Tes magazine

The government has set a target for 90 per cent of pupils to reach the expected standard in the Year 1 phonics screening check. The ambition was announced by education secretary Bridget Phillipson in a speech at the Confederation of School Trusts conference, in which she stressed that strong reading skills are “the foundation for everything else” in education. The target, up from 84 per cent, forms part of a wider plan to improve literacy standards across all age groups, including the introduction of a new mandatory reading test for all Year 8 students. In the latest data, 80 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in the phonics screening check in Year 1, while 89 per cent met that standard by the end of Year 2. ➡️ Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/epa6kVJz

Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist Sami Timimi believes that diagnostic labels for conditions like ADHD and autism are medicalising young people for behaviours once considered ordinary and contributing to unsustainable workload in schools. His ideas have proven divisive, but are increasingly feeding into policy debates about overdiagnosis and England's spiralling SEND crisis. To learn more about Timimi's views and what they could mean for schools, I spoke to him for Tes magazine. "This is not an argument against people having needs; it’s an argument against the idea that the categories we use will help us to understand what those needs are," Timimi says. "There’s no shortcut to looking at each individual person," he adds. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eU9xNMjJ

It was great to speak to Tes about how Inspired has grown to a group of 121 schools worldwide across six continents in just 12 years - educating 95,000 students in almost 30 countries. A thank you to Dan for the candid chat and for covering the real people in education - students, families, teachers, and leaders. Read the full interview below to discover more about the Inspired journey and the community that makes it all possible. #Education #GlobalLearning #InspiredSchools #Community https://lnkd.in/d55ngv3X

In our latest Leaders’ Briefing newsletter, a Tes webinar reveals what leaders think about the new Ofsted framework (featuring Jonny Uttley, Cathie Paine CBE and Manny Botwe); Ian Watts warns of the pitfalls of ego – and suggests ways to keep it in check; and Nicole McCartney offers insight into her career and leadership philosophy – alongside must-reads from Rebecca Boomer-Clark, Gulcin Sesli and Ellen Peirson-Hagger.

"On 29 July 2024, pupils from one of our schools, Churchtown Primary, were present during an attack at a holiday dance club in Southport. Within minutes, it became clear that, as a trust, we were responding to a major critical incident that would deeply affect our community." While most reading this will know of the horrific attacks in Southport last year, they will not know much about how the parents of the girls who lost their lives came together with the school their daughters went to in order to help the community in the days, weeks and months afterwards. In a highly emotional and critically important article this morning, Heather Fowler and Gareth Caunce from Endeavour Learning Trust share that experience in the hope that it will help others should they ever encounter major incidents that impact their school community. All at Tes magazine thank them, David Clayton and the families involved in the Southport attacks. "We will never forget Alice and Bebe, nor the strength shown by our pupils, staff and families," they write. "This experience has taught us that even in the darkest moments, belonging, compassion and connection can light the way forward." https://lnkd.in/e2QxTuBX

“What [people] care about most is their children - and what you care about for your children the most is for them to achieve. How do you help them to achieve? Education." It was fascinating to chat with Nadim Nsouli from Inspired Education Group about how he has grown the group to 121 schools worldwide across six continents in just 12 years - educating 95,000 students in almost 30 countries. We chatted about why he decided to set up the group, how big he thinks it could become - "200, 300 schools? absolutely" - and why "stupid government decisions" are the big concern he has over what could hold the sector back (and if Labour's VAT decision is one of those... Furthermore, while the world of international and premium private schools may not overlap entirely with MATs or state schools, there is unquestionably a lot of crossover. 📵 Phones: "From day one, we’ve banned phones in schools - we implemented that policy globally.” ☀️ Pupil wellbeing: “Most people with us are ambitious for their children yet want them to be happy - not ambitious and miserable.” 🥇 Teacher importance: “The number one determinant of a successful school is the quality of the teacher in the classroom.” 🏫 The formulae for a successful school: "What I say is, people need to care. It’s that simple. It sounds very basic, but really you walk around a school and you know within a second if people care.” Read the full interview below https://lnkd.in/eDKJxZbF #education #internationaleducation #schools #leadership #investment

In this morning's 'From the editor' briefing, Jon Severs examined the comms strategy around the government's upcoming Schools White Paper, and why the DfE should consider adopting Peter Hyman's "playlist" approach. You can read his thoughts below, and sign up for our free Tes Daily newsletter via your Tes profile. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eAsSZHmv

🔍 Is Ofsted's new inspection system fit for purpose? Join us for a free Tes webinar on Wednesday 15 October as a fantastic panel of school and trust leaders discuss the pros and cons of Ofsted's new report-card inspections – and reveal how they are preparing for their implementation this winter. The panel features former ASCL president and headteacher Manny Botwe, REAch2 CEO Cathie Paine CBE and The Education Alliance CEO Jonny Uttley, and is chaired by Tes magazine's Charlotte Santry. ➡️ Sign up for free here: https://lnkd.in/gS8_NwBH

Ofsted is about to start taking a much closer look at inclusion in your school, but what does it actually mean by that term? Alex Quigley explains that this is about a much broader set of kids than those with SEND, and that effectively being inclusive demands it be integrated into your operations by design, from the ground up. In an article for Tes magazine today, he has detailed what he means by 'inclusion by design' and how that could be playing out in your schools. https://lnkd.in/ddVDuMMc