Research School Network: So you’ve agreed to write a blog… …but have no idea where to start?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you stand still for too long in the presence of a member of Norfolk Research School, you will inevitably be asked to write a blog. In our defence, we really, really love a blog, and are privileged to spend a lot of time with colleagues who are experts in their field, inspiring practitioners, or otherwise blessed with a point of view we’d love to share.

We also know that sometimes colleagues agree in the moment – ​“yes of course, I can totally write a blog about that thing I do all the time in the classroom” – but when it comes to sitting down and actually putting hands to keyboard, find themselves at a bit of a loss. Blog writing is a skill in itself, different from creating a lesson plan or constructing a curriculum. Not to mention that educators are extremely time-poor during term time, and energy-poor in the holidays!


Since we can’t all be blog-writing machines, here at NRS we’ve created a blog writing guide-on-a-page. If you’re happy to go away and write the blog, that’s great – we’ll read it, suggest any edits, and publish it straight to our website. If you’d rather we give you a hand, that’s also great! Here are some examples of how that might look:

This blog was conceived when Niki dropped into an English lesson and was inspired by the teaching she saw. She later sat down with Harriet and Sally for a chat about their use of embodied learning and then wrote up the conversation as a blog for their sign-off.

Similarly, this blog is the product of a throwaway comment during INSET that Niki (again) pounced on and wrote after a follow up conversation with Louise.

Finally, this blog is the product of a conversation that was happening anyway, as part of NRS’s Great Talking project: Niki (yes, AGAIN!) wrote up her notes and had all participants sign off on publishing.

The diversity of our contributors is something we’re really proud of when it comes to our blogs. The example posts linked in our blog writing guidance encompass contributions from support staff as well as classroom teachers; school leadership; equality and diversity leadership; writers with disabilities; neurodivergent writers; and more. While we have several regular posters, we are always keen to hear from new voices and will work with you to remove any barriers to contributing while retaining your voice and perspective.

Feeling inspired? Get in touch: you can email us (research@​ndhs.​org.​uk), message us on LinkedIn, or simply be in our presence for more than about three minutes. We look forward to hearing from you!