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johncosgrove.bsky.social
Husband, father, grandfather, writer and retired teacher. I blog at https://johncosgrove55.wordpress.com/ Visit my Amazon Author page here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/author/B001KDLZQE
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What a tremendous privilege it is to have this path only 15 minutes from our front door and the freedom to walk it on a sunny afternoon in June.

submitted 8 hours ago • 0 comments

To expand on this (below). It costs £40 to put your name on the UK Register of Expert Witnesses. In February I enquired how to become an EW. I asked: "Do I need to provide you with evidence of my expertise?" They replied: "We do not vet the expertise itself."

submitted 2 days ago • 2 comments

No-one takes the decision to flee their home from persecution, with little more than the clothes on their back, unless their life depends on it. That’s why our approach to refugees must be rooted in compassion, empathy and humanity. Not division, prejudice or scaremongering.

submitted 2 days ago • 27 comments

How great to see it said that there is no ‘right’ answer for all schools, teachers and pupils but - to quote- “As always, the right answer is not in tribalism, in all of one idea and none of another, but a sophisticated blend of both worlds.”

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

Expert witnesses. Did you know that if you want to be an expert witness in Education, no-one checks your qualifications or experience? You simply pay a fee. The article does not mention Education, but it certainly could have. www.theguardian.com/law/2025/jun...

submitted 2 days ago • 1 comment

The Triumph of Hope. Herring gulls mate for life and return year on year to the same nest. So the parents who screamed loud grief and despair for a day last June, when the magpies took their babies, are the same proud pair who now have this fine brood.

submitted 7 days ago • 1 comment

This is unequivocally true. Whether you're in the UK or the US, immigration is a plus in every conceivable way. And until you acknowledge and celebrate this fact, the racists will continue to win.

submitted 9 days ago • 4 comments

Do not scroll past. Stop and think about 164,040 homeless children and changing schools (made harder by academisation) and missing education and crocodile tears about "attainment gaps." Think of the stress, the implications for health, the need for stability, security... Think of this 164,040 times.

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

This is good. I especially like the recommendation that Government should define what inclusion means and looks like in schools. How many years is it since the Education Select Committee said not doing this was a big problem?

submitted 9 days ago • 2 comments

“Adult social care and children’s services account for approximately 75 per cent of the council’s £616 million budget.”

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Autumn 2023, this school, so proud to be "inclusive" had 1,075 pupils; by Spring 2024 there were 1,039. In those 2 terms it handed out 1,037 fixed term exclusions and kicked out 7 pupils. 1/2 cont... schoolsweek.co.uk/how-weve-boo...

submitted 10 days ago • 1 comment

Cos the best way to defeat Farage is to agree with him about absolutely everything Tories proved this by running a 10 year experiment that left them polling at "functionally dead", while Reform are favourites to win the next election Top thinking, Blue Labour! www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

submitted 16 days ago • 89 comments

Very interesting article. For me, the key point about Resource provision is that there's no standard model or way of working. How the Resource interacts and supports mainstream (or doesn't) is vital and too often left to individual schools to work out.

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

1,300 MAT CEOs, paid average salaries of around £150,000, totals £195 million annually. Before academies there were 153 LA Directors of Education; there still are. This guy's £500k isn't the real scandal, academisation has been - and is - a colossal drain on Education finances.

submitted 22 days ago • 5 comments

Excellent, thought provoking article by @drpam.bsky.social yorkshirebylines.co.uk/news/world/c...

submitted 24 days ago • 1 comment

At my age I sometimes think I've seen it all, and then along comes this... A newly elected Reform councillor claiming it's a positive advantage that he lives 36 miles from the town he now supposedly represents. I expect he made it a key point on every leaflet...

submitted 27 days ago • 1 comment

Excellent article. Negotiating ageing and dementia: some practical considerations sussexbylines.co.uk/news/health-...

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

No aid has reached the starving people of Palestine. Israeli forces continue to block access despite the imminent risk of literally mass mass death of babies & children. Today we MUST make our voices heard - come if you can at 6PM to Parliament square & #fastforgaza #r4today

submitted 28 days ago • 2 comments

Note to Keir and Yvette. It's not just that our NHS, care homes, logistics... society could not function without immigrants, it's more that I love having friends from all over the World with different cultures and traditions.

submitted 36 days ago • 0 comments

Ah yes that private market we so often hear how it ‘ drives down costs’ Check academy CEO salaries in MATs making teaching staff redundant - ‘tis the same public purse

submitted 37 days ago • 0 comments

Every morning my Google news feed has stories showing photos of proud pupils and teachers celebrating "outstanding" or "good" Ofsted judgements. Do we care that single phrase judgements were scrapped months ago and have we forgotten why?

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

Compelled to post this extract from 'she's flowers & fire' ©butterflies rising. I’m not a typical ‘poetry person’ but a few folk going through a lot right now. For what it’s worth, BE YOU; it’s perfectly ok to have different layers & energies, be curious, gentle & passionate. Love & look after you!

submitted 38 days ago • 7 comments

The bluebells are passing their peak but still provided a glorious backdrop to our walk today.

submitted 39 days ago • 0 comments