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24 April 2026

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Opinion

The essential school guide to GDPR

The general data protection regulations (GDPR) aren’t just for schools; they apply to every European organisation that handles personal data. The aim of the new law is to return control to individuals by allowing them to request deletion or disclosure of their data: and the onus is on organisations to provide evidence of their data […]

Times-tables tests: What do schools need to know?

The government is keen to reassure heads that its new times-tables test won’t become just another stick to beat schools with, but heads aren’t convinced, explains Freddie Whittaker. It’s official. Nick Gibb has spoken: times-tables tests are here. From next month, almost 300 schools will take part in a trial of the government’s new on-screen multiplication […]

Five ways the DfE has damaged teacher recruitment

Teacher training has always been too important to dabble with, as the implications of not getting the very best teachers in front of children in schools will affect the future of our country and society, explains Professor David Spendlove We should all be seriously concerned about the Department for Education’s two recent communications on initial […]

Multi-academy trusts are driving EdTech innovation

Multi-academy trusts used to be an afterthought for software developers, but no longer, explains Joshua Perry School software has been around for a long time. The market has blossomed and evolved over more than three decades, with the release of the ever-popular SIMS Management Information System (MIS) in 1984 a particularly pivotal moment. Software for […]

How much should MAT CEOs be paid?

MAT CEO pay is in the public eye again and, given how high it is, it’s right that trustees should think hard about how they work it out, writes Gillian Allcroft It is the season to scrutinise academy trusts’ accounts and, as ever, the hot topics are related-party transactions and executive pay. There are no […]

Five solutions for teacher retention and development

The numbers quitting teaching are becoming a full-blown crisis. David Weston presents five solutions that might stem the tide As a basis for a strategy to attract and keep teachers in our schools, Professor Dylan Wiliam’s approach, “love the ones you’re with”, is bang on. We certainly need some overarching strategy to deal with, what […]

Battle of the schools: which one gets closed?

In the summer of 2013, the health secretary was stopped in his tracks. Jeremy Hunt’s decision to close the emergency department at Lewisham Hospital was ruled unlawful. It was a victory for local campaigners but it would also become a parable for the situation in which academies would one day find themselves. I fear that […]

How can we better support EAL pupils?

EAL pupils are not a remotely homogeneous group, and we’re foolish to treat them as such, writes Jo Hutchinson One of the top stories from the recent 2017 GCSE results was the extraordinary rise of children with English as an Additional Language (EAL) over the last 15 years. Here, it was reported that on average, such […]

16 to 18-year-olds need funding too!

If 16-to-18 participation is “compulsory” then it should be funded at the same level as other compulsory phases, argues John Widdowson Ten years ago, Alan Johnson MP, then Secretary of State for Education and Science, announced that all young people should be obliged to remain in education, an apprenticeship or employment with training until their […]