Opinion | Schools Week

Opinion

Why we need to hear new voices in education

For a little under two decades as a teacher, I had never heard of, let alone attended, an education…

Expert Contributor

JANE MANZONE

Opinion

The last thing schools need is more structural change

School leaders want to focus on pedagogy, the curriculum and the purpose of education. Politicians, should not bog them…

Expert Contributor

JULIE MCCULLOCH

Opinion

What if it’s behaviour, not workload, that makes teachers leave?

Everyone knows the statistic: one in three teachers leaves in their first five years on the job. But what…

Laura McInerney

LAURA MCINERNEY

Opinion

How to incentivise schools to be more inclusive

What incentives are there for schools to be inclusive? Not many, says Anne Heavey, who has some suggestions on…

Expert Contributor

ANNE HEAVEY

Opinion

‘Low-cost’ schools are an experiment worth backing

Don’t knock “low-cost” schools – they have the potential to improve efficiency across the sector, says James Croft Affordable…

Expert Contributor

JAMES CROFT

Opinion

Headteachers have more power to discipline staff

Recently updated schools guidance will make it easier for headteachers to discipline staff for “inappropriate” behaviour outside the school…

Expert Contributor

GRAHAM BURNS

Opinion

Four finance mistakes academy trusts should avoid

Phillip Reynolds explains the big four finance rules academy trusts should be aware of The BBC’s screening of Panorama’s…

Phil Reynolds

PHILLIP REYNOLDS

Opinion

How can the government better support MATs?

With speculation rife that the national schools commissioner role might disappear, Michael Pain lays out what he thinks DfE…

Expert Contributor

MICHAEL PAIN

Opinion

Why inset days should be like a driving awareness course

Teachers should get excited about inset days – after all, they’re a luxury most professionals don’t get, says Karen Wespieser,…

Expert Contributor

KAREN WESPIESER

Must Read

Opinion: Accountability

Ofsted have wasted an opportunity for fundamental reform

The new framework is rushed and doesn’t deliver the change the sector needs. Bridget Phillipson must step in

JL Dutaut

Daniel Kebede

Labour’s first year

Six priorities for Bridget Phillipson’s second year at the helm

Labour has broadened the definition of success for schools. Here’s how it can now ensure everyone works towards this…

JL Dutaut

Liz Robinson

Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor, 5 September 2025

Schools Week’s legendary cartoonist hangs up his pen, perceptions of behaviour diverge, and a data disaster looms

JL Dutaut

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

JL Dutaut

David Spendlove

EXAMS

Exams

University clearing: How teachers can support students

All the important details school staff need to help youngsters through clearing this year

John Dickens

Sam Sykes

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

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