Judith Chipps

Assistant Principal for SEND & Inclusion, #SENCO, previously Head of Science & lead practitioner, owner of many dogs & cats, amateur gardener, NPQLT

[Judith Chipps @chipps_sci]

@EyesShutTeacher @NazMeerhout @englishspecial 2/3rds - combined science is a double award, so 2 GCSEs worth of content

[Tom Sherrington @teacherhead]

Reviewing lessons from the perspective of the least confident. Are you reaching them? https://t.co/lFn0Ic0lUZ SEND provision starts here.

[Adam Boxer @adamboxer1]

The last question to the panel was "what would you like the new government to do on curriculum and assessment?"

My answer:

If we are talking about curriculum and assessment, the biggest thing for me is a reduction. There's too much content across the board, and we need to strip back. We also need to stop assessment backwash, where exam mark schemes become a part of the curriculum and determine what students do and don't learn.

But that's if we're talking curriculum and assessment. If we're talking education in general - if @bphillipsonMP picked up the phone to me and said "what's the biggest thing in education" I would say something else:

Broadly, the education system itself in this country is working. Training is getting better, standards are improving, professionalism and professional knowledge is increasing and slowly, slowly, outcomes across the board are heading in the right direction. Curriculum and assessment need some changes, fixes, and tweaks, but in a broad sense they work.

What isn't working is everything else: we can't access CAMHS and we don't get hold of social workers. We have a two child limit and a benefits cap that keeps children hungry and in poverty. We have income cliff-edges that mean children whose parents can't afford meals are also not eligible for free school meals. We don't have Sure Start, we don't have youth centres. The SEND infrastructure is byzantine, underfunded and on the verge of collapse. The very fabric of the social security net is tattered and frayed, and vulnerable young children are falling through the gaps. Parents have lost faith in the system, and are losing their trust in schools and teachers.

Despite this, schools are heroically battling the odds to provide students with a high-quality, robust and meaningful education. But when everything outside our gates is in such disrepair there's a limit to what we can do.

So yes, there are things within education that need fixing. But the main thing - the biggest thing - is everything else. The best thing you can do for us is to fix that.

[Miss Aird @miss_aird]

🚨 New quick guide alert! 🚨

Discover how @MicrosoftEDU digital tools can empower pupils with dyslexia to enhance their learning experience.

⬇️ Download here: https://t.co/YhrqAeq6gv

@mtholfsen #InclusiveEducation #dyslexia

[Judith Chipps @chipps_sci]

@oldandrewuk School Days by ACDC (cover of Chuck Berry) 👌

[Judith Chipps @chipps_sci]

@stoneman_claire I haven't chosen the responsibility of having children - it doesn't mean I won't make that choice at some point in the future, but the pressure of expectation is intense, & I don't feel like I'd regret not having children, which is always what people say 🤷‍♀️

[Judith Chipps @chipps_sci]

@stoneman_claire The more I have been thinking about this lately (as a 37yo married woman without children), the more I've been asking why the assumption is that people choose not to have children - as in the default is that you must opt out - rather than that people choose to have them (opt in).

[Claire Stoneman @stoneman_claire]

New post

Can you be a good teacher if you don’t have kids?

https://t.co/gKxSRPsarR

[David Didau @DavidDidau]

8300 now. 1700 more names needed.

Please sign this to help Sarah and her family. And other families is similar positions

[Amy Baxter @AmyBaxter2412]

I've had a couple of requests to be able to read @GreenwoodAcad SEND Magazine, without being a GAT employee. I am pleased to share you can do so here;
https://t.co/Tw1K1ToCqw
#ShowcaseSEND #WeAreGAT @WayneNorrie

[Judith Chipps @chipps_sci]

For your enjoyment, here's a video of my dog, Raven, having fun at Canine Dip and Dive for her first swim of the season 💦🐾 if you're in Suffolk/Norfolk, check them out! + check out my husband's business page at Big Dog, Little Woof on Fbook & insta & https://t.co/HjAoUJXSxv

[Carl Hendrick @C_Hendrick]

"Students need to know that they belong and that you believe in them."

"when you finish the detention... a student needs to feel like, "They want me in the class, they want me to do better, I can do better, and know how to do better".

Great advice on managing behaviour from @ollie_lovell and @tombennett71

[Thomas Lelievre ✏️💡 @thomasandvisual]

The longer you wait, the bigger the beast of your to-do list becomes!

[Neurodivergent_lou @neuro_lou]

As an autistic person, turning on closed captions changed my daily life… #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Neurodiversity #Disability

[Peter Edmunds 🦄 @edmunds_dr]

Today's thread of useful teaching hinterland is inspired by a headteacher's alarming statement that he doesn't believe in the moon landing*.

Did you know that various different mirrors have been left on the Moon following missions?

Here's the one from the Apollo 11 mission.

/1

[Sadiq Khan @SadiqKhan]

These support lines are open on Christmas Day:

@Samaritans
☎️ 116 123

@theCALMzone
☎️ 0800 58 58 58

@GiveUsAShout
📱Text 85258

@LGBTfdn
☎️ 0345 3 30 30 30

@CruseSupport
☎️ 0808 808 1677

@CombatStress
☎️ 0800 1381 619

@Age_UK
☎️ Call 0800 678 1602

[Peps @PepsMccrea]

In the last 4 months I've read *loads* of twitter threads on teaching.

To ease you into the holidays, here're 40 of the finest:

↓

[Tom Sherrington @teacherhead]

Learning WalkThrus: Students & Parents - Better Learning, Step by Step: https://t.co/GGjtNfAesk: Sherrington, Tom, Caviglioli, Oliver. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥Pre-order Now.! We’ve road tested in some schools and the response has been great. https://t.co/Y0U10l18Q0