A beginner’s guide to: Katharine Birbalsingh

Best known for: Appointed Chair of the Social Mobility Commission in October 2021, Katharine Birbalsingh first shot to fame following a speech she delivered at the 2010 Conservative Party Conference. Her heated rhetoric drew a lot of abuse on social media, and the nature of her sentiment apparently led the governors of the school she was ...

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A beginner’s guide to Professor Dylan Wiliam

Best known for: Wiliam was as the face of BBC2's 2011 documentary series on teaching techniques, The Classroom Experiment, but fame in the world of education research came from Inside the Black Box, his research collaboration with Paul Black. This short paper offered teachers practical, evidence-based advice on how to improve pupil learning through...

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Harvard international student ban: What it could mean for global higher education

The ongoing legal battle surrounding Harvard University's ability to enroll international students has cast a long shadow over the future of higher education in the United States. This dramatic move by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which revoked Harvard's certification to sponsor international students citing non-compliance with federal...

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Too many school governors just don’t put the effort in

"Can we make these reports a bit shorter? I didn't read it."  Carol, a recent addition to our governing board, peered expectantly at the chair while the rest of us looked something between aghast and infuriated. The chair faltered in surprise while Mr Frank, the careers advice lead – who had spent hours of his own time writing the report, on e...

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How can school leaders look after their wellbeing?

When you have a leadership position within a school, at any level, there are two aspects of wellbeing that need your attention: your own, and that of those you lead. The two are related: if you do not safeguard your own wellbeing, you are less likely to be fully professionally effective, and you are not modelling the approach to wellbeing you want ...

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