Busy Things review by Mrs C

Date: 26.04.2022

Review subject: Cross-curricular

Phase: Primary

Reviewer: Mrs C, Teacher

Rural LA maintained school 28 pupils in Northumberland
Ofsted rating: Outstanding
FSM: 42.9%

Review rating:

Average rating across all Busy Things reviews: 4.4/5

It’s a resource which needs regular review as to its use by the class and also needs a set of eyes on the saved content for a group, however we love it and would recommend it to other schools

How well does it match the curriculum?

Reasonably: It’s good enough for the money, but needs some additional resources

Plenty to choose from and the children enjoy the change from regular activities. The science is particularly engaging

How well does it support your school’s inclusion/diversity/equal opportunities policy?

Reasonably: There is some representation of minorities and no real stereotyping

Hadn’t really noticed too many resources. Maybe I’ll look again with new eyes

How well does it support differentiation for the full range of the classes you use it with?

Well: A large majority of resources are suitably differentiated for pupils

All children have successes to their own levels I feel. It really allows for differentiation and lets children feel they can all achieve similar outcomes

How well does it engage and motivate pupils?

Well: Pupils generally enjoy using it and tend to welcome doing so

I’m my experience it’s certainly a go-to resource for them. At home too.

How well supported is it by accompanying formative assessments?

Reasonably: There is some formative assessment included, but its usefulness is a bit limited

I’ve used the assessments in a small way but rely more on the ones we have in school

How well does it support planning?

Reasonably: Mostly we can use it without an unreasonable amount of effort or additional resource requirement

Easy to navigate but tends to be an add on rather than a main lead in my plans

How well does it support home use / independent learning?

Brilliantly: We’d have very few reservations about using this extensively to support home learning

The families have commented how well it helps motivate children. It was super during lockdown

How would you rate it for value for money compared to similar resources?

Well: It’s worth the money and effort to introduce – more so than many similar resources I’ve seen

I consider it to be well priced

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