Opinion | Schools Week

Opinion: Policy

Oak: A liberating solution to workload and quality problems

Oak National Academy can be instrumental in meeting the post-Covid challenges of teacher burnout and weak curricula, writes Hamid…

JL Dutaut

Sir Hamid Patel

Governance

Governance: Avoiding the pitfalls of joining and forming MATs

Renewed interest in joining and forming MATs has seen a resurgence of old pitfalls, writes Emma Knights. These tips…

JL Dutaut

Emma Knights

Transgender rights

Why new ‘unofficial’ transgender pupil guidance is not fit for purpose

Sector organisations have tried to fill a gap in sector guidance regarding trans rights but left schools that rely…

JL Dutaut

Robin White

Support staff

Our demoralised and squeezed support staff deserve better

The sector, economy and wider society risk paying a high price for not properly rewarding support staff, says Christina…

John Dickens

Christina McAnea

Opinion: Workforce

Recruitment: Leaders can’t make do and mend this crisis

Recruitment and retention are no longer a distant problem affecting some, but a clear and present crisis for all…

JL Dutaut

Dan Cowling and Alex Russell

School improvement

Our schools are now a testbed for tackling systemic issues

AET is launching a platform that will share data and insights to drive improvement in its schools and beyond,…

JL Dutaut

Unity Jones

The Knowledge

Retention: School leadership matters more than you think

Pay and reduced working hours might help, but school leadership approaches are vital to help you to hold on…

JL Dutaut

Owen Carter

Opinion

Stereotypes limit our ideas of success for our pupils

Stereotypes about what success looks like – and for whom – lead us to narrow the curriculum in ways…

JL Dutaut

Alison Kriel

safeguarding

Safeguarding: Pressure on designated leads is alarming

A new survey reveals the toll of increasing demand on school safeguarding leads as the cost-of-living crisis bites, says…

JL Dutaut

Helen King

Must Read

Labour’s first year

We’ve laid the foundations. Now we build

Education secretary says her government’s work so far is just the beginning, and here’s what comes next …

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Bridget Phillipson

Labour’s first year

Engaging trusts is key to the opportunity mission’s success

Ministers have shown they can listen to the sector. More of that will be necessary as the details of…

JL Dutaut

Leora Cruddas

Labour’s first year

SEND: Hope still prevails, but Labour must learn to listen

Treating the specialist and alternative sectors as afterthoughts means ministers have missed chances to progress towards a more inclusive…

JL Dutaut

Dr Nic Crossley

ITT

Degree apprenticeships are key to increasing and diversifying recruitment

Work to deliver the new qualification should continue at pace to meet recruitment challenges by making teaching more accessible,…

JL Dutaut

Melanie Renowden

ITT

ITT: Which is the odd one out?

The deeply flawed ITT reforms are a threat to sustainable teacher supply for purely ideological purposes, writes David Spendlove

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David Spendlove

EXAMS

Exams

How sitting an exam re-affirmed my respect for our students

I still believe exams to be the best way of testing academic knowledge and understanding but they’re no bagatelle,…

JL Dutaut

James Handscombe

Exams

The number of penalties handed out to students caught cheating has risen for a second year

The stereotype that could be feeding exam anxiety

The ‘snowflake’ stereotype is damaging and unjustified, but a more pervasive idea may be perpetuating exam anxiety, says Stephen…

JL Dutaut

Stephen Caldwell

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