Detention Diaries
Exploring Education, building a community
recent posts
- Questions and more questions. The white paper after some digestion… or lack thereof.
- Every Child Achieving and Thriving – Vision, Reality, and the Gap Between the Two
- Thank You So Much for the 8 Weeks. Truly.
- 🎙️ New Podcast: Progressive Masculinity, Modern Manhood & The Messy Middle
- Behaviour Headlines: Everyone’s Fault, No One’s Solution
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The government’s latest schools and SEND white paper arrives wrapped in reassuring language: inclusion, consistency, earlier intervention, joined-up services. On the surface, it reads like a long-overdue acknowledgement that the current system is creaking under pressure. But scratch a little deeper and a more uncomfortable question starts to form: How, exactly, is this meant to…
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Today, the Department for Education published its flagship education White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving. It sets out an ambitious vision for the future of education in England — one that promises inclusion, belonging, enrichment, and opportunity for all children, particularly those who have historically been failed by the system. On paper, it is…
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A heartfelt, standing-ovation, slow-clap thank you to theDepartment for Educationfor the absolute generosity of eight whole weeks of full maternity pay. Eight. Weeks. I mean… wow. While the bright sparks in the civil service who signed that off enjoy 26 weeks at full pay. Twenty. Six. It’s comforting, really. Knowing that the people who decided…
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A Conversation with Mike from Progressive Masculinity There are some conversations that feel important. Not performative.Not algorithm-chasing.Not “this will clip well for Instagram.” Just important. This week on Detention Diaries, I sat down with Mike from Progressive Masculinity to talk about something that is quietly (and sometimes loudly) shaping our classrooms, staffrooms and homes: What…
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Every few months (weeks? days?), behaviour is back in the headlines like it’s just been discovered. Breaking news: Children are difficult. Cue the hot takes. Cue the finger-pointing. Cue the urgency to “fix it now”. If I see one more headline that starts with “Schools must…” or “Parents should…” I’m going to laminate my face…
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There was a time when the phrase“You’ll hear about this when you get home”struck fear into the heart of a child. Now it’s more like:“My mum will email SLT.” And honestly? That might be the single most impressive behavioural U-turn in British history. Ask Not What Your School Can Do for You… …but what you…
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Every so often, you get to sit down with someone who doesn’t just talk about education — they’ve lived it, questioned it, survived it, and then tried to make it better for everyone else. This week on Detention Diaries, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ross McGill, the founder of Teacher Toolkit — a…
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So here we are again.Another headline.Another moral panic.Another attempt to fix a deeply complicated problem with a blanket ban. This time, it’s phones. Now — before anyone starts sharpening pitchforks — let me say this clearly:Young people are in an attention crisis.That part isn’t up for debate. But I can’t shake the feeling that once…
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I’ll be honest — I’m a bit flabbergasted. Not shocked.Not surprised.Just that very specific educational emotion where you stare into the middle distance and think, “Have we learned absolutely nothing?” Enter RISE. Our Bridget — Bridget Phillipson — has explained that: “The universal RISE programme is being promoted as an optional offer available to all…
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This week sees the release of the third documentary-style vlog following secondary school teacher Mr Gareth Holloway. In previous episodes, we observed Gareth navigating the routines of school life — lessons, expectations, meetings, and the slow accumulation of pressure that comes with the job. Episode three shifts the focus beyond the school gates. Filmed over…
