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24 April 2026

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Opinion

Schools! Don’t ask parents for cash and then run off – engage us!

Most school issues – from curriculum to uniform changes – affect parents. But often they are the last people to know, says Emma Williams More schools are appealing to parents for donations to plug the funding gap. Headteachers and unions also have been lobbying parents to sign petitions, to join public meetings and to write […]

How school folks can influence politicians during the election campaign

A snap election during the summer term is about as welcome as a major football tournament. Both tend to disrupt pupils, who are usually more attentive to football, but become equally intrigued about this politics thing that the adults are banging on about. Labour has focused on children from the off, with its first party […]

May and Hammond are the obstacles to progress in education

June’s general election is a make or break moment for schools and young people, says NAHT president and headteacher Anne Lyons. The good news about this surprise general election is that education has found its way to near the top of the agenda. Not since the heady days of 1997 have we seen this kind […]

3 ways to address BME representation in schools

Last week The NUT and The Runnymede Trust launched their report ‘Visible and Invisible Barriers: the impact of racism on BME teachers’. It included a number of heartening findings, including that younger BME teachers were more likely to have ‘positive experiences in school’, such as being valued by their managers and feeling school was an […]

Schools must take a business-like approach to wellbeing

The OECD reported yesterday that test anxiety of UK students is the third highest of 72 countries. The school leaders I speak to are fully aware that too much pressure can create unhealthy levels of stress in teachers and students alike. On the other hand, there is an accountability regime that means that small changes […]

‘My wish for the General Election 2017’ – School experts give their view

So there’s going to be a general election. But what should it mean for schools? We asked a handful of education leaders and policy specialists: “If you could make one wish for the general election, what would it be?” Here are their answers. We’d love to hear your education election wishes – leave them as comments below! […]

With a looming election, will we ever see the grammar schools consultation response?

There’s going to be a general election on 8th June – but what does this mean for the much-anticipated grammar schools white paper? Editor Laura McInerney gazes into the crystal ball. If the past year of politics has taught anything, it’s that we can’t really guess the future. Not even if you’re a professional pollster. […]

The history curriculum has a Western bias – that needs to change

One of the striking omissions when I studied A-level history was the lack of opportunity to study anything of my own heritage or of other non-western civilisations. And in the few opportunities that there were, the story was always told from a western perspective. This bias in history and across the curriculum has a profound […]