York Minster looking lovely in the setting sun

As above, so below

I got this book from local library, and then got a copy to own because it's in for the intensive "how did he DO that" reread. There are some beautiful things going on with time, place, and point-of-view that I need to understand both as reader (for pleasure) and writer (for work)

I now fully understand why @greeborunner.bsky.social and @ensermark.bsky.social moved north. There is a Booth’s in Settle. If you know you know 😂

A good start to a trip to York with @greeborunner.bsky.social Vegan fish and chips and a new TTRPG to try.

One of my favourite novels. Absolutely brilliant.

Making the most of the sunny evening light. Enjoying campervan adventures.

Fieldwork might be the best stress test of a school. Take pupils out of the classroom - safeguarding, behaviour culture, inclusion, curriculum thinking and leadership all become visible. A thought sparked by a tweet from Kate Stockings. New post: open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Fieldwork might be the best stress test of a school. Take pupils out of the classroom - safeguarding, behaviour culture, inclusion, curriculum thinking and leadership all become visible. A thought sparked by a tweet from Kate Stockings. New post: open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

🔍 The renewed Ofsted framework offers a range of challenges and opportunities, says @greeborunner.bsky.social – here are 4 ways senior leaders can help subject leads navigate inspections

I spend a lot of time working with schools and MATs to quality assure and improve geography. One question always sits underneath: what do we actually mean by the impact of the geography curriculum? In this post I try to make my thinking visible. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p... #GeogChat

I spend a lot of time working with schools and MATs to quality assure and improve geography. One question always sits underneath: what do we actually mean by the impact of the geography curriculum? In this post I try to make my thinking visible. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p... #GeogChat

Assessment in foundation subjects like geography often creates a headache for leaders. I take a look at what goes wrong, and how to put it right. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Assessment in foundation subjects like geography often creates a headache for leaders. I take a look at what goes wrong, and how to put it right. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Do schools kill creativity?” It’s a seductive story. But creativity isn’t a free-floating spark waiting to be protected from schooling. It grows from knowledge, constraint, revision and judgement. Far from killing creativity, schools breathe life into it. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

A somewhat unexpectedly creepy find down a vomit splattered back alley in Preston.

What the process of writing a text book taught @ensermark.bsky.social about creating shared resources (which should help teachers and subject leaders who are developing such resources for others in their team): @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Finally, a great TES article by @ensermark.bsky.social about making resources for others. As he notes, it's relevant in many different scenarios and there's clearly a danger of AI shortcuts meaning that the resources fail the requirements that Mark sets out. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful: buff.ly/jcBWkGe #schools

I had non-specialists and slt teaching the other class in my subject. I had to provide explicit lessons with everything they needed to deliver. Actually worked better then when I allowed for more flexibility in some circumstances.

An interesting article if you are in to the theory of games (and literature) - although trigger warning, they don't know how character attributes are rolled for... theconversation.com/want-to-unde...

Shift from personal planning to public pedagogy, when resources have to carry the reasoning, not just the activity. Limiting factor becomes transfer, clarity under pressure, likely misconceptions, checks for understanding & smallest set of choices a colleague needs to teach with fidelity.

Most teachers will, at some point, write lessons they will never teach themselves. Heads of department do it constantly. That shift changes everything. 1/6

Works really nicely with subject specialists (and/or experienced teachers) and capacity. Sometimes the reality of teachers with other specialisms, high turnover and perhaps less experience etc. might mean that it's not quite so easy to operationalise.

As a Hod I preferred to give a model that said, these are the things the students need to learn (and not learn according to spec), why they need to learn it (v important IMO),these are some resources you might find helpful and this is roughly how many lessons you have.

Most teachers will, at some point, write lessons they will never teach themselves. Heads of department do it constantly. That shift changes everything. 1/6

In my last Substack piece I looked at the implications of the white paper for curriuclum thinking - today, I turn my attention to what it means for the classroom. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

What’s the secret to writing effective shared curriculum resources? @ensermark.bsky.social shares tips for creating lesson plans that colleagues can easily pick up and use at short notice

In my last Substack piece I looked at the implications of the white paper for curriuclum thinking - today, I turn my attention to what it means for the classroom. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

I think you’re right. Structural stuff matters insofar as changes what happens in lessons. SEND section is attempt to redesign operating conditions so curriculum access deliverable at scale. If capacity doesn’t materialise, “curriculum” becomes aspiration and exclusion-by-drift does the rest.

I really enjoyed reading this, Mark. It has definitely provoked my thinking and I’ll be sharing it 👏🏻 For too long inclusion has been an add on at best, or worse, a removal of access. If education is the great leveller we want it to be, we have to get this right. Now. At last. *hopes*

Everyone is talking about the structures in the new schools white paper. But what if the real story is curriculum? In my latest piece I argue Every Child Achieving and Thriving is fundamentally a curriculum and pedagogy document, not just a reform plan.

Everyone is talking about the structures in the new schools white paper. But what if the real story is curriculum? In my latest piece I argue Every Child Achieving and Thriving is fundamentally a curriculum and pedagogy document, not just a reform plan.

Do brain scans tell us anything about how to structure a curriculum? Should we be lead by what cognitive psychology indicates about how we learn or by what neuroscience suggests about how knowledge is stored? open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

1. A Year in Willerby. 12 stories from a haunted village. First edition run of 100 sold out but we're building a waiting list for edition two, which will be mostly the same with some interesting differences. Here's the link for the list. More detail in thread. www.welcometowillerby.co.uk/blank

What does Ofsted mean by ‘foundational knowledge’? And how can schools show that they are delivering it? @greeborunner.bsky.social offers some answers

A year’s work coming to fruition. Delighted to see Discover Geography now publishing. This is more than a textbook series. It’s a complete KS3 / lower secondary curriculum package designed for both UK and international contexts.

A year’s work coming to fruition. Delighted to see Discover Geography now publishing. This is more than a textbook series. It’s a complete KS3 / lower secondary curriculum package designed for both UK and international contexts.

We sold out our first edition of A Year in Willerby. Thank you to everyone who bought a copy. Sorry if you missed out this time. Will reprint when there's demand. Waiting list here: www.welcometowillerby.co.uk/blank If you bought a copy we'd appreciate reviews - we want to grow and this helps.

All our reviews so far have been lovely. If you have ordered, read and liked our book and can find the time we'd appreciate more. If you haven't ordered yet there's 9 left and we'll send out any orders we get today tomorrow.

Love this - like a lost Tale of the Unexpected

9 left of the original 100 run. Come find us..

Discover Geography for the Changing World 🌍 Join @ensermark.bsky.social and the panel of leading geography educators, as they provide practical insights and tools that educators can adapt to their own classrooms. Have you booked your place?: buff.ly/PbAlPJi #PowerfulGeography

"Local context is powerful when it is used as a bridge, not a boundary. Its value lies in helping pupils to make sense of ideas that extend beyond their immediate experience." @ensermark.bsky.social in @tesmagazine.bsky.social: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Discover Geography for the Changing World 🌍 Join @ensermark.bsky.social & the panel of leading geography educators, as they explore the evolving landscape of teaching geography and its role in addressing today’s global challenges. A webinar not to be missed: buff.ly/RXct0qX #PowerfulGeography

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

*** NEW POST *** There are often calls to make a school's or subject's curriculum local and familiar but this can have its problems. I take a look for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

*** NEW POST *** There are often calls to make a school's or subject's curriculum local and familiar but this can have its problems. I take a look for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

‘Make it local’ is a common theme in curriculum planning right now, with the aim of introducing local context to make learning feel more relevant for pupils – but there are dangers in taking this too far, writes @ensermark.bsky.social

*** NEW POST *** Quality assurance often creates workload without clarity. In my latest Substack, I explore why common QA approaches fall short and how schools can design QA that is purposeful, subject-led and genuinely improves teaching. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...