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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

🧠 ResearchEd National this Saturday! My session is straight after lunch in Room M07: 🎓 14.00-14.40 | Session 5: Consistency Is Killing Us: Reclaiming teacher professionalism and agency through PD at scale Leaders, teacher educators, professional development leads and mentors - see you there!

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

EdFest Session 4: Professional learning and teacher agency to improve recruitment and retention panel NFER’s @jackworth.bsky.social: - UK teachers rate CPD experiences as area they have lowest degree of influence over. - PD experiences are v.closely associated with teacher retention (or lack of)…!

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Link to curriculum design - we want to avoid an instrumentalist approach, and ensure that teachers are making high quality choices and when and how to enact formative action in their teaching. Through: constructive alignment - linking goals to teaching activities to formative action approaches.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

The final step? Checking and monitoring to see whether the action has made a difference. This is important not just for the teacher, but for pupils to self-monitor their progress, and to feel more successful following the formative action! This might be done using a “mirror question”.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

And, there are a range of actions we might take off the back of the information gathered, but, in any case, René says we have be able to respond quickly! How to do this? A pre-requisite first step - predicting problems.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

And now back to @rkneyber.bsky.social on the active ingredients of formative action that makes a difference.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

@valentinadevid.bsky.social making it clear that these formative action processes need to be top-and-tailed with a) ensuring pupils have a really clear sense of what good looks like, and b) a focus on how meaningful and useful feedback is given.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Other important differentiators: - A focus on the difference between *learning* and *performance*. - Increased discussion around the relevant points in lessons/curricula where teachers might best deploy these approaches.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Why reframe to ‘Formative Action’? - Increased emphasis on teachers acting - doing something - with the information elicited, as opposed to a misplaced focus on the idea of assessment.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

EdFest Session 3: Formative Action with René Kneyber @rkneyber.bsky.social and Valentina Devid @valentinadevid.bsky.social Intro - formative action is another way of talking about formative assessment! #EducationFestival

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Phenomenal provision clearly happening at all levels of the school, with some incredible stories of the impact this has had on the young people Derby Moor work with ⭐️ #EducationFestival

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Thrive - ARP largely for SEMH needs Nurture - Y7 transition provision for pupils identified as needing support Innovate - ARP for pupils working significantly below age and with multiple and/or profound needs - All supported by a key multi-disciplinary/agency team:

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Other element of EP: Nurture transition for pupils with additional support needs coming in from Year 6. - Again, re-aligning teaching with main school curriculum, to allow reintegration as a time appropriate to pupil. - Run by assistant SENCO, decision making about gate keeping by wider SEND team.

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

- New and well resourced facilities. - Bringing in specialist teachers from mainstream to teach subjects at both KS3 and KS4 - these teachers handpicked as the most effective and most skilled, not just those in time free on timetable. - QA of T&L same as in mainstream part of school

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

EdFest Session 2: Sarah McAneny-Vincent and Scott Doyle from Spencer Academies Trust on inclusion-by-design. Starting off by setting out their aspiration - to live the slogan of “Once Derby Moor, always Derby Moor” for all children in the care of the school. #EducationFestival

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

And finally @douglemov.bsky.social sharing a great starter kit for how we can use cold call in a way that’s warm, invitational and inclusive 🙌🏽 #EducationFest

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Back with @bradleybusch.bsky.social, explaining how incredibly warm and inclusive use of cold calling can increase pupil volunteering of answers over time and reduce “social loafing”!

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Why is this relevant? @douglemov.bsky.social tells us that in class, teachers and students constantly have to make decisions that are a) rapid and b) complex! And the risk is that our working memories are liable to being overloaded by the cognitive load of making decisions in the classroom

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

EdFest Session 1: @bradleybusch.bsky.social introducing Hick’s Law, where the greater the number of options we have, the longer it takes us to make a decision. Conclusion? Too much freedom and autonomy can be overwhelming - particularly when we need to make choices that are a) quick and b) complex

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

Stunning day in Cornwall for Inspiring the South West curriculum conference! Thanks to @celtacademies.bsky.social and @moremorrow.bsky.social for having me - this is such an exciting time for schools in the SW - really pleased to be here to talk about the curriculum and CPD. #InspiringSW

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Such a pleasure to co-facilitate "Implementing CPD so it Sticks" with @singhamarbeerg.bsky.social. A great group who had some fab discussions about teacher professional development that's both impactful and sustainable. My first time working with @innerdrive.bsky.social - thanks for having me! 🤓

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 08/12/2024

Brooding post-Darragh sunset in the south-west. Not a bad view to be marking assignments to…

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Nick Pointer @nickpointer.bsky.social · 16/09/2024

As one who puts a fair bit of emphasis on google reviews for places to eat and drink (perhaps too much?), I don’t love it when companies try to manipulate or pressure customers into giving 5-star reviews… This particular angle is a new one to me - adding a guilt trip into the mix! Dislike.

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