JL Dutaut | Schools Week

AI is here to stay – and no cliché is going to stop it

Dismissing the educational potential of AI is wasted energy. Worse, it could leave the sector exposed, writes Priya Lakhani There’s an idea in psychology called the ‘thought-terminating cliché’. Popularised by psychiatrists analysing the effects of political propaganda, the term describes the deliberate use of loaded, emotive language to quell critical thinking. Trite sayings or proverbs […]

Colleges are the missing link of post-Covid reform

Money and MAT expansion alone won’t stop vulnerable learners missing out on their next steps, writes Sam Parrett. We need to involve the experts Over the past few months, our education group has seen the stark reality of the pandemic’s impact on disadvantaged groups. As well as worsening inequalities, Covid has revealed divisions in the […]

We need to talk about our assessment system

Whatever the decision, now is the time to have some tough talk about our assessment and qualification system, writes Jo-Anne Baird In the midst of the ongoing Covid crisis, as we begin to look with increasing hope at some sort of recovery, the National Education Union has launched an Independent Assessment Commission. Chaired by Professor […]

What does it take to implement off-the-shelf interventions?

With pressure to ‘catch up’, off-the-shelf interventions are tempting – but implementation needs to be carefully considered, writes Rowena King In these times when schools are under pressure to help their pupils ‘catch-up’ , intervention is the new buzzword. Gather teachers together – in person or online – and you will hear versions of the […]

Middle Leadership Mastery by Adam Robbins

There’s more to middle leadership than this concise book can cover, writes Kristian Shanks, but that shouldn’t detract from what a useful primer it is As Stuart Lock references in his foreword to Sarah Barker’s excellent chapter “Leading a Department”, middle leaders are often referred to as “the engine rooms of the school”. Yet a […]

Robin Conway’s blogs of the week, 7 June 2021

This week’s top blogs cover how to develop articulate learners, a powerful curriculum metaphor, world-building, courageous leadership, lies, damned lies and statistics Our Vision For Confident and Articulate Students @MissTBegum This is an excellent blog which has at its heart a simple vision: building in students the confidence and communication skills they need to […]

What is it like for children with sensory processing issues?

Melissa Jane’s recovery from a brain injury that impaired her sensory processing was hard enough. Then lockdowns set her back. Students in her position will find it even harder to get the right support, she explains Recent research indicates that between 5 and 15 per cent of children may have some form of sensory processing […]

ITT reforms need more work to avoid a formulaic future

Some approaches to teacher formation have been overly theoretical – but government reforms risk formulaic compliance, writes Joe Hallgarten Our education system is suffering from a chronic mutation of Parkinson’s law: policies, regulations and frameworks expand to fill the headspace available. From the national curriculum to Ofsted frameworks to music ‘guidance’, anything published from government […]

Speak first to close the reception year language gap

Covid’s disruption of young children’s early language development has been devastating – but some tried-and-tested approaches can undo the damage, writes Josh Hillman Oral language development plays a central role in early childhood – facilitating social and emotional development and providing the building blocks for the development of later literacy skills. It also enables smooth […]