That phrasing ‘governance is a strength’ is odd though I think. Strong governance isn’t an aspect of leadership or school performance, it underpins all those things (and more). #UkEdGovs

Yes it matters. I worry about ‘effectiveness’ being too tied to measurables. Especially when (or because) the DfE doesn’t seem to be clear about the purpose of governance in education. In my writing about this I differentiated between ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ governance instead. #UKEdGovs

I have been thinking about that question of how we talk about ‘good’ governance; I think it’s really important.

Really interesting @belmasoffice.bsky.social Research Interest Group yesterday Thanks to Sam Henson @ngauk.bsky.social - 'The Case for Governance' & @danigov.bsky.social for her research - great discussions ... we needed more time! My takeaway - How do we talk about governance? #UKEdGovs

Kevin's fundraiser for Berkshire Womens Aid Help Kevin Anderson raise money to support Berkshire Womens Aid

A week ago, I ran a personal best in my local half marathon. I have one last goal: To hit my £500 goal for raising money for Berkshire Women's Aid, which supports victims of domestic abuse. I'm only £59 away from my goal. Help me make it across this finish line. www.justgiving.com/page/kevin-a...

Hope it is going well!

That’s up 3.79 against the German Bordello and 5 points against the Portuguese Starling.

I underestimated how much time I’d need to finish so some of mine is probably on the messy side. Bit nervous about the next bit x

Thank you. It’s really very difficult isn’t it! X

Despite the giant spider invasion I have managed to submit my thesis! A year later than planned due to… well, life etc.
But all the words have been sent.
Didn’t expect the last bit to be quite so exhausting…
#phdlife #EdD #yay

A photo of a teacher and child sharing a book. Text with a large quotation mark says Schools and nurseries and other settings are really, really important, because they are the place in which children are going to encounter texts, encounter books. Matthew Courtney, Director of Wandle Learning Partnership

On #WorldBookDay, we're sending a huge THANK YOU to all the teachers, school librarians and other educators helping to foster a love of reading!

Check out our Impact Report to discover how we support schools to make a difference: https://bit.ly/4sj2EkY

Being able to fit 7 out of 8 chapters of a draft thesis on the complicated nature of school governance onto the back of a copy of the 2020 edition of the DfE’s guide to the role is an irony not lost on me.

🫣 There is a huge spider crawling across my emotional support seaside webcam 😱
This is a worrying development

Final push to finish my doctoral thesis.
Featuring my emotional support lava lamp and my emotional support seaside webcam browser tab. And coffee.
#phdstudent #phdthesis #phdlife

LISTEN: Talking Research Podcast Part 3 from the Gov RIG - BELMAS Introducing the third instalment of the Governance and Governing RIG's 'Talking Research' Podcast...

Podcast alert! In this episode I'm talking with Philip Rowe whose doctoral research is focused on the HT/Chair relationship - rather like my research ... but different! #UKEdGovs #UKEd #Governance #PhDSky LISTEN: Talking Research Podcast Part 3 from the Gov RIG @belmasoffice.bsky.social

We Reject the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Reflexive Qualitative Research - Tanisha Jowsey, Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Deborah Lupton, Michelle Fine, 2025 Four hundred and nineteen experienced qualitative researchers from 32 countries invite readers of Qualitative Inquiry to consider their position on use of gener...

Now published…

We Reject the Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence for Reflexive Qualitative Research - Tanisha Jowsey, Virginia Braun, Victoria Clarke, Deborah Lupton, Michelle Fine, 2025

journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

I started a thing called The Big Green Books 500 Club on July 25th (my birthday!).

I'm asking people to chip in £1 each week so we can get books into schools.

Every time we reach £500, I send £500 of books to a different school.

Details HERE.

www.biggreenbookshop.com/big-green-bo...

I swear this updates itself every time I look…

😂

Progress has been made but the day job has been all consuming for the last week (or year!!) or so. Agh, too many plates to spin. I have managed to spend all of the last two weekends focused on writing but my brain is quite tired. Was grateful for the extra hour yesterday! 😂😂

It's #buyastrangerabook day.

To celebrate Bluesky being back online I'll give out a book.

FOR FREE.

If there's one you'd like, let me know what it is.

Also, if you'd like to #BuyAStrangerABook too, let me know.

Here's what it's all about.

www.biggreenbookshop.com/stuff-you-mi...

UK only

This is the first time in 15 years that I'm running Ada Lovelace Day without also putting on a big event in London, and I have to admit, it feels kinda weird.

If you have a minute, please share a story of your favourite woman in STEM with the hashtag #ALD25.

[Scene is a 1960s suburban sitting room, with a grand piano in it. The religious songwriter ESTELLE WHITE is sat at the piano, with a rotary phone sat on top of the lid. She is on the phone to her music publisher, someone I've made up called JERRY] 1 ESTELLE WHITE: OK Jerry I’ve got another banger for you 2 ESTELLE WHITE: Listen to this! [She slams the receiver on the top of the piano]. 3 ESTELLE WHITE [hammering on the piano]: AUTUMN DAYS WHEN THE GRASS IS JEWELLED AND THE SILK INSIDE A CHESTNUT SHELL! JET PLANES MEETING IN THE AIR TO BE REFUELLED, ALL THESE - JERRY [voice from the phone handset]: Eh? 4 JERRY: What was that last bit, Estelle? ESTELLE WHITE: “Jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled”… 5 JERRY: Is that a thing you often see in autumn? ESTELLE WHITE [Smoking from a long cigarette holder]: All the time, Jerry. Aaaaall the time.... 6 JERRY: Nothing to do with it being the only thing that rhymes with ‘jewelled’? ESTELLE WHITE: No! 7 ESTELLE WHITE: It’s one of the high-speed, high-altitude feats of military aviation one often sees in autumn time. 8 JERRY: What about leaves and squirrels and - ESTELLE WHITE: Now listen, Jerry. 9 ESTELLE WHITE: Do you want a crap hymn about conkers… 10 ESTELLE WHITE: Or do you want an all-time earworm banger that everyone who hears it will sing in their heads, every single time they see a fallen leaf, until the day they die? 11 JERRY: OK… sorry… carry on… 12 ESTELLE WHITE: FROS-TY WINDOWS ON HARR-IER JUMPJETS AND THE SMELL OF NUCLEAR SUB-MAR-INES… JERRY: How about acorns? [ends]

Autumn days when the grass is jewelled

when I worked in an independent bookstore, the owner told me the most stolen book was one about getting your first period and if I saw anyone walking out with it, I should just let them go.

That’s great.

Yep.

Thanks!

In related news, a certain government white paper is now forever known in my head as Education Excellence Everywhere All At Once (DfE, 2016).

Not sure this is the spirit of #70DaysofPhD but I have managed to spend 25 out of the last 48 hours writing and thinking. Progress made. Back to the day job tomorrow. #PhD #PhDSky #EdD

I have a list of about 20 ideas for novels (although given my advancing age I think I ought to aim at a list of 20 unwritten short stories instead) but I am really enjoying writing my thesis and wondering…