DamsonEd

A photo of Ripley, my cat, lying across my keyboard preventing me from working.

Thank you, Ripley. That’s enormously helpful.

This oaf is fast becoming a serious challenger to Daniel Hannan for the ‘Wrongest Man In The World’ title.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) speaks during a press conference. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Rep Stansbury: “The president & his admin can’t explain a legal justification for an eminent threat that gave them the authority to use the military—

They can’t provide an explanation of their war plan — they can’t explain why they’ve killed over 200 civilians — the president needs to be impeached”

Information sessions about the schools white paper are being run by @speechandlanguk.bsky.social next week. Sessions for families and for professionals. Please share with people in your networks (beyond social media!)
speechandlanguage.org.uk/what-the-sch...

This is almost exactly what I said would happen on yesterday’s show. The conflicting & contradictory reasons given for the war, coupled with client journalists & pusillanimous politicians on both sides of the Atlantic, will enable him to claim ‘success’ when nothing remotely successful has happened.

Obama: "We are living in a time where it can be hard to hope. Each day we wake up to some new assault on our democratic institutions. Another setback to the idea of the rule of law ... but this man - Rev. Jesse Jackson - inspires us to take a harder path ... bc if we don't step up, nobody else will"

Two issues:
1. The distance and lack of contextual knowledge of the advisers mean the programme may lack credibility.
2. There do not seem to be enough advisers in role. Being a trust/school leader does not necessarily mean you understand school improvement consultancy.

bsky.app/profile/scho...

DfE advisers RISE to the challenge (269 miles away) One in 10 schools in improvement programme have been paired with advisers in different regions

Investigation: Dozens of struggling schools enrolled in a £20 million turnaround scheme have been paired with experts based up to 269 miles away

schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-advisers...

I am 💯 for moving away from USA tech, but please don’t fool yourselves that tech built elsewhere will be ethical.
If you don’t believe me pls look at edtech globally. Schools are using software like Bromcom or Arbor or Bluesky ( not this one) that is built with just as little care or privacy.

£1.6bn SEND pot risks being ‘swallowed up’, leaders warn Flagship fund to improve inclusion in mainstream schools ‘won’t go very far at all’, and a clear national strategy is needed on how to use it, government is told

School leaders have warned that the government proposals for funding mainstream inclusion are “extremely unrealistic” and risk there not being enough provision to meet demand.

@jabedahmed.bsky.social with the full analysis below
www.tes.com/magazine/new...

If you (or your children, or relatives) are not vaccinated- please go and and get the jab.

bsky.app/profile/tris...

Measles meets ICE detention. What could possibly go wrong?

Hello E-DLD followers! Today's study aimed to investigate how young offenders viewed their language and communication abilities in different social contexts

Article summary: www.engage-dld.com/post/how-you...
Original article: doi.org/10.3390/ijer...

#DevLangDis #DLD #JusticeSystem #YoungOffenders

Monochrome photograph featuring a group of standing Indian women in an outdoor area holding banners

The hand embroidered banners of the UK women's suffrage movement created for/by British Indian suffragettes, 1911. Physician Princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh played a prominent role within the women's cause #WomensArt
#WomensHistoryMonth

Under-fire trust behind south Essex schools spent over £400k fighting damning review A TRUST under intense scrutiny spent more than £400,000 on legal fees in an attempt to challenge a damning safeguarding review, new documents reveal

Mossbourne Federation "could have spent [the money] on safeguarding improvements, SEND support and pastoral care," Thurrock councillor states. Follow-up by Essex local newspaper on my FOI which showed £400k legal fee spending: www.echo-news.co.uk/news/2590209...

Uta Frith has a long and highly esteemed research role in autism. This article is a valuable exploration of where our understanding of the types of autism is now and whether the concept of a smooth spectrum remains appropriate.

Really interesting thread bsky.app/profile/warw...

New: Multi-academy trust faces questions over its 25 per cent topslice
educationuncovered.co.uk/news/multi-a...
Central charges figure at 17-school University of Chichester (Multi) Academy Trust is one of highest I’ve seen.

Just spotted some more obvious errors in a set of accounts for another reasonably large multi-academy trust, which will feed into yet another story about high leadership remuneration. Am staggered that quality control processes are not better, given no of ppl meant to look at them.

School pupils in a classroom with a teacher.

The UK Government unveiled its education reforms last week but what do education experts make of them? Professor Stephen Gorard and colleagues share their thoughts.

www.durham.ac.uk/research/cur...

@sgorard.bsky.social | @durhameducation.bsky.social

This is a really interesting article but my main feeling reading it was

Finally

The idea of autism being a spectrum has been actively harmful to people with profound autism like my son

What UF is saying (and I wholeheartedly agree) is that we are in that stage in our understanding of neuroscience

Because we can’t clearly draw lines diagnostically between different presentations of autism, everything has pretty much been bundled under the ASD banner

One thing I love on here is how people go from being experts on the science of learning, to military strategies, to economics, to neurology, to biology, to football, all within the blink of an eye.
And often with no shame or self doubt in the slightest. Oh to have that confidence..

In just two months, Zohran Mamdani has:

-Launched the first stage of his universal childcare program
-Rolled Trump into releasing a detained Columbia student
-Used fair wages to get New Yorkers to clear streets and sidewalks during a blizzard

FYI: This is what leadership looks like.

I do get fed up with constantly seeing education posts that only quote research done by men or just name men as important thinkers. Education is a profession where the majority of workers are women. Why do people prioritise the views of men like this? Is it just subconscious bias?

"One of the weaknesses is the lack of local accountability...Decisions affecting our children shouldn’t be made by someone in Cambridge or London who isn’t seeing what’s happening on the ground”. Thurrock councillor criticises acads system re Mossbourne...

www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2026/02/25/c...

Interesting!

I think it is fascinating to hear a different viewpoint and perspective.

Even if you don’t agree. 😊

Even if you have different questions- a 10min discussion to think about them and share usually works well.

As you say, being engaged and thinking for yourselves. 🤷‍♀️

AI really isn’t that good.

More than 220m children will be obese by 2040 without drastic action, report warns World Obesity Federation says half a billion children will be overweight and calls on governments to act to create healthier environments

You’d think the DFE and others would be very very bothered about this, wouldn’t you?

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

A major step for inclusive education — but delivery in classrooms must follow Statement from Stephen Parsons, Co-Chair of the Speech, Language and Communication Alliance

As co-chair of the Speech, Language and Communication Alliance, here's our quick response to the schools white paper.
In particular we are emphasising early identification and empowering and training teachers.

speechandlanguage.org.uk/about-us/new...