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25 April 2026

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Opinion

An autism diagnosis doesn’t mean other special needs are being missed

An autism diagnosis doesn’t mean other special needs are being missed – it’s just the first step in the process, says Malcolm Reeve. Between 2010 and 2016 the number of children with autism in schools in England nearly doubled. The percentage in secondary schools increased markedly, even more in special schools. The broad SEN area […]

We must mend the primary and secondary split in education leadership

If primary and secondary leaders better understood each other’s phases, children would be better prepared for the move from key stage 2 to 3, says Allana Gay. School leaders suffer from fear of missing out. They aim to keep up with all of the latest trends for teaching styles, data manipulation, Ofsted and sources of […]

We can see mentally ill pupils, but what do we do?

I once cried on the tube in London. Tears dripped down my face, an inconsolable stream barely contained by my wet hands. I no longer remember what I was crying about. But I do remember the kindness of a hunched Nigerian woman, dressed in her Sunday best, who from her seat opposite, was watching me […]

What is going on with compulsory sex education and PSHE?

The consensus on the need for compulsory sex education has never been stronger, but it’s understandable that campaigners are impatient, says Freddie Whittaker As pressure mounts on the government to make personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) and sex education compulsory in all schools, speculation is building over the form such a move could […]

How curiosity-driven science suffered a blow in the 60s

As the debate rages once again between “traditional” and “progressive” curriculums, and between formal and informal methods of teaching, I wonder whether we are doomed to revisit these themes with every successive generation. In 1965 I was part of the Nuffield junior science project pilot year. The goal was for children to come up with […]

We can turn the tidal wave of mental health problems

The growing sense of a crisis in schools prompted his new book, says John Tomsett. It seems that a day does not pass without a new report on the perilous state of children and young people’s mental health. Only last month a government report claimed that 110,000 children in London were suffering from significant mental […]

Easy books aren’t the route to a lifelong love of reading

Forget the pap: kids should have access to good quality books to get them to read, says Katie Ashford. In the past I have gone to great lengths to persuade reluctant readers to pick up a book and, as many teachers will know, this is never a straightforward task. Hopeful that their efforts will pay […]

Let the teens read Mills & Boon!

Kids should be exposed to all kinds of books (and that includes Mills & Boon), says Joy Ballard. As a teacher, I know that instilling hard-to-reach and reluctant young students with a love of reading is one of the most difficult aspects of our job – yet in many respects it is also the most […]

Education is suffering two types of blind spot: can you see them?

There are two types of blind spot: one in your eyes, the other in the world around you. Education is suffering from both. Every eye has a punctum caecum, a small spot at the back of the eyeball that cannot absorb light and so causes a hole in your sight. If you have two eyes, […]