Miss Bains

I/We/You: Use with caution Adam Boxer recently posted on X: ‘To me, I/We/You is a powerful way to conceptualise teaching specific things. It is NOT a powerful way to structure lessons. It’s a cycle. And you could have …

*NEW BLOG POST* A new post from me and @lambhearttea.bsky.social on I, We, You theeducationalimposters.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/i...

NEW BLOG: Stop Designing ‘Relevant’ Curricula for the Poor

www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

Our open access (free!) book 'Developing Curriculum for Deep Thinking: The Knowledge Revival' by Nuno Crato, Dylan William, John Hattie, @timsurma.bsky.social, Elizabeth Rata and more with a foreword by ED Hirsch, Jr. is now available! #EduSky

link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

Designing the perfect assessment system, part 1 What's the point of assessment?

You can't use one assessment for multiple purposes - it gets pulled out of shape.

That's what happened to GCSEs when they were used for all kinds of purposes they weren't designed for.

Things are a bit better at secondary now - but what about primary?

‘Effective leadership in teaching and learning is about creating a framework that provides direction while recognising and nurturing subject specificity.’

Adrian Gray on LinkedIn: #schools #ofsted A GOOD TIME TO BE INSPECTED? Here is some interesting data. Given that 'Quality of Education' is the Ofsted grade that matters, what has been happening to…

If you are interested in the current state of Ofsted's school inspection programme then this short blog from Adrian Gray, former SHMI, requires a steady nerve. Remember, this is the same Framework. Some might say it's to be expected but it isn't equitable. www.linkedin.com/posts/adrian...

Those who live and breathe curriculum and assessment by teaching every day have a deep and unique understanding of what’s going well and what needs to improve.

If that’s you, please do share your precious insights through the call for evidence.

consult.education.gov.uk/curriculum-a...

Cool Education accounts Join the conversation

I've created a starter pack of education accounts too - let me know if you'd like me to add you.

The new Ofsted proposals being discussed at the moment are concerning, particularly the separation of curriculum and instruction. Here are some thoughts 🧵⬇️

‘The quality of teaching cannot be considered intelligently without reference to the content being taught, because that is why teaching exists and without something to teach there can be no teaching.’

The fall of Eng Lit What is the cause, is it a problem - and if so, what can we do about it?

A lot of discussion lately about the reasons for the decline of Eng Lit A-level.

Are the Gove curriculum & exam reforms to blame?

I don't think so, because the decline of Eng Lit / the humanities more broadly is a global trend.

More here.

I've also started a UK education policy starter pack, anyone who would like to be added let me know 😊 go.bsky.app/PHBkF8y

Ofsted proposes assessing schools on 10 areas of performance.

www.ft.com/content/37d8...

It's here! The Headteacher Starter Pack.

Want a whole lot of headteachers on your timeline? Here's the starter pack for you.
Includes deputy heads and assistant heads, heads of school and retired colleagues. Experience, wisdom, compassion, connection & beauty all in one package.
go.bsky.app/9jJ5dKQ

Taking curriculum seriously Curriculum is all about power. Decisions about what knowledge to teach are an exercise of power and therefore a weighty ethical responsibility. What we choose to teach confers or denies power. To say ...

I wrote this partly in response to a tendency of some SLT to read classrooms in generic ways, & so not to notice when generic pedagogies weigh so heavily on a subject that its curriculum can't breathe. 6 yrs on, it's still an issue #CurriculumandAssessmentReview my.chartered.college/impact_artic...

Can’t look at assessment without unpicking curriculum.

Slides for my #rED24 talk ‘Why you need feedback more than you think you do’ are here:

profcoe.net/talks

With the big #rED24 event this weekend, I’d love to know:

What is the edu research that most changed your practice, how you think about education, and/or that you come back to most often?

I have few that I always return to but would love to know others’!

#EduNerdChat
#EduSky
#UKEdu

‘parents who choose a “good” secondary school for their child will not leave with appreciably better outcomes than a parent who selects an “inadequate” school. The one exception to this is an Outstanding judgment, which does predict future academic outcomes’

Professor Emerita Mary M. Kennedy, who sadly died last year, has had a huge impact on my understanding of teaching, research and policy.

I’ve been revisiting her work for a project and thought I’d share some of her gems (18), which are open access 🔓

Strap yourself in…🤓

YouTube video by Peps Mccrea Education Research: The Year In Review 2023/24

🚨Review of Edu-Research in 2023/24

→ 11 standout papers
→ 5 emerging themes
→ My finding/sharing process

(this is my first crack at a vid—would love any feedback, esp how it could be better next time)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=egdN...

A Blog for (New) Middle Leaders A message to middle leaders at the start of the new academic year.

If you are or you work with (new) middle leader(s) this year, I've written this rather candid summary for you!

www.researchtoclassroom.com/post/a-blog-...

#UKEd
#EduBlogUK
#EduSky

‘But if this diverts all the talent within the system away from leading actual schools directly, then we have a problem.’

Really important new study: what learning strategies do successful students use?
www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-l...

How does your school capture and share the important knowledge and practice that drives improvement? Great blog from @saysmiss.bsky.social

‘history, just like other subjects, is unique. Assessment should act as a lamp to illuminate its features rather than as a hammer to eliminate all that is subject-specific in the interests of a whole-school policy.’

Mark Reviews As part of my exam role, at this time of year, I undertake reviews of marking. These are more commonly referred to as re-marks, which is a misnomer. Papers are not re-marked from scratch. Instead, the...

I wrote something about mark reviews (you may know these as re-marks) which summarises what I think every year when I read social media, but never say.
sallythorne.com/2024/08/25/m...
TLDR: if you put in bulk review requests, consider spending the money on interventions instead.
#edusky

Just posted new blog on Bluesky and not (yet) on Twitter. Be interesting to see engagement. Will I fold and put it on Twitter too? Please help me avoid the temptation by reposting here!

primarytimery.com/2024/08/25/o...