It’s the end of May, and for many parishes the end of the Holy Communion season. The Catholic calendar is unthinkable without it, and for us another five dozen children were initiated in the rite of the Eucharist. Two sunny days, a rash of colour, and much good humour. This year, the two weekends left… Read More First Holy Communions

If you are looking to study music in a UK school in 2018, your timing is not great. A recent article in The Economist (March 2018) analysed the impact of cuts to services in an area of North Wales where music has been a way of life for decades. Musical opportunities are now so rare… Read More The Power of Music

In a break from writing mostly positive things about education, I am now going to be resoundingly negative. Primary SATs, which start tomorrow, are, to misquote Zaphod Beeblebrox, ‘appallingly appalling’ and need to be couriered to Ursa Minor on a Vogon destroyer at the earliest opportunity. Here are five reasons why. Dubious Data Firstly, they… Read More SATs: No more thanks.

Have you been to a good training course recently? Hmm, me neither. News of a pilot project, launched by the Department of Education last week, has got people talking about the merits of continuing professional development for teachers. The subject of the project, a ‘paid sabbatical’, moves the centre of gravity away from regular updates… Read More Teacher Sabbaticals