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26 April 2026

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Opinion

‘Health care asks patients to design its services, why don’t we ask pupils?’

Disengaged pupils can be reconnected to their learning by teachers will to take innovative approaches already seen in the health sector. But do schools have the time, funds and courage to try out these ideas? A year on from the launch of the coalition government’s “workload challenge”, the burden on teachers is still under scrutiny. […]

‘Partnering up is the future for academies’

In 2011, two thirds of primary academies were standalone – but by 2015 65 per cent were in a multi-academy trust. For many schools, outcomes have improved because they support each other The government’s academy programme is growing fast. Sixty five per cent of secondary schools and 18 per cent of primaries now operate outside […]

Here’s how to make the pupil premium work

We shouldn’t judge disadvantaged pupils purely by the academic achievements of students in the best schools, but if used well, the premium is the way to lift barriers to learning According to the Fabian Society, the number of children in poverty will increase from 2.5 million today to 4.4 million by Christmas 2030. Whether that […]

Academy contracts are not fit for purpose – so how do we change them?

Academies have been given different freedoms depending on when they signed a funding agreement or what they managed to negotiate with a government minister. Suggested reforms from an IPPR seminar would not threaten school autonomy. Instead they would allow the government to set out a more consistent set of freedoms — and help to reduce bureaucracy in […]

The truth behind the Ramadan exams saga

Over the past two weeks many stories have been written about exam dates changing to accommodate Ramadan. The stories often appear to contradict each other, and disagreement about what happened led to a spat between the Chief Inspector of Ofsted and the Chief (exams) Regulator over at Ofqual. This back-and-forth between people in power is […]

Teacher references: A classic moral hazard for schools

Schools and staff waste hours on references for departing teachers that at best can be described as ambiguous. Do you tell the truth (“we’ve been trying to get rid of him/her for some time”) or should you move to a standard reference form? I recommend her unreservedly; I commend him for your consideration; you would […]

What pupils are REALLY allowed to eat at school

Schools must follow food standards and provide free meals to all infants. But dig into those standards and you’ll find odd combinations of ingredients. And what about the children who bring in their own food? Who keeps an eye on what they eat? Do you like the meals at your school? I can remember going […]

The feminism A-level debacle shows how biased we are about ‘best thinkers’

Women have been thinking, campaigning and contributing to politics throughout history, just as men have. It is therefore self-evident that the A-level syllabus should reflect this You couldn’t make it up. The Department for Education revises the specification for A-level politics, somehow manages to reduce the prominence of women within the new syllabus, triggers an […]