Skip to content

Outdoor play is key to reopening and recovery

Getting children back in school doesn’t have to mean a rush into the classroom and access to outdoor play and learning should be an entitlement, not a privilege, write Marguerite Hunter Blair and Anita Grant The mental and physical health benefits of outdoor play and the effectiveness of outdoor learning approaches are well known. They […]

Investment and reform should level up our co-curricular offer

A developed co-curricular should be an entitlement in every school. A few rule changes could make an extra into a game changer, writes Benjamin Cox There is a risk that the academic and social consequences of Covid could leave permanent scars on a generation of children. Those who start life with least have the most […]

Profile: Dan Morrow

Dan Morrow has helped to kickstart a leadership network with a twist. JL Dutaut finds out why On paper, the odds were stacked against Dan Morrow ever becoming a MAT CEO. In fact, were he a child in one of his own schools today, he would be one of the disadvantaged children everyone across the […]

How can we ensure teachers receive effective feedback?

Good feedback can be a powerful way to help teachers to become (even) more effective, writes Rob Coe We know effective feedback is incredibly powerful for students’ learning (Hattie and Timperley, 2007) and supporting task performance much more generally (Kluger and DeNisi, 1996; London, 2003). This is as true for teachers as for students. But […]

Arts are not an extra but key to recovery

Lockdown has reaffirmed that the arts are vital for every pupil’s wellbeing and engagement, says Jo Barber Lockdown highlights the powerful and crucial role the arts play in fulfilling the human need for creativity. The appetite for content created by galleries, arts organisations, broadcasters and schools during this period is a powerful demonstration of the […]

Extra flexibility, but RSE is more vital than ever

Flexibility around the implementation of relationships and sex education does not mean it has been delayed. So you best be prepared, says Lucy Emmerson The second national Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) Day, takes place this year at a pivotal moment. There are just ten weeks before RSE becomes a statutory subject for all pupils […]

A week in the life of Vic Goddard

Amid confusing and contradictory government announcements, Vic Goddard opens his lockdown diary to reveal sleepless nights and a need for assertiveness. Thank goodness some students are back!

Courage in the classroom. LGBT teachers tell their stories

Jared Cawley is encouraged by a book that is both provocative and practical Last year’s protests outside Anderton Park school in Birmingham demonstrate that acceptance of the LGBT community is still far from a safe assumption. In that context, Courage in the Classroom is an empowering manifesto for LGBT teachers. Its array of brutally honest and […]

The School that Tried to End Racism

Natasha Devon finds the school environment presents a provocative microcosm for exploring racism in society more broadly We cannot solve a problem if we deny its existence. That’s why the most troubling aspect of public discourse on race is the insistence by white voices, despite evidence to the contrary, that the UK is not a […]