Vicky OMaths

✨ Voice 21 welcomes the recently published Curriculum and Assessment Review report, which recognises oracy as a foundational skill alongside reading, writing and maths.

Check out our response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review in full here 👇

voice21.org/voice-21-res...

If you're interested in some intersection of history and maths (e.g. history of maths, or the maths of history) and the potential for each to enrich education of the other, then I have the free fledgling network for you: historyand.mathsy.space

Friday morning hot take brought to you by Kirkland Whole Bean Coffee: When I drop off my kids at school in the morning, I'd like to think I'm dropping off more than a brain in a jar? So framing a science of learning as "how brains learn" feels like a weird way to talk about that work.

#TheLatest

"One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study finds" from The Guardian

Read it here: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/oct/23/one-in-12-secondary-pupils-put-in-isolation-rooms-at-least-once-a-week-study-finds

#NAPCE #PastoralCare #Education

Just to add I would also trim a lot of leadership fat to ensure there were enough *well-paid* special needs and child development experts in the building too ❤️
Heads of departments and heads of year do so much of the work, they need less contact time and more training and investment as leaders.

🤔 Ever wondered how you can engage all staff in oracy implementation?

Don’t miss out on our latest blog, with our three top tips on how to engage all staff in oracy implementation👇

voice21.org/how-to-engag...

AND no polyester or any other icky fabric in uniforms, comfy jumpers, plain t-shirts, and joggers/leggings and trainers for all.

An outside time curriculum that maps across all subjects so all students get to be outside meaningfully interacting with nature every week.
Physical education becoming choice based, any sport or activity a school can do counts towards PE, from weight lifting to football, tasters to help kids pick!

Increase break and lunch time and give meaningful spaces and activities for students and teachers during that time. Cut the number of formal assessment points per year group down to 1 per year. Have students end the day with their form tutor and parents can collect at the door and speak to the FT…

My Mood Stars a highly effective emotion resource for Early Years My Moods Stars are rapidly becoming known as a the most effective emotion resource for Early Years children, helping them discuss feelings.

Can someone help please?
How do we get seen on here?
None of my posts are being looked at. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Any advice would be gratefully received.
Thank you 😁
Wendy, My Mood Stars
www.mymoodstars.co.uk

Agreed! Until the pastoral system of a school is inclusive, the entire school is not inclusive, and that’s why a lot of children who could do well in mainstream would prefer to be out of it.

Have you heard of ‘informal inference’? it’s an approach to teaching #statistics that can support students in developing their statistical reasoning skills. Many students don’t encounter inference until A-level, but in fact they can be introduced to these ideas from a very young age.

These are amazing and have you seen all the hints for Rep TV vault tracks too 👀👀

7 Ways to Get Math Students to Show Their Thinking Math isn’t just about answers—the process matters, too. These strategies spotlight reasoning and reveal student thinking.

Showing mathematical reasoning is more than a formality, or a speed bump to the correct answer. It’s how students make sense of problems, communicate ideas, and prove their reasoning so that others can learn from them. ⭐

#MathSky #ITeachMath

I wonder why so many #neurodivergent children can’t access school 🤔

www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ju...

Thanks so much Katie this is great!

Are SEND needs driving an increase in children being home educated? My talk from ResearchEd National 2025

Text and slides from my ResearchEd talk.

open.substack.com/pub/learnwha...

Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.

Just a reminder to check for your name in this list of books that OpenAI trained from. If your name is there, they probably owe you several thousand dollars.

OpenAI cried that if everyone eligible author files, the company will go bankrupt, so I'm alerting every author I have ever spoken to.

I hope September has been gentle so far. I recently learnt that not having dreams is a sign of chronic stress, and the past couple of weeks I’ve been having dreams for the first time in ages. It’s weird for September to start and not to be in education, but… I am dreaming now so there’s that ❤️

Students want more support for back-to-school anxiety Few students feel comfortable speaking to a teacher, school counsellor or mental health professional about anxiety of returning to school, survey finds

Few students feel comfortable speaking to a teacher, school counsellor or mental health professional about anxiety of returning to school, survey finds

SEND and inclusion: a recommended reading list Margaret Mulholland shares her recommended reads on equitable school leadership and how to further develop your inclusive practice

In @tesmagazine.bsky.social, @mmulholland.bsky.social shares her recommended reads on equitable school leadership & how to further develop your inclusive practice: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Just thinking about the joy of learning an instrument ❤️

What a lovely last (potentially ever) GCSE results day!

I guess my rescue is a boxer based on this 🤣

Or a special interest thing to do. I memorise stats, just because they’re sports related doesn’t make it any less dorky!

School refusal is also an outdated term, EBSA is better, and a good article here on why the language matters and how our trauma based response options open up:
Bps.org.uk/psychologist/cant-not-wont-rethinking-school-avoidance

I mean it’s the mail… 🤣 probably mentioned liking the dictionary at 11.
Also, that many A and A* a-levels… probably did know better than some of her teachers?
Kids want to be in school, those who school refuse are doing it because they don’t feel safe, wanted, or supported. Usually neurodivergent.

Or she had a chronic illness and managed to study from home and achieve these impressive results despite that.
Prioritising presenteeism over welfare is ableism.

at most, the final 10% of effort.

Results days for me are feeling more emotional and final this year than any other!
These days feel high stakes, but they are a culmination of 11 or 13 years of education *and life* and the variables are such that those who might try to hold you accountable should be reminded that you were