John Tomsett @johntomsett Twitter profile

Pinned Tweet

John Tomsett

8 months

Our new "Putting Staff First" website is the result of months of work with Domini at @Crackleandpopuk and a determination to support school leaders in the best and worst of times...

Putting Staff First

Free resources for school leaders based upon the book 'Putting Staff First' by Jonny Uttley and John Tomsett.

psf.support

Putting Staff First

@PSF_Support

8 months

Our new website is officially launched! Here is the first PSF blog written by @JonnyUttley "Helping you to put your staff first"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This is the email I have just sent to my local Conservative MP. #DominicCummings

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

There have been times in the past few days when I have doubted ever getting involved in the Dominic Cummings issue. Then I turn up to work to find this waiting for me in the post.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

Seven things that hit home for me this week about fully reopening @HuntingtonYork ...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

9 months

In 2010 George Osborne cut our school's annual capital budget from £160K p.a. to £28K p.a. - an 82.5% cut. No wonder school buildings are in such a state. Shame on Osborne, Cameron, Sunak and the rest of the tories who have cut public funding to the bone.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

I know this piece by @adamboxer1 has been wildly circulated. I just read it to find out why. It is spot on. He has unwittingly spoken for all the teachers I have spoken to... It is the must read of the pandemic for the teaching profession.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

This is one of the most important paragraphs in our new OFSTED report for us, and, without any inflated sense of our school's importance, maybe for the system as a whole. @Ofstednews

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

My attempt to cut through the range of terminology used around curriculum which can be confusing to Subject Leaders who have a young family, a car that needs servicing, a stack of marking to do & who do a great job but don't have time to read loads about curriculum like I might.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about treating teachers well and helping them manage their workload" @HarfordSean

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

@SchoolsWeek @GavinWilliamson One of them contained these comments...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

So, this morning I send an "all.staff" email with a link to this remarkable post and one of my science colleagues @AlisterTalbot emails this one slide PPT summary back to me this evening...

Tom Sherrington

@teacherhead

5 years

The #1 problem/weakness in teaching and how to address it.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about...keeping our students socially distant in school"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

As school leaders across the country work 18 hour days to ensure social distancing for the wider reopening of schools, for the rest of the population the 2-metre rule is a fading memory. Schools HAVE to lead the way and show what it means to make sacrifices for the good of all.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

Happiness is...finding your cat after she has been missing for 29 days!

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about…providing direction for my Subject Leader colleagues for September"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about when it is time to move on"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

I had Subject Leaders working last night on completing statements to say whether they met the criteria for making a valid mock appeal...I had students emailing me until late last night about whether they qualified for an appeal. The poor students. This is now beyond farce.

Jonny Uttley 🇺🇦

@JonnyUttley

4 years

Amid all the “wtf” and “unbelievable” on my timeline right now, let’s note that lots of school staff and leaders started working with the now withdrawn guidance today in readiness for appeals opening Monday. No apology. No humility.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

Forget the famous Ted talk, this is my favourite @SirKenRobinson video... "What inspires you?"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

Just watched this again. I can't believe how much of this I still parrot; not sure anything has had so much impact upon how I think about how we improve the quality of teaching. Absolute gold dust & worth 40 minutes of your time this weekend. @dylanwiliam

Professor Dylan Wiliam at The Schools Network Annual Conference

For more information on using Prof Wiliam's techniques in school https://www.ssatrust.org.uk/teachingandlearning/PersonalisingLearning/Pages/afllanding.aspx...

www.youtube.com

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

Solving this issue is my current obsession...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

One of my favourite @dylanwiliam lines...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

9 months

@mikercameron That is so, so shocking. He knows that is utterly false and misleading.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about…providing direction for my Subject Leader colleagues for September"...with added detailed planning grid for four different scenarios.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

@RogersHistory Often the response to disappointing results is to double the accountability activities, rather than to stop doing what isn't working &, instead, double the quality and quantity of training so that teachers are supported to get better at their job, in a climate of love over fear.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

@tombennett71 School wellbeing isn't about yoga classes & mindfulness classes for staff and chill out zones for students, it's about the best possible working conditions for staff and high quality teaching & learning for students.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

I am getting fellow school leaders asking what to do if colleagues contact them unsure whether they should self-isolate or come into work tomorrow. In the end, school leaders cannot make such decisions for colleagues. This is my standard response...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

@xtophercook If you want someone to appear on Newsnight... I am a headteacher trying to plan opening a school to boot. I have a lot to say.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

One of my favourite @tombennett71 quotes from this brilliant post: Sharing this with Subject Leaders this PM, when I exhort them to teach as well as they can so our students make as much progress as they possibly can, & not to get hung up on data targets.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This is so important. We are "closing" schools to stop the spread of Covid 19. We are open only for the children of key workers who have absolutely no other option for child care. And for our most vulnerable students. And that is it. We will minimise staffing. Help us stop CV.

Chris Dyson FCCT

@chrisdysonHT

4 years

To reiterate-SCHOOLS need to be as empty as possible. The SAFEST place for children is HOME . Only send to school if you are a #keyworker and NOBOBY else can have them . My heart goes out to the self employed BUT we have to #alldothesame @simonkidwell @cyclingkev @MaryBoustedNEU

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

@lucyajames1 @SaysMiss Be flexible. Half of our 112 teachers are part-time. Keeps good people in the profession. Take fully paid Family Days. Let teachers go home in the afternoon if they have PPA. Tons of things we can do to accommodate people's commitments outside of work.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

My son & his 7 mates were fined £100 each for having 8 people in their student house during the same lockdown as the Downing Street party. The Police were right to fine them because they broke covid rules. But why is it one rule for my son and another for Boris Johnson's mates?

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

The one thing certain about grammar schools: parents cannot choose them for their children; it's the grammar schools that do the choosing...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

7 years

Are your colleagues worried about assessing attainment in the new world of grade 1-9 GCSEs? Leave worrying to the statisticians: just teach!

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

When we are in the depths of the Autumn term, I will be holding this image of Bude beach in my mind's eye...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

Zoe Enser 🐉

@greeborunner

3 years

Seeing some new teachers on twitter asking for advice so I thought this might be a useful share

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about...Elizabeth Ann Tomsett, 1936-2020"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

In early May 2020, I drove 520 miles from York to Sussex & back in one day for my mum's funeral. She had died alone in a care home. Afterwards I could've stayed overnight at my sister's but I knew that would have broken the lockdown rules. Meanwhile @BorisJohnson was partying...

John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This is the email I have just sent to my local Conservative MP. #DominicCummings

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

My mother would have been 84 today. Instead she passed away in a care home a fortnight ago. She was a lesson in lifelong resilience.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

1 year

Ten months ago I interviewed @bennewmark about developing the SEND curriculum. Speaking to Ben was the first of nearly 30 conversations @MaryMyatt and I conducted with experts who work in the SEND sector in preparation for our new book SEND Huh. 1/5

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 months

I sometimes look back over a teaching career that began in 1988 and wonder how we ended up with our current education system... and now, thanks to @Southgloshead , I know. This is my blog of the week, bar none.

How did we end up here?

If you drop a frog into a pan of boiling water, it will yelp and struggle until it eventually dies. However, if you drop a frog into a pan of cold water and then gradually heat the water until boil…

southgloshead.wordpress.com

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

It is hard to express just how frustrating it is that we will be waiting two months for guidance on how we establish fair assessment of students taking A levels and GCSEs this summer. What has @ofqual been doing? What has @GavinWilliamson been doing? The delay is inexcusable.

Schools Week

@SchoolsWeek

3 years

Ministers have been accused of a 'dereliction of duty' as schools face a near two-month wait for the government’s plan to replace GCSEs and A-levels with teacher assessments

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

11 months

(What feels like) 24 hours in A&E. 1/n

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

7 years

MY MOST READ POST EVER: at the beginning of the weekend, why putting your family first matters...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

Last day at @HuntingtonYork . It's been a blast!

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This. This. This. And stop virtue-signalling about your wonderful video lesson and online registers... Just get on with it. Quietly.

Michael Tidd

@MichaelT1979

4 years

Dear teachers and schools: do whatever you think works best for your school and families in the circumstances, and rest assured that no-one else here knows any better because this is all new and none of us is in your situation.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

7 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about the speech Theresa May should have made yesterday..."

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

My piece on Ken Robinson in @tes from 5 years ago. Greatly saddened at his passing.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about how examination boards are making the teacher recruitment and retention crisis worse "

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

My day just got so much better! @JonnyUttley & I co-authored "Putting Staff First"and I am unbearably excited about getting these delivered. "When the new normal is established we might just live in a country that puts its key workers first." @JohnCattEd

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This is exactly what I thought we would see... Being Shadow Education Secretary is not a game. Please appoint a grown up to this post @Keir_Starmer

Rebecca Long-Bailey

@RLong_Bailey

4 years

Some initial questions to @GavinWilliamson re: urgent coronavirus support. Should keep him busy for a few days 😉

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

I have been a teacher for 31 years, a head teacher for 16 years and, at the age of 55, this much I know about three funding facts which illustrate why school budgets are a General Election issue for all parties. 1/4

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

For all those parents who are dragging their sons through GCSEs, via @RealGeoffBarton

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

My dad would have been 91 today. He still matters.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

NEW: "This much I know about…educating senior school leaders about the curriculum so that they can support subject leaders with curriculum development"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

7 years

We all love our new school dog called Rolo @HuntingtonYork - by far the most popular member of staff!

Huntington School

@HuntingtonYork

7 years

Rolo has well and truly settled into Huntington School: He's definitely not camera shy! #SchoolDog #LearningSupport

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

7 years

'The Ladybird Book of Edu-Twitter' - page 46 on the impact of @educationgovuk efficiency savings, with apologies to @primarypercival

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

After the 2 hour meeting I have just had with @HuntingtonYork SLT you'd better not let me ever hear you say, "Them that can, do, and them that can't, teach." Ever.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about how I have become a very boring teacher!"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

After the latest @educationgovuk shenanigans I am having 30 minutes on the river fishing before going into work...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about our Outstanding OFSTED judgement."

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

There is beauty to be found even on morning bus duty...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

I have taught for 92 school terms on the bounce, 47 of those terms as a headteacher. My colleagues at @HuntingtonYork are remarkable and keep me going. Last night, we held a music concert, and two trips abroad set off. At the end of the longest Spring term ever. Amazing people!

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

I'm tempted to collect the World Cup 2018 Panini stickers but think I will use the money instead to buy a two bedroom flat in Knightsbridge.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

NEW YEAR POST: "This much I know about…leading a school during a pandemic"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

To all parents of children in mainstream schools whose children are not classified as vulnerable: please follow this government advice. The word "Critical" is SO important. Help those whose work is CRITICAL to combating Covid 19 by keeping your child at home if at all possible.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

It's not the hope that kills you as a HT, it's the lack of trust. None of us want schools closed. We all want to work with DfE colleagues to do what is best. But when the way forward looks obvious but @GavinWilliamson can't find it in himself to trust us,

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This.

Ashley Frawley

@AshleyAFrawley

4 years

Stop teaching kids how to be emotionally unwell.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

Teaching this little gem next week. First time in a while. My copy is older than me!

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

@ClareSealy Just STOP worrying about Ofsted and running around trying to prep nonsense for a possible visit. Run a really good school. And then let them come and visit you, and then carry on running a really good school having hardly noticed they have been.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

Purchased this beauty on the way home. It has been one of those weeks. 😉

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

Four years on this post still rumbles around Twitter: "This much I know about why putting your family first matters"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

Love working with @MaryMyatt here at @researchEDWarr HUH?!

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

11 months

When I get home, as I inevitably will, it will be hard not to investigate what treatment I might receive were I to attend A&E as a private health care patient. Words I never thought I would have ever written. End.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about…what school leaders should know about curriculum design"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about the challenges for early career headteachers: understanding change management"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

To get away from the particular madness of this Sunday, for 5 minutes I stood and looked at our two new paintings in our Christmas decorations-free front room. Seascapes in oil by @richardgray123 80cm x 80cm.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

Why has this page been removed from the latest version of Schools & Colleges Handbook for Mass Testing?

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

We wanted to keep all adults out of busy corridors full of students. SLT arrive in corridors 2 minutes before lesson change over. Students have packed away & stand behind desks. Teachers & TAs leave the rooms and go to the next lesson. SLT patrol. Students leave on the bell. 1/2

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

@eliistender10 Work hard. Be kind.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

@MarinaHyde So, Dominic Cummings undertakes a 500 mile round trip to stay with his parents during lockdown. I am only allowed to undertake a 500 mile round trip to *see* my mother during lockdown to bury her after she died of Covid19 in a care home. Go figure.

Coronavirus: Calls for Dominic Cummings to resign after lockdown travel

Labour demands action after the PM's aide went to his parents while self-isolating with Covid-19 symptoms.

www.bbc.co.uk

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

@educationgovuk But you KNOW that is such tosh. Since 2010 we have cut staffing by 10 FTE teachers. Many schools have broken up. We set our budgets back in April. Every 1% rise costs c.£50K. This pay rise will cost c.£140K. You have covered c.£40K of that. So, stop such misleading headlines.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: 'This much I know about planning for "catch up" when our students return in September'

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

@vicgoddard Oh my. @Ofstednews has no idea what it has been to be a headteacher in school this week.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

The next book in the Huh series is on its way! #SENDHuh will be published in the Spring. "If Winter comes, Can Spring be far behind?" I love the daffodil-coloured cover @MaryMyatt ! I will be talking about it at @researchEDDur tomorrow. Book tickets here:

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

This post seems to have struck a nerve... NEW POST: "This much I know about the challenges of keeping our students socially distant in school"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

Huge thanks to the @HuntingtonYork parents and carers who found ways to keep their children at home today. We have small numbers in school which makes stopping the spread of the virus much much easier. Thank you, thank you, thank you.... 🙏🙂👍

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about how we can make our schools feel more social for colleagues during the pandemic"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

1 year

I know it's early and I shouldn't, but just needed some sense of hope... "If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

NEW POST: "this much I know about why Christine Counsell is right about teaching knowledge and cultural capital"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

At @HuntingtonYork we have just finished a 2 hour long Zoom SLT meeting to plan tomorrow. I will now spend a couple of hours working on a staff rota so we minimise the number of us in school on Monday. Please keep your children at home if you possibly can. Help us to beat CV-19.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

The view from here. Autumn by the River Ouse, York.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

8 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about...not publishing data targets to students and parents"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

3 years

My dad would have been 94 today. Now that I am 57 - the same age as he was when he died - he matters to me as much as ever.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

5 years

"I've got an Eton-themed advent calendar, where all the doors are opened for me by my dad's contacts" - Ivo Graham

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

Just 8 of us allowed at her funeral in May 2020 whilst @BorisJohnson attended BYOB parties in Downing Street.

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

So, Dominic Cummings undertakes a 500 mile round trip to stay with his parents during lockdown. I am only allowed to undertake a 500 mile round trip to *see* my mother during lockdown to bury her after she died of Covid19 in a care home. Go figure...

Coronavirus: Calls for Dominic Cummings to resign after lockdown travel

Labour demands action after the PM's aide went to his parents while self-isolating with Covid-19 symptoms.

www.bbc.co.uk

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

2 years

Pretty excited about this new arrival.... @teacherhead

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

NEW POST: "This much I know about why now, more than ever, teachers need their headteachers to teach (if they possibly can)"

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

I don't care what any else thinks. If we all shared @LeadingLearner 's moral compass the world, let alone the educational world, would be a far better place. How have we created a school system in this country where he chooses to leave the profession at such a tender age?

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

4 years

Spent an hour this evening finishing the final edit of my new book called "Putting Staff First", co-authored with @JonnyUttley . We wrote an "Endnote" to acknowledge the extraordinary context we are all working in. Here is the final paragraph...

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John Tomsett

@johntomsett

6 years

When I began as HT @HuntingtonYork in 2007 we had 97 FTE teachers. In 2020 we will have 84 FTE teachers. Same no. of students. Just saying.

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