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25 April 2026

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Opinion

Schools cannot make any more cuts

Reduced budgets have already had devastating consequences in East Sussex, says Liam Collins. “If there are more things that we can do to save, then it is the equivalent of deckchair moving on the Titanic,” he says The government’s decision to protect school funding only in flat cash terms per pupil leaves schools facing a […]

Schools need brave teachers for sex and relationships education

Sex education is now compulsory. But how should schools prepare for its introduction in 2019? One answer is good training for teachers, says Helen Corteen A collective whoop of joy rang across Brook on March 1 when education secretary Justine Greening made sex and relationships education (SRE) compulsory in all secondary schools, and relationships education […]

Why we’ll keep looking at MAT CEO pay

It’s time for our annual chief executive pay league, a story that gets people hot under the collar and frantically sharing the paper. Some people hate it. Each year a few trusts refuse to comment on individuals’ pay and over the coming months I’ll get sharp-elbowed communications officers telling me exactly what they think of […]

School leaders aren’t to blame for ‘gaming’ the system

By using the term ‘gaming’ to describe the practice of schools trying to improve their metrics, we are missing the real problem, which is the high-stakes accountability culture itself, says Brian Lightman To coin a phrase from ‘Yes Minister’, Amanda Spielman’s announcement of an Ofsted investigation into the curriculum is a ‘brave’ decision, which I welcome.  […]

The educational equivalent of the ‘brown shoe effect’

Children growing up in poorer families are less likely to get finance jobs because they don’t “present” themselves well enough at interviews. That’s the gist of a survey released this week by The Sutton Trust, a charity that aims to encourage social mobility. A press release says the survey quantifies the “brown shoe effect” – […]

The schools’ guide to apprenticeship reforms is out – what does it mean for you?

Ahead of some major changes to the way apprenticeships are funded in May this year, the DfE have published the ‘Schools’ guide to apprenticeship reforms’, here’s our quick guide to what you need to know. What are the changes to apprenticeships this spring? As part of its ongoing reform programme for apprenticeships outlined in ‘English […]

Independent special schools are cost effective

It is in everyone’s interests to get SEND support right, says Claire Dorer. For many pupils that means a place in an independent special school It’s rare to see media coverage on special needs provision in non-maintained and independent special schools (NMISS) without cost being mentioned. Generally this is in relation to absolute costs and […]

We need to fix existing schools, not just build more

People are getting their knickers in a twist this week about a bunch of separate budget-related things but keep talking about them as if they are all the same issue. It is not helpful. The golden thread between the problems is money. There is only so much cash to go around, which is making the […]

Why we’re spending our school budget on Scouts

As anyone who works in a challenging school will know, when children’s lives are consistently chaotic and their influences less than positive, they do not come to school ready to learn. They have neither the desire nor resilience to sit in a classroom and practise their times tables; they see no bearing on their life […]