Tom Sherrington

Time for a Sabbatical. I’m taking a break! See you in March!

At the end of this week I’m signing off from work for the next six or seven months. My wife is taking a sabbatical from her job as Deputy Head and I’m doing the same so we can go travelling. We’re going to France, then Australia and Indonesia before heading back to the UK at the end of February next year. I’ve got 5 or 6 days’ work during that time – some conference events in Australia and a job in Brunei- but otherwise, I’m going to take a full break – deleting Twitter from my phone and pausing my blogging.

I’ve managed to sustain my blogging output reasonably well for 12 years, passing the 10 million mark earlier this year, but for sure I’ve been flagging so it was probably a good time to pause anyway. My last two posts are a round-up of the things I’ve seen in the last year where schools and teachers are doing great work:

I’ve had such a great time in the last year working with Emma Turner on our podcast. We’ve nearly reached 250,000 downloads – averaging around 3000 per episode. We’re thrilled about that. The recent episodes are superb – our guests all brilliant. Check it out.

Teaching Through Examples: The Power of Direct Instruction with Tom Needham, Mind the Gap, Ep.122 (S6,E20) – Mind the Gap: Making Education Work Across the Globe

On this episode of Mind the Gap, Tom Sherrington and Emma Turner are joined by Tom Needham – teacher, school leader, and author of Engelmann’s Direct Instruction in Action – to explore what direct instruction really means. Marking the final book in the In Action series, the conversation digs into Siegfried Engelmann’s work, from the power of carefully sequenced examples and non-examples to the importance of “sameness,” big ideas, generative content, and tightly designed practice. Tom explains how direct instruction transformed his teaching of English, particularly for pupils who had struggled with writing, spelling and foundational skills, while also showing how its principles apply across subjects from maths and science to history and geography. Along the way, they discuss the philosophical and practical objections to scripted programmes, the role of teacher expertise in curriculum design, and why precise instruction can be a route to greater pupil success, confidence and independence.Tom Needham has been teaching for nearly twenty years. He has previously taught English in International schools in Malaysia and Nigeria; EFL in Bangkok and Harrogate, as well as Sociology, Media Studies and all the Humanities in Croydon. He is author of Explicit English Teaching, and most recently Engelmann's Direct Instruction in Action, which will be available on the 19th of June. Tom is currently an Assistant Headteacher at a school in Charlton.Tom Sherrington has worked in schools as a teacher and leader for 30 years and is now a consultant specialising in teacher development and curriculum & assessment planning. He regularly contributes to conferences and CPD sessions locally and nationally and is busy working in schools and colleges across the UK and around the world. Follow Tom on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@teacherhead⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Emma Turner FCCT is a school improvement advisor, education consultant, trainer and author. She has almost three decades of primary teaching, headship and leadership experience across the sector, working and leading in both MATs and LAs. She works nationally and internationally on school improvement including at single school level and at scale. She has a particular interest in research informed practice in the primary phase, early career development, and CPD design. Follow Emma on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@emma_turner75⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠This podcast is sponsored by Teaching WalkThrus and produced in association with Haringey Education Partnership. Find out more at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://walkthrus.co.uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://haringeyeducationpartnership.co.uk/⁠⁠
  1. Teaching Through Examples: The Power of Direct Instruction with Tom Needham, Mind the Gap, Ep.122 (S6,E20)
  2. Lighting the Fire: Motivation and Meaning in Teaching with Christian Mba, Mind the Gap, Ep.121 (S6,E19)
  3. Context Matters, Especially for Inspections, Mind the Gap, Ep.120 (S6,E18)

The big news is that Mind the Gap will continue in my absence with the brilliant Jon Hutchinson joining Emma as co-host. They’re already lining up guests for the new season in autumn!

It’s been an incredible five years since Walkthrus was conceived – with now over 4000 schools using our materials and nearly 3000 subscribing members. It’s been pretty full on all that time but I feel I can step away for a while knowing Walkthrus is in safe hands with Matt Stone running the show alongside Oliver. They’ve got tons of school projects lined up and we’ll be working towards writing and publishing our coaching book next year. The team of consultants is brilliant – and you can find out more about working with them via the Walkthrus site;

More widely I think I feel a kind of deep tiredness – common to most teachers reaching the end of term, I know! As well as Walkthrus growing into something bigger than I ever imagined, I’ve been on the road visiting schools for 7 1/2 years, going anywhere that invites me! I’ve done a lot of miles and it now feels like a good time for a break. Thanks to everyone who has invited me to work with them since 2017 – it’s been an incredible experience for me to meet so many teachers and school leaders all over the UK and around the world. I’m continually inspired by the wonderful people I meet, doing incredible work.

OK -so it’s goodbye for now. I might dip in and out occasionally, but I’m unlikely to reply to any emails or tweets once I’ve shut down. I will be back in March 2025 ready for action. So – see you then. Have a great summer if you’re nearly there. Hope all goes well in the new school year. There’s an optimism in the air …

If you ever wonder where I am, picture me doing this….

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