We're so sorry to hear of the death of Aidan Chambers. Not only did he write wonderful YA novels, he also gave us one of the great books on reading with young people - Tell Me: Children Reading + Talk uk.bookshop.org/p/books/tell...

This from on Oracy and 4 interconnected aspects. Many thanks to Oracy Cambridge & James Mannion for suggesting that I write a guest blog! oracycambridge.org/oracy-four-i...

A quick reverie about #Botheredness www.independentthinking.co.uk/resources/si... Please share (if you like it)😃

Fab interview with Teresa Cremin outlining key elements of reading and writing for pleasure pedagogy. 'You can be socially motivated as a reader or writer, and I think we underestimate that in school.' www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Last year, lots of us were talking about #oracy. Here’s a quick retrospective: Oracy isn’t new. A useful discussion of what oracy means and why it matters to children’s learning and personal development is here, via our ‘Speaking Volumes’ papers: oracyeducationcommission.co.uk/wp-content/u...

The wonderful Rhythmical Mike came to speak to our PGCE English cohort this morning. He performed his spoken word poetry and demonstrated a range of approaches to encourage and inspire young people to write poetry. Such a brilliant end to the term! #edusky #rhythmicalmike

'Reform GCSE English as a priority ... [including] re-balancing the focus on both written and spoken English with explicit teaching of, and recognition for, spoken language knowledge and skills': Pearson's submission to the ongoing Curriculum & Assessment Review: www.pearson.com/content/dam/...

Not sure why, but tonight I looked back at a piece I wrote some 20 or more years ago - a tribute to English teachers. It's all a bit 'Dead Poets Society', I suppose, but also, perhaps, a reminder of why English as a subject matters. And why its teachers do. www.geoffbarton.co.uk/files/englis...

So worrying to conceive of a future where arts and humanities education is limited to a privileged few who can afford to engage in learning for its own sake. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

i have secured funding to run a summer school for secondary school teachers on language and social in/justice. it'll be over 3 days and involve teachers engaging with linguistic justice theory and applying this to practice. more details soon but feel free to express interest!💜

📖 Litdrive CPD 📖 Macbeth: Enjoy this session entitled 'Macbeth and a question of agency' from David Alderson @MrAldersonTeach 🐝 Find it here: https://buff.ly/41RKbPX #LitdriveCPD #TeamEnglish

I felt I had to reply to Amanda Spielman on X & the article in The Times on text choices, the canon & relatability. Both offered simplistic, throwaway ideas about choices, showing lack of understanding both of contemporary literature & of what develops literary knowledge in young people.

Caution, tentativeness, sensitivity to context & judgement should have been built in by those heavily promoting their use. Suggesting that teachers misunderstood the original idea or weren't 'faithful' to it isn't fair. Here's me in 2017 on knowledge organisers! englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/an-agen...

A lot is justified in the name of exam results. It’s okay to control every moment of a child’s day, if the school can show they get excellent exam results. It’s okay for parents to be complaining, and children to be protesting, if the school can show improving exam results. /1

A superbly, clear, analytical, and characteristically constructive submission to the #CurriculumandAssessment review from m'colls @ascl-uk.bsky.social. A particular hat-tip to @tommiddlehurst.bsky.social. We really have to do something about #TheForgottenThird: www.ascl.org.uk/News/Our-new...

Wonderful vision for English teaching from one of the @engmediacentre.bsky.social Associate Teachers that we included in our column for the latest Teaching English @thecockerill.bsky.social

I spent today in Manchester at a brilliant focus group event centred around Reimagining Teacher Education. It’s the next stage of a British Academy/Leverhulme funded project run by Viv Ellis (Monash) & @iancushing.bsky.social (MMU).

Delighted to have been part of the Reimagining Teacher Education focus group. Thank you @iancushing.bsky.social and Viv Ellis for organising such a thought-provoking and affirmative meeting of minds 😊

Jonathan Rosa and I had the amazing opportunity to work with an undergraduate student and a high school student to "translate" our "Undoing Appropriateness" article for high school students. The final product is available for free here: demystifyinglanguage.fordham.edu/articles/lan...

When we ignore the role of curiosity and motivation in learning, we make it harder for children. Learning isn't just a process of remembering information. It starts with a desire to know and that drives everything which follows.

🚨Need to fill 30 minutes this week? ✨How about a wholesome experience of Oracy and democracy? Why not press play on these resources and help your pupils contribute to the Curriculum and Assessment Review? Available for Primary, Secondary and post 16... 🙏🏼

"if you’re forced to teach to the test, then the context you have to set (even in an inclusive-values school) will be one that a number of pupils will struggle with"

1. The challenge in primary education lies not merely in imparting knowledge but in ensuring pupils can apply it meaningfully. As Jerome Bruner observed, “Knowledge is not a set of facts to be amassed but a set of possibilities to be acted upon.” Without application, knowledge risks stagnation.

🧵THREAD🧵 After the release of the “Use of teaching assistants in schools” in September, I have spent the last few weeks reading, internalising and reflecting on what this research from the DfE essentially tells us (with strengths & developments needed)

Inspiring words to hold on to in challenging times… www.juliangirdham.com/blog/what-ca...

“High Wood by John Stanley Purvis brings home what happened to so many soldiers”Alexander If you're commemorating Remembrance Day in your school, explore the Poetry By Heart WWI Poetry Showcase: a wide range of poems all with notes & many featuring performances by young people tinyurl.com/2jra6y3f

Guest lecture this morning. Mahnoor Khan exploring approaches to diversifying and decolonising secondary English #edusky

I have a report out today with The Sutton Trust looking back at the huge array of reforms over the past few decades and asking if they've made a difference. What's got better, what's got worse, and what are the challenges for the new government? www.suttontrust.com/our-research...

This is so depressing. Read, Write, Sink. www.theguardian.com/books/2024/n...