CHILDMYTHS: Referencing John Bowlby: Not Your Grandpa's Attach...

CHILDMYTHS: Referencing John Bowlby: Not Your Grandpa's Attach...: Thousands and thousands of articles on attachment theory and research have been published over the last 40 years or so. This topic, with it...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Speaking and Listening Assessments

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Speaking and Listening Assessments: I am going to put it out there: I was never a big fan of the old speaking and listening assessment. In fact, I hated it. I loathed it. I...

Tom Bennett's School Report: It's still a wonderful job- because teaching saved...

Tom Bennett's School Report: It's still a wonderful job- because teaching saved...: It’s  still  a wonderful job Nb: this is an edited version of a previously published post I usually have a Christmas ritual: I republ...

TDRE Boss Blog: Christmas Lesson (2017 Edition)

TDRE Boss Blog: Christmas Lesson (2017 Edition): The end of term always tempts teachers to go for 'fun' or 'easy' lessons. I remember learning the hard way that student...

TDRE Boss Blog: The Feast of St Nicholas

TDRE Boss Blog: The Feast of St Nicholas: Is there a Santa Claus? This blog first appeared on the BCYS site in December 2016 For some, the start of Christmas is when they...

TDRE Boss Blog: The Great Textbook Battle

TDRE Boss Blog: The Great Textbook Battle: Last week I attended I attended the Policy Exchange event hosted by John Blake and featuring Nick Gibb, Emma Lennard, Robert Orme and ...

Evidence Based EFL: Try this, it works! Written Error Correction

Evidence Based EFL: Try this, it works! Written Error Correction: I've come across a few posts on written error correction recently. ELT research Bites took on the topic in a two part post  ( 2 ) a...

TDRE Boss Blog: The Greatest Story Ever Told?

TDRE Boss Blog: The Greatest Story Ever Told?: The Greatest Story Ever Told? This blog first appeared on the BCYS site Quiz: How did Mary travel to Bethlehem? How long bef...

TDRE Boss Blog: More Catholic Schools?

TDRE Boss Blog: More Catholic Schools?: This week Humanists UK have revisited a briefing that contains 5 claims. This is, in part, in response to MPs recently asking questions ...

TDRE Boss Blog: The Life of a Textbook Writer

TDRE Boss Blog: The Life of a Textbook Writer: I've now written two textbooks, one for GCSE and one for Key Stage 3 . I've also just completed a revision guide to accompany ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The effectiveness of lesson study has been called ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The effectiveness of lesson study has been called ...: The effectiveness of lesson study has been called into question, following a £543,000 EFF study involving 181 schools and 12,200, pupils fo...

Look Who's Learning Too: Research-based instructional principles and master...

Look Who's Learning Too: Research-based instructional principles and master...: In a review of research from cognitive scientists, master teachers and cognitive supports spanning four decades, Barak Rosenshine presents ...

TDRE Boss Blog: 6th Form Study Skills: Learning & Note Taking

TDRE Boss Blog: 6th Form Study Skills: Learning & Note Taking: "A man maie well bring a horse to the water, But he can not make him drinke without he will." wrote John Heywood in A Dialogue...

TDRE Boss Blog: REVIEW: Exploring the Mass (TERE)

TDRE Boss Blog: REVIEW: Exploring the Mass (TERE): Exploring the Mass is a brand new resource, authored by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, published by the Teacher's Enterprise in Religious ...

TDRE Boss Blog: CoRE Interim Report: My Response

TDRE Boss Blog: CoRE Interim Report: My Response: In February, I presented some evidence to initial evidence gathering session for the CoRE (see <here> ). In October 2017, they pub...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Educating Greater Manchester 2: Schools and other ...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Educating Greater Manchester 2: Schools and other ...: There’s a weird thing I hear sometimes from staff in a school. They say, ‘Oh the School should do x,’ or they’ll say in front of a stu...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Daft drafting in the classroom

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Daft drafting in the classroom: I think the concept of ‘drafting’ is possibly one of the most dangerous concepts in secondary schools. It is used with aplomb and glee a...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Better behaviour benefits everyone. Why inclusion ...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Better behaviour benefits everyone. Why inclusion ...: Last March the DfE published my behaviour report ‘Creating a Culture’ in which I outlined some of the strategies most commonly found to ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Judging the trustworthiness of research findings

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: Judging the trustworthiness of research findings: In last week's post,  I drew attention to differences in expert opinion over the usefulness of statistical significance testing, particu...

TDRE Boss Blog: My Starters For Five

TDRE Boss Blog: My Starters For Five: When I first heard about Starter for Five, I was instantly taken by the idea - short, concise, fun... perfect for the busy, new teacher....

The Baron: Don't be fooled: schools are still plagued by bad ...

The Baron: Don't be fooled: schools are still plagued by bad ...: ‘The Totteridge Academy? Wasn

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: When did we start narrowing education?

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: When did we start narrowing education?: With all this conversation on curriculums and the newfound scrutiny on schools’ curriculums, I am thinking about the content of the lesson...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Educating Manchester 1: Loving the alien

Tom Bennett's School Report: Educating Manchester 1: Loving the alien: Every successful series has a problem: carry on until everyone hates you  (see: 24 ), or leave them panting (see: Mad Men ).  Remember ...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: A line of beauty

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: A line of beauty: To rule or not to rule? That is the question.   In the staffroom, this week I pinned my allegiance to the proud, traditional line of s...

Tom Bennett's School Report: False profits, and why representation matters at r...

Tom Bennett's School Report: False profits, and why representation matters at r...: I think it’s important, once in a while, to write about what researchED stands for.  It’s important to continually define ourselves, in...

TDRE Boss Blog: Spinning Plates

TDRE Boss Blog: Spinning Plates: When we see colleagues, perhaps via social media or from stories in the staff room, everything can seem to be great for them. They are u...

The Snow Report: Phonics Check Self Assessment: The Sequel

The Snow Report: Phonics Check Self Assessment: The Sequel: A couple of weeks ago, I posted a low-key self-assessment rubric , mainly as a conversation-starter for teachers and schools about current ...

TDRE Boss Blog: Assumption is the mother of all...

TDRE Boss Blog: Assumption is the mother of all...: Penn: Ryback's gone, Dane.  Travis Dane: Did you see the body? Assumption is the mother of all F*&% UPS! Under Siege 2: Dark T...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Consistently consistent – The English Department’s...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Consistently consistent – The English Department’s...: Well, as the academic year almost draws to an end, I am left pondering what went well and what didn’t for our department. And, I think o...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Terra Australis: researchED Melbourne 2017

Tom Bennett's School Report: Terra Australis: researchED Melbourne 2017: Terra Australis Australia is an extraordinary place to come, especially if you’re British. The mixture of instant familiarity...

CHILDMYTHS: The Attachment Spandrel: A Speculation

CHILDMYTHS: The Attachment Spandrel: A Speculation: When people talk about evolution of structures and functions or of behaviors through natural selection, they sometimes use an intriguing me...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Good classroom management isn't violence- A behavi...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Good classroom management isn't violence- A behavi...: I took part in a fascinating panel for the Wellington Festival of Education last week. Myself, Laura McInerney, Maria Arpa and Katherin...

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams: A marked improvement

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams: A marked improvement: In November last year, my school was kind enough to let me go, along with our Deputy Head, to visit Michaela Community School. On the way do...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: September INSET: What are we supposed to do when…....

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: September INSET: What are we supposed to do when…....: The world is full of ideas and thoughts. We try to coexist in a society of differing ideas. Twitter is a sea of different thoughts and i...

TDRE Boss Blog: Voice of Islam: Interviews about RE and Faith Scho...

TDRE Boss Blog: Voice of Islam: Interviews about RE and Faith Scho...:   "Voice of Islam Radio is a new Digital DAB 24hr radio station which offers news, views, discussion and insight on Islam’s Perspe...

TDRE Boss Blog: The Lifespan of a Textbook

TDRE Boss Blog: The Lifespan of a Textbook: I may be somewhat biased as a textbook writer myself ( <link> ), but I believe a good textbook is an invaluable resource in the cl...

The Baron: Headteachers are flouting the law to keep unruly p...

The Baron: Headteachers are flouting the law to keep unruly p...: My niece is being bullied. She

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead, bullsh.t and what to do ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead, bullsh.t and what to do ...: One of the many challenges facing school research leads and other teachers who use social media – be it Twitter, Facebook and/or blogs – is...

TDRE Boss Blog: KS2/3 Transition Knowledge Organiser: Religious Ed...

TDRE Boss Blog: KS2/3 Transition Knowledge Organiser: Religious Ed...: Each year, a new cohort of Year 7 students arrive. Some subjects have a National Curriculum, others are tested by SATs; there is some co...

The Snow Report: The authentic illusion in early literacy education...

The Snow Report: The authentic illusion in early literacy education...: Teaching them how to read is probably one of the most important duties a civilised society owes to its children. Being able to “lift words ...

School Data Updates: This is a low

School Data Updates: This is a low: I often use a race analogy to explain value added, to help people understand how we can measure progress without levels and why we don't...

Steps in teaching and learning: Second guessing the observer

Steps in teaching and learning: Second guessing the observer: Schools usually observe their staff three times a year and a typical observation in a typical school goes along the following lines. The ...

Notes from Harefield: Crap detecting for beginners

Notes from Harefield: Crap detecting for beginners: [The following is an edited version of a speech I gave at the launch of this book* in May 2017.] A recent Four Corners progr...

Notes from Harefield: Is changing your mind like changing your underwear...

Notes from Harefield: Is changing your mind like changing your underwear...: “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” George Bernard Shaw ...

Thinking About Teaching & Learning : Thinking about...modelling and mastery

Thinking About Teaching & Learning : Thinking about...modelling and mastery: We can’t learn from simply watching experts, if we could we’d all be elite sports performers. We need this performance broken down into chu...

It takes a village...: To everything there is a season...

It takes a village...: To everything there is a season...: Confession: until I was well into my 20s, I didn't know that the lyrics to The Byrds song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" came from the Bi...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and doing better evidence...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and doing better evidence...: One of the first successes of the Chartered College of Teaching has been to allow its members to access over 2000 educational journals, whi...

Tom Bennett's School Report: iPads: game changers or money paperweights? New st...

Tom Bennett's School Report: iPads: game changers or money paperweights? New st...: 'Computer: activate holo-deck, In the Night Garden sub-routine.' An interesting and problematic study from Northern Ireland a...

Evidence Based EFL: Red flags: Assessing sources

Evidence Based EFL: Red flags: Assessing sources: This was originally posted on 'The Scarlet Onion' webpage but it has since ceased to exist :(  I once had an online 'discuss...

TDRE Boss Blog: Shootout: GCSE History vs GCSE RS

TDRE Boss Blog: Shootout: GCSE History vs GCSE RS: For those who don't know, I love Westerns. I really don't know why anyone makes any other kind of film to be honest. As my Twit...

TDRE Boss Blog: X Years of Expertise - GCSE and A-Level RS Working...

TDRE Boss Blog: X Years of Expertise - GCSE and A-Level RS Working...: The new GCSE and A-Levels have caused great anxiety to many staff. The climate has changed since the last changes (2009 and 2008 respec...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: A pen licence? It is only just a stupid piece of p...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: A pen licence? It is only just a stupid piece of p...: I am a dad. A wise teacher once told me that when you become a parent, your view on teaching changes. And, in truth, it does subtly. I fee...

Evidence Based EFL: Student Feedback dos and don'ts

Evidence Based EFL: Student Feedback dos and don'ts: Which of the following do you think has the biggest impact on 'student evaluation of teaching' (SET) feedback? How hard the course...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and the evidence for coac...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and the evidence for coac...: Recently a meta-analysis by (Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2016) affirming the effectiveness of coaching as a developmental tool gained some...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Money buys luck. Everyone else needs to work hard

Tom Bennett's School Report: Money buys luck. Everyone else needs to work hard: 'Look darling- straight A*s again.' In Florence Foster Jenkins (2016), Meryl Streep plays the eponymous New York heiress socia...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The Photocopier is jammed

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: The Photocopier is jammed: I really liked Jo Facer’s recent blog on ‘PowerPoint’ recently. An exploration of things we take for granted in teaching. Things we see as...

TDRE Boss Blog: Pope Francis on TED: Lessons for School Leaders

TDRE Boss Blog: Pope Francis on TED: Lessons for School Leaders: Today the first Papal TED talk was published. Recorded in the Vatican rather than with the instantly recognisable black backdrop, Pope F...

The IT Guy in Education: Education: Salespersons, Seminar providers and Tra...

The IT Guy in Education: Education: Salespersons, Seminar providers and Tra...: It’s been a little while since I’ve done an article.  Not much is happening in education other than massive budget cuts which may or may no...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research champion: Are we asking them t...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research champion: Are we asking them t...: Are we asking the school research leads/champions to do mission impossible?   Over the last two years I have had the privilege of meeting c...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Time to take off the cotton wool gloves on special...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Time to take off the cotton wool gloves on special...: I am very public and honest about being a father to a child with a disability. As a teacher, it provides with an interesting perspective o...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and coaching - Is there a...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and coaching - Is there a...: Recently on #SLTChat there was an extended exchange of tweets on what does effective coaching look like.    However, just as any neophyte e...

TDRE Boss Blog: Jesus Was An Only Son

TDRE Boss Blog: Jesus Was An Only Son: "One of the first things that is shocking when you have a kid is that suddenly there is this thing inside you... that says there i...

Phonics and Books: Phonics teaching- argument? What argument?

Phonics and Books: Phonics teaching- argument? What argument?: I'm always slightly baffled by the incredibly ferocity of the arguments over synthetic phonics teaching.  There is no real argument; syn...

TDRE Boss Blog: GCSE RS: Extended Writings Questions

TDRE Boss Blog: GCSE RS: Extended Writings Questions: "We are all teachers of literacy" (Every English teacher / literacy coordinator, ever!) Many RE teachers have been panick...

TDRE Boss Blog: Portsmouth 2017 with Jonathan Doyle

TDRE Boss Blog: Portsmouth 2017 with Jonathan Doyle: Jonathan and me via  Jonathan's Twitter I was fortunate to be invited to Portsmouth Diocese during a week of talks by Jonathan Doyl...

TDRE Boss Blog: GoogleForms

TDRE Boss Blog: GoogleForms: "[Dylan] Wiliam’s central point: multiple choice questions can be made to be extremely difficult and challenging, and they can cer...

TDRE Boss Blog: Forget Me Not: New GCSE Planning

TDRE Boss Blog: Forget Me Not: New GCSE Planning: The new GCSE courses gives us an opportunity to implement more of what we know about how memory works. Even last year, the homework I se...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Starters and the three part lesson - R.I.P.

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Starters and the three part lesson - R.I.P.: I remember a time when the most important thing for me in teaching was the starter. I’d spend hours, days and weeks thinking of ways to ...

The Emaths Blog: Solving the Teacher Shortage Crisis

The Emaths Blog: Solving the Teacher Shortage Crisis: The Education Select Committee today was the latest body to highlight the issue of teacher workforce numbers.   All headteachers know the d...

TDRE Boss Blog: Does religion have a place in the modern curriculu...

TDRE Boss Blog: Does religion have a place in the modern curriculu...: This was my unsuccessful application for TEDxNorwichEd 2017. Obviously if it ever got anywhere close to being an actual TEDx talk, it w...

The IT Guy in Education: Education > Behavior and Uniform

The IT Guy in Education: Education > Behavior and Uniform: It’s simpler and easier to respond to this site using my blog – it’s basic but works. http://theqstn.com/questions/193673/do-strict-sch...

The Emaths Blog: On Leaving Teaching

The Emaths Blog: On Leaving Teaching: (This was written in 2011 as the introduction chapter to my book, More On Being a Teacher) It was March 6th 2006 when I died. Mat was ...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Patterns and dominant methodologies in English

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Patterns and dominant methodologies in English: I have focused this year at developing patterns within English teacher that help and aid learning. I have mentioned before the problem w...

Teaching Science: Practical work changing attitudes

Teaching Science: Practical work changing attitudes: It's important to discuss the value of practical work as science teachers, but we need to be aware of who is watching and what might be ...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Success is 5-6-7-3-2-0

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Success is 5-6-7-3-2-0: When I was a child, I had a bike and because I lived in a dubious part of town I had one of those combination locks. A green plastic coa...

CHILDMYTHS: Is Psychological Treatment the Same Thing as Educa...

CHILDMYTHS: Is Psychological Treatment the Same Thing as Educa...: On the whole, it’s pretty easy to tell whether a method of working with people should be labeled psychotherapy, or should be considered as ...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Known unknowns: what I discovered in Stockholm

Tom Bennett's School Report: Known unknowns: what I discovered in Stockholm: I was the worst kind of tourist today: an ignorant one. I was in Stockholm to host researchED Haninge and chew bubblegum, and I was all...

Let's Move On From Here...: Permissive parenting is killing me in the classroo...

Let's Move On From Here...: Permissive parenting is killing me in the classroo...: A colleague is having problems with a learner. She runs a tight ship and students respect her and like her, but her usual behaviour techni...

The Snow Report: The story of an ugly duckling. Aka Phonics Check F...

The Snow Report: The story of an ugly duckling. Aka Phonics Check F...: I have never met a teacher who is not sincere about trying to do the best they can for the students in their classrooms. Insincere...

School Data Updates: Similar schools (my a***!)

School Data Updates: Similar schools (my a***!): An ex-colleague called me yesterday with a question about the similar schools measure in the performance tables. As we spoke I could feel th...

TDRE Boss Blog: When do we start the GCSE in RS?

TDRE Boss Blog: When do we start the GCSE in RS?: Key Stage 3 Religious Education is unregulated, just like most other Key Stage 3 subjects. I obviously don't mean internally, or by...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Sharing is caring: why centralised detentions migh...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Sharing is caring: why centralised detentions migh...: Train spotters have their niche, I have mine. Over the last ten years I must have been in over 150 schools to look at their behaviour...

TDRE Boss Blog: Battle for Ideas 2016: Religious Education in a Se...

TDRE Boss Blog: Battle for Ideas 2016: Religious Education in a Se...: Back in October, I was invited to speak at the Institute of Idea's 'Battle of Ideas' at the Barbican. At the time, I posted...

Let's Move On From Here...: Let's be clear what is and what isn't on my job de...

Let's Move On From Here...: Let's be clear what is and what isn't on my job de...: Picture the scene: a Year 7 boy is sitting in the medical room having been splendidly sick twice in the space of an hour. The receptionist i...

TDRE Boss Blog: Knowledge: The place of a core knowledge curriculu...

TDRE Boss Blog: Knowledge: The place of a core knowledge curriculu...: I will be publishing a series of blog posts which were initially to feature in a book about RE. This is the part two on Knowledge. Abst...

TDRE Boss Blog: Hirsch: The place of a core knowledge curriculum i...

TDRE Boss Blog: Hirsch: The place of a core knowledge curriculum i...: I will be publishing a series of blog posts which were initially to feature in a book about RE. This is the part one on Hirsch. Abstrac...

TDRE Boss Blog: Abstract: The place of a core knowledge curriculum...

TDRE Boss Blog: Abstract: The place of a core knowledge curriculum...: I will be publishing a series of blog posts which were initially to feature in a book about RE. This is the introduction:  Abstract  [T...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead : Do you work in a 'stupi...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead : Do you work in a 'stupi...: The school research lead and do you work in a ‘stupid’ school? Schools are full of bright people.   Unfortunately, many of our schools ...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Leadership: reboot your school's behaviour for 201...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Leadership: reboot your school's behaviour for 201...: 'If you can keep your head  when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you...' To mark the start of the new yea...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Teachers: reboot your classroom behaviour for 2017...

Tom Bennett's School Report: Teachers: reboot your classroom behaviour for 2017...: A guy dies and finds to his horror that he's going to Hell. At the flaming gates of the Inferno he meets Old Nick who shows him to th...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and the half-life of fact...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and the half-life of fact...: One of the main reasons why school leaders need to be constantly engaged in evidence-based practice, is that the evidence we might use to s...

Thinking About Teaching & Learning : Thinking about... my visit to Michaela

Thinking About Teaching & Learning : Thinking about... my visit to Michaela: Michaela: ‘You’ll leave with more questions than answers’   Barry Smith, Deputy Headteacher at Michaela, wasn’t wrong. After two days a...

Evidence Based EFL: Enough of experts.

Evidence Based EFL: Enough of experts.: "...anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false n...

Teaching Science: Practical Work in Science

Teaching Science: Practical Work in Science: NB: borrowed heavily from the work of Abrahams, Millar, Reiss and Osborne. There are a lot of reasons to do practical work in science less...

CHILDMYTHS: One-Stop Thinking Makes People Misunderstand Child...

CHILDMYTHS: One-Stop Thinking Makes People Misunderstand Child...: We tend to be attracted by the idea of “one-stop shopping”, but we can pay the price of convenience by not getting exactly what we want. In...

Tom Bennett's School Report: School swap Korea: Fast as lightning, but a little...

Tom Bennett's School Report: School swap Korea: Fast as lightning, but a little...: Welcome to South Korean education and  School Swap: Korea Style,  the focus of an unusually good documentary presented by the Sunday T...

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Saving time and 'work-shy' managers

Learning from my mistakes: an English teacher's blog: Saving time and 'work-shy' managers: Update: I wrote this blog on the basis of seeing somebody writing on-line that they left school early to set an example to staff to have ...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and writing a critical sy...

Evidence Based Educational Leadership: The school research lead and writing a critical sy...: Given your responsibilities as either a research lead or senior leader within a school, you will be mindful of how to make the most of the ...

The Baron: Introduction

The Baron: Introduction: Michael Wilshaw, during his tenure as the Chief Inspector of Schools, pointed out that too many teachers have alarmingly low expectations ...