Oh yes. @discoverinclusion.bsky.social

Here’s a poem called ‘Prayer for Uninteresting Times’.

The Seductive Myth of Discovery Learning The idea that children learn better if they discover something themselves is attractive for many different reasons despite the fact that empirical research tells a very different story. #EduSky www.kirschnered.nl/2025/03/30/t...

The great @brianbilston.bsky.social

I’ve been in the lab again, mucking about with AI. I think I have come across a ‘game changer’ for teaching pupils who are non-speaking or have communication difficulties! I've blogged about it here... www.phonicsforpupilswithspecialeducationalneeds.com/post/using-a...

New Blog A recent question from a parent got me to writing this blog about phonics for AAC users, particularly incorporating the use of voice output devices in instruction. www.phonicsforpupilswithspecialeducationalneeds.com/post/phonics...

Tonight on @itvnews.bsky.social we have a special report on early years reading across the UK. We hear from those let down by the continued use of discredited methods, while Northern Ireland's Education Minister tells me why he's urgently reforming their system. On the ITV Evening News shortly.

A reminder that using SSP as the foundation of literacy is not universally advocated. Although phonics has been 'mandated' in mainstream schools in England since 2005 and special schools since 2021, the same is not true for Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales. www.itv.com/news/2025-02...

Early morning love poem.

This column has been the second most read on the whole Guardian site today and it’s all credit to Rosy who literally used her last voice to speak out about this country’s care crisis. Please do continue to read and share. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Stanford Report on teaching literacy to learners with complex needs by Chis Lemons and Lakshmi Balasubramanian is excellent. I hope this will spark a conversation about this group of children who have been failed for too long. news.stanford.edu/stories/2025...

Great review, Kerry and well deserved.

I am looking forward to meeting a group from Parkinson's UK tomorrow to talk about communication strategies for people with Parkinson's in hospital whose speech is temporarily affected.

A *new* blog - 5 Key ideas from Primary Reading Simplified primarycolour.home.blog/2024/12/22/5...

Today’s poem takes the form of an apology for Al the mistakes which have appeared in my poems over the last four weeks.

🆓🆕🔓 Systematic Review of #GestaltLanguageProcessing/#NaturalLanguageAcquisition #autism 🦋 #bskySPEECHIES 🙏PLEASE 🔄 @deevybee.bsky.social @journalautism.bsky.social @ashajournals.bsky.social @bmj.com @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social @jonathanstea.bsky.social @autismcrisis.bsky.social @naplic.bsky.social

Regional differences in pronunciation impact instruction. We adjust our teaching as we go along, following the way the child speaks. Where I'm sitting in Manchester the word cook is pronounced /k//u//k/ but just 5 miles down the road in Oldham it's /k//oo//k/. We match phonics to pronunciation.

A look at ABA from Kerry Thalia at @discoverinclusion.bsky.social Thought provoking exploration.

Do you want to make public transport safer for disabled people? Your voice matters! 🚎🗣️ Help United Response understand and tackle disability hate crimes by sharing your story and views in their research survey... lnkd.in/eTS8SFPa

Today’s poem is called ‘Needles’.

What is and isn't explicit instruction (English and Dutch) #EduSky

I’ve hugely enjoyed reading all of the posts, blogs, articles, reports & conversations on here around the opportunities with the curriculum and assessment review. So much wisdom, experience & good sense shared. BUT

Do you have a job or a hobby? Would you like to be turned into an illustration? Send us a photo of you doing your job or hobby... ...so we can add you to our illustration bank! We are looking for real-life models to be added as images explaining different jobs and activities.

I've just been updating the information I send out when I receive enquires from schools. I have been rather shy about talking about my conversations around validation with the DfE in England but feel it is fair to add this section.... it was oh, so close! ...

Phonological-only reading instruction works, but not as well as print-based approaches, is—unsurprisingly—more effective for phonological awareness than word reading and, again perhaps unsurprisingly, works less well in preschool: bit.ly/4ffN4AJ ($)

Another blog addressing a commonly asked question. This time I'm looking at how long we should teach phonics when learners have additional needs, especially a complex profile. www.phonicsforpupilswithspecialeducationalneeds.com/post/how-lon...

I recently took part in a roundtable discussion for the International Schools Network on teaching reading and spelling to learners with SEND and EAL. You might like to take a listen. isn.education/articles/ope...

I get asked a lot about teaching deaf children to read and spell using phonics as the foundation, so I decided to write a blog which I hope is helpful. www.phonicsforpupilswithspecialeducationalneeds.com/post/teachin...

How do we provide all pupils with opportunities to learn and develop their literacy, whatever their needs and starting point? When needs are greater and more complex, we have to change our approach to instruction developing a continuum of provision to meet all pupils' needs.

In this episode, we discuss key elements of my new book, Primary Reading Simplified, including how I... (a) Organise reading lessons (b) Support schools to make changes (c) Systematically assess and address reading difficulties (d) Build a reading curriculum (e) Nurture a reading culture ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Increasingly mainstream schools are finding they have a small number of pupils with complex needs placed with them and are unsure how to teach them. Many create a nurture class or even a resourced provision. How to we approach literacy instruction for these pupils?

Three weeks to go to @DiscoverInclusion’s Access to Academic Learning Conference. A super opportunity for some CPD for teachers and TAs working with children with complex needs. Access all the videos throughout October and watch the presentations at your leisure.

“If they take on the most complex children and do good work for them, Ofsted will champion and celebrate their work. We won’t grade down schools for taking on complex [needs] children if they’re doing right by them." Martyn Oliver I hope this happens! schoolsweek.co.uk/inclusion-a-...

Very much enjoying the coverage of boccia in the Paralympics. If you want to find out more here is a piece on the boccia superstar David Smith. olympics.com/en/news/para...

Just under a week to go to the publication of my A Parent's Guide to Phonics by Dorling Kindersley. It started as a self-publishing project and I am delighted that it will be available to a wider audience than I could ever have imagined. bit.ly/3Xo8lRV US version also available. bit.ly/4dLBOeC

Back to School? Here are some free resources to help teachers and TAs get off to a good start. #EduSky #BacktoSchool

Intro part 2...if the JSTOR chapter is our history, here's a wonderful part of our current situation as TRT reaches beyond schools settings into prison: Reading a Rehabilitation with Novus. www.novus.ac.uk/news/reading...

Joanna is curating some beautiful etymology cards. Fascinating.

It’s really hard doing follow Friday when there are so many to choose from, so a quick plea for those of you working in SEND or with an interest in SEND to follow families. An understanding of lived experiences can really help develop professional understanding and practice. #SEND #EduSky

I've just finished recording my presentation for Discover Inclusion's up-coming conference on Access to Academic Learning. I hope you'll join me as I talk about literacy opportunities for all - and I do mean ALL! More information about the conference can be found here: discoverinclusion.co.uk

Hello #edusky I'm here to talk about learners with a complex profile of needs, particularly how we can enable access to literacy for these children.