A new post from me. Why curriculum is more important than ever.

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

I have some sympathy with BP's first point here which is often straightforwardly true. A rebalancing in some schools from suspension to internal exclusion might be a good idea. But agree with Ben's overall point that DfE fiddling with the minutiae of how schools are run is rarely a good idea.

Couldn’t agree more on the reductionist nature of this view although the clarity this focus has given to performative elements can be a useful tool in a coaching model. Often discipleship to a particular model without appreciating nuance undermines the usefulness of the model!

The current use of the term "to land" is a poor way of capturing communication, as it stems from the notion that it's a one-way stream. One doesn't just lob a sentence or two 'over there' and hope it 'lands'. That is performance, not communication.

ICYMI: Government-approved guidance has been issued for schools and parents in response to staff facing a rising number of complaints

"Spelling really has quietly eroded," Chandler adds, "even as evidence mounted that spelling is really a driver of reading development and not this optional add-on." mashable.com/article/goog...

Excellent:

New webinar: KS3: The intellectual powerhouse of the secondary school Too often, KS3 is seen as a warm-up for the 'real' work of KS4. But what if it’s actually the engine room of thinking, curiosity, and confidence? /1

Reading aloud isn’t what we think it is It's sometimes treated as a warm-up, a way in or something for pupils who might struggle. One of the barriers is because it’s enjoyable, we think it can’t be work, but it is! /1

When young people feel safe, valued, and supported, they are better able to learn, grow, and thrive. Strong pastoral care nurtures wellbeing, builds positive relationships, and helps students develop resilience, empathy, and confidence—skills for life, not just the classroom.

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

If we’re going to get more quality learning from mainstream classes shouldn’t this be a starting point? With teacher recruitment problems and the need for funding this dictates, this obvious starting point is hindered by the absence of will- which is why it’s hard to find studies which say it works

When teachers offer classroom egs, it can be SO valuable. But often there's just a snippet - a ppt slide or piece of writing & it's hard to know the context, intentions & real impact. This, on the power of Talk for Learning, is different. I love it! #oracy www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/oracy-i...

KS3 doesn’t need to be the 'Wasted Years' It’s got the potential to be the 'Ambitious Years'! Latest post open.substack.com/pub/marymyat...

100% agree

Has anyone considered that the rise in demand for special school places is because of the well meaning attempt to force children with widely disparate starting points into the same largely academic curriculum. Mainstream schools struggle to fund anything other than superficially adapted curricula.

My biggest concern with all of this is despite “extra funds” it is more of the ‘do more with less’ mantra. How does a teacher teaching 45/50 lessons per fortnight with 15 classes and 10 passports for students with SEND in each actually remember, action or plan for such a wide range of need?

Here's the thing about the DfE idea that 'training is the answer' to SEND. It implies that once again the issue lies with teachers and not with the system itself. A way of papering over the cracks rather than admitting that the system needs rethinking if it's ever going to be properly inclusive.

Over the last few years, we've seen how much difference it makes when senior leaders and subject leaders have meaningful, informed conversations about the curriculum. /1

So much of the current discourse around teaching is about what teachers and schools 'should do' rather than how we want children and young people (and indeed their teachers) to *feel* about education. #EduSky

This is a critical reading. Also very good @psalisbury.bsky.social and the kind of blogs we need!

Getting this one wrong is unfortunately common!

Very true, and since all the fantastic work of @marymyatt.bsky.social et al. I seldom come across this view- although it does hide insidiously in some assumptions that are made about curriculum and achievement at KS3.

Lots to like in this from @clivehill.bsky.social: “Ethical leadership is not what you say in public, but what you choose to do when the outcome is inconvenient, uncomfortable, or invisible,” is one of many sentences that struck me. open.substack.com/pub/clivehil...

I could do with the DfE and Ofsted posting on here though for the opportunity to challenge them. 😉

This is what happens. This is so unfair to "the 29". But what is the (acceptable) solution?

Interesting addition to one of the gnarly problems of our schools today. daviddidau.substack.com/p/the-psycho...

This year we have built on using homework as retrieval by taking questions that the specific class struggled with in the homework and adapting them for the next do now. Hopefully this goes some way to addressing the issues raised here by @adamboxereducation.bsky.social

What a great summary of the challenges and rewards of the role from @strickomaster.bsky.social Great read! samstrickland384843542.wordpress.com

Scaffolding is essential for novices, but for experts, it can become cognitive clutter. Discover how the Expertise Reversal Effect informs adaptive teaching strategies: https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/expertise-reversal-effect-scaffolding/

Beautifully articulates something that has always bothered me with “consistency” the one size fits all fallacy. The nice thing about coherence as articulated here is that it avoids education doublespeak such as “tight but loose” mrnickhart.wordpress.com/2024/05/31/c...

I’d like to say I’m surprised but given the outcome we were left with being so unpalatable to the majority inside the sector, they absolutely need to cling to the mantra we are giving the people what they want! It’s pure Orwellian double speak!

Our “crisis” in SEND is a direct symptom of poor funding and hasn’t simply been exacerbated by poor funding. Had per pupil funding kept up with inflation and the expected £6k spend per child likewise would we have this many students needing EHCPs? www.specialneedsjungle.com/19-5-pupils-...

Being a reader in the world not just “doing” reading. Love this by @carlhendrick.substack.com

Lol to the way old things get new names in education and then some people act as though they just invented them. 'Turn and talk' or what we used to call pair work or talk partners before the idea that group work was a bad thing got rammed down our throats. 🙄

Known unknowns: Exploring In-Service Teachers' Metacognitive Sensitivity and Efficiency: https://osf.io/49ynr

This is brilliant from @lizrobinson.bsky.social - we need pluralism, diversity and autonomy across the schools system. And leaders who have the courage to be different, whatever that might look like.

🚨 LIBERAL OVERREACH When applying our values backfires: ↓

Joel Mokyr won the Nobel prize today Here is what I think he can teach us about improving schools: samsims.education/2022/06/08/e...

I’d love to see this level of statistical understanding among the population at large, or even teachers in general. The important point for teachers to realise is that test scores are indicative, not descriptive or prescriptive surely? 100assessment.substack.com/p/why-school...

I think this has nicely summarised my fear of an education landscape dominated by MATs with packaged formulae which work…overall the bottom line may be up but does the lack of “messiness” provide a more vanilla diet that never captures or inspires to the same heights? And if so for how many?

What a fantastic and much needed dose of positivity from @strickomaster.bsky.social. It resonates because it is true!

When NHS services that are designed to support CYP in school, with early help, (however limited they may be) require parental support and an acceptance of recording on a CYP’s NHS record this presents yet another barrier to uptake of preventative early help.

It is so important for schools to be part of the solution for parents. How to do so in those areas with high suspicion of authority and institutions is the gnarly issue!

Couldn’t agree more!

These are your words of the week indigenous visionary triskaidekaphobia remigrate pococurante www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/the...

Excellent work here from @geographicalassoc.bsky.social drawing together the lessons from the Ofsted subject reports into geography. A lot here for teachers and leaders to take away and reflect on. geography.org.uk/standards-in...

Quite the spectacle to see media outlets who've cheered on austerity saying 'oh god, SEND spending is out of control'. Well, if you gut councils, fail to provide local special school spaces, collapse SureStart and leave public/collective transport to rot, that's what happens. Cuts are expensive