Opinion

Networks are powerful. Look at Barack Obama’s election based on community networks through the “snowflake model’ to see the potential of an informed, enthused, and mobilised community. While networks are already central to disseminating good practice among medical professionals, in education there appears to be a disconnect between best practice and actual practice, known as […]

The headlines from today’s new data on the number of education, health and care (EHC) plans show a dramatic 11 per cent increase in the number issued. But this belies a SEN postcode lottery, explains Karen Wespieser. Looking into the detail of today’s SEND data reveals that where you live is likely to make a […]

As the resignation deadline for staff planning to leave in the summer looms, Anna Hennell James’ hints help to ease the pain of recruitment I always look forward to the summer term since it’s a really upbeat time of year in school. But it’s also the term in which the resignation deadline of May 31 […]

The Conservative party has achieved much in education, says Steve Mastin, but school funding has become a huge distraction If you’re a teacher who will never consider voting Tory, then best look away now. I discovered my support for Conservative principles when I was at secondary school, around the time the communists crushed democracy supporters […]

Are teachers hungry for money or driven by compassion for others? It sounds a simplistic choice. But an interesting thing about all humans is that when faced with a choice between different outcomes we can usually pick one over another. So when push comes to shove, do teachers go for cash or conscience? The long-held […]

The Timpson review reveals the importance of engagement between alternative provision and mainstream, says Steve Howell. Why not a local representative group or some sort of commissioned oversight? When the long awaited Timpson review of exclusions was finally published last week, those of us working in alternative provision (AP) were keen to see how our […]

Ofsted has admitted that it struggles to recruit and retain its inspectors. Its new framework will leave those in post with a huge amount to do , leaving them with little choice but to cut corners, says Ian Hartwright Ofsted stands at a crossroads. With limited resources and under pressure to resolve issues about the […]

Teachers are often given the excuse: “I did it because I saw John doing it…” It’s not surprising as students, like everyone else, follow norms and do what others do, either because it’s expected (what researchers call injunctive norms – what you’re told to do) or because it’s prevalent (what researchers call descriptive norms). Prevalent […]

Worried about the new inspection framework? Amanda Spielman seeks to allay concerns over “a couple of things” that she knows are worrying some people This week marked an important milestone for me personally, for Ofsted, and I hope, in time, for school leaders and teachers. On Tuesday we published the new Education Inspection Framework and […]