Hello colleague
It’s good to be in touch with some resources we hope you find helpful this month. As ever, the focus is on what makes the biggest difference to pupils’ thinking, not more work.
New book KS3: The Ambitious Years
For years, we’ve said KS3 matters, but if we’re honest, the system hasn’t always behaved that way. In many parts of the sector, curriculum time has been squeezed, texts are often simplified, and expectations are quietly lowered.
And then, in Year 10, we wonder why we are reteaching what should already be secure. This is the problem KS3 needs to solve.
My new book, KS3 The Ambitious Years, sets out a different approach, it's one rooted in:
- depth before pace
- rich, demanding texts
- secure knowledge and vocabulary
- teaching that prioritises thinking over task completion
Because KS3 isn't a warm-up, it's where the foundations for everything else are built. If we get this right, KS4 becomes stronger, not harder.
Published on Tuesday 2nd June in both paperback and ebook(Kindle pre-order now live)
I enjoyed this conversation with Karl McGrath talking about design for learning. We discussed what high impact resources have in common and why it’s important to think about the quality of the content that lands on pupils’ desks. It’s available to watch here.
InnerDrive is a Teaching & Learning company, specialising in illuminating and translating Cognitive Science research to make it accessible, practical, and impactful for educators and students alike. We offer in-person CPD workshops, student workshops, our online Teacher CPD Academy, and a wealth of free resources – all designed to help people to teach, learn and perform better. Over the past 20 years, we've worked with thousands of schools and colleges worldwide, consistently rated 4.8/5 by our clients. We don't do boring: our training is evidence-informed, engaging, and built to make a real difference! Explore what we can do for you here.
Evidence-informed science teaching with ASE
The Association for Science Education (ASE) is the subject association for science, supporting teachers with practical, evidence-informed CPD, resources and a strong professional community.
Membership gives you access to subject-specific expertise, classroom-ready strategies, and a network of educators committed to improving science education.
ASE has a calendar of CPD for all science educators:
Explore how narrative can support understanding, memory and engagement, with practical approaches ready for the classroom.
A space for those leading CPD to engage with key texts, reflect, and strengthen their practice. Find out more here.
Literacy that lasts in primary
If you’d like to explore how reading can strengthen thinking across the curriculum, you can watch the webinar with me and Abbie Ing here.
We focus on using rich texts to support literacy in the foundation subjects – not as an add-on, but as the work itself.
If you’re looking for a curriculum that does more of the thinking for you, without lowering the level of challenge:
- Explore The Teachers’ Collection here
- If you’d like to see what this looks like in practice first - view free examples here
New on Myatt & Co
Secondary Subject Network: SEND - History
Tom Allen, Head of History at Ashton Park School, and Pete Jackson, Head of History at Ryedale School, share practical approaches to supporting students with special educational needs in history.
Tom explains how his department uses carefully written narrative history stories at Key Stage 3, with each lesson built around a 600-word text. These are broken into manageable chunks, supported by clear checklists so pupils can keep track of their learning.
Pete shows how storytelling, revision resources, YouTube videos and deliberate practice sheets can support GCSE history. Available to watch here with a Myatt & Co subscription.
Amjad Ali is shortly launching the TA CPD Hub to provide monthly resources, webinars and more. Well worth checking out here.
Teach Active is a resource to increase pupils’ levels activity with lesson plans and resources designed to deliver the Maths and English curriculum through active learning. Jon Smedley is available for headteacher cluster meetings across the country to give a short presentation on Teach Active, allowing schools to learn more and make a well-informed decision as to whether the resource would benefit their school and children
Then, if schools like the resource, there is funding from the children’s charity ‘The Bee-lieve Foundation’ which helps schools to afford this. Well worth checking out.
Are you responsible for the leadership of sustainability and climate action planning across curriculum, estates or operations in your setting?
The ASCL Sustainability Conference offers a practical, hands-on programme tailored for leaders, sustainability leads, curriculum leaders, estates leaders and operational staff who want to turn ambition into action.
The conference will explore:
- Causes, consequences and the why the need to act
- How sustainability can be embedded across the curriculum
- Practical approaches to carbon literacy and climate education
- Operational strategies that align sustainability with everyday practice
- Real examples of what works and what to avoid from serving practitioners in curriculum and operations
The full programme for the ASCL Sustainability Conference 2026 is now available you can view it and book here.
I’ll be speaking at the ACSL Birmingham on World Environment Day on Friday 5th June 2026, and you’ll also be able to hear from expert speakers and gain practical ideas to help your school or trust embed sustainability and deliver the DfE’s Climate Action Plan requirements.
Free online book launch: The Functionally Fluent Teacher
On Thursday 21st May 2026, Steve Willshaw is hosting the free online launch of his latest book The Functionally Fluent Teacher.
The session will explore how teachers can protect their energy, strengthen classroom relationships and manage the emotional weight of teaching without burning out. It will look at practical, high-impact shifts in communication that help create calmer classrooms, stronger professional conversations and more sustainable school cultures. The launch is free and you can register here.
Transformative communication skills for the classroom
A free interactive online session for teachers and teaching support staff, from Sylvan Barreau, a transformative communication facilitator. In his session he’ll show how to speak with students of all ages in ways that empower them to become spontaneously reflective, self-aware, creative at meeting their own needs in constructive ways, and autonomous in behaviour self-management.
This course is conceptually in line with the ideas presented in the book How to Talk So Kids Will Listen, and Listen so Kids Will Talk.
Experiential and fun!
Thursday 4th June 2026 6:30 - 8:00 PM
Click here to register and for more details.
Big question this term on Myatt & Co: inclusion and the curriculum
These examples show how schools and educators respond to national policy shifts by adapting ideas to their own communities and pupils.
- First, watch ‘The oracy shift’ (1 hour 10 mins), to explore how to embed a strong oracy culture.
- Next, watch ‘Using books across the curriculum’ (1 hour 8 mins), to consider how ambitious texts and rich pedagogies can raise expectations for all pupils and build a love of learning.
- Then, watch ‘Muslim diversity and improving religious literacy in the RE classroom’ (1 hour 7 mins), to reflect on how the curriculum can promote understanding, challenge stereotypes, and foster compassion across communities.
- Finally, watch ‘Life chance school’ (1 hour 5 mins) to see how a school designs a curriculum rooted in equity and care for vulnerable learners, balancing national priorities with local needs.
If you’re thinking about the next steps in developing your curriculum:
For secondary:
- KS3: The Ambitious Years, start with the self-evaluation toolkit here
For primary:
Both are designed to do the same thing - raise the level of thinking while reducing unnecessary workload.
If this is already on your radar, keep going, and if it isn’t, now is a good time to start.
If you think there’s someone who would appreciate this update, you can forward it on.
Until next time
Mary