Friday
Lesson plans: sometimes you just have to wing it
Don’t stay wedded to the script if the learning you’ve prepared isn’t chiming with your class. Instead, try a spot of improvisation, says Andrew Copeman
How I ended exclusions at my school
No child has been permanently removed from Simon Flowers’ all-through school in 15 years. Shifting to a ‘zero-exclusions’ approach isn’t easy and it takes time, the head explains – but it’s worth it to avoid the long-term impact of such an action
We need sleuthing skills to spot hidden SEND needs
Teachers should unlock their inner detective when gathering evidence on how best to support students with SEND, says Margaret Mulholland
The true value of schools lies in personal experiences
Graphs showing the value of schools are all very well, but individual stories reveal the real impact of education
Thursday
Indian variant schools data ‘not robust’, says PHE
Public Health England says it will not release data on spread of new variant in schools until ‘data is robust and quality assured’
School apologises for giving reference to sex predator
Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry hears school apologise for exposing children to danger by giving teacher a good reference
Fears teacher training provider cull could hit supply
Universities warn some institutions may ‘reconsider’ teacher training offer if reforms are ‘overly burdensome or disruptive’
Watchdog raps UK’s Pisa data reports over transparency
Statistics regulator rules Pisa reports “not sufficiently transparent about the limitations of the data and potential sources of bias”
Revealed: 10 areas hardest hit by Covid school absence
10 local authorities that had double the national average non-attendance rates, while 8 reported half the county-wide rate
Amanda Spielman stays as Ofsted chief for 2 more years
Chief inspector will continue at Ofsted until the end of 2023 to oversee bedding in of new inspections
Mental health: Can reading books really teach empathy?
The right stories can do wonderful things around helping young people to understand other people’s feelings, according to the founders of Empathy Day
Covid saw 60% of pupils miss school in the autumn term
Covid meant pupils missed an average one extra week of schooling between September and Christmas, compared to previous years
