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We need a revolution in the primary curriculum for England, not an evolution

Curriculum: Theory, policy and practice

Like many headteachers in the state sector, I was excited in 2024 when the newly elected Labour government called for a curriculum and assessment review. Many of us in the primary phase (ages...

½¿É«µ¼º½ celebrates 10 years of the ½¿É«µ¼º½ Blog

2025 marks 10 years of the ½¿É«µ¼º½ Blog, and we’re so proud of all that it has accomplished! Thank you to all those who have contributed to the Blog, whether as authors, editors, or readers. The...

½¿É«µ¼º½ Bites, issue 12: Education and the environment

½¿É«µ¼º½ Bites

Today, in 2025, as an Earthly community, we face the ongoing triple planetary crises of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste. Across the UK, and in many other...

The ‘Dear Researcher’ workshop on participatory research spaces at the ½¿É«µ¼º½ 2024 conference: Insights and practical examples of researching with youth co-researchers

The ‘Dear Researcher’ workshop that I facilitated at the 2024 ½¿É«µ¼º½ Conference, had developed through years of research working alongside children and young people as co-researchers. The...

Autoethnography and stakeholder engagement

In this blog post I report on my Winston Churchill Foundation research fellowship study on the adultification of Black girls in state care in 2023 (Ikomi, 2024). Adultification can occur in a...

10 years of the ½¿É«µ¼º½ Blog

This blog series celebrates one decade of the ½¿É«µ¼º½ Blog, as an important and growing space to explore current and varied issues and questions of concern to the education community. To mark this...

Editorial: Revisiting the Children’s Plan: Towards a new manifesto for tackling early years inequality

The new Labour government has made a commitment to support the early years sector as well as launching a curriculum review. This presents us with an opportunity to revisit Labour’s 2007...

Revisiting the Children’s Plan: Towards a new manifesto for tackling early years inequality

The new Labour government has made a commitment to support the early years sector, as well as launching a curriculum review. This presents us with an opportunity to revisit Labour’s 2007...

Children’s attainment in the early years in a post-pandemic world

The new Labour government has pledged to reform the education system. With reports highlighting the pandemic’s negative impact on children’s development, it is crucial to assess post-pandemic...

Putting oral language at the heart of early years education

In her TES article in July 2023, the now UK Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, emphasised oral language skills in her commitment to improving early years education. This is a...

(Re)focusing on high-quality early childhood education and care

Over the past 25 years, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector in England has undergone significant transformations. As the evidence of its positive impact on children’s social and...

Equity by design: A shared vision to reduce school exclusion in England

School exclusion and social exclusion are complex, multi-dimensional and intertwining processes. The disproportionate impact that school exclusion has on children with special educational needs...