Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialPeter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I've talked to the Reform councillor in Portsmouth who had to explain to a masked vigilante mob outside the city's Marriott hotel that a group of young men who had arrived on a coach were not asylum seekers but an U21 cricket team from Pakistan. He called it a “massively unfortunate incident”. 1521080
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialAdam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 19/08/2026Honestly, how is this news? We’ve been writing about this for years. 311425
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialMarie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 14/07/2026right hello bit late to the game, but glad to see France are wearing their cunty little kits tonight 132378
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialAdam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 13/07/2026I've signed and sent a letter - from authors, broadcasters, journalists, artists, scholars and performers - to express our deep concern at @exeter.ac.uk’s troubling plans to make mass redundancies within the Humanities Dept @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social. I would love it if you read and shared widely. 9224126
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialDan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 01/07/2026What if Andy Burnham could raise £15bn – without a tax rise? There's one catch. He'd need to solve the UK’s biggest and least-discussed tax problem. Almost half of all small business corporation tax isn't being paid - and nobody knows why. Thread: 42540271
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Moses @jon-moses.bsky.social · 20/04/2026There is a viral video going around on X and Facebook which has been seized on by the far-right. It claims to show a young British Asian destroying a dry stone wall. But as so often with such ragebait, the video isn't what it seems. Here is my, probably forlorn, attempt to correct the record.open.substack.comThe far-right and a dry stone walla viral video promoted by racists is not what it seems 56527
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 11/02/2026“I’ve had more complaints at governor panel level in the last six to 12 months than I had in the previous 10 years put together" The huge increase in parental complaints are a known issue in the sector, but what is driving that rapid uptick? www.tes.com/magazine/ana...tes.comWhy are schools getting more complaints than ever?Headteachers are reporting a surge in complaints from parents. Ellen Peirson-Hagger explores the reasons for this and asks experts how the process could be made more manageable for overstretched schoo... 122
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialOtto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 08/02/2026The Daily Telegraph currently owned by a private equity vehicle RedBird IMI - based in the UAE and led by Italian American Gerry Cardinale and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Patriotic news. For patriotic people. Who don't want to pay taxes. 531430640
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 04/02/2026Do schools need to change course on behaviour? Research offers a number of approaches to tackling behaviour that have had little large-scale run out in schools - is that because teachers don't trust them or they haven't had chance to prove they work? www.tes.com/magazine/tea...tes.comDo schools need to change course on behaviour?'Bad' behaviour is damaging teacher wellbeing and disrupting learning, despite successive governments trying to tackle it. Could findings from behavioural psychology and child development hold the ans... 033
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialEnglish and Media Centre @engmediacentre.bsky.social · 14/01/2026How is poetry really taught in secondary schools today? We’re mapping the national picture in England. English teachers, your professional insight is essential! 5 minute survey: tinyurl.com/238cz6mu Project supported by Christ Church's Tower Poetry Development Granttinyurl.com 01213
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialSam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 18/11/2025The basic problem with the temporary refugee status policy - especially one lasting up to 20 years - is it leads to very few removals (based on Denmark's experience) but does significantly worsen integration. 29988286
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialThe Secret Barrister @barristersecret.bsky.social · 07/10/2025This is a lie. There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years. But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public. 11833731835
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialSarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 30/09/2025Apropos of nothing. www.glamour.com/story/the-mi...glamour.comThe Misogynistic Abuse Directed at Rory McIlroy’s Wife at the Ryder Cup Is Deeper Than GolfIt shows a cultural shift, one in which men feel emboldened to attack women in public without shame or consequence. 614243
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialderek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 01/07/2025Any time I talk about a wealthy person's outfit, someone in the comments is quick to reply: "They're rich, you think they care?" No one has to care about my opinions or clothes, regardless of net worth. But let's talk about the connection between wealth and aesthetics 🧵 604259578
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialLondon Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 02/06/2025‘Today, “fascism” is useful as a political concept only in so far as it enables us to spot its destructive potential before it fully discloses itself. As Primo Levi wrote,“‘it happened, therefore it can happen again.”’ @trillingual.bsky.social on far-right populism: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...lrb.co.ukDaniel Trilling · Is this fascism?As the historian Ian Kershaw says, trying to define fascism is ‘like trying to nail jelly to a wall’, yet for all... 0216
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialAdam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 22/04/2025Race is a social construct. But what does that mean, and why do we say this? An explainer, in the wake of Trump being racist and wrong (pt 675) www.bbc.com/future/artic...bbc.com'Biological reality': What genetics has taught us about raceAs US President Donald Trump takes aim at the Smithsonian Institution for "anti-American ideology", Adam Rutherford examines what the science of genetics has taught us about race. 117059
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialderek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 11/04/2025How much do you think it costs to make a pair of Nike shoes in Asia? Before you open this thread, take a guess. Settle on a number and then compare it to what you'll learn in this thread. 🧵 22672882356
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGuy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 25/03/2025After a tip-off from a wild camper, we went to investigate a recent moorland burning incident on Dartmoor this weekend. It's in an SSSI & SAC, on peat over 40cm deep, & on land belonging to... Alexander Darwall. So did @naturalengland.bsky.social, DEFRA and Darwall give permission for this burn? 816677
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGeoff Barton @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social · 14/03/2025Today, more than 700 representatives from across the arts & education world signed an open letter in @thetimes.com, calling for more opportunities for arts education for every child from every background. I was pleased to sign on behalf of the @oracycommission.bsky.social 14012
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialAdam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 11/03/2025Hey all, I started a substack, as I belive is a legal requirement for middle aged men. Warning: contains science, snark, light swearing. All free, for now. open.substack.com/pub/arutherf...open.substack.comPunctuated equilibriumHere we go. I have finally joined Substack. Science, history, politics, and possibly some pop culture. 1211312
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGaby Hinsliff @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Morning all. I really liked this by @johnharris1969.bsky.social on ‘Spotifycore’, aka bland filler background music for people half-listening that could easily (will soon) be made by AI; can identify the same tendency I think in Netflix content & publishing www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comSpotify’s biggest sin? Its algorithms have pushed artists to make joyless, toothless music | John HarrisMost musicians can only make money on the platform by writing songs inoffensive enough to get on to one of its vapid playlists, says Guardian columnist John Harris 4446
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialLaura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 10/03/2025Having had arguments with the DfE where they pitched 30th May as “still spring”, I hope they know the ordinary school understanding of this is “by Easter”. 2131
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJohn Dickens @johndickenssw.bsky.social · 07/03/2025I’ve been digging into the quality of EHCPs, plans that parents are dragged through court sometimes to obtain, and that are bankrupting councils What’s actually in them? Are they good quality? Personalised? Include interventions backed by evidence? Are they fully funded? The answer often is no 34437
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialSchools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 07/03/2025Special investigation: Interventions lacking evidence, copy and paste plans, health and social care missing - Schools Week reveals how EHCPs are failing vulnerable childrenbuff.lyInvestigation: How EHCPs fail our most vulnerable childrenEngland now spends nearly £11 billion providing education for children with additional needs. But what does the funding in EHCPs actually get spent on? 0117
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialAdam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 04/03/2025Apropos of nothing: THERE WILL NEVER EVER EVER BE A CLONED MAMMOTH. <Message ends> 3137357
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialDanC @danc.bsky.social · 03/03/2025More of this, please. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...theguardian.comThe left keeps getting identity politics wrong – and the right is benefiting from that | Ash SarkarInstead of liberation, we’ve ended up with competitive grievance, weaponised victimhood, and a focus on ‘I’ not ‘us’, says author and activist Ash Sarkar 131
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialSouthGlosHead @southgloshead.bsky.social · 02/03/2025This is a long but fascinating read: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...theguardian.comThe number of people with chronic conditions is soaring. Are we less healthy than we used to be – or overdiagnosing illness?Are ordinary life experiences, bodily imperfections and normal differences being unnecessarily pathologised? One doctor argues just that 253
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 26/02/2025➡️ How ‘efficiency’ derailed education The system has become too obsessed with a flawed argument for efficiency and has lost its purpose, argues @bernardandrews.bsky.social A challenging essay that is well worth your time this morning. www.tes.com/magazine/tea...tes.comHow ‘efficiency’ derailed educationThe education system has become too obsessed with efficiency and has lost its true purpose, argues Bernard Andrews 31610
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGeoff Barton @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social · 26/02/2025A stark picture of the nation’s declining PE & sport provision for young people: www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/f...theguardian.comBritain has 7,000 fewer PE teachers since London 2012 Olympics, MPs toldAn inquiry found 30% of children do less than 30 minutes of exercise a day while Olympian said physical literacy should have higher status in schools 074
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Moses @jon-moses.bsky.social · 26/02/2025Was told today that, since the pay-walling of Cirencester Park ten months ago, there has been a 72% reduction in people visiting. That's 72% fewer people accessing their green space, getting less fit, getting more stressed, all to financially benefit one of the wealthiest aristocrats in Britain. 22712
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialMary Myatt @marymyatt.bsky.social · 04/02/2025When we are making judgements about whether pupils and students are making progress, there can be a tendency to think that data on a spreadsheet can indicate something absolute about standards. /1 191
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialDr Amy-Jane Beer @amyjanebeer.bsky.social · 04/02/2025We knew pet tick & flea treatments contaminate every river via domestic effluents. Now we see they are poisoning bird nests too. These hideously ecotoxic compounds are already banned in agriculture so why are they still freely available for pets? www.pan-uk.org/garden-birds...pan-uk.orgGarden birds are being poisoned by pet flea treatments - Pesticide Action Network UKGarden birds, such as blue tits and great tits, are being poisoned by pesticides found in pet tick and flea treatments. 59044
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialLaura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 03/02/2025My hot take on the Ofsted stuff is that, if you had a well-funded system with lots of extra people, it would help drive school improvement (and *could* reduce stress). As the system currently stands: I’m concerned it’ll drown people in workload. 75510
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialRight to Roam @righttoroam.bsky.social · 20/12/2024REVEALED: over 1/4 of England's ancient landmarks have no right of public access. Analysis from Right to Roam indicates over 5,500 scheduled monuments were off-limits, with trespass the only way to fully experience our heritage. Read more here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...bbc.co.ukAncient landmarks closed off to walkers, campaigners sayThey include a neolithic burial mound in Wiltshire and an Iron Age hill fort on the edge of Dartmoor. 8226126
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialEngLangBlog @englangblog.bsky.social · 19/12/2024A fascinating overview of the whole WOTY business and why it doesn't quite catch what's really happening, from @tonythorne007.bsky.social theconversation.com/most-words-o...theconversation.comMost ‘words of the year’ don’t actually tell us about the state of the world – here’s what I’d pick insteadWords of the year do not have to be new coinages, but may be existing words that seem to have become particularly apposite or resonant. 12619
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialAdam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 19/12/2024The Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade led to a 7% increase in infant mortality in the USA. Well done all involved. www.ajmc.com/view/infant-...ajmc.comInfant Mortality Increases Across US Following Dobbs DecisionThe Dobbs decision was associated with a 7% absolute increase in overall infant mortality—equivalent to 247 excess deaths—and a 10% increase among infants with congenital anomalies, corresponding to 2... 411548
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialEnglish and Media Centre @engmediacentre.bsky.social · 12/12/2024HAPPY CHRISTMAS READING! Which books would you recommend this Christmas? Here's the 2024 list from the EMC team. www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/emc-chr...englishandmedia.co.ukEMC Christmas Reads 2024EMC's annual Xmas Reads list - what are your Xmas recommendations? 0113
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGeoff Barton @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social · 11/12/2024Well done to @voice21oracy.bsky.social on being shortlisted for @prca-hq.bsky.social‘s 'Voluntary Sector Campaign of the Year' for the 'We Need to Talk' oracy campaign: oracyeducationcommission.co.uk/wp-content/u... 0315
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialM.J. Crockett @mjcrockett.bsky.social · 01/12/2024Is it Bad to leave Twitter? No. Here are 7+ years of insights from my lab’s research that explain why. Featuring work w/ @williambrady.bsky.social @killianmcloughlin.bsky.social 🧵 691435540
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGreg Jenner (Historian) @gregjenner.bsky.social · 01/12/2024This obituary for the award-winning costume designer of Peaky Blinders, Stephanie Collie, is a wonderful tribute to her research process and skill. It’s easy to criticise costumes in TV historical dramas, but historical inaccuracies are rarely errors, they’re often storytelling choices 775902586
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGuy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 27/11/2024The number of pheasants released into Britain's countryside has increased TEN FOLD since Roald Dahl wrote Danny the Champion of the World. I went for a walk in pheasant country for the @CountryfileMag Plodcast - have a listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/12Uv...open.spotify.com274. A walk in Roald Dahl country with environmental campaigner Guy Shrubsole 515039
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Moses @jon-moses.bsky.social · 17/11/2024(From the Twitter Archive #1) Deep in my valley is a tree so old it makes my bones ache. There are only a handful like it in the country, and its boughs harbour some of our oldest stories. Yet almost no-one has ever seen it. 🧵 322047
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialMark Avery @markavery.bsky.social · 22/11/2024I would like you, please, to sign this petition to ban driven grouse shooting. The first under a Labour government. 10k signatures gets a government response, 100k a debate in Westminster parliament. UK residents & UK citizens living abroad can sign. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...petition.parliament.ukPetition: Ban driven grouse shootingChris Packham, Ruth Tingay and Mark Avery (Wild Justice) believe that driven grouse shooting is bad for people, the environment and wildlife. People; we think grouse shooting is economically insignifi... 35279195
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Severs @jonsevers.bsky.social · 20/11/2024There's no point just telling pupils how to learn - you need to embrace mechanistic metacognition: telling them why they should learn that way. Then watch outcomes increase, says Jared Cooney Horvath A big read, particularly good for planning revision www.tes.com/magazine/tea...tes.com‘Mechanistic’ metacognition: the key to student agency?If we want students to take control of their learning, we first need to implement mechanistic metacognition so that they understand how best to learn, argues Jared Cooney Horvath 074
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialGeoff Barton @realgeoffbarton.bsky.social · 19/11/2024Hello, new BlueSky followers. In April, I was proud to be asked to chair the Oracy Education Commission. You can read our final report ('We Need to Talk') here: tinyurl.com/yr9pp9af And there are dozens of podcast conversations exploring #oracy in its many forms: open.spotify.com/show/5UwEJKk...open.spotify.comThe Commission ConversationsPodcast · The Oracy Education Commission · Commission Conversations are short dialogues, discussions, and debates compiled by the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England. They are desig... 212247
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialDaisy Christodoulou @daisychristo.bsky.social · 16/11/2024A lot of discussion lately about the reasons for the decline of Eng Lit A-level. Are the Gove curriculum & exam reforms to blame? I don't think so, because the decline of Eng Lit / the humanities more broadly is a global trend. More here.buff.lyThe fall of Eng LitWhat is the cause, is it a problem - and if so, what can we do about it? 2610043
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialJon Hutchinson @jonhutchinson.bsky.social · 18/11/2024It’s important that everyone’s views and experiences are represented in this call for evidence on curriculum & assessment in England. Some groups, such as people of colour, have not always been well represented. If that’s you, please do complete & share! consult.education.gov.uk/curriculum-a...consult.education.gov.uk Curriculum and Assessment Review - Department for Education - Citizen Space Find and participate in consultations run by the Department for Education 12419
Reposted by @barbaraks.bsky.socialSam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 16/11/2024New post just out: "Dropping Out" Why improvements to school standards are at serious risk. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/d...open.substack.comDropping OutWhy improvements in school standards are at serious risk 2726773