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22 May 2026

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Opinion

SBMs now have the chance to shape their professional development

I spent much of this year visiting school business management (SBM) professionals across the country; from rural locations in Cornwall, Northumbria and Cumbria to conurbations in London, Birmingham and Manchester. There are some common challenges but each region has its own peculiarities. Differences include geography, culture, urban density, scarcity, economic performance, demographics and the political […]

The year the government remembered its duty of care

The end of Michael Gove’s reign as education secretary was the major educational event of the year. Most teachers and school leaders welcomed the departure of this most ideological of politicians. His successor, Nicky Morgan, moved quickly to repair relations with teachers and launched the workload challenge. Just in time before an election, the government […]

Are we really ready for the new, ‘more rigorous’ Maths GCSE?

The principles underlying the changes to GCSE maths are sound. But the practicalities are less so. For a start, where will all the extra teachers come from? When Michael Gove announced last November that maths GCSE was going to get tougher, I doubt many of us realised just how tough. From September, it will almost […]

Can you leave school when you turn 16?

Businesses benefit in all sorts of ways when they take on a young apprentice. It’s now financially easier too — and they can start the day they turn 16. Some kids are just not academically minded, it doesn’t interest them and they would rather be getting their hands into something practical. The kid may be […]

Do we need autism-specific schools?

All children and young people deserve an inclusive and fulfilling education. But mainstream schools are not always the answer for those with autism who must have access to a range of provision Autism is a spectrum condition so, while all children and young people with the lifelong disability share certain difficulties around social communication and […]

8 Things You Might Have Missed in Ofsted’s Annual Report

At 9.30am yesterday Michael Wilshaw launched Ofsted’s Annual Report. As ever, there were pre-arranged sound bites and heavily suggested take-away points. But if you dig down into the report (and its regional ones) there are a few extra nuggets that you may have missed.   1.Too many academies do not receive effective challenge and support […]

We need more pathways to higher technical skills

Pushing the academic path at the expense of technical education has stretched the link between education and the economy almost to breaking point In 1712, Thomas Newcomen installed the first commercial steam engine at Conygree coalmine in the West Midlands. It pumped 10 gallons of water per stroke from a shaft more than 50yd deep. […]

Should Ofsted police extremism?

Ofsted should be clear what constitutes extremism and how “British values” can be measured before inspectors start making judgments There is a new duty on college and schools to prevent individuals being drawn into terrorism; organisations repeatedly inviting extremist speakers or failing in this duty will need to respond to ministerial directions. The threat of […]

Why teachers are catching the Teachmeet bug

Some whole-school CPD can be misjudged, irrelevant and, often passive. Teachmeet provides the perfect antidote… Teachmeet comes in many guises. The first I attended was a gathering of 10 teachers in a classroom. At the second there were 60, this time on board HMS Victory in Portsmouth. However, both gatherings were defined by the very […]