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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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Reposted by James Durran
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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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Ditto.
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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 · 05/08/2026
Add "-ai" to your Google search terms. It switches off the AI response.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
This particular piece of guidance seems like an example of the DfE catching up with normal policy in schools. But physically storing phones centrally seems over the top.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
Quite. Although in my experience, this has been the norm in all phases for a while anyway.
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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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Reposted by James Durran
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 · 22/06/2026
Ah! Rocheid Path. That brings back some memories!
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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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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
I'm not in Edinburgh so much any more, but intend to buy and use your book when next visiting.
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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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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
How could we forget? 🙄
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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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Reposted by James Durran
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
Yes, I think that's quite a common experience. Hence the thought experiment. How do we make pupils' writing about literature feel authentic? How do we make it personally meaningful?
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
😂
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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 · 16/05/2026
I can't help feeling, though, that we might be near the point where technology can help to lessen some of the cruelty.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Interesting!
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Whereabouts on Princes Street was it?
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
We've drifted frim my initial outburst-post, though, which was not about the societal value of exams existing or being as they are, but was an expression of personal hatred for their phenomenal nature.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
I'm not sure they're comparing it with anything. I think they're just experiencing it.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
That's a good point. Although I'm not sure many of those sitting exams feel liberated by the system, more than they feel judged and categorised by it...
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Liberal democracy is about values: it exists because people have pursued ideals. Exams are about cold utility; they exist to sort people.
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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Hmm. No, I quite like liberal democracy. It's not cruel.
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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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Reposted by James Durran
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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James Durran @jdurran.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Bleak.
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Reposted by James Durran
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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Reposted by James Durran
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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