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

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)...

Identity building as a pathway to children and young people’s wellbeing in schools

For decades now, there has been a looming child and youth mental health crisis in many developed nations globally (WHO, 2020). Nations have varied in policy responses to the issue, but what many...

Towards developing an education continuity plan: Supporting schools in times of crisis

Education & Covid-19: BERA Small Grants Fund research

This report considers how educational continuity plans (ECPs) can better support schools in times of crisis, specifically from the perspective of headteachers, whose experiences, challenges and...

Environmental protest & education: ‘Something’s gone wrong somewhere’

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the combustion of fossil fuels is the main contributor to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. Young people in England...