Stuart Rowntree

Trying to cultivate new habits.

I’ve started asking:

What kind of engagement does this task demand?

What kind of thinking does this response reveal?

What kind of listening does this teacher model?

That’s how coherence becomes culture.

Been thinking a lot about pupil talk and the thinking it reveals.

Michelene Chi’s ICAP model + Brent Davis’ types of listening have sharpened this.

Listening for cognition or just correctness?

Are tasks passive or generative?

Big implications for oracy, curriculum + memory.

Obsessions right now?

➡️Knowledge-rich and vocabulary-secured 3D curriculum coherence

➡️Semantic memory over episodic moments

➡️Generative retrieval, disciplinary thinking and subject fidelity across contexts

➡️Oracy as cognitive and disciplinary infrastructure.

Glad to help in any way, Rachel!

Not as sure about KS4 but KS2 Writing was 72% up from 71% but dividing into subcategories isn't easily available.

Overall attainment 80 % of pupils met the standard in Year 1 (up from 79 % in 2023)

SEND 44 % met the standard (52 % on SEN support; 20 % with EHC plans)

Disadvantaged / Pupil Premium equivalent: 68 % met the standard (up from 66 %)

EAL 80 % met the standard

Oh, I am deeply envious of that skylight. That is beautiful.

Always dreamed of a kitchen with a decent wall of glass or skylight. Can just imagine cooking away and watching the clouds change into that pink and ochre that the evening brings.

It’s encouraging to see intellectual rigour shaping primary practice more and more.

Precise language isn’t elitist - it’s how we honour the complexity of our work, and the trust placed in us to get it right.

Oh, thank you! I appreciate that. Always love discovering new music. I have very, very eclectic and somewhat niche tastes!!

Getting into this now...

Much of what we call “retrieval” is performance. We nod to prior learning without truly reconnecting it. What we create isn’t schema - it’s a false construct of scattered memories.

That’s not coherence.

@marymyatt.bsky.social @counsellc.bsky.social @dtwuva.bsky.social

Christopher Such nails the fluency problem - but living it is harder than knowing it.

Fluency needs time, texts, training, and trust. In schools stretched thin, that’s a big ask.

The challenge isn’t belief. It’s building habits that survive the noise. 👇👇👇

I need to focus much more on purpose being the seed of curriculum. Retrieval must nourish it and disciplinary knowledge will be the fruits of the labour.

Start lessons with why it matters. Make retrieval daily. Connect ideas across time. Let pupils work with knowledge, not just recall it.

This moral absolutism creeps in more and more when we demand people pick a perfect side in an imperfect world.

This is a quiet refusal of that and a reminder that holding principled ground means rejecting all cruelty, not choosing whose is more acceptable...

We must stop doing this as a society.

Listening to a lot of this lately:

Arvo Pärt
Philip Glass
Nils Frahm
Ólafur Arnalds
Max Richter
Jóhann Jóhannsson
Hildur Guðnadóttir
Ben Lukas Boysen
Chihei Hatakeyama
Tomasz Bednarczyk

Embracing that ambient, dusk-dusted solitude of a summer evening.

Oh, that's good.

Says Nils Frahm · Spaces · Song · 2013

Absolutely hypnotic bliss for a walk in nature...

You must learn - slowly, tenderly - to help others without attaching your identity to the receipt.

You accept that goodness isn’t always returned in kind. And you build a new sense of self that doesn’t rely on sacrifice as its scaffolding.

4) I’ll continue to revise my thinking when reflection or reality demand it. That’s not indecision - it’s responsibility. I’d rather be called inconsistent than betray the children I serve by refusing to grow...

3) Our field demands curiosity, not dogma. Contexts shift, research evolves, and children deserve leaders who evolve with them. If your views never change, you’re not principled - you’re not paying attention.

2) Changing my mind after reflection or new evidence isn’t weakness - it’s professional integrity. In education, clinging to your first opinion out of pride is not principled, it’s performative. Stubbornness isn’t wisdom.

🧵👇
1) I'm seeing a lot of criticism of educators who shift their opinion around approaches, policies and issues. And frankly, it's frustrating to see...

The Most Common Reason Why Children Don’t Become Fluent Readers… And What We Can Do About It There are myriad reasons why a child might struggle to become a fluent reader: they might have extreme difficulties in learning to decode words relating to phonological issues, working memory or ot…

**New blog** - It's been a while so reposts hugely appreciated.

primarycolour.home.blog/2025/08/01/t...

Wrote a new piece on #Substack yesterday.

I’m finding longform a good space to explore things more fully. If it resonates, feel free to follow or share your thoughts. 👇

Definitely something I was keen on. I want to keep my finger on the pulse, to coin a godawful phrase!

Beyond the Pretence: Why Empathy Needs Evidence The Danger of Just Looking Like You Care

Beyond the Pretence: Why Empathy Needs Evidence

If we’re serious about helping all children – especially the most vulnerable – we must move beyond performance. Beyond the slogans. Beyond the comforting myths.

Empathy, yes. But empathy rooted in evidence.

That was definitely my motivation, plus the back catalogue of journals, etc.

Just joined up with @collegeofteaching.bsky.social - always fancied it, so I'm treating myself!

Anyone else found it useful? What in particular?

How do you teach students to 'disagree well'? 🗣️👂

Kristina Lewis shares insights on adapting her civil discourse programme for all learners.

Learn about her focus on "generous listening" and inclusive oracy:https://shorturl.pulse.ly/pwmwdmw2lb

All seems terribly "Fallout" to me...

If we are all having to verify our ages for apps like YouTube, Spotify and BlueSkye, what’s stopping this government making insta, tiktok, Snapchat etc properly age restricted? They’re doing just as much, if not more, damage to children than porn. Someone needs to act.