Jessica Hill | Schools Week

A new hope for University Technical Colleges?

When University Technical Colleges launched in 2010, they were hailed as the solution needed to propel young people to high-paying technical jobs and tackle skills shortages. But the fanfare for UTCs quickly faded. Of the 58 launched over the years, 14 were forced to close amid stiff competition for learners from schools and colleges, and […]

The schools waging war on smartphones

As concern mounts over the impact of smartphones, Jessica Hill investigates what being a ‘phone free school’ really means. When a pupil developed an addiction to pornography after seeing it for the first time on a school trip, Fulham Boys School headmaster David Smith found it “outrageous that this happened on my watch”. He then […]

Sharing the load with education’s newest teachers

After feeling weighed down by the demands of school life in Australia, Yalinie Vigneswaran from Ambition Institute tells how self care is a big part of it’s work to support teaching staff Yalinie Vigneswaran says while she may look like an education geek, she can deadlift 130 kilos and hip thrust 200 kilos. The executive […]

Phoenix flying in to launch SEND classrooms

Could a trial in a London borough that supports special schools to set up provision in mainstream schools provide the blueprint for Labour’s inclusion mission. Jessica Hill investigates … Seven-year-old Ahmed smiles at the rustling sound as he tips lentils into a tray, to the backdrop of soothing music. Last year, he moved into a […]

Twinkl – from little star to master of the edtech universe

Founder Jonathan Seaton tells how his wife’s frustration at poor teaching materials birthed an edtech empire that now supports teachers in 200 countries Twinkl could reasonably stake a claim to delivering more impact on teaching and learning in our schools than any other private company in the past decade. Yet the main man behind it, […]

Why flexible working for teachers can bring the best of all worlds

When English teacher Gareth Edwards broke his ankle, attempting a karate kick dance move at the school Christmas party, he was able to recuperate at home and teach classes remotely. Then, when the 59-year-old was contemplating early retirement last year, he was persuaded instead to go down to three days a week. Had his school, […]

Scarred by Grenfell but finding strength in adversity

Principal Anna Jordan says her pupils draw from values of fearlessness despite the 2017 tragedy overshadowing her school Kensington Aldridge Academy is overshadowed by the grim spectacle of a tower clad in white plastic sheeting. Upon it, a banner reads: Grenfell, forever in our hearts. For the school’s community, led by its principal, Anna Jordan, […]

School absence epidemic gives Labour a NEET problem

Kids dropping out of the school system are now turning into NEETs, and there’s not enough lower-level provision in place to help them turn their lives around, writes Jessica Hill Mickey Symes wanted to be a plumber. But after missing out on a grade 4 in his maths and English GCSEs the previous year, he […]