JL Dutaut | Schools Week

Few certainties, but exams are fairest and should go ahead

Schools can be confident that Ofqual and exam boards have the tools to make summer 2021 exams fair, writes Dame Glenys Stacey Teachers and school leaders are working in truly exceptional circumstances with students both in school and at home, and to get them ready for GCSE, AS and A-level exams next summer. I know […]

Give us both barrels, say heads of ‘inadequate’ schools

The loudest voices have called for Ofsted to suspend full inspections during the Covid crisis. But for a section of the schools sector, it’s the exact opposite leaders want. Jess Staufenberg finds out more… This week’s news of another six months of tighter lockdown restrictions has unsurprisingly reignited calls for Ofsted to call off the […]

Two out of 27. How government is failing the inclusion test

The government has only implemented two of 27 recommendations from the Timpson review of school exclusion. Cath Murray offers suggestions for how it could improve its score One of the Timpson review recommendations was quietly implemented over the summer. I like to think the change was made to pre-empt the findings of the online “Timpson tracker” we’ve been dropping hints […]

Special schools show how much the system’s resilience is being tested

We’re in it for the long haul but special schools are the canary in the coal mine of the school system’s resilience, writes Madelaine Caplin Despite the tiredness, there has been no better sight in the past fortnight than our classrooms being full of children again. We are all delighted to be fully re-open, but […]

Covid: We need data on learning loss and we need it fast

Summer exams will come too late to start learning useful lessons from Covid but we don’t have to wait that long, write Natalie Perera and John Moore The Covid-19 pandemic is arguably the biggest post-war challenge this country has faced. While the road to full recovery still seems a long way off, schools up and […]

How can school-charity partnerships help tackle lost learning?

With the national tutoring programme set to launch soon, a roundtable from earlier this year offers useful insights on making partnerships work effectively for all With students back in school after a year of disruption, teachers have their work cut out for them. Many will be trying to carefully balance the increased need for pastoral […]

Jon Hutchinson’s blogs of the week, 21 September 2020

Adapting to new routines, responding positively to stress, the importance of representation and tackling the word gap are Jon Hutchinson’s top picks of this week’s education topics Teaching from behind the safety line @teacherhead Standing at the front of the classroom at the start of September felt like slipping on a favourite jumper; I’d missed […]

Beyond Wiping Noses by Stephen Lane

This excellent introduction to an often-overlooked aspect of education unfortunately overlooks some important contributions to the field, writes Daniel Whittall Our capacity for learning is fundamentally shaped both by our everyday lived experiences and by our preconceptions about the world around us. Learning, then, is about more than mere cognitive functioning, and taking the implications […]

Covid presents teacher recruitment gains but challenges lie ahead

The Covid recession presents teacher recruitment with short-term gains but now is not the time to ease off the recruitment and retention strategy, writes Jack Worh Before the pandemic, England’s school system was facing an increasingly severe challenge of training enough teachers to meet the demand caused by growing secondary pupil numbers and high leaving […]