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1 June 2026

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Opinion

More a quiet gathering than a party…

It was steady as it goes at the three main party conferences this year with education ministers signalling their intentions to reduce structural change The party conferences had one element in common this year when it came to education – an emerging sense of stability in a sector in which there has been significant reform […]

Reflecting on the 2014 party conference season

What can we learn about the future of education from the party conference season? Little of substance I’m afraid. Nicky Morgan got the best joke – ‘Nick Gibb – so good they appointed him twice’ – although I did like Tristram’s ‘continuity Gove’ jibe. Of course, politicians are extraordinarily grateful to teachers. The Conservatives are […]

Three days of stalking David Laws: Lib Dem Conference round-up

In politics there’s a thin line between ‘boring’ and ‘professional’. Over the four days of Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, however, the Schools Minister – David Laws – somehow managed to be both. I knew entering his final session – a Ministerial Q&A – that there would likely be little of note for teachers. A […]

How can we encourage more teachers to step up to become headteachers?

Rising workloads, stress levels and the pressures of greater accountability are deterring aspiring leaders from applying for headship posts Would you want to be a head teacher? Like most of the heads of year, assistant heads and others that we asked recently, the answer is probably no. Of over 1000 people who completed the National […]

Teachers need the time to get out more

Excessive workloads are preventing teachers from spending time on activities that would make them better at their jobs Education is enough of a national concern that there is no shortage of organisations arranging meetings and conferences about different aspects of the subject. Being addicted to Twitter has allowed me to keep up with much of […]

Can ‘apps’ help schools communicate better?

There are encouraging signs that the new education secretary is interested in the potential of technology to improve learning outcomes. The use of technology to improve learning has been a hot topic for governments past and present. Almost four years after taking office Michael Gove opened the inaugural meeting of the Education Technology Action Group […]

Liberal Democrat Party conference preview

Each week during the political conference season we will be inviting a commentator to give their views on what education policies they wish to see announced. Party conferences are odd occasions. Remnants of a previous age, in which political mass-engagement was the norm, they are now attended by a fraction of the population and for […]

Morgan’s Priorities & No-Thunder Boles: Day One Round-Up of Conservative Conference

The prevailing view among political commentators is that education isn’t a major issue for this election. If that’s true, the Conservative ministerial team aren’t letting it show. They have a battle narrative and are willing to use it. In an event jointly hosted by teaching unions NUT and ATL, junior edu-minister Sam Gyimah showed how […]