Jon Severs

Feeling 'in control' helps students make stronger reading progress Researchers find a notable decline in students' sense of control over their academic outcomes as they progress through key stage 3

New research from Professor John Jerrim finds 'feeling in control' can accelerate students' progress in reading by up to two months.

Prof Jerrim tells me there are 'similarities' between his work and the findings of Carol Dweck. For @tesmagazine.bsky.social:

McVittie appointed to lead review into Cabot Learning Federation Review launched following controversy surrounding decision to cancel Jewish MP’s visit

Exclusive: Dame Joan McVittie appointed to lead a review into a multi-academy trust after a decision to postpone a school visit by a Jewish MP amid pupil safety concerns due to possible protests

The narrative that teens are all phone-obsessed hermits is so damaging and over simplified - we need to celebrate the other narratives like this one: amazing work from the young lads

cumbriacrack.com/2026/01/26/t...

White disadvantaged girls see sharpest drop at GCSE Leaders call for the government to set out targeted action amid fears that girls are being overlooked in the drive to improve white working-class pupils’ outcomes

Exclusive: School leaders call for targeted action for white working-class girls, as analysis shows fewer pass English and Maths compared to pre-Covid.

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

‘No evidence’ of political bias at Bristol school, Ofsted says Bristol Brunel Academy was inspected after the postponement of a visit by a Jewish MP raised concerns about political pressure

The decision at Ofsted and the DfE to speak about this inspection in a negative light to the school before it started was deeply unprofessional and looks even worse now. The trust-wide review still being pushed despite the findings is very problematic

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Why SEND reform depends on the early years Because the EYFS shapes children’s first learning experiences, it is where the SEND crisis begins - so it needs to be a key focus in fixing the problem, writes Julian Grenier, who offers three ways to...

In all the talk of early intervention for SEND, there hasn't been the next assumption made that an uptick in funding and structure forEYFS should be a significant part of any reforms.

That's a huge issue if we want to fix the system, says @juliangrenier.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

This is my main reservation about it.
The biggest threat to the mental wellbeing of teenagers, might actually just be: other teenagers

So much this!

1 in 3 teachers reports WhatsApp pastoral incidents Exclusive polling revealing the impact of social media in schools comes as the government is considering a ban for under-16s

WhatsApp was not included in the Australian social media ban for U16s, yet it is driving more pastoral incidents in schools than other social media.

Excellent exclusive from @cerysturner.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Excellent piece on the growth of 'mixed' trusts and what it might mean for inclusion from @johngroberts.bsky.social

This from @stephenkb.bsky.social is exactly why Number 10 is intervening in SEND Reform, as explained in my post below

The attendance crisis: what does last term’s data tell us? Pupil absence was up in the autumn term, but what else can we learn when we break down the details of the latest DfE attendance data? Ellen Peirson-Hagger shares key insights

Pupil absence was up last term, according to the latest DfE attendance data. @ellencph.bsky.social digs into the stats to reveal the most up-to-date insights into the severity of the attendance crisis

Thanks Megan!

What the government's updated guidance on mobile phones means for school inspections You may have seen that the Department for Education (DfE) is tightening its guidance on mobile phones in schools. Our Chief Inspector, Sir Martyn Oliver, has said many times that you already have his ...

The DfE is talking tough on mobile phone bans in schools but they're not banned through statutory guidance and as this @ofstednews.bsky.social blog makes clear, you can't be marked down for allowing phones if there is no detriment to pupils found
educationinspection.blog.gov.uk/2026/01/23/w...

"So this isn’t really a debate about EHCPs, but one about faith that the system has enough time and money to look after every child. Has the wider government recognised this reality?"

Read the Tes Daily briefing here: lnkd.in/eXqqNgje

Mnemonic   Thirty days hath September, April, June and November. Unless a leap year is its fate, February hath twenty-eight. All the rest hath three days more, excepting January, which hath six thousand, one hundred and eighty-four. Brian Bilston

Annual reminder of how many days there are in each month.

Would an under-16s social media ban help schools? The government is considering restricting or banning children’s use of social media. How might this impact schools?

“Because explicit images are so common now, I think the police view is, ‘Well, that’s another one’”

How would a social media ban for U16s impact schools? Plenty support it, but some worry about negative impacts.

Excellent @cerysturner.bsky.social article below
www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Are schools being judged unfairly without Progress 8? We’re now experiencing two years without the Progress 8 performance measure as a result of the cancellation of Sats during the pandemic. So, have the past warnings about a negative impact on schools c...

Has a world without P8 been as damaging as many believed it would be for those schools in disadvantaged areas?

@ktorm-social1.bsky.social has looked at the data, talked to the sector and looked at the fallout, particularly with Ofsted - and the picture is mixed.

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

She is great!

This seems like a good time to remind people of Pete Etchells' fantastic book "Unlocked: The real science of screentime". Which gives us ammunition against this kind of nonsense. www.goodreads.com/book/show/19...

My fight def with the representation of evidence not necessarilly the cause, if that makes sense! Particularly in the Trump-truth version of the world we now inhabit!

Not a huge fan of social media for kids or adults but this from Lord Nash is not an accurate view of the evidence base... see here: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Are perimenopausal teachers getting enough support in schools? What is happening in the brain during perimenopause and what support do teachers experiencing symptoms need from their schools? Helen Amass speaks to researcher Aimee Spector to find out

39 per cent of women have considered changing or quitting their job due to menopause symptoms, and one in six have actually done so.

Are schools doing enough to change that statistic?

@tesmagazine.bsky.social talks to an expert on perimenopause to find out.

www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

The problem with ‘making it local’ in the curriculum Drawing on local context can make learning feel more relevant for pupils, but if this principle is taken too far, it risks narrowing their horizons, writes Mark Enser

*** NEW POST ***

There are often calls to make a school's or subject's curriculum local and familiar but this can have its problems. I take a look for @tesmagazine.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

‘Parents are people, too,’ schools told in guidance on complaints Government-approved guidance has been issued for schools and parents in response to staff facing a rising number of complaints

“Parents are people, too."

Some interesting advice in this new double header of complaints guidance for schools and parents. I am not sure how successful it will be in stopping a parent posting abuse on FB, but I guess it is a start.

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Unions also unhappy about Ofsted involvement in enforcement of the non-statutory guidance on phones update.

The actual change from existing guidance appears minimal...

Great data piece from @jabedahmed.bsky.social :

💷Inner London teachers are paid up to 17% more

🏘️ Avg inner London house prices are more than 10x a non-London teacher’s annual salary

🗺️Find out how much you'll be paid as a teacher across the country... and how much housing prices are.

This has made my day

Don’t deny special schools new libraries, government told The government has committed to ensuring that all primary schools have a library by 2029 - but it has not confirmed whether special schools are included

Leaders of special schools are urging the government not to exclude their sector from plans to create new libraries. www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Revealed: where teacher pay falls furthest short of living costs Teachers in London get thousands in pay uplifts to compensate for historically high housing costs. But, given that staff in many other parts of the country now also face high property costs, does the ...

Where is the most expensive place to be a teacher?

Common wisdom says London, hence the salaries in the capital being higher. But @jabedahmed.bsky.social has found that many more cities across the country face similar cost of living challenges without the pay uplift.
www.tes.com/magazine/new...