Whole-school issues

PFI: Challenging overly expensive contracts

As an academy trust CEO, Andrew Chubb successfully challenged aspects of his school’s PFI contract, leading to substantial savings. He looks here at why PFI often proves unfairly expensive for schools – and what can be done about it

How to collect staff feedback on workload and wellbeing

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve, it is important to check in on your staff to see how remote learning and Covid restrictions are affecting their workload and wellbeing. Katherine Fowler shares some practical tips on how to talk to your staff and gather feedback, so that you can help ...

Christmas performances and how to salvage them

Pre-recorded films, live streamed performances or other ideas and approaches – how is your school or class approaching the traditional end-of-term spectacular? Ben Case looks at the options

Black Lives Matter: How schools must respond

What implications should the Black Lives Matter movement have for what and how we teach in our primary and secondary schools? Matt Bromley considers the key questions we must be asking of our curriculum in light of events around the world this year

Effective CPD: A guide to professional learning networks

This article tackles five questions to help you evaluate whether your school is making the most out of professional learning networks. Michelle Barker also shares recommendations for leaders on how to establish, grow and sustain networks that work

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

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

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

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

Planning your school's digital strategy post-Covid

With the future still uncertain, digital plans for schools have taken on a new significance and we must ensure that ed-tech can be used effectively both in-school and remotely. Al Kingsley offers some advice and reflections

Taking a longer term look at Covid recovery

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. Fiona Aubrey-Smith looks at how we can take advantage of the disruption of Covid-19 to build back better with children’s learning and parental engagement

Back to school: A headteacher's checklist

September is upon us and pupils are returning to school – some after more than five months away. National Leader of Education Helen Frostick considers how we can ensure we meet the pastoral needs of our pupils post-lockdown

Back to School Guide: Teaching & Learning

In this 12-page guide, we consider what teaching and learning should look like in schools from this September when all pupils are due to return following the Covid-19 lockdown...

Education post-Covid: Our principles of recovery

At the Unity Schools Partnership, the pandemic hiatus has provided an opportunity to re-evaluate and focus on what really matters in education. Yvonne Gandy looks at the trust’s principles of recovery

Back to School Guide: Staff wellbeing and support

In this 12-page guide, we consider how lockdown has affected the wellbeing and mental health of school staff and offer practical advice and ideas for promoting wellbeing and supporting colleagues, both now and this autumn

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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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