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23 May 2026

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Opinion

Mandatory web monitoring in schools opens a slippery can of worms

While the compulsory retention of every website visit for every person in the UK was recently debated and passed in the House of Commons in the Investigatory Powers Bill, the plans for statutory surveillance of every child’s Internet use, in schools and at home, has gone unnoticed. Without Parliamentary or public discussion, children’s internet use […]

If I were Ofsted chief inspector…

Two grades, three categories, central data analysis and no aggregation. Go on Amanda Spielman, urges Matt Hood, what do you say to that? We have a new Ofsted chief inspector agreed by Number 10 and awaiting sign-off. Hurray. But what should Amanda Spielman do on day one? Ofsted has already made big improvements in the […]

How politicians and policy makers can raise the confidence of the teaching profession

Nearly half of teachers leave the profession within the first five years of teaching. Depressing isn’t it? Teachers are being worn perilously thin, so there is no doubt that politicians and policy makers need to work hard to recover the confidence of the teaching profession. I have some ideas that, in teacherly fashion, I’ve boiled […]

Why the culture around SEND needs to change

Law firm Baker Small was criticised in many media this week for boasting about defeating parents of children with special needs in tribunals. But their behaviour is not isolated, says Tania Tirraoro – it is illustrative of broader cultural attitudes The Children and Families Act 2014 was supposed to transform parents’ experience of getting help […]

Should we go or should we stay?

Next week there will be an election on the European Union. As a former citizenship teacher, I can tell you life will be easier for those citizenship teachers still out there if the country votes to leave. Pupils hate learning about the EU, teachers hate teaching it. It’s abstract, and far away, and difficult to […]

Are we heading towards a HExit?

Six months or six years before qualification? The end of university PGCEs? Kiran Gill sifts through the white paper’s proposals on initial teacher training Speculation and punditry are de rigueur in the run-up to the referendum on Europe. Initial teacher training (ITT) is a less debated topic, so this week, I’m throwing my euro-cent’s worth […]

If we join a MAT, will we lose our individual identity?

If we join a multi-academy trust, will we lose our individual identity? Christine says: There are those that say joining a multi-academy trust (MAT) is like getting married without the possibility of divorce for at least 125 years. Most of us wouldn’t get married if it meant subsuming our personality to another. And the same […]

Wilshaw and Carter to clash in first day of evidence

Sir Michael Wilshaw and Sir David Carter will appear together at the first evidence hearing next week of the select committee’s inquiry into multi-academy trusts. The pair often have differing views, says Neil Carmichael, which should make for an interesting session Next Wednesday the education select committee will begin its inquiry into multi-academy trusts (MATs) […]

Someone knock their bloody heads together

One of the few Shakespearean phrases I knew growing up was “someone knock their bloody heads together”. Unfortunately, I learned one day when I was about 20 that Shakespeare never said it. It’s still a good phrase though. And it’s an important one this week. A problem of politics is that it makes personalities impinge […]