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25 April 2026

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Opinion

Ofsted should take responsibility for primary curriculum bias

In his latest commentary, Sir Michael Wilshaw said subjects like science and modern languages have become the ‘poor relations’ of the primary school curriculum. Colin Richards argues that Ofsted is in large part responsible for the status quo. Ofsted has a lot to answer for when the chief inspector’s latest monthly commentary dares to criticise primary schools […]

Ignore social media, pupils can cope with hard GCSE exams

What do drunk rats, teenage boys and an independent drugs company have in common? Despite sounding like key components from a song in the 1980s they are actually items mentioned in AQA’s biology GCSE paper taken earlier this week. Echoing youngsters across generations who walked out of exams and asked “what the heck was all […]

Do “prison academies” make sense?

In light of Michael Gove’s plan for the prison sector to learn from schools, Peter Dawson of the Prison Reform trust explains why a move towards academy-style autonomy is welcome. Professional leaders enjoy telling others about the uniqueness of their personal challenge. One is often reminded of Ron Manager’s bleat that football management is “the ’ardest job in the […]

Teaching Assistants: are they worth it?

In light of Durham County’s decision to cut teaching assistants’ pay, and the recent warning that teaching assistants risk being replaced by poorly-paid “interns”, Helen Saddler makes a case for the invaluable classroom support staff – and argues they need better professional development. When you hear ‘Teaching Assistant’- what comes to mind? “Jack of all trades”, first […]

How you can evaluate the impact of your decisions

With the government increasingly asking for evidence that initiatives have had “impact”, Stuart Kime writes a step-by-step guide for creating those documents Professor John Hattie’s entreaty for teachers to “know thy impact” is a laudable and important one. But knowing is hard. How can a teacher or school leader know what impact their choices had […]

How can we get young people eating healthy food at lunchtime?

What’s your research about? The factors that underpin young people’s food and drink purchases in and around schools. The study, which was funded by Food Standards Scotland, looked at seven state secondary schools in Scotland, where pupils were allowed to leave the grounds at lunchtime. The schools were in five local education authority areas with […]

Be functional, not faddish, and keep it simple

New school buildings are a difficult brief: they must be flexible, functional, welcoming and poised for change. Educators can meet that challenge if they start with a checklist of do’s and don’ts, says Craig Smailes Schools are, by their nature, subject to changing needs. Populations change, educational methods evolve and technology continues to alter the […]

The real challenge awaits for Cameron and Morgan

The government may have made a u-turn on forced academisation, says Lucy Powell, but its misguided fixation with school structures remains David Cameron and Nicky Morgan have been forced into a humiliating climbdown. However they try to spin it, they have made a major concession by dropping their target to force all schools to become […]

Less of a U-turn and more of a Z-turn

Do you remember last Saturday? It was boiling hot and the world was sunny – not least because Nicky Morgan had announced on Friday afternoon she wouldn’t be making all schools into academies after all. Except, it wasn’t that straightforward. (It never is). At 6.30am on Saturday I therefore found myself explaining to listeners of […]