Life Learner

@engteacherabro2 Happy birthday! Have you taken your emails off your phone yet? 😉

Happy birthday to me! 44 has included lots of laughter and tears. It's meant Hong Kong, Hoi An, Japan, Rome, Helsinki, Vilnius, Tallin. 45 is about going into recovery for work addiction. Enough is enough. 🎉

@ajjolley @educationgovuk What are you hearing?

Just seen some worrying stuff on Breakfast clubs Wondering who is running it all in @educationgovuk because it’s turning into a bit of a farce

@Headteacherchat I feel it’s so much more than a scheme. Every staff member needs to understand how to form letters correctly and be on pupils when it’s not neat enough or formed correctly. This needs to be picked up on all lessons - not just in handwriting lessons.

Anon post: Does anyone have any tried and tested schemes for handwriting?

@NGAMedia Can we read a bio anywhere about why they were nominated? It would be good to see.

The finalists have been announced for NGA’s Outstanding Governance Awards 2025! From inspiring clerks to exceptional trust boards, we’re celebrating those making a real impact in school and trust governance. 👏 Congratulations to all! 🔗 nga.org.uk/news-views/dir…

A final piece of advice from Holly Butcher - written the day before she passed away from cancer at just 27: “It’s a strange thing knowing you’re going to die young. At 26, I thought I had time… To fall in love. Start a family. Grow old. But cancer doesn’t care about plans. Now, I understand how fragile life really is. Every single day is a gift, not a guarantee. I’m not writing this to scare you. I’m writing to remind you: really live. Stop stressing over little things. Be kind to your body- move it, nourish it, stop criticizing it. One day you’ll wish you had appreciated it. Go outside. Look at the sky. Feel the sun. Just be. Spend less time chasing “stuff” - more time making memories. Don’t skip moments with people you love. Laugh more. Write a note. Tell someone you love them. Complain less. Give more. Helping others brings more joy than anything you can buy. Be present. Put your phone down. Show up - really show up. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need a perfect body, or a perfect life. Just follow what makes your heart light up. Say no to what drains you. Make changes when you need to. And please - donate blood. I wouldn’t have had that extra year without it. And that year gave me memories I’ll hold close… forever. Thank you for reading this. Live your life well. And maybe… we’ll meet again someday.” Holly 🩷 Repost & share Holly’s important advice. ❤️

@ThomasJPitts @MusicOfTheDay44 Yes - we still use the ppts so we can evolve to this. Really grateful.

@MrsPrimary Thank you. Been a few years in the making. Developed from 195 PowerPoints in 2019 to this idea. I’d just like people to use it so spreading the word is helpful! Daily posts, when I remember, are on @MusicOfTheDay44 and on Bluesky and Facebook as well.

Lots of hard work has gone on to get to this point. September to December coming soon. August’s reading comprehension tasks linked to each of the biographies will be ready soon too. April to August now has those resources.

🎉 August is done! 🎶 I’ve just completed all 31 daily composer posts for August over at MusicOfTheDay.co.uk - a full month of musical discovery, featuring: ✅ Composer bios ✅ Listening links (via YouTube) ✅ Short introductions ✅ A mix of legends and lesser-known voices

@Headteacherchat I think they should be but find the disparity between their salary and teachers on UPS3 and associated expectations hard to align.

Anonymous post: Is it a statutory requirement for Senior Leadership Teams to include a Business Manager, or someone in a similar role, as part of their structure? Just checking what’s expected formally vs. what’s considered best practice.

@IRISPayroll_HR Can you follow me so I can DM?

@MrsPrimary Hello. We're sorry to hear this. Please could you DM us your name, company name and contact details and I'll raise this with our Customer Experience team to look into. Thank you, CP^.

@IRISPayroll_HR can someone please contact us regarding staff still having no access to P60s? We’ve been waiting 2 weeks for a response from various people and radio silence. Do we need to move payroll providers?

@bagshaw2112 What a lovely idea.

When my mum and dad passed 2 years ago, we brought a Kathleen and Walter rose bush from David Austin roses . Here are this years 1st cut. RIP Mum and Dad 🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️

@nourishworkplce Yes - hearing children read, helping with art/DT projects and going on trips and visits. Our volunteers are fab.

Do you use volunteers in your school? Apart from Governors and PTA? Our schools used to be full of amazing people volunteering in so many ways, but I feel since the pandemic we have lost that, or am I wrong? What is your experience?

@dave_mcpartlin @VirginAtlantic How did you choose the 20?

Twenty lucky Year 5s checked in and ready for take-off to New York, thanks to the incredible funding of the Turing Scheme (and well done and thank you @VirginAtlantic for your perfect service.) Time to make some amazing memories on the trip of a lifetime. ✈️

@ajjolley @bphillipsonMP @educationgovuk Was the national roll out for this September? Some schools only have 10 weeks of term left to organise it if so.

The breakfast club fiasco continues I don't know who is advising @bphillipsonMP on this, but they need some new perspectives This should have been a proper pilot where @educationgovuk cover ALL the costs, produce a report & learn any lessons before implementing everywhere

@Headteacherchat Books are expensive for parents though.

Anonymous Post: Does anyone know the name of the company that publishes books—either poems or short stories—that children contribute to and parents have the option to buy through school? Thanks in advance for any leads!

@Headteacherchat I’d look very closely at the budget forecast for the next two years.

Anonymous Post: Hi everyone, I have an interview coming up next week for a Headship role at a small school (fewer than 60 pupils), and I’d really appreciate any advice.

@DeputyGrocott 18 for some…

It must really annoy teacher haters that we’ve only got 23 work days until the next holiday.

@educationgovuk @kearsleywest Definitely not free. This will draw more money from schools’ already underfunded budgets.

Free breakfast clubs are on the way! 🥣 This month, families will benefit with free breakfasts for children and free childcare for parents – boosting work choices and life chances. Headteacher Jackie Fitton told us why her school, @kearsleywest, got involved 👇

A few days delayed, but it's April, a new month, which means it’s time for me to give away a class set of novels via my book shop @ANewChapterBks. For a chance to win, simply retweet this lil tweet.