Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 2d

Sharing this link to a powerful documentary. Sam's sister now works at our school as a mentor. Along with her mum, she has campaigned to raise awareness of knife crime for many years. They are an impressive pair & we are in awe of everything they have done. They even received an MBE for their work.

clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 2d

A family in our sch community campaign tirelessly for #KnifeCrimeAwareness after losing Sam, our ex-student.
Tonight, a new documentary starts, Britain's Killer Teens.
'It revisits the devastating case of Samantha Madgin, who was tragically murdered at 18yo, only 10 weeks after becoming a mum'

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 2d

A family in our sch community campaign tirelessly for #KnifeCrimeAwareness after losing Sam, our ex-student.
Tonight, a new documentary starts, Britain's Killer Teens.
'It revisits the devastating case of Samantha Madgin, who was tragically murdered at 18yo, only 10 weeks after becoming a mum'

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Chris Curtis @xris32.bsky.social · 3d

NEW BLOG: Do it now or do it when you’ve thought about it a bit more?

Sorry for taking a blog holiday!

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com/2025/10/do-i...

#engchat #engchatuk

Do it now or do it when you’ve thought about it a bit more?

I have written at length about knowledge and its use in English, and this isn’t going to be one of those blogs, but it is about mapping out ...

learningfrommymistakesenglish.blogspot.com

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Yamina B @msybibi.bsky.social · 3d

Around 200+ Black and Global Majority educators & allies attended the Aspiring Heads Summit which was organised by Nadine and Ethan Bernard.

Supporting Black and GM educators through empowered leadership was the theme and they did just that.

🔗Blog here: msybeebs.wordpress.com/2025/10/05/a...

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 3d

Good to see this article covering the concern over marking. Plenty of HTs, HODs & teachers have had enough of doing the unpaid QA work & seeing the neg impact on students.
Also, as alluded to by the EMC, a signif issue is lack of clarity around Eng Lang GCSE. What's it testing, how & why?

Barbara Bleiman @barbarableiman.bsky.social · 3d

A piece on this in today’s Observer, quoting me & various Heads of English. Not the headline I’d have chosen & a lot more to be said, but great to have it flagged up as a major concern in a national paper. t.co/3rKtrjQllF

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 3d

Also, it's better not to see the English dept as primarily responsible for this. I think a disciplinary approach makes more sense eg Maths dept take responsibility for teaching Latin/Greek numerical prefixes when it's beneficial to learning.

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 3d

Morphology is a fun & effective way of building up word knowledge. I think whole-sch approaches where particular roots/morphemes are taught each week are tricky bc they risk decontextualising vocab. Better to teach in context, when relevant to the learning. Depts can plan for this.

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DamsonEd @damsoned.bsky.social · 3d

This is strange, as research indicates there is no Yr 7 dip in students reading….

There are differences in expectations and how reading is used between Yr 6 and Yr7…

And more morphology might be great. But reading for understanding is not just about words.

schoolsweek.co.uk/how-morpholo...

A missing literacy tool is at the root of the 'year 7 dip'

Literacy is core to students' engagement across the curriculum. Teach morphology - and watch it grow

schoolsweek.co.uk

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 3d

are v interesting & flag up much broader issues such as girls feeling less safe in school, lower levels of 'trust, enjoyment & belonging' for FSM students etc.

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 3d

Yes. I clicked back through to the linked article and the original research was into engagement & therefore a 'dip' relating to engagement. This article makes an assumption that reading challenges cause a dip in engagement, thus misrepresenting the findings of the original study which ...

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 5d

'The features of context that mediate success are yet to be understood.'

oliver caviglioli @olicav.bsky.social · 21d

#UKEd #EduSky
Researcher, Terry Pearson, has just responded to one of my morning's tweets on X, with this astounding admission about the SoL. Print this off and stick up on your office wall.

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Darren Chetty @darrenchetty.bsky.social · 5d

In an open letter, Walker Books 'is concerned to see the latest developments in Weymouth, particularly given the extreme reality of book banning in the US. We must ask ourselves is this the beginning of something, and what comes next?'
www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article...

Walker attacks The Hate U Give ban

BookBrunch - The publishing trade's daily news magazine

www.bookbrunch.co.uk

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 5d

Nice examples & modelling of how to engage students with Eng Lang P1 Qu 4 from @thecockerill.bsky.social

Analysing film openings of King's IT is also a good way to discuss structural techniques, then compare back to the text.

National Association for the Teaching of English @natefeed.bsky.social · 5d

AQA’s GCSE English Language P1 Q4 has been retooled to help candidates respond. It offers some great opportunities for students to productively engage with the idea of thinking and writing analytically, as NATE director @thecockerill.bsky.social
rediscovers: nate.org.uk/2025/10/03/a... #NATE

Two very creepy but highly effective extracts for teaching AQA's GCSE English Language, Paper 1, Question 4 - National Association for the Teaching of English

This question, retooled to help students engage and respond, offers some really great opportunities for students to productively engage with the idea of thinking and writing analytically Teaching AQA’...

nate.org.uk

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DamsonEd @damsoned.bsky.social · 6d

@bphillipsonmp.bsky.social
Dear Ms Phillipson,
I have no idea who you are getting your advice on literacy from. But can I suggest you speak to some of the internationally respected reading researchers we have in the UK. They will be much better informed.
@rickettslara.bsky.social

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 8d

Sadly, I could add so much more to this. Many of us have found the Review not to be a sufficient Q&A process. HTs are making complaints about the marking to exam boards who always defend their processes. There is no real accountability here. It's appalling. So many students impacted negatively.

Barbara Bleiman @barbarableiman.bsky.social · 9d

Another email from an English teacher this morning about the appalling NATIONAL SCANDAL of GCSE English marking. They gave their permission to quote the email in full & I want to share it because it is so shocking. What are Ofqual & DfE doing about this?

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Louise Rolland @lrollandmulti.bsky.social · 9d

Lots of great recommendations to follow up here. In the picture book category, I can thoroughly endorse "Boy" and "Dancing Hands", tried and very much enjoyed by my little one!
#DeafAwarenessMonth #Books #ReadingTogether #Inclusion #RepresentationMatters #EnglishBooks

We Need Diverse Books @weneeddiversebooks.bsky.social · 9d

It’s still #DeafAwarenessMonth, a time for celebrating the d/Deaf community and shining a light on how the world can be more d/Deaf-inclusive!

Here are nearly 40 titles with d/Deaf representation for you to check out this September — or any time of year 📚💞

Light orange graphic with a border made up of orange, blue, green, and gold blocks. The graphic is titled “35+ Books with d/Deaf Representation”. Beneath the title text is a green bubble containing the words “for d/Deaf Awareness Month”. At the bottom of the graphic is a row of three illustrated books: an orange book, a blue book, and a green book.

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 10d

Absolutely. Couldn't agree more with this from @damsoned.bsky.social

DamsonEd @damsoned.bsky.social · 11d

3. A national strategy. Extremely effective, but expensive and complicated: demanding money, an infrastructure, systems and processes, a specialist workforce.

Is likely to be effective in the long term, as it directly changes behaviours, challenges misconceptions, can respond to unforeseen issues

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 10d

Plus, how can the DfE not know yet what they will test in Y8? Phonics, fluency, comprehension? Suggests they are unclear on the purpose/utility of the Y8 reading test.

In my context, it will tell us what we already know about those who have reading needs & are already being tracked & supported.

clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 10d

A comprehensive national strategy from the EYFS is exactly what many of us who are working on literacy/language see as the way forward. We have the opportunity right now.

DfE should also be seeking to address why 25% of pupils finish KS2 reading below age-related expectations.

DamsonEd @damsoned.bsky.social · 11d

So here we have it. When, as a sector, we need a national strategy to support literacy and language, in the widest sense, accompanying a new approach to SEND, the DFE chickens out. They go for the cheapest, most unreliable option- the exam.

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 14d

Let this sink in 🙄

'Elizabeth I and Mary I are the only women named in the national curriculum, while in 2023 women appeared in just 6% of GCSE and A-level history exam questions.'

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

School history lessons minimise the role of women, report finds

Campaigners say key stage 3 curriculum plays to misogny and teaches a ‘false version of the past’

www.theguardian.com

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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 19d

Pleasure
Curious / Curiosity
Excitement / exciting / excite
Grow / growth
Inspire / inspiring / inspiration
Innovate / innovative / innovation
Discover / discovery
Investigate / investigation
Experiment / experimental
Fun

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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 19d

Pragmatically, the Ofsted grading criteria are going to be a very useful tool for self-evaluation. But schools need to remember, when reflecting on curriculum or on children's experiences, that schools are about a lot more. For example, the following words don't appear:

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 18d

#wordgapoblivion :)

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 18d

A compelling article by @iancushing.bsky.social

Schools don't have to subscribe to language deficit views.

In one school a leader 'had run whole-school training on asset-based pedagogies, which included a sharp critique and rejection of dominant word gap narratives.'

Ian Cushing @iancushing.bsky.social · 20d

new article published open access in Reading Research Quarterly 💫

Follow the word gap: the social life of a deficit concept
doi.org/10.1002/rrq....

i trace how deficit ideologies associated with the 'word gap' get reproduced - and rejected - in teacher education and schools.

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clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social @clarefeeneyuk.bsky.social · 18d

Absolutely baffling how Ofsted thinks it can take this on and also, thus far, not provide a definition or an example of 'discredited research.'

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 19d

Ofsted has been accused of 'mission creep' after it emerged new inspections will mark down teacher training providers that allow the use of 'discredited' research – with the watchdog refusing to say what studies would fall into this category

schoolsweek.co.uk/row-over-new...

Row over new Ofsted ‘high-quality’ research checks

New inspections will judge teacher trainers down if use of 'discredited research' isn't tackled

schoolsweek.co.uk

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