teacher training | Schools Week

Bradford school stabbing: “Response must be proportional to risk”

The news that another teacher has been stabbed sent shudders up my spine. Last year, Ann Maguire became the first teacher to die at the hands of a pupil in a school for nearly 20 years. Fortunately, schools are among the safest of public places but incidents do happen. As I know to my own […]

Education research: The intractable problems

One of the more curious aspects of our profession is the way in which knowledge about what makes effective practice has been created and disseminated to its own practitioners. We are I think, singularly myopic in this regard. Education research has traditionally been one-way traffic. Research has been something done to teachers and not something […]

Measure teacher quality: not student results

An overreliance on standardised data undermines our efforts to keep schools improving. If we really want to help our pupils then the best thing we can do is make sure that the people educating them also have the chance to keep on learning I recently completed a strategic review for one of the largest academy […]

Embracing my dyslexia makes me a better teacher

Tasks such as writing and alphabetising can be time-consuming and tricky, but children learn more helpful lessons when we are honest about the challenges we face in life than when we try to conceal them What is it like to be a teacher with dyslexia? I have been staring at that question for 20 minutes […]

Why there is an ‘invisible’ quality to education

There is much more behind an academic grade than a child’s computational capacity or his mastery of the 3Rs (to receive, remember and regurgitate) on a given day. It also includes his character traits and attitudes to learning, his creativity, his motivation, his levels of curiosity Many elements of teaching and learning remain hidden. The […]

Taking control of our own development

The future challenges of the education system almost all revolve around capacity. How will we create enough school places, attract and retain good teachers and encourage bold leaders? All in a period of budget cuts, growing pupil numbers and recruitment difficulties. There is a serious risk of governments – and the profession if it responds […]

Beware! Live streaming ahead

Filming that special lesson to share with others seems a good idea. But it’s not that simple; you will need to think about safeguarding, privacy laws and the need for parents’ permission You can “live stream” at the click of a button these days. Apps such as Periscope and Meerkat are becoming more commonplace in […]

Vocational qualifications don’t need more ‘rigour’

Despite the many flaws, teachers must act with integrity when delivering and assessing the constantly changing BTECs The BTEC qualification causes many anxieties for many teachers. It is perpetually changing, not least because of the desire of consecutive education secretaries to “bring more rigour” to vocational education. There are some egregious faults as a result […]

‘If I were education secretary…’

Over the past few years, there has been a grassroots professional rejection of bogus ideas within education, coupled with a wellspring of enthusiasm for more credible alternatives. New ideas — such as direct instruction, spaced and massed practice, curriculum sequencing, and mastery learning — are gaining popularity amongst certain teachers and schools. However, the 65 […]