Thanks, Jenny. I think that it is worth looking in more depth (omitting m/c schools) as this is about the only way we can get an overall picture. I'd like to look at some schools below the 10,000 schools in the top half but don't have time alas. I do think that T-he Reading Ape and Tarjinder Gill ma...

Sorry - I've just posted the following response on another post. Apoloiges. Thanks, Jenny. It is time-consuming and of course the journey between PSC and KS2 should be treated with a little caution. Also KS2 reading success does require schools that focus on high quality, wide-ranging reading as ear...

Thanks, Jenny. It is time-consuming and of course the journey between PSC and KS2 should be treated with a little caution. Also KS2 reading success does require schools that focus on high quality, wide-ranging reading as early as feasible (broad knowledge/habit of reading is v. important)- and enthu...

It would seem that Margaret Clark and Stephen Krashen are impervious to criticism. There are, of course, decades of criticism of Stephen Krashen- promoted Whole Language (in spite of horrendous illiteracy and semi illiteracy rates in US,Australia, New Zealand).Krashen's notorious remark that a reaso...

Two of the finest research-based bloggers (who train secondary schools using Direct Instruction, Dianne and James Murphy) state the importance of sustained volume of reading from about Year 3. Following the intensive technical and practical knowledge provided by SSP from Reception -Year 2,I believe ...

I've tweeted with #rEDMel17included - hope that many of our Australian colleagues will read and sign the petition.

A timely post from regular blogger on Twitter, The Quirky Teacher:

https://thequirkyteacher.wordpress.com/ ... l-matters/

It is good to see the message board up and running again. And thanks in particular to Dave and Debbie, Anne Glennie and Maggie and her son.

"In reading, the gap in performance between pupils from advantaged and disadvantaged households in England was the equivalent of two years and nine months’ worth of schooling" There is much inequality and it is difficult to be motivated when a whole area is devastated by lack of opportunities to wor...

'1. Teach students academic language skills, including the use of inferential and narrative language, and vocabulary knowledge (minimal evidence) 2. Develop awareness of the segments of sounds in speech and how they link to letters (strong evidence) 3. Teach students to decode words, analyse word pa...

How admirable Stuart, of your wife to tackle the school so firmly (+ I'm also in awe that she has any mental space for this not long after birth of your youngest...!). What is sad is that we can't find the space/time to make this+ Volunteer's and other similar criticisms of Reading Recovery into a p...

I think that the evidence is already beginning to appear. Secondary schools such as Mossbourne have already shown that children in high poverty schools can make tremendous strides with good instruction, and ARK schools such as KSA, and new free schools such as Michaela are making huge strides for th...

This is an extraordinarily good paper from Professor Pamela Snow Elizabeth Usher Memorial Lecture: Language is literacy is language - Positioning speech-language pathology in education policy, practice, paradigms and polemics passage after passage deserves to be quoted - this is just one: 'spoken la...

This is broader than just Oxbridge but is a good indication of University entrants: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/education/2015/12/five-things-we-learned-higher-education-entry-figures A point that hasn't been raised is that private school teachers often have good contacts with Oxbridge Tuto...

There are now schools in deprived inner city areas that achieve outstanding results but these are mainly in London with high numbers of black, mixed race children. I've just visited Michaela School - knowledge based, absolutely no frills, Hirsh, Willingham and the US Kipp probably the main influence...