Essential Guides for Early Career Teachers: Teaching Primary Foundation Subjects

As Ofsted introduces a new framework with higher expectations regarding subject knowledge across the primary curriculum, there has never been a more important time for trainees to secure their subject knowledge and improve confidence. This book aims to help early career teachers in teaching primary foundation subjects.

This is another text for the Essential Guides for Early Career teachers series and it provides ECT's and their mentors with the right tools for teaching primary foundation subjects, improving their subject knowledge and building understanding. It ensures that relevant theory and research are woven together with real classroom experience. It links to key readings, resources and online sources which will allow trainees to continue their own learning and encourage independent study through the use of reflective exercises and practical tasks to ensure the delivery of the best possible teaching.

A text like this is needed more than ever as the Ofsted framework for ITT is explicit in highlighting subject knowledge as being a key component to successful teaching. This book, therefore, covers the kind of topics that ECT's might at first struggle with from art and design, to computing and IT to languages like French and German. This book breaks down each subject and points trainees in the direction of resources, support and best practice.

Introduction 

Chapter 1 - Why foundation subjects? 

Chapter 2 - Jack of all trades? Foundation Subject knowledge for teachers

Chapter 3 - Subject knowledge for pupils

Chapter 4 - Making an impact: understanding subject concepts

Chapter 5 - Finding time -how to plan foundation subjects

Chapter 6 - Explicitly making links: cross-curricular approaches

Chapter 7 – Less but better

Chapter 8 - What comes next and where to find support

James Coleman is a primary school teacher and a passionate advocate for the primary foundation subjects. He started his career teaching in inner London schools and led foundation subjects within his first teaching post. Since then he has been a director of a SCITT in the south of England and now works as an education consultant. 

Emma Hollis’ absolute passion is teacher education. After gaining a First Class degree in Psychology and training as a primary teacher, she became Head of initial teacher education for a SCITT provider in Milton Keynes. She sees teacher education as a continuum and, whilst her heart will always be very close to the initial stages of a teacher’s development, she is also dedicated to ensuring teachers are given access to high quality professional development throughout their careers.  Emma took up the role of Executive Director Designate of NASBTT in April 2017 and has been in the post of Executive Director since September 2017.