Skip to content
24 April 2026

Become a member today for unlimited access to Schools Week

Enjoy expert journalism on schools policy with fewer ads and exclusive benefits
subscribe

Opinion

UTCs are NOT an educational experiment gone wrong

It’s too early to talk of abandoning UTCs, says Sally Dicketts. The key to success is to hold true to their core principles – and find a formula that works for you A quick scan of recent media coverage of university technical colleges (UTCs) could lead you to believe that this is nothing more than […]

How schools can avoid social media teacher scandals

Regularly updated codes of conduct must guide staff on how to use social media, says James Lynas. Leaving it to common sense exposes the school and staff to disaster Career death awaits school staff who use social media carelessly. Be wary of sharing a “sexy selfie” with Facebook friends who then tell your head; never […]

Which is better: traditional or progressive teaching?

Which is the best style of schooling: “traditional” or “progressive”? Schools Minister Nick Gibb fights on the side of the former. He can hardly make a speech without blasting progressive methods. He hopes the controversy will be settled once and for all and only government-approved methods will be allowed in English state schools. But controversy […]

Teacher recruitment and retention is all about talent management

Teacher recruitment and retention is not a government problem – it’s schools that need to embrace new technologies and adopt a servant-manager mentality, says David Cobb The debates rage on about grammar schools, free schools and funding, but without dealing with teacher recruitment and retention, those policy debates are largely irrelevant. These are the facts: […]

Internal inclusion units in schools will not fix behaviour

The answer to schools’ behaviour problems is not to create more unregulated provision – accountability is key, says Jackie Ward Behaviour tsar Tom Bennett has – after much consultation with a variety of “successful schools” – published his independent review Creating a Culture: How school leaders can optimise behaviour. After raising an eyebrow at the […]

Tech in schools isn’t all bad: it can help manage behaviour

Tom Bennett’s report on behaviour misses the opportunity to talk about how edtech can help schools to manage behaviour, says John Roberts Tom Bennett’s behaviour review is spot-on in many ways. Not least his insistence on a strongly defined school “culture and ethos”. Leaders must define a clear behaviour policy that is communicated to the […]

Why we all need heroes who are just like us

In the United States, two brothers are considered king of the national sport, American football. Peyton and Eli Manning have sweated, toe-to-toe, often fighting one another for 20 years. They are the only brothers to play the key position of quarterback in the Superbowl – the grand final watched by more than 100 million people. […]

Good riddance to secure-fit writing assessment

The secure-fit model of writing assessment is on its way out and teachers will not be sorry to see it go, says James Bowen A proposal to move away from the secure-fit model of writing assessment must be one of the most welcome aspects of the government’s primary assessment consultation. NAHT has campaigned hard for this approach to […]