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Ian Timbrell
Jun 1, 20235 min read
Should Primary Schools Embrace Pride?
Before you start reading this post, I think it’s important for me to state how difficult it was to write this piece. I spend most of my...


Ian Timbrell
Mar 13, 20238 min read
Choking, anal sex and 72 genders? An opinion piece on what is really taught in RSE in the UK
Miriam Cates, Conservative MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, made the following statement in Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday 8th...


Ian Timbrell
Mar 6, 20235 min read
When RSE goes wrong
It’s no secret that Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) is an important part of helping young people understand healthy...

Ian Timbrell
Jan 15, 20236 min read
Shut up Belinda: quietening my anxiety daemon
It’s a Saturday night and I’m on my own. I’m sat trying to watch TV, playing on my iPad, pouring another glass of wine and checking my...


Ian Timbrell
Jan 7, 202314 min read
The Sinister RSE Code
The ever-reliable internet suggests that the Welsh and English RSE curricula: You could be led to believe that RSE is the worst thing to...

Ian Timbrell
Nov 24, 20221 min read
World AIDS Day 2022
World AIDS day is on the 1st December 2022. Wales has pledged to end all HIV cases and transmissions by 2030, and educating our young...


Ian Timbrell
Nov 17, 20224 min read
Should teachers come out of the closet?
There is a lot of conversation on social media at the moment from newly qualified teachers regarding whether they should be open about...

Ian Timbrell
Sep 20, 20227 min read
What the LGBTQIA+? What do the letters mean and why do we need them?
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about my own identity, where I fit into the LGBTQIA+ community, what the purpose of these labels are,...


Ian Timbrell
Aug 16, 20224 min read
Gender and school uniform; moving forward
It can be argued that our clothes, accessories, hairstyles and makeup are one of the fundamental external displays of gender that we...


Ian Timbrell
May 21, 20226 min read
Should we be teaching grammar at all?
I feel sorry for grammar. It has far less research about it than reading, writing as a whole, or oracy, and much of the research...


Ian Timbrell
May 13, 20227 min read
After dropping out of university at age 19, I had a breakdown and tried to take my own life.
This is my story about how being an in-denial gay teenager shaped me. A year ago, I posted a message telling my friends that I was...


Ian Timbrell
May 10, 20224 min read
Using Prepositional Phrases in, through and within writing
Prepositional phrases are an invaluable tool, especially when writing a narrative or descriptive piece. Take this extract from Artemis...


Ian Timbrell
Apr 10, 20223 min read
10 top tips for teaching grammar
1. Start with the endpoint Before you start teaching the grammar, write or at least look at the model. Which grammar do they actually...


Ian Timbrell
Mar 20, 20224 min read
Why we don’t teach grammar
Ask a lot of teachers to describe what they teach in literacy, and I bet one thing will be missing: grammar. And yet, it’s such a...


Ian Timbrell
Mar 11, 20221 min read
Grammar Curriculum Part 1: Introduction
Knowing where to start with a grammar curriculum can often be daunting for non-English specialists. However, when the basics of good...


Ian Timbrell
Mar 9, 20221 min read
Grammar Podcast with Impact Wales
I was thrilled to join Fin and Jane from Impact Wales to discuss what the research says about the importance of grammar as well as my own...


Ian Timbrell
Feb 11, 202236 min read
How Does Teaching Grammar Impact On The Quality Of Primary Students’ Writing? Recommendations For Th
After much blood, sweat and tears, I completed my dissertation in November 2021. Given the lack of accessible research around grammar, I...
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