Zoe Enser

@ensermark.bsky.social

Ofsted recruiting inspectors en-masse from school groups Trial will see leaders recruited in groups from trusts and other school networks

Ofsted has announced a new way of recruiting 'groups' of school and college leaders to work as part-time inspectors, in a bid to make inspections 'more collaborative than ever before'

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-piloting-recruiting-inspectors-en-masse-from-school-groups/

Assessment in primary geography Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Assessment in foundation subjects like geography often creates a headache for leaders. I take a look at what goes wrong, and how to put it right.

open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...

Using action research can ease the transition from school When transitions are not handled well, the impact on attendance, engagement and wellbeing can be long-lasting

'By investing in practitioner-led research and embedding evidence in decision-making, schools and trusts can drive improvements that directly enhance young people’s experiences and outcomes'

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/using-action-research-can-help-ease-the-transition-from-school/

More work needed to tackle teacher development fragmentation School spending on CPD has been in decline for a decade

'We know that effective professional development is perhaps the most powerful tool we have to support teachers to improve, and we know that nothing leads to better outcomes for children than a good teacher'

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/more-work-is-need-to-tackle-fragmentation-in-teacher-development/

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - Headteacher Update Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful: buff.ly/jcBWkGe #schools

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - SecEd Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful: buff.ly/77yH9g7

£100m English hubs had ‘substantial’ impact, researchers say Evaluation finds school-led scheme boosted pupils’ outcomes and 'broader literacy'

📖 A £100 million scheme supporting children who are struggling to read has boosted pupils’ outcomes and 'broader literacy', researchers have said.
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/100m-english-hubs-had-substantial-impact-researchers-say/

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - SecEd Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful:

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - Headteacher Update Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful: buff.ly/jcBWkGe #schools

Episode #100: Mark Enser - The geography curriculum and supporting specialists and non specialist teachers | Podcast Episode on RSS.com In this episode of GeogPod, Jon is joined by Mark Enser, who is the national lead for geography, was a member of the Ofsted curriculum unit as well as a freelance writer.While in conversation, they di...

A point that Mark returns to in this podcast rss.com/podcasts/ga-...

A somewhat unexpectedly creepy find down a vomit splattered back alley in Preston.

DfE advisers RISE to the challenge (269 miles away) One in 10 schools in improvement programme have been paired with advisers in different regions

Investigation: Dozens of struggling schools enrolled in a £20 million turnaround scheme have been paired with experts based up to 269 miles away

schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-advisers...

New Ofsted policy sees 1 in 8 inspections deferred or paused Of the 786 schools that requested a deferral, 79 per cent were accepted

Ofsted deferred or paused one in eight school inspections in the first full year of a new policy aimed at lessening its impact on leaders’ wellbeing, data suggests

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/new-ofsted-policy-sees-1-in-8-inspections-deferred-or-paused/

Over half of specialist free school projects to go ahead Councils faced a choice between a new school and accepting alternative funding for SEND expansion

Exclusive: More than half of free specialist school projects put on hold by the government are set to go ahead, as councils turn down alternative funding offers
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/more-than-half-of-special-free-school-projects-set-to-go-ahead/

Over half of specialist free school projects to go ahead Councils faced a choice between a new school and accepting alternative funding for SEND expansion

Exclusive: More than half of free specialist school projects put on hold by the government are set to go ahead, as councils turn down alternative funding offers
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/more-than-half-of-special-free-school-projects-set-to-go-ahead/

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - SecEd Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful:

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - Headteacher Update Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful: buff.ly/jcBWkGe #schools

What textbook writing taught me about making shared resources Planning lessons for others means you can’t rely on your own subject knowledge or ability to explain things on the fly, says Mark Enser, who shares his advice for making centralised resources

Finally, a great TES article by @ensermark.bsky.social about making resources for others. As he notes, it's relevant in many different scenarios and there's clearly a danger of AI shortcuts meaning that the resources fail the requirements that Mark sets out.

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

Special school leaders call for clarity on future funding Plans for national bandings on specialist provision packages 'deeply concerning'

Ministers have been urged to clarify how special schools will be funded under their white paper reforms
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/special-school-leaders-call-for-clarity-on-future-funding/

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - SecEd Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful:

Five questions to ask about quality assurance in your school - Headteacher Update Five questions that every school leader can ask to ensure quality assurance processes are fit-for-purpose

Is your school’s quality assurance helping or hindering improvement? QA should be about curiosity & clarity – not compliance. @ensermark.bsky.social & @greeborunner.bsky.social explore five essential questions every leader should ask to make QA purposeful and impactful: buff.ly/jcBWkGe #schools

Most teachers will, at some point, write lessons they will never teach themselves.

Heads of department do it constantly.

That shift changes everything.

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What textbook writing taught me about making shared resources Planning lessons for others means you can’t rely on your own subject knowledge or ability to explain things on the fly, says Mark Enser, who shares his advice for making centralised resources

When you stop planning for yourself and start planning for others, you’re no longer relying on your own subject knowledge or classroom instincts.

You’re trying to support another teacher’s thinking.

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

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My latest TES article explores what writing a textbook taught me about shared curriculum resources.

The key lesson?
Make the reasoning explicit.

If the thinking stays in your head, the resource won’t travel well.

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Shared materials need:
• Clear curriculum logic
• Explicit explanations
• Likely misconceptions surfaced
• Usability under pressure

Otherwise they increase workload rather than reduce it.

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Discover Geography Empower students to understand and think like geographers with this complete and compelling geography curriculum supporting the KS3 Geography National Curriculum for England, Cambridge Lower Secondary...

This thinking also shaped the Discover Geography series with Collins.

The aim was not just content, but support for the teacher who has to teach it.

collins.co.uk/collections/...

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Shared planning is now normal in most departments.

The real question is whether our resources genuinely support professional judgement, or quietly rely on it.

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The SecEd Podcast: Teaching Shakespeare Effectively: Practical tips and classroom ideas - SecEd RSC-inspired ideas and teaching techniques for engaging secondary students in the work of William Shakespeare

“How can we show students the relevance of Shakespeare in today’s world?”

This SecEd podcast episode explores how schools can make #Shakespeare more appealing and enjoyable for students: buff.ly/xJoMijH

Inclusive geography teaching after the white paper: from principle to practice What inclusive geography teaching really looks like

In my last Substack piece I looked at the implications of the white paper for curriuclum thinking - today, I turn my attention to what it means for the classroom.

open.substack.com/pub/enserm/p...