Great and fair article. I'm still finding multiple copies of the last book all children received from above (the one about the previous queen) that children 'accidentally' didn't take home. Choice is key. Choice would be an easy adjustment to make to this initiative.

Books for Keeps, the children's books review journal@booksforkeeps.bsky.social · last wk.

NEW #BfK article: @darrenchetty.bsky.social discusses the controversy around ‘The Queen’s Christmas Present’, an announcement has not been met with universal approval. #KidLitUK booksforkeeps.co.uk/article/on-r...

BBC News - Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Terrible news. I've taken many a class to visit Jodrell Bank and it is so inspiring. National self-sabotage indeed. Why is science being so undervalued in the UK lately?

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

bbc.co.uk

GIVEAWAY TIME! Excuse earlier's preview of next month's Lucky 13th. This month's is... The Shipwreck Atlas: an immersive, expert, accessible guide through 50+ shipwrecks lost to the treacherous seven seas. UKLA Members, repost to be in with a chance of winning a copy!

THREAD. A collection of photographs of excellent trees I have met on walks. You will find the all-important captions to each photo in the alt text.

I adore Jessie Buckley so I'm desperate to watch the film adaptation of Hamnet. But I also love Maggie O'Farrell as an author & don't know how Hamnet escaped me. However, I read it eventually, spurred on by the film. It's a stunning, emotional book. I fell for Agnes so much. Much recommended.

📣 READ IT FORWARD! 📣 10% of ALL children’s book sales through Bookshop.org UK go to reading charities @booktrust.org.uk and @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social in February 2026, and EVERY sale supports independent bookshops 📚https://uk.bookshop.org/lists/read-it-forward-with-bookshop-org

Morning all! I’m supporting #ReadItForward! Pre-order my book, the Street Art Mystery, (out next week, eeek) and @bookshop.org will donate 10% to @booktrust.org.uk and @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social - uk.bookshop.org/p/books/the-... << thank you xx

The Street Art Mystery

Check out The Street Art Mystery - <p>Margot, Wesley and Josephine have got an awesome weekend mapped out for the end of the holidays before they start high school – and they don’t want anything to st...

uk.bookshop.org

A lack of diversity, primary specialists (esp KS1 and EYs), SEND and a lack of experience working in the north of England. This was the chance for fresh eyes. But, instead we have the same people who have worked on all of this before. A missed opportunity. bsky.app/profile/scho...

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The DfE has chosen 46 'curriculum drafters' following a public tender – but it has prompted questions about diversity and the way experts are unevenly split across 13 subject areas

**UPDATED POST** Sunday morning spent reading Tree Thing. What a well spent morning too. Such a beautifully illustrated book. Kiran Millwood Hargreave says on the front 'an exquisite fable' and there is no better description. Can't wait to take this into class.

Melissa Colothan@mrscreadsalot.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Book delivery! Looking forward to reading Tree Thing, new from Piers Torday. It looks superbly illustrated. #readingforpleasure

Thorough, excellent guidance for all English Subject Leaders. And it works! Thanks Megan 👏

DamsonEd@damsoned.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Part 4 b. Teaching Handwriting in a Nutshell. This is an overview of how handwriting can be developed quickly within a school that I wrote to support the Specialist Leaders in English team in the Wirral a couple of years ago. Handwriting development is about being IPC - insistent, persistent and…

Just read Dream Count. The writing itself is beautiful but I found it a struggle at times. I wanted more of the story of the four characters than their romantic relationships. These women are so much more. The middle section with Kadiatou is however gut-wrenching and a story endlessly repeated irl.

Sky News: Danish PM Mette Freideriksen’s note in the visitors book when she visited UK today

This is excellent 👌

Ross Young@writingrocks.bsky.social · 7mo ago

What the KS2 STA teacher assessment writing statements really mean and how to achieve them writing4pleasure.com/2023/04/13/w...

Looks very useful across the curriculum, particularly for new subject leaders.

Mary Myatt@marymyatt.bsky.social · 7mo ago

👉 Five questions to guide rich professional dialogue between senior and subject leaders ‍ 👉 Three documents that every senior leader should read to deepen their understanding of that subject’s landscape www.myattandco.com/curriculum-c...

Book delivery! Looking forward to reading Tree Thing, new from Piers Torday. It looks superbly illustrated. #readingforpleasure

This is not far enough. BBC News - Elon Musk's Grok AI image editing limited to paid users after deepfakes www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Elon Musk's Grok AI image editing limited to paid users after deepfakes

It comes after government urged Ofcom to use all its powers – up to and including an effective ban – against X.

bbc.co.uk

🎉📢Voice 21 hopes that all UK teachers are settling into the new term! 😅Still struggling to find your classroom voice in the new year? Then check out these five top tips for new oracy leads and practitioners👇 voice21.org/five-top-tip...

Five top tips for new oracy leads and practitioners - Voice 21

It’s a new school year, and this year, we have just short of 500 new Voice 21 Oracy Schools joining our network of dedicated schools. Knowing where to begin can be tricky, as every school’s context an...

voice21.org

Adore this! First day back Tuesday sorted. I have a number of not publishable personal resolutions in the manner of these 🫣😉. I want some fun in the classroom to usher in 2026 so this is a great help & prompt from Brian.

Brian Moses@brianmosespoet.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Poetry prompt: An idea for the first day back. Write New Year resolutions that you can be absolutely certain you will keep. brian-moses.blogspot.com/2019/12/new-...

I am writing. Part 1. The tragedy of hidden schools, in hidden communities meganjanedixon.co.uk/2026/01/03/p...

Part 1.

My writing, I have decided, will include reflections, thoughts and ideas about education. But, I cannot ignore the situation I am in (see previous writing) and so, I will also be adding bits and pi…

meganjanedixon.co.uk

A colleague recommended this on a recent course where the impact of technology on young minds was discussed. This is worth reading from a social media viewpoint. Many UK schools have already adopted phone in pouches etc but parents need to feel able to do more (I do!) supported by big tech & gov.

I am writing - here is my first blog of 2026. This year will be the year where I write all those things I promised myself I would write, when I had the time. Now I have the time. meganjanedixon.co.uk/2026/01/02/p...

Pivoting

In November 2024, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. A nasty, sneaky, fast growing type of breast cancer: stage 3, grade 3, locally invasive triple negative breast cancer for those who know about …

meganjanedixon.co.uk

Very much looking forward to the National Year of Reading in 2026! I mean, every year is a year of reading for me but anything that gives me the platform to bang on about the importance of reading in schools is always welcome. #nationalyearofreading share.google/Z1zERzIfZiFm...

GO ALL IN | National Year of Reading 2026

The National Year of Reading 2026 invites the UK to rediscover the joy of reading. Whatever you’re into – music, films, food or anything – reading can take your passions further. Join the movement and...

share.google

This from @markgoodrich.bsky.social, is one of the only reasons I've found where I wish I were still on twitter - so I could share it to encourage others to leave open.substack.com/pub/markgood...

A New Year's Resolution for Teachers: Quit X

The best time to do so was when Musk started poisoning it; the second-best time is now

open.substack.com

Holidays have allowed me time to really get into this novel. It's a weighty tome and being able to be lost in it has been well worth it. The scope and complexity is mesmerising. It is an absolute standout read of the year.

Our Boxing Day Book Swap tradition continues thanks to the book elf (me 😆). For Dad: Buckeye by Patrick Ryan For Mum: Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Eldest daughter: Girl (in real life) by Tamsin Winter Youngest daughter: Hotel Flamingo by Alex Milway. I'm sure I'll read them all!

Loving sharing this with my little one 💕 #advent #littlepeoplebigdreams #readerteacher #readingforpleasure

‘Schools can contribute, but they cannot carry this alone’: Luke Ramsden of the Schools Consent Project warns about the expectations placed on schools under the government’s new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls

Schools can’t stop violence against girls on their own

Misogyny takes hold beyond the school gates – so it’s essential that the new government strategy does not expect education to solve this social issue alone, writes the Schools Consent Project’s Luke Ramsden

tes.com

This profit comes from schools. Ofsted and the DFE insist that schools pay vast sums for these products. Yet- schools budgets are decimated. The DFE has the moral and ethical responsibility to produce a product for schools that they do not have to pay for. bsky.app/profile/warw...

Warwick Mansell@warwickmansell.bsky.social · 8mo ago

New: Former headteacher and DfE adviser Ruth Miskin sees her phonics company’s value climb to £19 million educationuncovered.co.uk/news/former-... Post-tax profits at Ruth Miskin Literacy, whose sole shareholder is Dame Ruth, have approached £10 million in total over the past four years.