EdBlogs

The Department for Education (DfE) says: 'children and young people's mental health is a priority for the Department and we recognise the importance of supporting parents and schools to help children use social media safely.' (17 October 2016). Information To provide information to parents (and teachers) who are concerned about mental health DfE fu...

As of January 2016, there were 236,805 pupils in Englandwith a statement of special educational needs (SEN) or an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. This is an increase of 640 from 2015 – and equates to 2.8% of the total pupil population. Schools are still coming to terms with huge policy changes in this area. Following on from the Equalities A...

Research shows that in a number of settings – such as hospitals and universities – there is a correlation between the 'expert knowledge' of the leader and organisational performance. In their 2015 paper, A Theory Exploring How Expert Leaders Influence Performance in Knowledge-Intensive Organizations, Amanda Goodall and Agnes Bäker digest research o...

A recent Twitter conversation about the advantages and disadvantages of headteachers having a teaching commitment made me thoughtful. I was a head for 30 years and taught each class of year 7 one English lesson every week throughout this time. I was paired with the English teacher who taught them for the rest of the time. If I had to be out of...

Teacher Katherine Birbalsingh received a standing ovation at the 2010 Conservative Party Conference, when she said: "The [education] system is broken because it keeps poor children poor." She went on to condemn a "culture of excuses, of low standards"; "the chaos of our classrooms"; and a "sea of bureaucracy". Birbalsingh has since regretted her co...