Question for poetry lovers/geeks…. I’ve been writing a pantoum. It has all the right line repetitions in the right places but to make it end well I’ve added one extra standalone line at the end. Does that disqualify it from being a pantoum? Waiting nervously…

Wednesday's fabulous Harold Rosen Lecture by Carol Atherton reminded us of the transformative power of authentic, dialogic teaching, says NATE chair Mick Connell. The lecture can be viewed after reading Mick's article: t.co/bP8n58Jntp

Recently we posted our overall response to the CAR. Here @mediamagemc.bsky.social editor Claire Pollard summarises the key points for Media specialists. Note repurposing of logo in true Media Studies fashion. How many teachers are old enough to remember C&A?! englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/a-brief...

It's fascinating to see how much the students were writing with minimal guidance. So much great material to draw on for formative assessment. It's something @barbarableiman.bsky.social + I will be thinking about in our Big Picture Writing course next week www.englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/0a4b...

This was wonderful. I loved all the speakers, the panel, the aspirational and inspirational ideas that were being shared with students in all the sessions, giving them a bigger context for thinking about their literature & the nature of the subject.

Very much agree @barbarableiman.bsky.social The hard work is making sure that the full breadth of #oracy is understood, embraced and practised.

Now the hard work begins to ensure that oracy isn't shrunk to performative talk of very narrow kinds (only debating, speeches, formal interviews) but encompasses the full gamut vital for learning in subjects & learning for life - Talk for Learning, Learning about Talk as well as Learning to Talk.

Want to hear how different stakeholders are responding to the CAR in relation to English? @pearsonenglishhub.bsky.social is hosting a webinar on December 4th. Free to sign up @eva-mcmanamon.bsky.social pearson.cventevents.com/event/c7a22c...

This is the @engmediacentre.bsky.social response to the CAR. It's a relief & pleasure to find so much to welcome in it. I hope that DfE gets firmly behind the key recommendations & especially that the changes to GCSE English can be brought in as quickly as possible. @beckyfrancis.bsky.social

Great to see the importance of Oracy being so clearly recognised in the CAR! Congratulations to @voice21oracy.bsky.social @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social and many others & thank you for all your hard work!

This arrived yesterday by @attielime.bsky.social Looking forward to dipping in!

I had a children's poem accepted by @littlethoughtspress.com for their 'Stirring Words' issue. Their lovely editor @clairemtaylor.com asked me to do an interview for their blog. Here it is, along with another poem about my grandparents. www.littlethoughtspress.com/post/intervi...

A great day for all the teachers involved. Thanks for doing such a fantastic job again, Jess!

The much anticipated final report of the Curriculum + Assessment Review is now available. Significant recommendations for English, particularly at GCSE, which we'll be digesting in the coming days + recommend every English teacher reads www.gov.uk/government/p...

Here's a little Bonfire Night poem. Maybe some EY, KS1 and 2 teachers might spot it and share it with children. Now that would be just lovely!

My poem in this collection of Bonfire Night poems is from a dog's pov. If you have a dog and have to think about their well-being when all the bangs go off and the sparks fly, your children might enjoy my doggy viewpoint! (Lots of fab human views there too!) brian-moses.blogspot.com/2024/10/nove...

Interested in the teaching of writing? Do take a look at this great summary from @theclpe.bsky.social of what works in developing writers who are confident, engaged & thoughtful & can draw on their reading to give voice to their ideas in increasingly sophisticted ways. clpe.org.uk/research/wri...

A Halloween poetry offering for little 'uns getting geared up for Halloween and donning their costumes, stepping out into the night all prepared to be very scary...and to be very scared!

Today’s Halloween-based poem is called ‘Pumpkin’.

The #cogsci of reading, shared by the people who actually do the research. This will be spectacular! #ReconstructingReading bsky.app/profile/jonn...

These prompts are a great stimulus for writing. Here's my latest effort!

Fantastic piece! I checked back on my latest poem about animals for little ‘uns - a draft - and found this!

Brought half term to a close by reading about 'expressive writing'. So different to today's methods but there's still value in learning to 'write through writing' as @barbarableiman.bsky.social + I hope to show in our 'Big Picture Writing' webinar on Nov 25 www.englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/0a4b...

If you’re an English teacher, please do this. Your views matter & we want them represented in our survey!

This is such good news! Children’s fiction is going theough a golden age & that needs recognising, celebrating and nurturing, for all we’re worth! www.theguardian.com/books/2025/o...

@littlethoughtspress.com takes kid lit seriously—and so do we. They’ve been spotlighted for #IndieLitMagGala 2025 for their stunning, thoughtful, contributor-friendly work. Big thanks to @tracierenee.bsky.social for the beautiful nomination. Read the full piece: thebrokenspine.co.uk...

A really interesting read on the Children's Poetry Summit blog by John Dougherty about writing children's picture books in poetry. Very insightful and illuminating. Thank you @lizpoet.bsky.social for all your continued work on this wonderful blog! childrenspoetrysummit.com/2025/10/23/j...

We're really keen to get the views of English teachers (in England) about the state of English teaching. If you have a few minutes to fill in our survey, we'd be very grateful.

Do schools do that thing of SLT following a single child through the school over a whole day e.g. a Y9, in all their lessons, from registration on? I thought it was a brilliant thing to do, to get a student-eye insight into what school/lessons are like. It flagged up patterns & whole school issues!

FREE EVENT AT EMC TOMORROW If you missed the deadline for tomorrow's free EMC Twilight but would like to attend, send an email to [email protected] and we'll look forward to seeing you! Refreshments from 4.30, starts at 5!

At @engmediacentre.bsky.social we've been doing a survey of teachers' views on the current state of English teaching. We've had a great response but we'd love more, incl more from out of London. If you're an English teacher please do it. It doesn't take long! www.surveymonkey.com/r/EngTeach2025

I'm really looking forward to doing this new webinar with @andrewemc.bsky.social. In the light of the new DfE Writing Framework & other recent trends in the teaching of writing, it seems really important to offer principles & practices based on sound linguistics & proven pedagogies!

This is fabulous! What English teaching is - or should be - all about!

I'm doing a 45min half-term performance based on 'Snap!' in Saxmundham Library, as part of Poetry in Aldeburgh Festival. If you're in striking distance and have little ones who'd enjoy a fun event, why not come along? It's FREE, but do please book in advance.

Can I/we open up a civilised conversation here about boredom in classrooms? I do wonder if some - not all - issues of behaviour/attainment/attendance etc stem from boredom as a result of the recent focus on routines, repetition, lack of responsiveness, choice & student voice.

The selected poems were all stunning - some were unthinkably good and have entered my collection of favourite poems that I will come back to repeatedly over time! .

Won’t we all feel delighted when 90% of small children can ‘read’ non-words like ´bon’ ´nip’ ´glop’ ´trib’ and ´choop’ in their phonics test. Such a help in developing their comprehension of written text & fostering a lifelong love of reading!

I wrote this poem on the limits of phonics, a while back. Our spelling system is based on the history of words, meaning & connections with other words, as well as sounds. Whether a sound is spelt 'oar' 'ore' 'aw' can't be decided on phonics alone & confronted with those letter combinations in 1/.

A good few sales last week, 14 lovely reviews, 100% 5* ratings! So glad that it’s being received so well. I hope that EY, KS1 and 2 teachers might be buying copies and sharing poems with classes! Lots of ones for joining in & for sparking own writing. www.amazon.co.uk/Snap-Poems-C...

Play. There. I said it. Play play play. Play- crucial to learning and essential its called as it is: Play.

What a lovely blog by Rachel Piercey for @cpsummit.bsky.social on Christina Rossetti's poems for children. Gorgeous poems selected to talk about, and some great ideas for ones to both use with young readers and draw inspiration from if you are a writer! childrenspoetrysummit.com

Congratulations to one of our favourite writers on winning this prestigious award. You can see Sita in conversation with @darrenchetty.bsky.social at our FREE EMC Twilight event at Webber Street on Thursday 23 October, 5-6 englishandmedia.co.uk/courses/6fae...

EMC FREE!!! There are lots of ways to make use of our free offers. If you have an ECT in your team, then we'd love you to let them know about everything they can get hold of for free! englishandmedia.co.uk/all-products...

Last week Hannah Pettit, EMC's social media content creator took part in the BFI LFF Critics Mentorship Programme. We're so proud she won a place on this prestigious programme for budding film critics. Here's what she wrote for The Standard as part of the programme www.standard.co.uk/culture/film...

Tests don’t teach. They do shift the teaching though. I now predict a new reading lesson for all students in Yr 7,8 and 9. I imagine we will have text extracts with questions for students to complete and answer. This shows a complete misunderstanding of the reading process and how it develops.

A delicate blend of youthful emotions & the wisdom of age in @barbarableiman.bsky.social's poem, "My Grandmother's Words." In Little Thoughts Press Issue 11: Stirring Words, available now in print and pdf. www.littlethoughtspress.com/issues

What a fabulous event! The 15 winners were stunning and suggest that the future of poetry is assured!

A superb guest blog for @engmediacentre.bsky.social by Stephen Dilley, one of the 2024/5 EMC Associate Teachers. This is what A Level Lit can be - it’s what the subject discipline is all about, allowing authentic response to flourish, producing stunning writing! englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/developin…

Just finished knitting a little jumper and hat for my son & daughter-in-law’s baby girl, due in November!

I think maybe the #SEND review needs to look at making education itself more suitable for meeting more children's needs? Start seeing #inclusion as a feature of the system rather than as an add on. If we did that alongside additional support for children with high level needs we might get somewhere?