Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Sam Gyimah, junior minister for childcare and education, DfE

Sam Gyimah has just moved into David Laws’ office in the Department for Education’s Sanctuary buildings – a fact he points out with nervous laughter. But the junior minister laughs less when he talks about working with his Liberal Democrat counterparts in the coalition. “We achieved certain things together, but what was deeply frustrating sometimes […]

Hold a child’s hand and walk him through the curriculum

The curriculum starts off as a document: it’s then up to teachers to turn it into something that will resonate with them –and their pupils I’m not a proper teacher because I don’t work full or part time in one institution. I don’t have the long-lasting relationships with a GCSE class anymore and I miss […]

Mind the gap: your guide to the national reference tests

The new national reference tests (NRTs) are a subject of much discussion, rumour and anxiety. Announced by Ofqual last year to help set GCSE boundaries, the exams regulator has now released a guide on how the tests will work. We pick apart the details The idea behind the national reference tests is to monitor, over […]

Our specialist approach to alerting our pupils to extremism

The emergence of extremist ideologies should be taught within academic disciplines such as history. Only then will pupils understand the root causes and have vital reference points The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 that comes into force on July 1 mandates all schools with a duty to prevent the radicalisation of young people. Many […]

How much pay can be withheld if you go on strike?

You are not entitled to be paid for the time you spend on strike, but the amount docked will depend on what type of institution you teach in In maintained schools in England the Burgundy Book says that deductions for teachers on strike should be calculated on the basis of a day’s salary being 1/365th […]

Cuts force councils to tear up free bus passes

Government cutbacks are forcing councils to reduce their provision of free and subsidised transport for pupils to the legal minimum. North Yorkshire county council is removing free home-to-school transport from September next year for pupils aged 8 and 11 who live between two and three miles from their normal catchment or nearest school. Kent County […]

Clerks share top honours at governors’ awards

A photo finish proved impossible so there was a dead heat for the best clerk in this year’s National Governors Association (NGA) awards. Hosted at the Houses of Parliament on Tuesday by Neil Carmichael, leader of the all-party parliamentary group on school governance and leadership, the biennial awards honour clerks and governing boards across the […]

Developing great teaching: eight lessons from new research

Good CPD focuses on subject or topic-based pupil issues and outcomes, uses collaborative problem-solving approaches over several months and moves away from the one-size-fits-nobody approach Too much CPD is unproductive but the evidence suggests a better way. No teacher has ever got to the end of their day with an empty to-do list; we’re an […]

Uptake of three-day ICT ‘GCSE’ soars 2,000 per cent

The number of pupils entering a fast-tracked ICT qualification – worth a GCSE and taught in just three days – has rocketed more than 2,000 per cent in a year. Schools Week revealed last month that education leaders were being urged to enter “vulnerable” pupils into the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) qualification to ensure […]