Nick Hitchen
@independentschhead.bsky.social
Headteacher, Clarence House Preparatory School in Hampton Hill. 3 x Ofsted Outstanding.
New pilot: inspired by Hirsch’s Realms of Gold, we’ve created ‘What to Read at Bedtime’: a term’s worth of bedtime stories, including:
* A novel (Pilot: Morpurgo)
* Extract from classic (WitWillows)
* Ten poems to read at the weekend. (Frost. Rossetti)
* A story from English history.
* A novel (Pilot: Morpurgo)
* Extract from classic (WitWillows)
* Ten poems to read at the weekend. (Frost. Rossetti)
* A story from English history.
March 27, 2025 at 5:38 PM
New pilot: inspired by Hirsch’s Realms of Gold, we’ve created ‘What to Read at Bedtime’: a term’s worth of bedtime stories, including:
* A novel (Pilot: Morpurgo)
* Extract from classic (WitWillows)
* Ten poems to read at the weekend. (Frost. Rossetti)
* A story from English history.
* A novel (Pilot: Morpurgo)
* Extract from classic (WitWillows)
* Ten poems to read at the weekend. (Frost. Rossetti)
* A story from English history.
NEW blog on sweating the small stuff. Pencil cases! What’s on a desk?
And some thoughts about what that means for your school leadership.
nickhitchen.weebly.com/home/pencil-ca…
And some thoughts about what that means for your school leadership.
nickhitchen.weebly.com/home/pencil-ca…
March 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
NEW blog on sweating the small stuff. Pencil cases! What’s on a desk?
And some thoughts about what that means for your school leadership.
nickhitchen.weebly.com/home/pencil-ca…
And some thoughts about what that means for your school leadership.
nickhitchen.weebly.com/home/pencil-ca…
NEW blog post on how we set meaningful homework using @carousel-learning.bsky.social
Blog
nickhitchen.weebly.com
Blog
nickhitchen.weebly.com
March 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
NEW blog post on how we set meaningful homework using @carousel-learning.bsky.social
Blog
nickhitchen.weebly.com
Blog
nickhitchen.weebly.com
Some Y5 DT work.
January 21, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Some Y5 DT work.
Now that @daisychristo.bsky.social has forged the football analytics 🤝 education nerds link, the key question is surely, ‘What’s the goal probability added of primary school English?’
January 20, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Now that @daisychristo.bsky.social has forged the football analytics 🤝 education nerds link, the key question is surely, ‘What’s the goal probability added of primary school English?’
Knowledge Books: everything your daughter needs to know in KS2. 12 terms, so 12 books. Contains all the knowledge organisers, reading lists, spellings, Tier 2 vocab, poems etc.
January 8, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Knowledge Books: everything your daughter needs to know in KS2. 12 terms, so 12 books. Contains all the knowledge organisers, reading lists, spellings, Tier 2 vocab, poems etc.
Ringoooooooo!
December 19, 2024 at 11:58 PM
Ringoooooooo!
Reports to parent pro tip: include the pupil’s TTRS heat map.
Easy for parent to see which tables their daughter still needs to master. #timestablerockstars
Easy for parent to see which tables their daughter still needs to master. #timestablerockstars
December 12, 2024 at 1:59 PM
Reports to parent pro tip: include the pupil’s TTRS heat map.
Easy for parent to see which tables their daughter still needs to master. #timestablerockstars
Easy for parent to see which tables their daughter still needs to master. #timestablerockstars
How has Clarence House got 3 x Ofsted outstanding 🥇 in a row?
* Strict teachers who are kind
* Shared routines
* Knowledge organisers
* Knowledge books
* Booklets
* Lots of retrieval practice
1/2
* Strict teachers who are kind
* Shared routines
* Knowledge organisers
* Knowledge books
* Booklets
* Lots of retrieval practice
1/2
December 11, 2024 at 4:52 PM
How has Clarence House got 3 x Ofsted outstanding 🥇 in a row?
* Strict teachers who are kind
* Shared routines
* Knowledge organisers
* Knowledge books
* Booklets
* Lots of retrieval practice
1/2
* Strict teachers who are kind
* Shared routines
* Knowledge organisers
* Knowledge books
* Booklets
* Lots of retrieval practice
1/2
We opened Clarence House Preparatory School in 2016.
Ofsted visited in September 2017…outstanding.
Returned in 2020…outstanding.
And in October 2024…outstanding.
My team is just awesome! Colleagues have done an amazing job, from a standing start to triple🥇.
Ofsted visited in September 2017…outstanding.
Returned in 2020…outstanding.
And in October 2024…outstanding.
My team is just awesome! Colleagues have done an amazing job, from a standing start to triple🥇.
December 11, 2024 at 4:07 PM
We opened Clarence House Preparatory School in 2016.
Ofsted visited in September 2017…outstanding.
Returned in 2020…outstanding.
And in October 2024…outstanding.
My team is just awesome! Colleagues have done an amazing job, from a standing start to triple🥇.
Ofsted visited in September 2017…outstanding.
Returned in 2020…outstanding.
And in October 2024…outstanding.
My team is just awesome! Colleagues have done an amazing job, from a standing start to triple🥇.
Rightly or wrongly, Ofsted still give non-association independent schools an overall effectiveness judgement.
So we’re thrilled to share that Clarence House Preparatory School is - once again - Ofsted OUTSTANDING (October 2024).
So we’re thrilled to share that Clarence House Preparatory School is - once again - Ofsted OUTSTANDING (October 2024).
December 11, 2024 at 3:56 PM
Rightly or wrongly, Ofsted still give non-association independent schools an overall effectiveness judgement.
So we’re thrilled to share that Clarence House Preparatory School is - once again - Ofsted OUTSTANDING (October 2024).
So we’re thrilled to share that Clarence House Preparatory School is - once again - Ofsted OUTSTANDING (October 2024).
It’s beginning to look a lot like… #HamptonHill
November 29, 2024 at 10:17 AM
It’s beginning to look a lot like… #HamptonHill
Imagine you didn’t have any displays at school.
You have an annual exhibition, instead, where parents can say, ‘Wow…did you write this?’/‘This is my fourth draft, Dad.’
No naff posters, either. If it’s useful, stick it on a knowledge organiser.
How much time would you save?
You have an annual exhibition, instead, where parents can say, ‘Wow…did you write this?’/‘This is my fourth draft, Dad.’
No naff posters, either. If it’s useful, stick it on a knowledge organiser.
How much time would you save?
November 25, 2024 at 4:08 PM
Imagine you didn’t have any displays at school.
You have an annual exhibition, instead, where parents can say, ‘Wow…did you write this?’/‘This is my fourth draft, Dad.’
No naff posters, either. If it’s useful, stick it on a knowledge organiser.
How much time would you save?
You have an annual exhibition, instead, where parents can say, ‘Wow…did you write this?’/‘This is my fourth draft, Dad.’
No naff posters, either. If it’s useful, stick it on a knowledge organiser.
How much time would you save?
The best knowledge organisers are designed for retrieval practice: long questions; short answers. (This makes them easy to add to @carousel-learning.bsky.social, too). But Google, and the first suggestions are very pretty - but often contain paragraphs of text. #Edusky
November 19, 2024 at 10:38 AM
The best knowledge organisers are designed for retrieval practice: long questions; short answers. (This makes them easy to add to @carousel-learning.bsky.social, too). But Google, and the first suggestions are very pretty - but often contain paragraphs of text. #Edusky
No distractions. Eyes on the board/your book.
No wasting hours on displays.
When we’re writing, we’re writing in silence.
When we’re solving maths problems, we’re working in silence
(Out of shot: children smiling, laughing, having fun - & learning, too!)
(Also out of shot: annual exhibition)
No wasting hours on displays.
When we’re writing, we’re writing in silence.
When we’re solving maths problems, we’re working in silence
(Out of shot: children smiling, laughing, having fun - & learning, too!)
(Also out of shot: annual exhibition)
November 18, 2024 at 4:27 PM
No distractions. Eyes on the board/your book.
No wasting hours on displays.
When we’re writing, we’re writing in silence.
When we’re solving maths problems, we’re working in silence
(Out of shot: children smiling, laughing, having fun - & learning, too!)
(Also out of shot: annual exhibition)
No wasting hours on displays.
When we’re writing, we’re writing in silence.
When we’re solving maths problems, we’re working in silence
(Out of shot: children smiling, laughing, having fun - & learning, too!)
(Also out of shot: annual exhibition)
A mere 61% of pupils reach expected standard for English & maths. And to reach the expected standard, a pupil ‘only’ needs to get 50% of the questions right.
And yet all one hears about the curriculum review is what needs to be ADDED!
The best service the committee could do is cut, cut, cut.
And yet all one hears about the curriculum review is what needs to be ADDED!
The best service the committee could do is cut, cut, cut.
November 18, 2024 at 3:48 PM
A mere 61% of pupils reach expected standard for English & maths. And to reach the expected standard, a pupil ‘only’ needs to get 50% of the questions right.
And yet all one hears about the curriculum review is what needs to be ADDED!
The best service the committee could do is cut, cut, cut.
And yet all one hears about the curriculum review is what needs to be ADDED!
The best service the committee could do is cut, cut, cut.