Following a few requests from teachers and school leaders, I've made short video on the key ideas that I think teachers (and parents/carers) need to know about reading development, based on my reading concept map. The Reading Map - A Primer youtu.be/JvtUxB5WM1k?si… via YouTube

It was reassuring to hear Sir Martyn Oliver speaking at CST & citing the importance of behaviour. Specifically how one pupil should not undermine the learning of the rest of the class. Fully agree.

My thoughts on inclusion. It seems a lot of people have read this one…

What is a disadvantaged pupil? - Insight Inform insightinform.co.uk/2025/10/16/wha…

Can excellence survive its own success? True leadership is creating the conditions for others to succeed long after you’re gone.” open.substack.com/pub/lynseywhit…

I heard this speech in person. Interesting! The question is are some schools strict enough? Arguably misbehaviour comes when systems are weak, policies are confused, certainty is lacking, staff are unsupported & children don’t know what the boundaries are schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-white-…

What is life? • Dostoevsky: It’s hell. • Socrates: It’s a test. • Aristotle: It’s the mind. • Nietzsche: It’s power. • Freud: It’s death. • Marx: It’s the idea. • Picasso: It’s art. • Gandhi: It’s love. • Schopenhauer: It’s suffering. • Bertrand Russell: It’s

Isolation rooms should be a lot bigger. Let’s say, with the capacity for 10% of the school. That’s pretty modest really. So 100 pupils. Maybe 150 pupils. Of course Isolation needs to be well run. It rarely is.

What is discussed here is exactly what is happening Orchard Mead Academy. Ambitious, intellectual and #unapologeticallydemanding. Slow and steady work, building foundations.

Sometimes the biggest enemies to educational progress are the well intentioned philosophical orthodoxies that inadvertently transform our most vulnerable children into our most vulnerable adults.

Strong new edufashion trends for Inclusion (thanks to Ofsted) Wellbeing Belonging

Every child deserves the opportunity to learn without disruption from their peers. Every teacher deserves the opportunity to teach without disruption from students in their classroom. The value of respect should underpin everything and be the basic expectation in schools for

Oh brilliant…*checks notes* ‘ephemeral text types’…. Fantastic. I was worried that they might address the convoluted questions that have little application or the literacy crisis we find ourselves in. I’m glad they squeezed this in. Roll on 2028.

Amy Edmondson found that the best hospital teams made MORE mistakes than average teams. Except they didn't. They just felt safe enough to report them. If your staff aren't flagging problems, it's not because everything's fine. It's because they don't feel safe speaking up.

MCTOMINAY!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 UNBELIEVABLE! 😲 #BBCFootball

The bbc radio Scotland comms for Tierneys goal. Incredible.

This Is The Most Excited I Have Been Since Getting Married

“Academic accommodations for anxiety convey two harmful messages. First, they imply that the feared situation is truly dangerous. Public speaking, testing, or lunch with classmates are too risky for a student. Second, they suggest that the student can’t withstand the distress.

🚨 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗: Scott McTominay’s acrobatic overhead kick against Denmark is now the 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗧 bicycle kick in football history! 😍✈️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🥇 Scott McTominay: 2.53 metres 🥈 Paul Onuachu: 2.41 metres 🥉 Cristiano Ronaldo: 2.38 metres It’s absolutely 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗦. 🤯

Posts like this are important, not just because of how Ms. Sam is shifting the paradigm in the US, but it reminds me of how far we've come in England. This level of silent work isn't quite *the norm* in English schools, but it's hardly rare, and isn't surprising either.