Bex Oldham

Y2 teacher and English Lead.ELS Phonics Freelance Trainer. NPQSL. Sheffield @TeachFirst 2016 . Mama to 👧👶💛 ✝️💕

[Dr Krish Kandiah OBE @krishk]

“God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

That verse from John 3:16 is the heart of the Christmas message we want everyone to hear this season.

We are standing here at St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, a church with an extraordinary history of service. The current building dates from the 1720s, but there has been a church on this site since at least 1222, meaning this parish has been worshipping and caring for Londoners for almost 800 years.

Through that long history, St Martin’s has been a place of welcome and action. From its steps have grown conversations and movements for justice that changed the world. It was involved in the founding of organisations such as Amnesty International, Shelter, and The Big Issue—efforts born out of real compassion for vulnerable people.

Later today, a rally organised by Tommy Robinson will take place nearby. In promotional emails he has claimed that left-wing elites are waging a war on Christianity, that Christmas is being erased, and that Britain must fight to preserve a singular “Christian heritage.” His language links migration and cultural change to danger, and casts political leaders as enemies of faith.

The flyers say this rally is “not about immigration.” But the message in the emails to promote the event he has said this is

Far more than a simple performance, this is a rallying cry for our core principles – a shining light in the midst of turmoil caused by unchecked immigration and the fading of our cultural identity.

We want the world to know this clearly: the values driving that rhetoric are not the values of the Bible.

When we look to the true Christmas story, we see something very different.

Mary and Joseph were forced from their home by a dictator’s decree.

God invited humble shepherds and foreign visitors to honour the infant Jesus.

And soon after his birth, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus became refugees fleeing persecution.

The Christian story—from Bethlehem to Egypt—is about love, hospitality, vulnerability, and grace, not fear or exclusion.

God so loved the world—not one nation or one tribe, but the whole world.

That is the message of Christmas we proclaim today.

[Cass & Anna - The Educakers @theeducakers]

Along with direct instruction, "Just Read", whole-class readers and high-quality texts, I thought I'd post a pic of something simple we do across KS2.
Every time a child finishes a book, the spine is photocopied and added to their class stack and displayed for everyone to see. We have instructional levelled texts to ensure everyone can participate.
This encourages some healthy competition, acts as recommendations to others and promotes reading whole texts. Well done to 6P who are currently smashing it!
@alipeters1961 @_MissieBee @MaryMyatt @OpenUni_RfP @tomtolkien @MissBPrimary3 @Misterbodd

[Steve Chalke @SteveChalke]

Education is about much more than school. A child is in school for under 20% of their time. So what we really need is an overarching, joined-up, inclusive, child-first vision. And then a long-term thoughtful plan to implement it.

[Dr Krish Kandiah OBE @krishk]

My youngest children are running in and out of the waves at the beach on a gorgeous, sunny day. They are laughing and splashing each other as they go. There's a bucket and spade ready for them to dig in the sand, and ice cream awaits them on the walk home.

All I can think is that I wish Bebe, Elsie, and Alice could enjoy this day, but instead, their families and neighbors are laying flowers for them at the police cordon in #Southport.

The 12 children killed by a missile in the Golan Heights will not experience the joys of another day at the beach, neither will the thousands who have died in Gaza.

Every child deserves to be able to enjoy their childhood.

There are things we can change to make sure children can live safely in our world.

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

@nationaltrust Cornwall South West coastal path is just stunning on a day like today! #summerholidays

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

Just logged onto my work emails to find that I have passed my NPQSL with @PotentiaTSH 🙌 happy holidays indeed!

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

@_MissieBee Thanks so much for this! I’ve just gone back after 10 months and it’s definitely been a shock!

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

@jonnybid @bookshop_org_UK Thank you so much for this!

[Hamilton West End @HamiltonWestEnd]

The country is asking to hear your voice. #Vote

[Susan Fletcher @sfletcherauthor]

Voting always makes me so emotional. I think of all those women who fought and fought for my right to do this - and, too, of all the millions in the world who are still without this right. A pencilled 'x' in a box, that's all - but what a privilege. 💪💗 #Elections2024

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

@mydentist_uk I’ve been attempting to call your practice at Walkley, Sheffield for 34 minutes. I keep getting to the queue and then the phone tells me the practice is closed. I am not impressed!

[Dr Krish Kandiah OBE @krishk]

Christianity has at its core the call to care for those in need around us. That’s why bishops and archbishops, princes and columnists, and many who claim to be Christians have refused to be quiet about a national policy that abdicates responsibility for responding with compassion to the needs of asylum seekers and instead sends them 4,000 miles away to Rwanda.

There is a famous parable in the Bible that clearly tells us how to react when we come across someone in need from another country, someone who doesn’t speak our language or follow our religion, someone who has faced a long, treacherous journey and has been attacked and exploited by an organised crime group. Passing by on the other side of the road is not an option. We can’t just get on with our jobs pretending that we haven’t seen them, hoping they will disappear into oblivion. We are specifically told to be a Good Samaritan and do all we can to help displaced strangers in need.

As the bishops in the House of Lords explained: “Our Christian heritage should inspire us to treat asylum seekers with compassion, fairness and justice, as we have for centuries . . . Deportations are not the way.”

The planned deportations to Rwanda, I believe, go against the essence of our Christian faith, against our heritage and sense of humanity. They also go against common sense.
https://t.co/PSdbHfL1Z3

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

This is a winner all of the time!

[Dr Krish Kandiah OBE @krishk]

This #RwandaBill diminishes us as a nation.
It shows we are willing to twist truth in order to wriggle out of responsibility.
@CompInPolitics @benandjerrysUK @

[Rich Villodas @richvillodas]

Holy Saturday reminds us that the space between death and resurrection is often dark, lonely, and disorienting.

Life can feel like one long Holy Saturday.

But we are invited to cling to God nonetheless because something new is about to burst forth.

#HolySaturday

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

@PotentiaTSH @mtptproject No I haven’t. Thanks for sharing!

[Bex Oldham @bexoldham16]

Thankful for my sister having baby girl today so that I could attend my #NPQSL assessment webinar. Time to try and get my brain back in work mode! #maternityleave @PotentiaTSH

[Mark Russell @markrusselluk]

Truly shocking story on @BBCNews about the terrible suffering that children are facing in Gaza. My heart breaks for these children. I urge all governments to redouble their efforts to get a ceasefire so these children get the help they urgently need https://t.co/QMVgpkmu03