Is there anything I thought I came up with myself that I won’t one day stumble on in a 2017 @michaelfordham.bsky.social blog? It’s like that Keynes quote. Today its this particular schema depiction.

These are big numbers. Subjects come first, expectedly.

There have been 1,038,405 unique downloads of @Ofstednews subject research reviews and subject reports. In school, we learn through subjects and we improve the quality of children's education by improving that subject teaching. This is the reality these numbers speak to. Enormous demand!

I’ve used a Freedom of Information request to find out how many unique downloads there have been of the @Ofstednews subject Research Reviews and Subject Reports. How many downloads do you think there have been of these subject docs?

My little spring garden under the oak. Final phase.

Yes, subjects need their own take on CURRICULUM using the 'cogsci revolution' - not just pedagogy. I'm not so keen on the drive to leap just pedagogical, rather than curricular, insights using cog psych which happens even in this article. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Cinderella must go to the ball. This says Dr Richard Kueh regarding RE www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Much love in Australia for Ofsted’s research reviews and subject reports. Used by some everywhere I go. I’m thrilled and so proud of our team that put together these seminal documents that enable new discussion of quality edu, by subject, that takes account of what we now know about cognition.

I have to be about the luckiest curriculum geek. I’m now in Sydney’s Blue Mountains for Learning First’s Curriculum Implementation Conference with states systems leaders all talking curriculum. It’s a truly exciting time in Australian education.

Yes. First time I’ve read an article on Ofsted that gets what sits behind inspection reliability and validity.

A bird with true conceptual understanding of what it means to fly. @oldandrewuk.bsky.social @mayak46.bsky.social @katharinebeals.bsky.social @paulkirschner.bsky.social @carlhendrick.substack.com @paulkirschner.bsky.social @nsachdeva.bsky.social @heatherbellaf.bsky.social @gregashman.bsky.social

I’ve been digging into the quality of EHCPs, plans that parents are dragged through court sometimes to obtain, and that are bankrupting councils What’s actually in them? Are they good quality? Personalised? Include interventions backed by evidence? Are they fully funded? The answer often is no

The SW investigation might be the most important one they've ever run. It's an incredible piece of work and the results are truly shocking. Everyone should read it.

New blog! ‘The Teachers’ knowledge that has no name’. What should we call this knowledge? heatherfblog.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/t... With special thanks to @michaelfordham.bsky.social

Your final bit on the importance of co-planning highlights why schools serious about curriculum and T&L need to devote as much time as possible to subject team meetings, and to ensure 90% of the time is spent discussing it (and not ESPO, data, behaviour, and other ephemeral asides)

Why does crucial teacher knowledge have no name? What should we call it? heatherfblog.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/t...

Outstanding blog. Detailed explanation of why so many of the trainees I've met with excellent academic credentials struggle to explain complex/abstract material. They don't know what the students should already know or what they need next.

New blog! ‘The Teachers’ knowledge that has no name’. What should we call this knowledge? heatherfblog.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/t... With special thanks to @michaelfordham.bsky.social

Thank you to everyone who came to our second Ark Soane History conference yesterday. It was such a joy to see so many history teacher colleagues together. As always, I’m proudest of our pupils who were so keen to help and talk about history. What a lovely day. #Soane25

Brutal takedown of reading policy in Wales and Scotland, as Northern Ireland looks to change course with its new strategy based around phonics. @kathyrastle.bsky.social makes several important (and apparently still necessary) observations about the evidence on reading. www.itv.com/news/2025-02...

So, we don’t need to look at curriculum quality in small primaries. Because inspection in small primaries is harder we realise we need to inspect less well for them.

I first wrote about this problem 10+ years ago (in fact it's part of the reason Michael & I became friends!) @counsellc.bsky.social spotted the exact same problem 30 years ago. Here's a more recent article from me, with a link to Christine's work. substack.nomoremarking.com/p/the-tyrann...

Great stuff from @michaelt1979.bsky.social on proposed Ofsted framework. I’m now pondering if it’s possible to make well-judged adaptations that aren’t appropriate. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

It really is like magic! Lengthy written comments generated from lots of snippets of teacher audio...

I’ve seen a demo of the audio feedback feature and loved it. AI being used to rephrase *the teacher’s* quick, audio feedback on written work, into organised, clear and positively framed sentences for the pupil or teacher. Magic!

We've been running a series of online CPD events on oracy this year. The next is an in-person event at the new Ed City offices. I will talk to Heather Fearn & Madeleine Roberts from Ark Schools about how to use Comparative Judgement to assess oracy. Tues 28 Jan, 4-5pm.

My copy is preordered and hopefully very soon on its way.

"...it was understood that nobody went to school in order to enjoy the sort of happiness he might get from lying in the sun" Michael Oakeshott's brilliant essay "A place of learning" can be found here.

This is why you don't design curricula around "jobs of the future". We can't predict the future but we do know what general skills and knowledge will be valuable whatever job you do.

Great advice for #TeamRE from @thewayofkueh.bsky.social at #StrictlyRE @natre-update.bsky.social

In Sonnet 59 Shakespeare makes the argument that creativity is nothing really to do with the romanticised idea of conjuring up something new ex-nihilo, but rather something recombinative; in other words the reorganisation, adaptation, and integration of pre-existing knowledge and experiences.

How did Shakespeare know so much about the mind? Started 2025 trying to read a sonnet/scene every day and I'm consistently amazed at how he anticipated so many findings from cognitive science on memory, learning and behaviour. Made some notes🧵⬇️

HISTORY TEACHER ROLE! Our pupils love History at Ark Soane – from Year 7 all the way up to our first Year 10 cohort, 80% of whom do History GCSE. We’re expanding and looking for another History teacher to join us next September. Could this be you? Details below! 🙂

If you're curious to know more about the role of knowledge in learning and curriculum, download this free e-book, a collaborative effort by an international team of eight experts. link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

This is innumerate nonsense from whoever it was. Unacceptable.

But there is this very good piece by @heatherbellaf.bsky.social which took up the theme in a most interesting way: www.history.org.uk/publications...

🚨 SPEAKER ANNOUNCEMENT 🚨 I'm very excited to announce the keynote speakers for our #Soane25 history teacher conference on Saturday, 8 February 2025. 👇 Read more below 👇 🎟️ Get tickets here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ark-soane-... (1/3)

I’ve been diving into the @michaelfordham.bsky.social blog back catalogue researching some writing I’m doing. It remains a treasure trove. Here, something I’m constantly struggling to articulate re ‘formative assessment’ : clioetcetera.com/2017/10/19/s...

‘A pedagogically appropriate curriculum’. That is cart before horse.

Will the new National Curriculum get subject progression right? Or will weak subject content send us backwards? Third blog on subjects in new National Curriculum. heatherfblog.wordpress.com/2024/10/20/b...

We need this careful thinking for RE (if it becomes NC....). RE is hugely disadvantaged for progression because... *primary and secondary schools could be using a completely different agreed syllabus *I've not seen much (any?!) clear analysis of what progression really looks like in RE.

Huge role at Ark advertised here. Come join us as Head of Assessment. arkcareersweb.eploy.net/vacancies/34...

This is so, so sad www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Imagine a handful of universal tools we could teach students &allow them to understand every text they read. Who wouldn’t seek “the key to all inferences”? Who wouldn't dream such a beautiful dream? The problem is that the evidence is squarely against it. teachlikeachampion.org/blog/the-sci...

Watching a video of a classroom where the teacher is doing retrieval practice & so many students dying to engage. My colleague Jen: "Investing in knowledge is fun; kids LIKE knowing things."

New blog post Why Ofsted should not separate teaching from curriculum occamshairdryer.wordpress.com/2024/11/16/a...

We have an English Teacher role at the wonderful @ArkSoaneAcademy (Jan start or earlier) 🎓Free school up to Y10 now. First GCSEs next year! ☑️Disruption-free learning with strong centralised behaviour system 🤝Excellent culture of staff development www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFJM...

My @schoolsweek.bsky.social piece on curriculum reviews. If we learn from 35 yrs of them, we might avoid the ever-recurring problems. But without strong subject-curricular training, espec for senior/system leaders, the finest rubric will still feed old distortions. schoolsweek.co.uk/what-a-natio...

Will the new National Curriculum get subject progression right? Or will weak subject content send us backwards? Third blog on subjects in new National Curriculum. heatherfblog.wordpress.com/2024/10/20/b...

Somehow @counsellc.bsky.social has managed to condense a fairly devastating critique of 35 years of National Curricula into a short Schools Week article. The wisdom:word ratio here is off the scale.