Tom Riley

Are predicted grades accurate?

This wonderful blog from @fftedudatalab.bsky.social explores the question, and my takehome is that *on average* they might be, but for an individual student it's pretty much guesswork.

Well worth a read.

ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2025/12/pred...

What we learned about OFSTED (Part 1) Credit: The Times Reflections on the new inspection framework: 1742 days under the lottery finger My school and I have spent 1742 days in the OFSTED window (our last inspection was Feb 2018). 1742 …

NEW BLOG: OFSTED REFLECTIONS.
Trying to be even handed: southgloshead.wordpress.com/2025/11/28/w...

New research with @clareroutledge.bsky.social

Funded by the Gatsby Foundation

We asked 2000 UK/US undergrads to choose between pairs of hypothetical jobs to understand how more of them could be tempted into teaching

Why a generation of kids are learning to read everything except books. carlhendrick.substack.com/p/in-defence...

Good schools make good teachers What kind domains, wicked traps and school culture mean for improvement

NEW: Good schools make good trachers

If teachers don’t always improve with experience, the problem isn’t them. It’s the environment. Schools that get better do so because they make feedback clearer, practice more deliberate, and culture more trustworthy.

open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Love this. Use colour deliberately a lot but hadn’t thought to link the question like this.

Great episode! Do you have any more info I could read on ‘known, successful and saved’ anywhere?

New post: tasks with scaffolding

www.resourceaholic.com/2025/10/task...

#mathstoday #ukmathschat

Not possible. I think it might mean don’t do the opposite: create an assessment where the data is heavily skewed and lots of students get similar scores so you can’t distinguish between different attainment levels.

Despite best intentions and significant investment, England’s SEND system is failing too many students and their families. To fix it, we need to understand why.

Mega-thread summary of my presentation at #FestivalOfEducation today:

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Inclusion, Inclusion, Inclusion Let’s cut through the noise. There is a lot of sabre rattling about inclusion. There are organisations, think tanks, consultants, local authorities and even educators in schools pushing an agenda t…

New blog on inclusion

samstrickland384843542.wordpress.com/2025/10/10/i...

School Improvement Starts Here: Behaviour, Participation, and Memory All schools can improve, but it's often hard to know where to start. In most contexts, we can begin by asking three simple questions.

I am blogging again!!!

Like many others, I've moved over to Substack for a bit of a refresh. First entry is on school improvement - where to start, and what things matter.

I'm weirdly a bit nervous about it it's been so long 😭😭

open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...

Didagogy: Exploring the Discipline of Teaching Teachers | 2025 This report introduces didagogy as a discipline - a way of naming and initiating discussion around teacher learning.

What makes the teaching of teachers unique? And how might establishing it as a discipline help with the development of consistent frameworks?

Read our New Report exploring Didagogy: The Discipline of Teaching Teachers

Principles of Inclusion How should we think about additional needs in a mainstream school?

New today! open.substack.com/pub/matthewe...

UK immigration: What the numbers really show YouTube video by Sky News

Anyone fancy ten-plus minutes of non-emotive charts on what's really going on with immigration in the UK?
Well, either way, here you go👇 youtu.be/zTs3PDEkB2w?...

Leadership as an Attentional Practice Attention as a Leadership Act in School Improvement School improvement is often framed around structures: improvement plans, strategic goals, and systems of accountability. However, beneath these f…

⚠️New Post: Attention ⚠️

"What we attend to, we amplify."

Attention is an element of school leadership.

Are we considering the attention of school leaders?

How often is this spread across multiple areas?

Read by thoughts below:

researcherteacher.home.blog/2025/08/17/l...

I’ll be line managing the English faculty for the first time in September. If you have any books or blogs that you recommend, please send a link my way!

At least you now have the joy of having the rest to watch tonight…

It's Your Time Your'e Wasting: Coaching or ker-CHING? This week’s episode of It’s Your Time You’re Wasting with me and Martin Robinson is on coaching.

It's Your Time Your'e Wasting: Coaching or ker-CHING?
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Unlocking Teacher Development: CPD session checklist Over the last two years I have spent a lot less time blogging and a lot more time thinking about CPD. I’ve noticed that often when CPD goes bad it misses many of the EEF’s mechanisms fo…

New Blog #Edusky

This one is about a topic close to my heart:

Supporting the planning and delivery of effective CPD sessions

adam-robbins.com/2025/04/22/u...

Does subject knowledge matter more than teaching techniques? That is a terrible question. Earlier this week I got sucked into a stupid ‘debate’ about subject knowledge after making some comments on X and replying to some other posts. It seemed to me that various people &#821…

Does subject knowledge matter more than teaching techniques? That is a terrible question. teacherhead.com/2025/04/20/d...

Leading with focus There are some days where I as a leader absolutely smash it, endlessly ticking off those big and important jobs on the ‘to do’ list. I am strategic. I am purposeful. There are other day…

NEW BLOG: Leading with focus. #edusky #Headteachers #schoolimprovement
@adamboxereducation.bsky.social @mrarobbins.bsky.social @headteacherchat.bsky.social @teacherhead.bsky.social @teachertapp.bsky.social @keziah70.bsky.social southgloshead.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/l... Pls share.

The average UK worker is paying a lower effective tax rate than their US equivalent (19%).

Great stat via @tomcalver.bsky.social.

Hi, nope! I usually just show student answers under a visualiser.

If you haven’t read it yet, this really is an absolutely top tier T+L book

New! My 188th gems post. Ideas, updates and resources for maths teachers. 💎

www.resourceaholic.com/2025/03/5-ma...

Hat tips to follow.

#MathsToday #Mathsky #UKMathsChat #iteachmath

The Richard Dimbleby Lecture - Sir Gareth Southgate Former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate reflects on his personal journey as a leader and the importance of belief and resilience.

I don't generally go nuts for learning from leaders in other domains, but I would strongly recommend Gareth Southgate's Dimbleby Lecture. I found what he said about creating the right culture spot on and quite moving. He brings together when so many are keen to divide. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Curriculum and Assessment Review: interim report An independent review of the curriculum and assessment system in England, with statistical analysis.

The next stage of the Curriculum and Assessment Review will look to create a more inclusive and fair system, address subject-specific challenges, and assess available pathways beyond GCSEs.

Find out more ➡️ www.gov.uk/government/p...

Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2025 NFER's annual Teacher Labour Market report shows that June’s Spending Review is the Government’s last chance to enact the policy changes needed to hit its 6,500 new teacher manifesto pledge.

NFER's 2025 annual report on the teacher labour market is out today

- Postgrad ITT recruitment remains persistently poor
- Teacher leaving rates have not improved since pre-Covid
- Teacher shortages are having impacts on pupils

Read here 👇

www.nfer.ac.uk/publications...