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26 April 2026

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Opinion

The inspectors can’t make 102 school judgments AND worry about governors

The new governance section in the School Inspection Handbook is more helpful and realistic for governors than it is for inspectors Over the summer Ofsted has helpfully modified the section of its School Inspection Handbook dealing with governance, clarifying and extending its draft version in response to feedback. While this is commendable, a major question needs answering: […]

Can Corbyn get his way on comprehensives?

How will Jeremy Corbyn’s unwavering commitment to cull the 11-plus and the remaining grammar schools work, politically and practically speaking, now that he has become leader? For starters, it will mean a chance – at last – of starting a national conversation about the extent and reality of selection in England in the 21st century […]

Independent schools do change lives

The abolition of the assisted places scheme and grammar system has contributed to a decline in social mobility As the headmistress of an independent girls’ secondary school, it might be reasonable to expect criticism from those who probably have never had first-hand experience of life in an independent school. But we shouldn’t shirk issues for […]

Put the students’ interests at your school’s core

Social mobility is something that all educators aim for, but there are things that you need to consider first Beware the American dream It simply isn’t true that anyone can be anything they want in life, so long as they work for it. We must encourage young people to set their goals high, but our […]

Is the teacher shortage real?

One question has plagued the Schools Week office for months: how can every school leader say they are battling a recruitment crisis, and yet we can’t see any statistical evidence of it? Even worse: we can’t see any reason for it. And without that, we haven’t a hope of investigating solutions. So, over the summer […]

Advancing with the tsars

Since Nicky Morgan took the office of education secretary she has appointed several experts, lovingly named tsars by the headline-writers, and convened a plethora of working groups tasked with creating a specific product. Keeping track of the groups, though, is proving tricky. With at least two delayed, three yet to declare members, and a new […]

Changes in the Financial Handbook for Academies

The focus this year is on transparency, with the 2015 handbook seeking to bring in new rules to ensure academies spend public money wisely and fairly The annual Financial Handbook for Academies is rapidly becoming a rule book for the industry – and the 2015 edition contains several stand-out changes that need careful consideration. Here […]

How to switch to a cloud-based ICT system

The academies programme has shaken up schools’ traditional support systems, particularly in ICT. However, this reorganisation has created opportunities for the most innovative tick chains to cultivate new infrastructure models. Switching to a cloud-based system has revolutionised AET, the largest multi-academy trust With more than 45,000 staff and student users, our organisation has many challenges […]

Jeremy Corbyn: What does his Labour leadership mean for teachers?

There are those that cheer and those that look on stonily. But Jeremy Corbyn could provide the strong opposition to education policies that teachers need I was in a meeting of the Socialist Education Association when the news came that Jeremy Corbyn had been elected as Labour leader. The reaction was mixed. Those next to […]