Tom Bennett | Schools Week

DfE reveals new behaviour taskforce

The government has unveiled its new taskforce to help schools tackle unruly behaviour. The six advisers (see list below) will join the government’s behaviour tsar Tom Bennett in supporting 20 lead schools with ‘exemplary behaviour’ to help others tackle classroom disruption. Education secretary Gavin Williamson said the £10 million programme, announced in August, would “give […]

Why education’s ‘trads’ are actually the true progressives

You can deny the debate all you like, says Tom Bennett, but sticking your fingers in your ears won’t make it go away When I began to teach, I was as unaware of the ideological framework I existed within as a fish is of water. It was progressivism, the famously child-centred educational philosophy that had […]

Silent corridors: what’s all the fuss about?

In response to recent heated debates over the use of silent corridors in schools, Tom Bennett wonders what all the fuss is about A nation erupted as it was revealed last week that a school had been found guilty of child torture on a systematic scale last seen in the poorhouses of Oliver Twist. Please […]

Minister slams academics who won’t engage with researchED

Schools minister Nick Gibb has slammed academics refusing to engage with researchED, an international project that aims to make teachers research-literate. Speaking at researchED’s fifth annual national conference at Chobham Academy in Stratford, Gibb pulled no punches in criticising those who have shunned the project. “It’s a shame some would rather stay in their ivory […]