Why I always say no thanks to Sainsburys’s Active Kids Schools vouchers

Whenever I fill up my car or interact with a human at Sainsbury’s I’m asked if I’m collecting the schools vouchers.  In years gone by I used to religiously collect them and vouchers from other supermarkets as well. Now I see the scheme for what it is – a shameless ploy by a supermarket to drive …

Holidays in term time – the latest front on the war to improve standards

This week term time holidays have been in the press.  The BBC report a record number of prosecutions as more and more schools/local authorities are taking action.  Unfortunately I know from talking to colleagues in different schools that there is little consistency between local authorities and even between academies within the same area but this …

It’s teacher bashing time

Image © Rob Gould @ Flickr CC BY-NC 2.0 As snow falls across the country, schools have closed for a variety of reasons.  Frustrated parents are quick to blame the teachers (we all need a scapegoat) and discussion forums fill up with comments about lazy teachers.  Too soon the conversation changes from “why can’t they …