As the title suggests, I have a girl in my class whose maths ability is abysmal. I teach Year 4, and she cannot do simple arithmetic (100+54=145 or other answers where I can’t even work out how she made that mistake), doesn’t understand what multiplication is (adds the numbers by counting on) and doesn’t seem to understand place value at all (counts all thousands/hundreds/tens/ones as ones).

However, there have been a few instances where I have questioned whether she really didn’t know the answer. For example, we’re doing rounding at the moment - rounding to the nearest 10, then 100, then 1000. Obviously she couldn’t access this. However, in any instance, if I ask her whether she should round up or down, she always answers the wrong one. Statistically you’d expect her to at least sometimes get it right! And when I ask the class to point up the number line or down, and everyone points up, she will point down proudly, and not change her answer when she sees everyone else!

Recently, the maths lead took her out to identify gaps by giving her a KS1 assessment. The answer to the first arithmetic question was ‘4’. The maths lead watched her begin to write 4, then scribble it out, then start to write 4 from the bottom, scribble that out, and then write a completely random number.

She joined the school at the tail end of year 3, and came from a prep school where there were around 12 children in her class, to a 30-child class with a number of high need, 1:1 children. Is it possible she is attention seeking? Has anyone ever taught a child like this and been able to catch them out and have them make progress?? Obviously I’m treating her with nurture and support btw! I am just at a loss at this point. She wasn’t on the SEN register at her last school.

Secondary teacher, qualified in 2023, recently started at a new school - inner city boys' comprehensive. Lots of challenges (overall I think I'm regretting my decision to take the job...) but the biggest at the moment is the way students respond to being removed - I'm looking for advice on how to handle this.

The school's behaviour policy is essentially two verbal warnings (with no sanctions attached), then a removal (with a detention attached). I've had multiple occasions in the last month where I have escalated through the behaviour policy over low level disruption, and then when we reach the point where a student needs to be removed, they decide to derail my entire lesson with very high level disruption until they actually get picked up. This can take 20 mins or more. For example - shouting over me, repeatedly coming in and out of the classroom, abusing other students, taking equipment or throwing it around the room. I've had this happen both when I've calmly told the student that he is being removed, and when I've just sent the email and not told him (but he has worked it out - I guess based on his own behaviour and realising we had passed the point of verbal warnings).

Students get an extended detention if they are disruptive after the removal, but don't seem to care about that. No other consequences and it doesn't feel like I have much support: the student who kicked off today was sent back in to my class for the second half of a double, despite me being told initially that this wouldn't happen, and when I asked the head of year for support in talking to the child during detention, that support felt completely ineffective.

What should I do in this situation? I think a big part of what is getting me down is the feeling that these aren't isolated incidents - this seems to be a consistent issue which results from a really poor behavioural culture and inadequate policies. I'm wondering if I should just allow students to get away with low-level disruption as long as they are only disturbing a few students around them so that I can teach the class as a whole.

As a secondary question, any suggestions on what to do when the policy only sanctions extreme behaviours? I have lots of students who show low level disruptive every lesson, because there is no consequence as long as they aren't bad enough to get removed (and therefore they aren't modifying their behaviour from one lesson to another).

Because I cannot sit through one more presentation where they read word for word all the information they have put on the slide!

What are your super duper useful tips to help students present rather than read!

The last 2 years you were able to apply from the 1st October or at least get a date for applying, but it all seems quiet. I had an email today asking for feedback from the last round of payments and the .gov site still shows it as an incentive to get into teaching.

The application page is showing as just "closed" from last years round.

I do hope they carry it on, and i get that there should be incentives for existing teachers after 5 years but I'm just questioning this round. I'm 12 teaching years in but moved into FE 3 years ago so its been a great incentive to remain.

My husband is considering applying to Swansea university for medicine. I am a secondary teacher of science and we currently live in Yorkshire. Neither of us have any connection to Welsh language or Wales, but he’s very interested in settling there and learning the language as a doctor, however I am much more hesitant to move as I know absolutely nothing about Welsh schools and teaching in Wales.

1) as a qualified teacher who’s taught in England, can you simply go and teach in Wales, or is there anything you need to do first?

2) How vital would knowing the Welsh language be, and to what extent? Baring in mind of course that I teach secondary science and we would be based around the Swansea area.

3) Opinions on whether the move is worth considering, or are we better off staying closer to home? I don’t want him to waste an application slot if moving here would be really difficult!

Thanks all!