Opinion

Lunchtime: the most important break of the day

Ofsted regularly focuses on lunchtime behaviour. To get the precious hour right needs creative thinking and carefully planned whole-school...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

Mayday, mayday. Too many changes, too often

Independent schools want new regulations to be introduced just once a year – let’s say published on May 1...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

High noon in the Ofsted corral

Many of the “desperate” reforms are welcome, but on their own do not re-establish the watchdog’s credibility Ofsted is in...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

Let’s move towards graduation at 18

Tristram Hunt is right to suggest a move away from exams at 16-plus. But there’s a danger in his...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

‘We were not prepared to accept the status quo’

Should we make the GCSE pass rate harder? In response to Mark Dawes The new GCSEs will be challenging....

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

What about the pupils caught in the middle?

Should we make the GCSE pass rate harder? Click here for schools minister Nick Gibb’s response to Mark The...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

Four guiding principles of a good assessment system

The confusion, debate and disagreements that have followed the move away from levels are necessary if teachers are to...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

Forget (most of) your post-election blues

Funding cuts, a recruitment crisis . . . what is there to be happy about? Well, the quality of...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips
Opinion

How many schools should we be trying to help?

The question may not be how many coasting or failing schools need help, but how many we have the...

Nicky Phillips
Nicky Phillips