Opinion

After nine years of austerity, the Conservatives have promised a spending spree. But will it be enough to rescue music education, asks Matt Griffiths We have seen some big figures bandied about since the general election, all wrapped up in rhetoric about post-Brexit Britain’s place on the global stage. Amid all of that, the government […]

The last few years have seen an explosion of interest in the science of learning from the education sector. It is informing teachers, whole schools and even national policy, but rethinking our approaches is never completely straightforward. A number of key principles from cognitive science have emerged, as set out in the Deans for Impact […]

The challenges facing 400 ‘stuck’ schools are complex and unique to each, but getting stuck into overcoming them is what all educators should aspire to, writes Julie Slater Ofsted’s finding that more than 400 schools have not been ‘good’ or better since 2006 represents a national scandal. The inspectorate is absolutely right to shine a […]

Rethinking the inspectorate’s approach to ‘stuck’ schools is a great idea but the policy isn’t without risks, writes Cassandra Young. This week’s Ofsted announcement gives hope to anyone currently working in a ‘stuck’ school. It’s a proposal that truly offers a better chance for a more constructive, more sustainable model of school improvement. It pushes […]

The teacher training core content framework is an unambitious document, writes David Spendlove. It’s the opposite of what the profession needs to improve retention and recruitment. Rushed out last November – ahead of schedule to avoid election purdah rules – the initial teacher training core content framework (CCF) was an attempt to reverse engineer the […]

My last research piece in these pages looked at the difficulties facing schools when addressing a whole-community issue (fitness and obesity), but what are the challenges when trying to get the community to support a school issue? The research on parental engagement has been fairly consistent over the past few years. It is clear that […]

A small number of schools are failing to improve under the current system. For them, a new approach is needed, writes Amanda Spielman When discussions turn to Ofsted, despite the vast majority of the sector being in favour of our new framework and our overall approach, a common refrain is that inspection is not supportive […]

The underachievement of white, working-class boys has made the headlines again this Christmas. But what does it take the get them to succeed? Atlantic Academy principal, Lesley Bishop is on a mission to find out If we are serious about ending the perennial problem of white working-class boys’ academic underachievement, there are no shortcuts. Stereotyping […]

There’s something wrong with the honours system if it rewards independent school heads and omits more worthy recipients of recognition for services to education, writes Dan Townsend Andrew Halls has been the Headmaster of King’s College Wimbledon for twelve years, one of the highest achieving independent schools in the country. This year, he made the […]