Expert Contributor | Schools Week

How politicians and policy makers can raise the confidence of the teaching profession

Nearly half of teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. Depressing isn’t it? Teachers are being worn perilously thin, so there is no doubt that politicians and policy makers need to work hard to recover the confidence of the teaching profession. I have some ideas that, in teacherly fashion, I’ve boiled […]

Why the culture around SEND needs to change

Law firm Baker Small was criticised in many media this week for boasting about defeating parents of children with special needs in tribunals. But their behaviour is not isolated, says Tania Tirraoro – it is illustrative of broader cultural attitudes The Children and Families Act 2014 was supposed to transform parents’ experience of getting help […]

Wilshaw and Carter to clash in first day of evidence

Sir Michael Wilshaw and Sir David Carter will appear together at the first evidence hearing next week of the select committee’s inquiry into multi-academy trusts. The pair often have differing views, says Neil Carmichael, which should make for an interesting session Next Wednesday the education select committee will begin its inquiry into multi-academy trusts (MATs) […]

Six steps the government must take to win back support from headteachers

More than 50 headteachers have this week signed an open letter to education secretary Nicky Morgan claiming her government has plunged the education system into chaos. The heads have put forward six key proposals to improve the education system. Steve Hitchcock, headteacher of St Peter’s CofE Primary School in Devon, who helped organise the letter, […]

England’s controversial ‘new’ grammar school: fair process, or not?

After tirelessly questioning council officials and probing internet archives, anti-selection campaigner Joanne Bartley questions the fairness of England’s first grammar school ‘expansion’. When Nicky Morgan stood in parliament on October 19th 2015 to approve the controversial Weald of Kent grammar school expansion, she said: ‘‘I assessed the proposal in line with our guidelines on making significant […]

Cuts in the Education Services Grant will prevent councils supporting schools

The government may have made a “u-turn” on academisation, but dramatic reductions in the Education Services Grant will prevent councils from adequately supporting schools, argues David Borrow. The plan to sever the link between local authorities, schools, and their communities, he says, is ill thought-out and undemocratic No doubt about it: the government’s climbdown over […]

What school leaders can do to improve mental health provision

As many as three pupils in each class may be struggling with mental health problems, but many of their teachers say they feel ill-equipped to respond. Cuts are decimating statutory services, Ellie Mulcahy says, moving the onus on to school leaders to put improved support in place Teachers and schools need the skills to spot […]

Why don’t we care about the purpose of education?

In one of the most significant periods of upheaval in education, debate around collaboration centres too much on structure and too little on the substance and purpose of education. Instead, says Marie-Claire Bretherton, it should revolve around the quality and purpose of school partnerships Earlier this year, our Lincolnshire teaching school alliance submitted evidence to […]

Academy trusts – don’t get caught out by new PSC regulations

From 6 April 2016, new company ownership rules came into force, which will affect some academy trusts. Hannah Catchpool explains. What do the Panama Papers have to do with academy trusts? The recent media focus on the offshore tax arrangements of the rich and famous may seem far removed from the day-to-day life of a school, […]