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26 April 2026

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Opinion

The recruitment crisis won’t be solved by an ad campaign

The ongoing teacher recruitment crisis took a new turn earlier this week with the government launching an ad campaign to draw more people into the profession. This was widely criticised by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) who suggest the advert not only creates false expectations of teachers’ salaries but will do little to reduce […]

Ofsted’s Michael Wilshaw praised primaries – but missed some important points

Ofsted’s Chief Inspector had positive words for primary schools in his first monthly address – but was it as genuine as it seemed? It’s difficult to judge whether Sir Michael Wilshaw’s first written monthly commentary is in praise of primary schools, as he claims, or really an attack on secondary schools. Those of us in […]

‘It’s essential that governors are paid for their work’

Education is simply too important to be left in the hands of volunteers as their commitment is sanctioned purely by the extent of their own goodwill Of all the proposals to reform school governance the one that attracts the most ire is the idea that governors should be paid. It undermines the principle of volunteering […]

How to boost flagging teacher recruitment

School leaders and policymakers can do simple, practical things to ensure schools have the quality workforces they need Why Teach?, our recent report published with Pearson, uncovered the top job attractions for teachers across the country. Forty per cent of those we spoke to told us that they first considered the commute from their home […]

Education without heart (and human rights) is no education at all

Children are taught numeracy and literacy at the expense of an all-important holistic education. As Aristotle said centuries ago: “Education of the head without education of the heart, is no education at all” In 2013, I embarked on a journey that took me right into the heart of darkness. I was impelled by the impassioned […]

‘It’s cushy to be a male primary school teacher’

A Y-chromosome makes male teachers instantly visible in a primary schools. It also benefits them enormously; they are over-represented as school leaders while women are over-represented as cleaners, midday assistants, teaching assistants and dinner ladies. I could produce for you a salacious moan-rant about how hard it is being a man in a female-dominated profession […]

You’re not the ‘mastery’ of me

The masculine narrative of current education reformers won’t lead to freedom. It is infiltrating teachers’ consciousness; changing perceptions of who they are as teachers, what they stand for and what they do. I wrote a blog a few weeks ago about the rise of a peculiarly masculine narrative within British education. Not everyone liked it. […]

‘No one agrees on anything in education – can we sort that out, please?’

Planning an education conference led Heidi Williams to question whether ever-shifting policy at the whim of ministers was really best for the nation’s children. In media partnership with Schools Week, the Politics in Education Summit will consider, could there be a better way?   My background is as an organiser of Summits. At these events […]

Baseline assessments are an impossible idea

From next year, an approved reception baseline assessment will be the only accepted way of measuring how well a primary school’s pupils have progressed to Year 6. Thousands of heads, however, are declining to participate Over the years I have learned, on arrival at a wedding reception, to reconnoitre the best escape route (“My dear, […]