Opinion

Our troubles are not at an end but we can lay the groundwork for a better post-Covid education system now, writes Alison Peacock As this year draws to a close, we understandably want to throw it out with the rubbish – along with all of those plans we made in January. However, amidst the chaos, […]

There is no doubt as we enter the final turbulent days of 2020 that the parameters that underpin our education sector have been turned on its head. I was appointed to my first school leadership post in 1995, and for the past 25 years have been a leader and now a developer of leaders and […]

The scope of the national tutoring programme and the breadth of providers and approaches are daunting. Simon Barnes sets out some first principles to help you get started As schools start to take advantage of the subsidised tuition on offer through the national tutoring programme, school leaders are keen to maximise return on investment and […]

Tutoring can transform life outcomes for students – but ensuring the NTP’s success depends on school leaders understanding its unique principles, writes Julia Silver Good tutoring is a fantastic resource. The improvements it leads to transcend the topics or subjects covered in tutoring sessions, and this spill-over effect can transform a student’s interest in and […]

The government’s moves on primary testing are welcome but the tests that remain don’t fufil the purpose they’ve been kept for, writes Alice Bradbury The announcement this month that Key Stage 1 SATs will be dropped in 2021 was a welcome relief for some teachers in primary schools. Alongside this, the DfE has decided that […]

When the government issued Royal Greenwich with the threat of legal action on Monday night, I was completely shocked. At no point in the previous 24 hours did I genuinely think that trying to do the right thing for my local schools, in the face of surging infections and almost 4,000 pupils in self-isolation, could […]

Driving school improvement is first and foremost a question of capacity, writes Carole Willis I was delighted to be part of the NAHT’s School Improvement Commission (SIC) and to see NFER’s research play such an important role in informing its conclusions. Too often, school improvement is thought of as something for schools deemed ‘inadequate’ or […]

Engagement with families is crucial to providing a safety net – and agencies must work together as a family  to support the most vulnerable, writes Jon Yates During this pandemic, many young people have been left without the support they need. They’ve lost time at school and they’ve struggled to access support from the adults […]