New immigration stats show that the numbers of asylum seekers in hotels is down to 16k - falling 50% in a year. Small boat crossings down 23% in the year to June. Numbers waiting for initial decision down from almost 180k to 40k.
Michael Tidd
@michaelt1979.bsky.social
Junior school headteacher in Sussex
This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.
These signs appear to be a thing in France and I think we should adopt them here too.
Important start of term request: recommendations for good insulated mugs. Preferably not clangy. I like the JosephJoseph mug, but want something a bit bigger.
If you're a Traitors fan, the Canadian series is currently on BBC iPlayer, and worth a watch
No-one seems to be pointing out that a group of children who "struggle to engage" with academic pathways are too busy dicking around in lessons, with parental approval, and that they would do the same and fail to get vocational qualifications too.
SMF researcher Barney Dowling looks at how the government can create space to reform social care, by reforming council tax alongside it ⬇️ www.smf.co.uk/commentary_p...
Social care and council tax – fixing the fundamental crisis in local government
The system of social care is broken, bankrupting many local authorities - can the Government use this to show it can fix big problems?
smf.co.uk
It's funny how no-one ever asks where the money is coming from when you announce a cut in immigration.
PSA: just remembered my alarms needed to go off. Sharing for other muppets.
Muppets Muppet Show
ALT: Muppets Muppet Show
static.klipy.com
I'm frankly a monarchist, but should the republicans ever get their way, I'd be happy to switch the national anthem to God Save the BBC
Last day with children in school today! Which is lucky, because it turns out my own children have approximately 18,475,385 questions they need to ask me in quick succession, sometimes at the same time as one another.
This is such en idiotic argument. It's like demanding music rooms without worrying about instruments. Or like I once had, a kitchen for a whole class... But with two ovens! www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Make school libraries a legal requirement, MPs say
The government’s current focus is on ‘reading proficiency over pleasure’, a report by the Commons Education Select Committee warns
tes.com
As an aside from the football... Chances the NCA portal functions as needed at 7.30 tomorrow morning?
The question for Nigel Farage now is whether it's less embarrassing to un-resign and claim that was an establishment stitchup, or to spend a month competing with a bin. Neither is exactly a *great* option. Neither solves his ongoing scandals. And it's a mess entirely of his own making.
Evidence Informed? My recent speech from ResearchED on why I'm so worried about our direction of travel and why once again we may need to fight for evidence informed education. bennewmark.wordpress.com/2026/07/07/e...
The more I think about the 'Experts at Hand' idea, the more I worry about the role of 'swooping in', handing out a bundle of recommendations, and then waltzing off to lead schools to unpick what can and should be delivered. We may end up in even more of a mess.
Always amusing to see an article where the opening paragraphs highlight how little the author knows or understands about teaching. Maths teachers are not scared of going outside; they just know that sunflowers are a dreadful way of teaching about Fibonacci. schoolsweek.co.uk/why-im-tryin...
'Right to Choose' assessments are a classic example of teacher workload: nobody objects in principle to the idea - because its for the benefit of the children - but the practice is another task in teachers' days for which there is no capacity.
I can't help but think this Number 10 in the North idea is going to lead to a lot of people sitting on trains into London, quickly double-checking the agenda for their meeting that day, and then suddenly cursing themselves, the trains, and Andy Burnham as they hastily phone in their apologies.
I've just added this to my SEF: There are no trends for SEND data across the school, as the range and complexities of needs is so varied that the data in yearly or school context is almost meaningless. I feel strongly about this. Drawing conclusions from SEND data is deeply flawed.
Seeing the plans for the compulsory "inclusion" training that's come down the road, I can't help but recall the "New Opportunities Fund" training from many years ago. There's a real risk of it being a balance of useless and patronising.
Here's a pattern that summarises the challenges schools face in navigating government directives: INCLUSION is a strength, but ATTENDANCE is a weakness. And there's no acknowledgement in the report of the conflict 🙄
Who's going to be entitled to use this alternative entrance? At what point does it then become the main entrance? Who can access the calmer space? How many will there be? Will it still be calm if everyone wants to access it? www.gov.uk/government/n...
Remember when a prime ministerial resignation would have felt like big news? But today, I'm far more shocked by the revelation that the phonics threshold is now... 31!!!
For Fathers' Day, Keir Starmer posts a photo of his own father, who died in 2018, and a non-political message. The replies are a torrent of vitriol & cruelty, all with hundreds of Likes. We complain a lot about the quality of leadership, but there's a huge problem with the way we treat politicians
