Circle time needs trained teachers

Circle time in primary school can enhance pupils' personal and social skills and help language development, but it needs to be linked with other learning strategies and backed up by systematic training of teachers, according to a report by the National Foundation for Educational Research. The report, Going Round in Circles: Implementing and Learning from Circle Time, examined the response to circle time in 57 primary schools and its implementation and training of teachers in detail at 14 schools. It found that schools used a range of different models for circle time - structured, activity-based, spontaneous, problem-centred, dealing with emotions...