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24 April 2026

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Opinion

Headteachers: take back control of school audit culture!

The endless papertrails modern school life seemingly requires are now actively making things worse for our overworked teachers. Becky Allen explains how to change all that Teaching should be the best job in the world. It has all the components of a satisfying profession: autonomy, impact, purpose and a sense of human connection. So why […]

Teachers shouldn’t fear a robot revolution

Two conferences this week and I got the now obligatory conference-chat about robots at both. Andreas Schleicer, the head of the PISA tests and a perma-attendee at conferences, showed a slide at the Whole Education Conference stating that “the kind of things that are easy to teach are now easy to automate, digitise or outsource”. […]

Do schools have to pay agency buy-out fees for supply teachers?

Schools are complaining that staffing agencies can levy thousands of pounds whenever a supply teacher is offered a permanent contract, even if the full recruitment process is followed. Ramona Derbyshire looks at what the law says Like any commercial entity, a school is subject to public procurement rules and at liberty to contract with other […]

What should an Ofsted inspection framework for multi-academy trusts look like?

The debate around the accountability of multi-academy trusts has intensified in recent months, writes Michael Pain As a handful of high-profile cases of failure hit the headlines, the calls for greater and more joined-up oversight of academy trusts have intensified. Indeed, just two days before MAT CEOs and trustees met for Forum Education’s most recent […]

How to use assessment effectively in your school

How do you know if your school’s approach to assessing pupils is effective in promoting learning, asks Jamie Scott Every school has its assessment framework, but is it fit for purpose? Schools use assessment every day, and it can be difficult to stop, step back and review the approach to ensure it is fit for […]

Why flexible working won’t solve the workload problem

Back in the 2000s, “thinking hats” were a mega-cool concept in schools. Available in six different colours, each one signified a way of thinking about a problem. For example, yellow-hat thinking involved looking positively at a problem, while people wearing white hats were told to look purely at facts. The concept is less cool these […]

Schools in the north need more resources – but not because they’re less effective

It’s undoubtedly true that schools in disadvantaged areas of the country need additional help, but we need to be better informed as to why, explains Mike Treadaway Educating the north, a report published by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, hit the headlines recently. Comments like “poor pupils in the north are a GCSE grade behind” typified […]

Tips for improving staff wellbeing in schools

Amid the retention crisis and ever-increasing levels of teacher stress, it has never been more important to look after staff wellbeing. Sonia Mainstone-Cotton has some suggestions Staff wellbeing is a significant challenge for managers and school leaders, who are in an excellent position to make a difference to the lives of their staff. If your […]

The new times-tables tests will get no love from teachers

Times-tables are important but the government’s latest test is a complete waste of time for schools, argues Nick Brook. Children should learn their times-tables. They are a useful thing to know as pupils launch themselves into the secondary stage of their school career. That’s why they are already part of the curriculum: every primary school […]