If it’s windy, head for Ashford. If the weather is kind, Hastings is lovely - a fast course and you get to run by the sea!

Whole Class Reading In KS2 A two hour zoom about the planning, teaching and delivery of whole class reading in KS2. It explores both class novels and wider curriculum.

I'm running a rare (cos I never have time any more) Whole Class Reading In KS2 Zoom on Sunday morning at 10am next week, if anyone fancies it. I know a few people have asked when I'll do one. I also know it's short notice. Reposts appreciated.

www.eventbrite.com/e/whole-clas...

Love this. And I’m an English teacher!

I do similar but the other way round, especially whilst driving. I’ll imagine the scene in the movie, character driving alone, and consider what soundtrack would suit the mood, the scenery, this weather…

Reading comprehension is not a skill. It’s an outcome of what you know. Strategies plateau. Knowledge compounds.
lnkd.in/e-P9uNE2

A shift in language - The White Paper A shift in language It has taken me a while to digest the contents of the White Paper. I did not want to react to the headlines or rush to j...

“High standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.”

After reading the white paper carefully and discussing it during a SENCo forum this week, I’ve written on the shift in language, and what some of this might mean for schools in practice.

moderncassie.blogspot.com/2026/03/a-sh...

That moment you realize the philosophy conversation just turned on you.
#CalvinandHobbes #Ouch

Just shows how much contempt Reform has for their own supporters. This is a policy that helps the kids of the wealthy educated liberal elites they claim to despise. And would harm the types of constituency they do well in.

I do…!

🚀 Educators in Scotland: Become a Research Evidence Champion!

Help make research evidence relevant, accessible & actionable in Scottish schools. Shape resources, model practice & support the Evidence Hub.

Apply: 10 Feb – 2 Mar 2026

Info webinar: 18 Feb, 4pm

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This was a really fun conversation, where we spoke about some of my favourite recommendations from the CAR, some of the risks that still exist, how it was received by the profession, and whether teachers and leaders are as interested in curriculum as the were a decade ago.

And more!

I'm perhaps naively hopeful that big news stories about AI hallucinations wiil make more people check sources.

Venetian Carrot Cake I long thought that carrot cake was an American invention, until I found out that an early version was made by Venetian Jews in the original ghetto. This modest disc is very different from the gargan...

Midweek Treat: #RecipeOfTheDay is the serenely elegant Venetian Carrot Cake! It also happens to be gluten-free and (if you forgo its accompanying rum-spiked mascarpone cream) dairy-free. www.nigella.com/recipes/vene...

I have spread my dreams under your feet
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams

Well, that is just lovely. We had a similar moment at the end of sports day last year at the local stadium where the entire school cheered the toddler who’d decided to run the track. He stumbled, the crowd held its breath. And the roar when he got up and kept on running brought a tear to my eye.

This is England. Wonderful writing.

Not sure I’ve got an order but…
1. Krispy- Loyle Carner
2. Hope that I don’t fall in love with you - Tom Waits
3. I’ll be your lover too - Van Morrison
4. Lover, you should’ve come over - Jeff Buckley
5. Purple rain - Prince

#FridayFive

Chart shows the effects of Sure Start on academic achievements by age, SEN support by age, probability of hospitalisation by age and criminal behaviour up to age 16.

NEW: Sure Start generated widespread, long-lasting benefits for children in education, health, absences, and SEND.

Every £1 of up-front spending on Sure Start could generate around £2 in total benefits over the long run.

THREAD on our new ‪@nuffieldfoundation.org‬-funded report:

[1/11]

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We’ve been watching for days, hoping they’d be back soon - no sightings yet in our corner of Kent… 🥰🤞

Absolutely agree. One of greatest ever first lines of a song…

#FridayFive
1 Walk Away. Ben Harper
2 Don’t Leave. Faithless
3 Ain’t no sunshine. Bill Withers
4 Closing time. Tom Waits
5 Red eyed and blue. Wilco

It's one of the greatest things I have ever seen.

Fascinating session this evening with @elprogramme.bsky.social from Abby Hughes on how we can plan to make the material we are delivering as engaging, clear and memorable as possible. Loved the step by step modelling of the thinking process. #ELP

Why should we think of the mind as an investment engine? Motivating teenagers to study

New from 100% Assessment open.substack.com/pub/100asses...

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Training Learning Strategies to Promote Self-Regulation and Transfer: The Knowledge, Belief, Commitment, and Planning Framework - Mark A. McDaniel, Gilles O. Einstein, 2020 Surveys indicate that at all educational levels students often use relatively ineffective study strategies. One potential remedy is to include learning-strategy...

I’m fairly persuaded by the argument of the ‘kbcp’ framework - that we do quite a lot of work with students on the knowledge, but far less on creating an environment where they are able to see the success of their actions journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Goodness. That is lovely.

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