Hey there, Tappsters!
September has come to an end (already? How?!), and the season is changing. Now is the time to dig out those gloves and BIG winter coats – better to be prepared before the cold snap kicks in!
Top Tapper Referrers
It is the final day of our Teacher Tapper Referral incentive! Woohoo 🥳 more than 250 new Tappers joining the Teacher Tapp community 🙌.
The top Tapper for referrals clocked in more than 50 new sign ups 🙌
Since starting the campaign, it’s been primary and science teachers leading the way with the most referrals made 🥳 and seven of our new Tappers have also made their own referrals!
Everything closes on 12pm Tuesday 30th September so be quick! Find your code in the app, spread the word, and let’s see how much we can raise for this important teacher charity 💪 so far, you have raised £685 for Education Support.
Contentedness
What does it take to be content? Happiness, arguably, is a fleeting emotion – but feeling content is something that is more deep and long-lasting.
But contentment levels aren’t quite as high as they have been in previous years – and those feeling discontent are ever so slightly higher.
Digging a little deeper into the data, those who are more senior report higher levels of contentment. 17% of teaching staff rated themselves at least a 6 out of 7 score, but the same was true for 22% of senior leadership
So what shifts the dial on feelings of contentment? Teachers who exercised or socialised on the weekend were more likely to report higher levels of contentment compared to teachers who said they didn’t participate in any of the activities on the list (20% vs. 15% scoring at least 6 out of 7).
At the other end of the scale, those who didn’t partake in any of the listed activities were TWICE as likely to give themselves the lowest score of contentment (7% vs 3%).
Why might all of this matter? Well, apart from the obvious we should want all staff working in a school to feel content – the more content your staff are, the more likely they are to be enthusiastic about their work.
Teachers who rate themselves 7 out of 7 for contentment are almost TEN times more likely to say they’re looking forward to returning to work after the holiday compared to teachers who gave themselves 1 out of 7 (29% vs 3%).
Hopefully this will be useful for leaders in schools where staff wellbeing is low – perhaps the weekend break is the key to boosting morale.
The influence of “the manosphere” in schools
Another question we have been tracking over time is teachers’ perceptions of the “manosphere” and its influence over their students.
This year, more than 50% of teachers have heard students discussing Andrew Tate in secondary school, but of those, 44% have heard positive conversations, and 34% negative (of course, some have heard both!).
In primary, conversations are less common with 15% reporting they have heard pupils discussing Andrew Tate – and of those, again more positive than negative (13% and 5%).
But we have good news! Discussions about Andrew Tate appear to be on the downturn.
Compared to 2024, reports of students discussing Tate are DOWN 10 percentage points (63% vs 53%) in secondary school, and DOWN 6 percentage points (21% vs 15%) in primary school.
However, before we start to celebrate, there is the possibility that one influencer has been replaced with another.
91% of teachers are concerned about the influence of figures like Andrew Tate, the same as last year. But schools are taking steps to tackle the problem: 62% of secondaries are taking action, such as assemblies, and 27% of primaries are doing the same.
Watch the watches
Now, at the end of last year several Teacher Tappers wrote in to ask about school policies for mobile phones. Some teachers were worried that their school had no policy, and they had students using features on their phones to call and record in class, while others had just been told a new policy was coming in.
This is the first time we have asked about watches – and this will be one to watch in the future to see if wearable tech becomes more common, and consequently more policed.
Schools without policies are in the minority, but not uncommon: 29% of primaries and 22% of secondaries are policy-free.
Of those that DO have a policy:
⛔️ 64% of primaries and 27% of secondaries ban watches altogether.
✋ 12% of primaries and 6% of secondaries collect watches in.
📴 23% of primaries and 53% of secondaries allow watches, but calling and messaging are prohibited all day.
🛜 0% of primaries and 3% of secondaries allow watches to be used for calls and messages at break and lunch.
⌚️ 1% of primaries and 11% of secondaries permit watches to be used at any time.
Do smart watches disturb your lessons? What incidents have you had to deal with? And are staff subject to the same rules? Send in any questions suggestions to england@teachertapp.co.uk.
+ BONUS science lessons 🧪
Open evening season is upon us, and science technicians all over the country are digging out their most explosive and dramatic practicals to wow visitors to their labs.
But when it comes to day-to-day teaching, do science teachers prefer practicals over a virtual simulation?
71% are practical purists, 2% would go virtual only, and 26% want their cake and eat it with a mixture of both.
With the cost of materials and the ongoing expense of science technicians, will virtual simulations become the option of choice for those schools on a budget? Or will practical lessons always be the favoured option because of the skills developed by running the experiments themselves?
If you have a question you would like to ask JUST a subject or phase, drop us a message and let us know! england@teachertapp.co.uk
Daily Reads
This week, a whopping 26% of SENCOs read the tip on joyous ownership of inclusion 🙌.
Got a blog you think we should feature? Email us at england@teachertapp.co.uk and we will check it out!
