Jo
@joriley.bsky.social
Ex head teacher. Yet to decide what's next. Passionate about Primary and EYFS education, inclusion and ethical leadership. Reader, writer, coach. Lego lover.
All views are my own.
All views are my own.
Reposted by Jo
Well, I, for one, am hugely shocked by this.
Imagine capita cutting corners and screwing something up. Again.
Imagine capita cutting corners and screwing something up. Again.
December 4, 2025 at 6:28 PM
Well, I, for one, am hugely shocked by this.
Imagine capita cutting corners and screwing something up. Again.
Imagine capita cutting corners and screwing something up. Again.
Reposted by Jo
Hi @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social Schools are struggling at the moment. 14 years of cuts have coincided with unparalleled rises in behaviour, attendance and complex SEND needs. There are no AP places and schools are barely coping.
Tell you what, let’s raise the phonics target to 95%.
Good idea.
Tell you what, let’s raise the phonics target to 95%.
Good idea.
December 4, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Hi @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social Schools are struggling at the moment. 14 years of cuts have coincided with unparalleled rises in behaviour, attendance and complex SEND needs. There are no AP places and schools are barely coping.
Tell you what, let’s raise the phonics target to 95%.
Good idea.
Tell you what, let’s raise the phonics target to 95%.
Good idea.
Reposted by Jo
Reform accepted £9 million from a former Boris Johnson backer & crypto-multimillionaire.
Today, Nigel Farage postures as a righteous defender of the same democracy he actively undermines.
Democracy should never be for sale. It's time for a cap on political donations.
Today, Nigel Farage postures as a righteous defender of the same democracy he actively undermines.
Democracy should never be for sale. It's time for a cap on political donations.
December 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Reform accepted £9 million from a former Boris Johnson backer & crypto-multimillionaire.
Today, Nigel Farage postures as a righteous defender of the same democracy he actively undermines.
Democracy should never be for sale. It's time for a cap on political donations.
Today, Nigel Farage postures as a righteous defender of the same democracy he actively undermines.
Democracy should never be for sale. It's time for a cap on political donations.
Reposted by Jo
Very grateful for any shares of the post below. Thank you! 🙏🏻⬇️
I've had lots of requests to rerun my adaptive teaching webinar, so I'm hosting another one on 20th January. See the link below for details. Lots of practical advice on strategies for an inclusive classroom. Pay what you can to attend. Please share. Thank you!
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ultima...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-ultima...
The Ultimate Guide to Adaptive Teaching - Webinar with Sue Cowley
Sue Cowley shares ideas about adaptive teaching and gives a range of practical strategies for creating an inclusive classroom
www.eventbrite.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Very grateful for any shares of the post below. Thank you! 🙏🏻⬇️
Reposted by Jo
Or if they had said 'we are now open to all genders' given that the scouts are already.
I wonder how different this week would have been if the Girl Guides' statement had said "we're closing the Girl Guides with immediate effect due to legal threats by transphobic organisations funded by JK Rowling, which we cannot afford to contest".
Could have been the moment the tide turned.
Could have been the moment the tide turned.
December 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Or if they had said 'we are now open to all genders' given that the scouts are already.
GB News’ recent Trump interview was outrageous - completely biased and full of lies. And GB News didn't challenge him ONCE. Ofcom MUST investigate them for breaching its rules. Sign now if you agree. 38d.gs/trump_gbnews...
OFCOM: INVESTIGATE GB NEWS’ SHOCKING TRUMP INTERVIEW
GB News’ recent Trump interview was outrageous - completely biased and full of lies. And GB News didn't challenge him ONCE. Ofcom MUST investigate them for breaching its rules. Sign now if you agree.
38d.gs
December 3, 2025 at 7:13 PM
GB News’ recent Trump interview was outrageous - completely biased and full of lies. And GB News didn't challenge him ONCE. Ofcom MUST investigate them for breaching its rules. Sign now if you agree. 38d.gs/trump_gbnews...
Reposted by Jo
Oh, don't misunderstand me: I am sure they do need more support. But having a dedicated adult (often agency staff on a tiny wage) doesn't automatically fix issues. This is why the "why" behind the behaviour is so important and support holistically planned around this so they get what they need.
November 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Oh, don't misunderstand me: I am sure they do need more support. But having a dedicated adult (often agency staff on a tiny wage) doesn't automatically fix issues. This is why the "why" behind the behaviour is so important and support holistically planned around this so they get what they need.
Reposted by Jo
Belonging is Ofsted’s latest buzzword, but most of the noise misses the point. Children experience school through language, the medium that shapes every social cue. If we treat belonging as emotional, we will keep trying to solve the wrong problem.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
The language of belonging
Large longitudinal studies track perceptions of fairness, support and safety, yet they rarely acknowledge the linguistic world in which these perceptions form.
open.substack.com
November 29, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Belonging is Ofsted’s latest buzzword, but most of the noise misses the point. Children experience school through language, the medium that shapes every social cue. If we treat belonging as emotional, we will keep trying to solve the wrong problem.
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...
Reposted by Jo
It absolutely wasn't. Might be showing my age here, but 20 years ago was not actually that long ago, in terms of this
Nigel Farage asked about Reform MS Laura Anne Jones (who the Senedd Commissioner found had used a racist term in a staff WhatsApp chat in August 2023 while discussing TikTok writing: “No chinky spies for me.”)
"Well, she used a word that colloquially, probably was meant in a nice way 20 years ago."
"Well, she used a word that colloquially, probably was meant in a nice way 20 years ago."
November 26, 2025 at 8:19 PM
It absolutely wasn't. Might be showing my age here, but 20 years ago was not actually that long ago, in terms of this
Reposted by Jo
My baby is 20 today, and I can't bear it. It's not about him, it's about how me. And how the time flies and leaves you utterly bereft, astonished, depressed, ecstatic and proud all at the same time.
November 20, 2025 at 7:37 PM
My baby is 20 today, and I can't bear it. It's not about him, it's about how me. And how the time flies and leaves you utterly bereft, astonished, depressed, ecstatic and proud all at the same time.
Reposted by Jo
It's absolutely infuriating to hear the government claim that this is 'what the British public wants' to excuse its disgusting policies. No it's not what I effing want!
Asked if Keir Starmer believes British people want to "see refugee children pulled out of school and deported after 10 years in this country”, his spokesman says that “what the British public wants and what this government was elected on a mandate to deliver was to secure our borders"
November 17, 2025 at 4:58 PM
It's absolutely infuriating to hear the government claim that this is 'what the British public wants' to excuse its disgusting policies. No it's not what I effing want!
Reposted by Jo
Reposted by Jo
Yes, this definitely won't happen again and I will definitely never hear another person in power say they've learnt lessons, as it is so well funded that social care and schools have all the resources they need so it definitely won't ever happen again.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Council visited wrong house before Sara Sharif's murder - report
Sara, 10, suffered years of abuse before she was murdered by her father and stepmother.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Yes, this definitely won't happen again and I will definitely never hear another person in power say they've learnt lessons, as it is so well funded that social care and schools have all the resources they need so it definitely won't ever happen again.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Jo
🔥 Harrods: What do the survivors do now??
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
When power is untouchable: the legal abyss facing Harrods survivors
Survivors of abuse connected to Mohamed Al Fayed’s Harrods empire are discovering what “no one is above the law” really means
sussexbylines.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 8:11 PM
🔥 Harrods: What do the survivors do now??
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
The courts, the redress scheme, the police — all form part of the same legal abyss.
◾ Survivors cannot access the courts, let alone for trafficking
◾ Harrods’ “redress” is run by the institution itself
◾ The Met refuses to name the crimes as trafficking
Reposted by Jo
"Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge."
"Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs."
*Looks around at all the adults singularly failing to do these.* 😒
"Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs."
*Looks around at all the adults singularly failing to do these.* 😒
November 11, 2025 at 7:30 PM
"Be confident to try new activities and show independence, resilience and perseverance in the face of challenge."
"Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs."
*Looks around at all the adults singularly failing to do these.* 😒
"Show sensitivity to their own and to others’ needs."
*Looks around at all the adults singularly failing to do these.* 😒
Reposted by Jo
Reposted by Jo
As a parent of a teenage girl with mental health issues, this is one of the most heart-wrenching, horrendous things I have read. How quickly any of our children could find themselves in this situation. How can this happen? How have we let the state of children's mental health services come to this?
"...like a good little rule follower, I listened and trusted their advice. I was grateful even, for someone to tell me how to navigate this. Yet, all the while, a little voice inside me knew that Ruth needed something different." www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
‘The ward felt like a prison. What had I let them do?’: how my daughter was crushed by a health service meant to help her
Ruth was 14 years old and being treated for an eating disorder when she died after being detained under the Mental Health Act. She wasn’t allowed to see her family for more than a few hours a week. Ho...
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:31 PM
As a parent of a teenage girl with mental health issues, this is one of the most heart-wrenching, horrendous things I have read. How quickly any of our children could find themselves in this situation. How can this happen? How have we let the state of children's mental health services come to this?
Reposted by Jo
When children going missing from Home Office and local authority care was flagged couple of years back #r4today presenters uncritically repeated claims children were "voluntarily trafficked". It was an angle used by politicians, and still the idea of protecting kids is dismissed as a "pull factor"
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 2:38 PM
When children going missing from Home Office and local authority care was flagged couple of years back #r4today presenters uncritically repeated claims children were "voluntarily trafficked". It was an angle used by politicians, and still the idea of protecting kids is dismissed as a "pull factor"
Reposted by Jo
It’s just mad that any government allows this in contravention of long established impartiality rules.
🔴The Public Wants to Ban ‘Politician Presenters’ Like Nigel Farage But Ofcom Isn’t Listening
The broadcasting watchdog is refusing to act despite research suggesting viewers oppose politicians like the Reform leader being allowed to host current affairs shows
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/24/b...
The broadcasting watchdog is refusing to act despite research suggesting viewers oppose politicians like the Reform leader being allowed to host current affairs shows
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/24/b...
The Public Wants to Ban ‘Politician Presenters’ Like Nigel Farage But Ofcom Isn't Listening
The broadcasting watchdog is refusing to act despite research suggesting a majority of viewers oppose politicians like the Reform leader being allowed to host current affairs shows
bylinetimes.com
October 25, 2025 at 8:38 AM
It’s just mad that any government allows this in contravention of long established impartiality rules.
Reposted by Jo
Jenrick casting 1980s British football hooliganism as something that was easily dealt with by police and not an era defining issue which we're still living with the consequences of today... He's genuinely the most unserious person in British politics rn
October 17, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Jenrick casting 1980s British football hooliganism as something that was easily dealt with by police and not an era defining issue which we're still living with the consequences of today... He's genuinely the most unserious person in British politics rn
Reposted by Jo
Given how much the China spy case has dominated headlines, it really does beg the question: why is our political-media class so uninterested in Nathan Gill, his Russian bribes, his once close associate Nigel Farage, and Reform UK?
Our new Byline Times edition investigates what the media won't 👇
Our new Byline Times edition investigates what the media won't 👇
October 17, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Given how much the China spy case has dominated headlines, it really does beg the question: why is our political-media class so uninterested in Nathan Gill, his Russian bribes, his once close associate Nigel Farage, and Reform UK?
Our new Byline Times edition investigates what the media won't 👇
Our new Byline Times edition investigates what the media won't 👇
Reposted by Jo
Dear all -
I’d be very grateful if you could do this and share it.
I know many of you are Bylines readers… and this is s big community build. So please take a little time - and get some big love from all of us at Bylines Network.
THANK YOU!!!
I’d be very grateful if you could do this and share it.
I know many of you are Bylines readers… and this is s big community build. So please take a little time - and get some big love from all of us at Bylines Network.
THANK YOU!!!
Bylines Network Reader Survey 2025
10 minutes to shape the future of citizen journalism bit.ly/BylinesNetworkSurvey
10 minutes to shape the future of citizen journalism bit.ly/BylinesNetworkSurvey
October 15, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Dear all -
I’d be very grateful if you could do this and share it.
I know many of you are Bylines readers… and this is s big community build. So please take a little time - and get some big love from all of us at Bylines Network.
THANK YOU!!!
I’d be very grateful if you could do this and share it.
I know many of you are Bylines readers… and this is s big community build. So please take a little time - and get some big love from all of us at Bylines Network.
THANK YOU!!!
Reposted by Jo
There’s some right old twaddle out there, isn’t there?
October 15, 2025 at 9:47 PM
There’s some right old twaddle out there, isn’t there?
Reposted by Jo
This is fascinating. Is this how people correspond? I have never seen workplace correspondence like this and don’t imagine I ever will.
Former education secretary Sir Gavin Williamson texted the PM he had been 'f****d over' by decisions made without consulting him during the pandemic, the Covid inquiry has heard today
Williamson texted PM he was 'f****d over' by Covid decisions
Covid inquiry sees expletive-riddled text sent by Gavin Williamson to Boris Johnson over school closures
schoolsweek.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 5:40 PM
This is fascinating. Is this how people correspond? I have never seen workplace correspondence like this and don’t imagine I ever will.
Reposted by Jo
I walk past Alex's room and Elaine is sitting on his bed.
You ok, I ask.
He's so big now, she says, do you think he's ok.
He's loving it, I say, you saw him.
I still expect him to be in here, she says, playing his music too loud.
I know, I say, I'll leave you to it.
You ok, I ask.
He's so big now, she says, do you think he's ok.
He's loving it, I say, you saw him.
I still expect him to be in here, she says, playing his music too loud.
I know, I say, I'll leave you to it.
October 12, 2025 at 6:27 PM
I walk past Alex's room and Elaine is sitting on his bed.
You ok, I ask.
He's so big now, she says, do you think he's ok.
He's loving it, I say, you saw him.
I still expect him to be in here, she says, playing his music too loud.
I know, I say, I'll leave you to it.
You ok, I ask.
He's so big now, she says, do you think he's ok.
He's loving it, I say, you saw him.
I still expect him to be in here, she says, playing his music too loud.
I know, I say, I'll leave you to it.