As we move towards an ever-increasing authoritarian, neoliberal and populist education, it is noticeable how elements of religious thought are embedded into our language and practices. This article uses the lens of political theology, drawing on Carl Schmitt's work which explores how the secular is often based on theological concepts such as…

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted unprecedented school closures in England, which quickly generated widespread concern at the impacts of missed schooling: 'lost learning' became the dominant motif of these concerns and 'catch-up' emerged as the received solution. This article focuses on the central pillar of the government's post-pandemic response:…

England is experiencing a teacher recruitment and retention crisis which has only worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. One-third of teachers leave before they have completed five years. This paper discusses the results of a small-scale study completed with six inner-London secondary teachers which focuses on their everyday experiences in these…

This article outlines the damage done by more than a decade of Conservative education policy and offers a set of arguments by which Labour could win support for a radical reconfiguration of formal education in England. It sets out elements from the Socialist Educational Association's "Manifesto for Education" in an attempt to inspire a…

Increasing school choice has been an active objective of policy in England but not in Scotland. Whereas in England all families are expected to list a rank ordering of schools, in Scotland the vast majority of children attend their catchment school by default. This article reviews the differences in approach, family experience and outcomes between…

Promoting equity is a policy challenge facing education systems throughout the world, not least in the United Kingdom where there are continuing concerns about the progress of learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. This paper draws on the experience of its author within a series of large-scale government-funded improvement initiatives to address…

In 2019, the Department for Education introduced the core content framework (CCF) in initial education in England. The framework, which has been criticised for being heavily shaped by research from cognitive science, has, inadvertently, become the baseline curriculum for initial teacher education. This article explores how experiential learning is…

The new early career framework, rolled out nationally across England in 2021 at an estimated cost of £130 million, aims to improve teacher retention by supporting early career teachers (ECTs) to become more effective classroom practitioners. This article discusses developments in the mentoring frameworks used to support ECTs as a result of the…

This article traces how some features of school inspection in England and Wales have changed since Her Majesty's Inspectorate was first established in 1839. The article describes how the inspectorate began its work; how, later on, a series of reviews and changes to legislation affected the exercise of its accountability and advisory functions; how…

This article proposes reform of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted). It considers the purpose of inspection in English schools and describes the previous system of inspection based on Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools (HMI). The question of how effective Ofsted is -- in comparison to similar countries -- is then addressed. The…

After an analysis of the arrival of the National Curriculum, the account moves to the arrival of Ofsted as a way of policing the National Curriculum, albeit in relation to confusion over how to deal with the cross-curricular issues. There follows a brief history of Ofsted, its methods, style and purpose, before I examine the impact of…

The inspectorate's complex relationship with schools has been fraught with various difficulties over recent years, as shown through the ongoing formal and informal dialogue between the two. Prior to the COVID pandemic, there was a call from some quarters for a pause in inspection and a re-evaluation of Ofsted's core purpose. Following suspension…

In this article I consider changes in the remit and interpretation of the role of Ofsted since its inception in 1992, with particular reference to early years inspections.

This case study of one primary school's inspection journey over 20 years highlights serious concerns about Ofsted's education inspection framework and modus operandi in relation to safeguarding. Ofsted's proposed changes to inspection practice following school inspections are also discussed.

"The Oxford Dictionary of English" defines authoritarianism as the enforcement or advocacy of strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, as well as a lack of concern for the wishes or opinions of others. In this paper I argue that there are growing signs of a move towards more authoritarian practices and structures…