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26 June 2026

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Opinion

Ministers can’t muddle their way through to summer 2021 exams

Schools needed a plan for next summer’s exams weeks ago. Without it, we are already risking another fiasco, writes Sarah Hannafin Many in government would clearly like to put this summer’s results debacle behind them, as statements in parliament and in front of the education select committee attest. But apologies, however sincere, will do nothing for […]

Heightened risks mean more should be done to prevent exclusions now

The reality for excluded children is already dismaying and Covid could make it worse. It’s time for concerted action, writes Claire Heald Behind all those pupils who celebrated the bright futures ahead of them this summer and who are preparing to return to school this week, are pupils whose future is simply not so bright. […]

We’d planned the first day back at school perfectly. Then it rained

It would be no exaggeration to say the last few months rank up there with the toughest of my career. We’d had a successful year last year and I was feeling positive about driving forward our improvement agenda.  But planning for our first day back at school in the midst of a global pandemic was […]

I’ve had to tell 17 SEND pupils they can’t come to school – and I’m furious

Reading a recent report by ASK Research with the NFER about children at special education schools and colleges, I was grabbed by how many of my unknown colleagues are worried their pupils will not be returning. Whether 20,000 children with special educational needs (one in six children attending special schools) really don’t return to school, […]

Refusing to fund Covid costs will plunge schools like mine back into the red

Yesterday felt like the final straw for many school leaders up and down the country. Schools minister Nick Gibb said the funding settlement for schools this year and the next two years has been “very generous”, indicating schools can take the hit regarding Covid-19 costs. Apparently the decision to compensate schools for the costs of […]

While schools leaders continue to deliver, Westminster continues to fail them

Schools will do their job as they have throughout this crisis – now it’s time politicians do theirs, writes Paul Whiteman Ninety-seven percent of schools expect to open in full to all pupils next week. The rest will follow shortly after. That is the message school leaders have given me in their responses to a […]

Government and teachers’ realities are increasingly worlds apart

Ongoing UCL research shows the Covid crisis has widened a chasm between teachers and government that threatens to become unbridgeable, writes Alice Bradbury The fiasco over A level exams over the last week followed by the U-turn on advice on the use of face masks in schools has widened a gulf between the teaching profession […]

To solve the exam mess, we need to go Bacc to the future

Political schemes and partial solutions are how our qualification system got into this mess – it’s time for something radically different, writes Tom Sherrington This summer’s exam grade fiasco has directed a harsh spotlight on our current system for recognising and measuring young people’s achievements.  It’s not pretty.  We place extraordinary weight on a set […]

Overcoming the new challenges facing EAL learners and their teachers

Supporting learners with English as an additional language will be more challenging than ever this year, but also more necessary, writes Silvana Richardson – so here are some tips to get it right As schools prepare for the start of the academic year, attainment gaps are a national focus like never before. In this context, […]