teacher training | Schools Week

Don’t think before you speak, all-male panel told at WomenEd

Male education leaders have been encouraged to stop worrying about “saying the wrong thing” and to join a growing number of men promoting gender equality in the sector. WomenEd, a campaign group set up to tackle the disproportionate number of women headteachers, hosted its first all-male panel at its second annual conference on Saturday. The […]

Reputation matters: How to do PR as a school

Issues management should be as much a part of forward planning in schools and trusts as the annual prospectus, says Elin de Zoete. Many moons ago business magnate Warren Buffett said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it”… and that was before the days of lightning-quick social media. […]

£70m government-funded careers company insists it has ‘achieved a lot’

The Careers and Enterprise Company will do more to support and train teachers, its chief executive has said after criticism of the organisation’s use of public money. Claudia Harris has denied that the CEC, which now has 25 full-time staff and 13 contractors, is turning into a quango, and insists it has “achieved a lot” […]

Teacher transfer window: Why can’t we fill our vacancies 365-days-a-year?

The idiosyncratic “teacher transfer windows” model is failing schools and teachers. Notice periods for teachers should come into line with those of the private sector, says Frank Norris. The football transfer window, an agreed period of time when players can transfer from one club to another, has closed for another four months. These two artificial […]

10 ways to make workload less of a challenge

Russell Hobby and Professor Toby Salt explore what more the government can do about teacher workload and what practical steps teachers and senior leaders can take to lessen the load. Despite good intentions and warm words, teacher workload is not under control. Agencies such as Ofsted do their best to tackle myths about expectations, like […]

First step of teaching apprenticeships signed off

A group of schools hoping to create a fully vocational pathway to qualified teacher status (QTS) has passed its first hurdle after the government approved its plans for a new apprenticeship for teaching assistants. The framework, drawn up by 11 schools in Buckinghamshire and the West Midlands and first revealed by Schools Week in January, […]

What makes a great middle leader?

Middle leadership is under-researched, but there are steps heads of department can take to make their departments run efficiently, write Sam Baars and Andy Buck This summer, teachers around the country will be preparing to step into new roles. Many will be taking their first step into management as Heads of Department, a role that is often overlooked […]

Report reveals formula for producing best middle leaders

Think tank LKMco has today published the findings of an in-depth investigation into the key characteristics of effective middle leaders. Researchers analysed the leadership competency self-assessments of fellows from the charity Teaching Leaders and also interviewed scores of middle leaders (heads of year and heads of departments) to inform their findings. Report author Sam Baars has also […]

Teacher training figures: School-led routes soar while bursary subjects produce least teachers

The government’s favoured school-led teacher training routes accounted for nearly half of all trainees last year, figures released today have revealed. Initial teacher training statistics for 2014-15, released by the Department for Education (DfE) this morning, found school-led routes have the best pass rates, while subjects with large bursaries produce the lowest number of newly-qualified teachers, The statistics […]