Welcome to The Room

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What on earth are you talking about?

Schools. Teaching. Behaviour. I write because I have to. I realised a long time ago that if I’m not writing, some part of me is disappointed at the end of the day. It gets under your skin, you know? So, I write because I have to, and not because I think I’m a good writer, but because the matter is settled.

I write about education because it matters to me. Teaching saved me, in so many ways. It gave me purpose when I had none, and turned me away from solipsism and towards a life of trying to be of service. It also made me very, very happy. But it was so very difficult at first, mainly because the job is incredibly tough at times, and the preparation for service is often so incredibly thin. Looking back, I realise that I was a worse teacher after my training than I was before it. So I spent my career trying to get better, and only realising after many years that so much could have been improved in the way we train our people, but also the evidence bases we use to do so. And that’s it- that’s my mission. That’s what I write about.

And a lot of that comes down to behaviour in schools. A student’s behaviour in the classroom is fundamental to every outcome that matters to us- learning, safety, dignity, etc. The way the room is run is crucial to how that pans out for kids in a class, and the way the school is run is equally crucial to the whole community.

But behaviour discourse is often dominated by ideologues who have never taught, or only taught incredibly privileged slivers of the world, in the most rarified of circumstances. There are some weird and terrible ideas out there, and teachers are told, usually by those with no skin in the game, ‘Follow them.’ So what I’ll be writing about it what actually works best in real classrooms with real children, and how we can help them to co-exist in environments where everyone succeeds. And I’ll be slaying as many dragons and myths as I can along the way.

And who do you think you are?

I’m (in 2024) the School Behaviour Advisor for the UK Department of Education, which means I help the dept. to write and devise policy and strategy with regards to behaviour in schools, and run their Behaviour Hubs program. I try to provide a classroom/ school- level view on policy, because if you don’t, it can often be well-meant but misguided. I spent 14 years working in challenging, diverse inner-city schools in London before I became a behaviour advisor. Since then, I’ve worked with and visited around 900 schools to date, ranging from public to private, primary to secondary, inner city, suburban, urban, early years, FE, HE, mainstream and alternative provision, in about 15 countries around the world. Which doesn't mean I know it all, but I have had the chance to watch what amazing practitioners do in a huge variety of settings. I watch what they do, then steal their ideas and claim them as my own…

I also started researchED in 2013, an international conference-based community that aims to make education as a sector more evidence-informed. Amazingly, despite my best efforts, it continues to flourish around the world. You can find out more about that here.

I’ve written 5 books on teacher training, including the best-selling Running the Room, and I’m the series editor for the researchED Guides. Occasionally, I’m the editor of researchED Magazine.

In 2023 I became a Professor of School Behaviour at Academica University of Applied coerces, Amsterdam. In 2022 I was honoured with an OBE by The Queen in the New Years Honours List. I designed the Master module in Classroom Management for the University of Buckingham, and in 2015 I was shortlisted for the GEMS Teacher Award in Dubai. I train teachers, leaders and schools all over the world. I also cook an extraordinary range of Tex-Mex food.

What’s in it for me, buster?

For now all posts are free, so people can see what I write. Eventually I’ll start making some posts subscriber-only, but there will always be some content archived that anyone can look at for free, because it’s important to get the good ideas out there for people who need them. Subscribers can enjoy all content whenever they want, can leave comments and raise points for me to respond to, and suggest ideas for future posts. There will also be exclusive online events for subscribers where they can Q&A me live.

I’m always grateful to be read; I never take it for granted. As Stephen King said, writing is like telepathy. I write something here from my mind, and in your mind the ideas are conjured up, miles away, silently. It is a pleasure and an honour to meet your mind.

Tom Bennett

Fortress of Solitude

Jan 2024