HEP Talks

The Education Brief: Saturday 16 November 2024 - Top stories include: The government has reversed a 20-hours training mandate for trainee teacher mentors. The EEF announced a £700,000 initiative to improve student outcomes across 300 schools. An OECD report dispels the idea that English students have an “anti-maths mindset”. The government has proposed raising teachers' pension contributions. This...

The Education Brief: Saturday 9 November 2024 - Top stories include: Bridget Phillipson has said struggling academies can return to local authority oversight. Phillipson emphasised pupil wellbeing, happiness, and inclusivity as core missions. Professor Becky Francis spoke about emerging themes in the national curriculum review. Ofsted clarified their new inclusion focus won’t penalise legitimate u...

In this episode of HEP Talks, host Luke Kemper sits down with Sonia Gill, educational leadership coach, author, and founder of Heads Up, to explore what school excellence looks like and how to successfully deal with difficult conversations. Sonia shares her insights on high-performing teams and the importance of cultivating school culture, offering practical strategies for school leaders to unlock...

The Education Brief: Saturday 26 October 2024 - Top stories include: End-of-year maths scores may predict Year 8 English performance more accurately than English scores. Research reveals a gap in maths anxiety between disadvantaged Year 6 pupils and their peers. Unions representing school support staff have accepted a pay rise of at least £1,290. Concerns about inconsistency have been raised about...

The Education Brief: Saturday 19 October 2024 - Top stories include: Ofsted has released its first set of school inspection reports without overall headline grades. The DfE is set to change the law to allow schools to open nurseries more quickly. The DfE spent over £13 million pounds on SEND tribunals last year. Parentkind’s latest national survey reveals that most parents are ok with children’s a...

In this episode of HEP Talks, host Luke Kemper speaks with Iona Jackson, Director of Strategy at Edurio, to explore the key findings from Edurio's latest reports on staff wellbeing and teacher retention in academies. Together, they unpack data from surveys of school staff across England, discussing the impact of workload, leadership dynamics, and wellbeing on staff retention. Iona reveals how fact...

The Education Brief: Saturday 12 October 2024 - Top stories include: 80 per cent of Year 1 pupils met the government's "expected standard" in phonics. The DfE has relaunched a £7 million programme to combat antisemitism in schools. Government cost-saving measures and delays have affected several key education initiatives. A longer school day has been shown to provide a “small yet positive” boost t...

The Education Brief: Saturday 5 October 2024 - Top stories include: Ofsted has revealed plans to assess schools on inclusion in upcoming inspections. The government has released key dates for primary assessments. A new "high level research commission" has been established to examine pupil engagement and its impact on school attendance, amid rising absence rates. Bridget Phillipson has committed to...

The Education Brief: Saturday 28 September 2024 - Top stories include: Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson delivered her first speech at the Labour Party Conference this week. Phillipson announced plans to open the first 300 school-based nurseries by next September, as part of a £15 million capital scheme. Ofsted is launching the Ofsted Academy later this term by publishing inspector training m...

The Education Brief: Saturday 21 September 2024 - Top stories include: Labour changes in school inspections and improvement has sparked debate about regional control. A new level 5 apprenticeship will allow teaching assistants to specialise in SEND, emotional wellbeing, or curriculum provision. One third of students are expected to resit their GCSE English or maths this year. New rules will now al...

The Education Brief: Saturday 14 September 2024 - Top stories include: Children’s commissioner orders compulsory survey of schools No quick fix to special-needs pupil failures, parents told Governors told no money for national recruitment drive This week’s deep dive: ResearchED National Conference 2024 We’ll also tell you what’s happening at HEP this week and what we’ve been watching, listening to...

The Education Brief: Saturday 7 September 2024 - Top stories include: Labour's manifesto pledge to recruit 6,500 new teachers is unlikely to be fulfilled for a while. Ofsted is developing a new inclusion criterion for inspections, focusing on supporting disadvantaged pupils. GCSE English requires an urgent overhaul, according to a review by exam board OCR. From early 2025, all schools will hav...

The Education Brief: Saturday 20 July 2024 - Top stories include: Exclusions higher than pre-Covid as suspensions rise again Eight things we learned from Ofsted’s annual accounts King’s Speech 2024: what schools need to know No teacher pay decision this week, says Phillipson This week’s deep dive:  Curriculum review launched: What schools need to know We’ll also tell you what’s happening at HEP th...

The Education Brief: Saturday 13 July 2024 - Top stories include: The "alternative big listen" survey reveals deep dissatisfaction with the school inspectorate. Financial pressures and support for children with SEND are top challenges for school governors. Sir Kevan Collins has been appointed as a non-executive director at the DfE. This week’s deep dive:  Key stage 2 SATs 2024 We’ll also...

The Education Brief: Saturday 6 July 2024 - Top stories include: Half of England’s most deprived schools anticipate cutting teaching assistant spending next year. NASBTT says all schools should be mandated to provide placements for trainee teachers. An EEF report found that teachers receive minimal training on writing. This week’s deep dive:  The 2024 British Election and what it means for educati...

The Education Brief: Saturday 29 June 2024 - Top stories include: TES has published an overview of the three main political parties’ education policies. The 2014 computing curriculum overhaul has led to 50% fewer girls taking the subject. Seven subject associations say the use of non-specialist teachers is now "endemic". Rural schools face the threat of extinction unless urgent action is...

The Education Brief: Saturday 22 June 2024 - Top stories include: Academy trusts are facing significant shortfalls in funding. The Education Policy Institute criticises the "lack of urgency" regarding the crisis in SEND funding. Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson aims to bring education "back up the agenda." Unions claim schools could gain an average of £36,000 each...

The Education Brief: Saturday 15 June 2024 - Top stories include: Conservatives manifesto 2024: All the schools policies Labour manifesto 2024: All the schools policies Two in three special schools face real-terms cuts, unions warn Pay, workload and trust - 3 teacher retention issues to solve This week’s deep dive:  WalkThrus Conference London, 2024 We’ll also tell you what’s happening at HEP this...

Top stories include: Move to home education biggest since pandemic EYFS: How ditching our maths scheme is transforming teaching Burden of school complaints ‘significant concern’, Ofsted told Teaching workforce grows by just 259 as recruitment stalls This week’s deep dive:  How Building Knowledge Boosts Literacy and Learning We’ll also tell you what’s happening at HEP this week and what we’ve been...

The Education Brief: Saturday 1 June 2024 - Top stories include: The pre-election ‘purdah’ period begins on Saturday, limiting government announcements. Gillian Keegan has confirmed that teacher pay recommendations will come after the election. Leaders’ unions say Ofsted must undertake "far-reaching reform". The government has been urged "rebalance" funding towards schools with...

In this episode re-run, HEP's Luke Kemper talks to artist Sally Newton at South Harringay School, where she has painted two large staircase murals. They spoke about how she became an artist, what it’s like to paint a curriculum on the walls, and how students react to art, among other things. If you’d like to see more of Sally’s work, you can check out her website at ⁠www.sallynewton-mural-arti...

The Education Brief: Saturday 18 May 2024 - Top stories include: The DfE has released draft guidance updates on relationships, sex, and health education. Baroness Barran wants schools to focus on students who miss the "odd day”. £134 million in unspent NTP funds from schools will help finance the teacher pay grant. Anti-hacking measures in AQA's exam papers disrupted screen-reading softwa...

The Education Brief: Saturday 11 May 2024 - Top stories include: The DfE is investigating inclusivity in schools, with a focus on institutions with fewer EHCPs. The government announced larger music hubs across England, reducing the number to 43. An analysis of the Safety Valve programme uncovered "startling" cuts to specialist provision for SEND pupils. Matt Hood has been appointed the...

The Education Brief: Saturday 4 May 2024 - Top stories include: The government’s scrapping of the Now Teach scheme, sparks an outcry DfE ‘actively looking’ at reforms to £10k special schools place funding DFE advises all schools create a bomb threat checklist England scraps 50% rule on faith school admissions This week’s deep dive:  The future of safeguarding in schools We’ll also tell you what’s...

The Education Brief: Saturday 27 April 2024 - Top stories include: Ofsted is advancing its use of AI to enhance decision-making in school inspections. Single-phrase Ofsted judgments will remain for now because they provide clarity for parents and are crucial for actions on underperforming schools. Gillian Keegan expressed concerns over the difficulty of fully funding future teacher pay rises. Scho...