❗Some schools are at 'breaking point' amid a widening gap between the schools with the most and fewest numbers of pupils with education, health and care plans, research warns schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-at-b...

Reading Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick with my Y5/6 class is always an absolute pleasure. Not a single word is wasted! Six lines in and we're already straight into the action. Such a talented writer and such a sad loss.

>> A diagnostic alternative to ks1 #maths tests that help establish what KS1 children know and can do: atm.org.uk/news/ks1-tas...

How can we close the attainment gap for disadvantaged boys? An initiative at United Learning has succeeded in improving behaviour, attendance and engagement among boys on free school meals, finds @ellencph.bsky.social

An article well-worth reading www.aft.org/ae/fall2017/...

Just finished rewriting the overview for a weekly picturebook assembly which focuses on empathy, inclusion and diversity. It's still a work in progress but please feel free to use and adapt. All shares appreciated. The link is on my Padlet: padlet.com/Jon_Biddle/r...

Earlier this summer I read the debut novel by Marie O'Hare. It's brilliant and I keep thinking about it. I found it to be funny, dark, colourful and compelling. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I'm recommending this now because the Kindle edition is only 99p at the moment. amzn.eu/d/hC3iV9B #summerreading #bookclub

It's the summer holidays, which means I have a copy of Primary Reading Simplified to give away. Simply **repost** this post for your chance to win. I will pick a winner on Sunday 17th August. Good luck!

These four books are absolutely essential. I can't stress enough how important these have been to fundamentally shifting who I am as a teacher and a leader... Thank you to @marymyatt.bsky.social @suchmo83.bsky.social #MichaelChiles & @pepsmccrea.bsky.social for investing such time into these.

Anyone interested in Cadbury World tickets? I accidentally booked tickets for the wrong date and I can't go. It's for 6 adults a child (6-15yo) and another child under 5years old, for the 3rd September (not the 3rd August as I planned). If you're interested, send me a message. Please be kind.

A quick note for the record: I enjoyed my NPQ course. The delivery was great. The networking and sharing of ideas etc was invaluable. It's the final feedback I find fault with.

The NPQH and NPQSL final assessment feedback I've read recently is dreadful. If you've passed, you get an email saying congratulations, but no feedback on your assignment at all. None. If your assignment has been marked below the threshold, the feedback received is too vague to be helpful.

It’s KS2 results day tomorrow. If anyone has any questions about accountability measures, which pupils are included and which ones aren’t, and how things are calculated, please do ask. I’ll be around all day.

'Constant difference' is a game changer for many children but be sure to help them to understand this, by exploring the structure with manipulatives and visual representations, before assuming they "get it."

I Know Where You Buried Your Husband: A page-turning, darkly funny new thriller for summer 2025, perfect for fans of Celeste Ng and ‘Bad Sisters’ amzn.eu/d/2ulkAA0 A colleague at my wife's school has just released her first novel. If you're looking for a great summer read, look no further.

A great day at #EducationFest with talks by Doug Lemov, Sarah Cottinghatt and John Tomsett the highlights for me. It was a long day (6 hours driving in total) but it was like food for the mind and soul. Just what I needed after a heavy few days. Thanks to the organisers speakers & folks on stalls

Well, that happened. Glad that Ofsted were able to fit us in before the summer holidays.

Mrs Oakley has now completed 9 marathons in 9 months. She has three to go. Previously, she's ran in freezing conditions, into serious headwinds, and through giant muddy puddles. Today it was 30 degree heat! Who knows what the next three months will have in store!? Hopefully, cooler weather.

This is excellent and should be read by everyone who works on curriculum design and implementation.

NEW BLOG: Trying not to write a book www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

It is time to get this one out there again… educontrarianblog.com/2023/05/28/t...

The first video in a mini-series on how the I See Reasoning questions to can help children to answer some of the SATS questions. Video 1: the cube question!

@dc-litchfield.bsky.social I just wanted to say thank you, again. This time for writing and illustrating The Dinosaur Next Door. I've just read it to my boys and we were totally captivated. It's a magical story and it's love at first read for our family.

Today, Mrs O (also a teacher) is running her 8th marathon in 8 months. This time, we're in Edinburgh and it's really windy! I'm hoping she doesn't get blown away.

Opportunity is not evenly spread across the country 👎 Our new research shows how London provides the best opportunities to disadvantaged young people, with towns and semi-rural areas lagging far behind. Read it in full ⤵️

On #TDAPE this week with @kieran-m-ed.bsky.social talking about some of the leadership lessons I've learnt so far. Hopefully, this interesting to anyone in leadership or aspiring to lead. tinyurl.com/8fvmpuv8 Please share @headteacherchat.bsky.social @edfinch.bsky.social @marymyatt.bsky.social

Are you looking for a new teaching job and interested in joining us at Howard Community Academy in Bury St Edmunds? We offer fantastic professional learning and we're on a mission to provide an excellent education for all. It's a challenging but rewarding place to work. Interested? Get in touch.

The Wrong Shoes, written and illustrated by Tom Percival, was one of my favourite books of last year. It explored several important themes and was a great read. I created some free resources based on it for @teachprimarymag.bsky.social, which can be found here: www.teachwire.net/teaching-res...

Dr Peter Marks, "Vaccines have been studied very extensively for being potentially associated with autism" "That theory has been debunked" "One study in Denmark, over 600,000 children. It shows that if anything, children had a lower rate of autism than unvaccinated children"

✨ Birthday Giveaway! ✨ It’s my birthday, and I’m gifting one free 1:1 coaching session to someone who’d love space to breathe, reflect and find their voice. To enter: 💬 Reply to this post (or DM me) with why you’d like a session 🔁 to share the love. I'll choose someone on Sunday evening 🎉

Joke of the day: The florist may be covered in mud, the baker covered in sticky dough, but the bloke who sells veg is grocer.

To the world: We are fighting back. Our movement has been silenced by the media here—but we are not backing down. This is what our streets looked like across multiple cities. Tomorrow, there will be more of us! Raise a glass to freedom. —With love, Your American allies.

Joke of the day: The turkey's drawings don't make the farmer happy, but the cockrel's doodles do! Happy Easter holidays to school staff everywhere.

If you've got a minute and a spare few pounds to help, please take a look at this. www.justgiving.com/page/lucy-sy... My wife, who is also a teacher, is running 12 marathons in 12 months! If you're able to donate to the NSPCC in support of Lucy, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

We've spent the best part of a year exploring assessment in school. We've overhauled our reporting systems, built in moderation processes and undertaken peer observation cycles. The key finding in it all is that great formative assessment depends on good oracy.

Thank you so much to #TDaPEManchester, Focus Trust and @annahackett.bsky.social for such a great day of CPD. Retrieval practice, rekenreks, progress in maths, golden threads and so much more. Lots of ideas to go back to school with.

An excellent day at #TDAPE conference in Manchester. Great to hear what people have been thinking deeply about and working on. Thank you @kieran-m-ed.bsky.social and to all who made it a special day.

I am very excited to say that, after nearly three years as Director of ECT at Ambition Institute, I will be taking on the post of Principal at Sharnbrook Academy, in Bedfordshire, this September. What a privilege it will be to go back to Headship. Can’t wait! 🙌

Friends, I am trying to compile a list of regional education events. Headteachers conferences, county SEND events, MAT network events, union conferences and so forth. This is to make a calendar which I'll be happy to share. If you know of anything like this, can you help me? 👇

For #SundayMorningBookChat this week I have written a blog post about great Read Alouds for Key Stage 2 and a little about what I think make a great read aloud. What are your recommendations? tomsbookcorner.wordpress.com/2025/03/23/g...

In short I think we're confusing resource creation for planning. As in resources are plans, which is a misconception made worse by heavily centralised curriculum. And AI is making it worse. And ITT/ECT is quite weak on it compared to other areas.

My 6yo recently started Stage 4 swimming lessons and he's now in "the big pool." For the first 2 weeks, he barely joined in as he was so nervous about joining older kids and swimming full lengths. But there's two other kids who are so encouraging. They give high 5s after each length. Lovely to see.

Really enjoyed revisiting ratio tables with @studymaths.bsky.social at #ttrconnectmaths in Manchester today. Despite using them for years, had never really thought about the cross products in a rectangle within the table being equal. Thanks so much Jonathan and the team @ttradioofficial.bsky.social

At 4:00 on Fridays, I block my calendar for wrap-up tasks. One of my wrap-up tasks is to send a thank-you email to someone at work who helped me during the week. People haven’t caught on that this is my vibe, but it is, so that’s how I end my 40 hours.