HEP Talks

The Education Brief: Monday 25th September 2023 - Top stories include: 27 new schools have been added to the list of those containing RAAC. One in five formal complaints to Ofsted in 2022-23 resulted in some change being made. Indebted councils do have targets to “manage demand” for EHCPs. Ofsted has released a music subject report with seven key findings. This week’s deep dive:  Key Stage 1 Histo...

The Education Brief: Monday 18th September 2023 - Top stories include: Ofsted will not inspect schools with RAAC this term. The disadvantage gap has finally stopped widening this year. The DfE is reviewing its workforce approach with a focus on flexible working. One third of teachers are now using artificial intelligence tools to help them with their work. This week’s deep dive:  researchED Nation...

BBC Teach has released new resources that deal with trauma-informed approaches for care-experienced children. In this episode of HEP Talks, Luke Kemper talks with Andrew Tomlinson, former Head of Content and Commissioning at Bitesize and BBC Teach, about what inspired the BBC Teach team to commission the resources and ways in which schools can use them. The resources themselves include "three...

The Education Brief: Monday 11th September 2023 - Top stories include: Catherine McKinnell has been appointed as shadow schools minister. Sir Martyn Oliver outlined his priorities for the role of Chief Ofsted Inspector. The Teacher Development Trust and the International Society for Technology in Education have produced guidance on the role of artificial intelligence in education. This week’s deep...

Monday 4th September 2023 - Top stories include: GCSE grades have recovered, but the impact of Covid still lingers. The DfE published its consultation response on proposed new rules affecting school attendance. Study finds “no evidence” selective school systems have a positive effect on pupil outcomes. This week’s deep dive:  Getting ready for the 2023/24 academic year We’ll also tell you what’s h...

Wendy Baverstock, primary school teacher at Eldon Primary, curriculum resource creator, and amateur historian, has created a series of resources designed for year 6 pupils about 20th century London migration. The resources are a fantastic look into the lives of migrants to London during that time, and they include personal stories from relatives and ancestors of students and teachers in present-da...

Keeping you up to date with what is happening in education. Top stories include: Members of the NASUWT teaching union in England have voted in favour of industrial action The proportion of key stage 2 pupils reaching the expected standard in all three areas of reading, writing and maths is unchanged from last year, showing no recovery to pre-Covid levels. The government has accepted a recommendati...

The Education Brief: Monday 10th July 2023 - Top stories include: Councils are approving higher numbers of deficits for primary schools across the country. The DfE released guidance aimed at increasing transparency around the growth of academy trusts. A SEND charity is asking more than 30 councils to guarantee they will not breach their legal duties over education provision for SEND pupils. Sir Ke...

The SEND Review Improvement Plan was published on 2 March, 2023. The Improvement Plan is a follow up on the SEND and AP Green Paper released earlier last year. This podcast is part 3 of our series about SEND and ‘inclusive education’, and in it, Margaret Mulholland and Luke Kemper conduct a close examination of the Improvement Plan including both its strengths and weaknesses. How well does the Imp...

The Education Brief : Monday 3rd July 2023 - Top stories include: Police are investigating a cyber-attack aimed at exam boards. NAHT is “confident” that it will get past the threshold required for strike action. 700,000 pupils in England attend schools requiring major repairs. An FFT analysis highlighted the difference in the proportion of Year 7 students with EHCPs being admitted to mainstream se...

The Education Brief: Monday 26th June 2023 - Top stories include: What is being disrupted by the NEU strikes in July. A new national action plan for education being developed by the DfE could mean more direct questions for schools.  The National Foundation for Education Research says school leaders have “significant concerns” about sourcing suitable tutors as part of the National Tutoring Programm...

The Education Brief: Monday 19th June 2023 - Top stories include: Ofsted confirmed changes to their inspections last week. Former Ofsted Chief Inspector said Ofsted’s one-word judgements should be replaced. The government has opened a new consultation for evidence on the use of artificial intelligence. The government opened a consultation for the introduction of a British Sign Language GCSE. This...

The Education Brief: Monday 12th June 2023 - Top stories include: Gillian Keegan said that some changes being made to Ofsted inspection “will be immediate”. The DfE has released updated ‘keeping children safe in education guidance’. The DfE is worried marking boycotts might mean even more trouble for teacher recruitment. Record numbers of state school teachers are leaving the profession. This week...

The Education Brief: Monday 5th June 2023 - Top stories include: Five members of an independent expert advisory panel will assist the DfE’s review of relationships, sex and health education guidance. The Standards and Testing Agency has released the 2023 scaled scores for key stage 1 SATs. Spending policies aimed at schools in disadvantaged areas are gradually being eroded. The government wants th...

In this HEP Talks episode, we have the privilege of delving into a thought-provoking podcast interview with Penny Rabiger, an ex-teacher and educational consultant who has worked with the Key for School Leaders , Lyfta , and the BAMEed Network , and who is also a member of HEP’s Racial Equity Steering Group as well as a school governor. This podcast explores anti-racist school governance and provi...

The Education Brief : Monday 22nd May 2023 - Top stories include: Capita is delaying the marking of Year 6 Sats papers by a week due to “technical issues”. Only 6 percent of schools are planning to extend lesson times to hit the 32.5-hour DfE-advised target. The DfE is reviewing its early headship coaching offer after low uptake. Multi-academy trusts will not yet be inspected by Ofsted. This week’...

The Education Brief: Monday 15th May 2023 - Top stories include: The key stage 2 Sats reading paper worried many school leaders. Primary school pupils have still not caught up to pre-Covid levels of attainment in maths. Mounting workload is a barrier to teachers taking part in professional development and training. Ofsted wants GPs and pharmacies to help schools combat “overly risk-averse” parenta...

The Education Brief: Tuesday 9th May 2023 - Top stories include: NAHT union general secretary says school leaders are in a “fight for the heart and soul of education.” Appeals against GCSE and A-level exam grades have plummeted below pre-Covid levels in the wake of the pandemic grading fiasco. An increasing number of trainee teachers are being forced to take on part-time jobs. This week’s deep div...

Tuesday 2nd May 2023 - Top stories include: The NAHT school leaders’ union will re-ballot its members for strikes over pay, school funding, workload and wellbeing. The Standards and Testing Agency published a ‘lessons learned’ review on Thursday last week. The National Foundation for Educational Research’s latest teacher recruitment figures are dismal. The government is to axe its support programm...

A few months ago, Sam Crome, Deputy Head at St. Peter's Catholic School, delivered a talk for HEP's Big Idea on the 'power of teams'. The talk was powerful, inviting both leaders and members of teams think deeply about what is involved in becoming and maintaining a successful team. If you haven't yet seen the recording of it, I highly recommend you take a look before listening...

Monday 24th April 2023 - Top stories include: Ofsted is making changes to acknowledge the continuing debate over the death of Ruth Perry. ASCL announced its first ever ballot on strike action. Schools are grappling with high levels of student absence and the threat of AI cheating on exams. Suspensions in England jumped up by nearly 25 percent compared with pre-pandemic levels. This week’s deep div...

Monday 17th April 2023 - Top stories include: NASUWT will re-ballot teachers for strikes after members voted to reject the government’s pay offer. The EEF will be evaluating the impact of Sadiq Khan’s £130 million emergency FSM scheme. Many schools remain unsure about how to implement a key government pledge that all schools provide a 32.5-hour minimum school week. This week’s deep dive:  WalkThru...

A few months ago, Sam Crome, Deputy Head at St. Peter's Catholic School, delivered a talk for HEP's Big Idea on the 'power of teams'. The talk was powerful, inviting both leaders and members of teams think deeply about what is involved in becoming and maintaining a successful team. If you haven't yet seen the recording of it, I highly recommend you take a look before listening...

Happy Easter! HEP Talks has a lot of new content coming up, but today we're going to return to an episode that deserves more attention. If you haven't heard it yet, you're in for a treat. In this episode, Evelyn Davies, a HEP leadership consultant, interviews Mungi Ngomane, author and granddaughter of Desmond Tutu, about her book and the concept of Ubuntu, the African philosophy of int...

Monday 27th March 2023 - Top stories include: The Department of Education has launched a consultation on the Early Career Framework and initial teacher training. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has said that the government is aiming to publish transgender guidance for schools. Greenhouse School Websites has developed an algorithm that they claim can accurately predict Ofsted visits. The Nationa...