Middlesex, teacher, Hazel Bennett, who has worked in a wide variety of schools for over 30 years, has had her third book published since winning the Writers’ News competition for a non-fiction book proposal in 2002.

Her proposal resulted in a two-book deal from Continuum International Publishing Group for The Ultimate Teachers’ Handbook and The Trainee Teachers’ Survival Guide. The second editions of these books will be published in 2008 and 2009.

‘Both give teachers and students practical advice on everyday issues in non-academic, jargon-free language – the advice they did not get at university,’ says Hazel.

‘Together, they cover everything from getting on the course, finding your first job, wading through the challenging first year at the chalk face, finding promotion, to surviving Ofsted and a host of issues.’

Her latest book, Class Assemblies for Primary Schools, £17.40, which includes the buyer’s right to photocopy, is a resource for primary school teachers who have to produce a class assembly every term.

It gives advice on organising assemblies and provides 36 playscripts of an average of ten minutes, including all the main religions of the world, Black and Asian history and secular topics ranging from Boudicca to Mother Teresa.
Written in a mixture of prose and humourous rhyme-and-mime verse, each playlet is designed to involve every member of the class in the speech and action.

Kate Nivison, reviewing the book for the Women Writers’ Network News describes them as, ‘witty, highly original rhyming couplets and the rest in prose and dialogue that sparkles with good humour, facts and fun’.

Hazel has also had articles published in Child Education, Junior Education and www.new2teaching.org.uk a website of the Association of Teachers’ and Lecturers and appeared on the Teachers’ TV Channel programme They Didn’t Teach Me That.

She is currently working on cross-curricular resources to support the National Curriculum in primary schools and articles for magazines.