Opinion

As schools reopen, young carers’ needs and concerns remain high. Feylyn Lewis sets out ways schools can support them in the coming weeks and months The interminable months of lockdown have been difficult for everyone. But for the estimated 800,000 plus young carers in England, these have been some of the most challenging times of their young lives. School staff now have a […]

Announcements and noises off don’t inspire confidence that ministers have learned the lessons of lockdown, writes Kate Chhatwal A whole year. Anyone who has been listening to schools in that time will have learned important lessons – lessons that make snapping back to the ‘old normal’ neither desirable nor practical. As they reopen, knee-jerk reactions to the challenge of ‘catch-up’ are […]

If the ambition is for the next few months to be transformative, asks Alan Garnett, why do they look set to be nothing more imaginative than a return to normal? The greatest shake up in education since 1944. ‘Transformative,’ promises the secretary of state. There is the ambition, but where is the imagination? Extended schooldays, […]

Disparities in accessing the National Tutoring Programme mirror existing inequalities, writes Emily Yeomans. But we are already beginning to level regions up The much anticipated 8 March date has now passed, with schools welcoming many more pupils back to the classroom. Inevitably this additional period of partial closures and remote learning has led to education […]

The reported redistribution of responsibilities inside Ofsted for EAL and GRT pupils threatens to dilute accountability for their progress, writes Chiaka Amadi Last Wednesday, Teachers Talk Radio reported confirmation from Ofsted that there would no longer be a specialist national lead for pupils learning English as an additional language (EAL) or for pupils from a […]

The government has tried everything to distract from its failure to deal with the profession’s pay. They have run out of excuses, writes Ian Hartwright A member recently contacted me to ask: Does the government actually listen to the School Teachers’ Review Body? He had a point. This year, government again announced its decisions on […]

There are many reasons to support reform of the school calendar year. But there’s one important caveat, writes Sir David Carter In 2004, I was appointed principal of John Cabot City Technology College (CTC) in Bristol, my second headship. One of the most curious aspects of the college I was about to lead was the […]