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Diagram showing how secondary education is organised.

Specialist Teaching and Its Trade-offs

I remember sitting in a windowless meeting room during my third year as Head of Department, staring at a glossy, twenty-page flowchart...

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Diagram showing how primary education is organised.

One Teacher and Eleven Subjects

If you look at any shiny new government white paper or a consultant’s PowerPoint, you’ll get a very polished, very expensive version...

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Understanding how early years education works.

Play-based Learning Is Not Unstructured

I spent twenty minutes yesterday reading a glossy, high-budget brochure about “holistic developmental frameworks” that seemed to suggest children learn best when...

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Diagram explaining how transitions between phases work.

The Drop After Year Seven Starts

I’ve sat through enough CPD sessions to know the drill: some consultant in a slim-fit suit standing in front of a shiny...

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How school choice affects families' decisions.

Choosing a School With Imperfect Information

I remember sitting in a drafty school hall during a parents’ evening, watching a mother of three try to navigate a stack...

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Understanding how admissions work and appeals.

Admissions Criteria and Appeals

I remember sitting in a windowless meeting room during a Tuesday afternoon briefing, listening to a consultant in a slim-fit suit explain...

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Understanding how academies and trusts function.

Trust Structures and Where Decisions Sit

I remember sitting in a windowless boardroom three years ago, listening to a CEO in a sharp suit explain how their new...

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Explaining how school governance operates.

What Governors Are Actually for

I remember sitting in a windowless meeting room during a Tuesday evening briefing, staring at a sixty-page strategic document that promised to...

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Diagram explaining how staffing structures work.

Who Does What in a School Structure

I remember sitting in a windowless meeting room in 2014, watching a consultant with a pristine haircut draw a series of interlocking...

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Explaining how school budgets are set.

Eighty Percent of the Budget Is People

I remember sitting in a windowless meeting room in 2014, staring at a glossy, colour-coded spreadsheet that promised “strategic resource optimisation,” while...

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