On June 30, ATL submitted a Freedom of Information (FoI) request regarding the failure of 1,200 inspectors to pass Ofsted’s rigorous new assessment process: Dear Madam/Sir Freedom of…Read more…
Is a bottom-up approach to professionalism the answer for the FE sector?
By Ann Hodgson, UCL Institute of Education. I was invited to chair a session on the Policy Contexts of Professionalism, as part of the in the Developing Collaborative Expertise in the Further…Read more…
Why so tight-lipped? What Nicky Morgan wouldn’t say
Following her announcement that 1000 ‘failing’ schools would be converted into academies, Nicky Morgan was questioned repeatedly this morning about how many of those ‘failing’ schools are, in fact,…Read more…
Ofsted must re-think the way it collects and uses evidence during inspection
By Terry Pearson Mary Bousted blogged well last year about the inadequacies of Ofsted quality assurance systems. I’d like to look at one of the fundamental problems with Ofsted’s methodology…Read more…
Engineers and teachers are uncomfortable bedfellows, it seems.
Scott Young is responsible for delivery of skills and employment objectives on the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Question: Which two-word answer, according to the UK press, threatens the success of UK…Read more…
We need to do more to recognise and facilitate growth and career development
David Weston is the founder and Chief Executive of the Teacher Development Trust. CPD isn’t a luxury add-on to the work of teaching, it is an absolutely central element of being a professional. The…Read more…
Getting excited about CPD reminds us why we chose to do this job
Ellie Dix is the Director of Pivotal Education. CPD for teachers is a necessity. When CPD works well, it is genuinely useful and can make a huge difference not just to the practice of an individual…Read more…
Teachers want for themselves what they give their pupils – frequent opportunities to learn
Dr Mary Bousted is general secretary of ATL and AMiE. Michael Barber recently opined that teachers are ‘semi-professional’. He argued that the profession remains heavily unionised (obviously a bad…Read more…
We need an open dialogue about what ‘evidence’ is
Tucked away in the ‘evidence check’ documents in the Select Committee webforum is something I have always suspected might be the case. The evidence government uses to develop policies is sometimes no…Read more…
Civil servants to join public sector strike for higher wages
Our pay freeze is actually a 20% pay cut against inflation. That’s why the PCS union will join the mass strike on 10 July
Is it any wonder public sector workers are angry? They have seen executive…Read more…