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26 April 2026

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Opinion

Do schools understand what it’s like to be poor at Christmas?

A recent House of Commons Briefing Paper suggests that on current trends, by 2021/22, the share of children in relative low income after housing costs will be at its highest for as far back as there is consistent data (the 1960s)[i]. This is an increasingly common challenge for schools, and Christmas can make things even […]

School business leaders are transforming schools and the system

Despite the backdrop of continued political uncertainty and a government in relative paralysis, 2019 has been an exciting year for the School Business Leadership (SBL) profession, writes Stephen Morales ISBL has long campaigned to give School Business Professionals (SBPs) a system leadership role, where their unique skills, qualifications and experiences are recognised and embraced by […]

The SEND funding crisis can’t be hidden any longer

This year, the funding crisis affecting children with SEND and their families finally got the political attention it needs. Julie McCulloch explains how it came about, and what needs to happen next The lack of adequate financial support for children with SEND has been at the sharpest end of the school funding crisis for years […]

History repeats for school governors in 2019 funding crisis

Education has gone as far back to basics as it possibly can, writes Martin Matthews. If only politicians found ABC as easy as 123 If one phrase could sum up this year’s education policy, it would be ‘more heat than light’. The previous year’s cut-and-thrust of policy announcements evaporated like a will-o’-the-wisp, leaving governors with […]

As 2020 dawns, primary schools face a perfect storm

Primaries, their teachers and pupils face an unprecedented crisis if things don’t change in 2020, says Robert Campbell. And the most vulnerable will pay first and hardest I spent five months of this year as the Interim Head of a maintained primary school that had been judged ‘requires improvement’ the previous year. This school, like […]

The SEND system desperately needs transformation in 2020

The new government needs to make the education of young people with SEND a top priority throughout the next parliament, says Chris Rossiter It doesn’t matter which politician occupies No.10 or takes the helm at Sanctuary Buildings, they need to get to grips with the entrenched problems with the SEND system and the dismal outcomes […]

Secondary schools 2019. Great Expectations or Bleak House?

The dictionary of secondary schooling has seen a few new additions in 2019. Helena Marsh catalogues them, and makes some early suggestions for the 2020 edition December marks the final instalment of updates to the Oxford English Dictionary for 2019. While terms such as ‘omnishambles’ and ‘fake news’ have achieved headword status this year, there […]

No money. No ideas. A year of pure political purgatory

Schools have been visited by the ghosts or Christmas past, present and future this year, writes Laura McInerney. It’s about time they had their happy ending It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Oh, who are we kidding? This year has been the political pits and there’s no pretending otherwise. […]

Election 2019: What do Schools Week readers think?

It’s been clear since we started in 2014 that Schools Week readers are a political bunch, and it’s always fascinating to get an idea of the personal politics of those who read our paper. This week we polled 373 people on our mailing list to find out how they plan to vote and how much […]