Katie Finlayson
@learnwhatyoulive.bsky.social
Home educator, data nerd, home ed exams specialist, Chair of Governors and one time computer programmer. Expect eclectic thoughts.
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
I wonder if this is because the challenge/change of the present time is in part a fracturing *away* from schools and universal systems, towards more individual demands and perspectives, and it is difficult for a system to really grapple with that in a coherent way.
November 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM
I wonder if this is because the challenge/change of the present time is in part a fracturing *away* from schools and universal systems, towards more individual demands and perspectives, and it is difficult for a system to really grapple with that in a coherent way.
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
I'm hoping to challenge this belief with my new book: Making Meaning.
I agree that the EduCognitivism triumphed in creating a view that teaching and learning had been figured out; a possible reason for people getting bored.
I also think the reductionism of EduCognitivism makes teaching seem boring.
I agree that the EduCognitivism triumphed in creating a view that teaching and learning had been figured out; a possible reason for people getting bored.
I also think the reductionism of EduCognitivism makes teaching seem boring.
November 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
I'm hoping to challenge this belief with my new book: Making Meaning.
I agree that the EduCognitivism triumphed in creating a view that teaching and learning had been figured out; a possible reason for people getting bored.
I also think the reductionism of EduCognitivism makes teaching seem boring.
I agree that the EduCognitivism triumphed in creating a view that teaching and learning had been figured out; a possible reason for people getting bored.
I also think the reductionism of EduCognitivism makes teaching seem boring.
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Hey #Edusky - please come and interact with @didau.bsky.social!
Bluesky is - sadly - an echoing void. Almost no one interacts on here, at least, not with me
November 29, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Hey #Edusky - please come and interact with @didau.bsky.social!
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
I am very much enjoying Bluesky for news and analysis. But where has the education chat gone? I really miss this from Twitter days...where do you think Edu-chat is best represented now?
November 29, 2025 at 8:53 AM
I am very much enjoying Bluesky for news and analysis. But where has the education chat gone? I really miss this from Twitter days...where do you think Edu-chat is best represented now?
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Things used in everyday life are the real archaeological treasures! These sewing #needles were made from animal bone some 15,000 years ago. Some designs simply don't need to be improved, because form and functions were perfectly matched from the start. Form follows function! 🧵1/2
🏺
🏺
November 29, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Things used in everyday life are the real archaeological treasures! These sewing #needles were made from animal bone some 15,000 years ago. Some designs simply don't need to be improved, because form and functions were perfectly matched from the start. Form follows function! 🧵1/2
🏺
🏺
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Ludlow is a great market town to visit especially at this time of the year #littleadventures25
November 28, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Ludlow is a great market town to visit especially at this time of the year #littleadventures25
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
We have got to make politics intellectual again. It is the only way that societies thrive is when politicians have the capability to actually think and reflect deeply:
![I confess that I always had difficulty with interpreting the Biblical precept to love our neighbours “as ourselves” until I read some of the words of C.S. Lewis. He pointed out that we don't exactly love ourselves when we fall below the standards and beliefs we have accepted. Indeed we might even hate ourselves for some unworthy deed.
None of this, of course, tells us exactly what kind of political and social institutions we should have. On this point, Christians will very often genuinely disagree, though it is a mark of Christian manners that they will do so with courtesy and mutual respect. [Applause] What is certain, however, is that any set of social and economic arrangements which is not founded on the acceptance of individual responsibility will do nothing but harm.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:xbnsfdtxoothg654ujxe3p25/bafkreicrdgbtvm54qnmttwe6crhxwt4be5v3izjmqtnvlxmaljwg5wolai@jpeg)
November 28, 2025 at 12:15 PM
We have got to make politics intellectual again. It is the only way that societies thrive is when politicians have the capability to actually think and reflect deeply:
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
SEND area inspection reports show that Long waits for assessments, diagnosis and health services have been repeatedly highlighted for areas found to have systemic failings in special educational needs provision. My analysis for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Ofsted SEND inspections: key failings revealed
Tes analysis highlights the main findings in SEND inspection reports for the areas found to have systemic or widespread failings this year
www.tes.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:50 AM
SEND area inspection reports show that Long waits for assessments, diagnosis and health services have been repeatedly highlighted for areas found to have systemic failings in special educational needs provision. My analysis for @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/new...
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Corbettmaths GCSE Foundation and Foundation Plus 5-a-day #maths5aday ✅⭐️
Answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
Answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
November 28, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Corbettmaths GCSE Foundation and Foundation Plus 5-a-day #maths5aday ✅⭐️
Answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
Answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Studying for Higher GCSE Maths?
Try today's Foundation Plus, Higher & challenging Higher Plus #maths5aday answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
Try today's Foundation Plus, Higher & challenging Higher Plus #maths5aday answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
November 28, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Studying for Higher GCSE Maths?
Try today's Foundation Plus, Higher & challenging Higher Plus #maths5aday answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
Try today's Foundation Plus, Higher & challenging Higher Plus #maths5aday answers: corbettmaths.com/2016/10/26/n...
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Would love some in-depth numbers on what the majority of 20-30 somethings basically paying a 9% higher marginal tax rate has actually done to economic behaviour. Feels very under-discussed bsky.app/profile/igma...
Student loan repayment thresholds frozen for a further three years.
More debt burden falling on graduates.
And even more reason to cut university places by 20-30%.
More debt burden falling on graduates.
And even more reason to cut university places by 20-30%.
November 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Would love some in-depth numbers on what the majority of 20-30 somethings basically paying a 9% higher marginal tax rate has actually done to economic behaviour. Feels very under-discussed bsky.app/profile/igma...
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
1/ It’s Budget Day - so why does the Deputy Speaker, in their capacity as Chair of Ways and Means usually preside over the debate? The story goes back to the 17th century, when MPs feared the Speaker was too close to the Crown, especially on matters of money.
November 26, 2025 at 8:37 AM
1/ It’s Budget Day - so why does the Deputy Speaker, in their capacity as Chair of Ways and Means usually preside over the debate? The story goes back to the 17th century, when MPs feared the Speaker was too close to the Crown, especially on matters of money.
One of my friends regularly walked over this with three small children to get to our home ed group in Fron.
Wednesday's TGT celebrates a stunning piece of Georgian Industrial Heritage. The Pontcysyllte aqueduct is the tallest canal aqueduct in the world and the longest in the UK.
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink
bit.ly/TutorGroupThink
November 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
One of my friends regularly walked over this with three small children to get to our home ed group in Fron.
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
There’s actually quite a complicated issue here about who does and should have access to information at the point where it is investigatory and nothing has been firmly evidenced/decided either way, and it’s not at all clear how this legislative proposal would actually work in practice.
Investigation: Dozens of councils do not hold data on how many home-educated children are subject to child protection enquiries – suggesting many are underprepared for new duties to protect vulnerable children
schoolsweek.co.uk/safeguarding...
schoolsweek.co.uk/safeguarding...
Safeguarding risk data missing from home education records
Dozens of LAs hold no data on at-home kids potentially at risk, spelling trouble for new duties
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 12:38 PM
There’s actually quite a complicated issue here about who does and should have access to information at the point where it is investigatory and nothing has been firmly evidenced/decided either way, and it’s not at all clear how this legislative proposal would actually work in practice.
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:49 PM
It’s widely known (and, I think, pretty uncontroversial) that learning requires effort — specifically, if you don’t have to work at getting the knowledge, it won’t stick.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
Even if an LLM could be trusted to give you correct information 100% of the time, it would be an inferior method of learning it.
I see this all the time about home ed things - just the lack of experience, leading to policies/legislation which really make no sense (and it’s understandable that they can’t know about everything, but not impossible to remedy).
And you think, if you have this so wrong, what about everything else?
And you think, if you have this so wrong, what about everything else?
the thing that scares me about Labour HE policy is that because I work in the sector I can see how absolutely insane it is, which makes me wonder just how terrible their policies are in all the other sectors I’m in less of a position to engage with critically out of lack of knowledge.
November 24, 2025 at 6:30 AM
I see this all the time about home ed things - just the lack of experience, leading to policies/legislation which really make no sense (and it’s understandable that they can’t know about everything, but not impossible to remedy).
And you think, if you have this so wrong, what about everything else?
And you think, if you have this so wrong, what about everything else?
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
November 24, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
This isn’t true! Regulated fares have always been set by the government, regardless of operator!
Train fares frozen: not happened for decades.
Bringing rail back into public ownership means we can take action on fares.
Bringing rail back into public ownership means we can take action on fares.
November 23, 2025 at 12:07 PM
This isn’t true! Regulated fares have always been set by the government, regardless of operator!
There’s actually quite a complicated issue here about who does and should have access to information at the point where it is investigatory and nothing has been firmly evidenced/decided either way, and it’s not at all clear how this legislative proposal would actually work in practice.
Investigation: Dozens of councils do not hold data on how many home-educated children are subject to child protection enquiries – suggesting many are underprepared for new duties to protect vulnerable children
schoolsweek.co.uk/safeguarding...
schoolsweek.co.uk/safeguarding...
Safeguarding risk data missing from home education records
Dozens of LAs hold no data on at-home kids potentially at risk, spelling trouble for new duties
schoolsweek.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 12:38 PM
There’s actually quite a complicated issue here about who does and should have access to information at the point where it is investigatory and nothing has been firmly evidenced/decided either way, and it’s not at all clear how this legislative proposal would actually work in practice.
College taster day for child 3. Apparently Maths was the most fun (I also heard this from a random girl walking past, so not just my child!)
November 22, 2025 at 4:16 PM
College taster day for child 3. Apparently Maths was the most fun (I also heard this from a random girl walking past, so not just my child!)
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Many factors at play:
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
November 20, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Many factors at play:
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
• Housing crisis (people living with parents less likely to enter labour market)
• Rising anxiety & other mental health challenges (makes transition into work harder, esp in UK due to fears of losing benefits)
• Steep rise in youth minimum wage (less hiring of young people)
The moment has come - I now have four teenagers.
November 21, 2025 at 10:08 AM
The moment has come - I now have four teenagers.
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
During this cloudflare outage, let me supply you with this wisdom of the ages: “single point of failure” can be sung to the tune of “all the single ladies”
November 18, 2025 at 1:43 PM
During this cloudflare outage, let me supply you with this wisdom of the ages: “single point of failure” can be sung to the tune of “all the single ladies”
Reposted by Katie Finlayson
Thank you @schoolsweek.bsky.social for highlighting this - a really thorough and well researched article.
Exclusive: A surge in home education has left many families struggling to find places for their children to sit GCSEs, with some 'reduced to begging' as overwhelmed exam centres shut their doors
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/home-education-children-forced-to-travel-miles-to-sit-exams/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/home-education-children-forced-to-travel-miles-to-sit-exams/
November 14, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Thank you @schoolsweek.bsky.social for highlighting this - a really thorough and well researched article.
Love is… coming back from uni during reading week and playing the card game your little brother has invented. He’s made her a customised deck 😍
November 15, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Love is… coming back from uni during reading week and playing the card game your little brother has invented. He’s made her a customised deck 😍