Detention Diaries
Exploring Education, building a community
recent posts
- “Context Matters”… Does It Though?
- Will All Schools Join a Trust? …Pull the Other One.
- When SEND Funding Gets “Swallowed”: Who Actually Sees the Money?
- 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
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I’ve just read this piece fromTesabout Ofsted’s new framework and the way disadvantaged schools are being graded on “achievement”. And honestly? I’m furious. Not surprised.Not shocked.Just… tired and furious. The Headline That Says It All Schools with the highest levels of disadvantage are: Almost three times more likely to be graded down on achievement Let…
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All schools are heading into academy trusts… and I’ll be honest: I’m not convinced. Not in a “tin foil hat, the government are watching me through my interactive whiteboard” kind of way. More in a…“Have you actually seen how different these trusts are?” kind of way. The Grand Plan (Apparently) The idea, in theory, is…
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Every so often a headline appears that makes teachers across the country quietly mutter “well… yes… obviously.” This week it was from TES: “Leaders warn SEND funds may get ‘swallowed’ up.” For anyone working in schools, particularly those in disadvantaged areas, this won’t come as a shock. It simply confirms what many of us already…
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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…
