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6 June 2026

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Opinion

What do we know about the hidden lives of learners?

This week’s research looks at one man’s efforts to uncover the processes of learning and memory from the hidden aspects of the student experience If we are truly to meet students’ needs, then we must never lose sight of what they think, know and believe. One researcher understood this profoundly, and his work offers us […]

Turning the corner to a more sustainable improvement model

There are encouraging signs that school improvement is being put on a more sustainable footing, writes David Weston. And not a minute too soon Exhausted by Covid. Worn down by waves of change. Teachers and school leaders have never been asked to give so much nor to be more resilient. But, just in time, policy […]

Better funding will only come with a better evidence base

Looking past our disappointment at the Treasury’s funding of the recovery package, it’s easy to see why the DfE failed to secure more money for interventions, writes Ian Rowe The £1.4 billion offered by the government to help children catch up on their education after the pandemic was largely condemned as insufficient. The former recovery tsar, Sir Kevan […]

AI is here to stay – and no cliché is going to stop it

Dismissing the educational potential of AI is wasted energy. Worse, it could leave the sector exposed, writes Priya Lakhani There’s an idea in psychology called the ‘thought-terminating cliché’. Popularised by psychiatrists analysing the effects of political propaganda, the term describes the deliberate use of loaded, emotive language to quell critical thinking. Trite sayings or proverbs […]

Colleges are the missing link of post-Covid reform

Money and MAT expansion alone won’t stop vulnerable learners missing out on their next steps, writes Sam Parrett. We need to involve the experts Over the past few months, our education group has seen the stark reality of the pandemic’s impact on disadvantaged groups. As well as worsening inequalities, Covid has revealed divisions in the […]

We need to talk about our assessment system

Whatever the decision, now is the time to have some tough talk about our assessment and qualification system, writes Jo-Anne Baird In the midst of the ongoing Covid crisis, as we begin to look with increasing hope at some sort of recovery, the National Education Union has launched an Independent Assessment Commission. Chaired by Professor […]

What does it take to implement off-the-shelf interventions?

With pressure to ‘catch up’, off-the-shelf interventions are tempting – but implementation needs to be carefully considered, writes Rowena King In these times when schools are under pressure to help their pupils ‘catch-up’ , intervention is the new buzzword. Gather teachers together – in person or online – and you will hear versions of the […]

What is it like for children with sensory processing issues?

Melissa Jane’s recovery from a brain injury that impaired her sensory processing was hard enough. Then lockdowns set her back. Students in her position will find it even harder to get the right support, she explains Recent research indicates that between 5 and 15 per cent of children may have some form of sensory processing […]

ITT reforms need more work to avoid a formulaic future

Some approaches to teacher formation have been overly theoretical – but government reforms risk formulaic compliance, writes Joe Hallgarten Our education system is suffering from a chronic mutation of Parkinson’s law: policies, regulations and frameworks expand to fill the headspace available. From the national curriculum to Ofsted frameworks to music ‘guidance’, anything published from government […]