says: “Nerves can prevent teachers from communicating effectively. Many teachers will explain a task, then explain it again, using a different set of words. This confuses the class and any clarity is gone. You are not allowing the idea to sink in.”

Teachers should grow comfortable with using stillness and silence as part of their repertoire. “Many teachers say ‘I’m not a performer’, but they have an audience of 30 people waiting to be entertained,” says Mr Michaels.

“Teachers often work to rigid lessons, they are obsessed with planning, and there is a danger they can lose their flexibility. They should listen and improvise, be excited and infectious.”

Masking your anxieties

So how do you mask your nerves and transform unhelpful body language? The first step is to get rid of any signs of tension. And the way you breathe is a key factor.

“If you can’t take deep breaths, you can’t speak with authority and resonance. It’s a waste of energy and affects where your breath comes from,” Mr Michaels says.

“Children pick up on signals of fear. The first thing you have to do is understand your fight or flight response – what happens when your body releases adrenalin. It gives you a low status. These are physical signs like fidgeting, a stooped head and sweaty palms.”

But how do you avoid them? He advises teachers to “stand as tall as you can be. It gives you an anchoring and this helps to keep you grounded and calm.

“Scale your physical presence up or down. Use gestures to punctuate what you are saying and move around in the space if you want a big presence. This helps you appear to be a strong, confident teacher.”

Many of our nervous physical ticks can be unconscious. A good way to start tackling them is to ask a trusted colleague to observe you and give their candid thoughts on your body language and other physical traits. Or try video-recording yourself. It is incredible how much the small screen amplifies even the slightest movement.

Pause for thought

Another tip is simply to pause. This allows you to organise your thoughts, so you can avoid repeating yourself, and makes you appear calm and in control.

Observe others in authority who appear to have an inbuilt confidence. Why are they watchable; what are they doing right?

People with charisma use their body effectively. Eye contact is one of the most important weapons in a teacher’s arsenal.

Try this simple physical test: ask your pupils to face you and put their arms up. They should then begin slowly lowering them until you make eye contact. Each time you do, they must freeze. The aim is to make sure that no pupil ends up with their hands in their laps.

Eye contact can help vary the pace and energy of a lesson. “If you want a different effect, stay still and cast a net around the room with your eyes,” Mr Michaels adds. This will help to give you an aura of authority – and make them take notice of you.

Using the space of the classroom differently can also vary the dynamics of the lesson. Try teaching from a different area, at a different height or even sitting on a desk with pupils.

Presence means you can set the tone in your classroom.

You as the storyteller

Think of yourself as a storyteller, conveying a secret through your teaching. Vary your language: use active verbs to create excitement and an emotional response. Create anticipation or intrigue with props or timing, letting each activity be revealed one at a time.

Appear energetic and eager to talk about your subject. It might be the thousandth time you have taught a topic, but behave as if you are enjoying yourself. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Adjust the tone and volume of your voice to convey emotion and alter the pace of the lesson.

Teachers are not actors but some theatrics can create a buzz. Why not use over-the-top gestures from time to time, to express delight, mock boredom or surprise? Such charades – pretending to snore, feigning a heart attack (when appropriate) – can amuse and engage pupils.

Having presence also means that you are confident enough to be spontaneous and improvise. This creates a vibrant lesson and can create energy if it starts to lag; it also means that you can respond swiftly if pupils become disruptive.

According to Rob Salter, a London teacher who trains his peers in how to create presence, US president Barack Obama is a perfect example of someone who already knows how to harness his charm.

“He shows how being still and pitching his voice lower…and from the diaphragm, gives an air of authority,” he says.

“Presence is as much about how you perceive yourself. Cultivate it. You should set the tone and get children to buy into your vision.

“Have a part of the classroom which is the equivalent of the front of a stage. Use it when you need to get the focus back on you – for example, if the noise levels go up. This gives you an aura. Use different spaces to create different energies.”

The message is simple. By controlling the atmosphere of the lesson, you are showing pupils how to behave.

Exercises you can practise at home

Tips from courses run by RADA, the National Theatre, Rob Salter and Mark Almond.

Voice

• Breathe in and hold for three seconds. As you breathe out, project your voice and say the days of the week; then try the months; then the alphabet. This helps you to speak from the chest,  not from the back of the throat.
• To seem authoritative, practise your breathing to find your “home note” – your own distinctive voice – from your chest.

Physicality

• Stand in a grounded way. To find your “centre”, stand with feet apart and bend your knees slightly.
• Lengthen your spine. Stand as if your head is being pulled up by a string. Hunching reduces your capacity to breathe properly.
• Release tension by swinging your arms from your shoulders. You can extend this to “shake out” your whole body.
• To calm breathing, raise your arms slowly as you breathe in, and bring them down again while exhaling and making a “ssshh” sound.
• To check you are breathing from your diaphragm, try stamping your foot while shouting “ha” as you breathe out.
• Imagine you are blowing up a balloon with a long, slow, outward breath through the mouth until there is no air left in your lungs. Then, on the in breath, through the nose, imagine you are smelling a bunch of flowers.
• Think about eye contact – aim to look open and receptive. Make eye contact with your pupils, even if you are shy.
• Scale your physical presence up or down.
• Use gestures to punctuate what you say and move around in the space if you want to create a bigger presence. This helps you to appear strong and confident.
• To create an aura around yourself, stay still and cast a net around the room with your eyes.
• To bring your energy into the room, stand with your feet planted and say “I am here”, taking one step with each word. Tread firmly on the floor and say the words out loud.

Varied use of space

• Teach from the back of the classroom.
• Kneel or crouch down between desks or at the front of the room.
• Sit at a desk, on the floor or on a chair or table.
• Try entering the pupils’ physical space; sit next to them, lean on their desks, walk slowly between desks.

Adopt a relaxed and positive facial expression

• Give yourself a facial massage, concentrating on your forehead, cheeks and jaw.
• Practise relaxing and using your facial muscles by widening eyes, puffing out cheeks, stretching your mouth into different shapes and flexing your chin. Now scrunch up your face as tightly as possible.
• Move your eyebrows up and down. Try to move one at a time.
• Break into a big grin with wide eyes.

Getting to know your new school

Getting to know your new school

Your first job is a chance to make your mark, but avoid ‘new broom’ syndrome or you may find some colleagues give you the brush off

The sooner you get to know your new school and colleagues, the more efficient you will be. If you have landed a job in the school where you did your teaching practice, you will already know some of the staff and be familiar with the ethos of the school. But the chances are it will all be new to you. A move to a new school, perhaps in a new local authority, means new people, policies and practices.

First impressions are lasting and can shape how people react to you. You only have a few seconds when you first meet people to make a good impression, so make sure that you present the real you and not a caricature of who you would like to be.

Make sure that you turn up on time, so plan your route to work. Remember that, when schools start back, your travelling time may increase due to the extra traffic.

Get to know as many people as possible

It is worth spreading out beyond your year team or department to get to know a range of people, from the admin staff to the teaching assistants, technicians and support staff. Staying in a close-knit group can alienate you from other teachers.

Be sure to join in social activities, as this is a great way of networking and getting to know your colleagues. But do not go mad on a night out or social event until you know the staff and they know you.

Get to grips with school policies

Policies vary from school to school. Every school has protocols on behaviour, homework, child protection and health and safety, but there will be many more less well-known policies tucked away in the files. Getting to grips with them can seem daunting, but what matters is how the policies are put into practice.

Do not be surprised if colleagues claim that they do not know about various policies and never follow them. You still need to know what they are and bear them in mind. Following the custom and practice of your department or colleagues is fine up to a point, but you still need to know what the management of the school expects and be ready to justify why you did not follow a policy if something goes wrong. Ignorance is no defence.

Adapt and survive

The move from trainee to professional teacher means that some things you did as a student will no longer work - for example, very detailed lesson planning and evaluations. While colleagues should help and back you when dealing with poor behaviour or problems in class, you will be expected to stand on your own two feet.

Find out the lay of the land before leaping in

It is important to fit in with the routines and ethos of the school. The day-to-day practices of the staff and pupils will have been built up over time. If behaviour is poor, staff will be working hard to change that and you can play an active part. But many staff will object when a “new broom” comes in and tries to sweep away established working practices.

Take a lead from your induction mentor or department head and get to know how people work, especially how information is communicated. For example, do most people prefer email, instant messaging, phone calls or face-to- face communication? Do not assume that your preferred method of communication is theirs.

James Williams is a lecturer in education at the University of Sussex

Things to think about

• Ask to see the school handbook and/or policies. Think about how it may influence you.
• Discuss your job description with your manager/mentor and how your position fits into the school “big picture”.
• Make a note of the general work ethic in the school. Arrive on time and leave when the majority of staff do.
• Become familiar with the key policies that will affect you, such as behaviour, homework and health and safety. Review your practices to ensure you are meeting these policies.
• Be yourself. Try not to put on a false “you”. Relax and smile, but make it genuine, not a rictus grin.
• Be open, confident and positive, but choose your words carefully.
• Talk a little about yourself, but not too much, and don’t keep going on about what you did in your last school practice.
• Be courteous and attentive to others.
• Mind your meeting manners. There are unofficial guidelines that dictate decorum during meetings. Some are free-for-alls, where the loudest person gets the floor; in others, opinions are only given when asked for.
• Do not rock the boat too soon. Even if you have an innovative idea, wait until you have established a credible reputation and rapport with your colleagues before proposing a change.

Five top tips to make the most of your school playground.

 Redesigning your playground with PE and sport in mind will help encourage pupils to stay fit and healthy. Photograph: Alamy

There has never been a more important time for physical education (PE), school sport and health-related activity in schools. Research shows that half of all seven year-olds do not get enough exercise and one in three young people leave primary school overweight.

From an early age, lifelong patterns of positive behaviour and involvement can be established through participation in physical activity and play.

Both informal and structured activity is essential for the mental, physical, emotional and social development of every young person. Through such activity, children develop movement and coordination skills, social skills linked to communication and language, and creativity and cooperation – all essential tools to aid successful learning in the curriculum and beyond.

It is essential to create the right environment within school for the development of the physical literacy of all pupils. That is why having the right playground is so important. Here are five key points to help maximise your playground space to inspire young people to undertake physical activity:

1. What does your playground need?

A needs analysis of your playground will help inform you of what improvements can be made. The analysis should focus on gathering and reviewing the information, consulting end users and key stakeholders, and establishing priority requirements. It is important that you are inclusive throughout the process and make a special effort to understand the requirements of children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities to incorporate these into your plan. Consider the following key questions: How well is the space used? Are there any small areas that are not currently used? Are there any awkward-shaped spaces? Are there spaces between existing buildings that have always been under-utilised? What is it currently used for? Who is using it? Who is not using it? What would the pupils like it to be used for?

2. Review your activity

A review of your school’s current delivery of PE, school sport and healthy active lifestyles provision will help to identify areas of strength and those in need of development. It is crucial to consider three key areas of physical education, school sport and physical activity. Questions to ask include: What is the current use of the existing space? What is the current use of other space that could be included within the new area? What is the potential use of the new space?

3. Team effort

Engaging the right people at this early stage will ensure they are committed to the project. The key stakeholders that should be consulted from the very start are: governors, headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisors, parents and pupils. They can be consulted in a variety of ways including: meetings and class discussions; school sports council(s); playground committee; questionnaires; observation studies and pupil drawings.

4. Design and build

It is always a good idea to appoint a contractor to work with you to check the feasibility of the components and configurations selected. They can also agree with you on the most suitable combination given any site constraints and the available budget. The options can be tailored to meet the specific needs of your school site. Key considerations within your design should include the space, the surface and the storage.

5. Plan the schedule

Once the installation is complete, your pupils will be excited and eager to use it immediately. Plan how the space will be used across each week, prior to completion, to ensure quick and easy access. To maximise use, consider programming use of the playground at all possible times (before school, during PE lessons, at break and lunchtimes, and after school) and consider its appropriate use by community groups too at weekends and during holidays.

This year, more than one million young people will be participating in National School Sport Week from 22–26 June. Thousands of schools across the country will make a pledge to get more involved in physical activity, school sport and celebrate school achievement. To receive free resources, toolkits and ideas to help run an exciting sporting week that will inspire all your pupils and the chance to win visits from Olympic and Paralympic athletes, click here.

The Youth Sport Trust has a range of resources and programmes aimed at helping member schools improve the quality of the PE and sport activities offered at their school. More information on membership can be found here.

Source: http://www.theguardian.com/youth-sport-trust-partner-zone/2015/mar/06/five-top-tips-school-playground