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26 April 2026

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Opinion

‘How the new SEND statement replacements work’

A new special educational needs (SEN) system has been in place for more than a year. But have the changes been positive? Laxmi Patel gives them a broad thumbs up – but warns that cuts are taking their toll 1. More involvement from children, young people and families The new system puts children and young people […]

‘Can I fail Ofsted if a child I teach goes to fight in Syria?’

Despite Ofsted’s changes to the framework, we are already doing what we can – and how is this new duty imposed on us any different to what went before? This week I received more than 50 emails trying to sell me things for our school – 15 of them related to radicalisation, extremism or the […]

Let’s give Ofsted’s short inspections two cheers (for now)

The lighter-touch regime is a welcome move, but why is the chief inspector still obsessing over pupils being well behaved and showing respect when finding after finding shows this is the norm in the vast majority of schools? Sir Michael Wilshaw, Ofsted’s chief inspector is right to point out that since September 2015 it has […]

Would you teach differently if there was a gun at your head?

Do our current teaching methods always achieve the goals we hope for – and if not, why not? It’s time to plan with the intention of securing long term retention I sighed as I looked through the GCSE mock exam scripts. I thought to myself: “It’s not my fault some struggled. What can you do? […]

‘Schools Week hasn’t done the maths on commas’

It isn’t unreasonable to expect an 11-year-old to use a comma as a thousands separator – this is a policy that has been made clear since the sample tests were published in July 2015 I am under no illusion that year 6 teachers have an extra challenge this year preparing for the new Key Stage […]

‘Talking down the job of a headteacher stops people doing it’

Being a headteacher is a tough job: but it is also a brilliant one. Let’s talk up the positives and encourage the best senior leaders to take on the challenge. It is true that being a headteacher is not an easy task, and that’s not surprising: you have hundreds of young people in your care, […]

Top tips for dealing with criticism as an education leader

Education leaders in the limelight often attract criticism and negative attention. How do they stand it? And what techniques can you use if facing the same problem? Former teacher turned PR specialist Janet Murray reveals all. If you are in the public eye – and most education organisations and leaders are – there is something […]

Teachers won’t welcome an ‘apprenticeship’ route into the classroom

Last week we had a poke at Nicky Morgan for being in slow-motion. Slo-Mo, we nicknamed her, and said she needed to get her skates on with some reforms. But, like the headteacher who says at 2.30pm on Friday that “things are remarkably quiet today” inevitably finds herself confronted with a fight five minutes later, […]