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23 June 2026

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Opinion

Andy Burnham and the too-vague really-lame education policy

“I will restore a local role in overseeing schools, rejecting the growing market of free schools and academies.” That’s it. That’s Andy Burnham’s big school vision as outlined in his manifesto. He will restore a local role in overseeing schools and new schools will not be academies. What a weird thing to pledge. For a […]

My school put in an email curfew and has reaped the benefits

Education secretary Nicky Morgan has suggested teachers should not respond to work emails after 5pm in a bid to cut down on their workload. Unions have already hit back at the suggestion, claiming Ms Morgan is “delusional”. Here, Mark Steed, principal of independent Berkhamsted School explains how an email curfew has changed the culture at […]

‘Sponsorship is not a cure all for improving coasting schools’

Professor Becky Francis gives us her view on academies and the new “coasting schools” definition, in light of the report she co-authored for the Sutton Trust. Since its inception in 2000, the size of the academies programme has increased dramatically. Five years ago there were about 200 academies, today there are well over 4,000. With […]

“Pupil mental health cannot be ignored”

News that pupil mental health is school leaders’ number one wellbeing-related concern is, unfortunately, not a surprise to me. Faced with daily concerns about the wellbeing of the children and young people they work with, headteachers, deputies, pastoral leads and all staff are asking themselves what can be done to address this issue, especially in […]

Peer mentoring as an alternative to exclusion

Tutors of school-leaving age can help to unlock hidden potential in pupils excluded from mainstream education In the face of ever-changing goals schools are having to run just to keep up. They are (rightly) judged for the continuous improvements of their students – and there is nowhere more difficult to achieve this than in alternative […]

Reporting on students’ religious views will squash classroom debate

The new powers of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act asks teachers to report on their students’ religious views as a matter of national security. This will squash open debate, free speech and political dissent, making schools fearful places for many pupils, says David Lundie Academics and community leaders roundly criticised the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act […]

Top tips on LGBT-inclusive sex education

LGBT young people too often miss out on vital information and support at school. Inclusive sex and relationships education (SRE) can help to remedy their isolation All young people should have access to high quality, age-appropriate sex and relationships education (SRE) in school. But all too often this isn’t the case and LGBT young people […]

Why teachers may find it more difficult to strike

Consultation on the Trades Union Reform Bill opened this week, giving the government time to calculate where public opinion lies and whether it really does have the support to push ahead It’s worth remembering that this is not the launch of the actual bill, it’s simply the opening of a consultation (which ends on September […]

“Nobody is forcing any teacher to sign up with a recruitment agency”

Following concerns reported by Schools Week that recruitment agencies were fuelling the teacher shortage by “hoovering up” job seekers and then offering them to schools for thousands of pounds. Below, Darryl Mydat is Managing Director of TLTP Education (The London Teaching Pool) presents the case for the other side. Comments reported from the recent Westminster […]