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.

[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.

[reefedsail]

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

[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]

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.

[reefedsail]

Ooh, Ashard20, Deepening Understanding looks great!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Boxachocs]

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

[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.

[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! 😊