Expert Contributor | Schools Week

Government needs to rethink the alternative provision census expansion

The government needs to stop and think before rushing into an expansion of the alternative provision census, argues Jen Persson From the disastrous effects of the Universal Credit on children and the pupil premium, through the SEN crisis to the upbeat people of edTechUK, we constantly hear the call for more data. But more isn’t […]

Nick Gibb is wrong: PIRLS data does not support synthetic phonics

The schools minister is looking at the results of a major international reading test wrong, and his dogmatic insistence on teaching children to read with phonics is a sham, argues the NEU’s Kevin Courtney Overwhelmed by problems of teacher supply and faced with rising evidence of the effects of funding cuts, it’s understandable that Nick […]

How schools can support young people with a disfigurement

Schools have trained teachers to combat bullying based on race, gender and creed. We must do the same with disfigurement, says Alexis Camble Most teachers have at some point spent an evening worrying about whether they handled a situation in the classroom quite as well as they could. As a former teacher myself, I know […]

Schools need to wake up to relational bullying

Relational bullying can be difficult to spot but it’s actually the most pernicious kind, explains Kayleigh Chester When we talk about bullying we often think about physical and verbal behaviours: stealing lunch money, a shove in the corridor between classes, the name-calling on the school bus. Cyberbullying is frequently discussed too, and has become a […]

Should we grade soft skills, Japan-style?

Will Millard recently visited Japan, where schools assess pupils’ curiosity and confidence. Can it help the UK, he asks I recently had the pleasure of visiting schools in and around Tokyo for a week, speaking to teachers and educationalists about assessment for LKMco and Pearson’s forthcoming report, ‘Testing the water’. It is no secret that […]

How can we better prepare students for university?

The narrow A-level curriculum is leaving more and more new undergraduates unable to cope with the rigours of university, says Mary Curnock Cook Earlier this autumn, over 330,000 young people made the leap from school or college to higher education. Many of them will have been ill-prepared for this transition, which involves a fundamental change […]

Don’t jump to conclusions on teacher peer observation

A recent study on the effects of peer observation found it made no difference, but there may be a reason for that, argues one of the researchers In a recent Schools Week article it was reported that a recent trial in which teachers observed their peers did not raise pupil attainment. I was part of […]

£600 maths premium ≠ more maths A-levels

The government’s policy to pay schools to get more pupils studying maths is misguided, argues Luke Sibieta – why not raise sixth-form funding instead? In Wednesday’s Budget, the Chancellor announced various measures aimed at expanding the teaching of maths in schools and colleges. One of the most eye-catching announcements was a commitment to pay “a […]