State schools too 'under the cosh' to match our success - Dragon school head Head of prep school where actors including Tom Hiddlestone and Hugh Laurie were educated says state institutions are forced to focus too much on exams http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/31/dragon-school-head-regu...

Toddlers 'need early years teachers in nurseries' Every nursery in England should have a qualified early years teacher to help toddlers develop skills like speech and language, a children's charity says. Save the Children says pre-schoolers can be "set back decades" if their brains are not adequatel...

Teachers protest against academy plan

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-35883922

Every school will be forced to become an academy, Government to announce

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/po ... 32466.html

I’m a sucker for a good teacher, modern or old school
I believe teaching is the most criminally undervalued of all professions

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/i-m ... 29331.html

New primary school tests discriminate against dyslexic pupils, say teachers The government’s “pedantic” new spelling tests for primary school children will stifle creativity and discriminate against pupils with dyslexia, teachers and campaigners have warned. The British Dyslexia Association (BDA) sa...

Academy chains come under fire from Ofsted chief England’s largest academy chains have “serious weaknesses” as bad as the local authorities they were intended to replace, Sir Michael Wilshaw has told the education secretary, Nicky Morgan, in strong criticism of the government’s flagship school impro...

Advice for the next Ofsted chief: it’s time to scrap your job Andrew Morrish worked as a schools inspector until he was told off for speaking his mind, and resigned. Now he is free to say whatever he likes … http://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/08/next-ofsted-chief-inspector-schools-job-hea...

Should we scrap Ofsted? The pros, cons and alternatives The inspectorate has been widely criticised for demoralising teachers and stagnating school improvement. Is it time to ditch the watchdog? What else might work? http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/mar/06/scrap-ofsted-pros-cons-alter...

This website shows what it's like to read when you have dyslexia A new website has attempted to emulate the symptoms of dyslexia, and it's going to make your head hurt. The website, created by Victor Widell, jumbles letters in words to try and recreate how dyslexia manifests for some people. http://...

Radio 4's Start the Week 'Nature or Nurture?' fascinating and well worth the listen.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006r9xr

UK schools suffering as new teachers 'flock abroad', warns chief inspector The staffing crisis in schools is being exacerbated by an exodus of newly qualified teachers who are “flocking abroad” to work in the rapidly growing international sector, including branches of England’s elite public schools,...

Thanks to Fiona Nevola for highlighting this piece. Lily Cole challenges MPs on illiteracy Baron Bird, founder of the Big Issue magazine, also spoke of the vital social significance of literacy, at an event promoting the campaign in Parliament. It allowed people to take charge of their lives and gav...

Secret Teacher: I see Ofsted for what it is – a purposeless farce I love my job and don’t want to waste energy resenting aspects of it, so my new approach to inspections is: don’t panic and never ask for feedback http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2016/feb/20/secret-teacher-see-ofsted-for-wh...

Thanks Debbie, unfortunately it's a disaster waiting to happen, alarm bells are already ringing.