Authors

Natasha Devon
All articles by Natasha Devon
‘Many students achieve straight A*s but are alienated by a curriculum regime that isn’t fit for purpose’
Curriculum constraints placed limits on my thirst for knowledge and debate – I was told to focus only on what we’d be tested on, writes the former government mental health tsar and mental health campaigner
7 February 2017
‘Is teaching “resilience” just accepting that the world will inevitably be heartless?’
We should aim to create an environment where sensitivity is seen as a necessity, rather than a weakness, writes the former government mental health tsar
1 February 2017
‘It took working at the DfE with a bunch of male traditionalists to make me realise that misogyny still exists in Britain’
Sexism has changed shape to reflect the contemporary rules of Western culture, but it continues to speak of a widespread reluctance to perceive women as equals, writes the former government mental health tsar
24 January 2017
‘Russell Brand as a modern-day Shelley: Just because a book is old, it doesn’t mean it’s more intellectual or stimulating’
It is both snobbish and harmful to young people’s enjoyment of literature to dismiss the books that resonate with them as insufficiently ‘highbrow’, writes the former government mental health tsar
16 January 2017
‘Theresa May, we don’t need PR spin about tackling mental health - we need proper funding and action’
If we don’t have efficient, well-supported services, then the entire endeavour of training education and business professionals in mental health literacy is pointless, writes the former government mental health champion
9 January 2017
‘Traditional vs Progressive Twitter spats and four other phenomena in education that should be left in 2016’
The year ahead will herald a better and more positive future for all if we listen to teachers – and stop being so silly, writes the former mental health tsar
8 January 2017