Group work in primary classrooms: No longer a waste of time

During the 50 years since the Plowden Report, policy with regard to small-group activity in English primary schools has undergone repeated change. However, images of practice remain constant: they...

Biscuits or Banquets?

Becoming a lifetime reader is dependent on developing a love of reading[1] and few would argue against the fact that the ability and motivation to read impacts on the life chances of all...

Participation in recreational activities: views, experiences and choices from children and young people with cerebral palsy

  http://www.playwales.org.uk/eng/ ‘All children and young people have the right to rest, leisure, play and recreation and to take part in cultural and artistic...

Responding to disadvantage within English schools: a collaborative future

BERA Blog Special Issues: General Election 2017

For the last ten years, researchers in the Centre for Equity in Education have been asking why, despite continuous reforms, the most vulnerable children and young people in the English school...

Assessing the manifesto commitments on assessment: progress, improved accountability, or continuous assessment

BERA Blog Special Issues: General Election 2017

Educationists and teachers have long complained of policy overload, particularly during the Gove years when schools suffered a ‘policy epidemic’ with changes to assessment and the...

The politics of mental wellbeing and education

BERA Blog Special Issues: General Election 2017

Social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) in schools has, over the past decade, emerged as part of a broader mental health agenda, shaped and driven through versions of childhood located in notions of...

The Matthew effect at election time

BERA Blog Special Issues: General Election 2017

The Matthew effect is an expression that has been coined to summarise the parable of the talents found in Matthew’s gospel (Matthew 25:14-30), which suggests that the rich get richer while the...

Challenges to Eastern European Roma and their teachers in the UK

The Roma are amongst Europe’s most disadvantaged groups, facing high levels of prejudice and discrimination. The largest population of Roma is in Eastern Europe; particularly Romania and...

Entrepreneurial School Leaders

This blog profiles an entrepreneurial Triad Model of School Leadership developed by three schools involved in the Erasmus+ project: Dame Dorothy Primary School, Springwell Village Primary School,...

Education Select Committee Review of Primary Assessment 2017: A Response

The Education Select Committee has concluded its review of assessment systems in Primary schools in England, with a brief to pay particular regard to changes rolled out in 2016. The report...

The complementary use of audience response systems and online tests to implement repeat testing

Getting students to engage with subjects which have a reputation as being inaccessible or difficult is a constant challenge many teachers face, whether at school or in higher education. This...

Critical Pedagogies: Are the benefits of alternative schooling being overlooked?

With increasing criticism of the English government regarding over-testing and high pressure in state schools, alternatives to early years formal education, such as practitioners of the Montessori...