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26 June 2026

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Opinion

School business leaders: 2017 year in review

Following a relative period of stability, Stephen Morales is anticipating much-needed change in 2018 From a policy perspective, 2017 could be characterised more by what hasn’t been achieved than what has. Following her appointment as secretary of state for education, Justine Greening moved to scrap a number of policies, including forced SATs resits for 11-year-olds […]

Education is a long game, so league table measures should be too

There are natural swings between year groups as talent and circumstance ebb and flow, suggests Loic Menzies, but under the current system, this skews perspectives on school success. Every year, hundreds of secondary schools’ results swing by more than 15 percentage points. Some shift by 30 percentage points. This does not necessarily mean a particular school […]

5 things to celebrate about special educational needs provision in 2017

We all know that special educational needs provision is nowhere near where we need it to be, but that’s not to say there haven’t been moments to celebrate, writes Adam Boddison It would be easy to write a review of SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) in 2017 by listing all of the challenges we […]

What schools really want for Christmas

Two headteachers take their cue from Dylan Thomas in describing the Christmas gifts they would like to see for schools In his poem ‘A child’s Christmas in Wales’, Dylan Thomas compares useful presents and useless ones. This year perhaps more than ever, this has resonance as Justine Greening announces the birth of 12 opportunity areas, […]

How did politics influence education in 2017?

It’s been a less eventful year for education than 2016, but according to Natalie Perera it’s the same old story: we need more money to back the policies Last year, my review of 2016 reflected on the political transformation that brought us the Brexit vote, a new prime minister and education secretary, a new chief […]

Best education research of 2017 for schools

Having scoured the international academic journals for the best research applicable to schools in England, Stuart Kime shares his top five treasures Making decisions means engaging with information, either consciously or not. As I set about finding the shining jewels of rigour in methodological research and substantive brilliance in 2017, I couldn’t help but think […]

Top 10 books of 2017 for teachers and school leaders

The best books 2017 had to offer, chosen by Schools Week features editor, Cath Murray.   For visionaries and dreamers   1. When the adults change, everything changes: Seismic shifts in school behaviour By Paul Dix   Relationships matter. People matter. As educators, we are not dealing with faceless statistics, we are dealing with brilliant, […]

Schools will need funding to provide extra training for new teachers

There should be a revised three-year teacher training route, and schools should be given extra funding to provide it, argues Emma Hollis Today’s announcement about the QTS consultation is welcome – however, ‘strengthened’ QTS is not the right term. This implies that training is not strong, when actually 99% of teacher training providers are rated […]

Teachers need good CPD throughout their career

While today’s QTS consultation is welcome, we must not forget that teachers need professional development and mentoring throughout their career, notes Alison Peacock The Department for Education’s consultation on strengthening qualified teacher status and improving career progression for teachers, published today, is nothing if not wide-ranging. While the proposed changes to QTS will attract some […]