Seems an apt time to put this out again - nothing has really changed in the research consensus since I wrote this. Also, if the 'harmful' bits are banned, does that make phones 'safe' for schools...? www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

My latest piece for @tesmagazine.bsky.social explores the influence of the manosphere in schools. I heard some truly shocking stories: www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

"A child isn’t born with SEND. They aren’t born knowing that they don’t fit," says the writer. "This is something they learn; something that they’re taught." This piece is one of the most beautiful mediations on SEND I have read. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Schools and trusts are facing ‘the most significant update to employment law in decades’ – but how, exactly, will they be affected? @jasminenorden.bsky.social asks legal experts about the implications of the Employment Rights Act 2025

There is an ‘unhelpful myth’ that children should avoid writing altogether in the early years – but research shows that early writing and mark making helps with literacy, writes @juliangrenier.bsky.social

"A school is a community where many, often competing, needs must be balanced as equitably as possible - all while keeping within what is financially viable. And nobody likes being told 'no'. So how do we say it and retain respectful relationships?" @nancygedge.bsky.social shares her advice.

Extra time is "by far and away" the most popular access arrangement for pupils with SEND sitting exams. But does its dominance mean we might be missing out on alternative arrangements that might help pupils more? @ellencph.bsky.social investigates.

ADHD has been oversimplified, misreported and misunderstood, argues professor Gaia Scerif. “It’s a spectrum,” she argues, and the environment a person is in can often determine whether support is actually even needed. A must read interview this morning. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

"With regards to phones and social media, the evidence of causality for ADHD specifically remains limited. Attention development, from the early years into adult life, is so complex. We should be wary of pinpointing a single cause." Fascinating interview in Tes today from @jonsevers.bsky.social ⬇️

“If your measure is randomised controlled trials, then there is no evaluation of Building Thinking Classrooms... Most of the research is design-based, more qualitative, smaller scale. And there is a risk that if you [only go on these types of studies], things then look very successful.”

"Some schools are going further with AI, beyond tutoring to an entirely new model of schooling where the instructional part of teaching is being performed by artificial intelligence, with human teachers rebranded as 'guides'." Fascinating in @tesmagazine.bsky.social from @hollykorbey.bsky.social.

School environments are making genetic diversity problematic for many children, and the SEND reforms don’t offer the systemic change needed to address that, argues a leading psychology professor www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Some news - I have rejoined @tesmagazine.bsky.social as senior writer! I'll be working on features and analysis about schools and beyond. Drop me a line on [email protected]

Is setting better than mixed attainment? Despite new evidence supporting setting in secondary maths, the researchers behind a recent EEF study warn schools not to make any hasty changes to how they group students.

"A lot of videos - including ones that teachers use in lessons - are really fast-paced. Very young children will just see those as a blur. Their brains won’t be able to make out the detail." Fascinating interview with @profsamwass.bsky.social in @tesmagazine.bsky.social today:

"Nobody in that school or my primary school knew that there was a lot more going on for me than the death of my Dad." Hidden trauma and the challenge of helping those who do not seem to need help. A powerful, difficult, deeply personal read www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

I analysed almost 500 inspections to see if schools with disadvantaged intakes are performing worse on pupil outcomes. The findings show that it's disproportionate. Heads say it's demoralising as they urge Ofsted not to confuse achievement & attainment.

‘All of us seem to be trying to work as if we don’t have children and trying to parent like we don’t have a career’: Evelyn Waite explores the challenges that lead many women to leave teaching shortly after returning from maternity leave

Adults don’t play, and that is why it is neglected as a vital part of education, says Paul Ramchandani. So, how can early years settings help parents understand just how important play is?

"As an ambition for every child, the ‘reading for pleasure’ narrative is a bit of an odd idea: should everyone be doing PE for pleasure, or physics for pleasure?" @jonsevers.bsky.social investigates whether the terminology and the practice of reading for pleasure needs questioning.

A few months back, I started looking in detail at the responsibility on schools to focus on reading for pleasure. Despite a decade of it being pushed in schools more and more, young people are reading for pleasure less and less. What is going on? www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Changing the requirement for GCSE students to read a 19th-century novel could help to add diversity to the curriculum in English, argues @bobeaglestone.bsky.social

While Dr Sue Franklin welcomes the challenge to the concept of an autism spectrum by Professor Uta Frith in a recent Tes interview, she argues that the model Frith uses is wrong and that her ideas could be harmful for autistic girls

“I wish there were more provisions like ours.” The headteacher of Hackney’s first early years additional resource provision talks to @ellencph.bsky.social about how they are supporting some of the borough's youngest children with complex needs.

This is an area of provision we need to be thinking hard and thinking often about if we want the system to work better for children who need something more to thrive. The benefits we saw when we were involved in something similar were significant, and the consequences of its closure profound.

While there is a sense of relief in the sector following the government publishing its SEND reform plans, Tes' inclusion editor @johngroberts.bsky.social sets out the challenges that still lie ahead – for the DfE, for schools and for families of pupils with SEND

My new @tesmagazine.bsky.social column, ‘Do banded books make for poorer readers?’ “There is clearly a disconnect between early reading outcomes and the way progress flattens after early phonics gains - and banded books might be part of the problem.” www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

“the move away from EHCPs towards school-led plans raises my concerns about potential increased pressure on already stretched mainstream schools” The sector reacts to the Schools White Paper and SEND reforms: a really comprehensive overview here www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

"Ministers need to prove to the sector that they believe these proposals are the right ones, and not just the proposals they were forced to make" The White Paper and Send reform plans finally arrive today. Here's my view from this morning's Tes email. email.tes.com/t/cr/AQiOjhA...

All the White Paper detail that you need to know, from @cerysturner.bsky.social ⬇️

Our SEND and inclusion editor @johngroberts.bsky.social breaks down the key SEND reforms, announced today.

The government is expected to call for all schools to be part of a trust in its White Paper on Monday, Tes understands. @johngroberts.bsky.social has the full story on this – and other key proposals trailed by the DfE – here ⬇️

The government is expected to set out that all schools should be part of a trust in its White Paper on Monday, @tesmagazine.bsky.social understands. It has tonight revealed key other details it will propose. Story below. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

"Instead of baulking at the cost, let’s see extra spending on staff in the early years as a great long-term investment in our children and all our futures." In @tesmagazine.bsky.social today, @juliangrenier.bsky.social sets out the changes to EYFS workforce that are needed to improve outcomes.

“It’s really important to us that we are speaking to people with different views. That, in today’s world, may lead to people feeling discomfort.” BBC Newsround editor Lewis James speaks to @ellencph.bsky.social about the importance of combatting misinformation.

"In the primary classroom, oracy can sometimes be reduced to a brief “talk partner” moment or “say it, write it” process. I have personally always liked these practices. But more often than not, they don’t make the most of oracy’s potential to support literacy."

"In schools, we are constantly telling young people to take risks - to be bold, creative and to stretch beyond their comfort zone. But how often do we ask whether we’ve made them feel safe enough to do so?"

"The pressures that complaints are putting on to already-overstretched school staff are unsustainable." Schools are reporting a surge in complaints from parents, but what's causing the rise and what can be done about it? @ellencph.bsky.social investigates.

Are we in danger of teaching what is easier to assess, rather than what’s most important in maths? The Reasoning First Team at @ox.ac.uk explain that there is a key maths skill largely missing from the curriculum.

"What does belonging actually look like? If it is to be more than a pious hope, we need to operationalise the concept. We need to examine its properties, investigate how it can be measured and put in place tools for school self-evaluation."

"The EYFS shapes children’s earliest learning experiences... Despite this, it is still common for children in the early years to receive lower levels of funding and support than older children. We need to reverse that," writes @juliangrenier.bsky.social.

As schools are told to ban phones throughout the school day, are lockable pouches the answer? Earlier this month, @ellencph.bsky.social asked schools already using them to share their experiences.

It’s been a busy week for the under‑16s social media debate, with a govt consultation & a Lords vote. Teachers are one of the best gauges of how students are faring online. They tell me how the darker sides of social media can often spill inside the school gates.

@aepsychologists.bsky.social Great article in @tesmagazine.bsky.social on the role of EPs. AEP members have lots of case studies of best practice. Please contact us for more information #edpsychs

“Of course, the majority of our work is helping to understand what is happening when things go wrong,” an educational psychologist tells @ellencph.bsky.social. But a better long-term investment “is us applying this understanding into preventing problems from presenting in the first place”.

39 per cent of women have considered changing or quitting their job due to menopause symptoms, and one in six have actually done so. Are schools doing enough to change that statistic? @tesmagazine.bsky.social talks to an expert on perimenopause to find out. www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

"I think we have made a little progress, but the conversation is still quite limited in terms of who’s having it... many men feel that it’s not necessarily their place, and it’s a bit awkward. We don’t tend to talk openly about periods, so it’s seen as a bit of a taboo topic."

*** 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...

“If you close the gaps in early years, you make children’s educational journeys much better, much easier, much more supportive. You’re not firefighting later on.” Simply reducing Reception class sizes from 30 to 20 pupils can have a significant effect on outcomes, finds @ellencph.bsky.social.

Lockable phone pouches - used to restrict young people's access to smartphones during the school day - are becoming increasingly popular in schools across the country. But are pouches a good option for schools enforcing a phones ban? @ellencph.bsky.social investigates.