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4 October 2026

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Opinion

Research: What are the potential consequences of TAGs?

Teacher-assessed grades could have consequences for under-represented students – not to mention their effect on teachers, writes Billy Huband-Thompson Following last year’s results day botch job, Gavin Williamson has promised to “put our trust in teachers, rather than algorithms” this summer. The slogan sounds superficially attractive. But in practice, teacher-assessed grades (TAGs) have passed the […]

The progress gap can’t be closed. So what now?

The data is clear: The progress gap won’t close in our current system and using our current tools. But there are reforms that could help us build a better picture and a better system, writes Sammy Wright When I joined the Social Mobility Commission in 2018, I had a kid-in-a-sweet-shop kind of moment. I was […]

The journey through recovery must lead to reform 

Covid has created new challenges, but it has also highlighted existing ones. Eventually, we must tackle them all, writes recovery tsar Kevan Colins’ chief adviser Over the period of the pandemic, schools and teachers have acted with great skill and dedication to ensure pupils continued to access high-quality education. In spite of those efforts, the […]

How to ensure looked-after children get a look in on the NTP

The first wave of NTP had to make in-flight changes to accommodate looked-after children. The second wave must pre-empt remaining challenges, writes Simon Barnes When the national tutoring programme launched last November, the criteria for student inclusion was registration on a school roll. In theory, this made sense; every child in the country should be […]

Collaboration between trusts can win the Covid recovery

The post-Covid recovery calls for collaboration over competition and our MAT-to-MAT peer review pilot shows what can be achieved, write Helen Rowland and Andy Yarrow We know school-to-school collaboration and peer review are effective in supporting school improvement, but this sort of work is far less common between multi-academy trusts. Yet our recent experience of […]

A charter won’t fix the teacher wellbeing crisis

The DfE’s new initiative is welcome, writes Mary Bousted, but this charter can’t be used to paper over the cracks of a broken accountability system The DfE and Ofsted recently launched a staff wellbeing charter to “protect, promote and enhance” staff wellbeing. The NEU supports this initiative because a commitment to improve access to mental […]

Research: What really inspires teachers?

Teachers’ responses to our recent survey confirm some steroptypes of what inspires about the profession – but they also reveal some interesting insights about retention, writes Eve Debbage  Needless to say, the past year has been a challenging time for teachers. A quick glance at social media confirms it still is. Based on that, it […]

Research: Who benefits from inclusion?

New research suggests the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs has positive effects that could be further improved upon, writes Rob Webster The enduring debate about the inclusion of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) can be as polarising as it is emotive. Some argue inclusion is a human […]

Exam boards don’t deserve the criticism they’re getting

Criticism of exam boards fails to take in all their work behind the scenes, says Philip Wright. So here’s a little of what they’re doing to earn their fees With no exams happening this summer for the second year running, and with teachers working flat out to deliver grades for their students, it’s not surprising […]