Opinion

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Covid’s disruption of young children’s early language development has been devastating – but some tried-and-tested approaches can undo the damage, writes Josh Hillman Oral language development plays a central role in early childhood – facilitating social and emotional development and providing the building blocks for the development of later literacy skills. It also enables smooth […]

Choosing how best to support vulnerable learners is a minefield, but a new tool could help school leaders navigate it, write Matthew Easterbrook and Ian Hadden The pandemic has exacerbated inequalities that long predate the past year’s disruptions, and the recovery programme presents a real opportunity to tackle their root causes. For schools, that means […]

A spike in ransomware attacks on schools should be spurring leaders – and the Department for Education – to pre-emptive action, writes Hayley Dunn Since February, there has been a disturbing rise in ransomware attacks on schools, prompting the National Cyber Security Centre to issue an alert to the sector in March. So while we welcome the […]

New Teach First research reveals stark disparities. Our manifesto aims to put them right by giving teachers the resources they need, writes Russell Hobby Bilbo Baggins doesn’t often feature in education policy, but this quote feels particularly relevant to our schools today: “Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I […]

The DfE has been challenged like few others by the pandemic, writes Meg Hillier, but its disinclination to learn from mistakes and other longstanding issues make it a department of concern As I outline in my annual report this week, the Public Accounts Committee’s examination of the Department for Education’s performance has inevitably focused on […]