Building Skills for Effective Primary Teaching: A Guide for Trainees and Their Mentors

Supporting trainee teachers to understand the complex nature of effective learning and teaching in primary schools.

A completely new book covering the key skills of primary teaching including:

• teaching and learning
• reflective practice in teaching
• planning
• assessment
• behaviour
• engagement
• vulnerable groups
• professional responsibilities and relationships

This book supports and challenges primary trainee teachers and their mentors (both school based and university/SCITT based) by offering a range of approaches, strategies and perspectives to aspects of primary teaching, with learning and pupil progress as the focus. It offers thought provoking activities, case studies and reflection tasks for trainees and mentors and supports trainees working towards their professional development targets. 

The text also explores less common themes such as question  and dialogue, EAL and teacher presence. It helps trainees to understand and develop these skills and begin to use them in their teaching. It then supports them in reflecting on their development of these skills and evaluating their impact on learning.

Rachael Paige Head of Department for Primary Education at the University of Worcester. Previously she was the Head of Programmes: Primary and Early Years at Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln. She started her career as a primary school teacher, leading in areas such as special needs, English and music. 



Sue Lambert is Course Leader for the PGCE Primary and Early Years’ programmes at Bishop Grosseteste, Lincoln. She taught for nineteen years, teaching all ages in the primary phase. She was a SENCo for many years, was seconded for eighteen months as an advisory teacher for history and her final post was as a deputy head teacher. She mentored trainees, NQTs and supported staff in developing their mentoring role. She completed an MA in Education focusing on the role of questioning and whole school curriculum development. On entering H.E., she completed a research module focused on trainees’ reflective practice and also gained fellowship to the HEA. Her teaching role in H.E. has included all aspects of the professional role (particularly safeguarding), assessment, leading learning, the creative curriculum, behaviour and PE.

Becky Geeson is Course Leader for the Undergraduate Primary ITT programmes at Bishop Grosseteste, Lincoln. She taught for twelve years in primary schools, focusing in the main in KS2. She was a phase leader and an Advanced Skills Teacher in mathematics and art. Much of her AST outreach work was spent supporting NQT and more experienced teachers in developing their classroom practice. She completed her MA in Education focusing on the role of mentoring, and effective teaching approaches in teacher education. Her current doctoral studies have so far considered reflection in initial teacher education, and university-based and school-based routes into teaching. Further work will focus on the identification of potential in applicants to ITT programmes.