I'm pro ID cards because we could use them to join up education, health, social care, DWP and criminal justice data, allowing earlier intervention to get better outcomes cheaper. If you have civil liberties concerns, fair enough, but that comes with a price tag.

PSA for the PSAs: autism isn't harm

Something (bad) here for everyone. When America ditched high stakes accountability, poorer students did worse, and this was exacerbated by covid. But across the board America is still doing better than most other education systems. www.slowboring.com/p/american-s...

Thought I'd be safe but that's now feeling pretty complacent. Niemoller was onto something. I appreciate I'm comparatively pretty lucky but this is escalating quickly.

First time doing Glamorgan sausages for years. Could do with more thyme and maybe a hint of chili. But pretty good!

Of all the ridiculous “now that we have [x], we don’t need a knowledge-rich curriculum”, AI is maybe the silliest. How else are you meant to know whether it is right or wrong?

My current guess on SEND reform is the govt will negotiate the short term politics of it well and there will be some really welcome steps, plus - the combo of more accountability, power for LAs, and lack of clear thinking on what constitutes good provision will open up a new trad/prog ish conflict

To me, a good deal of heartache could have been saved in all this reform by just tweaking what can be written into section F and I.

Finally got round to reading the Education Select Committee SEND report after a busy week. Many thoughts. It's about as comprehensive as these things get and makes a number of sensible points. Eg scrapping EHCPs is for the birds in the current climate. committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Had an interesting conversation about inclusion in our SEND/AP schools yesterday that concluded with us suggesting that whilst we're proper hot on what you'd traditionally think of as 'inclusive practice', for us, ensuring access to a knowledge-rich curriculum for ALL is our inclusion focus.

I agree with much of the substance here, but utterly resent the framing that we should do things in order to chase the Nandos points. The inspectorate should not drive behaviour in the system. Inclusion is now the leadership test. Here’s how to pass share.google/MLIct6k1ItDy...

Great to see my colleagues Faizal and our timetabling wizard Katie get their flowers here for making our 9-day fortnight a reality. There are tradeoffs and we've been learning as we go, but we've shown it can be done.

When Dixons Academies Trust launched its 9-day fortnight for teachers, there was a fair bit of cynicism about whether it would actually be possible. 12 months on, @ellencph.bsky.social talks to the trust to find out what has happened since - and the impact it has had www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

1/ Behaviour and attendance are back in the headlines. Two new hubs are launching in Yorkshire, but will they solve the “45 lost days” crisis? @greeborunner.bsky.social and I wrote about this in the @yorkshirepost.co.uk. Some key points 🧵

Wasn't planning on going to Labour conference this year but decided to because of SEND reform. How many SEND events on the fringe schedule? Zero, that I can see. Oh good.

Good list this. And also very notable that so much that gets proposed, or done in practice, for supporting students with additional needs just flatly goes against these principles.

this is, hands down, the best video I've seen on men's influencer content and it's not close either

Government and the main opposition can and should convene civic society! All that is being asked is that the government show as much leadership and integrity as the world’s best Arsenal blog.

Today's lesson for Kiwi rugby fans: don't send a boy to do a woman's job. Congrats Black Ferns and Springboks

The impact on context on teacher success is much larger than the impact of teacher quality. That said: as time passes, teacher quality creates the institutional memory that creates better conditions.

6 things need to do on anti-Muslim prejudice for different objectives and audiences re majority norms, institutional boundaries, casual & harder prejudices. Some specific things are needed on asylum/Islam intersection re dehumanising those without status www.togetherforhumanity.co.uk/news/6-steps...

Agree with the vast majority of this from @schoolsnortheast.bsky.social. Hopefully this is the kind of ground the Schools White Paper will sink its teeth into, to butcher metaphors. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

One reason I am gloomy is that the big picture is that the social and political outcomes of “an ageing society sets itself against high levels of immigration“ are bad for everyone.

Lazy Sunday caramelising onions

This is a pretty serious appointment and suggests Number 10 is going to take a much closer interest in education. I really hope it signals place-based approaches to challenging educational disadvantage and a canny approach to SEND, and not messing around with the expert curriculum review.

Big KS clearly sat in the cabinet room reading my skeets. Good for Bridget. On we go.

As I've said before, I think changes at DfE with the department's current in-tray of SEND and curriculum reform, is a bad idea. Fingers crossed.

Absolutely brilliant to see. Building local power for young people and families.

🤝 'This is not just another initiative. It is a new civic model, and one that could hold lessons for education policy far beyond Sunderland'

Really positive article from our own @vicgoddard.bsky.social here: www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

15ish years ago we gave the vast majority of teenagers in the developed world unlimited instant access to porn, murder videos and cyberbullying. And we wonder why there are mental health issues. But no, it must be teachers' fault, as an endless stream of policy reports and open letters tells us.

Just catching up on this, a serious look from @ascl-uk.bsky.social at the role of schools in communities. In the 2000s, we started doing this but lots of teaching and curriculum wasn't up to scratch. In the 2010s, it was the opposite. Get both right in the 2020s? www.ascl.org.uk/ASCL/media/A...

This is brilliant, beautiful and worth reading all of. Thanks @bennewmark.bsky.social @sarahhutchinson.bsky.social points out the historical echo of the workhouse is strong in the UK: there are deserving and undeserving, and we must use humiliation to distinguish the two.

Research evidence can vary in its quality and reliability. The CLAIMS framework can be helpful in identifying red flag warning signs. Available in @theeef.bsky.social Using Research Evidence: A Concise Guide

Friday's takeaway order sorted. Shall we all get one, take a pic and send it to this guy?

Was going to do a thread about how we need to expand the way we think about attendance and behaviour in schools without losing rigour, but now I'm making Mario soup instead. Really hoping broccoli and stilton is Mario enough.

Maintaining positivity around the phrase ‘every teacher being a teacher of SEND’ might be tricky, but if feels key to achieving true, and joyous, whole-school ownership of pupils with SEND. New blog here, feedback welcome: sendmatters.co.uk/2025/08/25/j...

I know we don't speak of the 'bad place' here, but it is really worth talking about and thinking about what has happened to discourse on X/Twitter since the exodus of UK teachers from it.

Is the term 'inclusion' just a rebranding of 'special education' or is it an acknowledgement that the pedagogy of special education isn't fundamentally different to that of mainstream education? #EduSky #InclusiveEd

Friday night fakeaway: Birdseye fish fingers fried rice and homemade curry sauce. One of the best things I've ever made (yes being back at work has been an adjustment).

Yes. But I wish we saw more of a new generation of teacher writers. There are some. @claireharley.bsky.social is a great example, but I don't think there are as many as there were.

‘Poverty is not a destination’. We can respect culture and history whilst still providing education

I suppose it’s possible that this is false recall but I really don’t think so! Any #EduSky help greatly appreciated.

Delivered Prevent training today and it left me wondering how likely a Christchurch-style terror attack in the UK is. In the 2000s there was a concerted effort to crack down on hate preachers that is pretty conspicuously absent right now. 'Invasion' and 'replacement' narratives go unchallenged.

🗣️ How can we shape the future of student mental health through people, not just policy? With @studentmindsorg.bsky.social, we’re training students in community organising to build power and take action on the underlying causes of poor mental health. Find out how: wonkhe.com/blogs-sus/st...

Thank you to @latimes.com for publishing my story about chronic absenteeism. Skipping school isn't like it used to be... although kids still grouse that school is 'boring' www.latimes.com/california/s...

A key factor I didn't include here, but is almost certainly a piece of the attainment gap puzzle, is numbers of adults out of work in the North. It's easier to keep kids off school if you're at home too. Interesting numbers here (I appreciate FN has his issues). open.substack.com/pub/fraserne...

A thing I like the idea of - which is sort of the flip side to this - is a catch-up year between GCSEs and post-16 where GCSE subjects can be resat and/or key subjects focused on or picked up. Because a problem of holding back is that then you fall out of CSA and funding a year ‘early’.

Some Bank Holiday reading from me – we cannot let regional disparities in educational achievement persist. Featuring some (hopefully) serious ideas and a quick fix (which is probably a bad idea). open.substack.com/pub/jimlaude...

I was involved in a summer reading scheme in Leeds about 35 years ago. In about 4 weeks we pushed the reading age of a bunch of primary kids, and had a load of fun. I'd have to agree with Jim that holding kids back a year is a bad idea, and a good idea...