The 20 Most Recommended Education Blogs for Teachers and School Leaders in the UK (2024)
Teaching blogs are still the most reliable source of free CPD from your peers; here we share a comprehensive list of those most likely to make you try something new, change your behaviour, or just take a minute of reflection.
With the abundance of online platforms like âEduTwitterâ, teaching Facebook groups, the Edutopia YouTube channel, and valuable resources from organisations like NCETM and ResearchED, teachers are now spoiled for choice when it comes to online CPD.
However, it’s easy to overlook the origins of teacher professional development before the era of social media: education blogs for teachers created by teachers. These remain the optimal learning environment when seeking detailed insights into another teacher’s thoughts, practical guidance on what has worked (or not) in their own classroom, and ample material to spark your own ideas and ambitions.
This is our roundup of the best teacher bloggers still writing and inspiring the education community in 2024.
Editorâs note: We make no apologies for a bit of a maths bias in this list! As a maths tutoring business we read a lot of educational articles and blogs for our own CPD and to help us stay in touch with daily classroom practice and the current issues schools leaders are grappling with. Itâs also a habit we have instilled into our tutors. Every maths tutor who joins the Third Space Learning team is given a reading list of important articles and journals as part of their intensive maths training programme. Many of the selected blogs also include a link to a relevant Third Space Learning article in case you want to explore any author or topic in greater detail.
1. The Confident Teacher
Alex Quigley is an education consultant and the author of âClosing the Reading Gapâ, âClosing the Writing Gapâ, and âThe Confident Teacherâ.
With over fifteen years of experience in the classroom, he now works for an educational charity, supporting teachers and school leaders to access research evidence.
His blog offers a range of insights and practical tips on teaching, learning and education more broadly, with a particular focus on literacy and language development.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Alex is an experienced teacher and school leader; as such, he brings a wealth of practical experience and knowledge to his writing, making his posts highly relevant and informative.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Who should read aloud in class.
- Blog: https://www.theconfidentteacher.com.
- Twitter: @AlexJQuigley.
Downloadable Summary of The Top 20 Best Education and Teaching Blogs
Too busy to read right now? Download this handy 2-page summary PDF that contain the blogs and articles to read. Suitable for primary and secondary teachers and leaders.
Download Free Now!2. The Learning Spy
David Didau is a freelance writer, speaker and trainer. He runs the English Studies modules as part of BPP Universityâs PGCE course.
From his blog, you can learn practical strategies like how to help students reach their potential or how to focus on cognitive science and evidence-based practice.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Davidâs writing style is engaging and thought-provoking, with a mix of personal anecdotes, research-based insights and practical advice. He is not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom and encourage readers to think critically about education.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: The problem with marking and how to solve it.
- Blog: https://learningspy.co.uk/blog/.
- Twitter: @DavidDidau.
See also from Third Space Learning: The most effective no marking strategy
3. Resourceaholic
Jo Morgan is a maths teacher and author. Her blog includes ideas and resources for teaching secondary school mathematics, such as lesson planning, assessment and teaching strategies, worksheets, as well as reviews of textbooks and online tools.
- Who itâs for: Maths teachers.
- Why itâs worth reading: for the âGemsâ section alone! Here, Jo regularly shares a collection of five ideas for teaching maths, gathered from Twitter.
- How often it is updated: frequently.
- Start here: What secondary teachers should know about the Key Stage 2 Maths Curriculum.
- Blog: https://www.resourceaholic.com/.
- Twitter: @mathsjem.
See also from Third Space Learning: Free secondary resource library
4. Third Space Learning
The Third Space Learning blog is a great resource for educators providing ideas and resources for teaching mathematics.
TSL is intended to support teachers in their efforts to improve learnersâ outcomes in maths and also provides support and guidance for any school implementing tutoring and other maths interventions. As a result itâs one of the most widely visited education blogs in the UK.
- Who itâs for: Maths teachers, primary teachers and school leaders
- Why itâs worth reading: it covers a wide range of topics related to maths education and most of the articles are written by expert teachers and school leaders working working in UK schools.
- How often it is updated: frequently.
- Start here: How To Create A Year 6 Maths Revision Programme So That All Your Pupils Achieve 100 In KS2 SATs and All the best GCSE maths predicted papers.
- Blog: https://thirdspacelearning.com/blog/.
- Twitter: @thirdspacetweet.
5. Teacherhead
Tom Sherrington is an experienced former headteacher and teacher and is now an education consultant.
His site features a range of teaching blogs, education policy and professional development. It also includes resources such as downloadable guides and templates that teachers can use in their classrooms.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Tom provides evidence-based articles and has devoted significant effort to exploring Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction. His articles are consistently up-to-date with the latest developments in education.
- How often it is updated: frequently.
- Start here: Exploring Barak Rosenshineâs seminal Principles of Instruction: Why it is THE must-read for all teachers.
- Blog: https://teacherhead.com/.
- Twitter: @teacherhead.
See also from Third Space Learning: Direct and explicit instruction
6. Solomon Kingsnorth
Solomon Kingsnorth (pseudonym) writes about pedagogy, curriculum, and educational technology.
His blog is written in a reflective and personal style, drawing on his experiences. It contains posts about lesson planning, classroom management, teacher well-being, educational edtech and more.
- Who itâs for: primary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: Solomonâs blogs are particularly thought-provoking and will make you think in a different way.
- How often it is updated: once or twice a year.
- Start here: The Extraordinary Case of Mr Yamazaki.
- Blog: https://medium.com/@solomon_teach.
- Twitter: @solomon_teach.
7. Primary Colour
Christopher Such is an experienced teacher, school leader and reading consultant.
His blog also provides access to entire primary curriculum packages for science, history and geography that are completely free to download and include the knowledge and skills to be learned, age-appropriate information texts for all topics, vocabulary and other resources.
- Who itâs for: primary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: Chrisâ blogs cover a wide range of subjects, from evidence-informed reading to primary mathematics.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Whatâs stopping us from teaching reading comprehension really well?
- Blog: https://primarycolour.home.blog/.
- Twitter: @suchmo83.
See also from Third Space Learning: other blogs by Christopher Such
8. A Chemical Orthodoxy
Adam Boxer is a chemistry teacher who blogs on science education, cognitive science and evidence-based practice. This includes practicals, cognitive load theory, retrieval practice, curriculum and KS3 education in general.
- Who itâs for: secondary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: Adamâs blog aims to promote science education and encourage critical thinking and scientific literacy.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Working a bottom set year 11: How I do it or her Naylorâs Natter podcast appearance discussing ââtraditional teaching methods in EYFS.
- Blog: https://achemicalorthodoxy.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @adamboxer1.
See also from Third Space Learning: Teaching bottom set maths
9. Emma Cate Teaching
Emma Cate is an experienced teacher and leader in the primary and early years sector.
Her blog is a wealth of classroom resources, ideas, explanations, opinions and experiences and advice focussed around all things primary and early childhood education. These range from art, maths, early years, curriculum planning and more.
She is currently suffering with Long Covid and has detailed her experiences with Long Covid whilst working as a teacher.
- Who itâs for: primary school teachers and leaders and recently teachers with Long Covid.
- Why itâs worth reading: Emma is passionate about teaching and learning and offers an accessible yet detailed approach to T&L.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Confessions of an Early Years trad.
- Blog: https://www.emmacateteaching.com/.
- Twitter: @emmccatt.
10. Teacher Tapp
Teacher Tapp is a survey app created by Professor Becky Allen and Laura McInerney. It asks teachers three questions a day to find out what they think about various issues in education.
The blog contains a range of posts covering topics such as teacher well-being and mental health, classroom management, curriculum development and educational policy.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: it provides a platform for teachers to share their views and experiences and to promote evidence-informed teaching practices.
- How often it is updated: weekly.
- Start here: Marking matters (or does it).
- Blog: https://teachertapp.co.uk/articles/.
- Twitter: @TeacherTapp.
11. New to the Post
Amjad Ali is a part time teacher, senior leader, qualified SENDCo and author.
When not teaching, he is delivering CPD.
On his blog, he digs deeper into issues ranging from anti-racism and disadvantaged student support to leadership practices, online management and more.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Amjadâs blog shares many low-effort high-impact teaching and learning ideas on the âtoolkit for teachersâ.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: How to have a calm, controlled, effective classroom environment.
- Blog: https://newtothepost.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @TeachLeadAAli.
12. Kat Howard
Kat Howard is Director for a large Multi-Academy Trust Teaching School Hub, founder of LitdriveUK (a charity dedicated to providing resources and CPD provision for English teachers worldwide) as well as a school governor and regional ambassador for the Maternity Teacher Paternity Teacher Project.
Her blog contains posts about classroom management, lesson planning, student behaviour, professional development, teacher well-being and more. Katâs blog offers well-written articles that are informative, practical, and engaging, with personal reflections and anecdotes to make the content relatable.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Kat is not afraid to address the difficult issues of school leadership and her advice is both compassionate and practical.
- How often it is updated: every couple of months.
- Start here: Difficult conversations are just better conversations.
- Blog: https://saysmiss.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @saysmiss.
13. Evidence for Educators
Sarah Cottingham is a teacher educator and has an MA in Educational Neuroscience. Her interests lie in how we can use what we know about memory to support teaching and learning.
Some of her blog posts include looking at the mechanisms behind retrieval practice, the importance of prior knowledge for catalysing learning, and how we might harness curiosity.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Sarahâs blog summarises findings from neuroscience and distils potential practical implications for educators.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: No more teaching tips and tricks.
- Blog: https://overpractised.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @overpractised.
See also from Third Space Learning: 5 maths tricks we should not be teaching
14. Becky Allen
Becky Allen is a Professor of Education at the University of Brighton as well as the co-founder and Chief Analyst at Teacher Tapp.
Her blog contains a range of posts covering subjects such as school funding, teacher recruitment, school accountability and educational inequality. Becky draws on her own research and expertise to offer insights and analysis of current issues in education, and to promote evidence-informed policy making.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: Allenâs blog aims to provide a platform for informed debate and discussion on education policy and practice in the UK.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Nobody knows which schools are good (Part 1) and The ungameable game (Part 2).
- Blog: https://rebeccaallen.co.uk/blog/.
- Twitter: @profbeckyallen.
15. Birmingham Teacher
Claire Stoneman is a Principal and English teacher in Birmingham. She blogs mainly about school leadership, curriculum, and disadvantage – including how her own background inspires her to insist on the best for disadvantaged children.
- Who itâs for: anyone in education.
- Why itâs worth reading: in addition to providing practical tips and ideas for English teachers, Claireâs blog also offers thoughtful commentary on current educational issues in the UK.
- How often it is updated: monthly.
- Start here: Great Expectations: growing up Pupil Premium.
- Blog: https://birminghamteacher.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @stoneman_claire.
See also from Third Space Learning: The pupil premium strategies that work
16. Primary Timery
Claire Sealy is Head of Education Improvement in Guernsey and an ex-head teacher.
Her blog covers a range of topics related to primary education, including curriculum design, assessment and teaching strategies. Many of the posts offer practical advice for teachers, such as how to plan lessons effectively or how to manage behaviour in the classroom.
- Who itâs for: primary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: Sealyâs writing style is engaging and conversational, and her extensive experience in primary education lends credibility to her advice and insights.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Thinking about assessment as six different tools with six different jobs.
- Blog: https://primarytimery.com/.
- Twitter: @ClareSealy.
See also from Third Space Learning: other blogs by Clare Sealy
17. Becoming a History Teacher
Victoria Crooks is Assistant Professor in History Education and Subject Lead for the History PGCE at the University of Nottingham, and co-Chair of the History Teacher Educators’ Network.
Her blog responds to common mentoring dilemmas and challenges experienced by mentors when working with teachers who are in the early stages of their careers.
- Who itâs for: ITT/ECT mentors and ECTs/NQTs.
- Why itâs worth reading: it contains plenty of guidance, support and encouragement for mentors of any subject or phase who are carrying out this vital role of preparing a new generation of teachers.
- How often it is updated: monthly.
- Start here: Creation not Emulation: Developing teacher persona.
- Blog: https://uonhistoryteachertraining.school.blog/.
- Twitter: @UoNSoEHistory.
18. Mrs F’s Classroom
Sarah Farrell is a classroom teacher in UKS2 and maths lead from Bristol who is interested in curriculum development and task design.
Each blog post is focused on an area of teaching and learning or a curriculum subject, and mainly involves sharing resources and practical suggestions for teachers to try in their own classrooms.
- Who itâs for: primary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: Sarah is an experienced teacher and shares many brilliant resources freely and often online.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: Problem solving.
- Blog: https://mrsfclassroom.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @SarahFarrellKS2.
See also from Third Space Learning: Strategies for maths problem solving at KS2 (free resource)
19. MrsSTeaches on Curriculum
Victoria is a primary deputy head teacher with a special interest in curriculum development.
Her blog includes posts on the KS1 & KS2 geography and history National Curriculum and strategies for implementing it (particularly topics taught at KS2, such as the Amazon, Charles Darwin and ancient civilisations) and ideas for both teaching reading and incorporating reading into the wider curriculum.
- Who itâs for: primary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: all of Victoriaâs classroom ideas are based on her own experiences as full-time class teacher, subject and curriculum lead, and include lots of practical examples of how she has taught and implemented these subjects and topics.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: History & Geography Curriculum Decisions.
- Blog: https://mrssteaches.school.blog/.
- Twitter: @MrsSTeaches.
See also from Third Space Learning: A beginnerâs guide to curriculum development
20. Ben Newmark
Ben Newmark is a secondary school teacher and leader. He blogs about curriculum, explicit instruction, intelligent assessment, leadership and history.
One of the main themes of this blog is the importance of evidence-based practice in education.
- Who itâs for: secondary school teachers and leaders.
- Why itâs worth reading: Ben provides examples of evidence-based teaching strategies, such as retrieval practice, spaced learning and interleaving, and offers tips on how to implement these strategies in the classroom.
- How often it is updated: intermittently.
- Start here: The teaching life.
- Blog: https://bennewmark.wordpress.com/.
- Twitter: @bennewmark.
Honourable teacher blog mentions
If youâre just as hungry for knowledge as we are, there are never too many education blogs to follow. So here are a few others we recommend:
- EEF – Education Endowment Foundation (@EducEndowFoundn)
- WeAreTeachers (@WeAreTeachers)
- TES (@tes)
- Teacher Toolkit by Ross McGill (@RossMcGill)
- No More Marking by Daisy Christodoulou (@daisychristo)
- Missie Bee by Sophie Bartlett (@_MissieBee)
- Ramblings of a Teacher by Michael Tidd (@MichaelT1979)
- Scenes from the Battleground by Andrew Old (@oldandrewuk)
Bonus: Teacher Twitter
And letâs finish with a those additional people who blog rarely but were recommended to us because of their valued contributions to education and teaching ideas on Twitter.
Primary
- Neil Almond @Mr_AlmondED
- Emma Stanley @MissStanleyYr6
- Ceridwen Eccles @Teacherglitter
- Ashley Booth @MrBoothY6
- Elena Bezoari @MrsBezoari
- Darrell Wakelam @DarrellWakelam
- Andrew Percival @primarypercival
- Emily Weston @primaryteachew
Secondary
- Kate Stockings @kate_stockings
- Heena Dave @HeenaDave12
- Nimish Lad @NLad84
- Gaurav Dubay @GauravDubay3
- Darn Rosen @musingsofadr
- Rachel Higginson @creativeHigg
Supercharge your CPD with educational blogs
As the field of education evolves, these blogs will remain an indispensable source of inspiration, guidance, and support for those dedicated to shaping the future of education in the UK.
Whether you’re a teacher in search of new ideas or a school leader exploring innovative approaches, these education blogs are bound to become your trusted go-to resources to empower you on your educational journey.
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