Sometimes it's easy to overlook the things that really matter in any project. The simple things that make all the others tick. In the same way that any builder worth their wages would first ensure the foundations are solid before building the grand design above ground (which will be ineffective if not underpinned properly).

I humbly offer the following five suggestions about what will contribute to effective learning. If you don't have some or indeed all of these, there is likely to be medium and long-term ineffectiveness to your teaching and pupil learning.

Firstly, how much sleep are your pupils and indeed you as a teacher getting? Sleep research by David Dinges at the University of Pennsylvania has found that adults need eight hours of sleep a night: only 5% of people adapt to sleeping less than eight hours. The rest of us just perform at a far lower level than if fully rested. At an extreme, if you only have six hours of sleep a night for two weeks, you become the equivalent of being cognitively drunk. Shockingly, I know of a school that surveyed its pupils and found that 55% of pupils did not get eight hours of sleep a night. A recent survey by the National Sleep council (March is national Bed Month, apparently) reports 92% of teachers complaining that pupils are so tired they are unable to pay attention in class. More than a third (38%) said lack of sleep among youngsters is a daily problem for them. The importance of being rested, for all involved, might seem obvious, but it's still important and is usually overlooked by schools in encouraging proper sleep patterns.

Secondly, are pupils having breakfast? Research from Harvard Medical School has highlighted the cognitive, social and emotional problems that pupils suffer if they do not eat breakfast. There is a very interesting campaign in Canada called Breakfast for Learning which might be of interest to colleagues. Of course, there are significant social implications and ramifications, as many pupils unfortunately do not skip breakfast out of choice but out of their own personal family circumstances. It is such sad stories that impress the necessity of the EMA which has been hacked away at in recent years.

Aside from pupils who skip breakfast not out of choice but rather necessity, there are pupils who skip breakfast for other reasons, including their own body image desires or indeed just to get a few extra minutes in bed each morning. But having breakfast is clearly important. It's hard to learn if irritable, distracted or even weak, and a sensitive encouragement to take breakfast in the morning is important for learning.

Thirdly, how much water are pupils drinking in an average day? Two litres of water should be consumed as a minimum, and for teenage boys this should be two and a half litres. A mental decrease in concentration, memory and attention of up to 10% of cognitive ability is felt once thirst is experienced.

Thirst is the sign that your body has lost between 0.8-2% of your body weight in water, and seeing that the brain consists of 80% water, the centrality of water cannot be understated. There is a national campaign within Britain to highlight this hugely important area: water is cool in school might be of interest.

Fourthly, what are you hoping for pupils to learn in class? John Hattie's meta-analyses of over 800 learning research projects concluded that successful learning is very clearly and explicitly linked with four main things, one of which is the setting of learning intentions. "He concluded that successful learning is dependent on clear learning intentions that describe the skills, knowledge, attitudes and values that the student needs to learn," a GTC summary concluded.

Giving pupils clear success criteria to achieve in a lesson also visibly boosted learning (eg you will by the end of this lesson know ten words associated with ancient Rome). So how "visible" is the learning you want pupils to achieve in a lesson? Do you share learning objectives and test these at the end of a lesson to see if you/your pupils have succeeded in the lesson? New Ofsted guidelines now stipulate that future lessons cannot be graded outstanding unless they have learning objectives shared with the class.

Finally, are you looking after yourself? If you're so knackered you can't effectively and consistently intervene to promote learning, or are fed up and losing your zest for the classroom due to overwork or stress (whether caused internally or externally), you yourself won't be as effective at the front of and moving around the classroom.

I won't labour this point anymore as I've already written a whole article on this subject of teachers taking care of themselves, but it does matter. It's no good having the fireworks lesson all ready to go if you're then devoid of passion, energy and enthusiasm to deliver to and control your audience. I know it's easy to say, and all sorts of things, professional and personal, crop up. But try as best you can to maintain a balance so that when you do enter the classroom sparks fly.

So, try to encourage all in the classroom to get to bed relatively early, eat in the morning and drink plenty of water each day. In addition you might think about what you exactly want your pupils to achieve in any given lesson and ensure they know what's expected of them in any given session. Make sure they are learning, not just doing. And remember to look after your own personal happiness in addition to that of your pupils. I wouldn't say that all that subsequently flows from these conditions in terms of lesson content will then be plain sailing or some type of educational supernova, but at least whatever you do then in lessons will hopefully have the solid foundations necessary for subsequent learning.

• Sean Reid is a PGCE tutor for the University of Buckingham.

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