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Tom Oakley

@mrtomoakley.bsky.social

1.1K followers 380 following 200 posts

Deputy Headteacher Former LA Maths Adviser Interested in professional development, curriculum and assessment

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Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · May 17

On #TDAPE this week with @kieran-m-ed.bsky.social talking about some of the leadership lessons I've learnt so far.

Hopefully, this interesting to anyone in leadership or aspiring to lead.

tinyurl.com/8fvmpuv8

Please share @headteacherchat.bsky.social @edfinch.bsky.social @marymyatt.bsky.social

Three Lessons Learned from Three Years in Deputy Headship

Thinking Deeply about Primary Education · Episode

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · 6d

Me too! Important and exciting work.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · 6d

Really enjoyed this session. Thank you both.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Aug 15

An article well-worth reading
www.aft.org/ae/fall2017/...

Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Do Manipulatives Help Students Learn?

Reposted by Tom Oakley

Jon Biddle @jonnybid.bsky.social · Aug 14

Just finished rewriting the overview for a weekly picturebook assembly which focuses on empathy, inclusion and diversity. It's still a work in progress but please feel free to use and adapt. All shares appreciated. The link is on my Padlet: padlet.com/Jon_Biddle/r...

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Aug 11

Great. Thanks for the recommendation, John. I've just bought it.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Aug 11

Great. I really hope you enjoy it.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Aug 10

Earlier this summer I read the debut novel by Marie O'Hare. It's brilliant and I keep thinking about it. I found it to be funny, dark, colourful and compelling. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm recommending this now because the Kindle edition is only 99p at the moment.
amzn.eu/d/hC3iV9B

#summerreading #bookclub

Book cover for Marie O'Hare's debut novel, called I Know Where You Buried Your Husband. The image is of a view of the sky, as if looking up from an open grave.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Aug 10

Haha. I actually did 5 when I read this.

(This only works in a font where 1 looks like a lower case L.)

Reposted by Tom Oakley

Christopher Such @suchmo83.bsky.social · Aug 7

It's the summer holidays, which means I have a copy of Primary Reading Simplified to give away.

Simply **repost** this post for your chance to win.

I will pick a winner on Sunday 17th August.

Good luck!

Reposted by Tom Oakley

Stuart Rowntree @primarythink.bsky.social · Jul 30

These four books are absolutely essential. I can't stress enough how important these have been to fundamentally shifting who I am as a teacher and a leader...

Thank you to @marymyatt.bsky.social @suchmo83.bsky.social #MichaelChiles & @pepsmccrea.bsky.social for investing such time into these.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

Anyone interested in Cadbury World tickets? I accidentally booked tickets for the wrong date and I can't go. It's for 6 adults a child (6-15yo) and another child under 5years old, for the 3rd September (not the 3rd August as I planned). If you're interested, send me a message. Please be kind.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

I learnt quite a lot from the reading, made some really great contacts through the face to face sessions, but the final assignment felt like a really big tick box exercise. If I could improve the course, I would remove the final assignment entirely and add more practical advice for doing the role.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

A quick note for the record: I enjoyed my NPQ course. The delivery was great. The networking and sharing of ideas etc was invaluable. It's the final feedback I find fault with.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

The NPQH and NPQSL final assessment feedback I've read recently is dreadful.

If you've passed, you get an email saying congratulations, but no feedback on your assignment at all. None.

If your assignment has been marked below the threshold, the feedback received is too vague to be helpful.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

It begs the question: Is it worth it?

If the NPQ feedback is so poor that it devalues the experience and doesn't help the participant, is the assignment really worth the effort?

I'm not so sure.

@bphillipsonmp.bsky.social @ambitioninstitute.bsky.social @teacherdevtrust.bsky.social

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

Same. I was left feeling like, "Is that it? I put so much time and effort into this, and that's all I get?"

The feedback totally undervalued the accomplishment and failed to give me any sense of how I could do even better.

I can now see why many participants feel numb about their NPQ experience.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

For those who didn't meet the 60% threshold, the feedback is slightly more detailed but still not detailed enough to be useful.

E.g. 'Your script was marked and moderated and you did X, but not enough of Y to pass.'

It would be useful if this came with specifics or advice, but both are lacking.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

For those who have been successful, you don't get any sense of why you were successful or any recognition of the bits you did well. It's a mystery.

This is one of the worst cases of professional feedback I've experienced. Although successful, there's nothing much to indicate achievement or growth.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 31

The NPQH and NPQSL final assessment feedback I've read recently is dreadful.

If you've passed, you get an email saying congratulations, but no feedback on your assignment at all. None.

If your assignment has been marked below the threshold, the feedback received is too vague to be helpful.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 26

... apart from that 🤣

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 26

Oh no. I thought you were being sarcastic when you said it tasted bad. I would've put my money on it being delicious.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 26

Awesome. And an epic Eye of Sauron in the middle. Double-win for the book- and food-lovers.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 18

Good luck with the book, John.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 8

Thank you again.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 8

Thanks for checking. I think the child should have had an F code, because she's been deferred and will do her SATs next year. Either way, I’m fairly sure her results should be in next years data, not this years.

Tom Oakley @mrtomoakley.bsky.social · Jul 8

Hiya James. What about pupils with a Z code? Are they in the data, too?