Inclusion bases should be operated by a qualified teacher and must never be used as a form of punishment, according to new government guidance schoolsweek.co.uk/inclusion-ba...

The Labour Party is perfectly entitled to debate who should lead it. That is democracy. But the next leadership contest cannot turn into yet another opportunity to yank the steering wheel of education policy for partisan effect. schoolsweek.co.uk/a-vision-for...

Exclusive: Pupils attending the least deprived schools are offered a greater choice of enrichment activities than those at the most deprived, new research suggests schoolsweek.co.uk/revealed-the...

That's the question at the heart of my latest Substack post, which argues that CPD focused on specifying practices creates cargo cult teaching - the appearance of good teaching without the understanding behind it. 2/3

*** NEW POST *** If teachers only ever follow a playbook, who understands enough to write the next one? 1/3

Drawing on Berliner's research on expert teachers, Priestley on teacher agency, and Stenhouse on teacher professionalism, I make the case that principles beat practices every time — and that the stakes are higher than we think. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p... 3/3

Exclusive: Markers of year 6 SATs have been given more time to finish processing papers and a pay bonus, after facing weeks of technical glitches. schoolsweek.co.uk/sats-markers...

❌ One of England’s most influential academy trusts has stopped offering the real living wage to staff this year, blaming stretched budgets and falling rolls https://schoolsweek.co.uk/cleaners-consider-strike-as-ark-cancels-wage-agreement/

Ofsted inspectors will look more closely at whether pupils with 'barriers to their learning or wellbeing' are achieving well in schools from September Here's all the key changes you need to know... https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-the-key-changes-to-school-inspection-from-september-2026/

Almost half of the GCSE attainment gap between poorer pupils and their better-off peers is 'locked in' by the end of primary school, new research has warned https://schoolsweek.co.uk/almost-half-of-the-disadvantage-gap-locks-in-by-age-11-research/

New partnerships between primary schools and early years settings will be given grants of up to £50,000 to improve reception readiness https://schoolsweek.co.uk/grants-of-up-to-50k-on-offer-for-new-early-education-partnerships/

Everyone on X and elsewhere who called for a violent response should be charged with incitement. Everyone involved in the pogrom should be locked up with exemplary sentences. Govt should make it clear that will be the response in future anywhere else. Enough.

This is no more about the details of immigration policy than the progroms my great great grandparents fled were about Jews committing crimes. It's straightforward racist violence and it needs the strongest possible response.

I’m a big fan of the Roman Running Club which also explores the the world is large because each generation of villagers lies over the previous one. (Ghosts everywhere also does this more explicitly but it’s not very June) willerby.substack.com/p/the-runnin... willerby.substack.com/p/ghosts-eve...

I published a new book recently. Here is an extract. Free! Enjoy. open.substack.com/pub/matthewe...

Labour has been accused of “taking credit” for teacher recruitment that occurred before it entered government, after claiming it has already met 70 per cent of its landmark target https://schoolsweek.co.uk/labour-taking-credit-for-teachers-recruited-before-it-won-power/

The DfE says ‘innovative workforce deployment’ should be explored to deliver its planned Experts at Hand service for schools – amid fears about shortages of speech and language therapists and educational psychologists

Exclusive: Markers of year 6 SATs have been slowed down in their work because of persistent “glitches” in the online system they use. schoolsweek.co.uk/examiners-re...

Also, if you borrow an author's book from a library in the UK, that author gets more than 12 pence per loan in Public Lending Rights. Any author can earn up to £6,600 per year this way. That’s more than I’ve been paid by any publisher this year.

*** NEW POST *** A response to an interesting piece from Aidan Hesslewood in the @geographicalassoc.bsky.social journal Teaching Geography - is hope and a future-facing curriuclum really a problem in geography education? open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Victims of sexual abuse forced to ‘suck it up’ for sake of child perpetrators, warns Jess Phillips

*Butvthis will never happen because employers aren’t a real group, they are diverse in needs and expectations and don’t work together. This is also why we put the load on schools rather than expecting employers to do more - meanwhile they think we should listen to them.

'Visible, positive discussion of inclusion brings the whole community on board; expensive surveys measuring 'belonging' can only do so much' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/how-to-make-the-most-of-inclusive-mainstream-funding/

I'm not entirely sure that work experience makes one more work ready - but the problem here is that "employers" is not a coherent group: they don't all want the same thing and don't all respond to work experience in the same way.

Exclusive: Councils have chosen not to take court action in almost 2,000 cases where parents have not paid absence fines, with thousands more left unresolved, new analysis shows https://schoolsweek.co.uk/thousands-go-unpunished-over-non-payment-of-absence-fines/

📈 A government-backed pilot turnaround trust for Catholic schools will morph into one of England’s biggest – as church bosses say 70-strong MATs are 'becoming the norm' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/turnaround-catholic-trust-will-become-one-of-englands-largest/

Exclusive: Councils have chosen not to take court action in almost 2,000 cases where parents have not paid absence fines, with thousands more left unresolved, new analysis shows https://schoolsweek.co.uk/thousands-go-unpunished-over-non-payment-of-absence-fines/

🤔 Rule changes made after the requirement for all new schools to be academies was binned don’t make sense, trust leaders have said schoolsweek.co.uk/new-school-p...

Investigation: Cash-starved councils lack the manpower or even enough available schools to launch their own multi-academy trusts, ministers have been warned Full story 🔽 https://schoolsweek.co.uk/can-council-run-academy-trusts-actually-work/

The same shift needs to be considered when thinking about PP. What is the barrier we have found and are seeking to remove?

'The deepest thread running through Common SEN (Mis)Interventions isn’t really about any of the ten items. It’s about something more fundamental: the difference between support that follows from assessed need and support that follows from diagnostic labels.' SEN provision should meet need, not Dx.

Ofsted has defied calls to reinspect hundreds of schools already visited under its new framework once measures to better understand local context are introduced schoolsweek.co.uk/no-reinspect...

*** NEW POST *** Reflecting on 10 Common SEN (Mis)Interventions from @pepsmccrea.bsky.social and Dr Jennifer Barker - and considering what it means for teachers on a Monday morning. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

So Ofsted are now considering some sort of "similar schools" measure for attainment says used for inspection. Anyone remember this?

And so it now appears Ofsted are saying this view is accurate. In schools with above average levels of pupil deprivation 58% of their inspections are grade as expected or better for achievement compared with 84% of schools with below average levels. It's depressing to read www.gov.uk/government/p...

Ofsted has admitted a link between higher levels of pupil deprivation and lower ‘achievement’ judgments, as it lay out plans to strengthen how a school’s context is taken into account schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-admit...

*** NEW POST *** Developing vocabulary is about more than memorising definitions. I look at how understanding the morphology of geographical vocabulary supports pupils to read & write better and its curriculum, pedagogical and assessment implications. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Exclusive: Ofsted is considering replacing the electronic evidence-gathering (EEG) system used by inspectors following years of issues, Schools Week understands https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-considers-replacing-glitchy-evidence-gathering-system/

Curriculum reform is coming. What does a genuinely high-quality geography curriculum look like in 2026? I’ll be leading online CPD with John Taylor Teaching School Hub exploring curriculum, sequencing, fieldwork, GIS & assessment. 📅 18 June 2026 johntaylortraining.co.uk/whats-on/

Exclusive: Pupils using an app to view their GCSE results can bring their phone into school, government has clarified, after criticism of a 'lack of alignment' with the soon-to-be statutory phone 'ban' guidance https://schoolsweek.co.uk/pupils-can-bring-phones-to-school-to-use-gcse-results-app-dfe/

What are the three biggest changes in education over the last ten years, and what are the three biggest changes to come over the next ten years? There is nobody better in the sector to ask than @missmc.bsky.social Brilliant episode, please share if poss 🙏🙏 open.spotify.com/episode/0qx9...

Exclusive: The education secretary has quietly overruled the proposed punishment in almost one in 12 recent teacher misconduct cases, prompting warnings that public trust in the process could be undermined https://schoolsweek.co.uk/phillipson-overturns-1-in-12-verdicts-in-teacher-misconduct-cases/

Exclusive: Ofsted is ‘confident’ schools can no longer predict inspections based on downloads from their websites, despite a firm’s claim the practice still works https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-confident-schools-cant-predict-inspections-using-website-downloads/

This from @mrmetacognition.bsky.social with @sagepub.com looks brilliant. Love the focus on practical examples- especially the focus on subject specific considerations.

*** NEW POST *** Taking some ideas on geographical curriculum thinking and looking at how they’d apply in the classroom to support challenge and progression. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Teachers are frequently told to make questioning a priority in their lessons - but are rarely given much guidance on what that questioning should involve. I take a look at what makes effective questioning in the geography classroom. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

What does progression in geographical knowledge look like? Not just remembering more, but developing increasing disciplinary understanding: • concepts • spatial thinking • evidence • application A KS3 framework for foundational knowledge in geography. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

📝 Delayed regional improvement plans will set out how schools should boost finances and use AI when finally published https://schoolsweek.co.uk/much-delayed-rise-local-plans-set-for-summer-release/

Foundational knowledge seems to be on everyone’s lips at the moment - but what does it look like though a subject lens? open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

*** NEW POST *** How do we build progression in writing into a geography curriculum? I take a look at creating a framework to help pin down what this might look like. open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...