Carefully scaffolded challenges, usually with defined criteria for success and reward, can be a great way to motivate children and increase their engagement in their learning. Ian and Andrew discuss some of the ways we can use challenges to support learning, including how this can also develop connections with families and carers.

Examples of Challenges include:

• Time specified challenges where children are asked to complete a defined task or tasks by a certain date or across a particular time period.
• Creative tasks with a clear brief, where their work is submitted and shared.
• Group challenges where children collaborate to produce something.

Rewards usually form an integral part of a Challenge - such as certificates, badges, celebration events, prizes etc.

Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com

Across the year there are lots of events that schools connect to, these may include religious festivals, charity appeals, awareness raising days or memorials to events in the past. Ian and Andrew discuss ways these can used to enhance learning, drive cultural capital and enable children to make connections between their lives and the experiences of others.

Espresso's 'Calendar Picks' for EYFS, KS1 & KS2 can be a great way to bring these events into the classroom with easy to use ready-made lessons.

Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com

Building children's skills is an essential part of our work in the classroom. The 4Cs are a particularly important set of skills we need to build to prepare our children for their futures.

• Communication
• Critical Thinking
• Creativity
• Collaboration

In this episode we consider how collaboration fits in to this eco-system and explore ideas for building this essential skill.

Please email us with questions, ideas or suggestions at classroomconnect@discoveryed.com