Skip to content
5 June 2026

Become a member today for unlimited access to Schools Week

Enjoy expert journalism on schools policy with fewer ads and exclusive benefits
subscribe

Opinion

Busting the myths about remote learning

A new legal duty for schools to provide remote education is impending. Tom Middlehurst sorts the myths from the facts Next Thursday it will become a legal requirement to provide immediate remote learning for any individual, groups or cohorts of students who cannot attend school because of Covid-19. While the direction has been widely and […]

The 11 Plus can be accurate or fair, but not both

After a century of the selective entrance test, it’s time to call game, set and match, writes Sam Sims This week sees the climax of two elite competitive events: the French Open and the 11 Plus. On Sunday, Nadal confirmed his status as the ‘King of Clay’ by winning a record thirteenth French Open. There […]

The PM’s tutoring plans offer hope for undoing Covid damage

Delivered to the right children, one-to-one tuition plans could level the educational playing field, writes Sir Peter Lampl If you were to look for one powerful reason to explain the yawning achievement gap between working-class and middle-class children who go to the same school, you’d have to go a very long way to find a […]

Unlawful, unsafe and unaccountable. Education, we have a data problem

A damning ICO report on the DfE’s data handling is a wake-up call for the department that schools can also learn from, writes Jen Persson It’s school census time again. But do you know where the pupil records go every term? Over 21 million people’s names are now in the national pupil database, collected in […]

Exam delays are only the start of a solution. Where’s the rest?

Progress is too slow in letting schools know what to expect. This is what happens when system capacity is systematically eroded, writes Simon Sharp When I signed a joint letter to the secretary of state along with the Chartered College of Teaching CEO, Alison Peacock, and Sir John Dunford, I was clear that delaying examinations […]

Are exams really the only option?

This year’s exams will go ahead but demands for reform are unlikely to go away, so what does the research tell us about end-point assessment? Asks Cat Scutt I’m always envious of anyone who is absolutely certain of the best thing to do, based on “the evidence”. But I’m also slightly bemused by it. “What […]

Ignoring pressure to cancel exams was the right call

There might be a debate to be had about assessment but cancelling exams now would have done more harm than good, writes Anne Heavey The consequences of Covid on last year’s GCSE and A level cohorts are still fresh in the mind, and preventing a repeat is a priority. Amid the fervour, the long-standing debate […]

Vulnerable students need more than a quick-fix catch-up

With the National Tutoring Programme about to get under way, one primary leader says schools need to use catch-up funding more creatively to address the needs of the most vulnerable “This is Operation Encompass. We are calling to inform you of an incident…” I received a lot of calls like this during lockdown. Operation Encompass’s […]

To get through Covid, we need more CPD, not less

More agile CPD is key to ensuring Covid’s legacy doesn’t become an injustice for the profession, writes Nicola Podd Easing children back into school life. Assessing and tackling the impact of lockdown on learning and on students’ emotional and mental health. All while adapting practices and policies to ensure schools are safe and Covid-secure. Re-adjusting […]