Opinion

Ofsted’s Michael Wilshaw praised primaries – but missed some important points

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector had positive words for primary schools in his first monthly address – but was it as...

Colin Richards
Colin Richards
Opinion

‘It’s essential that governors are paid for their work’

Education is simply too important to be left in the hands of volunteers as their commitment is sanctioned purely...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

How to boost flagging teacher recruitment

School leaders and policymakers can do simple, practical things to ensure schools have the quality workforces they need Why...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

Education without heart (and human rights) is no education at all

Children are taught numeracy and literacy at the expense of an all-important holistic education. As Aristotle said centuries ago:...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

‘It’s cushy to be a male primary school teacher’

A Y-chromosome makes male teachers instantly visible in a primary schools. It also benefits them enormously; they are over-represented...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

You’re not the ‘mastery’ of me

The masculine narrative of current education reformers won’t lead to freedom. It is infiltrating teachers’ consciousness; changing perceptions of...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

‘No one agrees on anything in education – can we sort that out, please?’

Planning an education conference led Heidi Williams to question whether ever-shifting policy at the whim of ministers was really...

Nick Linford
Nick Linford
Opinion

Baseline assessments are an impossible idea

From next year, an approved reception baseline assessment will be the only accepted way of measuring how well a...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

Critical thinking to critical learning: Generation Y as a case study

Since the 1980s the importance of critical thinking and its taxonomy have been the focus of vigorous debate. The...

Sophie Scott
Sophie Scott