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5 June 2026

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Opinion

Schools deserve better than an inspectorate that’s come unstuck

The school inspectorate’s Fight or Flight report is a damning admission of its own failures, writes Mary Bousted. But it could also be the first step in a bold new direction I wonder if today’s Ofsted report on stuck schools is the start of a new approach on behalf of the schools’ inspectorate? For years, […]

What Dominic Cummings got right about the civil service…and what he got wrong

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s top adviser, has caused a stir with a blog post pledging widespread reform of the civil service. Here, former Department for Education and Cabinet Office staffer Natalie Perera gives her response. In his now infamous blog, Dominic Cummings (in his signature, forthright style) calls for applications from a range of disciplines, […]

Should inspections be ‘no-notice’ for inspectors as well as schools?

Following the Conservatives’ election victory, no-notice inspections of schools are likely to be trialed in England. Colin Richards believes this lack of notice should apply to inspectors as well as schools. In a recent blog, Ofsted’s national director for education admitted that under the recently-introduced framework, “schools with more pupils from deprived backgrounds are still less […]

Cuts and overbearing accountability have driven me out of headship

Andy Mellor, the past president of the NAHT, has left his role at St Nicholas Church of England primary school in Blackpool. Here, he explains why he believes he can do more for children from outside the profession than from within. The other evening as I drove down the M55 from Blackpool, I pondered the […]

Ofsted must do more to acknowledge staff who go the extra mile

Schools with more pupils from deprived backgrounds are still less likely to be judged ‘good’. Ofsted must do more to understand the challenges they face, argues Stephen Tierney. Last night on a dark, wet and windy night in Blackpool, a hardy group of staff from Christ the King, St. Cuthbert’s and Westminster Academies shifted six […]

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 […]