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David Didau retweeted
David is talking a lot of sense, as always. The oracy debate isn't focused enough on the knowledge that children will talk *about*.
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David Didau retweeted
This cuts through the oracy noise. Very good from David. Do read 👇
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David Didau retweeted
NEW The weird and complicated world of oracy
daviddidau.substack.com/p/th…
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David Didau retweeted
It's not true (and a slightly misleading generalisation) that SEND children face disproportionately high rates of exclusion. For a start, SEND isn’t a homogeneous category. @oldandrew's analysis of 2024 DfE data found that much of the apparent elevated permanent exclusion rate is concentrated among pupils identified with SEMH needs (who represent about 60% of the exclusions, but only 18% of the SEND cohort).
For boys with non-SEMH SEND the rate of exclusion was 0.13%, but for boys generally it was 0.11%, so almost identical. For boys with autism, the rate was identical.
For some other SEND categories, rates are at or *below* the average once sex or socioeconomics are factored in. Sex and social disadvantage seem to be much more important factors.
So the picture is considerably more complicated, and less conclusive than presented.
andrewold.substack.com/p/upd…
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David Didau retweeted
What didn't go into this list: not wanting to hear student voices, wanting silent classrooms, hating tongues / voice boxes.
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David Didau retweeted
A must-read. Evaluating education policy rigorously requires a) deep knowledge of the arguments, history & evidence & b) an awareness of what proponents & opponents of a policy value. @daisychristo demonstrates this in ways that our politicians would do well to learn from.
What impact will the government's new education policies have on standards?
substack.nomoremarking.com/p…
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David Didau retweeted
NEW Lend me your ears: how should we teach the class novel?
Most English teachers read the class novel aloud, and for weak readers it’s the only way into the book. But being read to doesn’t make anyone a better reader.
On the dilemma of teaching the class novel, and how to get the best of both worlds
daviddidau.substack.com/p/ho…
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David Didau retweeted
This seems like a bold claim to me.
Could you perhaps elaborate on why practising handwriting and application of developing orthographic knowledge to spelling would *not* support these elements of writing?
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Totally. To add to the fist point - be trustworthy: trustworthiness is made up of two things:
1. Honesty. This is more than just not lying. It’s doing what you say you’ll do.
2. Expertise. You have to know what you’re talking about. If you don’t, why should anyone trust you?
Good relationships are the outcome of a successful school culture, not its cause.
If you want relationships built on trust, first:
1. Be trustworthy
2. Create predictable systems of behavioural expectation
3. Imbed these as routines
4. Uphold, monitor, challenge and support
5. Relationships flow from these mutual, authentic expectations.
Relationships in a school are not based on affection. Nor is that the purpose. The purpose is the flourishing of all
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David Didau retweeted
Oracy floats on a sea of knowledge
The UK government wants oracy assessed “from primary to GCSE and beyond”. My take on why you can only speak well about what you know:
daviddidau.substack.com/p/or…
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David Didau retweeted
Super useful... good to read about the many dimensions to this debate.
It seems it's the assessment that is the particular issue here.
Oracy floats on a sea of knowledge
The UK government wants oracy assessed “from primary to GCSE and beyond”. My take on why you can only speak well about what you know:
daviddidau.substack.com/p/or…
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David Didau retweeted
"All this has to sit inside a curriculum that’s rich in knowledge, rather than as a separate strand with its own assessment and its own claim on curriculum time....Otherwise we risk treating oracy as a generic skill that can be developed independently of what children know. That didn’t work with reading and writing and I can’t see any reason to think it’ll work any better with speaking and listening."
Excellent, thoughtful piece by @DavidDidau is worth your time.
daviddidau.substack.com/p/or…
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David Didau retweeted
Great post, and a neat twist on James Britton's quote
Oracy floats on a sea of knowledge
The UK government wants oracy assessed “from primary to GCSE and beyond”. My take on why you can only speak well about what you know:
daviddidau.substack.com/p/or…
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David Didau retweeted
Imagine thinking children are born with magical secret fairy gifts that we can discover, rather than being capable of becoming good at things through careful instruction.
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It’s hardly brand new though, is it? My prediction is that it will be hackneyed, superficial & will drive down standards. Really hope I’m wrong.
We’re hardwiring oracy into the revised National Curriculum, so speaking, listening, and communicating will light up every classroom.
Read @LucyMPowell's speech in full: gov.uk/government/speeches/e…
ALT Oracy to be given equal status to reading and writing - as a brand new strand of the English curriculum. A photograph shows a teenage boy and girl wearing school uniform speaking to a class of pupils.
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David Didau retweeted
Customarily thoughtful exploration of oracy from the loquacious, sardonic, iconic @DavidDidau
Oracy floats on a sea of knowledge
The UK government wants oracy assessed “from primary to GCSE and beyond”. My take on why you can only speak well about what you know:
daviddidau.substack.com/p/or…
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