Letters to the editor

This week’s best responses from our readers

How to really drive efficiencies in schools, and what next after Ofsted legal action failure

Freddie Whittaker
Various
Opinion

There’s a sweet spot to be found in setting inspection consistency 

Achieving consistency is fraught with complexity, warns Steve Wren. Go too far and you can rinse insight from Ofsted…

Freddie Whittaker
Steve Wren
Opinion

Teachers must call pupils in, not out, on conspiracy theories  

While teachers need training in how to react, they should meet conspiratorial claims with curiosity, not judgment, says Helena…

Freddie Whittaker
Helena Brothwell


Opinion

Banning phones in schools is a lazy opt-out  

No one disagrees unfettered use of smartphones in schools is a bad thing, but indulging in a moral panic…

Freddie Whittaker
Hannah Carter
Opinion

Why we’ve got ‘stuck’ schools all wrong

Stuck schools often get a ‘hero’ leader, but there are much better solutions, argues Seamus Murphy

Freddie Whittaker
Seamus Murphy
Curriculum

The curriculum review isn’t ‘dumbing down’ – it’s levelling up

Critics claiming the curriculum review ‘dumbs down’ Gove’s education reforms are way off the mark, says Sir Hamid Patel…

John Dickens
Sir Hamid Patel
Parental leave

Some schools have cracked parental leave – so why can’t everyone? 

Education leaders must take note of a parliamentary debate last week on maternity and paternity pay, says Emma Sheppard

John Dickens
Emma Sheppard
Inclusion

Ofsted says identify children previously in care. But how?

Ofsted’s new focus will ensure children previously known to social care become more visible – but schools need better…

John Dickens
Kiran Gill
Opinion

Why it’s time for a closer look at home-to-school transport

Ensuring pupils arrive at school ready to learn begins with the journey that gets them there

Freddie Whittaker
Vicky Davis

Must Read

Opinion

Note-taking is still king, but can AI help kids understand context?

If designed and used carefully, perhaps AI need not replace or diminish established learning practices, but can instead complement…

Freddie Whittaker
Dr Jake Hofman
Opinion

Parents have huge confidence in schools, but they can see the system straining

Parents want to contribute constructively, but they also want national debates to reflect the realities they navigate every day

Freddie Whittaker
Fiona Forbes
Opinion

Pupils told us how school feels. Now we must act on what they say

The Department for Education’s newly published pupil experience data should stop all of us in our tracks

Freddie Whittaker
Cara Cinnamon

ITT

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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