Jon Severs

Why Uta Frith is wrong about girls and autism Don’t dismiss the female presentation in the rethinking of the autistic spectrum, argues Dr Sue Franklin

@tesmagazine.bsky.social Our recent interview with professor Uta Frith on autism has generated a lot of discussion.

Dr Sue Franklin has written a response arguing what she thinks Frith got wrong - but also where her challenge to the status quo was welcome.
www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

This survey outlines the scale of the challenges around retention of teachers and what is driving increasing workload

Why Uta Frith is wrong about girls and autism Don’t dismiss the female presentation in the rethinking of the autistic spectrum, argues Dr Sue Franklin

While Dr Sue Franklin welcomes the challenge to the concept of an autism spectrum by Professor Uta Frith in a recent Tes interview, she argues that the model Frith uses is wrong and that her ideas could be harmful for autistic girls

What if... setting by ability was banned in schools? As part of our thought experiment series, David Hatchett argues that banning setting in schools would greatly enhance outcomes for students and the skillsets of teachers

"Arguably, setting only really benefits the teacher. It’s uncomfortable to say that out loud, but we should be prepared to think about it honestly."

A very interesting 'What If' for March from David Hatchett...

www.tes.com/magazine/lea...

The deadline for the Tes Schools Awards has been extended to the 13 March!

An amazing (free to enter) chance to celebrate and share your school or trust success - with loads of different categories.

Best of luck to all who enter!

www.tes.com/schools-awar...

Primary libraries pledge includes converted cloakrooms and corridors Treasury has committed to ensuring that every primary school has a library by 2029, but these facilities could include former ‘storage spaces’, Tes can reveal

Excl: Gov't pledge to build libraries in all primary schools by the end of this Parliament may include converting “storage” areas such as cloakrooms and corridors. Treasury previously committed over £10m in funding, now rising to £12.5m. @tesmagazine.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

£1.6bn SEND pot risks being ‘swallowed up’, leaders warn Flagship fund to improve inclusion in mainstream schools ‘won’t go very far at all’, and a clear national strategy is needed on how to use it, government is told

School leaders have warned that the government proposals for funding mainstream inclusion are “extremely unrealistic” and risk there not being enough provision to meet demand.

@jabedahmed.bsky.social with the full analysis below
www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum The autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom, researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass

Fascinating interview with @utafrith.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum The autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom, researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass

Autism researcher Uta Frith no longer believes that autism is a spectrum.

"Because of various cultural factors, the spectrum has gone on being more and more accommodating," she says. "And I think now it has come to its collapse."

Really interesting interview: www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

"We’re all neurodiverse; we can accept this because all our brains are different. But it makes a medical diagnosis completely meaningless."

Blockbuster interview with Professor Frith, and hugely significant in the context of the DfE's proposed SEND 'evidence base' for interventions.

Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum The autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom, researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass

"I’ve been quite swept up by the autism spectrum idea, and it’s only in the past 10 years or so that I have felt things have gone too far, and very slowly I have come to say, 'No, this is not right'"

Autism expert professor Uta Frith talks to @helen-amass.bsky.social
www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

New ‘experts at hand’ won’t arrive fast enough, DfE warned Professional bodies back bigger roles in schools for educational psychologists, occupational and speech and language therapists - but say they already struggle to meet demand

Excl: DfE warned that workforce shortages could affect delivery of its £1.8bn “experts at hand” SEND plan by 2028. Professional bodies welcome the investment, but raise doubts on timeline of delivery. @tesmagazine.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

‘My father was absent, but the state provided positive male role models’ In our How I Lead series, we ask education leaders to reflect on their careers, their experience and their leadership philosophy. This month we talk to John Camp, CEO of the Compass Partnership of Sch...

"I didn’t have a father at home, but I did have great male role models elsewhere. They were really important."

Really good piece for How I Lead from @john-camp.bsky.social on everything from poverty to control, and from rewards in schools to escaping to Wales
www.tes.com/magazine/lea...

SEND reform: Experts at hand service could be a game-changer Trust leader Tom Campbell says quick access to SEND experts - especially educational psychologists - could be transformative

This is an important part of the reforms, not just getting expertise where it is needed more easily, but also from the point of view of building collective responsibility, with specialist settings & mainstream working in partnership as a community of schools serving a community of children.

Haha i can see if we can hire him out

Can Labour put all schools into trusts? The government's schools White Paper sets out a goal for full academisation – but Tes analysis suggests that it would take decades to turn this into reality

"over the past five years, the average annual conversion rate was only 487. Based on this rate, full academisation would not occur until 2048"

Superb analysis here from @jabedahmed.bsky.social on Labour's all-schools-in-trusts pledge

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

A very useful White Paper timeline here from the @tesmagazine.bsky.social team and our awesome designer Nige!

SEND reform plans ‘risk overwhelming Sendcos’ Experts voice fears about the proposed new duty on schools to produce a statutory support plan for every pupil with SEND

Plans to introduce statutory ISPs for all SEND pupils have raised questions about workload pressures for SENDCOs and the potential for heightened tension between schools and families. @johngroberts.bsky.social @tesmagazine.bsky.social

Local authorities ‘actively’ exploring opening school trusts The schools White Paper said councils will get the power to form multi-academy trusts - while some have plans in the works, others have already ruled this out

At least two local authorities are already looking at establishing their own multi-academy trusts under plans set out in the government’s schools White Paper. By @cerysturner.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...

The SEND reforms are out - now the real tests begin The government has finally announced its plans for special educational needs provision. Tes’ SEND and inclusion editor John Roberts assesses the challenges to come

Few people have as much expertise and policy knowledge of SEND than @johngroberts.bsky.social -
@tesmagazine.bsky.social SEND and Inclusion Editor.

This piece on the SEND reforms is critical reading for all and the very personal final section is incredibly important

www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

Do banded books make for poorer readers? Schemes that match books to primary pupils’ skill level could be holding children back and making them less engaged in their reading, writes Alex Quigley

"schools need to consider whether the push for accessible levelled reading choices is exacerbating the problem every primary teacher is ultimately trying to solve: helping their struggling readers to find reading easier"

Is it time to ban banded books?
www.tes.com/magazine/tea...

Thanks Megan!

I wonder what the ‘experts at hand’ will look like/how it will be organised, and will this mean a mishmash or a complete reorganisation

If you take the time to sit down with the White Paper or the SEND consultation document, it may seem minor but the writing is appalling. Not just grammar mistakes, but sentences that just don't make sense.

I mean, look at the section below.

Clear communication really does matter.

Schools White Paper: the sector reacts What do leaders and experts across the schools sector make of the government’s new plans for education? Tes rounds up opinions on the proposals on SEND, multi-academy trusts, disadvantage and more

“the move away from EHCPs towards school-led plans raises my concerns about potential increased pressure on already stretched mainstream schools”

The sector reacts to the Schools White Paper and SEND reforms: a really comprehensive overview here

www.tes.com/magazine/ana...

The government is proposing new tiers of support for pupils with SEND who do not have an EHCP. But what will that look like?

➡️ Read our full explainer on the SEND reforms: www.tes.com/magazine/new...

How is Labour planning to reform SEND? The DfE sets out proposals for schools to produce statutory support plans for pupils with SEND and for new national inclusion standards. Here’s everything you need to know about its reform plans

So we finally have the White Paper and SEND documents - @tesmagazine.bsky.social has all you need to know.

First, the SEND reform proposals - including EHCP restrictions/standardisation and new individual plans for schools to create - from @johngroberts.bsky.social

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

Definitely a very minor point, but 'Every child achieving and thriving" joins the long list of really bad WP titles.

They all read like a set of instructions from a flatpack.

Is achieving not part of thriving?!

And here is my take from this morning: email.tes.com/t/cr/AQiOjhA...

Schools White Paper: all you need to know Tes has gathered all of the key information from the Labour government’s first schools White Paper

Second all the details of the White Paper proposals from @cerysturner.bsky.social - including all schools in trusts, retention bonuses for new heads, funding reform... www.tes.com/magazine/new...