Matthew Evans

Matthew Evans

@head-teach.bsky.social

Educationalist, author of Leaders With Substance, co-author of The Next Big Thing in School Improvement, blogger, everything mountains. https://educontrarianblog.com/ https://open.substack.com/pub/100assessment

1.1K followers168 following260 posts

Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social

If Ofsted is judging school standards, context is irrelevant. If it is judging school effectiveness, context is everything. The problem comes when they do the former but it is interpreted as the latter.

Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social

I’m enjoying this series of posts. Thanks @ensermark.bsky.social

Mark Enser@ensermark.bsky.social

*** NEW POST - PART TWO *** Continuing my quest to try and answer the question, if people forget so much of what they learn in school, what is the point of it all? In this part, I turn to the sociologists for answers. enserm.substack.com/p/sinister-s...

enserm.substack.comSinister Sociology of SchoolingPart Two: What is the point of school if everyone is so dumb?

Matthew Evans reposted

C. Kirabo Jackson
@kirabojackson.bsky.social

If spending more on schools raises the earnings of the children who benefit, does it eventually make the whole economy richer? My new NBER paper examines this using school-finance reforms. 🧵 www.nber.org/papers/w35755

nber.orgThe Macroeconomic Returns to School Finance Reforms: Micro-Calibrated Predictions Meet Causal EvidenceFounded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...

Matthew Evans reposted

John Burn-Murdoch
@jburnmurdoch.ft.com

New from me: Britain’s graduate earnings premium is falling, cue “too many go to university!” But non-university outcomes are also bad, cue “we must reform vocational routes!” Both miss the point: people used to think education drove economic outcomes, but the economy drives educational outcomes.

Matthew Evans reposted

Sara Alston
@seainclusion.bsky.social

If you are a school struggling to get your head round the changes in KCSIE and their implic ations for schools, my blog may help. Also I have a webinar on August 24th at 11am, please join me at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1993776837... www.seainclusion.co.uk/post/kcsie-d...

eventbrite.co.ukCopy of KCSIE 2026: Changes and possible actions for schoolsThe key changes and actions from KCSIE 2026. Everything you need to know to be ready and compliant in the new year.
Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social

“Publishing guidance does not mean it has been read. Reading guidance does not mean it has been understood. Understanding guidance does not mean it has been translated into practice. Translating guidance into practice does not mean it has improved children’s lives.”

Ruth Swailes @ruthswailes.bsky.social

I don't know if the DFE still monitors my social media, but if they do, I think they should read my latest blog. ruthswailes.com/all-at-sea-the-hidden-burden-of-guidance/

ruthswailes.comAll at Sea: The Hidden Burden of Guidance - Ruth SwailesThere was a time when keeping up to date in education meant going to a headteacher briefing once a term and checking the LA newsletter each week. Any updates would be discussed with the relevant staff...

Matthew Evans reposted

Ruth Swailes
@ruthswailes.bsky.social

I don't know if the DFE still monitors my social media, but if they do, I think they should read my latest blog. ruthswailes.com/all-at-sea-the-hidden-burden-of-guidance/

ruthswailes.comAll at Sea: The Hidden Burden of Guidance - Ruth SwailesThere was a time when keeping up to date in education meant going to a headteacher briefing once a term and checking the LA newsletter each week. Any updates would be discussed with the relevant staff...
Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social

On the list. Christian has a fresh perspective on teaching. One of those people who doesn’t just follow the herd.

Christian Moore-Anderson@cmooreanderson.eurosky.social

The paperback has finally been published! If Cognitive Load Theory tells us how to avoid overwhelming students, what comes next? Perfectly clear explanations don't guarantee deep understanding. Teaching Meaning, explores what works when telling isn't enough. mybook.to/teachingmean...

Matthew Evans reposted

Mary Myatt
@marymyatt.bsky.social

Year 9 is where ambition goes to die in too many schools . Options are chosen, GCSEs are looming and the curriculum quietly thins out. Teachers know it, pupils feel it. And yet we treat it as inevitable, a structural feature of secondary education, as opposed to a design flaw

Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social

The theory of change here is that giving people more things to work on means they are more likely to improve. And that telling everyone that they aren’t as good as you thought will motivate them to do so.

Schools Week@schoolsweek.bsky.social

The head of Ofsted says the fact that it issues more ‘needs attention’ grades than ‘requires improvement’ is evidence the watchdog is raising standards – prompting criticism for comparing new and old frameworks https://schoolsweek.co.uk/ofsted-chief-criticised-over-inspection-framework-comparison/

Matthew Evans
@head-teach.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/tea... “One thing I would say is that teachers often intuitively know what a child needs, even without a diagnosis. Together with parents, they can work out what the needs are and act on them straight away, rather than waiting for an assessment.”

tes.comUta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrumThe autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom, researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass