James Yates

What's your interpretation of this?

YES TOILET DISCOURSE IS BACK which means I get to wheel out my fave graph

Fidget spinners are so helpful for students' concentration and focus that as soon as they weren't cool anymore they stopped working

Do fidget spinners help with focus? No. Not at all. Do they help neurodiverse students? Also no.

There are no schools in the UK that follow a ‘no excuses’ model. This entire argument is based on tilting at a windmill that doesn’t exist. There are lots of schools with high standards, high expectations etc. This is not the same thing, and pretending they are is an enormous disservice to the schools that work incredibly hard to keep often chaotic environments safe for children, and demonstrates a lack of familiarity with the landscape of schools. Schools where chaotic behaviour is normal are *incredibly* bad environments for student safety, liberty, rights, mental health, wellbeing….and learning. In order to properly criticise a school it is necessary to spend time in the school. This is why Ofsted don’t write their evaluations based on what they read about a school on social media, plus a few angry letters from parents. I’ve been to all the schools described here. They’re strict, but very happy environments where children tell me they enjoy it, and they’re free from the instability of bullying, disruption etc. They also tell me how bad it used to be, how unsafe, etc. These schools are working miracles. They’re doing exactly what we hope they would for kids, especially disadvantaged children or children with SEN: they’re giving them a great education is a safe environment. And still, arguments are made against them, often ideological or theoretical in basis. I invite critics of these brilliant schools to set up their own schools, and demonstrate what they would do instead. Until then, I applaud these brilliant leaders, teachers and staff for the good that they do, because they actually make a difference in the lives of children in the real world.