Exams 2022

Posted on 5th January 2022 at 15:55

After two years of GCSE and A level exams being cancelled due to the pandemic they are set to go ahead again in May and June 2022. For those students who attend school planning and preparing for their exams usually involves little less than revising the subject content. However for private candidate who aren't associated with a school there is a lot more to consider. For those private candidates wishing to take exams in May/June 2022 read on for some important deadlines to consider.

Ofsted annual report: children behind

Posted on 8th December 2021 at 09:48

The last year was a difficult period for children and young people, and a particularly challenging time to be learning. The covid restrictions were difficult for most of us, but children and learners were disproportionately and adversely affected, Ofsted's Annual Report finds

School is back!

Posted on 9th September 2021 at 14:56

With the new academic year upon us students as well as parents may have mixed feelings about returning to school and its associated routines and many parents are now turning their attention to ways they can help prepare their child to return to school.

Transitioning back to school can be quite overwhelming, especially while the pandemic is still ongoing and many students have gaps in their learning from previous school closures. This is why if you are looking for ways to prepare your child and help them re-gain confidence in the classroom you have come to the right place!

Tuition banned in China

Posted on 23rd August 2021 at 14:14

Recently news broke that China has banned for-profit tuition in core school subjects in an effort to reduce workload burden on children, lower living costs for families and boost the country's birth rate. This move has come as a shock to many and families in China are concerned about the impact this will have on their children's futures in, what is known to be, a highly competitive educational market.

How to engage students in remote learning

Posted on 13th July 2021 at 12:00

It is no secret that screens have occupied much of children's lives lately and remote learning has become a common way of accessing educaiton for children across the UK and further afield.

Learning remotely certainly has many benefits but it also brings some challenges. One of the main difficulties is the lack of social interaction which in turn can have a negative impact on a student's motivation. For younger students in particular, who are used to an activity based curriculum and way of learning remote learning can be very challenging. This is a problem most teachers have faced and to overcome it there has been a need to implement some creative techniques and a flexible approach to planning and conducting online lessons and setting remote learning tasks.

We have listed below some of the ways in which teachers can make remote learning fun and engaging for their students.

Theme Days

Having a theme for a lesson can help make it fun and keep students on track with their learning. The theme could be centered around what they are learning or it could involve something like choosing a colour for the children and the teacher to wear, a discussion around the books children have read or a family day where children can send in and discuss photos of their family members

Hands on Learning

Learning virtually is so much more fun and effective when children have a hands-on opportunity to learn. This is particularly the case for younger ones. Learning numbers and adding up does not need to just include learning through a screen, children could be asked to use different objects that can be found around the house for adding up for instance. At Marvellous Minds one of our youngest remote students Jenesa recently completed a fact sheet about Asian Elephants which she had been learning about with her tutor. Using a large baord to write down facts and stick on printed pictures of elephants made the task more fun and creative.

Virtual Field Trips

Learning about a place? Why not take a virtual field trip to that place. A good virtual field trip can be the second best to option to being there IRL and there is no need to worry about the weather, travel arrangements for getting there and back and other logistical challenges. Next time children are learning about places why not access one of the many virtual field trips online and let the students get immersed in the activity.

Using Music in Lessons

Music has the ability to alter one's mood and change the atmosphere anywhere. Why not use this tool to liven things up in the online classroom! Teachers can play a song at the beginning of every lesson and take it in turn and let students pick their favourite song.

We would love to hear about your experiences about remote learning!

Rewards in the classroom

Posted on 7th July 2021 at 14:37

Wellbeing for Education Return Programme

“The number one problem in the classroom is not discipline: it is the lack of procedures and routines.” –Harry Wong

It can be very difficult for teachers and students alike to manage challenging behaviour in the classroom. Challenges most teachers face at some point in their career include keeping students motivated in their learning and enthusiastic about the topics taught while keeping disruptive behaviour in the classroom to a minimum. For some students it can be quite overwhelming to concentrate in lessons and having to deal with interruptions so creating a calm and positive learning environment is a key aspect of successful teaching and behaviour management.

Exam alterations due to effects of the pandemic

Posted on 23rd June 2021 at 21:16

A level and GCSE exams next year are likely to be adjusted to reflect the widespread disruption to students' learning caused by the pandemic the education secretary Gavin Williamson has said.

Exams in 2022 will need changing to avoid students be disadvantaged Mr Williamson said. Students in year 10 and Year 12 have suffered disruption as a result of school closures due to the pandemic and Williamson has argued that it will be impossible to "immediately switch back" to the way in which exams were structured and executed pre pandemic.

Summer Holiday Club

Posted on 12th May 2021 at 15:18

Summer is just around the corner and for students the long summer break is looming. After a strange and tumultuous year the summer holidays will no doubt come as a welcome break. That being said, after the impact of Covid on student's academic progress many parents and students alike are hoping to use some of the time over summer to catch up on missed learning, get up to speed with the curriculum and prepare for whatever academic challenges lie ahead. At Marvellous Minds we are delighted to be able to help with just this whilst also offering students of all ages fun, educational and creative activities to keep those minds active and engaged over the summer holidays!

Bedford GCSE & A level Tutors and Exam Centre

Posted on 9th April 2021 at 20:28

With students about to start their final term of this academic year, many GCSE and A level students will have centre assessed grades on their minds. This will particularly be the case for private students for whom the assessment process won't be as straightforward as for those students registered with a school.

Don't worry, we are here to help..

Why we Believe in a Screen Free Learning Environment

Posted on 22nd March 2021 at 12:21

It is no secret that children of this generation love screens! Screens have become an integral and natural part of daily life for most young people and while they undoubtedly have many benefits, as parents we are also acutely aware of the damaging impact screens may bring and many of us are desperately trying to limit screen time for our children.

After months of home schooling and social restrictions, children in the UK have spent more time than ever on electronic devices. This has been the safest way to access education and socialise with others amid the pandemic. However research shows that children who spend a lot of time on screens are more likely to develop eye problems, weight problems and trouble with reading and writing. They are also more likely to show a range of other physical, social and mental issues.

However it is important to note that the use of screen time can't simply be categorised as 'bad'. Not all screen time is equal of course. Spending time on an educational site, watching a family film together or using using Face Time to connect with loved ones will have more benefits to a child than that child sitting alone passively watching a film for instance.

In 2019 Dr Taren Sanders did a study on children and screen time, categorising screen time in to five categories; passive, interactive, social, educational and other. While educational screen time was linked to better results in school and brought no bad health effects compared to more passive screen time, the impact as reported by Dr Sanders was "quite small". The real problems showed up in children who spent more than eight hours a day on screens.

At Marvellous Minds we appreciate that screen time can bring certain benefits and we appreciate that particularly during this challenging time of the current pandemic children will inevitably spend more time than usual on screens and parents have needed to rely on screens more to juggle the challenging demands of work, homeschooling and other chores. However, we also believe that we can help and do our bit to reduce the use of screen time in children and we know that when it comes to education and children's learning, screens will never be able to replace the human element of a really inspiring teacher.

That is why at Marvellous Minds we have decided to offer a truly screen free learning environment for the students we work with. Students at our centre are taught by tutors-not computers. In each class our students will work with one or several tutors (depending on the size of the class), using our own written learning materials. Students will be encouraged to ask questions, contribute with their answers and discuss topics with peers within the class. Our tutors are always on hand to help with whatever a student finds challenging and by keeping our classes small we allow for a individually tailored approach to our teaching. We appreciate that students learn in different ways and our tutors are committed to finding fun and engaging ways for children to learn.

Some of the learning prompts we use in our classes include alphabetic puzzles, pictures, clocks, counters, number lines, story cubes and flash cards. There are also a number of mini black and whiteboards in each of our classrooms which students are encouraged to work on. Interactive learning methods and structured teaching takes place instead of computer time.

We would love to hear your thoughts on screen time. Do you think they have their place in the classroom? And how, if at all, do you think they should be used by teachers?