schoolsweek.co.uk/fury-as-ofst... There are heads around like this - presumably raised in Michael Wilshaw's image - who think that you can just demand and bully success from things by being "tough" or "unapologetic". The damage they cause goes unregistered in the all-powerful data.

I think there's a very important lesson in this for educators. I always mention aphantasia when I'm doing sessions on adaptive teaching. Quite a lot of people don't even realise they have it.

I would encourage all #historyteacher colleagues to engage with this book. There are 6 enquiries explained in the book (with resources available for all) uclpress.co.uk/book/teachin... #HTEN2026 #HistoryEducation #TeacherEducation

Horrendous story not just because of the arbitrary and unwarranted book banning, but the complete lack of regard that seems to have been paid to neurodivergent staff and pupils too.

This is why I love the discipline of History and why it is so important in today’s society- which other discipline so clearly demonstrates how flawed assumptions, lack of a complete picture and retelling can erroneously shape millions of people’s facts!

A fantastic summary of a truly responsive approach to T&L that avoids the one size fits all mantras of some. Thanks @cmooreanderson.bsky.social

Part of being a headteacher is knowing when to ignore the noise. Staying positive, focusing only on the children that you serve, and not letting other things taint your day. #edusky #TeachersOfBluesky #TeacherLife #Teachers #BlueskyTeachers #TeacherCommunity #Education

This is super-interesting on the ongoing legal challenge against the government's Oak National Academy: www.publishers.org.uk/department-f...

Oak’s value is access and coherence under constraint. But state made curriculum at scale without proper consultation risks centralising power, distorting the market and narrowing professional agency. Keep it lean, transparent, optional and evidence led.

This is really welcomed news

Some cynics might have thought we'd seen all this stuff before, but clearly things have changed: the triangle is now upside-down. 😆

Educators are caring adults who can establish relationships with children who have experienced trauma, BUT… teachers are not therapists. Schools can be a safe place, BUT… schools are not treatment centres. We need to stop pretending that classrooms can replace real mental health support.

An important shift in focus -for professionals attempting to help young people labels aren’t helpful but for the young person and their family- an important aspect that needs to be explored

All children deserve good teaching. Some need it more than most. If support replaces thinking, it isn’t support. Our aim must be independence. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Really good blog by @joel120193.substack.com on etymology as a tool for learning complex scientific vocabulary in science lessons (not just a one-off photosynthesis filler/explainer). open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

Are we interested in evidence informed education or not? If we are then we need to be interested in the impact on the whole child. ⬇️ @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social

Couldn’t agree more a secondary teacher with 15-20 classes each containing 10 passports with specific strategies and guidance is unmanageable and 15+ teachers for Year 7 students is overwhelming. Time to revisit a middle school model?

Variation is absolutely key to learning. However, I'm going to guess that if retrieval practice isn't working in a context, it might be because in that context people treat learning as storing and retrieving. #EduSky

Increasingly, the complexity of modern education; inclusion, belonging, attendance, trauma, growing SEMH need… makes me believe considered, context led responses to challenges are the only way to improve things for children. Top down programmes will miss the nuance. www.ascd.org/blogs/rethin...

Completely agree with both the article and the assertion. Is the conclusion that schools need to continue to “reward” ,in the broadest sense, the successful responses to previously unimportant stimuli & where does this leave some types of neurodiversity in our mainstream set ups?

NEW BLOG: The classroom as a cultural ratchet www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

You don’t grow by pretending you know everything. You grow by being brave enough to admit when you don’t… and learning anyway. Mistakes aren’t failure… they’re proof you’re doing the work. 💥 #CalmLeadership #LeadershipGrowth #LearnAndLead #ProgressOverPerfection #StayGrounded

Very apt addition to the recent debate.

Braverman says she's been "politically homeless" for over 2 years, which means she was reelected in 2024 as an MP for a party she didn't want to be a member of. And she says Tories "failed Britain [on] Brexit and immigration". She was Brexit minister and Home Secretary. Twice. But "vote for me!"

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. 😉