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The unsung heroes of the Covid-19 pandemic…

13 April 2021

The Unsung Heroes report has revealed the key role played by teaching assistants during the pandemic. However, Jon Richards says that if these support staff are to play their part in the recovery effort, then they need proper training, a healthy career path and a decent wage

Model curriculum has potential to reverse decline in GCSE music take-up

5 April 2021

With music up-take declining at GCSE and A level, the DfE’s new Model Music Curriculum for key stages 1, 2, and 3 can help schools to emphasise the practical craft of music-making, says Chris Cobb

Government incompetence on a huge scale

23 March 2021

Free school meals – exams – Covid testing – the digital divide. Schools are doing everything they can to support young people but are working in the face of incompetent national leadership, says Kevin Courtney

Education recovery: Let’s stop the eye-catching policy wheezes

16 March 2021

Education recovery must not be put at risk by rushed, unproven solutions before we have understood the problem we are trying to solve, says Geoff Barton

From funding to staff wellbeing: A sustained approach to recovery

8 March 2021

From funding to staff wellbeing, education recovery needs a sustained approach if it is to succeed in the long-term, explains Dr Patrick Roach

Pupil voice: Collaboration with pupils can no longer be optional

2 March 2021

Collaborative decision-making means teachers involving pupils in decisions about what goes on in their classrooms – and it can be transformational. Dr Geraldine Rowe argues the case

At the chalkface: Catastrophic notions of Cultural Capital

1 March 2021

Little seems to have changed since the fifties – the 1850s. Matthew Arnold, patrician incarnate, still rules. His prescribed essential knowledge for paupers is Ofsted’s – “the best that has been thought and said”. By whom?

SENCOs under siege

23 February 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has heaped much more pressure on an already stretched SEND system. Daniel Sobel considers the key problems and outlines how we must move forward

Recovery won't be easy – but we must succeed

22 February 2021

How must education build back better following the pandemic? Deborah Lawson says that what is needed might not be easy and it won’t be convenient – but we must act all the same, beginning perhaps with our outdated assessment system

Full school re-opening: Bitten too many times?

16 February 2021

Re-opening schools to all pupils on March 8 will mean introducing nearly 10 million pupils and staff into daily circulation. If this is indeed what Boris Johnson announces next week, he must be certain that it is the safest approach, says Geoff Barton

Finding your balance in the mad new world of teaching

8 February 2021

Finding balance in your professional life as a teacher has been increasingly challenging since the pandemic began. Martin Matthews offers some empathy, advice and encouragement…

Staff wellbeing: Are you looking out for your colleagues?

1 February 2021

With more and more teachers experiencing symptoms related to depression and anxiety amid the pressure of the pandemic, Sophie Howells looks at how we can approach conversations with colleagues who may be struggling

Are we testing the right science?

1 February 2021

Do current methods of external assessment accurately measure the skills and abilities of science students? Or more simply, are we testing the ‘right’ science? Gerry Mallaghan asks the question...

A lack of research? How Ofsted misrecognised Cultural Capital

26 January 2021

What is cultural capital and why should we be questioning it? Phil Beadle explains how Ofsted has catastrophically ‘misrecognised’ the concept of cultural capital in its Education Inspection Framework...

Exams 2021: Whistling in the dark, once again

25 January 2021

As Ofqual consults over how this summer’s examinations are to be graded, Dr Mary Bousted is saddened yet not surprised that teachers will once again be left to pick up the pieces from a lack of government planning

Laptops for all, exams, digital learning? Where next for edtech post-pandemic?

19 January 2021

Setting aside government threats over remote education and its slow response over laptops, politicians must seize the ‘accidental opportunity’ to put technology at heart of education, says Geoff Barton

Compulsory GCSE languages?

18 January 2021

It was once a highly esteemed part of the curriculum, but MFL has been thrown into the ‘too hard’ basket. The time has come to make languages compulsory at GCSE once again, says Ellie Baker

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Covid: Is the government finally beginning to listen to professionals?

18 January 2021

Earlier this term, as tensions over school re-opening mounted, UNISON and the NEU advised their members that they had the right to refuse to go into work on safety grounds. Jon Richards looks back at a chaotic few days and is hopeful of better collaboration with government in the months to come

From vaccines to laptops: The pandemic to-do list for education grows...

11 January 2021

From the digital divide to teacher vaccination, the government’s pandemic to-do list for education is growing longer by the day. Dr Patrick Roach calls for definitive action and a national plan for schools

At the chalkface: Because you’re poor

11 January 2021

I still can’t do enough penance. I should have been burned in the last circle of hell. She never quite forgave me...

Poverty-proof your school uniform

5 January 2021

As the pandemic hits many families’ finances hard, and the extra costs of winter take their toll, let’s not add excessive school uniform costs into the mix, says Dustin Hutchinson

The lost power of subject?

5 January 2021

Teaching today has become too obsessed with pedagogical theory or, even worse, the hoops of assessment objectives and examination criteria, writes Gus Lock

Hang in there! Surviving and thriving as a new teacher

8 December 2020

The NQT year is commonly accepted to be one of the most challenging in teaching. However, despite the challenges that many of you are facing – especially at a time of Covid-19 – now is not the time to think about quitting. You must hang on in there. Matt Bromley explains why...

Building back better: The curriculum and assessment

1 December 2020

Many have said that the pandemic offers us a chance to build back better. But what would this look like for education? Deborah Lawson on how curriculum and assessment might change

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35 hours? The case for an annual CPD entitlement

24 November 2020

An entitlement to 35 hours of high-quality CPD for every teacher and more effective support for new headteachers are two keys to school improvement according to the School Improvement Commission. Nick Brook explains