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25 April 2026

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Opinion

How a charity can be effective

Philanthropists like giving to schools, says Angela Kail. But if the school system in England was ever straightforward for charities, it isn’t any more. Here’s a guide through the minefield Scan The Sunday Times Giving List, which names the UK’s top 200 philanthropists, and it quickly becomes clear that education is a priority for today’s […]

A jobs board distracts from the teacher shortage

Patrick Hayes is stumped by the government’s “slightly odd u-turn” on a national teaching website. It’s been tried before – and failed, he says  From the recently published white paper, Educational Excellence Everywhere, the Department for Education (DfE) seems to be labouring under the somewhat confused notion that the current teacher shortage can be addressed […]

Why we’re all on board in the north east

Heads in the north east say that teacher recruitment is one of their greatest problems. So its regional network set up a jobs board all of its own – and so far things are blossoming, says Mike Parker It was a scene worthy of George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece, Animal Farm. “Four legs good, two legs […]

Character education: teaching through subjects

Dr Tom Harrison, Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues, University of Birmingham What have you been working on? The Teaching Character Through Subjects publication and programme of activities – funded by one of 12 character grants handed out by the Department for Education – is built on our prior research at the Jubilee Centre into […]

Nobody puts EAL in the corner

A DfE-convened national working party on English as an additional language is long overdue. Practitioners, researchers and the subject association NALDIC should all be involved to set a strategic direction for EAL, writes Diane Leedham   They don’t seek it here, they don’t seek it there, the DfE seeks it – nowhere. Is it in […]

Prepare well and school trips can be fun

Accidents happen, but what if they are on a school trip that you are in charge of? Jade Kent lists what you need to be aware of School trips seem great in principle, but what if something goes wrong? How should we prepare for taking pupils off site? As a starting point, teachers are required […]

Why did some results dip last year? Ofqual reveals all…

Last year, on GCSE results day, panicked phone calls came through to the Schools Week office. There were dips – big dips – in the results of schools with outstanding records and well-respected leaders. What was going on? Many callers said the exams regulator, Ofqual, must have moved the boundaries of English and maths GCSEs, […]

What is teaching for mastery in maths?

I was very interested to read the item in last week’s Schools Week that suggested pupils in one primary school were being prevented from reading books ‘above their level’ because of a ‘mastery’ approach to English teaching. Teaching maths for mastery involves employing approaches that help pupils to develop a deep and secure knowledge and understanding of […]

What would make an all-academy system work?

The schools landscape could look very different from how it does today, quite quickly, if the government’s vision for all schools to become academies comes to fruition. Professor Toby Salt examines what would make a universally academised system work, in terms of school organisation, management and conversion. 1. It’s time to trust If (and it […]