David Didau
@didau.bsky.social
3.5K followers 110 following 640 posts
Same old same old Substack: daviddidau.substack.com/
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didau.bsky.social
Right. I've entered a half marathon (for the first time in my life!) on 12th October and am raising money for Cancer UK. If you'd like to donate great, if not, please share the link :)
fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/davids-...
fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org
didau.bsky.social
Probs not though. We’re very good at justifying our actions to ourselves
didau.bsky.social
Not that it should matter but was she some sort of official?
Reposted by David Didau
avs-in-exile.bsky.social
Absolutely adore Little But Fierce. We have been playing with our kids for a while now. The kids love it and it has been fun to see them grow in their imaginations and math skills. Thanks so much @dcbradshaw.com
ttrpgkids.com
@dcbradshaw.com is launching Little But Fierce soon on Kickstarter!

It's an indie rewrite of D&D that's made just for kids; sign up today here:
https://loom.ly/ElOeYKw

And check out the TTRPGkids review of Little But Fierce here:
https://loom.ly/mu8jtkE
Little But Fierce by DC Bradshaw
Sign up today on Kickstarter
Reposted by David Didau
Reposted by David Didau
didau.bsky.social
Chapter 3
“Tonight: growing concern over the rise of so-called ‘acid house’ parties…”
While Trevor McDonald warns the nation, Luke and Rich were on the phone begging a lift to Coventry.
The weekend is coming – and the bass is building.

#SecondSummerOfLove
open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...
Chapter 3
“Wonder what's cooking at the house tonight” - Flash and the Pan, “Waiting for a Train”
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
Chapter 3
“Tonight: growing concern over the rise of so-called ‘acid house’ parties…”
While Trevor McDonald warns the nation, Luke and Rich were on the phone begging a lift to Coventry.
The weekend is coming – and the bass is building.

#SecondSummerOfLove
open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...
Chapter 3
“Wonder what's cooking at the house tonight” - Flash and the Pan, “Waiting for a Train”
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
Chapter 2 of The Second Summer of Love:
In the Fighting Cocks, the air hangs thick with stale lager and the ghosts of half-forgotten bands. Luke and Rich hatch a plan over bad Guinness and worse ideas and the rave begins to feel like a reality...
open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...
Chapter 2
“That second hand living, it just won’t do” - Jesus and Mary Chain, Head On
open.substack.com
Reposted by David Didau
didau.bsky.social
What do you do when you’ve written a novel?
Mine began as an excavation of late-80s Birmingham, pirate radio, the birth of rave.
The Second Summer of Love: 77 chapters of sweat, basslines & coming-of-age.
First beat drops below. Subscribe for future chapters...
open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...
The Second Summer of Love
A novel set in Birmingham during 1989 set against the backdrop of illegal raves and dodgy charity scams
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
What do you do when you’ve written a novel?
Mine began as an excavation of late-80s Birmingham, pirate radio, the birth of rave.
The Second Summer of Love: 77 chapters of sweat, basslines & coming-of-age.
First beat drops below. Subscribe for future chapters...
open.substack.com/pub/secondsu...
The Second Summer of Love
A novel set in Birmingham during 1989 set against the backdrop of illegal raves and dodgy charity scams
open.substack.com
Reposted by David Didau
didau.bsky.social
NEW: When Sweden scrapped national testing, grades went up but learning went down.
Statutory assessment is how a system keeps itself honest.
Light-touch, high-trust, curriculum-aligned. Tim Oates and intelligent accountability, explained.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Balancing accountability & trust: five principles for effective statutory assessment
Tim Oates argues that national tests should be light-touch, high-trust, and curriculum-aligned in order to keep standards visible without distorting what is taught
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
NEW: When Sweden scrapped national testing, grades went up but learning went down.
Statutory assessment is how a system keeps itself honest.
Light-touch, high-trust, curriculum-aligned. Tim Oates and intelligent accountability, explained.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Balancing accountability & trust: five principles for effective statutory assessment
Tim Oates argues that national tests should be light-touch, high-trust, and curriculum-aligned in order to keep standards visible without distorting what is taught
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
Quiggers is on point in this ‘polished diamond’ of a blog
alexjquigley.bsky.social
💡 'Write less; Read more'

"Are pupils being read to enough in the school week? How much reading are they exposed to, and how do we know? Are we wading through too many comprehension questions that imitate national tests, but inhibit reading volume in English?"

alexquigley.co.uk/write-less-r...
Reposted by David Didau
alexjquigley.bsky.social
💡 'Write less; Read more'

"Are pupils being read to enough in the school week? How much reading are they exposed to, and how do we know? Are we wading through too many comprehension questions that imitate national tests, but inhibit reading volume in English?"

alexquigley.co.uk/write-less-r...
didau.bsky.social
This might make a good blog
didau.bsky.social
Are there many/any examples of a political party *not* exhibiting fundamental weaknesses?
Reposted by David Didau
didau.bsky.social
NEW POST
When did kids ever truly love learning? Maybe never. The real question is whether our schools are designed to make curiosity possible.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Should kids 'love' learning?
Why “love of learning” may be the wrong ambition and what schools should pursue instead
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
NEW POST
When did kids ever truly love learning? Maybe never. The real question is whether our schools are designed to make curiosity possible.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Should kids 'love' learning?
Why “love of learning” may be the wrong ambition and what schools should pursue instead
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
The most important learning - and the one schools are best placed to offer - is to teach all children in the way that most benefits the most vulnerable. I wrote about this here: open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Repost: What approaches work best with children with special educational needs?
Why what works best for the most vulnerable benefits all children
open.substack.com
didau.bsky.social
Ran my first ever race today. Portishead Black Nore 10k. It’s a very hilly technical course so was chuffed with a sub 55 time.
didau.bsky.social
I should have said “often not clinical realities…”
Reposted by David Didau
didau.bsky.social
NEW If assessment is the bridge between teaching & learning, what happens when the bridge is raised? Too often poor assessment leads to labelling, misplaced intervention & children stranded on the far bank. Thanks to @rlrossi64.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
When the bridge is down: how poor assessment creates needless struggle
Why mistaking noise for rigour and silence for low ability leaves the most vulnerable students stranded
open.substack.com
Reposted by David Didau
didau.bsky.social
NEW If assessment is the bridge between teaching & learning, what happens when the bridge is raised? Too often poor assessment leads to labelling, misplaced intervention & children stranded on the far bank. Thanks to @rlrossi64.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
When the bridge is down: how poor assessment creates needless struggle
Why mistaking noise for rigour and silence for low ability leaves the most vulnerable students stranded
open.substack.com
Reposted by David Didau
bethgg.bsky.social
@didau.bsky.social Have they discovered that the answer to training teachers is... you...?
teacherdevtrust.bsky.social
What makes the teaching of teachers unique? And how might establishing it as a discipline help with the development of consistent frameworks?

Read our New Report exploring Didagogy: The Discipline of Teaching Teachers

Didagogy: Exploring the Discipline of Teaching Teachers | 2025
This report introduces didagogy as a discipline - a way of naming and initiating discussion around teacher learning.
tdtrust.org