General

For some, single-sex schools are centres of excellence. For others, they entrench sexual stereotypes and gender inequality. Sifting through centuries of debate, girls’ school deputy head David James ponders the future of this approach in a society that is increasingly progressive, meritocratic and diverse

Whistleblowers do the vital job of keeping any sector on the straight and narrow. But when it comes to schools, just how hard is it to sound the alarm if a colleague has broken the law or put someone’s health and safety at risk? Jessica Powell reports

Unsettling feelings can trigger a fight-or-flight stress response that can impact on teaching and learning, researchers warn. Irena Barker ponders what schools can do to make pupils and staff feel more secure in these unpredictable times

Getting specialists in subjects other than English to work on boosting students’ literacy can be an uphill struggle, yet Sarah Eggleton managed to introduce a whole-school approach to vocab learning that not only works for teachers but has seen pupils make use of more sophisticated language across the curriculum

It can be difficult to put a finger on why some schools flourish, even in the face of adversity. For Alex Quigley, the answer lies in a collection of shared behaviours, policies and values

As well as introducing students to new words, we should be demonstrating how they can use them in their speaking and writing, says Jon Severs

The novelist, poet, playwright and teacher talks to Tes about her time in school, the teachers who made an impression on her and a French exchange trip that is tattoed on her memory

Gavin Williamson recommends teaching in rows – but that assumes a certain kind of subject and pupil, says Jarlath O’Brien

Speaking at the World Education Summit, top academic emphasises the importance of applying learning across domains

To hear jostling in corridors and the scratch of pencils is like listening to a favourite old song, says Alan Gillespie

It’s easy to think that ‘no exclusions’ is about certain children and their classmates – but it’s actually about dramatic systemic change, says Will Yates

This week’s special issue of Tes looks back at an extraordinary year for everyone in schools