The link between good attendance and higher levels of attainment are pretty well established. Many school leaders talk about “quality teaching first”; I understand and accept the basis of their logic but if a pupil isn’t in the classroom s/he won’t benefit. You’ve got to get them in first. Continue reading
Back in September 2014, when the Trust formed, we started a big conversation about what assessment would look like in our post-levels world. The conversation just kept getting bigger as inter-related elements – teaching, learning, data collection, tracking, monitoring, accountability, reporting to parents and school improvement – were all brought to bear on our discussion and decisions. Continue reading
The debate over the “real substance of education” is inexorable. Some may view it as a broad and balanced curriculum; the most reliable metric is arguably a well-conceived set of standardised and externally assessed examinations. I differ, “the real substance of education” is the person and the people with the most reliable metric being a life well lived. Continue reading