In my career, I have had just two original ideas. One is the concept of Janus-faced sentences which are incredibly useful when answering, amongst other things, the writing question on the AQA English Language GCSE Paper 2. The other is…
This much I know about…destitution in our beloved country
Yesterday, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a report entitled, “Destitution in the UK 2023”. I, on the other hand, spent most of the afternoon trying to find a parcel return centre. Dodgy QR codes and broken scanners meant walking six…
This much I know about…losing your hard-won expertise
If I’m honest, this is the most perceptive Amazon review of my first book, Love Over Fear: When I was 17 years old, I was pretty good at golf. As Sussex U18 champion two years in a row, I was,…
This much I know about…improving teaching through attention to detail
I watch a lot of people teach. Without protesting too much, it is a genuine privilege to be allowed into colleagues’ classrooms. I am ever grateful. Since I have been observing colleagues grapple with the complexities of helping pupils learn,…
This much I know about… the principles of curriculum planning in action
I am not sure if I have ever had an original thought in my life. When it comes to curriculum, this much I have come to know from other people’s wisdom and research. Beyond a handful accrued through experience in…
This much I know about…five learning points from my work in schools
Since retiring from headship 16 months ago I have been working with numerous schools across the country. It has been both a privilege and a delight to support colleagues as they strive to improve the quality of teaching & learning…
This much I know about…how to decide what to cut from your school budget
I led Huntington School from 2007 to 2021. During that time, school budgets were cut by 9% in real terms, the biggest reduction in 40 years. I wrote at length about how I managed the impact of the drop in…
This much I know about…teaching what you love
Dave Williams always makes me laugh. He is a very funny man. And I thought of him last weekend when I listened to Barbara Oakley’s keynote speech at researchED Dublin. With utter clarity, Barbara explained how our brains learn. What…
This much I know about…loneliness, postal workers and the current industrial dispute
Uckfield Post Office, 1955Harry Tomsett, second row, centre But little do men perceive what solitude is, and how far it extendeth. For a crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling…
This much I know about…the principles and parameters of curriculum design
“What should be taught to whom, and with what pedagogical object in mind? That master question is threefold: what, to whom, and how?” Jerome Bruner What gives teachers the authority to decide what our children should be taught? Why don’t…