Blog

A couple of weeks ago, I visited the northern town where my son and grandson live. I arrived just before 10pm. By the next morning, as we drove down the neighbouring streets, each lamppost had a George Cross attached, and Union Jack bunting hung on railings at crossings along the main road.

So, the new Ofsted inspection framework is finally with us, almost exactly two months before it will be used in earnest for the first time.

I’ve long believed in the importance of oracy education. As a young teacher, I was inspired by the Bullock Report, which made the case – beautifully and unarguably – for the importance of language across the curriculum.

There will rightly many tributes to Dave Baker. He was much loved and admired, he brought people together in a way few can do. His height and colourful bow ties meant he stood out in a crowd, and reflected his stature among those who knew him, his warmth and sense of fun.

Since the turn of the calendar year, I have been responsible for SSAT’s offer for supporting schools in supporting student leadership. When I took on this role, I couldn’t have been more delighted because my first brief as a newly appointed assistant headteacher was to build our school’s student leadership offer. Exactly twenty years later, I was being asked to return to where my whole-school leadership journey started.

SSAT have been tracking every ‘need to improve’ comment from every inspection conducted since September 2023. This post looks at what has changed between the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, offering some insights into the impact of changes to the inspection framework in response to the Big Listen.

SSAT are the UK’s biggest and most experienced provider of student leadership training and support for education providers, with over 30 years of experience helping settings build the capacity and capabilities of their student leaders.

This blogpost will outline how SSAT’s analysis and synthesis of research findings have helped us to redevelop our offer to schools in enhancing provision for student leadership development.

Why after fifteen years, are we still continuing to embed formative assessment and what impact has it had in school; beyond its prime directive of improving the quality of teaching and learning?

England’s teacher recruitment and retention crisis is growing. In this Teaching Commission focus group, school leaders shared powerful insights into the pressures facing the profession, and the practical steps they’re taking to support staff and sustain schools.