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22 May 2026

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Opinion

Randomly allocating places in over-subscribed schools is the fairest option

As parents find out if their child will go to their preferred secondary school, Alastair Thomson considers what governors can do to stop lengthy appeals. Each year schools get a hard lesson about how they are perceived when parents express preferences for where their daughter or son should be educated. Eight years ago I was […]

‘No excuses’ is not a solution for angry teens

Insisting disadvantage can be fixed with a traditional academic curriculum and a strong dose of discipline is not engaging with the issue. That method did nothing for my sister, and it will do nothing for others like her, says Kiran Gill Last term there was a predictable exam hullabaloo when school GCSE data was published. […]

Does anyone know how many teachers we need?

There is a crisis in recruitment, not helped by low pay, the tangled and defragmented employment process and the Department of Education massaging the figures. And there’s no sign that this shortage will improve Teacher vacancies have rocketed, with more and more teachers employed without a degree in their subject and more and more leaving […]

The seven deadly sins of executive headship

Taking on the role requires a new set of skills. It’s easy to lose the personal touch you had before, but to move on you need to abandon what you previously held on to in order to grow and develop. Toby and Russell look at the perks and pitfalls of the role and how to […]

Education bill: Who will pay the bills as academies are passed around between trusts?

With the late inclusion of academies and free schools in new coasting schools legislation, schools could be passed around like Premiership footballers, leading to worries over costs, warns Phil Reynolds. The government has been very clear in their vision to ensure that school performance is not ‘coasting’ and their target to make every school in […]

Primary assessments a mess? Unions should propose a radical alternative

The schools sector is up in arms about primary assessments – both baseline and the standardised tests. I deliberately use the word “sector”. Teachers, school leaders, parents, unions, assessment providers: everyone is furious. One way to deal with late information and daft processes is a boycott. Get teachers to refuse to carry out the tests. […]

Morgan’s primary assessment video misses the point

Education secretary Nicky Morgan has released a video to explain the government’s plans for primary assessments. Brian Lightman has watched it, and has some thoughts. I watched Nicky Morgan’s video about the new primary assessments with great interest. It was helpful to receive a clear explanation of the government’s rationale in implementing these tests. The message of this video […]

Is having a go at northern schools part of Michael Wilshaw’s job description?

Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw yesterday criticised schools in the north west – but was he within his remit to do so?   I obsess about a few things. Clean and dry kitchen worktops, how to perfectly poach an egg (I’m a cling-film strategy guy and don’t mind split infinitives) and, more recently, brilliant job […]

Key Stage 1 changes take writing back to the 19th Century

I attended a briefing by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) on February 5 for local authority leaders of statutory moderation of writing (key stages 1 and 2). This briefing revealed to us for the first time some of the specific requirements of the writing that, in a few months’ time, we will be examining […]