Joel Kenyon

New Blog Post 📝 Politically, moving pupils away from academics and towards technical courses at 14 years old is popular, but that doesn't mean its right. Here I provide a real world scenario and a possible alternative for my friend Ben. joel120193.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...

New Post 📝 Ever been in a meeting where you are the only person who disagrees? Or a CPD session where you have to say it was worth it, even though it was a waste of time? This is groupthink. When professionals are unable to disagree, it can ruin a school. joel120193.substack.com/p/why-teache...

New Post 📝 The number of things a teacher is asked to remember and process in a given 60 seconds is immense and with the growing SEND within our classrooms, the cognitive load of teachers is being tested. joel120193.substack.com/p/the-60-min...

This is an absolute must read. It describes what most teachers see happening in schools. Children given support that is ineffective and is likely going to make their learning experience, and outcomes, much worse There is an SEND crisis in schools, but not in the way many people think.

Our July Policy Insights is out now 👇 bit.ly/4foJyGn 💷 Including an objective breakdown of the Teacher Pay Award 2026 ✍️ Featuring blog posts from @joel120193.substack.com @markmccourt.bsky.social @exheadteacher.bsky.social

New Post 📝 My favourite classroom tips are those that take the smallest amount of time to implement. These small changes to how we ask a question build and keep participation high. Here are some of the methods I implemented during Year 6 transition day. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New, slightly different style, blog post 📝 The future is today and with increasing costs and the rise of AI, there is reason to be weary of the changes that will happen in education over the next 20 years. What will education look like in 2045? open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

A great piece Joel - I don't know whether to be entertained or terrified though!

New, slightly different style, blog post 📝 The future is today and with increasing costs and the rise of AI, there is reason to be weary of the changes that will happen in education over the next 20 years. What will education look like in 2045? open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 I have been a teacher for some time now and there have been points in my career I have thought about packing it up and moving on. Here I reflect on what has pushed me close to the edge and what may actual tip me over. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

The cognitive overload some teachers experience is enough to leave them drained of brain power by the end of the day. That day in day out for years is enough to make anyone leave. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 I have been a teacher for some time now and there have been points in my career I have thought about packing it up and moving on. Here I reflect on what has pushed me close to the edge and what may actual tip me over. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 Revision. It is seemingly a thing that every teacher feels like they need to do for their pupils to be successful. But why? If you've taught it well, why do you need to do anything? Surely its now their responsibility? open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post📝 For years I have had my PowerPoint and at the start of my career it was my crutch I found it difficult to deviate from. Now, I have changed my planning and found less of a need to stress over a PowerPoint. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 I have relatives of mine who have recently become teachers and the most common questions they ask is how do I plan a lesson and why does planning take so long? It doesn't have to. This is how I do it. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 Science is formed through recall of knowledge of people long since passed. Creating classrooms that allow pupils to deeply 'understand' and discover science does not make a scientist. Allowing them to recall it does. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

Are you familiar with the collated _Stories from Physics_ on the IOP Spark website, from Richard Brock at KCL? No registration or paywall. spark.iop.org/stories-phys...

New Blog Post 📝 Using stories in your science lessons can help build a students understanding of science, even if its not on the curriculum. This is Hinterland. Here I discuss some examples in science and how to implement them into your lessons. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

First blog post from an amazing colleague on the hard work needed to build the literacy of our pupils. A great read on how implementing a strategy and changing culture takes time and effort. researchschool.org.uk/bradford/new...

New Blog Post 📝 Did the internet change education? I don't think it did. Will AI change education? I don't think so. The internet and AI do not change the motivation to learn. We have access to more info now than ever before but that doesn't make us smarter. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 Did the internet change education? I don't think it did. Will AI change education? I don't think so. The internet and AI do not change the motivation to learn. We have access to more info now than ever before but that doesn't make us smarter. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 Over the years I have received a lot of terrible teaching advice, but I have also had some brilliant pointers. Some of the best advice I have had has been seemingly insignificant changes to my practice. Here are five examples. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

New Blog Post 📝 Over the years I have received a lot of terrible teaching advice, but I have also had some brilliant pointers. Some of the best advice I have had has been seemingly insignificant changes to my practice. Here are five examples. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

Great teaching starts with great subject knowledge - @joel120193.substack.com shares how brushing up on electrolysis made him a better educator and why you should dedicate time to improving your chemistry knowledge 👇 edu.rsc.org/endpoint/kno... #iteachchem #chemed

Really good blog by @joel120193.substack.com on etymology as a tool for learning complex scientific vocabulary in science lessons (not just a one-off photosynthesis filler/explainer). open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

I enjoyed writing this post. Subject knowledge is such an important factor into becoming an effective teacher. There should be much more of a focus on this when designing CPD. Take into account your individual departments when planning.

Sometimes local press isn't always a school's best friend, but this post about our recent Ofsted is such a lovely read. Really goes into the journey we have been on as a school. www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo...

The AQA specification is currently 200 pages long. English Lang is 26, Maths is 44, Geography 40, Art 42 pages. Yes, these subjects are not the same, but there is a difference in the expectation of knowledge in science when compared with other subjects. joel120193.substack.com/p/science-na...

New Blog Post 📝 With the sheer amount of decisions a teacher has to process in a day, our brain often relies on fallacies. This is a look at 10 educational fallacies that often take place in school, what they manifest into, and what we can do to avoid them. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

If you're still inputting QLA data onto a spreadsheet or worse, making your colleagues do it - read this! Excellent from @joel120193.bsky.social

The football is so turgid that im sat here laughing at @joel120193.bsky.social blog in what feels like a masochistic manner. Like sorry what is this and why have we all had to do it?

That's accurate. Also of interest is that there's transparent advice from police to help ensure that things do or don't get escalated up to them. bsky.app/profile/9000...

Speaking with a primary school teacher who mentioned that students are coming to school in nappies, a lack of both fine and gross motor skills, not able to hold things for long periods of time, struggling to see, and is having discussions about what a book is. It's dark times.

These have a chokehold on male teachers!

New Blog Post 📝 Everyone is entitled to their opinion. However. As teachers, its important that we keep our opinions to ourselves and offer a balanced view. The balance is difficult, but in an increasingly political world, we could have undue influence. open.substack.com/pub/joel1201...

Finally, it's definitely time to ditch QLA as @joel120193.bsky.social argues effectively in this excellent piece. Luckily, this madness is less common in primary but I saw it once and my head nearly exploded with the pointlessness of it. joel120193.substack.com/p/death-to-t...