Expert Contributor | Schools Week

Stop talking about a mental health crisis in schools

The Department for Education has announced plans to run wellbeing trials in schools, but we should beware of too much talk of a “mental health crisis”’ in schools or it risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophesy, says Helene Guldberg If young people are repeatedly told they have a disorder when they face challenging emotions and experiences, […]

SEND learners are airbrushed from education policy

Influential literacy reports by leading think tanks and charities have ignored the thousands of children who will never catch up in reading and writing but who can still achieve a full and rounded education, says Chris Rossiter “Dyslexia isn’t even a thing”; “exam extra time is a middle class purchase”; “the dyslexia industry selling specialist […]

No more ‘divide and conquer’ in education

The decision taken by members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) to amalgamate into a single union, the National Education Union (NEU), is significant and historic. It is a recognition that times are changing, and that teacher unions are changing too. The trend towards union mergers […]

How to build an effective education campaign

If you’re having trouble getting your campaign noticed, keep it simple, get the evidence and support – and embrace technology, suggests Elin De Zoete A single school or charity often has a difficult time getting its message across, but when groups and organisations with similar aims come together the results can be impactful. Here are […]

How did schools come to talk like business?

Headteachers and leaders of academy trusts should be paid well, says Anita Kerwin-Nye. Just don’t justify their high salaries with the language of the corporate boardroom I have written before for Schools Week about the importance of language influencing practice, particularly in inclusion. Perhaps it is now time to consider how easily we have adopted […]

Schools cannot make any more cuts

Reduced budgets have already had devastating consequences in East Sussex, says Liam Collins. “If there are more things that we can do to save, then it is the equivalent of deckchair moving on the Titanic,” he says The government’s decision to protect school funding only in flat cash terms per pupil leaves schools facing a […]

Schools need brave teachers for sex and relationships education

Sex education is now compulsory. But how should schools prepare for its introduction in 2019? One answer is good training for teachers, says Helen Corteen A collective whoop of joy rang across Brook on March 1 when education secretary Justine Greening made sex and relationships education (SRE) compulsory in all secondary schools, and relationships education […]

School leaders aren’t to blame for ‘gaming’ the system

By using the term ‘gaming’ to describe the practice of schools trying to improve their metrics, we are missing the real problem, which is the high-stakes accountability culture itself, says Brian Lightman To coin a phrase from ‘Yes Minister’, Amanda Spielman’s announcement of an Ofsted investigation into the curriculum is a ‘brave’ decision, which I welcome. […]

Independent special schools are cost effective

It is in everyone’s interests to get SEND support right, says Claire Dorer. For many pupils that means a place in an independent special school It’s rare to see media coverage on special needs provision in non-maintained and independent special schools (NMISS) without cost being mentioned. Generally this is in relation to absolute costs and […]