Category: Uncategorized

  • World Book Day: Let’s Celebrate Every Language on the Page

    World Book Day is one of the most joyful moments in the school year. Costumes, book tokens, author visits, storytelling, library corners bursting with excitement… It’s a celebration of reading that children remember. But there’s a group of texts that is often missing from the displays, the assemblies and the…

  • How to Host a Meaningful International Mother Language Day in Your School

    A practical, inclusive guide for busy educators, including a downloadable checklist International Mother Language Day (21 February) is a powerful opportunity for schools to recognise and celebrate the languages spoken by their pupils and families. But many educators tell me the same thing: We want to do something… we’re just…

  • What Happens to the Minority Language When Children Go “Home”?

    Since coming back from Christmas, Arthur has been speaking so much more Dutch. Not in a dramatic, overnight way. But slowly. Naturally. Almost quietly. And yet, unmistakably. We spent a whole week “back home” surrounded by family, playing board games, watching Flemish TV, sharing meals, and chatting about everyday things.…

  • Holding On to Heritage: Reflections After Sinterklaas in a UK Home

    I adore this time of year. It’s a season that feels full of possibility, memory, and (if you’re parenting in more than one language) a surprising amount of logistics. This year, Sinterklaas visited our home here in the UK on Friday night, and honestly, it has been a whole month…

  • Sinterklaas season has begun!

    Yesterday marked the first episode of het Sinterklaasjournaal, the magical nightly “news” that follows Sinterklaas and his helpers as they make their way to the Netherlands and Belgium. Every evening from now until 5 December, children tune in to see what’s happening with the boat, the presents, and of course…

  • The Evolution of Language: How English Is Becoming More Inclusive

    Language never stands still. It shifts, stretches, and adapts, always reflecting the people who use it. That’s one of the things I love most about language: it’s alive. And recently, we’ve seen English evolve in ways that make it more inclusive and reflective of our diverse identities. Small words, big…

  • Don’t Give Up on Bilingual Parenting

    Bilingual parenting is deeply rewarding, but it can also be one of the hardest commitments a family makes. Life is busy, routines are unpredictable, and often the dominant language ends up taking over. Parents can start to feel discouraged, wondering if their efforts in the home language are really making…

  • Real Belonging: Inclusion for Multilingual Learners

    Earlier this week, I had the privilege of leading a Heddle EAL Masterclass on Inclusion in the Mainstream Classroom. We began with a simple yet powerful question: What does inclusion mean to you? Participants’ responses created a word cloud filled with terms such as belonging, acceptance, safety, community, and representation.…

  • Inclusion Starts with Visibility. Why Every Language Belongs in School.

    When a newly arrived student walks into school for the first time, everything feels unfamiliar; the building, the routines, the language. For multilingual learners, it can also feel like their identities are invisible the moment they step inside. I’ve seen this first-hand: the difference it makes when a child spots…

  • Learn Your Students’ Names – Properly. No Exceptions.

    The start of the school year is full of new faces, routines, and challenges. But one of the most powerful ways to build trust and belonging from day one is surprisingly simple: learn how to pronounce every student’s name correctly. And I don’t mean close enough. I mean properly. Why…