I love this insight from the science of ‘behavioural activation’. We don’t need to wait for motivation before taking action. Changing what we do changes how we feel

Finding Your 80%: The Tactical Side of Enough On Tuesday, we talked about the effort that breaks us — where burnout tends to live, and why so many teachers end up there without realizing it.

Well #EduSky, I am a whole day late with my #Saturday3 because...reasons... but with UK teachers heading back to school tomorrow, I thought this blog on avoiding burnout and thinking about aiming for 80% rather than perfection was very timely. substack.com/inbox/post/1...

As there’s been some chat this morning about using alternatives to Amazon and Waterstones to buy books - here’s a reminder that I’ve done a list of and the UK and Ireland indie bookshops that I’ve found so far on BlueSky. I can make it into a starter pack if easier?

bsky.app/profile/did:...

The Most Common Reason Why Children Don’t Become Fluent Readers… And What We Can Do About It There are myriad reasons why a child might struggle to become a fluent reader: they might have extreme difficulties in learning to decode words relating to phonological issues, working memory or other...

Breaking News! @suchmo83.bsky.social now has a Substack. A great start as you would expect and I hope that we might see him on here a bit more.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

While there is justified outrage about Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor &others, the relentless media focus on Keir Starmer (who was NOT mentioned in any Epstein file) is overdone.
By contrast, no focus on Farage who WAS mentioned (and who, BTW, applauded the appointment of Mandelson)…

Citizenship matters. But the issue isn’t fitting it in – it’s that the primary curriculum is already bloated.

Adding more content without removing anything just stretches attention thinner.

If it’s a bolt-on, it fails. If it replaces something, we should say what.

List of Tory scandals between 2011-2024

A reminder to the media and others trying to claim this Government and Starmer are worse than anything they've ever seen, a Government which has only been in power for 19 months. Here's a handly list of the scandals we had to endure from the Tories between 2011-2024.

How bizarre. Is this on purpose?

I'm a big fan of intuition and my intuition is that AI is mostly a big mistake, especially in education. The whole point is the *thinking*. #EduSky

I do find it a bit weird that some people believe low level disruption can be eliminated completely because children and young people are human beings and I've seen plenty of what those people would call low level disruption in rooms full of teachers doing CPD. 🤷‍♀️

If you see this, give it a share? I’m over here now from X. For very good reason, but I do miss the engagement I had over there.. #BookSky #EduSky

I'm always amazed when I meet people who have never heard about this brilliant resource. So, if you're one of them...

The Ultimate Guide to Adaptive Teaching - Webinar with Sue Cowley Sue Cowley shares ideas about adaptive teaching and gives a range of practical strategies for creating an inclusive classroom

I've had lots of requests to rerun my adaptive teaching webinar, so I'm hosting another one on 20th January. See the link below for details. Lots of practical advice on strategies for an inclusive classroom. Pay what you can to attend. Please share. Thank you!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ultima...

Official Early Years Settings Offer - National Year of Reading 2026 YouTube video by National Literacy Trust

The schools and early years offer for the National Year of Reading has been released. The links to the @literacy-trust.bsky.social videos are below.
EYFS: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8YH...
Primary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kw8X...
Secondary: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpLQ...
Please share widely.

Spent two days taking part in a STA review panel at the DfE. Positively surprised with the rigour and the process primary assessments go through. Met some lovely people too! #EduSkyPrimary

I'm starting with Julius Zebra Commotion in ancient China. Read a few pages during transition and the kids loved it.

Reform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations

When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?

Are we living in a stupidogenic society? The cognitive muscles we no longer exercise

Obesogenic societies make it easy to be overweight.

Are we living in a stupidogenic society - one that makes it easy to be stupid?

And if so, what can schools do about it?

Latest on our Substack

substack.nomoremarking.com/p/are-we-liv...

Team y6!!

Whether it’s your first rodeo in y6 or your tenth 😅, I’ve been working on something (free) I think you’ll love/will find v useful

This Sunday, @lbqorg.bsky.social are sharing a huge pack of free advice, downloadables & resources to guide you through year 6…

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#EduSkyPrimary #Year6

Absolutely this ⬇️

Happy holidays everyone! ⛱️🌻⛵️

I've found one more copy of Small Numbers, Big Ideas to give away!

Give this a like and repost and I'll pick a winner on Sunday 17th.

www.amazon.co.uk/Small-Number...

#primarymaths #eyfs #earlyyears

Just finished rewriting the overview for a weekly picturebook assembly which focuses on empathy, inclusion and diversity. It's still a work in progress but please feel free to use and adapt. All shares appreciated. The link is on my Padlet: padlet.com/Jon_Biddle/r...

Asking parents what matters most to them when their child comes into your care can make the world of difference to the child and your relationship with the grown ups in their lives. #EduSky #EduSkyPrimary

Dare I say it: Holes. It just doesn't appeal to me at all.

Ideas for year 6 maths after SATs | LbQ Sophie Bartlett shares her helpful list of ideas for year 6 maths lessons after SATs have passed, keeping students engaged right up until the summer!

🔔 Ideas for Year 6 maths this term 👇🏼

Found some amazing financial literacy resources I never knew existed (all free obv) and some great little maths games that, once taught, would keep the kids busy during play practice 😂

tinyurl.com/MathsAfterSATs

#EduSkyPrimary

Wow, what?! The Dawn of Adonis.... There's a sequel! Let me know if it's just as good as When the Sky Falls.

I'm catching up with an old one: the Colour of Revenge by Cornelia Funke and will be reading The First Year by Matt Goodfellow.