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25 April 2026

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Opinion

SEND: Thinking the unthinkable

Poor choices for parents and pupils; funding cuts; academisation; dwindling local authority budgets: dark clouds are hanging over SEND reform, says Barney Angliss David Cameron teased up last autumn’s spending review, thus: “…with a smarter state, we can spend less and deliver more.” Reform of special education needs and disabililities (SEND) has not been particularly […]

What is the NUT strike about and will it make a difference?

NUT members in England will take national strike action on Tuesday. Any strike by teachers grabs news headlines and often divides opinion, within and beyond the profession. So why are NUT members going on strike and will it make any difference? asks Howard Stevenson Any industrial action in the UK must be based on a legal ‘trade […]

School governance: 3 key issues right now

Emma Knights, chief executive of the National Governors Association, outlines three big issues with school governance raised at the Festival of Education. The discussions on governance at the festival very much confirmed others across the country and in Westminster since my Schools Week column last term, but three things particularly struck me. First, how little […]

What do the best education system leaders do?

When I describe system leadership, what I mean is the way that groups of talented leaders work together to form plans and take decisions that have an impact on the outcomes and experiences of children in a whole community, and not just the school they attend. Why is this important?  When we are planning something […]

Teachers must tell pupils the importance of voter turnout

The economics of Brexit will be crucial for everyone, says Anand Menon. A smaller economy means more difficult choices – and perhaps a smaller education budget In a recent online piece for Schools Week, Russell Hobby made the sensible point that one outcome of the recent referendum will be “distraction and delay”. He is dead […]

Education reform: How to take back control of schools from government

“The power of the Crown has increased, is increasing and ought to be diminished.” John Dunning, motion in Parliament, 1780. For those working in education, it won’t have taken the act of self-immolation of June 23 to notice a growing feeling of powerlessness and mute rage in the face of an over-centralised, over-mighty state that […]

Ensuring more women progress into education leadership

A 2008 McKinsey report highlighted that the most powerful force holding women back is entrenched beliefs. To address this, at the Festival of Education four of the WomenEd national leaders focused on one of our core values – confidence. Keziah Featherstone explored one of the privileges of headship which is to nurture leadership talent. Both children […]

Schools must hold together even if everything else tears apart

It’s an odd week to go for a positive start. But I can’t do any more negativity. So here it is. The best thing about schools is that they are packed with humans. Funny, challenging, stroppy, coquettish, amazing humans. But the most extraordinary thing about humans is our ability for utter kindness and complete cruelty. […]