JL Dutaut | Schools Week

Structural reform? Yes, but we need a full recovery plan first

Education urgently needs clarity about the longer-term recovery plan and the solutions are evident. Government delay will only set social mobility back further, says Sammy Wright For all the unprecedented events of the past few years – from Brexit to the pandemic, exam cancellations to the devastating (and still escalating) loss of learning – the […]

Government must act now to protect SENCO time by law

Government’s efforts to improve inclusion have instead created a race to the bottom in provision because SENCOs don’t have the time to deliver on its promise, writes Adam Boddison In 2014, there were significant policy changes in England that sought to make our schools more inclusive for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). […]

How has Covid really affected mathematics performance?

Our data reveals in great detail whose mathematics performance have been impacted and how and could help to formulate plans for catch-up and recovery, writes Craig Barton Recent research from FFT Education found a noticeable widening of the attainment gap in maths for primary children. But the researchers said they had too little data to […]

ITT review: Does government want a market or a monopoly?

The government have reviewed the ITT market and evidently decided a market is not what they want after all, writes Ian Mearns. These recommendations are a recipe for total control The November 2020 announcement that the government was rebooting its ‘Market Review of Initial Teacher Training’ caused more than a little ripple of concern across […]

How we’ll build on the relationships forged in Covid adversity

As the Cabinet Office’s National Leadership Centre launches its 2021 report, Stephen Crookbain and Leora Cruddas explain its part in recognising new models of collaboration that should shape post-Covid life The Covid-19 pandemic has changed everything, including the relationship between public services, citizens and communities. We’ve all talked for years about ‘systems thinking’, and often […]

This new academies handbook could cause waste and confusion

Poor consultation on the new Academy Trust Handbook reflects badly on the DfE and could create unnecessary and preventable damage, write Stephen Morales and Stephen Lester The new Academy Trust Handbook (ATH), which is set to be introduced from Sept 2021, is worryingly thin on why it has a far broader scope than its predecessor […]

We can’t put the school food genie back in the bottle

The pandemic has revealed systemic issues with the quality and accessibility of school food and our new working group aims to put them right, writes Nick Capstick As we inch our way to a summer break that’s never been more richly deserved, thoughts of September are never far away. Recent announcements on the relaxation of […]

12 books to look forward to this summer and beyond

JL Dutaut ends the academic year with a look ahead at the books on education publishers’ slates that are likely to make a splash in 2021/22 [If you would like to review one of these or any other education title for Schools Week, email JL) Habits of Success: Getting Every Student Learning  Harry Fletcher-Wood […]

Three new insights about early learning and child wellbeing

Deprivation affects learning, but the good news for teachers is that other factors within their control can have an even greater impact, writes Rachel Classick It is unacceptable that educational achievement is so strongly influenced by family circumstances. The deprivation gap is already large when children start school and recent evidence suggests gaps may have […]