Another day, another cabinet Wasn鈥檛 it Sir Tim Brighouse, the former London schools commissioner, who said 鈥渁ccept uncertainty as the norm, and understand that chaos can produce order鈥�? In September we had a new prime minister and education secretary; in October we swore in another prime minister and our sixth education secretary in a year. I鈥檓 wondering who the line-up in November might be and where we will be by Christmas. I鈥檝e got a milk monitor that鈥檚 been in post for longer than 6 Secretaries of State for Education. How can they even begin to judge us. — sara h 馃嚜馃嚭 (@lifeatthenest) Time for a (creative and forward-looking) change Twitter kicked off big time at half-term 鈥� as usual. I wouldn鈥檛 know as I don鈥檛 get half-term breaks and my timeline is a curated oasis of calm, cat pictures, cakes and critical race theory. There was some noise in response to the latest pronouncement from the so-called social mobility tsar, suggesting that a preferred teaching style is the way children from 鈥渄isadvantaged鈥� backgrounds will break the glass ceiling. The other mic-drop moment was Lord Blunkett’s 137-page ‘Learning and Skills Report’. The polarised responses to the report were succinctly summed up by one blogpost entitled 鈥� and by another called . As someone who worked in a system that grants a paid sabbatical year to all teachers in their seventh year of service, I think they鈥檙e definitely on to something there! No ordinary schools Since we mentioned education鈥檚 鈥渟trictest headteacher鈥�, you might be interested in the latest episode of the , which features a whistlestop tour of three extraordinary schools: Michaela School in north London, often described as the military bootcamp of education; XP School in Doncaster, with its focus on pastoral care, beautiful work and expeditionary learning; and the Self Managed Learning College in Brighton, where the pupils (aged 9-16) do what it says on the tin and manage their own learning full-time. These three unique settings aside, what is becoming alarmingly ordinary in many schools is the overuse of restraint. entitled Restraint and Seclusion in Irish and UK Schools describes the extent of the problem and provides some concrete solutions that will support teachers, parents/carers and students. Representation matters Black History Month was a feature in many schools throughout October, and some great resources were circulating again this year. An important item worth noting is the newly published from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This has a wealth of explanations, guidance, case studies, and videos to help schools foster an inclusive environment by ensuring their policies are not unlawfully discriminatory. The Young Historians Project has produced to use year-round, including its Radical Black Women series featuring women who have made important contributions for justice and racial equality in Britain over the past century. It turns out that representation does matter when it鈥檚 genuinely embedded into the curriculum and staff racial diversity. This thread from Samir Richards shows how factors, including realigning the history curriculum, can have a marked impact on the engagement, progress and outcomes teachers and pupils. https://twitter.com/historyRichards/status/1585234036502720514?s=20&t=IjN-ZSRMFFBWvAe1AedOtw A blessing and a curse And finally, bringing us back to the trials and tribulations of online life, a blog post by details the level of surveillance that parents of children with SEND have uncovered. Several from Bristol reveal that council employees have monitored, collated and assessed their social media posts, accusing them of 鈥渃ampaigning鈥� against the council. The post outlines the law and guidance that allows local authorities to carry out this sort of surveillance. It gives some great advice on how to navigate social media as a blessing that empowers and informs, but which won鈥檛 leave you open to undue surveillance when you express your views. Take care, it鈥檚 a jungle out there!