Engaging Effectively with Evidence: Huish Centre and Camtree – ‘Putting students and teachers at the heart of professional development’
Q: What happens when you empower professionals to critically engage with research in their context and support colleagues to become researchers themselves? A: Professionals become the beating heart of research into practice. This webinar will share with colleagues the power of putting professionals at the helm of research application and development and the crucial role […]
Electric Umbrella: ‘No Such Thing as Normal’
What is the purpose of this webinar? This webinar is part of a series around curriculum enrichment in primary schools as part of the extensive Rethinking the Curriculum project. This series aims to support and equip both teachers and school leaders with the knowledge and skills to identify, plan and implement curriculum development work in […]
Secondary teachers: Participate in the Climate Literacy Survey 2026
Get your students involved in the RMetS Climate Literacy Survey 2026! What? The survey is quick, taking 5-8 minutes to complete. Surveys should be completed individually and in school time. Students will need to have access to a device and be connected to the internet to participate. There are 4 sections: Section 1 : ‘About you’. A few questions about the participant. Section 2 […]
Research opportunity for SENCOs and SEND staff
A Cambridge University-based study is inviting primary school SENCOs and SEND staff to join a one-off online discussion exploring how educators can support students facing barriers to learning. Participants will discuss practical strategies, explore visual profiles, and share their views on findings from a recent scoping review. Online discussions will take place over the coming weeks. For more […]
Technology and Classroom Practice: what needs to change
With funding from the ESRC Education Research Programme, the projects have used survey data, classroom ethnographies, teacher-led communities of practice and interviews with EdTech sector entrepreneurs to examine the relationship between technology, design and school-based practice. In conversation with Dr Sangeet Bhullar, Executive Director, of WISE KIDS and Martin Oliver, UCL Institute of Education, they will reflect on […]
From the editors
We live in times of accumulating crises. We are experiencing crises of democracy, inequality, energy, climate and pollution. This is a time for critically re-examining how we understand, frame and shape educational thinking – a time for repurposing and reimagining the role and work of teachers and leaders in the hopeful project of education. It […]
Curriculum design at Key Stage 3: Supporting primary to secondary school transition
VICTORIA COOK, LEAD RESEARCHER, CHARTERED COLLEGE OF TEACHING, UK This article was produced as part of a project funded by the Comino Foundation. Introduction A 2015 Ofsted report entitled ‘Key Stage 3: The wasted years?’ concluded that Key Stage 3 needs to become a higher priority for secondary school leaders, to ensure that the time is […]
An evidence-based framework to develop STEM delivery in schools
ALISON ROUNCEFIELD-SWALES, GEORGIE LOTT AND LYDIA SEARLE, THE INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN SCHOOLS, UK Introduction The Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) collaborates with schools and colleges to engage students in authentic research projects. We understand the benefits of participating in scientific research and we advocate for every student benefiting from engaging in research. However, we […]
Walking the talk: Reflective practice in developing an inclusive and balanced professional learning curriculum
HEATHER PENNINGTON AND ALYSON LEWIS, CARDIFF LEARNING AND TEACHING ACADEMY, CARDIFF UNIVERSITY, UK Introduction Professional learning is essential for teaching professionalism, as it fosters reflection, collaboration and continuous improvement in everyday practice (Salo et al., 2024; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017). While facilitators of professional learning are often adept at encouraging these practices in others, they must […]
Secondary English across the UK: The aims, role and construction of a 21st-century curriculum subject
REBECCA MORRIS AND WENDY RAMKU, UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK, UK Background Every child across the UK is expected to study English until the age of 16. The subject is a foundational element of pupils’ curriculum entitlement across their school lives, and success in English is a key determinant for influencing individuals’ future educational, career and life trajectories, […]
What are the benefits of an inquiry-based science curriculum approach for students with SEND?
AMY HOCKEY, SCIENCE LEAD AND SEND TEACHER, SPECIAL SCHOOL, MIDLANDS, UK DONNA DAWKINS, PROFESSOR IN SECONDARY SCIENCE (BIOLOGY) TEACHER EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT, UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM, UK Introduction This practitioner research highlights the scientific and wider skills developed through an inquiry-based science curriculum for students with moderate and severe learning difficulties. The case study school […]
Whole-school metacognition: Implementing with impact
LORNA GARDINER, INDEPENDENT EDUCATION FACILITATOR; LEAD CONSULTANT, THINKING MATTERS, UK Introduction It is widely recognised that young people need to develop the critical and creative thinking skills and dispositions necessary to thrive in the challenging context of the 21st century (OECD, 2018; NFER, 2025). Driven by a desire to ‘futureproof’ their learners, some schools become recognised […]
Working collaboratively to centre literacy within the secondary curriculum: A multi-academy trust perspective
REBECCA LILLINGTON, DIRECTOR, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING INSTITUTE, UK DAVID KELLY, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL AND CHAIR OF SECONDARY LITERACY GROUP, SUMMIT, UK Setting the scene Summit Learning Trust is a multi-academy trust (MAT) located in the West Midlands, composed of five primary academies, three secondary academies and a sixth form college. Prior to 2021, the secondary academies within Summit were […]
Collaborative curriculum design in the foundation subjects: Improving subject knowledge and confidence to teach music through an initial teacher education ITaP
NICOLA HUTTON, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, LIVERPOOL HOPE UNIVERSITY, UK The aim of this project was to address barriers that students in ITE (initial teacher education) have in planning and delivering a broad and balanced curriculum through identified foundation subjects. Firstly, it is well documented that foundation subjects are afforded less teaching time in ITE, although this […]
Empowered to learn: A curriculum for transition
HELEN WAKEFIELD, SENIOR DEPUTY HEADTEACHER, ASHBY SCHOOL, LIFE MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST, UK JUDE MELLOR, HEADTEACHER, ASHBY SCHOOL, LIFE MULTI-ACADEMY TRUST, UK Introduction The transition gap and the resultant loss in learning have long been recognised as students move from primary to secondary learning (Bharara, 2019; Busch, 2017). In a setting also experiencing age range change, through the addition […]
Supporting a paradigm shift: Introducing a religion and worldviews syllabus
JENNIFER JENKINS, RE, SIAMS AND SPIRITUALITY OFFICER, COVENTRY DIOCESAN BOARD OF EDUCATION, UK Shifting horizons for religious education and the changing religious landscape The Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE) bodies in Coventry and Warwickshire recently launched their new local Agreed Syllabus for religious education (RE), written in partnership with Coventry Diocesan Board of Education […]
Initiating a teaching and learning toolkit in Year 9 history and English lessons
BEN JERRIT, HISTORY DEPARTMENT/ASSISTANT HEAD OF SIXTH FORM, ARDINGLY COLLEGE, UK LOUISE TAYLOR, ENGLISH DEPARTMENT/ASSISTANT HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL, ARDINGLY COLLEGE, UK This case study explores how two history and English teachers drew on current educational thinking to create a practical working framework that improves the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects. Our teacher-friendly toolkit […]
Rethinking challenge: A research-informed guide for schools
MARK LESWELL, RESEARCH LEAD, SWALE ACADEMIES TRUST, UK This article explores research-informed approaches to implementing productive challenge in schools, distinguishing between helpful cognitive struggle and counterproductive difficulty. It offers practical strategies for educators to calibrate appropriate levels of challenge while avoiding working memory overload, and addresses common misconceptions about what constitutes effective challenge. Understanding challenge: Research […]
Place and space in drama education
CAROLYN BRADLEY, SCHOOL OF PERFORMANCE AND CULTURAL INDUSTRIES, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS, UK This paper defines the relationship between place, space and learning in drama, arguing that both schools and cultural venues can function as places of learning. Place and space discourses are complex in general, and difficult to fully address in the scope of this article; […]
Rethinking curriculum development: The risks of driving standardisation at scale, and alternative approaches to building teacher professionalism
AMARBEER SINGH GILL, AMBITION INSTITUTE & GREENSHAW RESEARCH SCHOOL, UK NICK POINTER, AMBITION INSTITUTE, UK Introduction In the past decade, there has been significant emphasis on curriculum in UK schooling (Allen et al., 2021). Prior to this, research suggested that curriculum thinking had been under-prioritised in favour of generic approaches to teaching and learning (e.g. Ofsted, 2019a) […]