I'm delivering the most radical and consequential agenda for education in living memory. To see it becoming a reality, to know the difference it is making to the lives of children, is a special privilege.
Andrew O’Neill
@andrewoneill.bsky.social
Schools’ Policy and Delivery Adviser, Department for Education HT, All Saints Catholic College | Pearson Gold Award Winner, Secondary Headteacher of the Year 2022
"It’s important that I tell my children how much I love my work because they will need to understand why that work takes time away from them. I also want to show them that work can be a passion and not just an income." @samgibbs.bsky.social with our June 'How I Lead' www.tes.com/magazine/lea...
Sam Gibbs: ‘It is possible to be a good leader and a good parent’
In our How I Lead series, we ask education leaders to reflect on their careers, their experience and their leadership philosophy. This month we talk to Sam Gibbs, curriculum and development lead at Gr...
tes.com
Bonus good news: the future of teaching looks really promising. Today’s stats show one of the lowest rates of teachers leaving their jobs on record. There’s also been a 13% rise in people training to teach, smashing recruitment targets in subjects like maths and science.
🚨 NEW: Latest stats show we’re over 70% of the way to our target to recruit 6,500 teachers in the places they’re needed most. We have 4,654 more teachers in those schools and colleges compared to 2024.
🚨NEW POST 🚨 ‘Literacy and Key Stage 3 success’ “Strengthening foundational skills' is a laudable aim, and KS3 is a necessary and valuable time to do so, but implementing it effectively will take sustained support and concrete actions.” alexquigley.co.uk/literacy-and...
Literacy and Key Stage Three success
Key stage 3 (KS3) in secondary schools has always been the squeezed middle when it comes to school improvement. Jammed between high stakes assessments in KS2 and GCSEs at KS4, it has often been shrunk...
alexquigley.co.uk
Devastating news that a young man has tragically lost his life in my constituency. My thoughts are with his family, friends and all those affected by this tragic loss. Please contact the police with any information to help the investigation on 101, CAD 8418/26MAY or Crimestoppers, 0800 555 111.
I took @theobserveruk.bsky.social out on a walk with Maisie to talk about: ▪️ Why I prioritise the early years ▪️ Childhood and parenting in an online world ▪️ My ambitions for families ▪️ Class, accents and being an outsider Have a read below 🚶♀️ observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
I’ve been to the Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton to see their great work with young people during the school holidays – backed by the Labour council and Mayor. Labour has provided long-term certainty for the Best Start HAF programme, saving parents £300 and supporting children to thrive.
📈 Prominent academy trust bosses Becks Boomer-Clark and Lesley Powell will lead the government’s push to improve children’s transition into secondary school https://schoolsweek.co.uk/trust-bosses-to-lead-dfe-ks3-alliance/
Leaders of government's key stage 3 alliance revealed
MAT chiefs selected to spearhead Labour's bid to make pupils' transition into secondary less 'challenging'
schoolsweek.co.uk
The announcement of an increase in teachers' maternity pay shows a commitment to tackling the ‘motherhood penalty’ – but the government still has more to do, writes head Helena Marsh
Maternity pay increase is a step in the right direction
Teachers are being failed by the current maternity pay entitlement, writes Helena Marsh, so the government’s announcement of an increase must be welcomed
tes.com
'Exceptional is a school where high standards and inclusion are inseparable, visible in classrooms and outcomes and felt in the daily experience of every child' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/send-reforms-are-a-chance-to-change-what-we-mean-by-standards/
Reforms are a chance to change what we mean by 'standards'
'Exceptional' now means a school where disadvantaged pupils thrive, not just attend
schoolsweek.co.uk
It's been a huge week for schools policy, and it will take weeks, maybe months to properly digest the government's plans for schools and SEND In the meantime, v proud of edition 421 of @schoolsweek.bsky.social, with everything you need to know so far Subscribe: schoolsweek.co.uk/subscribe-to...
There are easy read documents available, both of the white paper and the consultation assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/699c91... consult.education.gov.uk/send-strateg... And shorter skim read documents www.gov.uk/government/p...
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
Aaron King@9000lives.org · 5mo agoWe must explain SEND reforms in a straightforward way. #PlainEnglish
We want better, earlier support for our children — when they need it, where they need it. And we’re investing to make that happen.
Mainstream schools will get a share of £1.6 billion over three years to boost inclusion, while another £1.8 billion fund aims to provide better access to external support https://schoolsweek.co.uk/white-paper-1-6bn-for-mainstream-inclusion-1-8bn-for-external-support/
What funding will the white paper bring?
The DfE has set out how it will fund some of its SEND reforms
schoolsweek.co.uk
Labour sees the value and worth in every single child. The SEND reform we are setting out will see us improve support — not remove it. We want to see every child achieve and thrive. www.thetimes.com/article/0d3c...
I will make sure no child with special needs is left behind
I want this country to see and value the contribution every single person can make, starting with an education system grounded in those values
thetimes.com
Schools will get access to a new £1.6bn inclusion fund and a bank of specialists in their local area, the government announced tonight, as part of a £4bn spending plan for SEND reform
DfE reveals £4bn SEND reform spending plan
Schools will get access to £1.6bn inclusion funding and ‘Experts at Hand’ as part of the government’s long-awaited SEND reforms
tes.com
'The single most important thing the heads I work with have said is that if we can give them the resources to be flexible in meeting children's needs, then they will' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/give-heads-what-they-need-to-make-inclusive-mainstream-work/
Give heads what they need to make inclusive mainstream work
This is not about withdrawing support from children. It's about changing the way that support is offered
schoolsweek.co.uk
The change we’re bringing for children with SEND is to get them better, earlier support — where they need it and when they need it.
Labour believes every child must have the chance to achieve and thrive. We are determined to break the link between background and success. That’s why we’re investing in better, earlier support for our children at school and reforming the SEND system for good.
'Now is the time to step forward together and seize this moment to create one system with high ambition for all children' https://schoolsweek.co.uk/well-fail-a-generation-if-we-say-send-reform-is-too-difficult/
We’ll fail a generation if we say SEND reform is too hard
The white paper represents a pivotal moment for policy and system leadership
schoolsweek.co.uk
This took a long , long time to put together and it was great to see the (largely) sensible debate it prompted over the month after it was published a few months back. The scientific debate is still where it was, but the cultural debate has certainly become even more polarised.
Tes magazine@tesmagazine.bsky.social · 8mo agoHave social media and smartphones ‘rewired’ today’s teenagers? Jonathan Haidt argues they have in 'The Anxious Generation' – but critics say that banning phones won’t bring the salvation he promises
This is a lovely article about the work of Citizens UK, highlighting Tyne and Wear Citizens and their great achievements. Our trust supports this work (and makes sure our students and families are at the heart ;)) in Liverpool, Greater Manchester and West Yorks. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘People will listen’: turning anger into community pride in North Shields
A tour of local ‘wins’ shows how the charity Citizens UK is working with residents to build a better, fairer society
theguardian.com
For the record: 📈 2,300 more secondary and special school teachers 📈 Trainee teachers up 11% 📈 Physics up 36% 📈 Computing up 44% 📈 Maths up 16% 📈 Attendance improving 📈 Behaviour improving Labour is getting more children in class & more teachers in front of them. #PMQs
"If we believe that teaching changes lives, we must sound like a profession that believes in itself." @samgibbs.bsky.social in @tesmagazine.bsky.social : www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
Teacher recruitment is turning a corner - let’s accentuate the positives
Positive ITT data should be welcomed by the sector - and used to shape a narrative about why it’s a great profession to build on ‘fragile’ green shoots, says Sam Gibbs
tes.com
www.linkedin.com/posts/tom-re...
Last week, I enjoyed attending various events with Minister Gould, to kick off a period of engagement across the country as part of a 'national conversation' on SEND. It's been a privileg...
Last week, I enjoyed attending various events with Minister Gould, to kick off a period of engagement across the country as part of a 'national conversation' on SEND. It's been a privilege to chair t...
linkedin.com
A lovely positive piece (with caveats) from @samgibbs.bsky.social on teacher training targets www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
Teacher recruitment is turning a corner - let’s accentuate the positives
Positive ITT data should be welcomed by the sector - and used to shape a narrative about why it’s a great profession to build on ‘fragile’ green shoots, says Sam Gibbs
tes.com
Proud to unveil the Child Poverty Strategy. Child poverty is a scourge I grew up with, it is a scourge I want to end. This government will drive the biggest reduction of child poverty in a single Parliament. This is how we get there. www.gov.uk/government/p...
Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty
Strategy document setting out the government’s ambitious decade long mission to tackle the drivers of child poverty across the UK.
gov.uk