Sunday 25 December 2016

Tom Bennett's School Report: It's still a wonderful job

Tom Bennett's School Report: It's still a wonderful job: It’s still a wonderful job I usually have a Christmas ritual: I republish a post I wrote a few years ago called ‘It’s a wonderful job....

Wednesday 21 December 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: My Desert Island Discs

TDRE Boss Blog: My Desert Island Discs: On Sunday, it was a treat to listen to Bruce Springsteen on an extended Desert Island Discs (You missed it?! Find it <here> ). His ...

Sunday 4 December 2016

Monday 21 November 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: TMNewham: Lessons from Frank Skinner

TDRE Boss Blog: TMNewham: Lessons from Frank Skinner: I only realised in retrospect that I got my first nugget in meta-cognition from Frank Skinner. A few years ago he spoke about getting o...

TDRE Boss Blog: A Textbook FAQ: Catholic Christianity for Edexcel ...

TDRE Boss Blog: A Textbook FAQ: Catholic Christianity for Edexcel ...: I had a book launch at Westminster Cathedral Hall on Wednesday 16th November 2016. Here was my short talk about the book: I’d like to d...

TDRE Boss Blog: ARC Launch 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: ARC Launch 2016: Aquinas Resources and Conferences, or ARC, is the work, or ‘work in progress’ of myself, Ant and Philip. Our venture has been, in p...

TDRE Boss Blog: Imago Dei - The Foundation of Everything

TDRE Boss Blog: Imago Dei - The Foundation of Everything: Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam is situated in the Sistine Chapel. It documents the very moment of man's creation as found ...

Sunday 20 November 2016

The Baron: My colleagues oppose Brexit, hate free speech and ...

The Baron: My colleagues oppose Brexit, hate free speech and ...: It is Friday 24 th June. As I squeeze into the overcrowded train carriage with the rest of the oxygen-starved commuters, I contemplate how...

Friday 11 November 2016

Tuesday 1 November 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: Haters Gonna Hate (New RS Specs)

TDRE Boss Blog: Haters Gonna Hate (New RS Specs): Here are some lists. What have I missed? Some reasons people don't like the new GCSE RS specs: Perceived 'dullness'...

Tuesday 25 October 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: GCSE Textbook Book Launch

TDRE Boss Blog: GCSE Textbook Book Launch: The Aquinas Centre at St Mary's University are hosting an event to launch three new GCSE textbooks for the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas sp...

Sunday 23 October 2016

Saturday 1 October 2016

Evidence Based EFL: boooooo! hurrah!

Evidence Based EFL: boooooo! hurrah!: Penn and Tell er 's show ' Bullshit ' was a favourite of mine. E very week they debunked commonly held beliefs from 12-ste...

Wednesday 20 July 2016

School Data Updates: Drop the Data Drop

School Data Updates: Drop the Data Drop: If there is one phrase that exposes the true nature of data in a school it is 'data drop'. That termly data collection window, wh...

Thursday 14 July 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: #BlogFriday - A Year of Blog Sharing

TDRE Boss Blog: #BlogFriday - A Year of Blog Sharing: Last September, inspired by meeting   Rory Gallagher  at Northern Rocks 2015 , I started a SHoM #BlogFriday, emailing all staff with a ...

Wednesday 13 July 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: RS Exam Reform

TDRE Boss Blog: RS Exam Reform: Religious Studies GCSE and A-Level were part of 'Phase 2' of the exam reform, ready for September 2016 teaching. This process c...

Saturday 9 July 2016

The Baron: Government policies have failed to weaken the infl...

The Baron: Government policies have failed to weaken the infl...: David Cameron’s administration has made no secret of its belief in the efficacy of traditional educational practices. It has radically refo...

Wednesday 6 July 2016

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Transferring research into practice - time and com...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Transferring research into practice - time and com...: If you work in a school and are interested how research is transformed into practice, then this post is for you.  In particular, this pos...

TDRE Boss Blog: #TeachMeetCSS:

TDRE Boss Blog: #TeachMeetCSS:: At the second annual TeachMeet held at Compass School Southwalk in Bermondsey, I decided to take up the theme from a recent blog post (s...

Tuesday 5 July 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: 10 Reasons

TDRE Boss Blog: 10 Reasons: 10 reasons teachers are on strike today: School budgets are being cut by 8% (in real terms) - in a small secondary school that could be...

Thursday 30 June 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: The TES Awards 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: The TES Awards 2016: Photo by Hannah The TES Awards 2016 took place on Friday 24th June at the The Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London. It is the fir...

Thursday 23 June 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: The Star Thrower

TDRE Boss Blog: The Star Thrower: In my 10 years of teaching, I have been called upon to do many last minute assemblies. You always need a few stories up your sleeve, ...

Wednesday 22 June 2016

JUKU: Japan's Farewell to Yutori Education

JUKU: Japan's Farewell to Yutori Education: On 10 th  May 2016, Mr. Hase, Japanese Education Minister, issued a message to clearly mark the departure from Yutori education, the ill-...

Tuesday 21 June 2016

The Baron: The ‘London Effect’ won’t last

The Baron: The ‘London Effect’ won’t last: It has been characterized as a tale of extraordinary success. As a consequence of enlightened and collaborative leadership unleashed by the...

Sunday 19 June 2016

Friday 17 June 2016

School Data Updates: I Predict a Riot

School Data Updates: I Predict a Riot: I've come to the conclusion that I'm easily misunderstood. I rock up somewhere to give a talk, start ranting about how we have to w...

Tuesday 14 June 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: When Saturday Comes...

TDRE Boss Blog: When Saturday Comes...: Saturdays are made for relaxing, family and sport. I used to have a season ticket at Southend United, and travel to many away games. For...

Monday 6 June 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: Read My Textbook

TDRE Boss Blog: Read My Textbook: Read the current proofs <here> The final, printed version will reflect the approved spec and sample assessments. Exam support...

TDRE Boss Blog: A Lesson in Character, Resilience and Grit

TDRE Boss Blog: A Lesson in Character, Resilience and Grit: In December 2014, Nicky Morgan and the DfE launched a scheme to help promote the teaching of character, resilience and grit in schools. I...

TDRE Boss Blog: Is It Love?

TDRE Boss Blog: Is It Love?: When I asked colleagues on Twitter whether they used the word love in school, it generated a range of responses: No - Nope. Nooope, N...

Saturday 4 June 2016

Monday 30 May 2016

Sunday 29 May 2016

School Data Updates: The Floor Show

School Data Updates: The Floor Show: ' This is the floorshow, the last ideal ' - The Sisters of Mercy Yesterday, Twitter lit up with debate and disbelief over ...

Tuesday 24 May 2016

Evidence Based EFL: EBEFL asks: Should we listen to students?

Evidence Based EFL: EBEFL asks: Should we listen to students?: At IATEFL Silvana Richardson , Scott Thornbury and Chris Smith ( 2015 ) all made reference to student opinion.   Smith carried out res...

Sunday 22 May 2016

JUKU: Why Lesson Study Failed in Japan?

JUKU: Why Lesson Study Failed in Japan?: Thanks to the help from those who shared and tweeted the previous post , far more people than expected   have read about Lesson Study. ...

Saturday 21 May 2016

The Baron: Restorative Justice is an insult to teachers

The Baron: Restorative Justice is an insult to teachers: A colleague slinks into the office. She sits quietly for a moment, deep in thought. She then begins to cry. ‘What’s wrong?’ I ask. ‘Oh…bloo...

Monday 9 May 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: All The Small Things

TDRE Boss Blog: All The Small Things: "All the small things True care, truth brings" Blink 182 Blink 182 sum up their whole song in the first two lines. Th...

TDRE Boss Blog: WANTED: Catholic RE Teacher

TDRE Boss Blog: WANTED: Catholic RE Teacher: The view from of our staffroom We are looking a Catholic RE teacher with a deadline of Tuesday 17 May 2016 - please share this widely...

Friday 6 May 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: Teaching: A Vocation?

TDRE Boss Blog: Teaching: A Vocation?: In many a staff room, blog or conversation with friends or family, a teacher has claimed, "but it's not just a job, it's a...

Tuesday 26 April 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: Teachers Love Learning Too

TDRE Boss Blog: Teachers Love Learning Too: Should it come as a surprise that teachers love to learn?  “Every teacher needs to improve, not because they are not good enough, b...

Friday 22 April 2016

School Data Updates: The 5 Golden Rules of tracking

School Data Updates: The 5 Golden Rules of tracking: As increasing numbers of schools question the effectiveness of their incumbent systems and begin to look at alternatives that may better mee...

Thursday 21 April 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: "The Best That You Can Do" - Y11's Golden Mean

TDRE Boss Blog: "The Best That You Can Do" - Y11's Golden Mean: Jim Bianco  is a US-based  singer-songwriter who is sadly  little known in the UK;  I'm a big fan. I had a YouTube playlist on as I...

Wednesday 20 April 2016

The Baron: Banning tag and rugby tackling is stopping boys be...

The Baron: Banning tag and rugby tackling is stopping boys be...: A recent diktat issued by an over-cautious primary head  prohibiting the playing of ‘tag’ at break time  came hot on the heels of an open l...

Monday 18 April 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: A Great Week - Thank You!

TDRE Boss Blog: A Great Week - Thank You!: The last week has been surreal. Great, humbling, but odd. It began on Tuesday with the arrival of the proof of my textbook. This ...

Sunday 17 April 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: #TMLondon - The Aftermath

TDRE Boss Blog: #TMLondon - The Aftermath: It is a great privilege for me to be involved in #TMLondon. For the second time, I have been working behind the scenes organising sponso...

TDRE Boss Blog: Y11 Survival: Me or Them?

TDRE Boss Blog: Y11 Survival: Me or Them?: Surviving the last few weeks as a Head of Year 11 is tougher than I thought. I'm in my second year as a HoY taking the cohort up f...

Wednesday 13 April 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: Mr Tony Ward RIP

TDRE Boss Blog: Mr Tony Ward RIP: On Tuesday 22nd March, I was contacted by various former colleagues asking for prayers for Tony Ward, Head of Geography at my former sc...

Thursday 7 April 2016

ManYana Ltd: Thinking about: - Posters

ManYana Ltd: Thinking about: - Posters: Thinking about: When you set an activity, or tell a story, or show a video to help a child learn one of the inevitable consequences is ...

Sunday 3 April 2016

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Teaching Science: New GCSEs in Science: teaching them!

Teaching Science: New GCSEs in Science: teaching them!: The new science GCSEs are starting to be accredited. This is a relief, but not good enough. We should have had these specs a year before fir...

Monday 28 March 2016

The Baron: 'Independent learning' creates irresponsible excus...

The Baron: 'Independent learning' creates irresponsible excus...: It’s funny: the more independent we try to make our learners, the more dependent they seem to become. After all, I suppose, at the hear...

Sunday 27 March 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: #TMLondon: My Great Form Tutor

TDRE Boss Blog: #TMLondon: My Great Form Tutor: Photo by  @benniskara As well as arranging the competitions, prizes and thanking our sponsors I managed a 2 min presentation at TM Lon...

Friday 18 March 2016

The Snow Report: Explaining or justifying literacy instruction?

The Snow Report: Explaining or justifying literacy instruction?: In their piece on The Conversation this morning , Queensland education academics Drs Stewart Riddle and Eileen Honan referenced a previous...

TDRE Boss Blog: #TFREConference 2016: Core Knowledge & RE

TDRE Boss Blog: #TFREConference 2016: Core Knowledge & RE: A grey and misty Saturday morning saw an early start in London for the second Teach First RE Conference, this one entitled REthinking t...

Sunday 13 March 2016

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The gender question: Boys are made of slugs, snail...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The gender question: Boys are made of slugs, snail...: At some stage in every teacher’s career, somebody has uttered the phrase ‘to engage boys use competitions’ in the teacher’s presence. It...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: An agenda for REAL Evidence-Based Education

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: An agenda for REAL Evidence-Based Education: Are you a school leader or evidence-based practitioner and interested in bringing about real improvements for your pupils (and colleagues), ...

TDRE Boss Blog: If we want them to revise...

TDRE Boss Blog: If we want them to revise...: Wednesday was a 6 period day with a working lunch. It was really hard work and I then spent over an hour catching up on the day (ah... ...

TDRE Boss Blog: If we want them to revise...

TDRE Boss Blog: If we want them to revise...: Wednesday was a 6 period day with a working lunch. It was really hard work and I then spent over an hour catching up on the day (ah... ...

Sunday 6 March 2016

School Data Updates: The Writing's on the Wall

School Data Updates: The Writing's on the Wall: Last summer, when the news trickled out that the floor standard would be kept at 65%, rather than being hiked up to to a mountainous 85% as...

Saturday 5 March 2016

Monday 29 February 2016

To boldly go...: Cos work's for working right?

To boldly go...: Cos work's for working right?: So, I have a spot of school work to do tomorrow.   Now, I know Ofsted said we don't have to prepare but that makes the assumption that I...

Sunday 21 February 2016

Monday 15 February 2016

JUKU: Lesson Study Is Not A Success Story of Japanese Ed...

JUKU: Lesson Study Is Not A Success Story of Japanese Ed...: Critical Thinking about Overseas Education Reports After having read educational discussions for the past few years, I have learned...

Sunday 7 February 2016

Saturday 6 February 2016

School Data Updates: Slave to the algorithm

School Data Updates: Slave to the algorithm: A few months back someone posted a screenshot from an Ofsted report on Twitter. The paragraph in question stated that 'according to the ...

The Snow Report: Snake Oil Toil

The Snow Report: Snake Oil Toil: Things have been rather quiet over at the Snow Report of late. As you might imagine, the reasons for that are many and varied, but chief amo...

Notes from Harefield: Minister, reading recovery requires more than Read...

Notes from Harefield: Minister, reading recovery requires more than Read...: An open letter to NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli Dear Minister   I have been impressed by y...

To boldly go...: 'My blood don't run cold no more' Coasts

To boldly go...: 'My blood don't run cold no more' Coasts: It's been such a weird week.  It's been the usual 'work like crazy, laugh, teach, worry, resolve, sing, dance, boggle, backfill,...

TDRE Boss Blog: RE – Am I Bothered? 18/6/16

TDRE Boss Blog: RE – Am I Bothered? 18/6/16: I will be leading a session at the St Alban's RE conference looking at how RE teachers can help themselves. The two key areas that ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: New - Distinguishing the practical from the pueril...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: New - Distinguishing the practical from the pueril...: If you are school research lead or someone interested in evidence-informed practice and want to be able to identify research with practical ...

Friday 5 February 2016

Outside In: Marking - In Defence of SLT

Outside In: Marking - In Defence of SLT: OFSTED has a problem with its image problem. Acutely aware of its disastrously low standing within the profession of which it is supposed t...

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Bex Trex ...to teaching!: Starting a new school in January.

Bex Trex ...to teaching!: Starting a new school in January.: January, a time for fresh starts, resolutions and all things new.  But not usually for teachers, January is an odd time of year to be changi...

Monday 1 February 2016

To boldly go...: Another attack of the fraud police

To boldly go...: Another attack of the fraud police: I am attending a meeting tomorrow that I'm scared of.  The people are lovely, the aim is sound, the coffee is nice. But... I'm on th...

Friday 29 January 2016

Saturday 23 January 2016

School Data Updates: A Brief History of the Primary Future: Part 1

School Data Updates: A Brief History of the Primary Future: Part 1: The pace of change over the past 2 years has been extraordinary, bewildering and probably unprecedented. Reforms to assessment and accounta...

Wednesday 20 January 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: #Nurture1516 - A Professional 6 & 6

TDRE Boss Blog: #Nurture1516 - A Professional 6 & 6: My personal life has been dominated by the arrival of my first child, Tommy. He arrived in October, but we had spent from mid-January kn...

Sunday 17 January 2016

TDRE Boss Blog: My Top 5 Posts of 2015

TDRE Boss Blog: My Top 5 Posts of 2015: 2015 was a full year of professional blogging for me. Some posts seem to get quite wide readership and were shared by some of the '...

Saturday 16 January 2016

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Evidence-informed practice : Some common misconcep...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Evidence-informed practice : Some common misconcep...: In my recent blog post for BERA  I identified three of the most common misconceptions about evidence-based/informed practice.  In this pos...

Evidence Based EFL: 2015 roundup

Evidence Based EFL: 2015 roundup: So 2015 comes to an end. And what a busy year it's been!  Last year the blog hit 100,000 views and recently it passed 200,000 which w...