Opinion | Schools Week

Schools white paper

White paper: the all-MAT system needs governance buy-in

Governors and trustees still have valid reservations about large MATs, writes Emma Knights, and the white paper must account…

JL Dutaut

Emma Knights

Oracy

The schools white paper must have oracy at its heart

We are now one year on from schools returning in full after the Covid lockdowns. But we are yet…

JL Dutaut

Emma Hardy and Geraint Davies

The Knowledge

Are closed questions enough for national curriculum tests?

Open and closed questions both have their advantages and drawbacks, write Katie Colwill and Philippa Green, and there are…

JL Dutaut

KATIE COLWILL and PHILIPPA GREEN

Racism

Reconciling schools and artists after the Clanchy controversy

Controversy mustn’t hinder children’s access to artists in our schools, writes Bennie Kara, but we must balance artistic freedom…

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Bennie Kara

ITT

New DfE data shows a stark drop in undergrad teacher trainees gaining QTS last year

What next for an ECF that is already failing new teachers and mentors?

Halfway through its first year, the ECF has already become a straitjacket, writes Sam Strickland, but its promise can…

JL Dutaut

SAM STRICKLAND

Exams

Exams: is there an alternative to ‘back to normal’?

Schools may be relieved to recover a sense of normality, write Mick Waters and Tim Brighouse, but there are…

JL Dutaut

Tim Brighouse and Mick Waters

The Knowledge

What do schools need to level up literacy post-Covid?

We all understand how important it is that we support and encourage our children to read for pleasure. The…

JL Dutaut

LOUISE JOHNS-SHEPHERD

Energy costs

Rising energy costs are a teachable moment for the sector

The unregulated energy market within which schools operate leaves them vulnerable, writes Tim Warneford, but with vision and some…

JL Dutaut

TIM WARNEFORD

Community

Schools should be better prepared to deal with collective trauma

Senseless violence scarred our community and has taken years to heal, writes Chris Upton. We need better systems to…

JL Dutaut

CHRIS UPTON

Must Read

Opinion: CPD

Labour must usher in a new era of professional empowerment

Labour’s teacher training entitlement is key to delivering its opportunity mission. Here’s what needs to happen to deliver on…

JL Dutaut

Loic Menzies

Opinion: Policy

Labour’s bill could tie schools to inequity through uniform

The government’s well-intentioned policy on school uniform could be undermined by failing to grasp its broader interplay with inclusion

JL Dutaut

14h

Caroline Barlow and Tess Howard

14h

Opinion: Policy

The House of Lords must protect academy freedoms

Hopes lie with peers that they can prevent the worst of this bill’s foreseeable consequences – and its…

JL Dutaut

Meg Powell-Chandler

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,…

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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…

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Stephen Caldwell

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