Kat Preece

The EEF's new guidance on inclusive teaching is a very interesting piece of work. There is much to like, some bits to criticise, and one absolutely HUGE statement that should be getting a lot of attention. Here are my thoughts: - There is a lot there. Most won't read it. - There is a heavy emphasis on explicit instruction, and the creation of simple routines and "calm classroom environments." This is what "trad" teachers have been banging on about for years, so is most welcome. - There is very little that I can see about specific conditions/neurodevelopmental issues. If you want to know about how to support specific needs, the information isn't directly in this guide. - This makes sense, because "While targeted interventions can help, they are most effective when they supplement – rather than replace – effective everyday teaching." - This line is buried in one of the "myths" but is absolutely MEGA: "Strong universal provision reduces the number of pupils who require additional support..." I mean, let that sink in. I've said stuff like this before and been pilloried for it. It's a huge claim, and from what I've seen actually the most significant thing in the whole report. - This is an important line: "Teachers should not be making assumptions about pupils’ learning rates based on their socio-economic background or SEND status." I have this conversation with people quite a lot. They say things to me like "how do your students with SEND respond to Name at End questioning?" or "how do your pupil premium students respond to your expectation that every student answers a question every lesson?" I always say the same thing, which is that the label tells me nothing, and that we need to reframe the relationship between label and issue. There is nothing causative there, it is all correlational. - There aren't many concrete examples of good "inclusive practice" in the report itself. There is a link to other supporting resources, but you need a login for that. You can only log in with a school email account (odd choice for a research organisation), but I couldn't get it to work so 🤷 - Without concrete examples, it is almost guaranteed that people will do weird things, and cite the EEF in support. educationendowmentfoundation…

Yes, yes, a million times yes. You can teach brilliant lessons day after day, but without a formal and sustained programme of retrieval practice, your students will forget everything you say.