JL Dutaut | Schools Week

Après SKE. What next for Subject Knowledge Enhancement courses?

With course allocations on hold, Sam Sims looks at the value of subject knowledge enhacement courses and how they might be used to respond to a changing labour market Many countries require secondary school teachers to have a degree in the subject they teach. In England, government used to insist that secondary teachers had subject […]

Teachers can’t increase diversity alone. Exam boards have a role to play too

Increasing diversity across the curriculum is about far more than making more texts available, writes Katy Lewis. It requires a long-term commitment to change When students are exposed to literature from a variety of authors from different backgrounds, it benefits everyone. They should be able to read about issues they can engage with and relate […]

Don’t demonise the school uniform shop

As the Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill makes its way through parliament, with its report stage scheduled for November, Andrew Lewer presents the case for sole-supplier arrangements There has been much debate of late over school uniforms, in the House of Commons, in the press and on social media. Themes within this […]

Some temporary Covid measures should be made permanent

Some of the temporary changes made to respond to the pandemic should now be made permanent, argues Benoit Guerin The coronavirus pandemic and lockdown created unprecedented disruptions for schools in England. In response, a host of changes were made including the provision of additional funding, delivering lessons remotely and providing free school meals at home […]

Understanding the vocabulary gap at primary-to-secondary transition

Following publication of their new report, two academics explore what we know – and what we don’t – about the word gap, how to tackle it, and the impact of transition Last Friday, Oxford University Press (OUP) and The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) published Bridging the Word Gap at Transition, a new report […]

Curriculum vs conspiracy. Tackling disinformation in the classroom

Ellie Fishleigh explores how to prepare for and what to do when the online world of misinformation and conspiracy manifests in the classroom Do you believe the pyramids were built by aliens? That 5G causes coronavirus? Or that the Earth is flat and the world is controlled by flesh-eating lizards and the Illuminati? Hopefully not, […]

Shift happens. Lessons from online professional development

Tom Rees sets out four crucial lessons from Ambition Institute’s transition to online CPD The last time we worked face to face with teachers and school leaders was March 13. We spent the day with 70 future heads starting their NPQH against the backdrop of an advancing global pandemic. Coffee breaks were filled with anxious exchanges about […]

Unlike government, education can talk its way out of a crisis

Oracy plays a crucial role in supporting children to get back into learning, articulate their worries and build relationships, argues Emma Hardy Before Covid struck, I and my colleagues launched a parliamentary inquiry to raise the status of oracy in our education system. At the time, schools minister Nick Gibb was calling for “a debate […]

Avoiding tough choices on exam grades won’t help anyone

There’s only really one way forward if we don’t want this year’s grades to become meaningless, writes James Handscombe This summer, after committing themselves to avoiding grade inflation and promising centres wouldn’t be the final arbiters of results, Ofqual and the politicians ended up delivering a system that was (to put it mildly) nobody’s first […]