On BBC Radio 4 Today this morning at 7.50 talking about why fewer students are taking up modern foreign languages - especially at A Level? My answers poverty (much more take up in affluent areas), lack of opportunity & therefore aspiration, plus relative scarcity of language teachers.

A new report shows a decline in UK students choosing to study modern languages at A-Level. Vicky Gough, schools adviser at the British Council, and educator Steve Chalke discuss the reasons for the decrease. #R4Today

Homo Sapiens have been on Earth for at least 200,000 years. Until very recently no child was raised in a nuclear family, let alone by a single parent. Human beings are made to be nurtured in community. To ignore this fact is to jeopardise the health and the safety of our society.

Some choose to ridicule the idea of being ‘woke’. But for me it’s about the huge challenge of working to be well-informed, thoughtful, compassionate, respectful & alive to the insights, contexts & needs of others, in order to make the planet a more just place for all!

A new game - spot the Liverpool fan!! Eagles! 🏆🏆

When a child has experienced trauma, their behaviour isn’t a moral failing, it’s communication. The anger you see? That’s pain. The defiance? That’s fear. And the silence? That’s a survival strategy. None of this is about excusing bad behaviour. It’s about understanding it!

As the saying goes “If the child doesn’t learn the way you teach, start teaching the way they learn.” Why? Because it’s impossible to create inclusion for all via a curriculum and a style of learning - a pedagogy - that only works for some.

Power to the people! We need a huge reset in the relationship between government & the people. It’s time to trust communities instead of ignoring them, to harness their common sense rather than being led by the half-baked ideas of those far removed from the reality of daily life.

On this important day for all students picking up your A Level, T Level & BTec results - huge congratulations to all who achieve your desired results or more! And to those of you who don’t, I didn’t either & I learned that beyond the disappointment there was loads of opportunity!

Just as you can’t hurt someone in order to heal them, you can’t punish someone into genuine change. That only comes through depth of relationship, care, love, the slow development of trust, the growing ability to self-regulate and the desire to live differently.

When a child lacks security they come to school in search of what they are starved of. It’s only when a child enjoys security that they can come to school fully focussed on learning.

“When I give bread to the poor they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor are hungry they call me a communist.” Dom Helder Camara. Catholic Archbishop of Olinda and Recife (1964–1985) and outspoken advocate for poor and oppressed people of Brazil’s northeast region.

On this important day for all students picking up GCSE results - huge congratulations to all who achieve your goals or even more!! And to those of you who don’t, I didn’t either! But I’ve since learned that beyond the disappointment there is a world of opportunity!

Our first ever European goal! Crystal Palace F.C. Eagles!! 💥

For many students the problem isn’t learning Maths or English, instead it’s to do with the way we insist on teaching Maths & English. That’s why forcing students who have failed them to resit the same style of exam produces such poor results & such high levels of disillusionment.

Hamas is a monster. Netanyahu has become as brutal a monster as the evil he seeks to destroy. To rob countless innocent Palestinians of life & hope, using Hamas as an excuse to fulfil his long held religious goal to wipe Gaza from the map - is a crime the world will never forget.

I understand that local councils are broke & so feel the need to sell off closed schools & other community assets. However, the long-term cost in terms of healthy community life is massive. But if instead we use them to build community, the long-term cost savings to will be huge.

Local councils are broke & so feel the need to sell off closed schools & other community assets. But the long-term cost in terms of healthy community life is massive. Find out more about Oasis use of a redundant school building to build community at oasisstmartins.org

It is very simple: If we are really looking to raise standards in schools we must also invest in children’s, youth and family support as well as a wider pedagogy and curriculum. It is the only way to ensure every child is given the best possible start in life.

Oasis Charitable Trust is 40 years old today. Here’s what I looked like on September 1st 1985 when we started the journey 😂. With huge gratitude to God and to everyone who has joined us in pursuit of our goal ever since. No One Left Out! #NOLO