You are using the web browser we don't support. Please upgrade or use a different browser to improve your experience.
"icon arrow top"

Blog

Update yourself with the latest news for both job seekers and recruiters alike.

  • Does setting by ability disadvantage students?

    By Mark Richards, 24 Jan 2020

    Grouping classes by prior attainment and ability is standard practice in most secondary schools. Many teachers will have plenty of experience of teaching classes that are set in this way, especially in core subjects. Of course, the question of whether this type of setting is the best way to...

  • DfE plans a crackdown on poor behaviour

    By Mark Richards, 24 Jan 2020

    Although nothing has been confirmed as yet, it’s fair to say that we have now entered a period of unofficial General Election campaigning. And with the new Prime Minister intent on asserting his domestic agenda, accusations of electioneering and election gimmickry have been flying around the...

  • Is It Possible to Create a Bully-Free School?

    By Ryan Crawley, 24 Jan 2020

    Never has the topic of bullying in schools been more focused on in history than right now at this moment. However, it appears that bullying has never been more prevalent in history either than right at this moment. There are so many more avenues now where students can seek out and bully other...

  • How can teachers support one another without doing more work?

    By Alan Peters, 24 Jan 2020

    Teaching can be a lonely job. Which is surprising, given that we spend most of our working day in contact with others. But where teaching is unusually stressful is that we work in periods of high intensity, followed by spells of relative calm. That is tiring and can lead us to dwell on problems...

  • Addressing the Learning Gap – What Can Teachers Do?

    By Alan Peters, 24 Jan 2020

    Anybody heard of Steve Strand? He’s a very clever chap, an Oxford professor invited by the Government to produce the catchily entitled ‘Ethnicity, Deprivation and Educational Achievement … (plus twenty-four other multi-syllabled words.)’ It is a dense, depressing read. Like a kind of black...

  • What do young people really want from their education?

    By Mark Richards, 24 Jan 2020

    In business, as the old adage says: ‘the customer is always right’. In education, this is most certainly not the case. In fact, children, pupils – the customers – get far less say than any of the other stakeholders in education. The government, teachers, and parents (to a certain extent) hold...

  • The rise of xenophobic bullying in UK schools

    By Mark Richards, 24 Jan 2020

    It’s probably the case that the last thing you want to read right now is another Brexit-related article. However, it’s hard to ignore ‘The ‘B’ Word’ these days. Virtually everything seems to be connected to Brexit in one way or another. One of the most disturbing Brexit-related issues since 2016...

  • GCSE results expose unfairness to disadvantaged pupils

    By Mark Richards, 24 Jan 2020

    Coinciding with the week that this year’s GCSE results were published, the results of a new investigation commissioned by Teach First have also been released. The study was an exploration of the difference in GCSE results attained by pupils who attend schools in England’s poorest communities and...

  • Do bad exam results mean you are a bad teacher?

    By Mark Richards, 24 Jan 2020

    As the dust settles - at least from the point of view of the media - on another year’s set of exam results; for many the reviews, reflections and repercussions have only just begun. Yes, GCSE and A level exam results are important. They can dictate the path a young person takes next. But exam...

  • How to Improve Curriculum Delivery in Your School?

    By Ryan Crawley, 24 Jan 2020

    Have you ever experienced a teacher that obviously knew their subject matter, could have even been considered a genius on the topic, but their delivery of the curriculum was as dry as toast? I had many teachers like this from back when I was a student and I usually tuned them out within the first...