HOT AND BOTHERED

On a day when temperatures have risen to great heights, I didn't need the DfE to make my blood boil with their rewriting of history, saying that primary school children do not need to, and have never needed to, socially distance, despite all their guidance advising the opposite.

That would have been enough to make me hot and bothered, but for the announcement that they insist that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, (see Margaret Clarke' meticulously researched paper on this site) teachers must be trained to understand that synthetic phonics is the only way to teach reading. Unbelievable!

Am I bothered?

I'm very hot and very bothered!

My lid was prevented from coming off only by the fantastic news that baseless, sorry baseline testing will not be introduced this September. More than a crumb of comfort, perhaps half a loaf, we'll wait to see how it is sliced.

But at least we have a plan for September, whole classes will be called bubbles, not much comfort to vulnerable families, elderly relatives, or West Ham fans, but it is easy to see where Gavin Williamson drew his inspiration

Everything you could need, including outside hand-washing facilities, milk for the infants warming nicely in the corner and some children socially distancing while the rest stay in their bubble in a very active way.