Government has every right to set the overall direction of education policy, but what leaders need in return is genuine engagement – not announcements delivered via press releases, says @ascl-uk.bsky.social's @pepediiasio.bsky.social

Positive move led by @naht.org.uk to increase independent scrutiny of Ofsted www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Is the primary sector ready for compulsory citizenship education? @cerysturner.bsky.social has found the ask for primary schools is potentially enormous, and the skills required to teach it extensive. So what is being proposed and how might schools have to adapt? www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Increasingly being submitted AI-written articles. Even the worst human writing has an abundance of signals about the writer in the choices they make. AI-written pieces give no signals and that is deeply weird to read. Some common features include...

Do schools need to change course on behaviour? Research offers a number of approaches to tackling behaviour that have had little large-scale run out in schools - is that because teachers don't trust them or they haven't had chance to prove they work? www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

"The world told me who I was from a very young age. It told me I shouldn’t be a brown child with a white mum. It told me I didn’t belong. It told me I wasn’t black enough, I wasn’t Irish enough. So I had to find my own sense of culture and self"

"I realised at a very young age that no one was going to save me. But at the age of six, I made a decision to believe that the world was fundamentally a good place, it just had some bad people in it." An extremely powerful How I Lead www.tes.com/magazine/lea...

Exclusive: The workload for heads and Sendcos caused by Ofsted’s new inspections is an emerging concern, schools' conference told

New research from Professor John Jerrim finds 'feeling in control' can accelerate students' progress in reading by up to two months. Prof Jerrim tells me there are 'similarities' between his work and the findings of Carol Dweck. For @tesmagazine.bsky.social:

Exclusive: Dame Joan McVittie appointed to lead a review into a multi-academy trust after a decision to postpone a school visit by a Jewish MP amid pupil safety concerns due to possible protests

The narrative that teens are all phone-obsessed hermits is so damaging and over simplified - we need to celebrate the other narratives like this one: amazing work from the young lads cumbriacrack.com/2026/01/26/t...

Exclusive: School leaders call for targeted action for white working-class girls, as analysis shows fewer pass English and Maths compared to pre-Covid. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

The decision at Ofsted and the DfE to speak about this inspection in a negative light to the school before it started was deeply unprofessional and looks even worse now. The trust-wide review still being pushed despite the findings is very problematic www.tes.com/magazine/new...

In all the talk of early intervention for SEND, there hasn't been the next assumption made that an uptick in funding and structure forEYFS should be a significant part of any reforms. That's a huge issue if we want to fix the system, says @juliangrenier.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

This is my main reservation about it. The biggest threat to the mental wellbeing of teenagers, might actually just be: other teenagers

WhatsApp was not included in the Australian social media ban for U16s, yet it is driving more pastoral incidents in schools than other social media. Excellent exclusive from @cerysturner.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Excellent piece on the growth of 'mixed' trusts and what it might mean for inclusion from @johngroberts.bsky.social

This from @stephenkb.bsky.social is exactly why Number 10 is intervening in SEND Reform, as explained in my post below

Pupil absence was up last term, according to the latest DfE attendance data. @ellencph.bsky.social digs into the stats to reveal the most up-to-date insights into the severity of the attendance crisis

The DfE is talking tough on mobile phone bans in schools but they're not banned through statutory guidance and as this @ofstednews.bsky.social blog makes clear, you can't be marked down for allowing phones if there is no detriment to pupils found educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2026/01/23/w...

"So this isn’t really a debate about EHCPs, but one about faith that the system has enough time and money to look after every child. Has the wider government recognised this reality?" Read the Tes Daily briefing here: lnkd.in/eXqqNgje

Annual reminder of how many days there are in each month.

“Because explicit images are so common now, I think the police view is, ‘Well, that’s another one’” How would a social media ban for U16s impact schools? Plenty support it, but some worry about negative impacts. Excellent @cerysturner.bsky.social article below www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Has a world without P8 been as damaging as many believed it would be for those schools in disadvantaged areas? @ktorm-social1.bsky.social has looked at the data, talked to the sector and looked at the fallout, particularly with Ofsted - and the picture is mixed. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

This seems like a good time to remind people of Pete Etchells' fantastic book "Unlocked: The real science of screentime". Which gives us ammunition against this kind of nonsense. www.goodreads.com/book/show/19...

Not a huge fan of social media for kids or adults but this from Lord Nash is not an accurate view of the evidence base... see here: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

39 per cent of women have considered changing or quitting their job due to menopause symptoms, and one in six have actually done so. Are schools doing enough to change that statistic? @tesmagazine.bsky.social talks to an expert on perimenopause to find out. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

*** NEW POST *** There are often calls to make a school's or subject's curriculum local and familiar but this can have its problems. I take a look for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

“Parents are people, too." Some interesting advice in this new double header of complaints guidance for schools and parents. I am not sure how successful it will be in stopping a parent posting abuse on FB, but I guess it is a start. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Unions also unhappy about Ofsted involvement in enforcement of the non-statutory guidance on phones update. The actual change from existing guidance appears minimal...

Great data piece from @jabedahmed.bsky.social : 💷Inner London teachers are paid up to 17% more 🏘️ Avg inner London house prices are more than 10x a non-London teacher’s annual salary 🗺️Find out how much you'll be paid as a teacher across the country... and how much housing prices are.

Leaders of special schools are urging the government not to exclude their sector from plans to create new libraries. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Where is the most expensive place to be a teacher? Common wisdom says London, hence the salaries in the capital being higher. But @jabedahmed.bsky.social has found that many more cities across the country face similar cost of living challenges without the pay uplift. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

The wording of Sir Martyn's comments here - 'a professional and moral duty to stand against discrimination' - are concerning considering this is a live inspection and the school has been clear safety was the reason for the postponement. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

The CEO of a major multi-academy trust is among 5 new appointments to Ofsted’s board

"Each student is worth £5,500 a year...any marketing budget that’s less than that — but brings in one extra pupil — can be justified.” Super interesting development & raises some of the issues with per-pupil funding that @jabedahmed.bsky.social looked at here: www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Should all schools be using phone pouches? They're certainly an increasingly popular option to tackle mobile-phone-related behavioural and pastoral issues, but are they worth the financial and time cost? www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

"Integrating the energy audit into my own leadership has been a revelatory experience" Dr Chris Baker integrated a tool from elite athletics into his leadership process and it's been high impact enough for him to want to share it with a wider audience. www.tes.com/magazine/lea...

So @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social has confirmed Trust inspection could begin in 2027. But how “out there” is the idea? Thanks to @centreedusyst.bsky.social’s groundbreaking international study, funded by @nuffieldfoundation.org , I can tell you. @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Could a tool from elite athletics re-energise and refocus school leaders to boost their wellbeing and reduce stress? Chris Baker explains all

New: Ofsted has published the first batch of report cards for individual schools. Interesting - three schools have already got an 'exceptional' grade in at least one area. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

▶️ How we got five exceptional grades in our Ofsted inspection Interesting, detailed insight here into how one of the first schools inspected under the new Ofsted framework achieved a span of higher grades www.tes.com/magazine/lea...

Do schools get too much pushback on exclusions? Superb investigation by @ktorm-social1.bsky.social this morning - he digs into the data, the appeals process and talks to heads to find out what is really going on. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

"we will absolutely strike to defend the only limited workload protection teachers have” @danielkebedeneu.bsky.social speaks exclusively to @cerysturner.bsky.social on directed time, SEND, nationalising private special schools, recruiting support staff and much more. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

The full amendment that will bring in trust inspections has a lot of detail - @ellencph.bsky.social rounds up all you need to know www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

My latest for @tesmagazine.bsky.social: are you getting goal setting right in your classroom?

A BIG change, one the DfE hopes will reduce variation in quality between trusts and champion best practice, as Bridget Phillipson writes in an exclusive piece below. Lots to iron out in the Ofsted 'pilots', though, and some q the 'need' if school inspection is reliable.

My look forward to education policy in 2026.

‘The stakes are high’: @samfr.bsky.social explains why there is a lot riding on the government’s long-awaited schools White Paper…

Newly introduced legislation has a significant impact on the employment rights of teachers and other staff. Alistair Wood of @edaptuk.bsky.social explains how it will affect schools and trusts