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21 August 2026

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Opinion

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 […]

Budget 2017: A missed opportunity for schools

Philip Hammond’s 2017 Budget will be remembered as a missed opportunity for education, says Russell Hobby When the government announced extra money to expand grammar schools yesterday, it was clear today’s Budget would offer nothing for existing schools. And so it has proved. The question for Philip Hammond now is not how schools can make […]

Who started the Association of School and College Leaders?

Geoff Barton has emerged as victor in the battle for the coveted general secretary post at the Association of School and College Leaders. He takes over from interim general secretary Malcolm Trobe, who took over from Brian Lightman, who took over from John Dunford. In a world where we increasingly worry about women’s place in […]

How to make Opportunity Areas work: build sustainable programmes

As long as pupils from independent schools are still more than twice as likely to attend a Russell Group university, we should all focus on doing everything we can to support social mobility in the UK. The secretary of state’s intent and the philosophy behind opportunity areas is therefore a wholly good thing and we […]

How to make Opportunity Areas work: invest in local people

Opportunity areas are a welcome commitment to social mobility. They demonstrate a legitimate concern that all parts of the country should have a high quality education system. They target resources, support and attention and are no doubt inspired by the success of the London Challenge – which has been surprisingly difficult to transfer to other […]

What are ‘T-Levels’?

Following the Treasury’s announcement of additional budget funding for technical education, ‘T-levels’ have been touted as the new alternative to A-Levels, but what exactly are they? Technical qualifications expert Gemma Gathercole explains 1. What are ‘T-Levels’? ‘T-Levels’ is the name that has been given by the media to government’s planned overhaul of technical education. Between now […]