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4 August 2026

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Opinion

How edtech could help schools with flexible working

The Department for Education has promised a competition for innovative edtech solutions to promote part-time and flexible working. But how could this work? James Browning takes a look At the end of last month the government published its long-awaited teacher recruitment and retention strategy, with Damian Hinds pledging that teacher workloads would be cut. This […]

We need to talk about teacher wellbeing

Developing students’ self-regulatory abilities in school is under scrutiny. But what about occupational self-regulation for those working there? What are we doing about that? In the 1980s, Stevan Hobfoll, a hospital doctor and Kent State University academic, worked up an idea called “conservation of resource” (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989). Dissatisfied with how stress was conceptualised […]

New Church of England model articles – what’s changed?

New model articles should simplify and clarify the operation of multi-academy trusts with Church of England schools, says Susan Newell Earlier this month the Department for Education published some long-awaited new model articles for multi-academy trusts that include Church of England schools. These will significantly improve governance and clarify the responsibilities of the bodies involved […]

Why reinvent the education wheel, when a solution already exists?

It’s great that we’re talking about alternatives to GCSEs and A-Levels, but we don’t need to start from scratch – there’s already a qualification out there, says Ryan Kelsall Robert Halfon this week advocated the scrapping of GCSEs and A-Levels in favour of a broader baccalaureate-style education, with a mix of academic and vocational subjects, and […]

Should headteachers let children miss school to take part in social action?

Should school leaders let children miss school to take part in social action? Sarah Hannafin shares her advice… There has been some press coverage this week regarding UK Youth Strike 4 Climate and young people across the country taking a coordinated day of action. NAHT is  clear that a school leader’s job is to ensure children […]

How can we build a rich music curriculum?

The school minister’s plans for music will not come close to resolving the real issues surrounding the subject, says Emily Crowhurst Last week I asked a year 11 music student what he thought our school’s music curriculum was about. He wrote… “School21’s music curriculum is about everyone having the opportunity to create music no matter […]

How teachers are really using research

Not all research is top-down from senior teams, says Tim Cain. Teachers are finding out for themselves how research can influence what they think about and how they think From the Department for Education, Ofsted, the Chartered College of Teaching and beyond, the message is clear: teachers should use research evidence to inform their decisions. […]

Can teachers really remember how many hours they’ve worked?

As a psychology A-level teacher, one of my favourite teaching topics was the fallibility of witness testimony. A classic study, devised by Loftus and Palmer in 1974, had 45 students watch films of different traffic accidents and answer questions about it afterwards. The psychologists discovered that the way a question was phrased changed the answers. […]

Character or attainment: which would you choose?

Parents and teachers value the character development of young people more than exam results, but may need support to recognise that they share this priority, says Rachael Hunter The inclusion of character education in the draft Ofsted framework for inspection of schools was another significant step towards ensuring children receive an education that prioritises academic […]