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25 April 2026

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Opinion

Do academy trust CEOs really need a teaching background?

A successful head doesn’t always make the transition to a CEO role. We need to cast our net wider to recruit chiefs with passion, experience but also humility, says Michael Pain The emergence of the academy trust chief executive officer (CEO) role in recent years has only served to magnify the fact that the success […]

What happened when teachers stopped marking?

As part of the Department for Education (DfE) Workload Challenge, I was commissioned by Tarporley High School and Sixth Form college in Cheshire to study the effects of teachers not marking school work. Two reports published in 2016 (the DfE’s Reducing Teacher Workload: Marking Policy Review Group Report and the Education Endowment Fund’s Evidence on […]

Professional development on SEND is bottom of the pile

Special educational need CPD must be prioritised, says Karen Wespieser. The OECD’s latest data on teacher working conditions and learning environments includes a figure that sticks out like a sore thumb: just 6 per cent of teachers in England report “a high level of need for professional development in teaching students with special needs”. This […]

New handbook promotes the art of good governance

More than ever, trusts need to ensure that their governance arrangements are as robust as possible, says Phil Reynolds, as he talks us through the 2019 academies handbook Many people have been demanding the government take action on those who may have flouted the rules – and the latest academies financial handbook is a clear […]

Cost-cutting visits for capital cash doesn’t undermine academy autonomy

It’s emerged that successful bids in the last round of Condition Improvement Fund applications have come with unexpected strings attached. To get the cash for their projects, heads have to agree to a visit from a school resource management advisor (SRMA), have their finance and operations pored over, and act on any recommendations around how […]

7 ways to reinvigorate the free schools policy

Since 2010 free schools have helped to transform our education system, bringing high standards, new innovations from which other schools can learn and, perhaps most importantly, helping to dispel the notion there are some kids who ‘just can’t succeed’. But the momentum behind education reform and free schools has stalled because of Brexit’s dominance over […]

4 key questions to progress the MAT governance debate

The ongoing rhetoric of an emerging and evolving MAT system has been a popular one. In the National Governance Association’s new report – Moving MATs forward: the power of governance – we argue the understanding and practice of MAT governance has to move on. Different approaches to MAT governance have been tried and tested: some […]

Knife crime: why a slogan on a T-shirt is not enough

When the student council of a north London secondary met to discuss knife crime, the discussion soon moved away from traditional campaign tactics, says Gerry Robinson In a recent school council meeting our students were discussing how they could lead a campaign against knife crime. There were the anticipated suggestions – poster campaigns, speaking in […]

The patterns and trends that shape pupils’ lives

These three studies used different methods to explore phenomena affecting young people, whether transitions and attainment, special needs and disability, or family life. Bart Shaw and Dr Will Cook previewed study findings that shows pupils’ perception of their academic ability dips dramatically once they start secondary school. This comes from an ongoing project that LKMco […]