Heather Fearn

Curriculum and assessment. Lots of tweets about schools, my garden and my dog.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

Today, we launched our Education Leader's Handbook for curriculum reform.
It provides step by step guidance and diagnostic checklists for curriculum writers, whether at systems level or in schools. The report draws on evidence and experience working across systems to provide something new and hopefully very practically useful for those wanting to implement a knowledge rich curriculum. https://t.co/K4ekmEYBiu

[Catherine Curzon @MadameGilflurt]

This #frockingfabulous oak leaf dress is perfect for your autumn errands! It’s #HouseofWorth, of course, and was made for Lady Mary Curzon in 1902. Via the Fashion Museum, Bath.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@helenrey That makes lots of sense.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

Precisely this. What I call 'Curriculum Journey Knowledge': of what students need to know step by step. It's essential for teachers to plan successfully - but it's something distinctly beyond knowledge of the topic. https://t.co/3VNsrq6mjT

[Zach Groshell @MrZachG]

Even if subject knowledge was easily imparted across a system of teachers (it’s not) there is only a tenuous connection between knowing your subject and being able to decompose, sequence, and assess it effectively. This is why the field needs to embrace well-designed materials.

[NPRG @CptHastings1916]

I am really looking forward to this book. Well worth watching David's brief intro here.

[Nuno Crato @CratoNuno]

Absolutely! This is the PISA paradox: designed to assess competences, it reveals that training students in applied problem-solving falls short, while building deep knowledge leads to good results

[Stuart Lock @StuartLock]

I told you so. But the NEU and others must have had a deal with the government.

And suddenly there were announcements about Ofsted... suspicious.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@greg_ashman @oldandrewuk I see it all the time. Most of the time teachers have no idea. The other day I saw a teacher enthusiastically explaining Marxist economic theory as fact. I'd imagine she had no idea. Its pernicious and almost entirely one way.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@Yorkshire_Steve I dont think you have a sound basis for these claims.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

Anyone unsure if it is appropriate to 'contextulise' negative inspection judgements - it is useful to take a look at the actual 'needs attention' and 'urgent improvement' criteria in the toolkit. Ask if you as a parent or a child would want these sorts of *significant* issues downplayed in an inspection of your school (but not if they occur in a school with a luckier context). https://t.co/6j8qlTtdB6

[Tom Sherrington @teacherhead]

@HeatherBellaF That’s a super crude view of what inspectors project as their role. There’s a five point scale and multiple lines of enquiry. Anyone can see mayhem. And the school there needs help not a judgment. They already know.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@Yorkshire_Steve You couldnt know.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@Yorkshire_Steve Thats a bit disingenuous because the very wording of those criteria using words like 'generally' gives that same room.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@Yorkshire_Steve @smithsmm Im not defending this framework. I'm explaining why covering up issues, in the name if contextualisation is not a solution. If EIF had a lower correlation then its conceivable that is because the methodology worked better.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

Inspection is to judge the quality of education pupils receive. It is fairly likely that schools with fewer challenges will be able to deliver a higher quality of education - including for the most disadvantaged pupils. Despite the *exceptional* efforts of school leaders in the most challenging circumstances, it is not in the best interests of pupils if inspection changes to become a way of judging the effort of a school's senior leaders - and not the quality of education pupils receive.

[Matthew Evans @head_teach]

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.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@teacherhead You seem to be arguing that inspectors can't possibly tell if the basics are sound e.g. if corridor mayhem is a real issue in a school. But that they could and should make much more tricky and highly fraught distinctions instead.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@smithsmm Why this is unsurprisinging is the subject of my first tweet.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@smithsmm Ive think you've lost sight of the ways this happens already.

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

That is, again, a different question. But what is most unrealistic about this comment is the assumption any inspectors are, or could practicably be, like top restaurant critics - looking at fine degrees of difference. If kids are making mayhem in the corridors in your school, there is a problem, whatever the context that might explain it.

[Andrew Old @oldandrewuk]

Blog post for Sunday 4th October 2026.

Ofsted should not give effort grades https://t.co/r74OXTQnRX

[Anna Stokke @rastokke]

🚨 While Canada's education scores have been declining for years, there is a movement to undo all the damage caused by fads and bad education policies. Every Education Minister in this country should be attending researchED Toronto in October. @nsachdeva2019 is bringing together world class presenters from around the world.
@researchEDCan @researchED1 @tombennett71
https://t.co/t2Fre3krKC

[Heather Fearn @HeatherBellaF]

@teacherhead My point is not about whether or not we should have school inspection. We all benefit from clarity in this discussion about what is being judged and why. The current lack of clarity does nothing to help this discussion.