This research review was produced as part of a project funded by The Comino Foundation. According to the Centre for Research on Play in Education, Development, and Learning (PEDAL) at the University of Cambridge, most students beyond early childhood age do not currently have the opportunity to learn playfully in school. However, evidence suggests […]
This research review was produced as part of a project funded by The Comino Foundation. In many countries including England, Australia and Germany, the secondary school curriculum has traditionally been carved up into subjects delineated by their knowledge, modes of inquiry and discursive practices. In turn, this has implications for the notion of ‘subject […]
This research review was produced as part of a project funded by The Comino Foundation. In Europe, teachers are increasingly expected to take an active role in curriculum design (de Almeida and Viana, 2023), being variously positioned as curriculum developers at the macro, meso and micro-levels. The officially prescribed core or intended curriculum sits […]
This research review was produced as part of a project funded by The Comino Foundation. The transition from primary to secondary school is often regarded as one of the most challenging periods in students’ educational careers (Zeedyk et al. 2003) and can be a particularly difficult and stressful period for some students (Kwarikunda et […]
This is a webinar for school, college and exam centre leaders. Join Ofqual’s Chief Regulator Sir Ian Bauckham on 30 April, 12:15 – 13:00 to look ahead to this summer’s exams and assessments for GCSE, AS, A level and vocational and technical qualifications. He will talk about this summer’s grading approach, and what it will mean for […]
The IOE (UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society) and the University of Oxford are conducting a national survey of teachers to find out how the history and legacies of the British Empire are currently approached in English secondary schools. This study is the very first of its kind and therefore invites teachers to share insight, […]
Join us for this webinar where we’ll be shining a spotlight on how schools can utilise Chartered College of Teaching membership to strengthen school effectiveness. In this 45 minute session we’ll be joined by school leaders from primary and secondary settings, as well as colleagues from the Chartered College of Teaching who will be sharing […]
BENG HUAT SEE, STEPHEN GORARD, MARK LEDGER, KULWINDER MAUDE, NADA EL SOUFI, DURHAM UNIVERSITY CENTRE FOR EDUCATION, UK REBECCA MORRIS, DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION STUDIES, WARWICK UNIVERSITY, UK INTRODUCTION The most commonly cited reasons for teachers leaving the profession are excessive workload and poor working conditions (Long and Danechi, 2022). Teachers in England and across a […]
Kat Howard, Executive School Improvement Lead; Founding Chief Executive Officer, Litdrive, UK Does an absence of meaningful curriculum development in schools prompt the loss of teachers? There is a widespread and justified concern about the alarming shortage of teachers currently teaching in the UK and how this fails to match the staffing required in schools. […]
You can listen to an audio version of this article above. CAROLINE BARLOW, BECKA LYNCH AND EMMA SMITH, HEATHFIELD COMMUNITY COLLEGE, UK Research from the Teacher Development Trust and NFER (Worth and Van den Brande, 2020) found that teachers in England typically have lower levels of autonomy compared to other professionals, and suggests that there is […]
TAZREEN KASSIM-LOWE, TUTOR, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LEAD AND PHD STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM, UK REBEKAH GEAR, LECTURER, NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY, UK This article explores how professional development (PD) can be used as a vehicle for promoting more equitable, responsive teaching. The PD model presented is defined as a ‘Research and Innovation Work Group’ (RIWG), commissioned by […]
TIM LISSIMORE, SENIOR DEPUTY HEAD, WILSON’S SCHOOL, UK Introduction Develop as a professional, by reflecting on progress made, recognising strengths and weaknesses and identifying next steps for further improvement. (DfE, 2019, p. 24) Reflect systematically on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches to teaching. (DfE, 2011, p. 11) Creating opportunities for effective reflection is a […]
KULWINDER MAUDE, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, DURHAM UNIVERSITY, UK We know that teachers’ wellbeing is now at an all-time low, despite being a priority in the education policy agenda in England (DfE, 2021). High levels of anxiety, burnout and depression have been reported in teachers in England (Education Support, 2022; Gibson and Carroll, 2021). Although understanding […]
Olivia Page, Director of Professional Development, Education for the 21st Century, UK Education for the 21st Century (E21C) is a medium-sized multi-academy trust (MAT) of eight schools (four primary and four secondary), based in London and the south-east of England, with over 6,000 pupils and 800 staff. The trust has been on a journey of […]
Dena Eden, Director of Secondary English at Inspiration Trust Teaching is a profession where we rely on the support of a team and wider community while also preferring complete autonomy in our classrooms. Subject communities maintain this autonomy while also allowing us to feel both supported and motivated to improve. An effective subject community empowers […]
Lydia Roberts, Head of PSHE, Broadland High Ormiston Academy, UK As a teacher, stepping into leading and advising peers can feel intimidating. In a way, teachers are always leading – leading a classroom, leading learners and pastorally leading our tutor groups – and yet when we gear up to lead colleagues, we feel a distinct […]
ALISON TEAGLE, ST PAUL’S CATHOLIC COLLEGE, UK; ASSOCIATE FELLOW, UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, UK The importance of teacher identity When did you first feel that you were ‘a teacher’? Can you recall when you first referred to yourself as a teacher when asked about your profession? How has your teacher identity changed over time? What impact has […]
SALINA VENTRESS, SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT LEAD FOR LEARNING AND TEACHING, AVANTI SCHOOLS TRUST, UK Avanti’s vision for education, outlined in ‘The Avanti Way’ (Avanti Schools Trust, nd), gives equal emphasis to spiritual insight, character formation and educational excellence. Developing a MAT framework for learning and teaching that could be implemented across all our schools, through the […]
Lee Elliot Major, Professor of Social Mobility, University of Exeter, UK Introduction All teachers aspire to reduce the barriers and unconscious biases that impede the learning of students from under-resourced backgrounds. Research shows that these impediments are multifaceted, consisting of cultural, material, educational and health-related factors that operate inside and outside the classroom. Explicitly thinking […]
DR ALEXANDRA SEWELL, SENIOR LECTURER, UNIVERSITY OF WORCESTER, INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION DANIEL THACKER-SMITH, HEADTEACHER, E-ACT SHENLEY ACADEMY Bereavement, loss and grief As with most common psychological experiences, bereavement is subject to varying socio-cultural and academic definitions. A critical distinction between competing definitions is that bereavement follows the death of a person with whom the bereaved had […]
