Curriculum
Maintained schools in England must teach the national curriculum, introduced in its current form from September 2014; academies must provide a broad and balanced curriculum. The government’s November 2025 response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review plans a revised national curriculum, published in 2027 for first teaching from September 2028. This topic covers curriculum design, sequencing, subject leadership and planning for that change.
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The Curriculum and Assessment Review recommends reducing GCSE exam time, introducing V Levels, and making Citizenship statutory from Key Stage 1.
The BBC 500 Words Competition: A Guide for School Leaders 2025
The BBC 500 Words writing competition for children closed on 7 November 2025. It focuses on creativity, plot, and characterisation rather than grammar.
The BBC 500 Words Competition — A Guide for Headteachers and School Leaders 2025
The 2025 BBC 500 Words competition closed on 7 November. This guide outlines participation details, teaching resources, and benefits for school leaders.
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Ofsted's draft toolkit emphasises curriculum depth, subject leadership and inclusion. Schools must ensure curricula are sequential and ambitious.
Key Takeaways from The Reading Framework
The DfE Reading Framework advises leaders to prioritise reading for pleasure, use validated systematic synthetic phonics, and involve parents.
EmpowerED Product Demonstration with Oracy Champions
Claire from Oracy Champions demonstrates a platform using games and AI to improve communication skills, track progress, and support SEND students.
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Melanie Moore discusses Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital and how the Reggio Children approach uses local experience to build knowledge.
EmpowerED with Jigsaw Education
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EmpowerED with Language Angels
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Partner products
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Crick Software
Literacy support software helping children become confident writers with Clicker and DocsPlus tools
SmartEducator
AI marking and feedback platform for teachers; SmartEducator says it saves teachers up to 8 hours a week.
Everway
Digital tools for literacy, inclusion and accessibility—supporting every learner in class and exams.
Maths For Life
Inclusive maths programme for SEND and pupils below age-related expectations, focused on real-life skills.
Bedrock Learning
Whole-school literacy platform improving reading, writing and vocabulary from KS1 to KS5.
Mighty Writer
Tactile mat-and-tile kit for teaching sentence and story writing in EYFS and KS1, and for KS2 intervention. Mighty Writer says it is used in 54 countries.