My son found a swastika drawn on our road the other day. In one of the most left/liberal constituencies in the country.

Anti-racism and anti-fascism norms are breaking down. Failure of the mainstream to speak out against them is encouraging this sorts of extremism.

We wish all those celebrating this #RoshHashanah, shana tova u’metukah - a sweet, happy & healthy new year

I wrote my first investigative piece raising concerns about Covid contracts in *April 2020*. Great to see this finally on screen

Also this week I wrote about the key dividing line in politics now: build it up vs burn it down. How can "build it up" win? samf.substack.com/p/burn-it-do...

Slowly but surely they’re saying the quiet part out loud

Navigating online misinformation & radicalisation is a huge challenge. Join our free online CPD session w/ @counterhate.com to learn how algorithms work, the financial incentives behind them, & practical strategies to minimize online harm. 16 Oct 4pm Book: holocausteducation.org.uk/courses/2025...

Ending week 3 still smiling is an underrated achievement in education! Keep going and remember the impact we collectively have is immense.

Bluesky reaches 39 million users bsky.jazco.dev/stats

My god. This is homophobia pure and simple. The kinds of things I heard as a child; growing up in a gay household. I thought we were past this. But they are out of step with the majority of people who support, know & care for families like mine.

EXC - Keir Starmer condemns far right racism and violence at yesterday's march Says there will be "no surrender" of British flag to those who promote hate Our story here - www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

We must stand together against division, extremism and hatred: wherever it comes from. Our democracy is not for sale. And it is not for sabotage. 5/5

Elon Musk’s call for violence is not free speech. It is a direct threat to our democracy, our people, and our traditions of tolerance and decency. 2/5

There's been a shift towards support to the far right here and it's horrible to see. But this remains a vastly less racist/homophobic/anti-semitic country than it has been in the past. Which makes it all the odder that our politicians today seem more scared to make the argument.

If you are still on X you are supporting this.

Yes thousands turned out - which is far more than I’d like - but that is dwarfed by the millions that understand real patriotism means loving your country as it actually is, not hating its diversity or trying to exploit its challenges. That’s what our flags actually represent

Essential @nuffieldfoundation.org funded note by @theifs.bsky.social on England's SEND system - highly topical this autumn. Here's the growth in the number of EHCPs over the last decade+. ifs.org.uk/articles/eng...

This feels like the biggest story from the Guardian's Boris leaks... he took £240k from a Venezuelan hedge fund after meeting Maduro. And having denied he was paid. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

OK! Mildly awake and reflecting on #rED25... First up, @beckyfrancis.bsky.social on the curriculum and assessment review. It's just all so refreshingly sensible and balanced. Looking forward to seeing the full report (and what happens with it) #EvolutionNotRevolution

It made me think about how much effort I put into trying to ensure the content is accessible to all but am I ensuring they are still thinking hard? Am I too quick to jump in with verbal cues? It’s these small earworms that will have immediate impact in my classroom after #rED25

Great day at #rED25 - sessions from @beckyfrancis.bsky.social, @daisychristo.bsky.social, @chrisfountain.bsky.social and @dougobrien.bsky.social. It is always a delight seeing educators sharing their knowledge (on a Saturday no less) - brings such energy to the start of term.

Important talk and discussion from @pepsmccrea.bsky.social and @jenbarker.bsky.social about the challenges and dilemmas of the SEND system, and evidence for inclusive teaching #rED25

Extremely interesting talk from @daisychristo.bsky.social on the potential and limitations of AI use in education #rED25

I'll be at #rED25 #researchED today chatting about my new @smfthinktank.bsky.social report, which explains why we should be concerned about the DfE pushing more AI into schools and colleges....

Happy #rED25 day everyone 🥳 I'll be in M28, session 2, talking about translating research for different #SEND contexts. Aiming to be useful for all phases and settings 👍 Also aiming to be awake. Walthamstow gave us its full Friday night aural experience. It's #rED25 day, yeah...?

After sayingmany times that I wanted to see more RE talks at #ResearchED, I decided to be the change I want to see in the education world. I’ll be sharing how to build an RE curriculum inspired by Anne Taves’ research on universal questions, based on my work with Inspiration East. #rED25 #TeamRE

Looking forward to my session at #rED25 today - Ten Things We Hate About Student Data. I'll be looking at a range of frustrations, from the long shadow of Expected Progress measures to the distortions caused by Target Setting and Flightpaths and more. Join me at 2pm in M28 - see you there!

Who's coming to this year's #researchED National Conference this weekend? Reckon I'd better start plugging my session... I'll be talking about how to go about translating all the 'mainstream' edu research to support pupils with SEND (including those in a specialist settings) 🔬 #rED25

*taps the sign*

Just thinking the same about Twitter! Hopefully enough of us making noise over here for me to get the gist of what I do not get to see. #rED25

Going as always. To talk this time about close reading. See you there

Really looking forward to speaking at ResearchEd #rED25 tomorrow. Feels odd not to be discussing it on twitter. If you're going, do say hello!

Icymi If you’re getting ready to go back to school and will be leading English or science in primary, these new books are just for you! Please do share with anyone you think might find them helpful.

This really is an amazing resource👏

"That's not real teaching then is it?" "Isn't that just crayons and that?" "You just did it to work with women, I know your game!" And these are family members and friends...

Research evidence can act as a school’s ‘north star’, writes the EEF’s co-CEO, who shares key findings to help teachers and leaders focus on the ‘best bets’ for making a difference to pupils

Fully recommend the Do Ho Suh exhibition at Tate Modern. Evocative, thought-provoking, celebrates the mundane everyday

Happy to have been stood down earlier this afternoon by Channel 4 News on the very sensible grounds that there was not really a lot of protest in Britain today for the news to discuss and dissect this evening

“Trump has adopted Russia’s position,” writes one Russian paper today. “He will present his peace ultimatum to Zelensky. And there’s no doubt it’s an ultimatum.” My review of today’s Russian papers. #ReadingRussia

My new blog today - on starting in a new leadership role (as a Middle Leader, a Senior Leader, or a head). Hope it's helpful. Please share with those you know who are facing the challenge, and the opportunities and experiences it will bring, this autumn? Thanks. jillberry102.blog/2025/08/17/s...

🚨 Wide regional gaps in top grades at A Level 🚨 In 2024, the gap between the region with the highest proportion of top grades and the lowest was 8.8pp (London vs East Midlands). That gap has now grown to 9.2pp (London vs North East) #ResultsDay2025

Amid a focus on raising standards in early years, @juliangrenier.bsky.social shares his recommended reads on pedagogy and practice

Quite a few of these ‘the UK is in a better state than you might think’ pieces around and that’s all to the good. But one thing rarely said is how important it is to have a functioning statistical system, so we at least have a shared set of facts www.thetimes.com/article/63b7...

Together we’re turning the tide on the absence crisis among our kids. Five million more days in school is the biggest improvement in a decade. I want to thank not just the parents but the school leaders, teachers & support staff who’ve made this happen. www.gov.uk/government/n...

💬 "The truth is that experience isn’t free. It costs time, travel, and sometimes even your own equipment. It costs the shift at your paid job that you had to give up." More on why the prominence of unpaid work is an issue in creative professions 👇

💥BOOM! @bsky.app just hit 38 MILLION users! Let’s keep going!

Why your SEND intervention might not be working; the facts about dyslexia support; and the barriers to genuine inclusion – Tes rounds up its 5 most popular features on SEND and inclusion from the past year

NZ has scrapped its mainly teacher-assessed, highly individualised qualification system in favour of exams and a narrower, knowledge-rich curriculum. Few are mourning the old system, widely seen as unworkable. Teachers' unions are cautiously optimistic. England once again the template for reform.