Hey there Teacher Tappers!
No sooner have you started to settle your new starters than schools begin to turn their attention to open evenings and the next crop of students. We hope your parent tours are going well, and numbers are looking healthy for the academic year 2027/28.
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Right – onto this week’s findings!
Behaviour check-in
The start of the year can sometimes be a honeymoon period, where classes are on their best behaviour and keen to impress their new teachers; however, it’s not always like that! For lots of teachers, the start of the year is a time to get students used to your routines, and building the relationships needed to ensure learning isn’t disrupted.
Last year, 31% of secondary and 48% of primary classroom teachers reported disrupted lessons in September.
- For secondary teachers, this was the lowest level of disruption for the year. The highest was 38% in November and January.
- For primary teachers, September was one of the highest reports of disruption. The lowest was 43% in April, and the highest was 51% in November and February.
How does this year compare to previous Septembers? So far, 2026 looks very similar to September 2025 for classroom teachers (48% in 2025 vs 47% in 2026 for primary; 31% in 2025 vs 30% in 2026 for secondary). However, this is part of a general upward trend for primary when compared to September 2022 (40%), whereas secondary has stayed stable since 2022 (32%).
Are some teachers experiencing more disruption than others? Teachers who have changed schools this year are more likely to report disruption compared to teachers who are not new to the school. This was true both in primary (59% vs 47%) and secondary (39% vs 29%).
And it’s not just years of experience that can make a difference; the temperature of the classroom might have an impact too. Primary classroom teachers in rooms that were “too hot” saw more disruption than those in rooms that were “about right” (55% vs 42%) and the same was also true for secondary classroom teachers (34% vs 27%).
However, we can’t be sure if it is the hot classroom that causes the poor behaviour, or the poor behaviour that makes the classroom feel too hot! If you have a theory on this, we would love to hear it. Contact us with your suggestions England@teachertapp.co.uk 📧.
Does MAT size matter to job-hunting teachers?
Earlier this year, we asked a question about preferences between a job at a MAT or a local-authority (LA) school. Several Tappers wrote in to say context matters – how big was the MAT? To dig into the detail of the question, we split Teacher Tappers into four random groups and asked the same question again, but this time one group was asked about a single-school trust, another about a 15-school trust, another a 35-school trust, and finally the last group a 60-school trust.
Answers varied dramatically between teachers currently in LA schools and those already in academy trust schools.
In every scenario, teachers preferred the LA school, but the strength of feeling varied.
Among teachers already in LA schools, there was very little difference in responses, except the option of a job in a single trust school vs an LA school, when 84% would take the LA job, 3% would take the trust job, and 13% would toss a coin. In a 35-school trust scenario, 90% would take the LA job, 3% would take the trust job and 7% would toss a coin.
Among teachers already in trusts, there was more variation. When the option was a single-school trust or LA school, 51% would take the LA job, 13% the trust job, and 36% would toss a coin. In a 15-school trust, 60% would take the LA job, 16% would take the trust job, and 24% would toss a coin. However, as the size grows, there are no more significant changes in the data.
What does this mean? One conclusion might be that trust size doesn’t make a significant difference to the perception of the teacher, but in order to be confident in that assertion, we would have to ask more questions about trust sizes between 2 and 14 schools to see if there is a different tipping point.
If you have thoughts on these findings, we would love to hear them. Write to England@teachertapp.co.uk 📧.
GCSEs
From the number of trusts to the number of GCSE certificates. Compared to 2024, the number of students in state-funded schools taking 8 GCSEs has increased from 23% to 27%, and the number taking 10 or more has dropped from 26% to 23%.
In private schools, the number taking 10 or more hasn’t significantly changed compared to 2024 (45% in 2024 and 46% in 2026), but the number taking 9 has increased (39% UP from 32%), and those taking 8 or fewer have dropped (15% DOWN from 23%).
Playground behaviour
Jumping from the exam hall to the playground…
Trim trails and outdoor gyms are found in lots of school playgrounds, but how many teachers see students using them?
50% of primary teachers and 66% of secondary teachers say their school has NO outdoor gym. But among those who do:
Outdoor gyms
- Primary teachers: 49% see them used every day, 17% most days and 8% occasionally. 26% never see them used.
- Secondary teachers: 12% every day, 8% most days, 10% occasionally, and 69% never.
22% of primary teachers and 74% of secondary teachers say their school has NO trim trail. But among those who do:
Trim trails
- Primary teachers: 71% every day, 16% most days, 6% occasionally. 6% never see it used.
- Secondary teachers: 10% every day, 4% most days, 4% occasionally, and 81% never see it used.
A Teacher Tapper asked…mini whiteboards
This week, a teacher got in touch to ask how often teachers were using mini whiteboards in their classrooms. When we asked about use over the course of a week, we found that some subjects were using them more than others.
When specifically asking about using mini whiteboards for whole-group response methods over the course of a week, again, use varies between subjects:
- EYFS/KS1 68%
- KS2 83%
- English 46%
- Maths 80%
- Science 71%
- Humanities 46%
- Languages 80%
- Arts including D&T 35%
- Other, including PE 48%
If you have a question you would like Teacher Tapp to check, get in touch and let us know! England@teachertapp.co.uk 📧
Ups and Downs of…boy/girl seating plans
It’s been two years since we last checked in on the use of boy/girl seating plans, so we thought it was time to find out whether or not use had changed. And the answer is…yes!
6% of primary teachers and 3% of secondary teachers do NOT use seating plans at all – but among those who do…
⬆️ UP: teachers saying they always or almost always use boy/girl seating plans (primary 8% UP from 4% in 2024; secondary 14% UP from 11% in 2024)
⬇️ DOWN: teachers saying they never use boy/girl seating plans (primary is 23% DOWN from 32% in 2024; secondary is 18% DOWN from 25% in 2024)
↔️ EYFS/KS1 are the most likely to say they ‘never’ use boy/girl plans (35%), and MFL teachers are the least likely (12%).
And finally…
There has been research that suggests wearing a PE kit to school on the days students have PE increases participation among female students, but how common is it that schools have that rule?
In primary, the majority of teachers say their school have this rule in place (77%), whereas among secondary school teachers, it is far less common (17%).
Daily Reads
The most-read tip on e-scooters and what they reveal about behaviour. Check it out here!
There are so many great blogs out there, and we love featuring them on Teacher Tapp. If you have a blog you think we should feature, please email us at england@teachertapp.co.uk, and we will check it out!
