With the National Year of Reading now here, a few people have asked if I'm running the online 'Building a Classroom Reading Community' session again. Doing it twice, on Sun 11th Jan and on Mon 12th Jan. Sun 11th Jan eventbrite.co.uk/e/1977168230... Mon 12th Jan eventbrite.co.uk/e/1977168128...

This has been my worry all along with the breakfast club nonsense. You can talk about funding all you like, the long and the short of it is that school leaders end up with another job on the list, another extension to their working day, and the job becomes ever harder... And this is from DfE advice!

NEW POST We talk a lot about getting better at teaching, but perhaps we don't talk enough about getting worse at teaching. open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...

If you're free for an hour on Monday morning, do come along. And, if you're not, please consider making a donation anyway.

*FREE WRITING WEBINAR RECORDING* At Stanley Road, we have developed an approach to writing that we believe aligns with many elements included in the DfE's Writing Framework. If you'd like to watch a webinar on this, complete the form at this link... forms.gle/c66cnHyKTdZz...

I would march on Whitehall Genuinely

Hello - I wrote a new blog about the teaching of whole class reading, which I haven't in a while. It's over 9000 words so quite a read, but I hope the comprehensive nature of it comes across as helpful, rather than patronising. Anyway - hope it's useful! mrboothy6.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/w...

Canonical blog, this one. Every time I read it I'm struck anew.

NEW POST Leader says "please do x" Staff then don't do x It's not because they are lazy, incompetent or deliberately undermining. So why is it? achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2024/10/30/y...

Watching a video of a classroom where the teacher is doing retrieval practice & so many students dying to engage. My colleague Jen: "Investing in knowledge is fun; kids LIKE knowing things."

Your Sunday read: Golden Silence achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2021/11/07/g...

I sometimes get asked about the common issues I see across primary schools and the kind of support I offer as a result. This brief blog explains this stuff. This is my first new blog on Blue Sky so reposts much appreciated. primarycolour.home.blog/2024/09/08/h...

I’d scrap the staff meeting model and start again if I could. We can’t keep bouncing from topic to topic, week to week, expecting teachers to take everything on board. “If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.” Work smarter and be better.

I remember when @mralmonded.bsky.social was reading the research on grips and grasps and this made for a very interesting conversation at home! We’re always banging on about that tripod grip, but the research says if it’s a mature grip then it’s fine #rED24

Summary: T&L is hard One thing at a time Don't move on till your sure Don't bewilder your team with a bazillion things

***BLOG*** Why KWL Grids Are Not Fit For Purpose morgsedu.wordpress.com/2022/09/04/w...

Just posted new blog on Bluesky and not (yet) on Twitter. Be interesting to see engagement. Will I fold and put it on Twitter too? Please help me avoid the temptation by reposting here! primarytimery.com/2024/08/25/o...

We want assessment to be effective. Are mind maps good enough for summative assessment? morgsedu.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/a...

This is a great post. It’s too easy to glide through lessons (ahem White Rose Maths animated slides ahem) & not be purposeful or responsive enough to the students in front of you.

*New post* Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions. Will be especially useful for form tutors, HoYs & behaviour leads. But also for anyone interested in forging culture. bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/b...

If you were planning a staff meeting calendar for the year, what would your key areas of teaching and learning be? I’m not thinking subject specific stuff but pedagogy…

*NEW blog* Do your pupils work hard enough? Inspired by discussions on Bluesky earlier. bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/17/d...