Leadership and Policy

The revised Headteachers' Standards: An overview

The Headteachers’ Standards have recently been updated. National Leader of Education Helen Frostick reflects on the revisions and how the standards apply to leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic

What should remote education look like in your school?

What is remote learning? What isn’t it? And how are schools approaching it? Tom Middlehurst takes a practical look at what school leaders and teachers can and should be doing to fulfil their legal and moral obligations this term and beyond

What school leaders can learn from Stoic philosophy

From being values-driven and promoting mental fortitude to embracing uncertainty and being patient, primary headteacher Jim Mepham puts forward his case for how Stoic philosophy can transform the leadership of your school

Student wellbeing: Maslow before you Bloom

The idea of ‘Maslow before you Bloom’ is once again gaining traction in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. SENCO Sanjo Jeffrey says this approach is crucial to supporting academic outcomes this year and beyond

School improvement: The patchwork quilt approach?

Best practice cannot become a patchwork quilt – stitched together from ideas, approaches and interventions seen elsewhere. We must always remember that context matters above all else, says Jonathan Cordiner

Closing the Covid-19 gap for EAL pupils

Headteacher Update has previously outlined the risks presented by Covid-19 to learning and progress for specific pupils with English as an additional language. Continuing this focus, Emily Curran now offers some practical socially distanced strategies to support EAL pupils during the pandemic

RSE and parental consultation: Getting it right

Parental engagement and consultation is a vital component of effective relationships and sex education. Leah Jewett offers her advice to primary schools on RSE delivery and parental engagement

Remote learning: How to handle objections from parents

Whether you have individual pupils self-isolating, or groups of pupils learning from home, you may come across objections from parents about the remote learning you are providing. Ciara Lamb looks at some potential concerns and how we might respond

Covid-19: Managing and supporting your school's staff

With increased staff absence due to Covid-19, increased anxiety among our colleagues, and an ever-changing landscape, supporting and managing our teaching colleagues is a priority for school leaders this year. Employment law expert Jane Hallas offers some tips

Creating a shared culture of professional learning across a MAT

The Academy Transformation Trust has launched its own institute to drive a shared culture of professional development for almost 2,000 staff across 22 schools. Kathryn Morgan speaks with institute director Abby Bayford to find out how this works in practice

The National Tutoring Programme roll-out: How will it work?

The £350m National Tutoring Programme will begin operation after the October half-term. Two main strands will support schools’ work with pupils whose education has been hit hard by the Covid-19 lockdown. Director Robbie Coleman looks at how it works in practice

Covid-19: Keeping parents involved

Primary schools pride themselves on their relationships with parents, but in the socially distanced era of Covid-19 this has become more problematic. Suzanne O’Connell speaks to school leaders about how they are maintaining parental engagement this term

Supporting pupils who have to self-isolate

The emotional implications of individual pupils or entire social bubbles being forced to self-isolate should not be dismissed. Shahana Knight looks at how we can manage and support the emotional wellbeing of children who are ‘sent home’

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Headteacher Update is the only magazine delivered directly to every primary school headteacher in the UK. It is published six times a year, at the beginning of each term and half-term, to keep headteachers up-to-date with everything going on in primary education.

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