Home educator, CoG, helper. Trying to make the world a little bit better starting from home. Working with HEQA to help home edders with exam access.
Joined March 2021
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Katie Finlayson retweeted
How can school tackle misogyny within their schools? For our podcast Nothing to bring. Matt Morris, Matt Pinkett and I talk about some difficult subjects and provide concrete ideas to help schools. youtu.be/-dmRb7jOgYM?is=ntFP…
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Our most recent podcast with Matt Pinkett discussing misogyny and incels. A tough listen in places youtu.be/rYI3rjIbvCA?is=_3NV…
#edutwitter
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Fundamentally home education can look like anything you & your child want it to. It's what suits & is best for your child. It's individual! You could be out in nature every day or huddled up on a sofa learning timetables, attend groups all week, or follow a quieter gentler way.
Katie Finlayson retweeted
I thought I’d update on the girls since I legitimately think it unified #edutwitter. All 3 are walking, talking & amazing. The twins start school tomorrow. IJ likes to talk about starlings & murmuration. AJ loves toucans, ZJ squirrels. I’m indebted for your support ☺️
Katie Finlayson retweeted
You will see a lot of people arguing that England's better performance has only been achieved at the expense of worse mental health, or worse youth unemployment.
But this doesn't really stack up either. The World Health Organisation do a regular "PISA for health" style study, and there aren't massive differences between kids in England, Wales, Scotland. (They all seem to dislike school equally, and feel equally pressured by coursework).
substack.nomoremarking.com/p…
And the youth unemployment rate in Wales is worse than in England. (Scotland don't keep comparable records).
substack.nomoremarking.com/p…
Katie Finlayson retweeted
What is going on?
I think technology is part of the story. For a few decades now, researchers have been speculating that the "reverse Flynn effect" (basically falling IQ scores) is the result of technology reducing cognitive effort. I think there is a lot of truth to that, and I've written about it here.
substack.nomoremarking.com/p…
Also grist for the @j_amesmarriott world theory...
Katie Finlayson retweeted
The PISA 2025 results are out today. Some quick insights.
- The major story is very significant global decline. The last PISA study was in 2022, and saw big declines in reading and maths scores from 2018. Obviously the pandemic played a part.
- But this 2025 round has seen further falls even from the 2022 lows!
Things haven't gone back to normal post-pandemic - they've got worse.
Every generation thinks the generation below is less smart - but this time they might be right!
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Two extraordinary charts from today’s PISA test results:
1) School test scores continue to collapse internationally, underscoring how this is no longer a Covid effect but sustained decline.
Those falls in reading and maths are equivalent to about two years of lost schooling.
Katie Finlayson retweeted
One thing that we know from pretty much every study on belonging though, and echoed in these data, is that it’s not evenly felt.
In the UK, there is a massive gap between girls and boys.
So questions for school leaders about *who* is less likely to feel they belong.
Katie Finlayson retweeted
England has seen a meaty rise from 63% to 70% (UK), but this is obviously still well below the oecd average.
Regardless, the data show that with effort we can and have improve belonging for kids, probably easier than reading or maths scores.
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Katie Finlayson retweeted
A section of pisa that has obviously caught my eye is on belonging. Pisa has been collecting this data for decades, and it’s good news in 2025: sense of belonging in schools is up globally! 76% of kids now report they feel like they belong at school.
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Katie Finlayson retweeted
PISA results out today. Look at this for England. Sample of participating pupils = 24% FSM. Compared to 40% who did not participate! Yes, our results look good. But remember, our scores are likely upwards biased by around 10 points!
Katie Finlayson retweeted
If you’re interested in Pisa data it’s worth going here before you get ai to crunch it.
oecd.org/en/publications/202…
It’s actually presented in a really accessible way!
Hope everyone is settling back into the new school term. Here’s a reminder that deregistrations surge in secondary compared to primary - look after those year 7s.
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Next Tuesday is the book launch for Questions on Behaviour: Building Classroom Confidence as an Early Career Teacher (Q&As for ECTs)
eventbrite.co.uk/e/questions…
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Brilliant #rED26 Thanks to all speakers, sponsors and helpers for their generosity. Special thanks to the wonderful staff at Parliament Hill School who have hosted again and looked after us so well @ParliHillSchool
Thank you to all who attended! Hope to see you next year!
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Anyone wanting to get to grips with the government's EOTAS proposals needs to understand the implications of Specialist Provision Packages TODAY'S NEW PAGE edyourself.org/eotas-special…
Katie Finlayson retweeted
Must see!
I’m presenting at #rED26: ‘Transforming Teaching & Learning’. How can we create joyful classrooms where pupils learn lots AND leave the lesson loving the subject more, admiring the teacher more & buying into the school culture more? See you in the Sports Hall, session 3!
Katie Finlayson retweeted
I'm a busy boy at #rED26
Talk on complex contagions in session 2
On the behaviour panel for @heymrshallahan session 3
Then how to cancel copying session 4
Before finishing up with the secret to teacher motivation session 6
Wish me luck 🤞
Katie Finlayson retweeted
If you’re at @researchED1 today I’ll be doing the @Inner_Drive science of learning podcast LIVE at 14:00 in the dining hall with @BradleyKBusch, @daisychristo, @PearceMrs and @SCottinghatt.
You’ll hear me saying things like “I agree with what they just said.”
Come along!
