Recently I visited the Flakesfleet Primary School situated in a social housing estate within the Fleetwood boundary. The town, once a noted fishing port, bears the signs of economic and geographical isolation. McNally (2019) COMMENTED: In recent decades Fleetwood has suffered a succession of setbacks which would have tested the fortitude of the most resilient... Continue Reading →
Ofqual has announced that all public exams this summer have been cancelled but grades will be awarded on the basis of other evidence. The details of how this will be done have not been announced at the time of writing, but we can guess how it might be done. How are they going to... Continue Reading →
Since pre-history, where grasses were twisted by hand to help to move large rocks and stones, humans have been making rope to aid and assist the pulling of goods. Ancient Egyptians used fibre from papyrus plants, but hemp, coir and sisal have since provided the tensile strength required for the job (as well as being... Continue Reading →
A bit of brain science There has been a great deal made of the implications of advances in brain science for schools. Too much probably, because experienced teachers will recognise that they were doing certain things long before ‘brain science’ told them to. Nevertheless, Ofsted now expects all teachers, tutors and mentors to know a... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago I was delighted to be asked to be the opening keynote for the inaugural Leadership Matters conference in Birmingham at the Think Tank, in the Millennium centre. I opened the day with a series of provocations about recruitment, staff development and retention: How do you recruit? We need to disrupt this... Continue Reading →
“In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection. —Plato” If we could identify an education subject that could enhance our... Continue Reading →
Invited to contribute to one of The Big Education’s ‘Big Conversations’ I was excited to join a stellar line up including Sir Tim Brighouse, Karen Giles and Nadine Bernard. Each speaker contributed a perspective on leadership which we all agreed should be underpinned by values, integrity and authenticity. However, we realised that in order to... Continue Reading →
All universities are required by the Office for Students to increase the proportion of students they take from ‘low participation’ areas. One of the main ways they do this is to flag up on applications the ‘Polar quintile’ the applicants live in. POLAR is an acronym which stands for Participation of Local Areas. The UK... Continue Reading →
Twenty years ago this week – on Indian Republic Day, 26 January 2000 – I wandered into the slums behind the Charminar, in the Old City of Hyderabad, and my life changed. Building on my PhD at what is now the UCL Institute of Education, I had become an expert on private education. Twenty years... Continue Reading →
