Tom Needham

Our vision : That all schools have the means and commitment to ensure their students, regardless of background, can read fluently. Dealing with reading problems can change lives. You can see more of our case studies here: https://www.thinkingreading.com/case-studies

2027 Calendar - available to preorder now! First 100 orders come with a free exclusive Cold War Steve Christmas card, signed and dedicated to you (or the recipient of the calendar) 👇👇👇👇 coldwarsteve.bigcartel.com/product/grea...

New blog post from me with my @knowledge-hub.bsky.social hat on. Stop Making Them Copy. What should we do when we just need them to get something down? theknowledgehubuk.substack.com/p/stop-makin...

Here are my slides from ResearchEd National Conference 26. 'The Instructional Hierarchy: A Framework for Teaching for Mastery' tomneedhamteach.wordpress.com/2026/09/10/r...

1. Happiness by Black Uhuru 2. Sunshine Dub by Augustus Pablo 3. Breaking Up by Junior Delgado 4. Cool Down The Pace by Gregory Isaacs 5. More Scorcha by Count Machuki #FridayFive

In the podcast 'Inside the Reading Gap', you will hear from headteachers and principals, teachers, charity leaders, researchers and academics, literacy teaching specialists, and most importantly, pupils and adults who have struggled with their reading. @Tom_Needham_

On knowing how to play a song... open.substack.com/pub/bernarda...

My second book is out now. If you are interested in curriculum design and how DI ideas can be applied to the everyday classroom, it's well worth a read.

We’re incredibly proud to release our 4-part podcast on illiteracy, which has been 18 months in the making. We hope you find the conversations with our knowledgeable guests informative and hope that you will be inspired by the stories of changed lives. Link below 👇🏼

We've just launched an exciting new post-16 writing assessment! We're going to use our AI-enhanced Comparative Judgement system to assess Year 12 writing at the start of next academic year. Read more and find out how to take part here. help.nomoremarking.com/en/article/a...

NEW BLOG: Teach is a Transitive Verb www.emaths.co.uk/blog/general...

youtu.be/eyipGKTj-vI?... My new book 'Direct Instruction in Action' is out in a few weeks. Here's a podcast where I discuss some of the content

Coverage is not progress. Students struggle for 3 curricular reasons: lack of specificity, lack of systematicity, and lack of subject sensitivity. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Orthographic Skeletons: Can Children Start Learning How Words Are Spelled Before They’ve Seen It In Print? “. . . is not formed by ambient exposure; it is formed by the interaction of specific oral knowledge with specific phoneme-grapheme knowledge.” 👏🏼 open.substack.com/pub/carlhend...

Does your school have a group of weak readers whose progress you can’t seem to shift? Talk to us: we are experts in solving what has previously seemed insoluble. We can provide data to prove the impact our program has had for other schools. Email via link: https://www.thinkingreading.com/contact/

Really excited to get my hands on a copy of Fail Better. Publication day on Wednesday!

*** NEW POST *** ‘Selecting vocabulary to teach’ “The challenge is obvious. Teachers simply do not have time to teach every unfamiliar word students encounter or find tricky.” alexquigley.co.uk/selecting-vo...

Fantastic read for a Saturday morning: by @bernardandrews.bsky.social substack.com/inbox/post/1...

Lots of great ideas about analysing dialogue here. Well worth a read

*NEW* for AQA English Language Paper 1 from June 2026 onwards: ✅ The Woman in Black Specimen paper and accompanying PPT slide deck with resources, scaffolds and model responses, like so 👇 Help yourself 😊 www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qu9to...

*NEW* for AQA Lang P1 from June 2026 onwards: ✅ The Day of the Triffids Specimen paper and a PPT slide deck with resources, scaffolds and model answers, like so 👇 Repost and help yourself 😊 www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/bd6qg...

New on my Substack: Will the Machine Ever Learn How to Teach? (I'm afraid it's a little on the long side...) substack.com/home/post/p-...

Can anyone recommend a handwriting intervention from secondary school?

Can anyone recommend a handwriting intervention from secondary school?

Latest on our Substack - I attempt to prove mathematically that education can never be fun, with reference to The Flowerpot Men, Jock Stein & the Galapagos tortoise. substack.nomoremarking.com/p/why-educat...

Here are my slides from ResearchEd National Conference 2025 tomneedhamteach.wordpress.com/2025/09/14/m...

Bernard's talk was really interesting. I loved it.

'The oversimplification trap' "When it comes to students in the classroom, we can simplify an explanation of a concept into PPT where complex phrases become glossy icons. Books can become short booklets. Subjects become revision guides." alexquigley.co.uk/the-oversimp...

An excellent overview of the thinking needed when leading assessment. Well worth a read!

Fast food tills have pictures not words. Text messages can be played as audio. The modern world makes it easier to cope without literacy. What should schools do in response? substack.nomoremarking.com/p/are-we-liv...

Right. I've entered a half marathon (for the first time in my life!) on 12th October and am raising money for Cancer UK. If you'd like to donate great, if not, please share the link :) fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/davids-...

New today. open.substack.com/pub/matthewe...

Engagement isn’t about making lessons fun. It’s about leaders creating the conditions for teachers to teach well. Blame the curriculum all you like, it’s the system that’s failing, not the content. open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

My son (5) just called 'exercise' 'ache-zersize' which is a new eggcorn to me. What's your favourite/most jarring eggcorn or mondegreen?

A brilliant book from @mrarobbins.bsky.social. A hugely useful guide to anyone involved in helping teachers to develop. Love the clear, practical, examples.

NEW Inside Project Follow Through: why methods matter, why implementation fails, and why Direct Instruction still divides the profession open.substack.com/pub/daviddid...

Some big news from us. We're launching our first ever national history assessment - Year 7, autumn term, Battle of Hastings. It's AI-assisted so it'll be super quick. And it's free! (But not for long!) Read more & sign up here. www.nomoremarking.com/products/cjh...

🚨 Exciting announcement alert!🚨 My new book 'Fail Better: How teachers can help students overcome failure, perfectionism, procrastination, impostor syndrome and test anxiety' is heading off to Routledge soon! Part of the @innerdrive.bsky.social CPD Academy series, it will...

NEW BLOG: Managing attention in classrooms is a social justice issue hobbolog.wordpress.com/2025/06/02/m... #UKEd #Edusky #EduBlogUK

It's release date!🥳🎉🍾 @mikehobbiss.bsky.social and I are incredibly proud to share "How to Teach Psychology - an evidence informed approach". Of course we think it's great, but here's what fellow psychology teacher, author and podcast host Ben White @benwhitewaldenkent.bsky.social had to say:

This is great.

New post⤵️ ▸The fad's purpose is what it does◂ ...and not what its authors thought it would do Educational fads seen through systems theory (AKA cybernetics). Please share (tough for bloggers recently) #UKEd #EduSky #EruditePedagogy #Cybernetics cmooreanderson.wixsite.com/teachingbiol...

*New post* This time on systems and school leadership. Beguiling events and how systems can fool school leaders birminghamteacher.wordpress.com/2025/04/17/b...

Are you in (or aspiring to) a position of Teaching and Learning leadership? Looking to boost your knowledge and skills? LOOK NO FURTHER - webinar in just one week!! www.eventbrite.com/e/improving-...

Here are all the Direct Instruction podcast episodes in one place: www.nifdi.org/resources/ne...

🚀 Matthew Evans @head-teach.bsky.social and I have launched 100% Assessment, a Substack dedicated to exploring assessment in schools. We'll be posting weekly insights for everyone, from teachers through to Heads and Assessment Leads. Find us here - 100assessment.substack.com/about

How did Shakespeare know so much about the mind? Started 2025 trying to read a sonnet/scene every day and I'm consistently amazed at how he anticipated so many findings from cognitive science on memory, learning and behaviour. Made some notes🧵⬇️

Reading problems in secondary school create a complex web of consequences for mental health, confidence and self-esteem – as well as limiting academic progress. Read more in our book. Link to our book: (Amazon): ow.ly/lyeX50R2ol9 #EduSky #UKEd