If you added up everything that can supposedly be fixed in society with a PSHE lesson, you’d probably have enough to write a new verse to the tune of “we didn’t start the fire”.

New post just out: "The Reality Trap" On Reform's struggles running councils. What it tells us about how they'd fare if they won a general elections. And about how broken our system of local government is. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

#Edurunners Sunday recovery run How's your exercise?

#Edurunners 10km this morning How's your exercise?

The median age in the UK is 40. Which means half of the population was not even born in 1985, let alone 1975.

He's right; the absolute spoilsport.

Exclusive: A surge in home education has left many families struggling to find places for their children to sit GCSEs, with some 'reduced to begging' as overwhelmed exam centres shut their doors https://schoolsweek.co.uk/home-education-children-forced-to-travel-miles-to-sit-exams/

Thank you @schoolsweek.bsky.social for highlighting this - a really thorough and well researched article.

@michaelt1979.bsky.social “If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by” - Sun Tzu. 😆 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

#Edurunners Hill sprints this evening How's your exercise?

AI generated complaints causing schools huge problems and isn't just SARs. Bar to complain has been lowered because what once took hours takes minutes. I get the point about democratisation of the process but.. A. The number of valid complaints hasn't increased at the same rate as general increase.

NEW BLOG: A question of homework in English learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-qu... @carousel-learning.bsky.social @adamboxereducation.bsky.social

It already is. Prices have gone up from an average of £150-200 to £250-300 over the last five years or so.

Hearing more and more stories of exam centres overwhelmed with private candidates and considering cutting down or stopping their support. In a context of >3% of KS4 children EHE. This is very bad, and no-one is paying any attention. @johndickenssw.bsky.social @jonsevers.bsky.social @tom-richmond.com

Deep dives are out. A broader “shallow paddle” approach is in. That means less subject-level triangulation — and more pressure on leaders to show how every part of the school connects. I’ve written about what this shift means and how to prepare: 🔗 open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments: One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.

Exciting times - I now have a copy of my book!

I get really irritated by the labelling of these subjects as the ‘creative’ ones because it ignores the huge non-creative element that goes into success in any of them while also overlooking the creativity inherent in many other subjects. History, for example, obviously requires lots of creativity.

"Experience tells us that ownership, not compliance, drives meaningful change." Great piece from @samgibbs.bsky.social and @missgoodyear.bsky.social in @tesmagazine.bsky.social: www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Before I became AHT I had been UPS3 with a TLR for 8 years - so no possibility of a pay increase (prior to having the TLR I was UPS3 for 7 years). Factor in the pay freeze at the same time. Like many others I essentially had a pay cut in real terms for a substantial number of years.

What struck me about this was how awful the interviewer was. Hold someone to account by all means: but to sneer, attempt to ridicule,and to condescend just make the interviewer look partisan.

And the massively increasing expectations of accountability, safeguarding etc etc

It would be remiss of me not to add that The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading has since been superseded by a much more useful book, Primary Reading Simplified. While this might be the last significant amount, I will ensure that all royalties continue to be donated.

This year's royalties for The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading have arrived (£5477.65). As promised, this money has been donated to Malaria Consortium. This brings the running total donated (with Gift Aid) to about £57,000 in four years. >>

Maybe if you were less muddled it would be easier.

In a secondary school, absolutely not. The SLT workload is too onerous for a HT and two DHTs.

#UkEd #Edubloguk #Edusky This is a marvellous piece from Carl. A long read that is well worth the time. Thanks @carlhendrick.substack.com 😍

#Edurunners 10km this morning (with a sprint finish.) How's your exercise?

For me, the rise in AHTs was a sector response to retention issues: Keep good staff by paying them more. Do this by moving them to a different pay scale. What this could show is that the limitations of mainscale/UPS pay over that time are a cause of retention issues. share.google/WSACdQTE2MLP...

Is the new Curriculum & Assessment Review from @beckyfrancis.bsky.social “dumbing down” education — or redefining what rigour means? enserm.substack.com/p/is-the-cur... 🧵 A short thread for school leaders 👇

*** NEW POST *** open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p... Too many lessons are filled with checking what pupils know rather than helping them learn something new.

#Edurunners 5k progression run after work. How's your exercise?

Please have a read and share- I hope that it is helpful and encapsulates the real positives that the CAR and the work of @beckyfrancis.bsky.social and team

Congratulations to @beckyfrancis.bsky.social and team for producing a curriculum and assessment review that's evolutionary rather than throwing all the achievements of the last few years overboard. Lots of sensible recommendations. www.gov.uk/government/p...

New IDSR is out Sample here: idsr.ofsted.gov.uk/exampleprimary Thoughts?

This year I've been very specific with my classes about what @adamboxereducation.bsky.social calls "Golden Silence." As in "when you're listening to me I want Golden Silence - it sounds like.." Or. "When you begin writing I want Golden Silence," so say if you need help now. It's a habit I'll keep.

#Edurunners 5k before work How's your exercise?

Sunday morning 10km for me. #Edurunners How's your exercise

#Edurunners Struggling to be motivated. Quads still recovering. Gentle 5km at recovery pace. How's your exercise?

Schools make more Social care referrals than anyone else. And social care can’t/wont step in until a family reaches crisis point. This is not good. Schools cannot continue to plug this gap. It’s not what we trained for, not what we know. Via @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

#fridayfive 1. Werewolves of London. Warren Zevon. 2. Psychokiller. Talking Heads. 3. There’s a Ghost in My House. R. Dean Taylor. 4. The Monster Mash. Bobby Pickett & The Crypt Kickers. 5. Thriller. Michael Jackson.

#FridayFive Fright Night 1. Doin’ It All For My Baby - Huey Lewis And The News (check out the video) 2. Monsters And Angels - Voice Of The Beehive 3. Riders In The Sky - The Outlaws 4. Injected With A Poison - Praga Kahn 5. Camouflage - Stan Ridgeway

A spooky #fridayfive 1. Spooky—Dusty Springfield 2. Me and the Devil—Soap&Skin 3. Wolf—First Aid Kit 4. The Ghost Inside—Broken Bells 5. Season of the Witch—Lana del Ray

#FridayFive I put a spell on you - Nina Simone The monster mash - Bobby Pickett Thriller - Michael Jackson’s Maneater - Hall and Oates Superstition - Stevie Wonder

NEW from me: Political hostility, high visa fees and (in the case of the UK) stagnant incomes are making the UK and US less attractive destinations for top international talent. That steep decline in the appeal of moving to the US after 2016 is 👀

#MathsToday #UkEd Calling Maths Teachers! I'm doing a project on transition to university. Two questions 1) Do you do anything to address the differences in competences students have post 18 (so not trying to get them better for exams, but getting them to fix gaps they had in those exams)?

No. No. Next question.

If you can't beat em...

#Edurunners 10km this morning. Legs like jelly. 100km for the month How's your exercise?

We emerged from the rain, and sought solace in a place called 'Bridgwater Services'. But we soon realised this maze of hell was designed to trap the weary traveller, and keep them here for eternity. Strange shadows scuttled around us, we were lucky to escape with our lives.