Tom Riley
@riley-ed.bsky.social
Maths and Economics teacher. VP. Semi-fictional cyclist and runner.
Are predicted grades accurate? This wonderful blog from @fftedudatalab.bsky.social explores the question, and my takehome is that *on average* they might be, but for an individual student it's pretty much guesswork. Well worth a read. ffteducationdatalab.org.uk/2025/12/pred...
NEW BLOG: OFSTED REFLECTIONS. Trying to be even handed: southgloshead.wordpress.com/2025/11/28/w...
What we learned about OFSTED (Part 1)
Credit: The Times Reflections on the new inspection framework: 1742 days under the lottery finger My school and I have spent 1742 days in the OFSTED window (our last inspection was Feb 2018). 1742 …
southgloshead.wordpress.com
New research with @clareroutledge.bsky.social Funded by the Gatsby Foundation We asked 2000 UK/US undergrads to choose between pairs of hypothetical jobs to understand how more of them could be tempted into teaching
Why a generation of kids are learning to read everything except books. carlhendrick.substack.com/p/in-defence...
NEW: Good schools make good trachers If teachers don’t always improve with experience, the problem isn’t them. It’s the environment. Schools that get better do so because they make feedback clearer, practice more deliberate, and culture more trustworthy. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Good schools make good teachers
What kind domains, wicked traps and school culture mean for improvement
open.substack.com
Despite best intentions and significant investment, England’s SEND system is failing too many students and their families. To fix it, we need to understand why. Mega-thread summary of my presentation at #FestivalOfEducation today: ↓
New blog on inclusion samstrickland384843542.wordpress.com/2025/10/10/i...
Inclusion, Inclusion, Inclusion
Let’s cut through the noise. There is a lot of sabre rattling about inclusion. There are organisations, think tanks, consultants, local authorities and even educators in schools pushing an agenda t…
samstrickland384843542.wordpress.com
I am blogging again!!! Like many others, I've moved over to Substack for a bit of a refresh. First entry is on school improvement - where to start, and what things matter. I'm weirdly a bit nervous about it it's been so long 😭😭 open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...
School Improvement Starts Here: Behaviour, Participation, and Memory
All schools can improve, but it's often hard to know where to start. In most contexts, we can begin by asking three simple questions.
open.substack.com
Anyone fancy ten-plus minutes of non-emotive charts on what's really going on with immigration in the UK? Well, either way, here you go👇 youtu.be/zTs3PDEkB2w?...
UK immigration: What the numbers really show
YouTube video by Sky News
youtu.be
⚠️New Post: Attention ⚠️ "What we attend to, we amplify." Attention is an element of school leadership. Are we considering the attention of school leaders? How often is this spread across multiple areas? Read by thoughts below: researcherteacher.home.blog/2025/08/17/l...
Leadership as an Attentional Practice
Attention as a Leadership Act in School Improvement School improvement is often framed around structures: improvement plans, strategic goals, and systems of accountability. However, beneath these f…
researcherteacher.home.blog
I’ll be line managing the English faculty for the first time in September. If you have any books or blogs that you recommend, please send a link my way!
New Blog #Edusky This one is about a topic close to my heart: Supporting the planning and delivery of effective CPD sessions adam-robbins.com/2025/04/22/u...
Unlocking Teacher Development: CPD session checklist
Over the last two years I have spent a lot less time blogging and a lot more time thinking about CPD. I’ve noticed that often when CPD goes bad it misses many of the EEF’s mechanisms fo…
adam-robbins.com
Does subject knowledge matter more than teaching techniques? That is a terrible question. teacherhead.com/2025/04/20/d...
Does subject knowledge matter more than teaching techniques? That is a terrible question.
Earlier this week I got sucked into a stupid ‘debate’ about subject knowledge after making some comments on X and replying to some other posts. It seemed to me that various people ̵…
teacherhead.com
NEW BLOG: Leading with focus. #edusky #Headteachers #schoolimprovement @adamboxereducation.bsky.social @mrarobbins.bsky.social @headteacherchat.bsky.social @teacherhead.bsky.social @teachertapp.bsky.social @keziah70.bsky.social southgloshead.wordpress.com/2025/04/18/l... Pls share.
Leading with focus
There are some days where I as a leader absolutely smash it, endlessly ticking off those big and important jobs on the ‘to do’ list. I am strategic. I am purposeful. There are other day…
southgloshead.wordpress.com
The average UK worker is paying a lower effective tax rate than their US equivalent (19%). Great stat via @tomcalver.bsky.social.
If you haven’t read it yet, this really is an absolutely top tier T+L book
New! My 188th gems post. Ideas, updates and resources for maths teachers. 💎 www.resourceaholic.com/2025/03/5-ma... Hat tips to follow. #MathsToday #Mathsky #UKMathsChat #iteachmath
I don't generally go nuts for learning from leaders in other domains, but I would strongly recommend Gareth Southgate's Dimbleby Lecture. I found what he said about creating the right culture spot on and quite moving. He brings together when so many are keen to divide. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture - Sir Gareth Southgate
Former England football manager Sir Gareth Southgate reflects on his personal journey as a leader and the importance of belief and resilience.
bbc.co.uk
The next stage of the Curriculum and Assessment Review will look to create a more inclusive and fair system, address subject-specific challenges, and assess available pathways beyond GCSEs. Find out more ➡️ www.gov.uk/government/p...
Curriculum and Assessment Review: interim report
An independent review of the curriculum and assessment system in England, with statistical analysis.
gov.uk
NFER's 2025 annual report on the teacher labour market is out today - Postgrad ITT recruitment remains persistently poor - Teacher leaving rates have not improved since pre-Covid - Teacher shortages are having impacts on pupils Read here 👇 www.nfer.ac.uk/publications...
Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2025
NFER's annual Teacher Labour Market report shows that June’s Spending Review is the Government’s last chance to enact the policy changes needed to hit its 6,500 new teacher manifesto pledge.
nfer.ac.uk
Very much looking forward to this.
researchED Birmingham@researchedbrum.bsky.social · last yr.OH. EM. GEE. BABS. CHECK THIS BAD BOY OF A #rEDBRUM PROGRAMME OUT!!🔥🔥🔥 drive.google.com/file/d/1O-sk... STILL A FEW TIX GOING HERE YOU LUCKY BABS YOU: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/researched... @tombennett71.bsky.social @msjasminemn.bsky.social @danielbundred.bsky.social @isaacmoore7.bsky.social
Why do teachers in some schools keep getting better for longer? We are developing a new measure of teacher workplace social capital to find out: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/cepeo/2025/0...
Why do teachers in some schools keep getting better for longer? | UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities (CEPEO)
UCL Homepage
blogs.ucl.ac.uk
New blog! ‘The Teachers’ knowledge that has no name’. What should we call this knowledge? heatherfblog.wordpress.com/2025/02/23/t... With special thanks to @michaelfordham.bsky.social
*New post!* Choral response & 'I Say You Say' are two techniques I use with high frequency during my explanations. Although they seem simple, there is a lot of thinking behind them. bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2025/02/08/c...
Choral Response and ‘I Say You Say’
The longer a teacher talks for, the more likely it is the number of pupils paying attention decreases. The trick to sustaining attention is to ask pupils questions and to expect 100% participation …
bunsenblue.wordpress.com
