Opinion

Ofsted DOES care about the early years

There is much more to Ofsted’s engagement with the early years sector than the chief inspector’s visits to individual...

Expert Contributor
GILL JONES
Opinion

Let’s fix school structures, then we can turn to curriculum

It’s eight years this month since Michael Gove slammed the Academies Act through the Commons and gave us the...

Laura McInerney
LAURA MCINERNEY
Opinion

It’s not true that academies care more about money than pupils

Contrary to the claims of some researchers, academisation is not creating a market, and it is not putting finances...

Expert Contributor
MARTYN OLIVER
Opinion

The schools that are building democracy into their education

This week has been declared the UK’s first-ever ‘National democracy week’ in an effort to get people more interested...

Expert Contributor
FIONA CARNIE
Opinion

How to manage a mobile phone ban in schools

Collecting pupils’ phones isn’t an invasion of privacy – it’s a sensible way to run a school, explains Peter...

Expert Contributor
PETER LEE
Opinion

Ofsted requires improvement – but how do we get there?

Ofsted’s name is mud this week. Amanda Spielman’s speech at last week’s Festival of Education went down like a...

Laura McInerney
LAURA MCINERNEY
Opinion

The early-learning goals aren’t there yet!

The review of early-years assessment has morphed into a review of the curriculum by the back door, argues Beatrice...

Expert Contributor
BEATRICE MERRICK
Opinion

Graduate recruiters are clamouring for more talented women – and schools should be afraid

Gender pay rules are making corporations jittery, and rightly so. As Schools Week recently revealed, academy trusts usually have...

Laura McInerney
LAURA MCINERNEY
Opinion

Booze and backroom deals are under the accounting spotlight

The ESFA’s annual academies accounts direction document is usually fairly dry, but this year there are few more important...

Expert Contributor
PHILLIP REYNOLDS