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James Handscombe

@jameshandscombe.bsky.social
1.8K followers 1.4K following 4.3K posts

Executive Principal, Mathematician, Teacher, Wordsmith not necessarily in that order.

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Reposted by James Handscombe
Alex J-W @alexjw.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Really sick of all the online maths homework tools - all trying to ´teach’ kids how to do specific questions but all doing it in the same way - telling kids to follow their specific procedure. Most of these procedures are divorced from underlying meaning really undermines teaching for meaning
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Robin Campbell @robincognito.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
But are they ruined? My mother has recently moved into residential care. She has sold her house and it is v likely the full value will pay for care costs. She is not ruined. She will have a stable situation for the rest of her life. Her father always said " there's nae pockets in a shroud".
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
They warned us Mamdani would impose Sharia law. Instead, he unleashed the real threat: line dancing in Bryant Park.
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Stuart Hayward @stuartteachphys.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Speaking really well without notes is a rare skill to be prized. Speaking competently is largely a question of knowing your facts and having thought through your principles. Thousands of teachers do it more than adequately several times a day.
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 24/09/2026
okay, today’s spicy hot take because I’ve seen this three times already this morning: The U.K. does not have any such thing as a ‘legal name’ this is a good thing! unequivocally! this means it also applies to people we don’t like
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thirty six fascinating pages on borderlands and liminal spaces just to set up this joke. Is @lewisbaston.bsky.social the successor to Terry Pratchett?
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Today's assembly was inspired by a piece of spoken word poetry that will brighten your day and which I recommend even if you're not interested in how I applied it to study. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8M... But if you are interested - this is the assembly james-handscombe.co.uk/ambition/but...
youtube.com
Lizzy Adlam - Butterflies || Spoken Word Poetry ||
YouTube video by I Am Loud Productions
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Today's assembly was inspired by a piece of spoken word poetry that will brighten your day and which I recommend even if you're not interested in how I applied it to study. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U8M... But if you are interested - this is the assembly james-handscombe.co.uk/ambition/but...
youtube.com
Lizzy Adlam - Butterflies || Spoken Word Poetry ||
YouTube video by I Am Loud Productions
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AgonyFlips @agonyflips.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
When you're ticked off and a friend sends you something to make you feel better. 🐑🔊
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I have many thoughts about this story but one is that we are extremely blessed in England to have an education system where schools in poorer areas get more money. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m...
nytimes.com
In Fighting for Every Black Child, Did I Betray My Own?
A decade ago, I made a decision about my daughter’s education that I hoped would challenge New York City’s separate and unequal school system. Now 16, she thinks I made the wrong choice.
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
British journalism and polling are both utterly implicated in the Farage funding scandal iandunt.substack.com/p/british-jo...
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It's been a busy week - my letter to The Times got published on Tuesday and I've only got round to it today:
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I talk about the success of the polio vaccine a lot - it’s an interesting combination of science and collaboration and progress and privilege - and it’s an ongoing struggle so we can ask why it’s so hard to finish the job, why there have been for over a decade a couple of areas that hold out.
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Laura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Sad to hear of Bonnie Greer’s passing. In thirty years of religiously watching Question Time she was always a stand out contributor. Graceful under pressure but willing to call nonsense. She’ll be missed.
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
All behaviour contains information but communication is a two-way process, listening as well as shouting. Not all behaviour is listening. Thoughts from @phoenixedsarah.bsky.social’s book launch (I recommend getting a copy for the ECT in your life) www.routledge.com/Questions-on...
routledge.com
Questions on Behaviour: Building Classroom Confidence as an Early Career Teacher
What do I do when children don’t seem to follow the rules? How can I create a classroom environment that promotes positive behaviour? How do I handle conflicts between students in a way that promotes ...
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Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Lukewarm take: I feel a lot of pessimism about the present is built on not realizing just how bad the past was. Like if you just read a book about poverty in a first-world country in the 1950s it's staggeringly worse than now.
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Ben Newmark @bennewmark.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is irritating and comes over as out of touch middle-class hand wringing. The problem we have with school dinners is portion size. Noticeably declined over the last ten years. Make sure they have enough to eat before we fuss about what. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Deep-fried food banned under new school dinner rules in England
The government describes its new school food standards as "once-in-a-generation changes".
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is the best critique of our electoral system I've seen - that it is incredibly sensitive to some small changes in voting proportions and incredibly insensitive to others (which is a more analytical way of saying "some votes count more than others")
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
This story is a perfect example of how broken reporting of the mobs roaming Britain's streets now is - and the political response. What would have been the appropriate response if this hadn't been a sports team? Trash the hotel? Force them out into the street? What about other people staying there?
bbc.co.uk
Group entered hotel of Pakistan cricketers mistaken for migrants
Protesters congregated at a Portsmouth hotel after false rumours that a coach of migrants had arrived.
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Ben Newmark @bennewmark.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
New blog post from me with my @knowledge-hub.bsky.social hat on. Stop Making Them Copy. What should we do when we just need them to get something down? theknowledgehubuk.substack.com/p/stop-makin...
theknowledgehubuk.substack.com
Stop Making Them Copy
As a young teacher, I used copying as a classroom management technique.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
On the importance of ministers understanding delivery. Guess the politician she's talking about...
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Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Schools are “on their knees trying to do more with less” after losing £4.5 billion to real-terms funding cuts in the last 16 years, report warns. schoolsweek.co.uk/schools-lost...
schoolsweek.co.uk
Schools £4.5bn worse-off due to real-terms cuts, warn unions
Schools 'on their knees trying to do more with less' as costs outstrip funding for a generation
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Peter Whitewood @pwhitewood.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Why is the answer to employers wanting more work ready graduates always that universities should provide more workplace training, rather than employers providing more training in the workplace?
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Ben Newmark @bennewmark.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Fascinating post on the nuts and bolts of teaching. More of this sort of thing please! The copying point is interesting - might explore this in a post myself..
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Charles Fourier @charlesfourier.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Bill Bryson’s words seem appropriate to post right now
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
For those that actually care about Israel's future - blind support while it demolishes the last vestiges of its global reputation is an incredibly bad strategy.
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Willerby @welcometowillerby.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Reader comment saying ivy in the story is feisty, spirited and protector of the underdog.
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Those of us in authority need to be better at making sure there’s no truth in this (otherwise what’s the point?)
Authority was someone telling you there was nothing they could do to help but they were sorry.
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Benjamin Riley @benjaminjriley.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
SPECIAL REPORT Last month, Alpha School invited people to follow student social media accounts "if curious about life in our high schools." I accepted their offer. What I've found shocks me. Forget the AI and ask instead: Is Alpha Schools a cult? Follow along for a summary of my findings.
buildcognitiveresonance.substack.com
SPECIAL REPORT: My So-Called Alpha School
What is it like to be a student in Alpha School’s high school boot camp?
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.
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AR @psalisbury.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Sarah is launching her book next week, see here: eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A... I played a small part in this book but can't be at this launch. But I would go just to hear @jameshandscombe.bsky.social speak. If you can make it, go...
eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Questions on Behaviour: Book Launch & Panel Discussion
Join editor Sarah Johnson to celebrate the launch of the book: Questions on Behaviour
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Stuart Hayward @stuartteachphys.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
A million times this... except now, it's 800000 times this.
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Ben Newmark @bennewmark.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This will be devastating for children with the most challenging needs. The wider we spread support the less able the system is to target resource to the most vulnerable. I know people don't like to say this but it is true. www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Pupils with Send plans in England likely to double to one in 10 in rush for support
Schools and councils express financial concerns as EHCP applications surge before potential change in provision
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Ben Newmark @bennewmark.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I wish people would listen most carefully to those of us with children with learning disabilities about why we are all so scared.
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Ed Davey @eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 03/09/2026
This is racism, straight out of the Trump playbook. Reform are trying to turn our great country into a franchise of Trump's America. There are countless British patriots who came here from overseas, many of them refugees we proudly welcomed. That's the kind of country we are.
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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Tip #3: in particular you don't need to give a full CV of each participant. Just identify them so people know who's who, and give their main affiliation. Later on you can say "Wendy, you know something about this topic as you were once in the State Department" or whatever. But don't start with it
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Elle Cordova @ellecordova.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Famous authors asking you out
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
One of the things here is the scam against journalists who publish “X-party is doing well in the polls“ and therefore give X-party airtime. Reform receive more attention than their representation warrants at least partly because of polling - the value of which is apparent here (£18,000)
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Stuart Hayward @stuartteachphys.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Evolving theory: Part of our problem here and now is losing things because their main purpose is redundant but their secondary uses aren't. We don't need libraries for books, but we do need free shared spaces. We don't need High Streets for shops, but we need them to anchor our communities.
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The line I like most in this is that we’re a school where a lot happens in a day (and boy, after day 1, I’m feeling it). I think this is the experience of most school staff - the challenge is to make it a reality for students.
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
A new term and a new assembly - philosophy from George Berkeley and tunes from Olivia Dean (I was thinking of going the other way round but Berkeley's banjo playing was renowned at the time for its inconsistent time-keeping). james-handscombe.co.uk/scholarship/...
james-handscombe.co.uk
Baby Steps | james-handscombe.co.uk
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Maths Locke @mathsmuse.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
As we go to a new school year, I'd like to post about my most effective behaviour management tool: My star stamp. You would be amazed at how much work a year 11 will do if I say I will give them a stamp for it. And then I call them a "happy little star". That's it. Acknowledge positives.
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Mark Harris @markharris.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Dolly Parton lived with a gay man for years. She was a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ folks and a philanthropic champion of childhood literacy and education, vaccines, and the black people in her community. "We don't know what her politics were"? Please. She lived them. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/a...
nytimes.com
Dolly Parton’s Cautious Politics Resulted in Widespread Affection
Bipartisan tributes demonstrated the success of the singer’s long-running effort to stay out of party politics in a sharply divided country.
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
A couple of instructive points in the allergy safety in schools statutory guidance (I know, what fun). 1) It's unacceptable to assume that not having a diagnosis means not having an allergy (Obviously right - diagnosis takes time, it would be insane to refuse treatment in this situation)
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
This is a nice small puzzle (that I suspect is hiding something big - I’ve not managed to nail It down in my head - time for pen and paper)
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James Handscombe @jameshandscombe.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Randall nails it* this morning. xkcd.com/3290/ *The pun is intentional but too weak for me to take any joy in it:
xkcd.com
Trade
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Laura McInerney @missmc.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The thing about Proportional Representation - the same as Devolution, or Brexit - is that when it’s not yet implemented, and there’s loads of intricate ways it can be done, it’s easy to believe you’ll get your favoured version and it’ll be great. Let Brexit be the lesson.
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