Authors

Bernard Trafford
All articles by Bernard Trafford
‘The government will rue the day it let the education of its young decline’
The pay rise for NHS staff deserves two cheers. But, one experience leader asks, what about teachers?
24 March 2018
‘Only by trusting teachers to get on with their job will we tackle workload and stress’
School leaders have a responsibility to do what they can to reduce workload, but, ultimately, the government must end its obsession with data, writes one experienced leader
17 March 2018
‘Teachers and parents will have to be brave - it’s time to consign most marking to the dustbin’
Homework marking is one of the key reasons why teachers are struggling with their workloads. We have to ask ourselves: what is this marking for? And is it worth all the effort?
10 March 2018
‘The blame and claim culture now reaches deep into schools. It’s a brave headteacher who defies it’
This week’s inevitable brouhaha about snowball fights only serves to highlight how tricky it is for schools and teachers to break free of the constraints of health and safety and risk assessments
3 March 2018
‘The prevailing mood in the schools’ music community? Despair’
You can shout all you like about British success in music and the arts, but the fact is that education ministers don’t want to listen
24 February 2018
‘The government is micromanaging with the new times tables test - for goodness’ sake, leave teachers to get on with their job’
Of course pupils should know their times tables, but the level of interference from the government is inappropriate, obsessive and, frankly, laughable, says experienced leader Bernard Trafford
17 February 2018