👍😂

Excellent diversion! And time with good friends is always delicious 😊

So much for me planning to work all day today. Ended up at Wagamama with daughter and granddaughter and friends... delicious! The food not the friends...

Not too bad... long long time since we last met / talked. Could be 20 years???

Proof reading this week - a job I am increasingly asked to do and as I travel less I have more time for. I do enjoy it - I have the privilege of reading some very interesting final drafts.

LOL - yes, but I should have known my friend. Hope all is well?

I swear my watering can gets bigger and heavier by the day... hard work after a day on the road.

I always cried when I left a school to change jobs - or an LA placement. Never seen a man do that! Nor another woman when I think about it... 😢

Fun day! Always amusing to asked to sign my books. ☺️

I’m proud to say I was not afraid to show my emotions when tears were near

Interesting item by Seamus Murphy (TES) on MATS & inspection says inspection could demystify MATs & as we are still in early stages of shaping the system;
'That process will not be complete until we can move beyond a debate focused on structure to one that prioritises quality.'

So many in despair...

Brilliant week in Tashkent with inspirational school leaders

I talk to lots of head teachers because I visit lots of different schools to do CPD. The consistent message atm is around higher levels of needs than was previously the case. The system itself, with Ofsted pressures and DfE demands, is imo actively working against the flexibility needed to respond.

Teachers need practical & accessible help I guidance for this area. Unless behaviour is very poor there is often little support.
A list of the most current & effective resources / publications would be a help?

National figures for SEN in England: 2024.25.

Over 1.7 million pupils in England have special educational needs. An increase of 93,700 (5.6%) pupils.

Similar year-on-year increases. Autism / speech & language biggest areas of need.

explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statist...

Congratulations to @andrewoneill.bsky.social

Here is his recent writing on policy for @tesmagazine.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/aut...

Thank you for hosting!

Career highlight today. I joined a roundtable of young people in Downing Street with Sir Keir Starmer @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social Sir Lewis Hamilton @lh44news.bsky.social discussing pupil exclusion & the importance of broad, rich conceptions of educational success @collegeofteaching.bsky.social

Congratulations Alison, and all who made it happen with you.

When I was writing ‘Learning without Limits’ with colleagues, my dream would have been for children to be genuinely listened to by those in power. This happened today in Downing Street. Thank you warmly to @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social @mission44.bsky.social @primeministeruk.bsky.social

Why oral language is the key to learning to write Building children’s oral language, along with their motor skills, will make the challenge of learning to write less intimidating, explains Julian Grenier

'By prioritising talk and movement before pencil and paper, we can give every child the strongest possible start - and a reason to say “yes” to writing.'

My latest column for @tesmagazine.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

And super photograph...

4th June
#3goodthings
1. Fabulous trip to the Tower of London (photos to follow)
2. Interesting walk along the Embankment
3. Yummy Iranian supper
Yours?

Delighted to see Julian Grenier's quote in TES; The EEF states that “language provides the foundation of ...thinking & learning & should be prioritised”. He says we should give every child the strongest possible start... 'by prioritising talk & movement before pencil & paper.'

BRILLIANT Ed - wish I could be with you...

I'm Speaking! 3-4 July 2025 Wellington College educationfest.co.uk

I'm excited to be presenting at the Festival of Education next month. It's a packed programme with the most amazing speakers - I'll be talking about the power of storytelling to inspire great learning. Do come along and join me.
@schoolsweek.bsky.social

Made it to Westminster! Debate starts at half 4 and will be live-streamed. Decriminalise abortion!

So alike! 😘