Patrick Watson is Managing Director of Montrose Public Affairs Consultants and EdCentral's resident policy and research expert.

Do you know your free schools from your academies? Here’s our guide to secondary schools in England

We've all been there – you know you should know how academies and free schools differ, but since it doesn't make the daily grind of planning, assessment and teaching any easier, you have never had a moment to get your head around it. Our latest instalment of the bite size policy digest gives you a brief overview of all the different types of second...
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Progess 8 and Attainment 8: an overview

What are they? Up until 2016, all students and schools were measured on how many good GCSE's they achieved at A*- C, including English and mathematics. In October 2013, the government announced that a new secondary school accountability system would be implemented from 2016. It included two new headline measures, Attainment...
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The importance of teaching knowledge (not just skills)

As much of the world clamoured to define the term "21st-century skills" and explain how teachers could instill them in their pupils, Daisy Christodoulou took a step back. In her 2013 book Seven Myths About Education, she identified, addressed and subsequently demolished seven assumptions that pervade teacher training and classroom practice but don'...
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Facilitating subjects are more important than ever – but what are they?

"I want Britain to be a place where advantage is based on merit, not privilege. Where it's your talent and hard work that matter, not where you were born, who your parents are or what your accent sounds like." When prime minister Theresa May set out her vision for Britain in September 2016, social mobility was high on the agenda. Educators often fi...
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What is pedagogy and why does it matter?

 The quality of the teaching workforce and the teaching practice in classrooms is one of the biggest levers we have for improving student outcomes. Even after accounting for prior student learning and family background, research suggests that teacher quality is an important factor in student achievement. So, it follows, that energy, resources ...
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