An absolute must-listen if you teach or lead on primary reading!

Kinetic Letters is 100% on my long-term wishlist. Impact - across so many schools - seems incredible.

Let’s stop asking the age-old questions like “find the main idea” or “what can you infer from the text?’

These questions simply don’t build comprehension.

What does? Teaching vocabulary in depth and building and activating content knowledge.

dyslexialibrary.org/wp-content/upl…

A farmer has a square field with each side measuring 10 metres. What is the total length of the fencing he needs to put around the field?

Mathematically, what would you categorise this question as?

Excellent blog on adaptive teaching vs. differentiation.

Fascinating podcast by Dynamic Deputies - Russ & Steve about the journey to headship - not sure where my career will take me personally, but well worth a listen. Looking forward to part 2! open.spotify.com/episode/1jEv9J…

If you're someone who teaches or influences primary reading *at all* and you're not following Christopher Such... you're missing out.

Really looking forward to the writing lessons for the next half-term in Y4 - a persuasive letter based on The Last Bear by Hannah Gold (as they absolutely adored the book), and a setting description based on the White Witch's Castle in Narnia!

Phrases I hear a lot in schools and always challenge:

1. Quality assurance

First, aesthetically this term grates on me. It gives me managerial vibes - people wandering round in grey suits with clipboards.

Second, my basic position is that you should assume that your teachers

Fantastic article about keeping students' attention - best to presume they *aren't* all listening to your every word, and build your actions, routines and checks for understanding around that. classteaching.wordpress.com/2024/03/08/rou…

Just listened to the Andrew Percival episode of Dynamic Deputies - Russ & Steve, all about behaviour. Really enlightening - the behaviour curriculum looks fantastic. Between that & their writing curriculum at Stanley Road... let's just say I'm desperate to visit one day and see it all in action.

I think Insight Tracking may be the best investment my school's ever made. Just been setting up end-of-year reports - teachers will only have to write a general comment, and Insight will do quite literally everything else (including emailing the reports to parents).

Excellent blog

This is a real shame - I’ve learned so much from doing two NPQs. The government should be keeping this funded and the door as wide open as possible to improve teaching & teachers’ careers.

Finally, our plane library is complete! Can’t wait to officially open it tomorrow for World Book Day UK 📚
What a way to get children reading 🤩📚

Ofsted have released their English subject report. Some brief thoughts on my first impressions...

gov.uk/government/pub…

Ofsted have released Telling the story: the English education subject Report - gov.uk/government/pub… gov.uk/government/pub…

The always excellent Kate Jones, opening with a quote from Dylan Wiliam #redwarr2024

This year, I've started each English unit with a 'diagnostic' cold write, to see what the children can already do for each grammar skill & to check relevant spellings/CEWs - this has really helped ensure the English unit meets their needs. (Idea stolen from Mitch from Grammarsaurus!).

This has had a really positive impact - now going to extend it to verbs (only downside is it can be tricky to think of scenarios!).