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25 June 2026

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Opinion

Assessment without levels: how are schools approaching it?

While some schools have simply replaced the old levels with unhelpful practices, a number of companies are developing solutions to fill the gap, says Joshua Perry When the DfE announced that levels would be scrapped in June 2013, many people cheered. Finally, schools could focus on formative assessment practices that actually improved outcomes! Professionals suddenly had freedom […]

What happened to teacher-training colleges?

What ever happened to the colleges of education, those specialist teacher-training institutions that were effectively abolished across England and Wales in the 1970s and 80s? In some ways, the demise of teacher-training colleges was unsurprising. Although some 160-strong by the early-1970s, many were small and isolated and some were rather parochial, inward-looking organisations. Many were […]

Stop bashing Catholic schools and let us educate children

As secular campaigners intensify their vocal opposition to faith schools, Andrew Cole charts the battle his Catholic voluntary aided school faced to open in west London. Ever since Theresa May announced plans to scrap the 50 per cent admissions cap for new faith free schools, secular campaigners have been unable to hide their disdain. Piece […]

Sussex governors’ strike threat is “innovative governance”

There are three types of governance, says Andrew Clapham. So where do the governors in West Sussex who are threatening strike action fit in? A school governor has an important job that takes skill and commitment – and is time-consuming and unpaid. Major concerns regarding school governance have been raised recently, such as in the […]

Beware John Blake, the “Red rebel” with great influence

My memory of early evening, Friday November 14, 2003, is hazy. My brain seems to think it was raining, and a Met Office report concurs. “Bands of heavy rain and showers were carried on gale-force south-westerly winds.” I’m pretty sure that a meeting I attended in the late afternoon took place after dark. A quick […]

We need an education system that works for the whole of society

Attainment is important for young people, but exams have to be seen in a wider context as part of an education that allows young people to flourish, says John Sentamu. Up and down the country, there are great examples of schools achieving fantastic results for some of the most disadvantaged pupils – results that give […]

How to consult effectively when applying for school planning permission

Consultation is never a silver bullet to securing planning permission, but it is necessary and de-risks the process, says Louise Page-Jennings. The government’s ambitious target to build 500 new schools by 2020 is leaving many communities stuck between the need to provide much-needed school places and finding the right location to do so. To find […]

Do we spend more or less on schools than in the past?

Many people believe you cannot put a price on education. They are wrong. For each child doing their GCSEs in 2013, the taxpayer paid somewhere between £47,000 and £67,000 for their schooling, depending on where the child grew up. This nugget of information is in Chris Belfield and Luke Sibieta’s masterful report, Long-run trends in […]

No website can replace good careers guidance

Careers education and guidance is more than just providing information about jobs says Janet Downs. It cannot be offloaded to employers or delegated to website and phone lines. The quality of careers education and guidance (CEG) has plummeted since the days of the Technical and Vocational Educational Initiative (TVEI), which did much to improve the […]