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Along with being a primary school teacher and leader, blogging is where this all started for Aidan. If it wasn't for his passion for writing and sharing his learning and experiences, he wouldn't be working as an education consultant with schools across the country today. Shared best practice should be available to all and here on the Aidan Severs Consulting blog you can get ideas for making a difference in your own school. The blog is also a great place to learn exactly the kind of work that Aidan can partner with your school on.
Supporting Children's Time Management in KS2 Reading SATs
If you’ve ever watched a Year 6 child run out of time in the reading paper, you’ll know the issue isn’t always understanding. It’s knowing what to do first, what to spend time on and what to leave. The encouraging thing is this: time management in the KS2 reading SATs is teachable and is something that can be worked upon right up until the tests arrive - in fact, it's often just the icing on the cake. Here are five ideas for how you can help children with their time managemen
Aidan Severs
Apr 284 min read
KS2 Continuous Provision: Gradual Release of Responsibility
No two weeks are quite the same when you're implementing continuous provision in key stage 2... Crucially there is a gradual release of responsbility which provides the necessary support for pupils to move towards independence.
Aidan Severs
Jul 16, 20253 min read
KS2 Continuous Provision: Ensuring Curriculum Coverage
One of the key challenges when designing and delivering continuous provision to any age group, but particularly in KS2, is ensuring that there is curriculum coverage. By delivering masterclasses, setting apprentice tasks, creating routines, providing scaffolds and carrying out check-ins and conferencing, continuous provision and curriculum coverage can be balanced well in KS2.
Aidan Severs
Jul 2, 20256 min read
Continuous Provision in KS2: FAQs
This blog explores how KS2 continuous provision - based on EYFS principles - can foster independence, creativity, and deep learning. It addresses common questions on adapting the approach to meet curriculum demands, setting up purposeful provision areas, ensuring progression and challenge, integrating effective assessment, and managing behaviour. Grounded in careful planning and adult guidance, it offers practical steps for implementation.
Aidan Severs
Jun 24, 20257 min read
A KS3 Curriculum To Support Transition
A version of this blog post was first published in Transition Talks Issue #4 and with kind permission is now being re-published here. When it comes to year 6 to year 7 transition there are many aspects to consider . Often it is the practical aspects – the ins and outs of the school day, the systems and routines - that become the focus. Essentially these are the things that make up induction, rather than a true, effective transition. After acknowledging that pupils who came
Aidan Severs
Dec 3, 20245 min read
Case Study: Revolutionising Curriculum Delivery in KS2
Explore how a UK primary school transformed its KS2 curriculum delivery, emphasizing open-ended challenges, same-day interventions, and more
Aidan Severs
Nov 12, 20246 min read
Case Study: Continuous Provision and EYFS-Inspired Practice in KS2
Bringing an early years approach into KS1 isn’t unheard of – there are plenty of Year 1 classrooms where continuous provision has been effectively established. But, at my previous school the vision was grander: we wanted to know if EYFS-inspired teaching and learning could have an impact, not only in KS1, but also in KS2. The rationale for taking an EYFS approach into year 1 is perhaps to provide children moving from Reception with some familiarity, however many proponents o
Aidan Severs
Oct 8, 20246 min read
5 Ways To Help Children To Access The KS2 Reading SATs
Not many year 6 teachers want to spend months going through past papers, and indeed, many past papers now don't match the rigour and complexity of the more recent tests. There's also a growing (and welcome) trend of moving away from reading lessons being death by comprehension questions which require a written answer and are organised by the SATs reading domains. But, it's never a bad idea to help children to feel like the tests are familiar, and there are some things about t
Aidan Severs
Jan 5, 20243 min read
Times Tables Fluency and the KS2 SATs
How important is times tables fluency for the KS2 SATs? I'd say quite important. When we are fluent in speaking a language, we can speak it without thinking much about it. That kind of fluency will be useful for year 6 children to have when it comes to the key stage 2 maths tests. Some time ago, I looked through the 2018 SATs papers to see just how many questions required some times tables knowledge. Here's what I discovered: In Paper 1 (Arithmetic) there are 19 out of 36 que
Aidan Severs
Nov 22, 20232 min read
Brand new KS2 Reading SATs prep resource!
I've put together a new resource designed for year 6 teachers specifically focusing on the 3-mark questions in the KS2 reading test.
Aidan Severs
Feb 24, 20231 min read
6 Things To Remember For KS2 SATs Week 2026
It's 2022 Key Stage 2 Test week - SATs are upon us again after a 2-year hiatus. Remember these things as you prepare for the week ahead.
Aidan Severs
May 7, 20223 min read
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