Opinion

Opportunities for career progression to school leadership roles are limited for those who do not work full-time, says Suzanne Brown Part-timer. Often the term is derogatory. “You part-timer!” On other occasions it’s expiatory. “I’m only part-time!” It’s a testament to how normalised full-time working is. Our response to Covid demands that we challenge that narrative. […]

If policymakers want to better understand home-schooling their focus should not be on pushing a failing model into homes, writes Anna Dusseau Publication last week of the Local Government Association’s research into “children missing education” has ensured the topic of home education stays in the headlines. It has also ensured that the conflation of “missing […]

Amid criticism of NTP funding rules – with home tutoring disallowed and restricted to one subject per pupil – Becky Francis says it’s a generational opportunity to close the gap The days keep getting shorter, but news of three potential Covid-19 vaccines has provided welcome cheer. The emphasis in early coverage has been on efficacy […]

Crucial work is needed to tackle racial injustice in education, but it won’t be achieved by silencing challenging voices like mine, writes Shivan Davis In the educational culture war, new battlelines are drawn almost daily. Over the past few months alone, the killing of George Floyd caused fierce debate about decolonising the national curriculum, we’ve […]

Covid has reduced our face-to-face contact with colleagues. So how do we sustain school improvement in an era of remote leadership?, asks Tom Stevens Can you hear that awkward silence? It’s the echo of countless unanswered emails in the inboxes of teachers everywhere. Covid has collapsed the ordinary staff meeting, and workload enemy number one […]

Accusations of anti-patriotism and threats of legal action have worrying implications for teachers of history, writes Jonathan Mountstevens When is it wrong to carry out historical research? According to the Common Sense Group of Conservative MPs, it is when it reveals material that questions the heroic status of “Britain’s greatest sons”, such as Winston Churchill. […]

The best place to start the green revolution is in our schools, say Mathilde Iveson and Amelie Nichols We’ve been honoured to be called Yorkshire’s answer to Greta Thunberg in coverage of our eco team’s work. But it’s too easy to say environmentalism is a young people’s issue, and then let us solve all the […]

The Institute of Race Relations’ recent paper shows why we can’t let up on the fight against racism in education, writes Dr Heather McClue The summer’s Black Lives Matter protests in the wake the death of George Floyd in United States’ police custody created a unique moment in my 30 years’ experience, when calls to […]