A few thoughts, half-formed, as a contribution to a useful debate:
1. Oracy could be thought of as the best mode of formative assessment we have. It tells me what students know/have understood far more effectively than them scribbling on a whiteboard or me marking a book. 2. Oracy enables students to arrive at a relationship with the knowledge they have through articulation and application with an interlocutor. It is precisely what enables a teacher to check, challenge and correct misconceptions at a deeper level.

We’re going backwards with disadvantage. That’s all that really matters. We didn’t need P8 to tell us that. Ofsted no longer bother to look at PP impact or outcomes. They opine ‘curriculum’ is a magic tide that will rise all ships (but eschew defining what a good one looks like). We are facing strikes and deeper cuts in the year ahead. Many schools and trusts are going bust rapidly. We don’t know what to pay our staff and can’t afford to heat our sites, feed our children. Many of our buildings are failing. Our sixth forms are narrowing or closing.

Thread. This week is 20 years since I began teaching. Setting aside any existential dread, I've been thinking about what I think has changed over the course of my two decades of tinkering at teaching. Mostly hunches, offered with humility and as little certainty as possible... 1. We communicate more but talk less. I had an email account in '02, but paper memos and F2F briefings were the primary means of interaction. Staffroom culture was stronger, not because we had more time but because we had no other means to share and collaborate. That's a shame.

I posted a thread on leading teacher development that seems to have landed well. Thanks for the lovely feedback. Below is a similar attempt to distil approaches I've seen work well with behaviour and culture. More likely to be divisive, but offered with humility and no tribalism. 1. If children don’t feel safe, they are not safe. Poor behaviour is frightening and traumatic to victims, stressful to participants. Leaders must learn when and where children feel unsafe. Systems, sanctuary and supervision must be tight. It is a leader’s duty to be on duty.

I've led teaching and learning (in various roles) for a decade now. Below is a thread outlining 10 things I think can work best. I've implemented some more than others, succeeded more with some than others, but seen all of them work. I have changed my mind; I will change my mind. 1. Prioritise expertise. Reassure teachers that the development of their subject-expertise is your priority. Calendar time with their teams to work on this and improve their curriculum. Build networks with other schools to support this. Limit lonely actors.