Which of these do you think will have most influence on a pupil’s A-level or GCSE grades this year? How hard they have worked. How intelligent they are. The grades their teachers predict. The results got by the pupils in the school last year. Correct answer: 4 In August GCSE and A-level pupils will be... Continue Reading →
Recruitment, Retention, Talent Spotting and Succession Planning are recurring themes for the #womened community, I have not been to an event in the last 5 years when this has not come up in conversation. A while back I attended a conference by the Guardian Education team who had published a report on their research into... Continue Reading →
There will be a number of consequences of the cancellation of GCSEs and A-levels. Firstly, there will be a vast number of 16 and 18-year-olds who are bored and idle between March and September. They are confined to their homes. Their schools may attempt to set work online. This is important because private schools need to justify... Continue Reading →
If you don’t “get” this, you won’t be able to understand “that”. Schools are feeling the impact of curriculum and accountability reforms. There are heartfelt pleas for the future of the arts which are being squeezed out to make space for subjects included in accountability measures. There is also a decline within subject provision. Science... Continue Reading →
How can we align our Early Career Teachers offers across groups of schools? Crossing the boundary from being a school leader to working in teacher training in a Higher Education Institution has challenged my perspective on many things including how we train our teachers and who trains them. Throughout my career I have volunteered to... Continue Reading →
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 →
