Just completed a trawl through about 30 Ofsted reports all released since Feb 26. With one exception, every setting with low attainment get needs attention for achievement and leadership and governance and every setting with close to average or above achievement gets expected or above for both.

Here with my good friend Eddie McGeown watching BRADFORD VS Peterborough

Really great piece from Dr Kate Chhatwal, CEO of Challenge Partners, about what DfE Minsters should be considering now as they lay the foundations of Trust inspections. schoolsweek.co.uk/our-trust-pe...

This, this and this again! BBC News - As we return to a pre-WW2 order, the middle powers face a challenge - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Given the awful shooting in Minneapolis last night and their international political stance,Mark Carney was right to say middle tier countries like Canada and UK must urgently work together.Otherwise we are driven into the hands of China.Worringly, the latter seems to be the direction we are taking.

This has many sensible points, however it does wreak a bit of central bankers pseudo threatening elected politicians. Democracy is more important. A private memo from central banks to governments www.economist.com/leaders/2026... From The Economist

I bet they don't ask a single CEO of a primary MAT that has 5 or fewer schools to be part of the group helping to work on the inspection framework design. schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-mat-i...

Grandparents with money to spare while children struggle to pay their bills is a failure of resource allocation, argues columnist Jonathan Guthrie. Read the story on FTEdit 👉 on.ft.com/490F2dX Then take today's FTEdit poll 🗳️ on.ft.com/4oLBQHM

Of all of the hulabaloo in the media today about resignations and who said or meant what, this is by far and away the most important story today. BBC News - US and UK agree zero tariffs deal on pharmaceuticals - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I wonder if the ill fated revised pension scheme United Learning proposed might be revisited again if this is where we end up? inews.co.uk/news/politic...

This is a worry if the constitution in the US is changed to again allow a person to be more than a two term President. However, if this happens might Obama run against him? BBC News - Trump does not rule out seeking third term - but says he will not use VP loophole www.bbc.com/news/article...

Nobody will deny getting pupils to be able to decode, encode and confidently manipulate phonemes is vital to early reading skills and sets them up well for later curriculum success, but please let's not demonise the school who achieves 80% and educates children from overwhelmingly low income area.

I agree with most of this, but the role is quite specific and it would be odd if it was given to a DH or AH and IMO it's too much for those in a governance role. So it falls to the HT, which I suspect it will, on most occasions, or someone in a MAT leadership team? schoolsweek.co.uk/how-to-make-...

A challenging read. If we are to fulfil the transition to an AI powerhouse set out this week so clearly by the UK PM and US President then we need to focus on this. Our secondary has some of the best rates of success in maths with its disadvantaged pupils. ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2025/09/why-...

Bit of a visionary this fella! www.facebook.com/share/v/1ChD...

One of the more sensible articles I've read about achievable tax reform by Dan Neidle. www.ft.com/content/59f1...

WE ALL MUST BE WITH UKRAINE RIGHT NOW. MORE SO THAN EVER BEFORE. LET'S DO WHAT WE CAN AND NEVER FORGET WHAT THOUSANDS, MAYBE MILLIONS, OF THEIR PEOPLE CONTINUE TO ENDURE. THIS IS WAR IN EUROPE AND WE COULD BE NEXT! BBC News - Russian army inches closer www.bbc.com/news/article...

Let's make no bones about it, living in Russia or China (with its We Chat app) is a surveillance nightmare when it comes to the personal freedoms we enjoy. Let's be open about why autocracy and dictators are such a threat to the way we live. BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

So true. My water billed doubled overnight and most of it was not increased use but hidden and huge additional cost increases. Their representative on the phone didn't want to linger on these when I phoned them asking them to be reasonable.

If we are going to make this ONE planet a safer, more collegiate and sustainable place for our grandchildren to live in, then this sort of language in newspapers and the media helps no one.

Good!! BBC News - Porn site traffic plummets as UK age verification rules enforced - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Nothing against the MAT leaders in this group. I know some professionally, and they are strong leaders, but I'm afraid the government rarely pulls from leaders of SATs or small MATs for advice. We do the same job with the same knowledge, expertise and experience. schoolsweek.co.uk/20-academy-c...

Just watched the Scissor Sisters set at Glastonbury on iPlayer. It was just so good and the joy on everyone's faces was so clear. Go watch it.

schoolimprovementhub.org/case-studies/ It was great being involved in the case study for Hatton Academies Trust. Thanks for the support from CST in putting it together.

Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on. slate.com/technology/2...

Where's the social pressure on parents to sort toilet training before a child starts in nursery?A colleague who works in a nursery tells me she still has 12 who aren't toilet trained yet.In 2016 she said they had only 6 not toilet trained at the start of that year let alone the end!What's going on??

4 key themes from this excellent piece. Embrace Practice at the Edge of Mastery: the "85% rule" Build Procedural Fluency Use AI as Amplifier, Not Replacement Teach Metacognitive Awareness.

Really pleased to be attending the third commission meeting today in Leeds. The Research Commission is an opportunity to work with sector colleagues to understand how engagement measures are a lead indicator for attendance, motivation and enjoyment at school. www.impactedgroup.uk/resources/re...

Love this idea!

Reading Die with Zero by Bill Perkins right now. A fascinating take on planning for now and for your future. Mind changing.

There needs to be more transparency and clarity on how RISE advisers and RD will identify support to offer stuck schools. What was said today remains opaque.The list of factors considered is so long. A clear transparent framework is required for these key decisions. schoolsweek.co.uk/stuck-school...

Defrauded to death - thieves steal £260,000 from pensioner and @firstdirect part of @HSBC_UK refused to reimburse him bit.ly/4minE9t allowing thousands of pounds paid daily to them from his account saying “there were things [Colin] should have done to protect [himself]”

I don't understand why, 'new massive sanctions' weren't in place from European countries and others from the word go? Surely it was the obvious thing to do from Feb 2022? I hope now the international community is now leaving nothing else in the tank for this approach. www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...

🔢 “Promoting fluency is important, because it helps children to remember numbers and sequences. This is knowledge they can use to build up further learning in maths, like adding and subtracting, or sharing and grouping objects.” (1/2)

China has officially entered the era of “flying taxis”. Two Chinese companies have obtained the commercial operation certificate for autonomous passenger drones from CAAC.

Looking forward to this. Steve Rollett up first. @cstvoice.bsky.social

Couldn't agree more!

My latest blog around why primary CPD needs experienced primary voices. thinkingflexibly.com/2025/03/24/w...

Excuse the one piece of bad language but I think this comedian has it pretty spot in! 🤣 www.facebook.com/share/r/1BgB...

BBC News - www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c0... Women in Afghanistan: Spend a day with those living under Taliban rule - BBC News This remains an international tragedy. A generation of girls and women unable to enjoy even the most basic of freedom and rights!

Amber nectar on Thirsty Thursday!

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... Very funny and clever from Armando and Helen. The problem though is they are still not taking Trump seriously. Will it be as amusing when he upends democracy in the USA and grants himself a 3rd term or begins to override Congress or the judiciary? @aiannucci.bsky.social

foreignpolicy.com/2025/02/18/e... Why can't Europe stop talking and start acting? Follow the advice given here. It's the only way to secure its security long term. For many many years, Europe has been located precariously close to malign regimes and history tells us how this can end.

John Jerrim and Christian Bokhove's article for schools week is right. Ofsted should set out what they consider to be an adequate level of reliability for each of the criteria in their framework – particularly for those that are high-stakes. It should commit to an independent and transparent 1/2

Given the coloured category implications of the inspection toolkit proposal, we are going back to a fundamental misunderstanding of pupil performance starting points.

So does the curriculum now sit at the heart of Ofsted's inspection framework or not? It was very very certain of it's research based claim this was the right thing to do in2019/2020. Not so much anymore? If not, why not?

Adults ensuring there is a wait time to secure a verbal response is key for children of all ages but especially those who are very young. Great thread.

Welcome back to the hard reality of governing! BBC News - Warning signs for Trump as Republican rebels defiant www.bbc.com/news/article...

What is a decent success rate on Quordle? I'm on 77%.

For me, kindness is a leadership superpower.People who are kind, which is not the same as nice, tend to be better at building positive and long-lasting relationships, are more emotionally intelligent and will act as a steward for their organisation.Rates of retention are also always better. BE KIND!