Alex
@teachingwrens.bsky.social
Year 4 teacher; English lead; mentor. Previously: EYFS-Y2. NPQLT + NPQLL. Interested in all things teaching & learning! @teachingwrens on Twitter.
Reposted by Alex
This has been my worry all along with the breakfast club nonsense. You can talk about funding all you like, the long and the short of it is that school leaders end up with another job on the list, another extension to their working day, and the job becomes ever harder...
And this is from DfE advice!
And this is from DfE advice!
November 20, 2025 at 7:49 PM
This has been my worry all along with the breakfast club nonsense. You can talk about funding all you like, the long and the short of it is that school leaders end up with another job on the list, another extension to their working day, and the job becomes ever harder...
And this is from DfE advice!
And this is from DfE advice!
Reposted by Alex
NEW POST
We talk a lot about getting better at teaching, but perhaps we don't talk enough about getting worse at teaching.
open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...
We talk a lot about getting better at teaching, but perhaps we don't talk enough about getting worse at teaching.
open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...
Getting worse at teaching
We talk a lot about how teachers get better at teaching, but don’t think enough about how teachers can get worse at teaching.
open.substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 5:43 PM
NEW POST
We talk a lot about getting better at teaching, but perhaps we don't talk enough about getting worse at teaching.
open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...
We talk a lot about getting better at teaching, but perhaps we don't talk enough about getting worse at teaching.
open.substack.com/pub/adamboxe...
Reposted by Alex
If you're free for an hour on Monday morning, do come along. And, if you're not, please consider making a donation anyway.
I'm repeating my online 'Building a Classroom Reading Culture' session on Monday 11th August at 10:00am. There's no fixed price for tickets as all donations will go directly to Medical Aid for Palestinians (www.map.org.uk). Please share!
www.justgiving.com/page/jonatha...
www.justgiving.com/page/jonatha...
August 6, 2025 at 7:08 AM
If you're free for an hour on Monday morning, do come along. And, if you're not, please consider making a donation anyway.
Reposted by Alex
*FREE WRITING WEBINAR RECORDING*
At Stanley Road, we have developed an approach to writing that we believe aligns with many elements included in the DfE's Writing Framework.
If you'd like to watch a webinar on this, complete the form at this link...
forms.gle/c66cnHyKTdZz...
At Stanley Road, we have developed an approach to writing that we believe aligns with many elements included in the DfE's Writing Framework.
If you'd like to watch a webinar on this, complete the form at this link...
forms.gle/c66cnHyKTdZz...
July 9, 2025 at 5:56 PM
*FREE WRITING WEBINAR RECORDING*
At Stanley Road, we have developed an approach to writing that we believe aligns with many elements included in the DfE's Writing Framework.
If you'd like to watch a webinar on this, complete the form at this link...
forms.gle/c66cnHyKTdZz...
At Stanley Road, we have developed an approach to writing that we believe aligns with many elements included in the DfE's Writing Framework.
If you'd like to watch a webinar on this, complete the form at this link...
forms.gle/c66cnHyKTdZz...
Reposted by Alex
I would march on Whitehall
Genuinely
Genuinely
If a hypothetical successor departed from this approach, and eg tried to impose the disastrous curriculum approaches used in Scotland, it would make the debate over the Schools Bill look like a walk in the park.
May 4, 2025 at 4:33 PM
I would march on Whitehall
Genuinely
Genuinely
Reposted by Alex
Hello - I wrote a new blog about the teaching of whole class reading, which I haven't in a while. It's over 9000 words so quite a read, but I hope the comprehensive nature of it comes across as helpful, rather than patronising. Anyway - hope it's useful!
mrboothy6.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/w...
mrboothy6.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/w...
Whole Class Reading 2025
Hello – it’s been a few years since I wrote about the teaching of whole class reading, and I figured I would do it again, as it’s generally the thing I am asked about the most – plus in…
mrboothy6.wordpress.com
January 3, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Hello - I wrote a new blog about the teaching of whole class reading, which I haven't in a while. It's over 9000 words so quite a read, but I hope the comprehensive nature of it comes across as helpful, rather than patronising. Anyway - hope it's useful!
mrboothy6.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/w...
mrboothy6.wordpress.com/2025/01/03/w...
Reposted by Alex
Canonical blog, this one. Every time I read it I'm struck anew.
October 29, 2024 at 11:04 PM
Canonical blog, this one. Every time I read it I'm struck anew.
Reposted by Alex
NEW POST
Leader says "please do x"
Staff then don't do x
It's not because they are lazy, incompetent or deliberately undermining. So why is it?
achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2024/10/30/y...
Leader says "please do x"
Staff then don't do x
It's not because they are lazy, incompetent or deliberately undermining. So why is it?
achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2024/10/30/y...
You’ve said =/= they’ve heard
It’s been a long day. I’ve been in and out of lessons throughout with a range of staff. I’ve grabbed a minute here or there for individualised feedback and did a working break and…
achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk
October 30, 2024 at 8:55 AM
NEW POST
Leader says "please do x"
Staff then don't do x
It's not because they are lazy, incompetent or deliberately undermining. So why is it?
achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2024/10/30/y...
Leader says "please do x"
Staff then don't do x
It's not because they are lazy, incompetent or deliberately undermining. So why is it?
achemicalorthodoxy.co.uk/2024/10/30/y...
Reposted by Alex
Watching a video of a classroom where the teacher is doing retrieval practice & so many students dying to engage. My colleague Jen: "Investing in knowledge is fun; kids LIKE knowing things."
September 18, 2024 at 4:16 PM
Watching a video of a classroom where the teacher is doing retrieval practice & so many students dying to engage. My colleague Jen: "Investing in knowledge is fun; kids LIKE knowing things."
Reposted by Alex
I sometimes get asked about the common issues I see across primary schools and the kind of support I offer as a result. This brief blog explains this stuff.
This is my first new blog on Blue Sky so reposts much appreciated.
primarycolour.home.blog/2024/09/08/h...
This is my first new blog on Blue Sky so reposts much appreciated.
primarycolour.home.blog/2024/09/08/h...
How I Try to Help Schools to Teach Reading More Effectively
Warning: Parts of this blog are going to feel like an advertisement for my consultancy work and books. This is unavoidable as I have written this for those who ask me about the issues relating to read...
primarycolour.home.blog
September 8, 2024 at 10:51 AM
I sometimes get asked about the common issues I see across primary schools and the kind of support I offer as a result. This brief blog explains this stuff.
This is my first new blog on Blue Sky so reposts much appreciated.
primarycolour.home.blog/2024/09/08/h...
This is my first new blog on Blue Sky so reposts much appreciated.
primarycolour.home.blog/2024/09/08/h...
Reposted by Alex
I’d scrap the staff meeting model and start again if I could. We can’t keep bouncing from topic to topic, week to week, expecting teachers to take everything on board.
“If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”
Work smarter and be better.
“If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”
Work smarter and be better.
September 7, 2024 at 2:20 PM
I’d scrap the staff meeting model and start again if I could. We can’t keep bouncing from topic to topic, week to week, expecting teachers to take everything on board.
“If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”
Work smarter and be better.
“If everything is a priority, then nothing is a priority.”
Work smarter and be better.
Reposted by Alex
I remember when @mralmonded.bsky.social was reading the research on grips and grasps and this made for a very interesting conversation at home! We’re always banging on about that tripod grip, but the research says if it’s a mature grip then it’s fine #rED24
September 7, 2024 at 9:53 AM
I remember when @mralmonded.bsky.social was reading the research on grips and grasps and this made for a very interesting conversation at home! We’re always banging on about that tripod grip, but the research says if it’s a mature grip then it’s fine #rED24
Reposted by Alex
Summary:
T&L is hard
One thing at a time
Don't move on till your sure
Don't bewilder your team with a bazillion things
T&L is hard
One thing at a time
Don't move on till your sure
Don't bewilder your team with a bazillion things
September 2, 2024 at 4:38 PM
Summary:
T&L is hard
One thing at a time
Don't move on till your sure
Don't bewilder your team with a bazillion things
T&L is hard
One thing at a time
Don't move on till your sure
Don't bewilder your team with a bazillion things
Reposted by Alex
Reposted by Alex
Just posted new blog on Bluesky and not (yet) on Twitter. Be interesting to see engagement. Will I fold and put it on Twitter too? Please help me avoid the temptation by reposting here!
primarytimery.com/2024/08/25/o...
primarytimery.com/2024/08/25/o...
August 25, 2024 at 4:40 PM
Just posted new blog on Bluesky and not (yet) on Twitter. Be interesting to see engagement. Will I fold and put it on Twitter too? Please help me avoid the temptation by reposting here!
primarytimery.com/2024/08/25/o...
primarytimery.com/2024/08/25/o...
Reposted by Alex
We want assessment to be effective.
Are mind maps good enough for summative assessment?
morgsedu.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/a...
Are mind maps good enough for summative assessment?
morgsedu.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/a...
Are mind maps good enough for summative assessment?
At its core, assessment seeks to evaluate the extent to which learners have understood and can apply the material they have been taught; it is a diagnostic process aimed at uncovering both the knowled...
morgsedu.wordpress.com
August 21, 2024 at 9:32 AM
We want assessment to be effective.
Are mind maps good enough for summative assessment?
morgsedu.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/a...
Are mind maps good enough for summative assessment?
morgsedu.wordpress.com/2024/08/21/a...
This is a great post. It’s too easy to glide through lessons (ahem White Rose Maths animated slides ahem) & not be purposeful or responsive enough to the students in front of you.
August 21, 2024 at 8:59 AM
This is a great post. It’s too easy to glide through lessons (ahem White Rose Maths animated slides ahem) & not be purposeful or responsive enough to the students in front of you.
Reposted by Alex
*New post* Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions.
Will be especially useful for form tutors, HoYs & behaviour leads. But also for anyone interested in forging culture.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/b...
Will be especially useful for form tutors, HoYs & behaviour leads. But also for anyone interested in forging culture.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/b...
Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions
First day as a Year 7 form tutor. "I want you all to be the kind of people who have integrity. I say, you say: "Integrity!" "Integrity!" the 11 year olds all shout back, with enthusiasm. What do I mea...
bunsenblue.wordpress.com
August 20, 2024 at 11:05 AM
*New post* Building Culture: how to shape character through daily interactions.
Will be especially useful for form tutors, HoYs & behaviour leads. But also for anyone interested in forging culture.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/b...
Will be especially useful for form tutors, HoYs & behaviour leads. But also for anyone interested in forging culture.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/20/b...
Reposted by Alex
If you were planning a staff meeting calendar for the year, what would your key areas of teaching and learning be? I’m not thinking subject specific stuff but pedagogy…
August 19, 2024 at 4:20 PM
If you were planning a staff meeting calendar for the year, what would your key areas of teaching and learning be? I’m not thinking subject specific stuff but pedagogy…
Reposted by Alex
*NEW blog* Do your pupils work hard enough?
Inspired by discussions on Bluesky earlier.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/17/d...
Inspired by discussions on Bluesky earlier.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/17/d...
Do your pupils work hard enough?
Let's indulge in two thought experiments. Scenario 1. Imagine you have no data about a class you start to teach in September. You have no knowledge about their prior attainment and no knowledge about ...
bunsenblue.wordpress.com
August 17, 2024 at 7:27 PM
*NEW blog* Do your pupils work hard enough?
Inspired by discussions on Bluesky earlier.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/17/d...
Inspired by discussions on Bluesky earlier.
bunsenblue.wordpress.com/2024/08/17/d...