Any one else exhausted but realising there's still a week until half term?

That's clearly two thirds.

Why some children with learning difficulties get identified – and others don’t. A major study led by Dr Johny Daniel in our School of Education has revealed a worrying picture. 👉🏼 www.durham.ac.uk/research/cur... @durhameducation.bsky.social

I’ve lost my ursine companion. I’m beareft.

There's something lovely about the first Sunday evening of the holidays.

All the wrong people have imposter syndrome.

When I first became a Head, I wanted someone to call about stupid little things. Also, someone completely objective and nonjudgmental to visit my school and tell me what they saw. No agenda, no personal bias, but helpful suggestions. I'm thinking of starting something like this.

This site is one of the most beautiful things on the internet. Every time you load it, it loads a new letter written by someone who cares and who wants you to stick around. Please share, and please write a letter if you feel called to do so. www.reasonstostay.co.uk?utm_source=i...

Can’t believe they released the Epstein files to cover up for the Melania movie.

Ah, that is very sad. She wasn’t just great, she was great in everything.

How can we safely run a school when a pupil repeatedly flat out refuses to follow instructions?

3. Am pretty sure this isn't what's meant though. Suspect means don't externally exclude for what is often called "persistent disruption" or "defiance." In practice this usually means children flat refusing to do what they are asked to by any adult. This is incredibly hard to manage..

DfE: Schools should be mobile phone- free environments. Also DfE: We’d like students to have an education records app and they’ll need to bring their phones into school to get it set up.

From 'Burnham would' to dunce inane

I am branching out into Whole school timetabling this year... What are peoples go to for initial set up? Pen and paper? Excel? Straight into timetabling software? Any retweets outside of maths would be great too.

New post! On removing students from lessons, and the pain and angst it brings. Please share if you can :) open.substack.com/pub/carousel...

100% agree

Books of 2026!

This -

Tree down, and I know that there is now more space and more light and that the new year can be about optimism and hope etc...but I always feel sad when Christmas is over.

This resonates hugely -

NEW POST On questioning, respect, and hearing the voice of every child. Link in reply, please share if you can! 🙏🙏 open.substack.com/pub/carousel...

Sums up my feelings exactly -

On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day. As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time. At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.

The power of teachers ❤️

William Golding - Practical Pedagogy Exercise (Lord of the Flies). #GCSE #Literature

18th wedding anniversary at the beach

This #buyastrangerabook offer is still up for grabs! @rsjhill.bsky.social is offering to buy someone the book of their choice, up to £15! ANY BOOK. Not just what's on my website. So if there's a book out there you're after and you'd like Ruth to buy it for you, let us know! UK only.

I have another #buyastrangerabook day offer to tell you about! @rsjhill.bsky.social is offering to buy someone the book of their choice, up to £15! So if there's a book out there you're after and you'd like Ruth to buy it for you, let us know! UK only.

And here's one I made (raining venn)...

In my 40s, “a woman who has let herself go” begins to sound less like a tragedy and more like a horse who has finally figured out how to open the gate.

I’m pretty sure every woman leader has had a cry at work. We are human. When our work matters, and we care about it, we feel it. #imwithrachel

And finally we get to say thank you. Thank you to the people who do the ordinary jobs, thank you to the people who have helped us, or helped others, thank you to each of the individuals or groups that has shown up, put themselves out for us. And thank you for the loyalty of the long serving.

Kazuo Ishiguro Maggie O'Farrell Thomas Hardy Sarah Waters John Boyne Margaret Atwood Ian McEwan Sarah Moss George Gissing Kate Atkinson

1. A story. Please read. Reposts hugely appreciated on this. You'll see why in a bit. I was born in Pakistan and lived there until I was 4. My parents worked there as doctors. While we were there we were very close to a couple called Christine and Mike Miles.

If you’ve introduced adaptive teaching but aren’t seeing the inclusive impact you wanted, you might need to take things further, writes @mmulholland.bsky.social

🚨 NEW POST 🚨 ‘5 ways to revive form time reading’ “It is no surprise, despite schools investing in stacks of lovely book stock, that they don’t get read and used with the same shiny excitement.” alexquigley.co.uk/5-ways-to-re...

NEW BLOG: Stop Designing ‘Relevant’ Curricula for the Poor www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

Recruitment and Selection Process Checklist, based on KCSIE headteacherchat.com/resources/r...

*** NEW POST *** Pupil voice is often used as part of quality assurance (by school leaders and external inspectors), but it is very rarely done well. Here are 5 tips to make pupil voice work. www.tes.com/magazine/tea... via @tesmagazine.bsky.social

I think about this poem a lot at the minute

We were away all day for our kid’s bday. In the chaos, I missed that our home alarm system had gone off. A neighbor called me when cops arrived to respond. SOMEONE managed to trigger a “pet-proof” living room motion sensor. At 6pm. He literally called the cops because his dinner was one hour late.

🚨 NEW POST 🚨 Rosenshine is well known for his principles of instruction, but what did he think about knowledge? 'Rosenshine on knowledge structures' alexquigley.co.uk/rosenshine-o...

Headship is amazing, you change lives. Proud of this article even if the picture is awful! www.tes.com/magazine/lea...