Amelie Thompson

This made me think of the system approach to SEND practice and SEND policy. And also the way one part of the system can turn solid practice from another part of the system (Differentiation in Special schools) into a fad that sees it dismissed out of hand. A really good read 👇

An (edu) fad's purpose is what it does Not long ago a drive emerged against "fun" lessons. The push was to rid the focus on fun and return it to subject knowledge itself. Soon followed the argument that students had to accept boring lesson...

New post⤵️

▸The fad's purpose is what it does◂
...and not what its authors thought it would do

Educational fads seen through systems theory (AKA cybernetics).

Please share (tough for bloggers recently)
#UKEd #EduSky #EruditePedagogy #Cybernetics

cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...

LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANT
Barnwood Park School @gltcareers.bsky.social

This is an exciting opportunity to join GLT & Barnwood Park School and become an integral member of my #SEND team!

Find out more here: ce0218li.webitrent.com/ce0218li_web...

Closing date: Sunday 30th March

SEND and special school provision: the capacity crisis The number of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities has soared in recent years. But is there enough provision to meet their needs? Tes analyses the latest data

"in 2016, there were an average of 81 pupils per special school. As of 2024, the average was 103 pupils per school."

Deep dive into specialist provision capacity here from @ellencph.bsky.social showing just how squeezed capacity has become - with dire consequences

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

SEND: call for evidence on inclusive practice DfE’s inclusion group chair Tom Rees will lead programme calling for examples of schools running resource provision and SEN units, and using specialist learning assistants

Please to launch @inclusioninpractice.org.uk today at #ASCL2025.

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

Really pleased to have launched this today at @ascl-uk.bsky.social.

Please do share/engage - we're hoping to build a national resource which shares examples of good practice that exist in the system.

Inclusion in Practice An inclusive education hub, to bring together examples of what successful inclusion looks like in practice.

Inclusion in Practice is live! This is a sector-led initiative to gather practical examples of successful approaches to inclusion in mainstream education.

We welcome submissions from all involved in delivering inclusive practice. Link to submit here: www.inclusioninpractice.org.uk 1/3

Thank you Manny for a great start to @ascl-uk.bsky.social conference. Looking forward to MEGA being adopted! @mannybotwe.bsky.social #ASCL

The baby and the bathwater. Part 1: context It feels like something has changed.  After more than ten years of talking about the same things, often with the same people, and trying to get the conversations about SEND and incl…

inco14.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/t...

We want high standards for all young people, not some Delivering that vision will mean having a shared understanding of what we mean when we talk about standards

'Fundamentally, educational standards concern outcomes for young people, arising from educational inputs.'

Reignited my thinking: how can we use Preparation for Adulthood (employment, independence, community, health) as a universal lens to frame standards for all?

schoolsweek.co.uk/what-do-we-m...

This is a good post and something we have been working on as a school for the last couple of years.

Really important article about the potential positive impact of the graduated assess-plan-do-review (APDR) approach when implemented effectively - ‘the engine to drive inclusive school improvement’

When day comes we ask ourselves,
where can we find light in this never-ending shade?
The loss we carry,
a sea we must wade
We’ve braved the belly of the beast
We’ve learned that quiet isn’t always peace
And the norms and notions
of what just is
Isn’t always just-ice …

thehill.com/homenews/new...

What are you doing to be the light? Even the smallest things done with care, thought and the desire to make someone feel loved can make such a difference.

Excited to be joining this important conference and ready for a day of challenge and learning. Really hoping that I can come to your panel discussion.

'Making inclusion a reality, not a rhetoric' We all love a good speech, don’t we? A room full of nodding heads, a leader passionately declaring their commitment to inclusion and how e...

New blog: ‘Making inclusion a reality, not a rhetoric’

moderncassie.blogspot.com/2025/01/maki...

Thank you so much for joining my session.

🌟 The BERA Blog: Highlights of 2024 🌟

Gerry Czerniawski, BERA Blog Lead Editor, reflects on yet another outstanding year for the BERA Blog! 📝

Read here: bera.ac.uk/blog/the-ber...

About 8 years ago, @siobhanleahy50 and I prepared a Quick Reference Guide for Embedding Formative Assessment. It's now out of print, so the copyright has reverted to us, and we are free to share it with anyone who wants it: bit.ly/EFAQRG (pdf).

Call for Evidence - Committees - UK Parliament Solving the SEND Crisis

It's lunchtime on the last day of term for most teachers and leaders. So, a great time to stumble across the government call for evidence on SEND. This is the most important matter currently facing education - not one to be rushed. You have till Jan 30th.
committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evi...

Looking forward to listening to this.

Gisèle Pelicot, person of the year 2024 Our 2024 Person of the Year has changed the rules, reversed the language and given women permission to reject shame

This is a must read. Changing the rules for women💜💜#WomenEd

app.theneweuropean.co.uk/2024/10/26/v...

“We know numbers of autism and SEMH are on the rise, so who are the beacon partners that can support this in the local area? Mainstream schools and trusts need to know where the specialists are and what they can offer.” @nic-crossley.bsky.social

Why effective adaptive teaching means changing our focus With an increased focus on adaptive teaching, it’s time to radically reconsider where our lessons are aimed, argues Margaret Mulholland

Embedding a focus on marginalised learners across the system won't be achieved by favouring those on the margins, but by pivoting our thinking on them to first rather than last, writes @mmulholland.bsky.social

Are special schools being left out of the mainstream inclusion push? National efforts to make schools more inclusive risk ignoring the huge amount of expertise in the specialist sector, say headteachers

What role will special schools play in Labour’s policy push for more pupils with SEND to be educated in mainstream schools? @johngroberts.bsky.social investigates…

Are special schools being left out of the mainstream inclusion push? National efforts to make schools more inclusive risk ignoring the huge amount of expertise in the specialist sector, say headteachers

The DfE is being urged to ensure mainstream schools can access knowledge and support from special schools to support inclusion amid warnings that their expertise is not being used because the sector is seen as “lesser”. My investigation for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

YouTube video by Mind the Gap with Jon & Emma Professional Love and Belonging: Anti-Racist Practice with Liz Pemberton, Mind the Gap Ep.90 (S5,E6)

🎙️NEW EPISODE of @mindthegappodcast.bsky.social 🎙️

“The political landscape that we are a part of is always going to do what it does. It was important for me not to be distracted by that, and to focus on what the children need, and what educators are telling me they want.”

youtu.be/kW_NATrTICo?...

🔔 Happening today!
bit.ly/4963JnK

In other words, the end of phase assessment is basically a measure of the child's chronological age or level of needs, not of their 'readiness' for school. We need to come at this issue from the angle of provision better meeting needs rather than of children 'passing' the goals. #EarlyYearsSky

Something to be aware of in using the EYFS profile as a measure of 'school readiness' is that the children who struggle to meet the goals tend to be summer born or have SEND. There's around a 20% difference in *actual age* between an autumn born child and one born in the summer term.