Expert Contributor | Schools Week

Knowledge is power – we must teach it to our children

Giving pupils access to the best that has been thought and said will ensure every child has the same advantages as the educated elite, says Rachel de Souza Five years ago, in the midst of turning around some of our high schools, I took some of our principals on a trip. Using money from some […]

10% Braver: Inspiring Women to Lead Education

Written for all women in education, 10% Braver brings together a collective call to arms developed within the grassroots organisation, womenED. Its main message? Female leaders in education are underrepresented, something that needs to change. As each chapter unpicks a different aspect of the status quo, we hear from a range of influential voices within […]

Julia Skinner’s top blogs of the week 4 Mar 2019

Strategic leadership (vision, ethos and strategy) @HoyleRosemary As the chair of a multi-academy trust and a federation, I found this post really useful. It is often overwhelming to know what you should be doing, but not have a clear plan to achieve it. The author describes the journey of her governing body – and what […]

Not all is lost when children are excluded, for some it’s just the beginning

It’s not ok to keep talking about PRUs as hotbeds of drugs and crime – they are doing a great job providing support and education for vulnerable young people, says Sarah Dove As providers of education, we are all dedicated to giving young people the best foundations for a bright future. With fifteen years’ experience […]

Oracy is more than a tool for teaching knowledge

If we want a cohesive society, we must make sure that oracy’s power for bringing people together is not sidelined, says Kate Bowen-Viner When I was 18, I helped to facilitate debating sessions in a juvenile detention centre for boys. By listening, I learned about injustices and heartbreaks that they had suffered, as well as […]

MAT CEO pay should be judged on value for money

The real question about chief executive pay in the schools sector is whether it represents value for money, says Steve Lancashire As the chief executive of the largest primary academy trust in the country, I am paid far more than I ever thought possible growing up in Sheffield in the 1970s as the son of […]

A Manifesto for Excellence in Schools

We’ve all heard the narrative. A school goes into special measures and a “super-head” is parachuted in. He or she gets rid of the ostensibly worst-performing teachers, or at least allocates them to where they can do the least harm to the school’s league tables. The pupils in years 5 and 6 are trained to […]

How we’re redesigning our MAT curriculum

How do you turn commitment to the curriculum into systems, process, policy and culture? The Ormiston trust’s five-year strategy will try to answer that, says Amelia Walker One of the best moments since I joined Ormiston was overhearing a head of department say to a colleague, after a session talking about curriculum, “O Captain! My […]

Mixed prior attainment teaching: why it worked for us

In 2011 Rosendale primary was looking for ways not only to close the attainment gap between pupil premium and non-pupil premium children, but also to use evidence-based practice to ensure we maximised potential attainment for all pupils. The Teaching and Learning Toolkit compiled by the Education Endowment Foundation highlights that collaborative learning, metacognitive strategies, feedback […]