Birbalsingh, tiger teachers and the Michaela way

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...

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‘Diversity is dire in education’ – the grassroots campaign bringing change to the face of school leadership

"I spend every working day with children, parents, teacher and leaders from a range of different backgrounds, and until they are able to pass through professional and educational life without needing to contemplate being disadvantaged by their skin colour, their culture or their religion, there is a pressing need for #BAMEed." Jonny Walker, Assista...

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Benchmarking against the best in the world

"Instead of comparing ourselves with the past, we should compare ourselves with the best"               by Michael Gove (2010) Politicians and the media have long taken an interest in the results of the two main cross-national comparative studies of pupil achievement – The Programme for International Student ...

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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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Do smaller class sizes really improve student outcomes?

While it might feel like having fewer pupils in your class would help you make more progress, there is strangely little hard evidence that reducing class sizes consistently improves student attainment. It's not just teachers who gravitate towards a leaner classroom; reducing class sizes is extremely appealing to parents and one of the main attracti...

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