New: Lord Harris complains: where are my new schools? educationuncovered.co.uk/news/lord-ha... The Conservative peer was one of several asking, in the House of Lords this week, for news after the government paused existing free school projects 11 months ago.

And yet...Ofsted itself has been collecting survey results, during inspections, on pupil satisfaction with the school experience, including I think during Amanda Spielman's tenure. Looking at results of one - seemingly not impactful with inspection team- now: schoolsweek.co.uk/pupil-wellbe...

New: Questions abound following academy trust’s sell-off of secondary school’s land for housing educationuncovered.co.uk/news/questio... Anglian Learning’s £675,000 sale of plot at school in Cambridge, including caretaker’s house, prompts this long-read investigation.

"The UK's position on children's wellbeing is 'dreadful'. Why is the data on this receiving so little media attention?" Brief open access piece on this here: educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/mor... and here: substack.com/@warwickmans...

Snap poll by the National Association of Headteachers, of nearly 2,000 members, finds 89 per cent believe the union should explore options around industrial action against the new Ofsted proposals.

Among those speaking against had been Baroness (Amanda) Spielman, the former chief inspector of schools and also a Conservative, who argued: “We should not collect data by constantly asking children who are not unwell about their wellbeing.”

New: “Not even Manchester United are this bad” High-profile peer savages UK record on pupil wellbeing educationuncovered.co.uk/news/not-eve...

Interesting TES piece on Dixons Academies Trust nine-days' fortnight. www.tes.com/magazine/ana... But sceptics point out the chain had to do something, as its teacher turnover was v high: highest of any of Eng's largest 50 trusts in terms of teachers leaving state-funded ed in 23-24, at 15 per cent.

Amazon emails to ask, re my recent purchase of the book "Reforming Lessons," by Nick Gibb and Robert Peal, "What did you think of the item?" Hmm...how long have you got? ;)

“Who are the ‘vested interests’ taken on by the Education Secretary?” New diary asks the question and wonders about implications, following Bridget Phillipson’s deputy leadership statement last week. educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/dia...

Thinking about P8 measure. Statement in this piece is misleading: "The former Consgovernment did away with the old model where schools were judged according to the proportion of their students who received five or more GCSE grades at A*-C including English and maths."... www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

And the advantage of this is what? www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Agh...Google AI summaries are useless in that/when they don't divulge their sources. Facts are thrown at you without indication of where they have come from. Is this just what AI is: giant hoover of info, without attribution? Very frustrating.

Reading this alongside Phil Beadle's recent Substack posts on Teach Like a Champion, which are nuanced but ultimately deeply critical, and I wonder about the impact of policies such as those mentioned in this news piece, which I guess draw on TLAC.

What on earth is "ensure you are tracking the text at all times"? Does this mean...read? Is this teaching language that's beyond my time?

New: Union hails improvements in teachers’ conditions at Cornwall primary school, as a result of strike action last term. educationuncovered.co.uk/news/union-h... NEU called off strikes at St Francis primary in Falmouth after marathon talks, on eve of new term, with Kernow Learning MAT.

There's now a strong case that this government's entire stewardship of education policy will be a missed opportunity, without a clearer understanding of the serious weaknesses of the previous era, and a more decisive break from it. schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-have-...

Snap poll by National Association of Head Teachers on Ofsted changes, launched yesterday, has received more than 1,400 responses, press release states. Of these, 91 per cent of school leaders taking part were opposed, 62 per cent strongly.

New: Ofsted’s new inspection framework is “incredibly disappointing yet sadly totally expected,” the former senior HMIs Colin Richards and Frank Norris write in this exclusive piece for Education Uncovered. educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/com...

New: ”Two ways of looking at the new Ofsted framework.” educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/two... Snap analysis on today’s report card announcement.

Have lots of thoughts re new Ofsted framework, as you might expect,+hope to write about this today. But one intial point: I don't think this is biggest change in 33 years of Ofsted, as HMCI says. 2006 reforms, drastically cutting length of reports+visits,+introducing four grades, were far bigger.

Hi @beckyfrancis.bsky.social. Is your presentation to researchEd on Saturday morning being made available to those who didn't attend, and if so, how can I get hold of it?

Revealed: academy trust has taken almost all the schools income from one of England’s most successful phonics products, while LA partner primary received virtually nothing educationuncovered.co.uk/news/reveale...

Increasingly wondering if much has changed in ed policy since the Tories. New eg: Becky Francis to give an update on DfE's curriculum review to Tom Bennett's privately-controlled organisation researchED (entry fee £64.88 if you sign up now): x.com/researchED1/...

New: MAT closes school sixth form to new entrants on day term due to start – despite accounts stating its reserves were above government recommendations educationuncovered.co.uk/news/mat-clo... Analysis of East Anglian Schools Trust’s decision to close year 12 provision at Bungay High, Suffolk.

Pedantic point perhaps, but Ark Schools was already among the top 10 largest MATs, at seventh-largest on pupil numbers (a better measure than school nos, in my view), before this takeover of a smaller chain: schoolsweek.co.uk/ark-schools-...

Interesting Guardian letters about huge stress parents can face trying to get children to school, in face of yet another DfE exhortation on this front: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

"The biggest source of stress is...school...when school goes wrong, it becomes hugely challenging." Great insights in general here for parents, from child psychiatrist Dr Guy Northover" : news.sky.com/story/money-...

New: Same old, same old: back to school behaviour announcement reads like tired re-tread of Conservative policies educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/sam... A look at today’s DfE announcement, including Labour’s appointment of Tom Bennett as an “attendance and behaviour ambassador”.

So much hype about AI. But the predictive text engine on WhatsApp still doesn't know the difference between it's and its. Think I need to turn it off!

I like Patrick Barkham's writing. I think it's important that the nature of the school experience is discussed - hasn't happened enough in debates around, eg, school attendance, pupil mental health and home education. So: good to see this piece. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Really think Amanda Spielman, former chief inspector of schools, should also have been badged as a Conservative peer during interview on Today prog this am. Largely positive comments re schools, reflecting well on former government, though indics on eg pupil mental health point in diff direction.

New: Gorse isolation case underscores urgency of need for professional debate about this practice. Think piece about implications of last month’s judicial review verdict. educationuncovered.co.uk/analysis/gor...

BBC World at One absolutely right to say that images of starving children in Gaza are hard to look at. As parent, they are heartbreaking. But, with this story leading the news day after day, what will it take for this situation to change? Reports perhaps some ceasefire poss from Sunday.

New: Vote in favour of academisation in the next 15 minutes or your staff won’t get paid, trust chief executive told governor educationuncovered.co.uk/news/vote-in... Case at Catholic primary seems indicative of pressure which can be put on schools to convert.

New: Support staff worker wins “£36,000 payout” from employment tribunal – four years after being offered £10k in non-disclosure settlement by school educationuncovered.co.uk/news/support... “Finally I felt heard, seen, and understood,” Charlotte Bentley tells Ed Uncovered after tribunal’s verdict.

Yes, and is the curriculum review really going to grasp scale of the current problems?

I visit a lot of schools and talk to a lot of teachers and I don't think we're going to change outcomes for the most disadvantaged learners without fundamentally changing the curriculum and the overall approach to accountability. There are too many perverse incentives in the system atm.

This says it all. Schools are so important for friendships and breaks should be just that - breaks.

ITV News now reporting on story I've been writing about in recent weeks: "Strict behaviour policy blamed for 'exodus of 500 pupils' from Ark Alexandra Academy in Hastings." www.itv.com/news/meridia... Seven-minute video is worth watching in full.

I’m really happy to share my MSc research with you. My study looked at school attendance problems for Autistic children. As it’s 10000 words – I’ve also provided a summary! Research Summary - drive.google.com/file/d/1mz9T... Full Document - drive.google.com/file/d/1eGP5...

Or about how the LGO can tell an LA in multiple outcomes I read, that they need to keep a list of EHCP pupils who aren't in education and provide for their needs...but still they don't do it and kids are lost out of the system and left w/o a school, like my neph was - for almost 3yrs.

This! Abundantly this. It's so depressing to get pupils referred to AP because there was no RA for their needs, so things spiralled. Like, this stuff is literally covered in the Equality Act (2010).

The education select committee is about to hold session on school attendance where, says the committee, witnesses to be asked re unmet need among pupils with SEND, prevalence of mental health conditions, poverty, post-pandemic social attitudes. What about asking qs re what happens in schools?!

New: Major academy trust “not paying TLRs to any of its subject leaders,” union warns. tinyurl.com/2x95acjk The 21-school Kernow Learning Multi Academy Trust has said that making the payments is “not financially viable or common practice” in primary education.

Lololo, even the people who were 'consulted' are rejecting it. Great job from the DfE. 🤦‍♀️

Exclusive: DfE’s new Writing Framework will “bore the pants off children,” says literacy expert whom it namechecked. educationuncovered.co.uk/news/dfes-ne... Prof Debra Myhill, cited as someone contacted in writing of the document, says it is “appalling”.

Re-reading DfE's seemingly ever-more-controversial Writing Framework. Includes this unfootnoted statement: "Because children learn to read more quickly than they learn to spell, it is important that their reading must not be held back by whether they can spell accurately" What?

Re-reading DfE's seemingly ever-more-controversial Writing Framework. Includes this unfootnoted statement: "Because children learn to read more quickly than they learn to spell, it is important that their reading must not be held back by whether they can spell accurately" What?

Exclusive: Ruth Miskin announces new handwriting programme for schools – days after government reveals new focus on handwriting, following her advice educationuncovered.co.uk/news/ruth-mi... Rival phonics publishers furious about what one described as “institutional capture” of DfE policymaking.