SENCOs, crisis planning in schools and the international problem of ‘off rolling’ or ‘grey exclusions’

Covid-19, education and educational research

In a newly published study (Done & Knowler, 2021a) we investigated the strategic leadership role of special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) in planning for Covid-19 with particular...

Exclusion & the strategic leadership role of special educational needs co-ordinators in England

Education & Covid-19: BERA Small Grants Fund research

This report asks whether and how special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) participated in Covid-19-induced school planning for lockdown, provision for vulnerable pupils and full school...

The experiences of autistic young people & their parents of lockdown & the reopening of schools

Education & Covid-19: BERA Small Grants Fund research

This report summarises findings of research into how families of autistic children and young people attending mainstream schools in England experienced and responded to home-schooling and...

High standards, not high stakes

An alternative to SATs that will transform England’s testing & school accountability system in primary education & beyond

Room to grow: Teachers, physical education and physical literacy

A quality physical education (QPE) programme is unlike the stereotypes of a ‘gym’ class often seen in popular culture. So, what should a QPE programme look like? QPE includes well-planned...

Emergency remote learning in the UK: A comparison of March 2020 and January 2021

Covid-19, education and educational research

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted everyday life around the world. In the UK, lockdowns have resulted in the closure of schools to most children for two prolonged periods: March to summer...

The new model music curriculum: A step far enough?

In the foreword to the new model music curriculum, schools minister Nick Gibb states that it ‘is designed to assist rather than to prescribe’ (DfE, 2021, p. 2). Notably, there is much detail...

Call for papers for a special issue of RoE: Evidence on the development of education in ex-Soviet states

Closes 31 Oct 2021

The editors of this special issue, Liudmyla H. Mashtaler and Nurzhamal T. Oshanova, are looking for substantial pieces of work on practical implementation, use of new methods and approaches in...

The role of schools in the mental health of children & young people

This report presents a comprehensive review of the existing evidence on school-based approaches to mental health. It covers what is meant by mental health and wellbeing, and why this is...

Improving the connectivity of research on teaching assistants: Creating a new space for researchers

The international drive towards the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools has become contingent on the creation and utilisation of a paraprofessional...

The reawakening of the old idea of children doing AI programming

In the recently published British Journal of Educational Technology article, ‘Constructionism and AI: A history and possible futures’, Niall Winters and I examine the 50-year history of...

‘Why can’t I use this voucher?’ The impact of Covid-19 on access and (in)effective support of the school food voucher scheme

The Food Foundation (2020) has found since lockdown started that 5 million people in the UK living in households with children under 18 have experienced food insecurity. A minority (1.8 million)...