Opinion

Many trusts have proved that they are able to cope with the unpredictable – and the flexibility within their structure has helped them, says Sam Henson The pandemic has taught us much about school accountability, but also about the flexibilities school structures give to organisations that need to act quickly and effectively. Across the country, […]

Our Derbyshire primary-only trust’s return to school programme has attracted international attention from every phase, writes Matthew Crawford Our trust of nine primaries across Derbyshire began to plan early on for supporting children on their return to school after lockdown. That work has resulted in the “reconnection to recovery and resilience programme” that has garnered […]

Blended learning is likely to be the norm for some time, says Vikas Pota. So let’s help teachers understand what their new reality will be I’ve spent the best part of the past decade thinking about how we improve teacher status. This is why, in part, I established an annual global prize for teachers, to […]

“Children in need” is a broad term that refers to children who come into contact with social services, including those formally taken into care. It wasn’t until I began researching the children’s social care system for CfEY’s forthcoming book Young People on the Margins that I realised the scale and breadth of the challenges they […]

Working together, teachers, leaders and government will make a success of this critical return to full education provision from the autumn, writes Nick Gibb Over the past few weeks, our country has begun the slow journey back to recovery from the awful effects of the virus. It has not been easy and we still have […]

New survey data shows divergences in the experiences of schools according to deprivation and some important convergences about what needs to change, writes Gemma Moss One of the more remarkable side effects of the Covid 19 crisis has been the clear light it has shone on child poverty in the UK. Perhaps at last we […]

Alison Peacock welcomes reforms that show respect for teacher expertise in their content and the way they was arrived at The experiences of learning across the Foundation Stage are truly formative. The child who encounters a Reception Class experience where learning feels irresistible is given the very best start in school. That’s why I am […]

Getting children back in school doesn’t have to mean a rush into the classroom and access to outdoor play and learning should be an entitlement, not a privilege, write Marguerite Hunter Blair and Anita Grant The mental and physical health benefits of outdoor play and the effectiveness of outdoor learning approaches are well known. They […]

A developed co-curricular should be an entitlement in every school. A few rule changes could make an extra into a game changer, writes Benjamin Cox There is a risk that the academic and social consequences of Covid could leave permanent scars on a generation of children. Those who start life with least have the most […]