What really makes ‘outstanding’ schools outstanding?

Fiona Aubrey-Smith, Head of Primary SSAT, writes… With just 17% of primary schools currently rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, many schools ask how attainable this status is for the majority. Looking at what some of these schools actually do may
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The impact of research at Bay House

Saturday 5th April saw the first of researchED’s regional conferences, researchED Midlands, take place in Birmingham. A fantastic group of speakers were present, imparting their wisdom to the brave souls who gave up their Saturday to listen and learn. As
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A review of the European Jobs and Skills Summit 2014

Chris Smith, Student impact coordinator SSAT, writes… On Tuesday we were fortunate enough to attend the European Jobs and Skills Summit, hosted by IPPR and J. P. Morgan. The event formed part of J. P. Morgan’s ‘New Skills at Work’
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Inspection reform and Watching the Watchmen

Sir Michael Wilshaw is not long off stage at the ASCL annual conference. In his speech, he reinforced the message that Ofsted does not have a preferred teaching style – indeed he said he would personally take issue with inspectors
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Principled principals and a lack of principals

Dan Belcher, Head of Leadership SSAT, writes… Our schools have many principled principals and headteachers, but we still need more. Our schools need more leaders who will inspire more teachers, and students, to aspire to headship. More headteachers who have
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Reform report

SSAT’s first survey into the impact and effectiveness of academisation, Plan A+, was carried out between December 2011 and February 2012. Since that time, the educational landscape has changed drastically; the pace, scope and scale of change in education over
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SSAT Reform Bulletins: Spring 2014

SSAT has recently published the first in a series of reform bulletins focusing on the topic of collaboration within a self-improving school system. Our first bulletin explores how collaboration can help to drive improvement throughout the school system, beyond just
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The City, clusters and collaboration – what does it mean for education?

Leonardo DiCaprio may not have won an Oscar for his depiction of Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street but you could certainly argue he deserved one. His portrayal of the debauched excesses of the financial world were described
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A new era for SEN provision beckons for all educators…

The implementation date for the revised SEN Code of Practice is set for 01 September 2014. Jessica Nash, SSAT’s Head of Special Schools and SEN, assesses the far-reaching implications of the draft code. The revised code makes clear the inextricable
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Knowing what is important

by Sue Williamson, CEO Since the start of the spring term, I have been fortunate to visit over a dozen schools. All in different parts of the country and with different intakes. However, the schools all have one thing in
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