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James Durran

@jdurran.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.1K following 304 posts

Teacher of English, media & drama for 24 years; now an adviser. Literacy, English & all things teaching. Views are personal. jamesdurran.blog

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Reposted by James Durran
English and Media Centre @engmediacentre.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
EMC CPD Webinar: How to Promote Reading for Pleasure "Hugely valuable and informative as always. Jam-packed session with lots of top tips, affirming reminders and practical modelling to take straight back into the classroom and workplace." - Leanne Appleby Book by: 8am on 9th Oct buff.ly/tozYEmQ
buff.ly
EMC CPD Webinar: How to Promote Reading for Pleasure
<p>In this EMC webinar we look beyond quizzes, stickers and certificates to think about how we might promote a genuine love of reading in as many students as possible. <em>NB: This is a repeat…
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Sue Cowley @suecowley.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I'm intrigued by this because someone made it up and then presumably claimed that people think these things in order to make a point about things that no one believes in such an absolutist way. Excuse me but how is that evidence based? 🤷‍♀️
Slide with 'seven myths of behaviour' claiming things like 'all behaviour is an unmet need'.
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Sue Cowley @suecowley.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
When you are doing something fun with your teacher you are learning that learning can be enjoyable. The people who say 'but they'll remember the wrong thing!' about unusual or creative lessons are completely missing the point. 🤷‍♀️
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"Don't ask 'What do you think?' questions. They're a waste of time." In reference to uninformed guessing, this may make sense. But if it becomes a general instruction to teachers (as it has in some schools - I've literally seen it worded like this) then that's catastrophic.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Well at least there's that.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
What could possibly go wrong?
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George Harris @historylecturer.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Route 9 has been substantially revised since the 2015 edition. Includes some fascinating less well known places as well as the Holyrood Parliament and the view from Salisbury Crags.
A map of sites to the east of the city.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Excellent discussion of social media ban. open.spotify.com/episode/4ows...
open.spotify.com
Will Starmer's social media ban for kids really happen?
The News Agents · Episode
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Remember - there is nothing wrong with the placebo effect. Parents and adults working with children rely on it all the time.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
A privilege to work with a group of such thoughtful and committed teachers. A really good day!
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George Harris @historylecturer.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Route 3, on the bottom of the Royal Mile, had had a lot if changes. Holyrood Palace has a new tenant, and the museums keep evolving.
Map showing a bottom section of the Royal Mile
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Mr E @theniceman.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
With the "inclusion" focus, as a school we are looking at how we manage (day in day out) the balance between challenge/overwhelm and between engagement/distraction. The balance and interplay. Not swinging to extremes. Thank goodness.
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Christian Moore-Anderson @cmooreanderson.eurosky.social · 07/06/2026
The purpose of the edu-fad is what it does: Post → christianmooreanderson.com/an-edu-fads-...
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Always sad when managing cognitive load, or increasing learning efficiency, becomes about default joylessness. Blank classroom walls. No jokes. Always silence. The argument is always about "marginal gains". But we're not shaving milliseconds off a cycling time. We're teaching children.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on the UK’s first centre for illustration: visual literacy, and the sheer joy of images, matter | Editorial
Editorial: A national institution for this overlooked artform shows it is finally getting the recognition it deserves
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on the UK’s first centre for illustration: visual literacy, and the sheer joy of images, matter | Editorial
Editorial: A national institution for this overlooked artform shows it is finally getting the recognition it deserves
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 31/05/2026
I love those hashtag-less posts that seem to assume that everybody is watching the same event. Things like: "Wow! That was some finish!"
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English and Media Centre @engmediacentre.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Talk, Drama and English: An EMC Teacher Conference "A truly brilliant day. The workshops were practical, useful and engaging. The panel were informed and motivating... I left buzzing with ideas that I am excited to implement at our school." Book by: 8am on 10th June buff.ly/0OKAMOk
buff.ly
Talk, Drama and English: An EMC Teacher Conference
Full day teacher conference, featuring keynotes, presentations, workshops and interviews exploring both talk and drama in their own right, as well as and looking at how they intersect.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Thought experiment for #English teachers: decades away, what individual pieces of writing about #literature might current #KS3 pupils remember doing? The only one I remember was a detailed proposal for staging Twelfth Night. I set it on an ocean liner.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
This took me by surprise, as I wasn't aware that the solar system had a warranty. From Magrathea, presumably.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Despite teaching to them for many years, it's only now, as a parent, that I've come to understand how completely and utterly I Ioathe and despise exams and the system built around them.
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English and Media Centre @engmediacentre.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Are we teaching English if students are silent + not allowed to articulate ideas? This blog shares one teacher's experience of a curriculum imposed from above. EMC view: English this ain't! @warwickmansell.bsky.social @natecommunity.bsky.social @englishassociation.bsky.social tinyurl.com/5a9anapp
englishandmedia.co.uk
How English pupils are being silenced in lessons
An English teacher sets out how he is required to teach by his senior leaders - and what it is doing to students
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Christian Moore-Anderson @cmooreanderson.eurosky.social · 08/05/2026
I think the MAT thinking behind this is related (among other things) to my new post: "Information theory and why "clearly explaining" isn't enough" christianmooreanderson.com/the-transmis...
christianmooreanderson.com
The Transmission Trap: What information theory tells us about teaching - Christian Moore Anderson
Claude Shannon's groundbreaking information theory focused on getting a message from A to B. We can use its principles to think about classroom communication: a
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
This is an important and very sad read, from @engmediacentre.bsky.social. www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/how-a-m...
englishandmedia.co.uk
How English pupils are being silenced in lessons
An English teacher sets out how he is required to teach by his senior leaders - and what it is doing to students
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George Harris @historylecturer.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Yes. Never forget that every subject is different. One size fits all is bound to cause problems.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Just a reminder that the recently published research on #setting pertains specifically to #secondary #maths.
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Mark Enser @ensermark.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
I’m available to support schools, trusts and organisations with: • Curriculum development • CPD • Quality assurance • Subject leadership support • Department improvement over time 3/4
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
"Others might bring up that abomination of a sentence, ‘learning is change in long-term memory’, which just ignores most of the ways in which we use the word..." I enjoyed this very thorough exploration of the visibility of learning, from @bernardandrews.bsky.social
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
It's fascinating to watch people define 'inclusion' entirely according to what they already believe and do.
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Rob Davies @byrobdavies.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
This is utterly jaw-dropping. A school that bans Atwood, Zadie Smith, Terry effing Pratchett and *literal George Orwell* is actively harming its pupils. www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...
indexoncensorship.org
School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship
A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
What does the poem do? A #GCSE_English #poetry revision tool. This is an OLD blog post, but many still find the approach very useful, especially at this time of year. #GCSE_English_Literature #Revision #Poetry jamesdurran.blog/2017/05/11/w...
jamesdurran.blog
What does the poem do? A revision tool
This is an approach which I have used successfully when revising clusters of poetry for GCSE. (Apologies for any parts which seem commonplace or obvious.) The basic idea is familiar – to prac…
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
What does the poem do? A #GCSE_English #poetry revision tool. This is an OLD blog post, but many still find the approach very useful, especially at this time of year. #GCSE_English_Literature #Revision #Poetry jamesdurran.blog/2017/05/11/w...
jamesdurran.blog
What does the poem do? A revision tool
This is an approach which I have used successfully when revising clusters of poetry for GCSE. (Apologies for any parts which seem commonplace or obvious.) The basic idea is familiar – to prac…
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Reposted by James Durran
Barbara Bleiman @barbarableiman.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Learning *about* a book, being given knowledge of context, being tested on that, annotating extracts based on what your teacher tells you, is not the same as reading a book. In KS3, students need to read lots of books & talk about them, alongside studying some in more detail.
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DamsonEd @damsoned.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Thread… This is the sort of brave leadership/school dev practice that develops innovative solutions to complex problems…. It is not the Ofsted implementation model. Neither is it a quick win. It takes time to develop the behaviours needed to develop well. bsky.app/profile/jdur...
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Beware of lowest common denominator teaching & learning policies Thinking of teaching and learning approaches as things to 'implement' in a school, rather than as things which evolve organically in the practice of reflective professionals and/or (in the secondary phase) reflective ...
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 17/03/2026
Beware of lowest common denominator teaching & learning policies Thinking of teaching and learning approaches as things to 'implement' in a school, rather than as things which evolve organically in the practice of reflective professionals and/or (in the secondary phase) reflective ...
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
New, short blog post. #Reading_for_pleasure is for all subjects. jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/15/r...
jamesdurran.blog
‘Reading for pleasure’ is for all subjects
‘Reading for pleasure’ is suddenly a topic of lively and interesting debate. What is it? What should ‘it’ be called? What is its value? Where should it sit within education? The discussion is focus…
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
New, short blog post. #Reading_for_pleasure is for all subjects. jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/15/r...
jamesdurran.blog
‘Reading for pleasure’ is for all subjects
‘Reading for pleasure’ is suddenly a topic of lively and interesting debate. What is it? What should ‘it’ be called? What is its value? Where should it sit within education? The discussion is focus…
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Great blog post on knowledge, spherical children and vacuums.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
99% of teachers are fully invested in supporting those with SEND in any way they can, and will work hard to do so. Unfortunately, there's a tiny minority who seem to resent making any accommodations at all, if this interferes with their view of how classrooms should be.
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Barbara Bleiman @barbarableiman.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
What a heart-warming, inspiring blog by Andrew McCallum, describing a superb lesson by English teacher Maddie Lynes! It reinforces the view that drama activities do not just create engagement & pleasure but are a highly effective way of embedding learning. www.englishandmedia.co.uk/blog/drama-i...
englishandmedia.co.uk
Drama in English: what embodied learning looks like
Revising for GCSE using drama strategies
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
Lots of great stuff on here at the moment on 'checking for understanding' (and on #adaptive_teaching generally.) At its core, it's all about #feedback_loops. jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/03/o...
jamesdurran.blog
On ‘checking for understanding’ and feedback loops
A lot is being written and published at the moment on adaptive teaching, and particularly on how ‘checking for understanding’ happens in classrooms. It strikes me that some of the discourse risks o…
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
NEW blog post: on the anatomy of great #classroom_explanations and the importance of #relationship jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/03/e...
jamesdurran.blog
Explaining in the classroom: the importance of relationship
I see a lot of explaining happening in classrooms, and I did a lot of explaining as a teacher. It’s a key aspect of instruction, which has been much theorised and written about. For what it’s worth…
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
This is such an important perspective, which is so often missing from discussions of "what works" in education. From @bernardandrews.bsky.social bernardandrews.substack.com/p/efficiency...
bernardandrews.substack.com
Efficiency is an educational vice
How ‘efficiency’ derailed education
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
NEW blog post: on the anatomy of great #classroom_explanations and the importance of #relationship jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/03/e...
jamesdurran.blog
Explaining in the classroom: the importance of relationship
I see a lot of explaining happening in classrooms, and I did a lot of explaining as a teacher. It’s a key aspect of instruction, which has been much theorised and written about. For what it’s worth…
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Reposted by James Durran
James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
How important is #relationship to teacher explanations? NEW blog post on the anatomy of great #classroom_explanations. jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/03/e...
1970s Hillman Hunter
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
How important is #relationship to teacher explanations? NEW blog post on the anatomy of great #classroom_explanations. jamesdurran.blog/2026/03/03/e...
1970s Hillman Hunter
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Terra Glowach @terraglowach.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
This is an absolute banger. Sharing with mentors and trainees today! THANK YOU.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
This is why children need phones on the way to and from school.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
On #teaching_talk Developing pupils' talk doesn't have to be about special activities - it can (and should) be organic to everyday classroom teaching. As schools and teachers turn their attention to #oracy, I thought I'd repost this old blog post. jamesdurran.blog/2019/08/14/t...
jamesdurran.blog
Teaching talk
Classroom strategies for the explicit teaching of spoken expression When we think about how to develop pupils’ talk in the classroom, it is natural to focus on the ‘opportunities’ we’re provi…
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