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22 May 2026

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Opinion

‘Teachers are being treated like crash test dummies’

Levels created a misleading set of criteria from which teachers taught in limiting ways. But people were too optimistic as a landscape with “standards” looks anything but rosy These are the worst times I have known in education. Too many people stirring the education pot have made for a turbulent few years, full of disorientation […]

‘Never look where their hands are pointing’: The hidden parts of the white paper

Never look where their hands are pointing. A childhood obsessed with magicians teaches you that, but it’s also true for politicians. Never look where their hands are pointing: it’s always a distraction. With that in mind the Schools Week team pored over the 128-page education white paper unveiled last Thursday pulling out every possible policy. […]

‘The national funding formula: an easy guide’

Few would argue with the merits of a national funding formula and a fairer distribution of the current quantum. There have been historic winners and losers in school funding and, while a move to a national formula will address this inequity, the challenge will be how we transition from one funding system to another in […]

‘Can inspectors rate a school in 20 minutes?’

Teachers and school leaders deserve more than a quick judgment from Ofsted teams. Inspectors should instead make positive and self-aware efforts to challenge and look beyond those instant impressions, says Gerald Haigh. Can HMI tell almost as soon as they arrive at a school just how good (or, presumably, bad) it is? That’s certainly the […]

Primary assessment: The exclamation issue has been skewed

When Ben Fuller wrote this article for Schools Week raising concerns over new requirements for exclamation sentences, it prompted a flurry of national media headlines. They included “Cripes! No exclamation allowed!” in the Sunday Times, and “Nonsense! Backlash over new school rules on exclamation marks” in The Telegraph. Schools Minister Nick Gibb even wrote his […]

‘Tread warily in this brave new academy world’

Teacher training needed reform. But are school-led routes the only solution? Accountability, parent power and the question of who controls schools all need to be addressed too – and soon Last week, I explained how the school-led system is stifled by a lack of true autonomy for school leaders, and is failing to improve education […]

White Paper: QTS shake up masks recruitment struggles

On June 27, 2012, the world sat down to enjoy a spectacular Olympic opening ceremony. Everyone was watching. Well, everyone except the Department for Education (DfE), who had picked their moment to drop a bombshell: teachers would no longer be required to work towards qualified teacher status (QTS). Nearly four years on and the winds […]