Twinkl/classroom secrets etc

[Daisy169]

I'm a primary teacher with leadership responsibility. I'm looking to decrease workload (aren't we all!) and was wondering if anyone has any experience of using websites like twinkl or classroom secrets and can give me their opinion on them. Are they worth it? Currently, we're using the previous year's planning as a base but that will obviously run out at some point and isn't always of great quality or matched to our current needs. We're making 90% of our resources from scratch and SLT have changed the planning proforma from last year (why?!) so workload is an issue in my team and not one I can easily solve.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[MrsZola]

I love Twinkl for the very fact that I don't have to create stuff from scratch. If what I need is already out there, why on earth would I make my own version? Been there, spent untold hours doing it, back to the dark ages of teaching in the 80s/90s when you had no choice. Times move on and while you do need to sift through it carefully, it's soooo much better to search, click and print! 😊

[profpoopsnagle]

I have used a few units of work from Plan bee- found them very good for science and topic. They are also fairly easy to send home for isolating pupils.

Hamilton is another place for paid recources.

[Boxachocs]

Anyone tried Master The Curriculum for maths? I haven’t subscribed yet but the free stuff is good so far.

[LolaSmiles]

I've seen far too many teachers become deskilled because they've followed schemes of learning for so long that they've genuinely lost some of their ability and confidence to teach without it. I've also seen staff unable to adapt to the needs and progression rates of their class as a result of this too
I agree with this.
I love Twinkl and it's a brilliant resource to dip into and it supplements my planning rather than replacing it.

[cansu]

There appears to be some kind of dislike and a sneering attitude towards prepaid resources at the moment. It seems to me that many people prefer to see individual teachers all busy creating their own resources as this must mean that they are working harder! I use bits and pieces from everywhere and add in / make own stuff where necessary. Why would I think that my own PPT on adverbials will be better than another teacher who has been paid to produce one using top quality software and professional publishing? I take slides and edit or I download worksheets and make changes to suit my classes. I recently sat in a meeting where the highly paid English advisor (who is also writing her own resources to sell) made her disdain for twinkl clear. I was really pissed off. As teachers, we should welcome as much variety and choice as possible.

[Ashard20]

@reefedsail It really is! I love it. The securing skills are really effective and the actual Maths tasks are so much easier to mark and navigate than a similar type on Classroom Secrets, which we also use. Mathsframe is also a good one to supplement it. Also I see Reasoning and I see Maths. They're all great for mastery, as you can use reasoning task from lower year groups for your really low ones.

[RaraRachael]

I use Twinkl but I find it infuriatingly difficult to find what I'm looking for. To my mind it isn't organised properly. I can type quite a specific search and it comes up with nothing like that.

Some LAs were telling staff that they weren't allowed to use it - not sure of the reasons why - I pay my own subscription so I'll use what I like.

[reefedsail]

Ooh, Ashard20, Deepening Understanding looks great!

[reefedsail]

I also forgot to mention that we are a Pixl school. I wouldn't share this opinion in school, as it was very expensive, but I really don't think it's great. It would be an insane amount of work to really implement it properly, and the resources are too dry and bitty to be worth it as a resource bank alone. I barely ever log in.

[Ashard20]

Deepening Understanding is great. It follows White Rose Maths and has comprehensions as well as SPAG.
I also wouldn't be without Literacy Shed plus.

[reefedsail]

Oh! I forgot TestBase. That is an absolute must! No question necessity!

[reefedsail]

I have access to:

Twinkl
Classroom Secrets
Pobble
Mr A C and D
Literacy Shed
Grammarsaurus
Math Antics
Maths Frame
Spelling Frame
White Rose

I actually currently use (in order of frequency):
Twinkl
Mr A C and D
Math Antics
White Rose
Spelling Frame
Maths Frame

What I use depends on the class I have though. Some resources suit one class more than another and, TBH, my top resource is YouTube.

My revolution of the year is Mr A C and D. Great knowledge organisers with a set of quizzes to go with each. I particularly love the book knowledge organisers and have started choosing class novels based on what they have an organiser for.

[Iamnotthe1]

@HyperHippo
I disagree with the comment schemes lead to deskilling teachers. I have found dipping into different schemes and resources opens my eyes to different ideas and approaches. I don't religiously follow one thing, I adapt to the class and what I know works from experience.

It depends on the type and level of use. With heavy or prescriptive use, it does have a longer term impact on the skills and confidence of the teacher.

I've been brought in to work with teachers before who, when I've asked where the learning goes next, have just reached for the textbook to find the next page. I've seen them move on and leave behind children who haven't understood key concepts simply because the scheme says that, by week 6, you should be on division. I've been observing or paired teaching when they've used resources and questions that they actually didn't understand themselves and then couldn't support or extend the children. Of course not every teacher who uses external resources ends up like this but many of those who rely on them heavily do.

Using professional judgement and occasionally cherry picking ideas to then adapt and weave into the curriculum you are creating is a totally different thing.

[ChristmasinJune]

I disagree with the comment schemes lead to deskilling teachers. I have found dipping into different schemes and resources opens my eyes to different ideas and approaches. I don't religiously follow one thing, I adapt to the class and what I know works from experience.

I think this is the key, use them as a tool to reduce workload and they can be an asset. Rely on the to spoon feed you every step of the way then yes, you'll find you lose the ability to teach without them.

[HyperHippo]

I use these combinations:

Maths
White Rose small steps as a basis
Then I take questions from:
White Rose premium (great at the moment as if pupils are isolating I can send the Home Learning video as we stay on track with the small steps)
Classroom Secrets
Primary Stars Maths - these are brilliant for practical tasks matching up to the WR small steps, support materials, challenge
NRICH

English
Power of Reading Scheme - but I find this better for children who are used to reading lots and exposed to lots of vocab etc at home
The Art of Teaching Writing is also good for schools with high pupil premium and EAL as it is very explicit

Science
Hamilton Trust with some adaptations

I disagree with the comment schemes lead to deskilling teachers. I have found dipping into different schemes and resources opens my eyes to different ideas and approaches. I don't religiously follow one thing, I adapt to the class and what I know works from experience.

[Iamnotthe1]

@Ashard20

I should add that we create all our own lesson plans, but the bought in stuff really helps as a starting point, particularly for Maths. We also abandoned formal planning for the same reasons *@Iamnotthe* 1. It's been so liberating and saved so much time.

I just don't see what purpose it serves unless you're new to teaching or new to a particular topic and not feeling confident.

Even from a scrutiny perspective, what does a lesson plan give you that you can't get from looking at a book or talking to a child.

[Ashard20]

I should add that we create all our own lesson plans, but the bought in stuff really helps as a starting point, particularly for Maths. We also abandoned formal planning for the same reasons @Iamnotthe 1. It's been so liberating and saved so much time.

[Ashard20]

I prefer Deepening Understanding to Classroom Secrets. I just think it's more user-friendly when it comes to marking Maths and also has some really great Maths slides for everything - fluency, securing skills etc. Also some very useful comprehensions across different areas of the curriculum. We also have Literacy Shed plus, Maths Frame and Outstanding Science. The Knowsley computing scheme includes a unit on e-safety and is really good - and free. ALso for PSHE, Amnesty international has schemes for early years, KS1 and KS2, again free.

[wasgoingmadinthecountry]

Definitely not a Twinkl fan, but I'm running out of energy. I know I could do everything better but the children (and my family) don't need a knackered version of me.

[Subordinateclause]

It was me who mentioned the Maya. It's Maya culture, not Mayan. Mayan refers to the language. See I did learn something! Being tongue in cheek. I do agree with your sentiment lam but I teach in a tiny tiny school which means planning for multiple year groups on a 4 year cycle. We have a hugely sensible head but the challenges of a small school increase workload massively however much you scale back planning and marking expectations (all subject leadership shared between two people for a start, a 4 year planning cycle). Sometimes a quick topic presentation or set of topic images, which I adapt to fit my own planning and research, is not the worst thing in the world. But I suppose I know that I do research and plan thoroughly, and can be trusted to use sites like Twinkl sensibly.

[Daisy169]

Thank you all for your thoughts. It would seem there's different opinions. I'll look into pricing and maybe pay for a month or two to see what I think (if that's possible)

[Callardandbowser]

Excuse all my typos. Sausage fingers!

[Iamnotthe1]

@Callardandbowser

I agree, but so many SLs don’t take these things into account.

Agreed! Which is one of the reasons why, when I go in to support a school, it's often a higher-up decision causing the issue rather than a class-based teacher decision.