Dr Stef Edwards
@dr-stefguene.bsky.social
Retired primary school trust leader. Teacher. EdD. FCCT. OBE. Still interested in teaching, learning, leadership, Lesson Study, curriculum and sundry other stuff.
If you and/or your family and friends are into great board games this is the campaign for you. Please share globally!! Viral would be marvellous 🥳😂 www.kickstarter.com/projects/pla...
Mexica // Bridges of Shangri-la // Gheos // Reel Rivals
Four renowned euro-style board games return with triumphant new editions.
kickstarter.com
I’ve always absolutely loved this article by Peter Elbow: Writing First! “Putting writing before reading is an effective approach to teaching and learning….” www.ascd.org/el/articles/...
Writing First!
Putting writing before reading is an effective approach to teaching and learning.
ascd.org
“They’ve silenced her. “This is an attempt to punish someone who spoke the truth.” The "bizarre" moment @maitlis.bsky.social is forced to ask Facebook whistleblower Sarah Wynn-Williams to leave the studio.
Debunking Edu-Myths: Children Should Learn Handwriting First, Fast And Only writing4pleasure.com/2026/06/25/d...
Debunking Edu-Myths: Children Should Learn Handwriting First, Fast And Only
“Hi Ross and Phil. We recently received some training where it was recommended that in the EYFS we should only focus on teaching handwriting to ‘mastery’. We shouldn’t look to teach composition unt…
writing4pleasure.com
Article in the Observer about the National Literacy Trust and my work as part of the Literacy Lab The University of Edinburgh 👇 observer.co.uk/style/featur...
Everyone on X and elsewhere who called for a violent response should be charged with incitement. Everyone involved in the pogrom should be locked up with exemplary sentences. Govt should make it clear that will be the response in future anywhere else. Enough.
CST has published Governance at scale, new draft guidance for consultation with Trust Governance Professionals. The paper explores why governance must change at scale, how good design can mitigate risk, and what this looks like in practice. Read now:https://twp.ai/9OXOFw
This webinar will explore how school and trust leaders can take a strategic, evidence-informed approach to professional development. School and Trust leaders will themselves share practical strategies. 📅 3rd June 2026 🕓 4pm - 5pm GMT 🔗Sign up here: https://chartered.pulse.ly/uw8q0spnot
Visualising The Science Of Writing: The Writing Map Explained writing4pleasure.com/2025/02/27/v...
Visualising The Science Of Writing: The Writing Map Explained
Because of formatting, we can recommend downloading the PDF version of this article: download this article This is a writing map we have started using in our professional development. We tried to c…
writing4pleasure.com
The DfE’s Writing Framework offers a statement that deserves to be on every staffroom wall: “Transcription is not writing.”
Ross Young@writingrocks.bsky.social · 4mo agoWe Know Transcription Is Important But Have We Forgotten Why? “The goal of this article is to reorientate our understanding of why transcription matters: shifting it away from compliance/correction, & towards a reader-centred, meaning-making approach” writing4pleasure.com/2026/03/27/w...
Writing Off Children’s Potential: Why England’s Writing Early Learning Goal Must Be Reformed 👇 writing4pleasure.com/2026/03/24/w...
Today's must read. After decades trying to teach reading as a set of generic “skills”, Willingham & Hirsch remind us reading comprehension depends on what you know. If a child can't understand a text, it's often not a skills deficit, it's a knowledge deficit www.educationnext.org/rediscoverin...
Rediscovering Knowledge as the Key to Reading
Two champions of knowledge-rich instruction reflect on its current momentum
educationnext.org
Kindness in school leadership ‘can often be misread as weakness or a lack of rigour’, says international principal Joanna Povall – but it’s actually an incredibly powerful strategy
Kindness is not weakness: what every leader should know
International school leader Joanna Povall outlines her framework for kind leadership and explains why kindness is a trait that has far more impact than you might imagine
tes.com
Free writing CPD materials – covering all aspects of writing teaching 👇🤩 writing4pleasure.com/free-writing...
Free writing CPD materials – covering all aspects of writing teaching
Hello and welcome to our free professional development page! Please treat this webpage like you would a professional development book. Consider each heading as a book and within each book there a n…
writing4pleasure.com
If research-led, collaborative teachers’ professional learning and development is your thing, join us at the re-launch of the #CLR online network at 6pm (UK time) on March 24th www.collaborative-lesson-research.uk #LessonStudy #CPD #CPDL
If you’re interested in robust, collaborative CPDL that promotes teacher agency, expertise & professional dialogue, and can contribute to a collaborative professional culture in your school, join us at the next CLR online network meeting - 24th March: www.collaborative-lesson-research.uk
Collaborative Lesson Research
NEW: Online CLR Network Meeting March 24th 18:00 - 19:30 GMT Find out more here Register here
collaborative-lesson-research.uk
Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR - or Lesson Study) provides valuable opportunities for teachers to put research evidence into classroom practice in a safe, supported space, and to evaluate and reflect on its impact, together. www.collaborative-lesson-research.uk
Collaborative Lesson Research
NEW: Online CLR Network Meeting March 24th 18:00 - 19:30 GMT Find out more here Register here
collaborative-lesson-research.uk
Collaborative Lesson Research (CLR - or Lesson Study) provides valuable opportunities for teachers to put research evidence into classroom practice in a safe, supported space, and to evaluate and reflect on its impact, together. www.collaborative-lesson-research.uk
Collaborative Lesson Research
NEW: Online CLR Network Meeting March 24th 18:00 - 19:30 GMT Find out more here Register here
collaborative-lesson-research.uk
‘Secondary literacy: Why fluency matters for every subject’ by Amy Ford at Derby Research School researchschool.org.uk/derby/news/s...
Secondary Literacy: Why Reading Fluency Matters for Every Subject
Secondary Literacy
researchschool.org.uk
Monthly round-up of the latest research on the science of learning: carlhendrick.substack.com/p/the-monthl...
The Monthly Dispatch - What's New in Learning Science - February 2026
New evidence on spacing, practice, early instruction, and reading shows that durable learning emerges through delayed effects, structured practice, and well-organised knowledge, not ease or intuition
carlhendrick.substack.com
💡 NEW 3Rs newsletter This edition includes: - a blog on ‘writing by hand’ - a book review on ‘Metacognition and Study Skills: A Guide for Teachers’ - research on attendance, what teachers notice with marking, and spelling in English primary schools alexquigley.co.uk/the-3rs-read...
The 3Rs - Reading, writing, and research to be interested in #77
Alex Quigley (The Confident Teacher) is a blog by the author, Alex Quigley - @AlexJQuigley - sharing ideas and evidence about education, teaching and learning.
alexquigley.co.uk
How should teachers use books to inspire and guide EYFS pupils in creating their own non-fiction texts? writing4pleasure.com/2024/11/13/h...
How should teachers use books to inspire and guide EYFS pupils in creating their own non-fiction texts?
Hi Ross. We really want to use books during our writing lessons in the EYFS. Do you have any advice on how this could be done? Absolutely! Teachers should use mentor texts to inspire and guide the …
writing4pleasure.com
‘How to share books with children to help them love reading’ I think shared reading, both at home and in the classroom, may be one of the most important human acts. More, more, more is better. theconversation.com/how-to-share...
How to share books with children to help them love reading
Time spent reading together builds a bond between adults and children.
theconversation.com
This @tesmagazine.bsky.social is excellent from Debra Myhill on writing. Lots to think about if thinking about writing is your thing.
Tes magazine@tesmagazine.bsky.social · 11mo agoFollowing the release of the DfE’s primary writing framework, researcher Debra Myhill shares her thoughts on its use of evidence and how it positions the skills involved in learning to write
The cognitive offload is when you use technology to save you from mental effort. It is mostly brilliant, and it is the source of productivity improvements, economic growth & innovation. However, it might also be making us stupid. substack.nomoremarking.com/p/are-we-liv...
When knowledge compounds, advantages grow - that’s the ‘Rich-Get-Richer’ Effect. Discover what it means for your students → https://www.innerdrive.co.uk/blog/the-rich-get-richer-effect/
*** NEW POST *** With the Curriculum and Assessment Review on its way, Zoe and I take a look at the common mistakes that schools make with the curriculum - and how great schools get it right. This also the focus of Part 1 of our forthcoming book How Do They Do It? www.tes.com/magazine/tea...
How Do They Do It?: What can we learn from amazing schools, leaders and teachers?
Buy How Do They Do It?: What can we learn from amazing schools, leaders and teachers? by Mark Enser, Zoe Enser (ISBN: 9781785837425) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
amazon.co.uk
New evidence from France: RCT's showed that students taught using explicit instruction performed better than those who were taught with socio-constructivist teaching. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
Learning basic mathematic skills in primary school: testing the effectiveness of socio-constructivist and explicit instruction
In France, the proportion of low-achieving students in mathematics has increased, and the difference in results between the socially advantaged and disadvantaged students marks a significant achiev...
tandfonline.com
