House of Orkney Education

09/09/2026

Does your child struggle to follow instructions - or seem to forget what you've asked almost immediately?

Following a 2 or 3-step instruction is actually much more complicated than it sounds.

Before a child can hear “Get your shoes, put your water bottle in your bag and wait by the door” and successfully do all three, they need several underlying skills working together.

They need to understand the language, hold what they've heard in their working memory, and remember the sequence in which things need to happen.

So when a child repeatedly misses part of an instruction, it doesn't necessarily mean they weren't listening.

Sometimes we need to work on the skills underneath the difficulty.

And we can practise them without worksheets or formal learning. Games involving listening, memory, sequencing and following increasingly complex instructions can all help.

At House of Orkney Education, we build these foundation skills into our tuition, Learning Hubs and Alternative Provision - often through games and practical activities that don't feel like “work” at all. 💚

Save this one to try the 1 → 2 → 3 step progression at home.

08/09/2026

After nearly 20 years in education, one thing has become clearer and clearer to me:

How a child feels about learning matters. 🦉

Before we ask a child to read the next book, write another sentence or tackle a harder maths problem, sometimes there’s something else we need to work on first.

Do they feel safe enough to have a go?

Confident enough to make a mistake?

Interested enough to engage?

And, perhaps most importantly, do they still believe that they can learn?

For children who have found school or learning difficult, progress isn't always about doing more work.

Sometimes it starts with rebuilding confidence, creating opportunities for success and helping them rediscover that learning can actually feel good.

When we change how a child feels about learning, we can begin to change what happens next. 💚

At House of Orkney Education, this sits at the heart of our approach to primary tuition and Alternative Provision in North Tyneside.

07/09/2026

There is SO much you don’t see in a learning session. 👀

The resources might look fun - and they are! - but every game, prop, question and activity has a purpose.

Behind the scenes, I’m thinking about phonics, working memory, vocabulary, number sense, confidence, regulation, independence, previous learning and what each child needs next.

Engaging learning isn’t simply about making things look fun...

It’s about making learning accessible enough for a child to think:

“Maybe I can do this after all.” 💚

Looking for a different kind of learning?

I currently have a few Learning Hub spaces available at the Lantern Rooms in Whitley Bay:

⭐ After-school KS1 Learning Hub - 1 space
⭐ KS1 Home Education Learning Hub - 2 spaces
⭐ Year 4/5 Home Education Learning Hub - 3 spaces

Small groups. Specialist teaching. Learning built around the child.

DM “HUB” for details.

05/09/2026

I won't tell you how much I love creating autumnal learning environments…
…but there will be signs. 🍄🍂🎃🦊
Honestly, give me a toadstool, a tiny woodland animal and a pumpkin and I'm happy. 😂 But behind all the autumn loveliness, there's a reason I put so much thought into our learning environments at House of Orkney Education.
For children who may find traditional classrooms overwhelming, feel anxious about learning or need a more personalised approach, the environment really matters.
I want our spaces to feel calm, inviting and interesting - somewhere children actually want to explore.
And seasonal learning provides so many opportunities to do that naturally.
🍂 Autumn treasures for counting, sorting and maths 🍄 Woodland small worlds for storytelling and imaginative play 🦊 Animals and habitats for science and vocabulary 🎃 Pumpkins for measuring, investigating and creating 📚 Beautiful autumn books to inspire reading and writing Learning doesn't always have to start with sitting at a table and completing a worksheet.
Sometimes it starts with a tiny toadstool. 🍄

And yes... there may be considerably more autumn arriving at HOO before I'm finished. 🤣🍁

#ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜᴘʟᴀʏ

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

⭐ Gold stars all round for surviving the first week back to school!

Remembered the PE kit? ⭐️

Got everyone out of the door with shoes on? ⭐️

Accepted “fine” as the full and complete account of their first day back? ⭐️

Signed the reading record? ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Getting back into the school routine after the summer holidays can be a lot - for children and their grown-ups!

New teachers. New classrooms. New routines. New expectations.

Even children who are excited to go back to school can come home exhausted, emotional or completely unable to tell you a single thing they did all day.

And for children who find school, transitions or changes in routine particularly difficult, that first week can feel even bigger.

So don't worry if everything hasn't immediately fallen into place.

Give them time to adjust. Give yourself time too. And celebrate the tiny wins along the way. 💛

From House of Orkney Education, here's your official gold star for making it through week one. ⭐️

What are you awarding yourself a gold star for this week? 👇

02/09/2026

The art of making learning feel safe again. 🌿

For some children, learning hasn’t always felt safe.

It might have become associated with getting things wrong, feeling overwhelmed, being behind, struggling to keep up or simply feeling as though school wasn’t designed with them in mind.

And when that happens, sometimes the first step isn’t more work.

It’s rebuilding trust in learning.

At House of Orkney Education, that can look like starting with a game.
Learning while moving.
Taking the pressure off writing.
Following an interest.
Working in a small group.
Spending time outdoors.
Giving a child enough time to think.
Noticing when they need challenge and when they need space.

None of that means lowering expectations.

It means creating the conditions in which a child is ready to learn again.

Our alternative provision and specialist tuition support is designed for children who may need something different from a traditional classroom, including children experiencing anxiety, barriers to attendance, SEND or difficulties engaging with learning.

Small groups. Personalised learning. Calm environments. Strong relationships.

Sometimes progress starts long before anything appears in an exercise book.

🌿 House of Orkney Education | North Tyneside

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