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24 April 2026

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Opinion

Government needs to rethink the alternative provision census expansion

The government needs to stop and think before rushing into an expansion of the alternative provision census, argues Jen Persson From the disastrous effects of the Universal Credit on children and the pupil premium, through the SEN crisis to the upbeat people of edTechUK, we constantly hear the call for more data. But more isn’t […]

Why we should stop ability setting in schools

Classrooms will inevitably feature children of very different ability levels, but keeping them apart helps none of them, argues Mary Myatt There are a number of problems with setting by ability and the first is the term “ability” itself. It is fraught with difficulty: all we can talk about with any confidence is prior attainment: […]

Nick Gibb is wrong: PIRLS data does not support synthetic phonics

The schools minister is looking at the results of a major international reading test wrong, and his dogmatic insistence on teaching children to read with phonics is a sham, argues the NEU’s Kevin Courtney Overwhelmed by problems of teacher supply and faced with rising evidence of the effects of funding cuts, it’s understandable that Nick […]

How to avoid school shaming incidents: build good parent relationships!

In this internet age, former headteacher Mark Lehain shares his advice on how to maintain good communication with parents and avoid incidents that might shame your school Interaction with students and their families is one of the best parts of working in schools. A highlight for me was a parents evening in 2006 where, as […]

How schools can support young people with a disfigurement

Schools have trained teachers to combat bullying based on race, gender and creed. We must do the same with disfigurement, says Alexis Camble Most teachers have at some point spent an evening worrying about whether they handled a situation in the classroom quite as well as they could. As a former teacher myself, I know […]

Speed-read: Nick Gibb’s ‘Grammar School’ response to MPs

The government response to the education committee’s grammar schools report is out – editor Laura McInerney gives it the speed-read treatment.  Over the 2016/17 academic year, the schools community was subject to a consultation on bringing back new grammar schools. In response, the parliamentary education committee investigated and published a series of recommendations. Today, the […]

Hijabs are none of Ofsted’s business

Schools should be safe spaces – allowing outside authority figures to probe young girls’ choice of religious expression is precisely the wrong approach to take, argues Zubeda Limbada Last week, Amanda Spielman recommended that Ofsted inspectors in England should question Muslim primary school girls who wear a headscarf. She wants to tackle situations in which […]

Schools need to wake up to relational bullying

Relational bullying can be difficult to spot but it’s actually the most pernicious kind, explains Kayleigh Chester When we talk about bullying we often think about physical and verbal behaviours: stealing lunch money, a shove in the corridor between classes, the name-calling on the school bus. Cyberbullying is frequently discussed too, and has become a […]

Should we grade soft skills, Japan-style?

Will Millard recently visited Japan, where schools assess pupils’ curiosity and confidence. Can it help the UK, he asks I recently had the pleasure of visiting schools in and around Tokyo for a week, speaking to teachers and educationalists about assessment for LKMco and Pearson’s forthcoming report, ‘Testing the water’. It is no secret that […]