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24 April 2026

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Opinion

How can the DfE use EdTech to reduce teacher workload?

Justine Greening was making progress on using EdTech to alleviate workload – here’s what she’d achieved so far, and what’s still left to do, says Atif Mahmood The DfE’s own research has identified workload as the “most important factor” behind teachers who leave the profession. I meet with heads of department and headteachers daily, all […]

How did ‘child-centred’ dogma get established in schools?

Mary Woolley interviewed 13 veterans of history teaching, in an effort to discover how teaching has changed over the last 30 years. This is what she learned. The role and approach of teachers in classrooms is frequently contested, particularly in the history education community. Advocates of direct instruction emphasise the place of the teacher at […]

How schools should handle snow days

Every time an English school is forced to take a day off for bad weather, the usual suspects ooze out of the woodwork and make a fuss about the terrible effects of kids missing lessons. So why don’t we follow what they do in the states, and add a day at the end of July? […]

Schools mustn’t stop teaching other religions

With talk in the air that the new education secretary will deregulate faith schools, Charlotte Avery makes her plea for the place of comparative religion It was suggested this week that the new education secretary Damian Hinds plans to remove the 50-per-cent cap on pupils of the same religion being admitted to faith schools. This […]

It’s time to beat the gender pay gap in schools!

Schools will soon all be obliged to publish the differences in what they pay men and women. Sameena Choudry explains why that gap must now be filled. Last October, Theresa May brought the gender pay gap back into prominence. She declared that tackling it is an absolute priority for the government and made it a […]

Bold Beginnings: how NOT to write an Ofsted report

The battle for the soul of reception continues, especially on social media, writes Colin Richards It is clear that Ofsted has mismanaged both the writing and the reception of its report, ‘Bold Beginnings‘. There has been needless, counterproductive recrimination both by inspectors and critics. It is time that rational discussion replaced rhetoric and injured self-justification. Let’s […]

Beware the return of the grammar school zombies

Is the grammar school policy about to get a second wind? Contributing editor Laura McInerney considers the possibility and how Labour should respond. Ugh. It appears the grammar school zombie may be alive after all. The appointment of grammar-loving Damian Hinds to the top job suggests there may be another attempt to resurrect selective schools […]

Senior leaders have the power to solve teacher workload

Teacher workload is an ever-present crisis, but Steve Mastin argues that it stems from bad senior leadership, not the government I love teaching. I get to discuss history with enthusiastic young minds, helping them to share my passion for the past. I also get to work alongside dedicated and inspiring colleagues, learning from them as […]

Here’s how government can alleviate teacher workload

Overwork is what stresses teachers out the most – and the DfE needs to take urgent, concrete steps, writes Kevin Courtney Teachers tell us time and again that workload is the main issue that drives them to despair – or in many cases out of the profession all together. The government has acknowledged the extent […]