Stuart Rowntree
@primarythink.bsky.social
Primary Assistant Headteacher.
SEND, inclusion, literacy, safeguarding, data and assessment.
Every child's entitlement first.
Evidence-informed, people-centred and capacity-aware.
Daddy and husband.
SEND, inclusion, literacy, safeguarding, data and assessment.
Every child's entitlement first.
Evidence-informed, people-centred and capacity-aware.
Daddy and husband.
Teaching is genuinely complex professional work. Permanent immersion in delivery is not sufficient preparation for excellent delivery.
Education in our country has a strange tendency to regard time not directly spent teaching as suspect, when it could be transformative...
Education in our country has a strange tendency to regard time not directly spent teaching as suspect, when it could be transformative...
We Need a Revolution in Professional Learning
In this new paper by Professors Stuart Kime and Rob Coe they make the case for a different approach: one that protects time, builds expertise and looks carefully at whether professional learning is improving practice.
Download here 👇
buff.ly/PI6sE1W
In this new paper by Professors Stuart Kime and Rob Coe they make the case for a different approach: one that protects time, builds expertise and looks carefully at whether professional learning is improving practice.
Download here 👇
buff.ly/PI6sE1W
October 5, 2026 at 6:07 AM
Teaching is genuinely complex professional work. Permanent immersion in delivery is not sufficient preparation for excellent delivery.
Education in our country has a strange tendency to regard time not directly spent teaching as suspect, when it could be transformative...
Education in our country has a strange tendency to regard time not directly spent teaching as suspect, when it could be transformative...
I think society needs to be softer, calmer, more patient & kinder.
More willing to talk & to care.
I don't say that from any high ground.
I say it as someone who's needed all of those things and not always been given them, or been able to give them.
I'd like to think I can contribute to that.
More willing to talk & to care.
I don't say that from any high ground.
I say it as someone who's needed all of those things and not always been given them, or been able to give them.
I'd like to think I can contribute to that.
October 4, 2026 at 2:02 PM
I think society needs to be softer, calmer, more patient & kinder.
More willing to talk & to care.
I don't say that from any high ground.
I say it as someone who's needed all of those things and not always been given them, or been able to give them.
I'd like to think I can contribute to that.
More willing to talk & to care.
I don't say that from any high ground.
I say it as someone who's needed all of those things and not always been given them, or been able to give them.
I'd like to think I can contribute to that.
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
Tackling misogyny - what schools can do. @sarahmullin.bsky.social writes in @tesmagazine.bsky.social.
"Five research-informed tips to help schools take immediate action."
I think this is excellent. www.tes.com/magazine/lea...
"Five research-informed tips to help schools take immediate action."
I think this is excellent. www.tes.com/magazine/lea...
6 ways to tackle misogyny in schools
New DfE data shows that schools cannot ignore the problem of misogynistic language - so here are research-informed strategies to address it, says Sarah Mullin
www.tes.com
October 4, 2026 at 11:41 AM
Tackling misogyny - what schools can do. @sarahmullin.bsky.social writes in @tesmagazine.bsky.social.
"Five research-informed tips to help schools take immediate action."
I think this is excellent. www.tes.com/magazine/lea...
"Five research-informed tips to help schools take immediate action."
I think this is excellent. www.tes.com/magazine/lea...
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
The only way we're ever going to 'solve' Ofsted is to stop it being a competition. Have two categories: all fine/needs support.
If you buy into the idea that the competition is what makes people work harder you'll never get away from the problem. This includes posts about 'doing well' in Ofsteds.
If you buy into the idea that the competition is what makes people work harder you'll never get away from the problem. This includes posts about 'doing well' in Ofsteds.
October 4, 2026 at 7:04 AM
The only way we're ever going to 'solve' Ofsted is to stop it being a competition. Have two categories: all fine/needs support.
If you buy into the idea that the competition is what makes people work harder you'll never get away from the problem. This includes posts about 'doing well' in Ofsteds.
If you buy into the idea that the competition is what makes people work harder you'll never get away from the problem. This includes posts about 'doing well' in Ofsteds.
Looking to broaden my network and participate more on here.
I already follow lots of great people, but I'd like to find more genuinely insightful voices in & around education, esp primary, SEND & inclusion, psychology & assessment.
Recommendations very welcome and appreciated!
I already follow lots of great people, but I'd like to find more genuinely insightful voices in & around education, esp primary, SEND & inclusion, psychology & assessment.
Recommendations very welcome and appreciated!
October 4, 2026 at 7:02 AM
Looking to broaden my network and participate more on here.
I already follow lots of great people, but I'd like to find more genuinely insightful voices in & around education, esp primary, SEND & inclusion, psychology & assessment.
Recommendations very welcome and appreciated!
I already follow lots of great people, but I'd like to find more genuinely insightful voices in & around education, esp primary, SEND & inclusion, psychology & assessment.
Recommendations very welcome and appreciated!
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
If Ofsted is judging school standards, context is irrelevant. If it is judging school effectiveness, context is everything. The problem comes when they do the former but it is interpreted as the latter.
October 2, 2026 at 9:26 PM
If Ofsted is judging school standards, context is irrelevant. If it is judging school effectiveness, context is everything. The problem comes when they do the former but it is interpreted as the latter.
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
Today is #StomaAwarenessDay - here’s what I’ve learnt in the past nine weeks:
- mine is called Sven (when he’s good). Getting him quite literally saved my life.
- I have to wear a small bag almost all the time, as I have no control over my output.
- mine is called Sven (when he’s good). Getting him quite literally saved my life.
- I have to wear a small bag almost all the time, as I have no control over my output.
October 3, 2026 at 5:40 AM
Today is #StomaAwarenessDay - here’s what I’ve learnt in the past nine weeks:
- mine is called Sven (when he’s good). Getting him quite literally saved my life.
- I have to wear a small bag almost all the time, as I have no control over my output.
- mine is called Sven (when he’s good). Getting him quite literally saved my life.
- I have to wear a small bag almost all the time, as I have no control over my output.
1/3
Really interesting thread & I agree with more of it than I expected. Same bar for every child, yes. Working in an area of high deprivation every day is deeply challenging. Lowering the bar would be the opposite of kind. But a couple of things I keep coming back to...
Really interesting thread & I agree with more of it than I expected. Same bar for every child, yes. Working in an area of high deprivation every day is deeply challenging. Lowering the bar would be the opposite of kind. But a couple of things I keep coming back to...
1/n I am very much on record as not being an Ofsted fan but this is a worrying direction. This isn't the Premier League. Their primary aim shouldn't Be To Be Fair. It's to drive better schools for children.
Bear with me for nuance.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Bear with me for nuance.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
England school inspections to be overhauled again after barrage of complaints
Exclusive: Education secretary sends Ofsted back to ‘drawing board’ as teachers raise serious concerns about new system
www.theguardian.com
October 3, 2026 at 7:06 PM
1/3
Really interesting thread & I agree with more of it than I expected. Same bar for every child, yes. Working in an area of high deprivation every day is deeply challenging. Lowering the bar would be the opposite of kind. But a couple of things I keep coming back to...
Really interesting thread & I agree with more of it than I expected. Same bar for every child, yes. Working in an area of high deprivation every day is deeply challenging. Lowering the bar would be the opposite of kind. But a couple of things I keep coming back to...
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
Good morning #EduSky England!
The DfE has published the tender docs for the SEND CPD!!
Sadly I'm not allowed to share it with y'all.
I've now got 2 weeks to find some more strong partners to join our lead, tech, and some delivery.
I've got good contacts with a MAT, Parent carer forum...
The DfE has published the tender docs for the SEND CPD!!
Sadly I'm not allowed to share it with y'all.
I've now got 2 weeks to find some more strong partners to join our lead, tech, and some delivery.
I've got good contacts with a MAT, Parent carer forum...
October 3, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Good morning #EduSky England!
The DfE has published the tender docs for the SEND CPD!!
Sadly I'm not allowed to share it with y'all.
I've now got 2 weeks to find some more strong partners to join our lead, tech, and some delivery.
I've got good contacts with a MAT, Parent carer forum...
The DfE has published the tender docs for the SEND CPD!!
Sadly I'm not allowed to share it with y'all.
I've now got 2 weeks to find some more strong partners to join our lead, tech, and some delivery.
I've got good contacts with a MAT, Parent carer forum...
1/4
Been thinking about a thread on whether schools can really meet every need. Both sides are right. You can't build a classroom of 1 for every child, the funding, staff & capacity just aren't there. & yet children are still being let down. Sitting with both is hard.
Been thinking about a thread on whether schools can really meet every need. Both sides are right. You can't build a classroom of 1 for every child, the funding, staff & capacity just aren't there. & yet children are still being let down. Sitting with both is hard.
September 29, 2026 at 6:21 PM
1/4
Been thinking about a thread on whether schools can really meet every need. Both sides are right. You can't build a classroom of 1 for every child, the funding, staff & capacity just aren't there. & yet children are still being let down. Sitting with both is hard.
Been thinking about a thread on whether schools can really meet every need. Both sides are right. You can't build a classroom of 1 for every child, the funding, staff & capacity just aren't there. & yet children are still being let down. Sitting with both is hard.
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
On SNJ Today: Education researchers at the University of Oxford have shown that children in special schools have thriving social networks and friendships—the opposite of how their experiences are characterised by politicians: www.specialneedsjungle.com/research-soc...
September 28, 2026 at 6:30 PM
On SNJ Today: Education researchers at the University of Oxford have shown that children in special schools have thriving social networks and friendships—the opposite of how their experiences are characterised by politicians: www.specialneedsjungle.com/research-soc...
Doubt these habits begin at 15. By Y6 can often see which chn don't have somewhere to go after school. Enrichment in primary isn't an extra - where pattern can still change.
Schools can't compensate for society - even if asked to do so! But school is often only free, safe place left to belong...
Schools can't compensate for society - even if asked to do so! But school is often only free, safe place left to belong...
💡 NEW POST💡
‘Trapped teens: The bedroom generation’
“Schools can do a lot, but they cannot compensate for society.”
alexquigley.co.uk/trapped-teen...
‘Trapped teens: The bedroom generation’
“Schools can do a lot, but they cannot compensate for society.”
alexquigley.co.uk/trapped-teen...
Trapped teens: The bedroom generation
Around one in four 15-year-olds spend 6 hours or more in their bedroom on a typical weekend day. Consider that for a moment. These teens, hidden away in their bedrooms, often tethered to the blue-ligh...
alexquigley.co.uk
September 27, 2026 at 7:20 PM
Doubt these habits begin at 15. By Y6 can often see which chn don't have somewhere to go after school. Enrichment in primary isn't an extra - where pattern can still change.
Schools can't compensate for society - even if asked to do so! But school is often only free, safe place left to belong...
Schools can't compensate for society - even if asked to do so! But school is often only free, safe place left to belong...
1/4
Seventeen years in, I keep returning to reading aloud. It's easy to treat it as the gentle end to a busy day. I've come to think it's some of the most important teaching we do. Children can't love the sound of a book they've never heard.
Seventeen years in, I keep returning to reading aloud. It's easy to treat it as the gentle end to a busy day. I've come to think it's some of the most important teaching we do. Children can't love the sound of a book they've never heard.
September 26, 2026 at 7:52 PM
1/4
Seventeen years in, I keep returning to reading aloud. It's easy to treat it as the gentle end to a busy day. I've come to think it's some of the most important teaching we do. Children can't love the sound of a book they've never heard.
Seventeen years in, I keep returning to reading aloud. It's easy to treat it as the gentle end to a busy day. I've come to think it's some of the most important teaching we do. Children can't love the sound of a book they've never heard.
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”
— Jacob Bronowski
— Jacob Bronowski
August 22, 2026 at 1:00 PM
“It is important that students bring a certain ragamuffin, barefoot irreverence to their studies; they are not here to worship what is known, but to question it.”
— Jacob Bronowski
— Jacob Bronowski
1/3 I keep coming back to the calendar. If we’re serious about a more inclusive system, with better-trained staff, the answer can’t be more bolted-on CPD.
What if we worked in 5-week blocks, 1 week off, with a 4-week summer, and built development into directed time?
What if we worked in 5-week blocks, 1 week off, with a 4-week summer, and built development into directed time?
August 21, 2026 at 3:45 PM
1/3 I keep coming back to the calendar. If we’re serious about a more inclusive system, with better-trained staff, the answer can’t be more bolted-on CPD.
What if we worked in 5-week blocks, 1 week off, with a 4-week summer, and built development into directed time?
What if we worked in 5-week blocks, 1 week off, with a 4-week summer, and built development into directed time?
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
This is a pretty decent article about why describing autism as a spectrum has made it so broad as to be useless if not outright harmful to people like my E
Really glad @utafrith.bsky.social is persevering with sticking her neck out on this
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Really glad @utafrith.bsky.social is persevering with sticking her neck out on this
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A split in the spectrum? The ongoing battle to define autism
There is a continuing row over whether it matters if such a broad spectrum of people are defined as having autism
www.bbc.co.uk
August 21, 2026 at 1:11 PM
This is a pretty decent article about why describing autism as a spectrum has made it so broad as to be useless if not outright harmful to people like my E
Really glad @utafrith.bsky.social is persevering with sticking her neck out on this
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Really glad @utafrith.bsky.social is persevering with sticking her neck out on this
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
1/
I am still watching the Middle East very closely.
But there is another developing story I think needs bringing into the same picture: El Niño.
Not because it tells us what the weather will be. Because it changes the assumptions we normally use to plan around it.
#SeafarerMeteorology #ElNiño
I am still watching the Middle East very closely.
But there is another developing story I think needs bringing into the same picture: El Niño.
Not because it tells us what the weather will be. Because it changes the assumptions we normally use to plan around it.
#SeafarerMeteorology #ElNiño
August 21, 2026 at 8:54 AM
1/
I am still watching the Middle East very closely.
But there is another developing story I think needs bringing into the same picture: El Niño.
Not because it tells us what the weather will be. Because it changes the assumptions we normally use to plan around it.
#SeafarerMeteorology #ElNiño
I am still watching the Middle East very closely.
But there is another developing story I think needs bringing into the same picture: El Niño.
Not because it tells us what the weather will be. Because it changes the assumptions we normally use to plan around it.
#SeafarerMeteorology #ElNiño
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
The story so far:
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
August 21, 2026 at 1:00 PM
The story so far:
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
In the beginning the Universe was created.
This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move.
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
1/6 Regional gaps matter. London is the real outlier. The South isn’t uniformly better. The more useful question is what conditions make equivalent educational success harder to secure in some places than others.
🚨 NEW: There’s been no progress in addressing regional imbalances in GCSE attainment, with the gap between London and the rest of the country continuing to grow.
Our analysis of today’s results finds that regional gaps in both top grades and passes are largely unchanged 🧵⬇️
Our analysis of today’s results finds that regional gaps in both top grades and passes are largely unchanged 🧵⬇️
August 20, 2026 at 11:02 AM
1/6 Regional gaps matter. London is the real outlier. The South isn’t uniformly better. The more useful question is what conditions make equivalent educational success harder to secure in some places than others.
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
Seems part of vastly wider attacks with unsupported evidence on autism and adhd. It just doesn't hold up to evidence. And bang on we should question quality, waiting lists but NHS already did that... 3 times. We should be implemented findings.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism: interim report
www.gov.uk
August 20, 2026 at 10:55 AM
Seems part of vastly wider attacks with unsupported evidence on autism and adhd. It just doesn't hold up to evidence. And bang on we should question quality, waiting lists but NHS already did that... 3 times. We should be implemented findings.
www.gov.uk/government/p...
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Wonder how much a lack of prior knowledge introduces vulnerability - lack of dialogic interrogation?
Cognitive load meeting automation.
Remove extraneous difficulty, but not the intrinsic intellectual work of retrieval, selection, struggle, revision - the mechanism through which schemas are built.
Cognitive load meeting automation.
Remove extraneous difficulty, but not the intrinsic intellectual work of retrieval, selection, struggle, revision - the mechanism through which schemas are built.
August 19, 2026 at 7:17 PM
Wonder how much a lack of prior knowledge introduces vulnerability - lack of dialogic interrogation?
Cognitive load meeting automation.
Remove extraneous difficulty, but not the intrinsic intellectual work of retrieval, selection, struggle, revision - the mechanism through which schemas are built.
Cognitive load meeting automation.
Remove extraneous difficulty, but not the intrinsic intellectual work of retrieval, selection, struggle, revision - the mechanism through which schemas are built.
The Great ADHD Myth?
1/4 There were bits of this I nodded along to. We should question diagnosis quality, medication & the environments children are expected to cope with.
But asking difficult questions isn’t the same as proving ADHD is a myth!
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
1/4 There were bits of this I nodded along to. We should question diagnosis quality, medication & the environments children are expected to cope with.
But asking difficult questions isn’t the same as proving ADHD is a myth!
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
The Great ADHD Myth? review – the most controversial show of the year is here
Dr Max Pemberton isn’t uncompassionate or especially radical, but he assembles a team of medics whose stance on the condition is clear from the off. This is a documentary that will incense and offend ...
www.theguardian.com
August 19, 2026 at 10:30 AM
The Great ADHD Myth?
1/4 There were bits of this I nodded along to. We should question diagnosis quality, medication & the environments children are expected to cope with.
But asking difficult questions isn’t the same as proving ADHD is a myth!
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
1/4 There were bits of this I nodded along to. We should question diagnosis quality, medication & the environments children are expected to cope with.
But asking difficult questions isn’t the same as proving ADHD is a myth!
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
More time to listen to music during this break.
Purcell is a vibe lately - old, restrained and slightly weathered.
The repetition, ritual, stone rooms, candlelight in darkness. I'm more than ready for autumn.
Melancholic indulgence for someone who loves to withdraw every now and again.
Purcell is a vibe lately - old, restrained and slightly weathered.
The repetition, ritual, stone rooms, candlelight in darkness. I'm more than ready for autumn.
Melancholic indulgence for someone who loves to withdraw every now and again.
August 19, 2026 at 10:03 AM
More time to listen to music during this break.
Purcell is a vibe lately - old, restrained and slightly weathered.
The repetition, ritual, stone rooms, candlelight in darkness. I'm more than ready for autumn.
Melancholic indulgence for someone who loves to withdraw every now and again.
Purcell is a vibe lately - old, restrained and slightly weathered.
The repetition, ritual, stone rooms, candlelight in darkness. I'm more than ready for autumn.
Melancholic indulgence for someone who loves to withdraw every now and again.
Reposted by Stuart Rowntree
Just wondering if anyone else is watching this, & your thoughts.
#ADHD
@ka83k.bsky.social
@bennewmark.bsky.social
@primarythink.bsky.social
@hazelmpinner.bsky.social
@suecowley.bsky.social
@rlrossi64.bsky.social
@psalisbury.bsky.social
@stella-b.bsky.social
@alienwife99.bsky.social
#ADHD
@ka83k.bsky.social
@bennewmark.bsky.social
@primarythink.bsky.social
@hazelmpinner.bsky.social
@suecowley.bsky.social
@rlrossi64.bsky.social
@psalisbury.bsky.social
@stella-b.bsky.social
@alienwife99.bsky.social
August 18, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Just wondering if anyone else is watching this, & your thoughts.
#ADHD
@ka83k.bsky.social
@bennewmark.bsky.social
@primarythink.bsky.social
@hazelmpinner.bsky.social
@suecowley.bsky.social
@rlrossi64.bsky.social
@psalisbury.bsky.social
@stella-b.bsky.social
@alienwife99.bsky.social
#ADHD
@ka83k.bsky.social
@bennewmark.bsky.social
@primarythink.bsky.social
@hazelmpinner.bsky.social
@suecowley.bsky.social
@rlrossi64.bsky.social
@psalisbury.bsky.social
@stella-b.bsky.social
@alienwife99.bsky.social