Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 8h

This is a story that has been on repeat loop throughout most of my 50+ years in education... but glad that we are being reminded again!

Tes magazine @tesmagazine.bsky.social · 9h

Much of the £1bn spent every year on CPD is ineffective, warns new report from @teacherdevtrust.bsky.social - with 4/10 teachers saying it does not improve their teaching

www.tes.com/magazine/new...

‘Urgent action’ needed to combat ineffective CPD

Report warns that vast sums of money are being ‘wasted’, with almost four in 10 teachers saying CPD has not clearly improved their ability to do the job

www.tes.com

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Reposted by Tony Parkin

Schools Week @schoolsweek.bsky.social · 1d

Small schools want clarity on how new Ofsted inspections will be adapted for their 'unique' circumstances - amid concerns they will continue to place 'unrealistic' demands on leaders

schoolsweek.co.uk/small-school...

Small schools demand Ofsted clarity over report card impact

Inspectors will conduct three learning walks and hold at least five 'reflection meetings'

schoolsweek.co.uk

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 1d

Reasons to love Jools Holland and Later - where else would you get to hear the wonderful Annie and the Caldwells singing live?

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 2d

Hand in Hand: Schools’ Embrace of AI Connected to Increased Risks to Students | CDT buff.ly/1cqateK < report details 4 emerging risks associated with school uses of AI:
*Data breaches/ransomware
*Sexual harassment & bullying
*AI systems not working as intended
*Troubling student/tech interactions

Hand in Hand: Schools’ Embrace of AI Connected to Increased Risks to Students

Artificial intelligence (AI) has continued to alter the educational experiences of teachers, students, and parents during the 2024-25 school year. The frequency and variety of AI uses continues to…

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Reposted by Tony Parkin

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 6d

Gavin Williamson floundering on schools in the COVID Inquiry is unsuprising.
But Tory predecessors should share the blame for ignoring pandemics after some of us had helped plan for them!
That ‘Nobody could have seen this coming’ nonsense! – Parkin Space

That ‘Nobody could have seen this coming’ nonsense!

Written in response to all those, “nobody could have seen this coming,” “online learning is showing it is poor at replacing real classroom teaching,” and, “isn’t…

tonyparkin.wordpress.com

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Reposted by Tony Parkin

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 5d

An Assessment tail? | Parkin Space https://buff.ly/ez1XBCP < After a decade of relentless focus in education on assessment, is the tail finally wagging the dog for Gen Z?

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 2d

Microsoft warns USB mouse keyboard users as Windows 11 KB5066835 breaks key OS feature - Neowin buff.ly/GAGhHN5 < Microsoft's ability to issue updates without breaking Windows seems to be in marked decline. More time wasted, less productivity.

https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-warns-usb-mouse-keyboard-users-as-windows-11-kb5066835-breaks-key-os-feature/

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 3d

'Alarm' as two-thirds of schools' Turing Scheme bids snubbed | Schools Week buff.ly/hD8iYic < remember all those Tory Brexit promises how their Turing replacement would be better than the EU's Erasmus scheme?

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 3d

'Deepfake' teacher avatars to help pupils catch up | Schools Week buff.ly/1j3l31a < The academy trust insists the work will never replace teachers, but should cut workload around having to deliver catch-up interventions via HeyGen.

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 3d

Williamson texted PM he was 'f****d over' by Covid decisions | Schools Week buff.ly/dDJmKMk Williamson told the inquiry there were “failures” in the government’s lack of pre-planning before the pandemic.
Not kidding! See my 2020 blogpost buff.ly/ccDEkVG

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 3d

'Double disadvantage': Poorer pupils less likely to get EHCP | Schools Week buff.ly/EHUddu3 < anyone who has ever been involved in this process knows the need for sharp elbows and pushy persistence on the part of parents/guardians. Spot on from Sutton Trust.

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 4d

Ofsted MAT inspections should be ungraded, says trusts body CST | Schools Week buff.ly/wbA2xlx < as Mandy Rice Davies might have said, "Well they would say that, wouldn't they?" #trustingthetrusts

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 5d

An Assessment tail? | Parkin Space https://buff.ly/ez1XBCP < After a decade of relentless focus in education on assessment, is the tail finally wagging the dog for Gen Z?

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 6d

Gavin Williamson floundering on schools in the COVID Inquiry is unsuprising.
But Tory predecessors should share the blame for ignoring pandemics after some of us had helped plan for them!
That ‘Nobody could have seen this coming’ nonsense! – Parkin Space

That ‘Nobody could have seen this coming’ nonsense!

Written in response to all those, “nobody could have seen this coming,” “online learning is showing it is poor at replacing real classroom teaching,” and, “isn’t…

tonyparkin.wordpress.com

2

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 6d

Gavin Williamson floundering on schools in the COVID Inquiry is unsuprising.
But Tory predecessors should share the blame for ignoring pandemics after some of us had helped plan for them!
That ‘Nobody could have seen this coming’ nonsense! – Parkin Space

That ‘Nobody could have seen this coming’ nonsense!

Written in response to all those, “nobody could have seen this coming,” “online learning is showing it is poor at replacing real classroom teaching,” and, “isn’t…

tonyparkin.wordpress.com

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 9d

Academy probe: Officials kept mum as merger decided | Schools Week schoolsweek.co.uk/officials-ke... < while CEO's mum collected £50k in related party transactions.
Mum!
#ISeeWhatYouDidThere

Officials kept mum about academy probe as merger decided

Revelation reopens debate around the transparency of important academy decisions

schoolsweek.co.uk

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 14d

Microsoft ‘Security Disaster’—400 Million Windows PCs Now At Risk buff.ly/E6OKUKd
< 41% are still on Windows 10! When support for Windows 8 ended, only 3.7% of Windows users were still using it. Only 2.2% of Windows users were still using Windows 8.1 when support ended."

Microsoft ‘Security Disaster’—400 Million Windows PCs Now At Risk

You must act if you're at risk — what to know.

buff.ly

Reposted by Tony Parkin

James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 17d

Not to make light of the editorial failure, but look how far Twitter lies now permeate in to normal discourse. We think we know about the racism but the utter contempt for truth since Musk bought the platform is deliberate & very dangerous. You can’t foment racism with fact checkers in the building.

Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 17d

Oh my god.

Have I Got News For You just referred to this completely false claim as a fact!!

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Reposted by Tony Parkin

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 17d

There are lots of reasons not to leave ECHR. But apart from anything else, it just doesn't solve the problem the Tories/Reform think it does.

E.g. the Supreme Court judgment re Rwanda being unsafe explicitly said it was not based on ECHR.

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 17d

Will this Alter attitudes to and acceptance of AI-assisted meeting recording? | ALTER buff.ly/R8xzeSh < all recording and processing remains on your machine, ensuring GDPR & data privacy, and works across many apps

Alter | AI For Your Entire Workday

Alter: The seamless AI that supercharges your meetings. Skip the chat, execute instant actions across all apps. 10x your productivity with complete privacy control.

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 18d

Scoop: Disney sends cease and desist letter to CharacterAI | Axios buff.ly/M39LbvB < asking them to stop taking the Mickey?

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 18d

One day of planning went into Covid school closures, inquiry hears | BBC https://buff.ly/QpJGuHV < as the Inquiry queries the lack of govt planning, a reminder of my blog post from 2020 detailing the Govt's abandonment of pandemic planning for schools https://bit.ly/3B3bUyK

Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 20d

Europe forces Microsoft into free extended support for Windows 10 | PCWorld buff.ly/ziVpLVg < of course, since Brexit, the UK does not benefit from this change of approach by Microsoft....

Europe forces Microsoft into free extended support for Windows 10

Residents in the European Economic Area won't need to jump over any hurdles to get an extra year of Windows 10 security updates.

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 20d

For when you despair that the current US administration will ever get anything right?
FTC Secures Historic $2.5 Billion Settlement Against Amazon buff.ly/tQOM9hB < A Prime example of a good result!

FTC Secures Historic $2.5 Billion Settlement Against Amazon

The Federal Trade Commission has secured a historic order with Amazon.com, Inc., as well as Senior Vice President Neil Lindsay and Vice President Jamil Ghani, settling allegations that Amazon enrol

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Tony Parkin @tonyparkin.bsky.social · 20d

UK government wins £122m pandemic case against Michelle Mone-linked firm over faulty PPE www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o... < now here's some good news for a change. Just the criminal charges to wait for now?

UK government wins £122m pandemic case against Michelle Mone-linked firm over faulty PPE

Trial heard 25m surgical gowns supplied by PPE Medpro to protect NHS staff were unusable and could ‘seriously harm or kill patients’

www.theguardian.com

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