Retired DHT. MSc(Economics), BPhil, NPQH. Former AHT, SENCO, HoY, HoD, DSL. in the game for 22 years, man and boy. Traditional.
Joined April 2014
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Mark Adams retweeted
What is wrong with the term ‘zero tolerance’?
Why should kids and teachers tolerate ‘some’ disruption and learn less?
Why?
Especially when ‘some’ disruption always leads to ‘more’ disruption and then pretty soon you have a classroom of chaos.
Why do we find ‘zero tolerance’ so objectionable?
What is wrong with us? 😳
Here’s NHJ falsely conflating sending a disruptive student out of class with “zero tolerance” just to make people more reluctant to do it, even though her daughter says keeping disruptive kids in class is “deeply unfair” to kids who want to learn. But note that NHJ still calls it “good educational practice.” She’s is still advocating for what harms kids trying to learn.
Mark Adams retweeted
Remember this Richard? The school was 14th nationally for P8, > +1 for SEN and disadvantaged, behavior was amazing and ofsted said the school was outstanding - twice! What we were doing worked!
Mark Adams retweeted
14. But to assume that everything that Athena did was terrible - as this and other journalists have done - is just flat wrong.
And we wonder why we have a crisis with so few people wanting to lead schools.
Mark Adams retweeted
@WestMidRailway will the 05.35 from bham new street to berkswell run tomorrow morning pls?
Mark Adams retweeted
Trauma Informed Practice is extremely common in school discourse, particularly around behaviour. But it’s another area where extreme caution is advised, because the evidence for its effectiveness is still very thin. It *sounds* right (who wouldn’t want to be ‘trauma informed’?) but that doesn’t mean it works.
A recent study funded by the @YouthEndowFund and the Home Office looked at the connection between TIP and children's behaviour and involvement in crime.
Mark Adams retweeted
Children too easily diagnosed with ADHD and autism, GPs say
thetimes.com/article/7757ef6…
Mark Adams retweeted
Schools attempt lots of things. They rarely do any of these things well.
Mark Adams retweeted
People deliberately misrepresent Michaela. M v efficient. Staff & kids obedient. Everyone sacrifices to create this culture. M most visited school in country. KB takes Q every day. Detractors not prepared to do what takes to have that culture. The lies are boring but predictable.
Indeed. 👇
And then they say we ‘select’ kids.
We don’t. It would be illegal.
What we do, on so many levels, is do what others will not do.
We work hard. So do our kids.
From September of year 7.
That’s why our kids know more and are better people, and become adults one can admire and respect.
That’s why 1000 ppl visit us every year- to see what seems to be a miracle. Sign up on the website for a visit!
Michaela isn’t a miracle. It is simply the result of hard decisions and hard work.
It is doing what’s right, even when difficult, especially when difficult.
Those who hate us aren’t up to the task.
Those of you who quietly listen, wondering what to think - ignore those who fail time and time again and refuse to learn from those who succeed.
You don’t have to be like them.
Think differently.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Mark Adams retweeted
I’m finding the horrified reactions to this letter from the ‘be kind’ brigade revealing. Michaela gets extraordinary results for a deprived cohort, which should be applauded. What’s kinder, allowing kids to flounder, or being honest about what success entails, and demanding pupils make sacrifices to achieve the best outcomes they possibly can
Mark Adams retweeted
Indeed. 👇
And then they say we ‘select’ kids.
We don’t. It would be illegal.
What we do, on so many levels, is do what others will not do.
We work hard. So do our kids.
From September of year 7.
That’s why our kids know more and are better people, and become adults one can admire and respect.
That’s why 1000 ppl visit us every year- to see what seems to be a miracle. Sign up on the website for a visit!
Michaela isn’t a miracle. It is simply the result of hard decisions and hard work.
It is doing what’s right, even when difficult, especially when difficult.
Those who hate us aren’t up to the task.
Those of you who quietly listen, wondering what to think - ignore those who fail time and time again and refuse to learn from those who succeed.
You don’t have to be like them.
Think differently.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
I’m finding the horrified reactions to this letter from the ‘be kind’ brigade revealing. Michaela gets extraordinary results for a deprived cohort, which should be applauded. What’s kinder, allowing kids to flounder, or being honest about what success entails, and demanding pupils make sacrifices to achieve the best outcomes they possibly can
Mark Adams retweeted
What is this nonsense. "Inclusion" has come to mean any old permissive silliness
Pupils should be allowed to wear sportswear during lessons to make classrooms 'more inclusive', MPs say | LBC share.google/7yQU8wC8j3RJrBj…
Mark Adams retweeted
Easy things are easy. Hard things are hard.
It’s easy to excite a roomful of kids. It’s much harder to build calm, order and the habit of hard work. Too often, schools mistake visible engagement for learning.
If we want classrooms where serious work is normal, teachers need support to do what is hard.
open.substack.com/pub/davidd…
Mark Adams retweeted
theguardian.com/uk-news/2026… Guardian making excuses for riots.
Mark Adams retweeted
Abolish Ofsted and replace them with...what?
All the proposed "local accountability" models sum to substantial bias (both for and against).
Like it or not, education is in public ownership so needs a regulator and external accountability. So...replace them with what?
Abolish Ofsted.
theguardian.com/politics/liv…
ALT Zack Polanski tells NEU teachers' union that Greens would abolish "toxic" Ofsted
Mark Adams retweeted
Violent pupil behaviour is going ‘under-reported’ by teachers, with some staff even being discouraged from reporting it, warns @NASUWT leader @MattWrack
tes.com/magazine/news/genera…
Mark Adams retweeted
Huge huge huge money pumped into Ed sector. Huge salaries. Layers of bureaucracy. Outcomes poor. Nobody wants to address that. If we label kids as disordered we don’t need to examine failings in system.
Mark Adams retweeted
The whole nonsense of inspection needs ripping down. Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s all horseshit - reaching valid/reliable high stakes judgements about a school based on a short visit by strangers who couldn’t do a better job but presume to judge. What a job .. demoralise a community of professionals with zero responsibility for the fallout and then leave, spouting crap about being champions of disadvantaged children. The delusion of it. 😡
Mark Adams retweeted
Little Woody. 💙
Our first weekend walk today.
We got stopped by lots of people asking about him!
Lovely afternoon for a walk.
#puppy
