Opinion | Schools Week

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No, Andy Burnham. Education doesn’t need a ‘complete rethink’

1w | Opinion

Parity of esteem cannot mean asking poorer children to narrow their horizons earlier

1w | Opinion
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We say SATs don’t define children, but they shape their experiences for years to come

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5d | Opinion

The test was designed to measure the school. Somewhere along the way, we started using it to measure the child

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5d | Opinion
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Ofsted must remember that even similar schools are different

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5d | Opinion

If contextual benchmarking is to work, it must help inspectors understand context without lowering ambitions

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5d | Opinion
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Don’t ignore local context in a rush to nationalise the MBacc

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5d | Opinion

Success absolutely cannot mean a reform that works well in core cities and patchily everywhere else

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5d | Opinion
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Strong boards need both organisational memory and fresh perspective

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5d | The Boardroom Leader

Recruitment is of course important, but the data shows effective governance is also built through retention

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5d | The Boardroom Leader

How a trust-wide knowledge-rich curriculum can drive improvements

Implementing a trust-wide curriculum for primary schools wasn’t easy, but two years on we’re reaping the benefits, writes Rowena Hackwood. Notwithstanding Ofsted having made clear its position, the debate in the education sector as to the merits or otherwise of knowledge-based curricula rages on. At the David Ross Education Trust we have been quietly getting […]

Let teachers embrace a career that values lifelong learning

The Chartered College of Teaching is two-and-a-half years old. What does the future hold for the organisation? Dame Alison Peacock explains. According to the results of our recent survey – our society does not value our teachers sufficiently. Our teachers shape the future of society, and your impact on the lives of young people is […]

Brexit could give schools space to get on with the job – we mustn’t waste this opportunity

Whoever is lucky enough to be education secretary under the new prime minister is going to have to perform a tricky balancing act. The B word will dominate everything about the (effectively) new government. And if that doesn’t work, we may be talking a lot about the E word. It’s possible that the new inhabitants […]

MATs should be inspected, but it isn’t going to happen any time soon

With more than half of all pupils now educated in academies it is only logical that multi academy trusts (MATs), which play such a pivotal role in the system, should be subject to the rigours of Ofsted, writes Frank Norris. Schools, colleges and local authorities are all inspected so it does not make sense that […]

Summer review: Research of the year 2018-19

To mark the end of the school year, this column highlights some of the most interesting studies published in 2018-19. Improving engagement and attainment in maths and English courses This report, from the Behavioural Insights Team, reviews three years of testing ways to improve student engagement and attainment in English and maths courses. The […]

The negativity over MATs is damaging – trust leaders need to speak up

The academy sector is evolving, but it takes time to lead and build an entire system, writes Tiffany Beck. MATs are for wiping your feet on, chief executive officers (CEOs) are evil, and trustees are their cronies. My worry is that these may too often be the impressions that some people are left with due […]

What to do when an inspector calls

Leaders should keep a cool head and take practical steps to prepare for the phone call from Ofsted, writes Ian Hartwright. School leaders tell us they are relieved that Ofsted has dropped plans to arrive on-site within a couple of hours of notifying a school of an inspection. But, from September, head teachers will be expected […]

Scrapping the QTS skills tests just passes the problem onto providers

By scrapping the QTS skills tests, the DfE is getting rid of its own barometer for aspiration, writes Professor David Spendlove. There has been some rejoicing that the 20-year-old numeracy and literacy skills tests requirements for trainee teachers are to be replaced at the end of the current recruitment cycle with a new system of […]

Why new research on the cost of academies vs maintained schools does not stack up

New research into the relative costs of academies and LA-maintained schools is flawed because it offers only a loose definition of the “middle tier”, argues Leora Cruddas. The report released today, Understanding the Middle Tier: Comparative Costs of Academy and LA-maintained School Systems, asks the right questions, but its conclusions are fundamentally flawed. I have […]

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