I nearly skipped the DfE’s birthday absence story.
The more I thought about it though, the less I think it’s about birthdays.
Is it telling us something about how some families now view school after Covid.
Maybe I’m overthinking it.
Maybe I’m not.
paulurry68.substack.com/p/dfe-decode...
Thank you for the interest shown in the Contextual Vulnerability Index
A number of you have asked for more information, so I’m happy to share both the full framework document and the supporting spreadsheet
[email protected]
article here paulurry68.substack.com/p/introducin...
This week's DfE Decoded series is now live.
I've taken five major areas of education policy and broken them down into practical implications for schools:
• nspection changes
• Communicating with parents
• Transforming children's social care
• SEND
• ECT development
paulurry68.substack.com
Thanks Sue, it is proving really popular as a process as well as analysing the outcomes. I have a spreadsheet that also slices the data, if you are interested.
What if schools could understand children's strengths, challenges and circumstances with the same rigour that we analyse attainment data?
At St Stephen’s Primary, that question led us to develop the Contextual Vulnerability Index.
paulurry68.substack.com/p/introducin...
Best review I’ve had for my blog
paulurry68.substack.com
I find your writing invaluable for its clarity and practical insight. You articulate complex leadership dilemmas with honesty and offer grounded, workable solutions. Your perspective bridges theory and practice that supports school leadership.
A small shift I’ve been exploring:
Learning objectives as questions, not statements.
Instead of:
“Understand…”
Try:
“Why…?”
“How…?”
It changes the feel of the lesson.
Pupils aren’t just completing tasks — they’re working towards an answer.
paulurry68.substack.com/p/the-excell...
Big week for education policy.
Yes, the White Paper matters — but so do:
• Neurodivergence report
• Children of the 2020s data
• English Hubs evaluation
• School & College Voice surveys
• Kinship care reform
School leadership guides for each of these here:
paulurry68.substack.com/s/dfe-decoded
I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership cohesion recently.
Not the kind that looks neat on an organogram — the kind that feels safe in a room.
This clip is a short reflection on building that safety deliberately.
The full piece is here
paulurry68.substack.com/p/the-art-of...
Pupils don’t learn what we say.
They learn what they think about.
If learning looks secure in the lesson but disappears a week later, this unit digs into why.
Memory. Attention. Schema.
Clip below. Full article here paulurry68.substack.com/p/the-excell...
Video
Why understanding context may be one of the most important challenges facing education
Reflections on 20 years of being a primary school headteacher in 5 schools, 3 LAs, Academy, Catholic, Anglican and Local Authority. Click to read A Headteacher's Perspective, a Substack publication wi...
paulurry68.substack.com
Why understanding context may be one of the most important challenges facing education
paulurry68.substack.com
Reflections on 20 years of being a primary school headteacher in 5 schools, 3 LAs, Academy, Catholic, Anglican and Local Authority. Click to read A Headteacher's Perspective, a Substack publication wi...
Designing Clear Learning Objectives and Success Criteria
paulurry68.substack.com
Education policy moves quickly — and school leaders don’t always have the time to read every guidance document in full. This section breaks down the latest Department for Education updates into clear,...
Building a Cohesive Senior and Middle Leadership Team
paulurry68.substack.com
Very interested in this! We are 66% PP and 40% SEND. Because we are small (123) we sort of do this all the time informally but it would be very interesting to look at it in a more formal manner.
