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Nick Dennis

@nickdennis.bsky.social
462 followers 164 following 192 posts

School leader and consultant | I work with schools at moments of change — inspection, growth, turnaround & cost review | Interim Senior Deputy Head, CATS Cambridge · Associate, Steed Education | PhD · MBA. www.linkedin.com/in/nickdennis www.nickdennis.com

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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
From today's FT. The work that went into the transition was tremendous. A difficult call for all involved, but if universities and medical schools have questions, then it will not work. What is surprising is that Bedales has now decided to keep four to five GCSEs alongside its own courses.
Image of news story that says "Top London private school reverses plan to scrap GCSEs".
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
If you want to build enough capacity to teach AI in schools, then teacher courses are essential.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
I can see a great KS3 curriculum unit taking on much of what he suggests. This book would be a useful start (and before you laugh, it is reading on the Oxford Executive Education AI course).
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
An interesting book but not one that parents should take to heart. Why? Susskind offers an enticing future of education based on the Oxford model. This does not scale to schools. What I took away from it is that History already offers much of the framework for an AI curriculum, so there is hope.
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Dan Lyndon-Cohen @danlyndon.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Just wrapping up our first element of our SHP Understanding event about emotion and history, with 3 workshops looking at the Holocaust, Munich Crisis and local histories through an emotional lens.
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
'In response to the era of artificial intelligence, and the questions it raises about culture, copyright and corporate power, the academics behind the Stuart Hall Archive Project have barred AI bots from accessing the data.'
theguardian.com
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Archive of @britishacademy.bsky.social Fellow Stuart Hall is now live. Includes looking at his impact on the history of communication theory, culminating in the architecture of contemporary AI models www.theguardian.com/society/2026... Archive link: stuarthalldigital.bham.ac.uk/archival_mat...
theguardian.com
Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online
Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
The feeling that motivated it has lost its articulating power. Winning the argument is not the same thing as keeping the settlement. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
What is going on in education in England?
Always count on the English to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Her answer is one of bafflement and I think it is the most interesting point in the piece. Despite the current government keeping the same label of ‘knowledge-rich’, and knowledge-rich curricula remaining embedded in regulatory inspection, the educational settlement is fraying.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Daisy Christodoulou’s latest post about the PISA results is worth reading and it ends with foreign journalists asking why England is moving away from policies that the rest of the world apparently wants to copy.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
No dungeon dragons were harmed in the production of the piece.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
What do A Tribe Called Quest, Sir Anthony Seldon, AI and scenario planning have in common? My latest post on the Public First report on AI in English schools. Despite the drive to enhance schools, it falls short because it does not use scenario planning. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/whats-the-...
nickdennisnrd.substack.com
What’s the scenario?
In the second post thinking about Sir Anthony Seldon and Tim Bunting’s report, I want to consider their approach to moving the country forward in terms of thinking about AI.
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Schools History Project - SHP @1972shp.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
So much going on from @1972shp.bsky.social at the moment! Regional forums popping up all over the place, a superb SHP Understanding event coming soon at @britishlibrary.bsky.social and resources being developed from older projects!
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
And a link to my blog if you do not like substack: www.nickdennis.com/blog/2026/09...
nickdennis.com
All the surplus you can find – Nick Dennis
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Some extended thoughts on the Public First/Sir Anthony Seldon and Tim Bunting report on AI and education. The main issue is that the report assumes a level of surplus that does not currently exist and needs to focus more on building absorptive capacity. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/all-the-su...
nickdennisnrd.substack.com
All the surplus you can find
As I read Sir Anthony Seldon and Tim Bunting’s report for Public First on AI, Britain’s Greatest Education Opportunity Ever: Why our approach to AI is stuck in the starting blocks; and how to get out,...
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Please help Alex out! #historyteachers
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Alex Ford @apf102.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hi #historyteacher people. I am hurtling towards PhD research deadlines and looking for any TEACHERS and PUPILS who might help out by completing a survey about GCSE American West. Aim is to explore pupil metanarratives about Indigenous peoples and US expansion. Thread has more on the surveys.
static.klipy.com
Doc Brown Stoked on Train - Back to the Future
ALT: Doc Brown Stoked on Train - Back to the Future
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Rather than continually asking what AI might be capable of next, it might be worth spending rather more time thinking about what schools are capable of absorbing *now*. That seems, to me, to be the more important strategic question.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
At the same time, there was relatively little consideration of what schools were actually capable of absorbing now, or how quickly they might be able to turn technological possibility into meaningful organisational change.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
For schools, it might mean that institutional change finally has the space to breathe. When I interviewed school leaders earlier this year, I argued that many were working with a kind of 'ghost scenario': an assumed future for AI that had never quite been surfaced or tested.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
That takes time, which makes the possibility now being discussed of a slowing in the rate of frontier AI development particularly interesting.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A school has to recognise what a new technology makes possible, develop sufficient expertise to understand it, experiment with it, establish appropriate norms and governance, and eventually translate all of that into changes in practice.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
We seem to spend an enormous amount of time discussing the rate at which AI is developing, rather than the rate at which organisations such as schools can actually absorb that development.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A few months ago, I wrote about what I learned from talking to school leaders about AI and the notion of absorptive capacity for my final MBA project. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/what-i-lea...
Image of the blog post
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
How do you climb places in the PISA rankings when effectively standing still? Many will claim it has to do with direct instruction, or a knowledge-rich curricula. This is belief not supported by the evidence. My latest post: All the running you can do. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/all-the-ru...
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Schools History Project - SHP @1972shp.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
We have nearly sold out our SHP Understanding event on Teaching History through an Emotional Lens, at the British Library on Saturday October 10th! But there are still some tickets left from www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shp-unders... come and join us for a really inspiring afternoon.
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Schools History Project - SHP @1972shp.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I'm excited to be kicking off the new term with a fantastic SHPU event @britishlibrary.bsky.social on Oct 10 'Teaching History through an Emotional Lens'. Expect stimulating source material, inspiring keynotes & a roundtable full of practical tips.Free tickets here www.eventbrite.com/e/shp-unders...
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Schools History Project - SHP @1972shp.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Check out my latest Director's Blog - Simply the Best, reflecting on the fantastic SHP Summer Conference in July director.schoolshistoryproject.co.uk/2026/09/05/s...
director.schoolshistoryproject.co.uk
SHP26: Simply the Best - Director's Blog
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Thanks! I think the CCF will have an impact when coming in to teaching - I suppose it will be interesting to see how it fits into appraisal etc. I think MATs will have a major say for a while until 2028 when all academies will be under the NC. That is why the work really matters now.
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Shell @risu.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
I hate substack but you don’t need to read it: essentially there is panic in edu about what should be the next fad, and how they can make it a cult when people aren’t on twitter. I’m old but I remember having collectives of colleagues who shared ideas. And more than Twitter follows as crediblity
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Not a massive fan of substack either. You can also read it on my blog: www.nickdennis.com/blog/2026/09... I'm not sure it is a panic, but it is certainly a repositioning.
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Alex Ford @apf102.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/the-great-... Another really interesting blog from @nickdennis.bsky.social on where things are heading with education. My key takeaway is that, if we are to see change, the DfE need to fundamentally rethink how they engage with the wider profession. #ukedchat
nickdennisnrd.substack.com
The Great Moving On Show
A common sense needs a commons.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
The ending of the knowledge-rich era in English education.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
New blog. The Great Moving On Show. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/the-great-...
nickdennisnrd.substack.com
The Great Moving On Show
A common sense needs a commons.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Developing future school leaders means giving colleagues the opportunities to think strategically, be involved in projects beyond their immediate remit and provide space and time to reflect on the work and its impact.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
On the 9th September, we'll be looking at developing strategic thinking and on the 23rd September, we'll consider the evaluation of leadership impact.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Looking forward to working with The Church of England National Society For Education Leaders Like Us Alumni in September on two important aspects of senior leadership.
image of teacher writing on a board in a classroom.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
The really interesting point for me is that Alpha school is sold to rich people who believe it to be superior and also have the resources to make-up any deficit in learning through tuition etc. They pay because they believe it gives advantage & once it becomes a mass market, humans will be key.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
How many academics actually speak to the education department in their own institutions about teaching and learning? New post - Degrees of belonging. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/degrees-of...
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Alex Ford @apf102.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
What u find most frustrating about discourse around high stakes assessment is the lack of nuance. Yes, covid teacher assessed GCSEs had massive bias issues. Yes, bias is an issue in TA. Yes, comparable outcomes places de facto limits on “good” passes. Yes, many kids are failed by high stakes exams.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
New post: Degrees of belonging. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/degrees-of...
nickdennisnrd.substack.com
Degrees of belonging
I think the university dislikes education as a field of study.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Link to the actual paper here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
papers.ssrn.com
The Generative AI Learning Penalty: Evidence from Chinese Secondary Education
Using 30 months of panel data on 26,811 Chinese students in grades 7-12, we study how generative AI affects homework productivity and learning. The data combine
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
The researchers also argue that the students who use AI and spend a similar amount of time on homework as non-AI students, achieve similar exam scores. Ultimately, this is about incentives. If it was not clear, it is always helpful to read the original research!
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
How this translates to a setting like the UK needs to be considered. Finally, the students did not appear in the study to have any training on how to use AI or the issues with it.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
First, the paper is not peer-reviewed and not is based on an RCT and the chart appears to show teacher set assessments, not external ones where the researchers say that proof is weaker. It is also based on data from one county in China where classes are around 50 students.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Seen these charts from the Economist apparently showing how AI is affecting student outcomes? You should read the paper...
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Feeling and the fraying of a common sense. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/feeling-an...
nickdennisnrd.substack.com
Feeling and the fraying of a common sense
I read Claire Stoneman’s blog post this week, ‘Knowing-that and knowing-how: Educator chatter and its impact on school leaders’ and think it is perceptive and important, although for very different re...
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Reading is not knowing. nickdennisnrd.substack.com/p/reading-is...
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Are you an education and AI lout? See what Raymond Williams has to say about it.
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Nick Dennis @nickdennis.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
New post: Interest and inertia. Raymond Williams on AI and education, in 1958. www.nickdennis.com/blog/2026/08...
Front cover of Culture and Society (1958) by Raymond Williams.
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