Professional teams can make the agenda for change work, says Dr Nick Johnson OBE. read more
Ruth Bradbury outlines the cost of staff absence to schools and explains how a range of practical measures can help staff to maintain a better attendance record for the benefit of themselves and the school.
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Headteachers Anne Clarke and Annabelle Guyver analyse the benefits that trips abroad bring to participating pupils and to the staff leading them
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New rules call for closer cooperation between local authority and school, giving increased protection to children at risk, writes Ingrid Sutherland. read more
Casterton Business and Enterprise College (CEBC) is one of three truly comprehensive Rutland secondary schools with 800 pupils on role in Years 7-11. Here they outline their approach to communicating and working with parents
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Working to meet the standards laid down by Investors in People (IIP) is an effective way of raising standards and improving staff morale, argues former head Roger Smith. read more
Counselling is often touted as a solution to challenging behaviour and as a way of meeting needs that are beyond the scope of a school’s pastoral care mechanisms. But is it? Adrian King, independent health education consultant and qualified counsellor looks at what it can realistically deliver. read more
How can personalisation work in practice? Headteacher Paula Allen spoke to Bob Cox to explain how it’s done at Dorney Combined School.
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Involvement in European energy awareness projects can bring a multitude of benefits to the pupils and staff of schools, as well as to the planet, says headteacher David Dixon
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Working to promote a positive image for your school can be a powerful tool for school improvement and can provide a focus for staff efforts on many fronts, argues Brin Best, education writer and director of Innovation for Education Ltd. read more
Bringing school and community expectations into line with national priorities and targets is just one of the many challenges facing new heads. Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), charts the road to success. read more
Reticence to engage with parents on the part of schools can be deep-seated. Teachers may not be aware of the benefits that parents can bring to the learning experience and the students may not realise that they will benefit too. Julie McGrane looks at how parental engagement can be initiated and how schools can find the forms of engagement that work best
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No matter how watertight the contract with parents, schools must implement it correctly and fairly if they want removal of a pupil to be upheld, says Mark Blois
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New maternity and flexible working rights mean employers must brush up on the law, says Derek Eccleston
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A proposed change in the law would raise the legal age for purchasing tobacco. Peter Downes discusses the implications for schools. read more
Learners tend to have a narrow view of the relevance of the curriculum and their enjoyment of it decreases across the key stages. These are two of the key findings of an NfER review of the research on pupils’ experiences of and perspectives on the curriculum published in the UK between 1989 and 2005. read more
Graham Haydon argues that we must go beyond vague references to values. read more
Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), analyses the vital role an outgoing head has to play in the succession process. read more
Former headteacher Tim Small, a member of of ViTaL Partnerships, introduces some excerpts from his colleague Ruth Deakin Crick’s new book on learning power and the effective lifelong learning inventory (ELLI)
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Headteacher Trevor Bailey explains why Worle Community School and Westhaven Community Special School, both members of the Weston-Super-Mare Federation, have jointly entered the Trust School Pathfinder programme and what benefits he hopes becoming trust schools will bring. read more
Exclusion is now one of the main ways of dealing with extreme behaviour. Headteacher Suzanne O’Connell examines recent guidance and legislation on the subject. read more
Former headteacher Roger Smith examines the impact of performance management guidelines – in particular the changes to classroom observation – and how they can be made to work. read more
Until recently G&T education was piecemeal and largely ignored in Northern Ireland. David Ryan describes the start of a strategy for G&T education at Belfast’s Education and Library Board. read more
What does ‘extended school’ mean to politicians, teachers and parents and what will it mean for more able pupils? Deputy head Paul Ainsworth explains
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Casterton Business and Enterprise College (CBEC) is the hub of local learning, offering 11-16 education by day and a wide range of recreational and academic activities for young people and adults in the evenings and at weekends read more
A school with creativity at the heart of the learning process will benefit by increasing the motivation of staff and pupils, says former head, Dave Weston. In this article and case study, he shows the way to more imaginative approaches to curriculum planning
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Currently just 15.7% of all primary school teachers in England are men, yet 83% of parents would like to see more male primary teacherd. Why so few and why so great a desire for more? Former headteacher and education writer Steve Mynard finds out…
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Taking on an old building is a commitment that can pay dividends, says Angela Youngman. read more
What should employers do when faced with requests for allowances to be made at work on religious grounds? Helen Badger takes a look at the law
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New technology can be a comfort or a threat. Vicky Lapins outlines legal duties on educators to keep children safe
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In recent years assembly has been squeezed by the pressures of the curriculum but its importance in demonstrating what your school stands for should not be under-estimated, says former headteacher Gerald Haigh. read more
Malcolm Rigler and David Loshak outline strategies to improve young people’s health
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Ruth Bradbury outlines the things that all senior school finance managers need to know in order to contribute effectively to the running of their school
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Much remains to make the 14-19 vision into reality. Gareth Griffiths, 14-19 provision and attainment director at the Learning and Skills Council looks at progress in developing the diplomas and establishing collaboration between schools, FE colleges and training providers. read more
Sarah Blenkinsop and Marian Morris examine young people’s decision-making patterns, the role their school plays, the skills they require and other influences on the choices they make at core points in their school career. read more
The key change to the curriculum at Key Stage 4 has been to increase the breadth of choice. Alan Monks, Deputy Headteacher, describes the impact on Ellis Guilford School and Sports College, Nottingham
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Carole Farrar highlights how you can make the most of formal communications with parents. read more
Richard Bird, former headteacher and now legal consultant to the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), looks at the different interpretations of personalised learning and what they might mean in practice. read more
What helps new teachers feel welcome in a school? Colin Smith looks at the early professional learning (EPL) of teachers, and discusses the key areas to look at when welcoming new teachers into your school, with reference to research in real schools
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In November 2006, education writer and former head Roger Smith looked at the new draft performance management guidelines and what they might mean for schools. read more
Locally produced food is increasingly popular in schools and may become more important than going organic, writes Angela Youngman read more
Ross Midgley of the Crocus Early Years group offers some practical ideas for managing payments by voucher. read more
Anne Clarke explores the role of the headteacher and asks: ‘Is the notion of a headteacher an out-of-date concept?’ read more
If your school hit the headlines, how would you cope? Education Bradford’s press and communications officer Paul Parker has some tips. read more
When an early years setting is damaged by fire, the effects are far wider reaching than the material damage to the building. Consider the trauma to staff and children, loss of work and resources, and effect on the local community. read more
Matthew Savage, assistant headteacher, George Mitchell Community School, and Dr Margaret Wood, senior lecturer, York St John University College, explore the role of student voice in evaluating and then improving the learning experience of students in the classroom
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Education writer and former headteacher Gerald Haigh shows how ICT can be used to track pupils’ behaviour and create good, quantitative evidence on which to base action. read more
Independent drug consultant, Adrian King, questions the wisdom of drug testing in schools, arguing that it undermines the support offered to pupils through effective PSHE and sends out a clear message that pupils are not to be trusted. read more
James Park, director of Antidote, explains the benefits for everyone in creating and leading an emotionally literate school and shows how it can be done. read more
Victims of homophobic bullying often have no one to turn to for support. Former headteacher Roger Smith highlights the importance of the fight to eradicate this form of destructive behaviour
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