DamsonEd
@damsoned.bsky.social
Dr Megan Dixon: teacher, leader and researcher. PhD, Psychology. All things education and research - literacy, English, research into practice, curriculum, SEND. TES writer. Based in the UK.
https://meganjanedixon.co.uk/2026/01/02/pivoting/
https://meganjanedixon.co.uk/2026/01/02/pivoting/
Pinned
DamsonEd
@damsoned.bsky.social
· May 8
What schools are doing to tackle the speech and language ‘crisis’
The number of children with speech and language challenges is soaring. And not all of these pupils have SEND. Experts tell Ellen Peirson-Hagger how in-school intervention is possible - and highly effe...
www.tes.com
On the back of this article- a thread of useful places for schools/teachers who are interested in finding out more… as I say, this has been a serious issue for a long time… it would be powerful to get a serious handle on it (with obvious impact on ed outcomes).
www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
www.tes.com/magazine/ana...
New: No sign of action by academy trust on recommendations of reviews triggered by parental concerns about its behaviour policies
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/no-sign...
Mossbourne Federation appears yet to have made any changes to its governors,or amend messages discouraging emails from parents.
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/no-sign...
Mossbourne Federation appears yet to have made any changes to its governors,or amend messages discouraging emails from parents.
Education Uncovered | News| No sign of action by academy trust on recommendations of reviews triggered by parental concerns about its behaviour policies
Mossbourne Federation appears yet to make any changes to its governors, trustees or members, or to amend messages discouraging emails from parents, with local children’s safeguarding commissioner this...
educationuncovered.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 1:48 PM
RANT ALERT! OK. Fine. But who is going to write this and how it is going to be delivered?
We just cannot have more of the rubbish that has been churned out in the last few years and is now being rewritten and redesigned.
1/4
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
We just cannot have more of the rubbish that has been churned out in the last few years and is now being rewritten and redesigned.
1/4
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
DfE: All teachers will get SEND and inclusion training
DfE announces a new expectation on training teachers to support pupils with SEND, with £200m funding for new courses
www.tes.com
January 16, 2026 at 1:45 PM
RANT ALERT! OK. Fine. But who is going to write this and how it is going to be delivered?
We just cannot have more of the rubbish that has been churned out in the last few years and is now being rewritten and redesigned.
1/4
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
We just cannot have more of the rubbish that has been churned out in the last few years and is now being rewritten and redesigned.
1/4
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Reposted by DamsonEd
We’ve published an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling for clarity, urgency and action on access to #Enhertu.
Read the full letter.
breastcancernow.org/media-assets...
Read the full letter.
breastcancernow.org/media-assets...
January 16, 2026 at 12:44 PM
We’ve published an open letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting calling for clarity, urgency and action on access to #Enhertu.
Read the full letter.
breastcancernow.org/media-assets...
Read the full letter.
breastcancernow.org/media-assets...
FDA research finds:
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
Excl: A glum picture presented in the first major polling of senior inspectors since Ofsted launched its school report cards.
📈70% of HMI are open to leaving
📈Almost all HMI are working overtime & it's having a "detrimental impact" on their work
📈70% of HMI are open to leaving
📈Almost all HMI are working overtime & it's having a "detrimental impact" on their work
January 16, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Reposted by DamsonEd
FDA research finds:
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
Excl: A glum picture presented in the first major polling of senior inspectors since Ofsted launched its school report cards.
📈70% of HMI are open to leaving
📈Almost all HMI are working overtime & it's having a "detrimental impact" on their work
📈70% of HMI are open to leaving
📈Almost all HMI are working overtime & it's having a "detrimental impact" on their work
Most senior Ofsted inspectors feel nervous to reveal role
Almost two-thirds of HMI are looking for a new job, and a further third admit they are not proud of their position, according to exclusive findings shared with Tes
www.tes.com
January 16, 2026 at 10:13 AM
FDA research finds:
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
98% of HMI are working beyond their contracted hours
89% of HMI say this is harming their wellbeing
62% say Ofsted does nothing to address HMI working overtime
Addressing these long-standing issues impacting the lives of inspectors is vital for the success of the new framework
Special Education forgotten again.
During a SEND crisis, when Minsters are conducting “listening exercises”. Why is it SO hard to include EVERYONE?
🤷♀️🫣😩
bsky.app/profile/tesm...
During a SEND crisis, when Minsters are conducting “listening exercises”. Why is it SO hard to include EVERYONE?
🤷♀️🫣😩
bsky.app/profile/tesm...
Leaders urge the government to confirm that special schools will not be excluded from its plan to ensure that every primary has a library within the next four years
Don’t deny special schools new libraries, government told
The government has committed to ensuring that all primary schools have a library by 2029 – but it has not confirmed whether special schools are included
www.tes.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:30 PM
Special Education forgotten again.
During a SEND crisis, when Minsters are conducting “listening exercises”. Why is it SO hard to include EVERYONE?
🤷♀️🫣😩
bsky.app/profile/tesm...
During a SEND crisis, when Minsters are conducting “listening exercises”. Why is it SO hard to include EVERYONE?
🤷♀️🫣😩
bsky.app/profile/tesm...
Reposted by DamsonEd
I dare say also awful. But, your English Language GCSE grade is a gatekeeping qualification to what comes next. It is beyond unacceptable when the system relies on continually throwing money at the problem to get the mark you should have got.
January 16, 2026 at 9:26 AM
I dare say also awful. But, your English Language GCSE grade is a gatekeeping qualification to what comes next. It is beyond unacceptable when the system relies on continually throwing money at the problem to get the mark you should have got.
Reposted by DamsonEd
Leaders urge the government to confirm that special schools will not be excluded from its plan to ensure that every primary has a library within the next four years
Don’t deny special schools new libraries, government told
The government has committed to ensuring that all primary schools have a library by 2029 – but it has not confirmed whether special schools are included
www.tes.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:35 AM
Leaders urge the government to confirm that special schools will not be excluded from its plan to ensure that every primary has a library within the next four years
Reposted by DamsonEd
With this having spread down into KS3, with v distorting influences on the curriculum, we need curric writers(plural) for the new English NC, who can cut through the nonsense - the ‘pretend’ knowledge, mastery rhetoric, illusion of a fixed sequence & loss of the essential features of the discipline.
Yesterday I saw a GCSE Eng Lit exam script. It was incoherent, repeating endlessly half-understood phrases (drawn from internet cribs?), ludicrous vocab shoe-horned in, no telling egs, unconvincing points on technique. It was given just off a 9. I'd have said a 4 at most. My colleagues agreed. 🧵
January 16, 2026 at 7:38 AM
With this having spread down into KS3, with v distorting influences on the curriculum, we need curric writers(plural) for the new English NC, who can cut through the nonsense - the ‘pretend’ knowledge, mastery rhetoric, illusion of a fixed sequence & loss of the essential features of the discipline.
Oh dear.. this does not really land well. “We welcome accountablity, but not of us- only of you”
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
MAT inspections: leaders warn of duplication and ‘poor value for money’
School sector leaders raise concerns about the value, purpose and equity of the government plan to push ahead with Ofsted inspections of multi-academy trusts
www.tes.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:23 PM
Oh dear.. this does not really land well. “We welcome accountablity, but not of us- only of you”
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Reposted by DamsonEd
'At the University of Buckingham, 52 per cent of students achieved firsts in 2023-24 – compared with just 17 per cent in 2010-11. According to the OfS, 73 per cent of these grades are unexplained by modelling – the highest of all universities in the data.'
No one can imagine how this has happened.
No one can imagine how this has happened.
Rise in firsts at some English providers ‘unexplained’, warns OfS
Regulator says proportion of top marks awarded by institutions still way above what might be expected
www.timeshighereducation.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:02 AM
'At the University of Buckingham, 52 per cent of students achieved firsts in 2023-24 – compared with just 17 per cent in 2010-11. According to the OfS, 73 per cent of these grades are unexplained by modelling – the highest of all universities in the data.'
No one can imagine how this has happened.
No one can imagine how this has happened.
Reposted by DamsonEd
So let me understand .. the students all have to have brick phones but schools like Eton want to pay someone significant money to .. make social media content.
Please can someone make it make sense
Please can someone make it make sense
January 15, 2026 at 4:35 PM
So let me understand .. the students all have to have brick phones but schools like Eton want to pay someone significant money to .. make social media content.
Please can someone make it make sense
Please can someone make it make sense
Reposted by DamsonEd
I'm honored to be named the Pascucci Professor in Learning Differences @harvardeducation.bsky.social . Grateful to follow the late Tom Hehir, whose visionary advocacy for disability rights transformed the field. Im deeply committed to carrying his mission forward www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/news/2...
Nadine Gaab Awarded Named Chair
Renowned expert in the neurobiology of learning differences assumed the role on January 1
www.gse.harvard.edu
January 15, 2026 at 4:35 PM
I'm honored to be named the Pascucci Professor in Learning Differences @harvardeducation.bsky.social . Grateful to follow the late Tom Hehir, whose visionary advocacy for disability rights transformed the field. Im deeply committed to carrying his mission forward www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/news/2...
Reposted by DamsonEd
New: Not a single parent in evidence, anywhere in governance system of controversial traditionalist academy trust
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/not-a-s...
The Mossbourne Federation has no parents recorded as serving either on its overarching trust board, or on its schools’ governing bodies.
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/not-a-s...
The Mossbourne Federation has no parents recorded as serving either on its overarching trust board, or on its schools’ governing bodies.
Education Uncovered | News| Not a single parent in evidence, anywhere in governance system of controversial traditionalist academy trust
The Mossbourne Federation has no parents recorded as serving either on its overarching trust board, or on the governing bodies of its schools.
educationuncovered.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 3:36 PM
New: Not a single parent in evidence, anywhere in governance system of controversial traditionalist academy trust
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/not-a-s...
The Mossbourne Federation has no parents recorded as serving either on its overarching trust board, or on its schools’ governing bodies.
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/not-a-s...
The Mossbourne Federation has no parents recorded as serving either on its overarching trust board, or on its schools’ governing bodies.
Reposted by DamsonEd
Conference Update: João Costa will be joining us at LICIE in July 2026 as a keynote speaker. Submit an abstract and book your place: licie.co.uk #SEND #Inclusion @ioe.bsky.social @ucl-ioe-phd.bsky.social
January 15, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Conference Update: João Costa will be joining us at LICIE in July 2026 as a keynote speaker. Submit an abstract and book your place: licie.co.uk #SEND #Inclusion @ioe.bsky.social @ucl-ioe-phd.bsky.social
Reposted by DamsonEd
As Heidi says ‘quite frankly scandalous’!
It is an option available to every student and it is quite frankly scandalous that this nonsense happens with English every year. We raise this every year. And yet it is never taken up by the mainstream and nothing changes. There isn't enough training or quality assurance.
January 15, 2026 at 12:10 PM
As Heidi says ‘quite frankly scandalous’!
Reposted by DamsonEd
All going well over at Tory HQ.
January 15, 2026 at 11:13 AM
All going well over at Tory HQ.
Reposted by DamsonEd
Trade Union Congress report:
One of seven women (14%) have lost their job - or felt forced to leave their job - due to expecting a child or becoming a parent.
Over one in five women (21%) who have or are expecting a child also report unfair treatment at work.
www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-num...
One of seven women (14%) have lost their job - or felt forced to leave their job - due to expecting a child or becoming a parent.
Over one in five women (21%) who have or are expecting a child also report unfair treatment at work.
www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-num...
TUC: Number of new and expectant parents losing their job or facing unfair treatment at work “alarmingly high”
TUC polling reveals that more than 1 in 7 women (14%) who have children or are expecting a child have lost a job - or felt forced to leave a job due to pregnancy or becoming a parent.
www.tuc.org.uk
January 15, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Trade Union Congress report:
One of seven women (14%) have lost their job - or felt forced to leave their job - due to expecting a child or becoming a parent.
Over one in five women (21%) who have or are expecting a child also report unfair treatment at work.
www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-num...
One of seven women (14%) have lost their job - or felt forced to leave their job - due to expecting a child or becoming a parent.
Over one in five women (21%) who have or are expecting a child also report unfair treatment at work.
www.tuc.org.uk/news/tuc-num...
Reposted by DamsonEd
Time for all decent organisations, including the BBC, to stop using X. Last week, I heard the ridiculous pantomime of Nick Robinson lambasting a Labour minister for using X when both he and the BBC still do so
BBC report at a headline level that Grok will now not make sexually exploitative images any more. An actual reporter comes on and explains that it will do no such thing, and will just make the images invisible in the UK. These are two very, very different things.
January 15, 2026 at 7:57 AM
Time for all decent organisations, including the BBC, to stop using X. Last week, I heard the ridiculous pantomime of Nick Robinson lambasting a Labour minister for using X when both he and the BBC still do so
Reposted by DamsonEd
The whole system either needs a complete rethink and reboot and/or we need to find a way to stop caring what Ofsted think. I'm already in the latter camp but I do appreciate that this is much easier for me as a volunteer and also working in early years rather than in schools who get most pressure.
January 15, 2026 at 7:54 AM
The whole system either needs a complete rethink and reboot and/or we need to find a way to stop caring what Ofsted think. I'm already in the latter camp but I do appreciate that this is much easier for me as a volunteer and also working in early years rather than in schools who get most pressure.
Reposted by DamsonEd
School leadership is much more confident when they do what they consider right for the children and are less focused on Ofsted. Developing sufficient professional autonomy to stay focused on that can be a challenge, where inspection and improvement leads dominate. Supervision a good space to think
January 15, 2026 at 8:42 AM
School leadership is much more confident when they do what they consider right for the children and are less focused on Ofsted. Developing sufficient professional autonomy to stay focused on that can be a challenge, where inspection and improvement leads dominate. Supervision a good space to think
Reposted by DamsonEd
The problem with @ofstednews.bsky.social is that it has got so inextricably linked up with both competition between schools and with people's belief in themselves that any feedback can only be perceived in a negative way. A system where people focus so heavily on 'what Ofsted wants' is a broken one.
January 15, 2026 at 7:54 AM
The problem with @ofstednews.bsky.social is that it has got so inextricably linked up with both competition between schools and with people's belief in themselves that any feedback can only be perceived in a negative way. A system where people focus so heavily on 'what Ofsted wants' is a broken one.
Reposted by DamsonEd
Why is @ofstednews.bsky.social still not posting on here but is posting on the app that allows people to produce CSAM? How is it safeguarding teachers and children to encourage them to be on Twitter? @dan-ofsted.bsky.social @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
Can you ask please @schoolsweek.bsky.social?
Can you ask please @schoolsweek.bsky.social?
January 15, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Why is @ofstednews.bsky.social still not posting on here but is posting on the app that allows people to produce CSAM? How is it safeguarding teachers and children to encourage them to be on Twitter? @dan-ofsted.bsky.social @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
Can you ask please @schoolsweek.bsky.social?
Can you ask please @schoolsweek.bsky.social?