While studying for my degree in youth and community work, I worked part-time as a Teaching Assistant, spending my time going between university, schools and youth clubs. Years later, one of the attractions of working at The Centre for Education and Youth (CfEY) was the space it occupied – education and youth – understanding that…

One of the commitments in the recent Schools White Paper that generated plenty of discussions was the so-called “Parent Pledge”. This White Paper commitment takes what most schools already do (using assessment to identify pupils falling behind in core subjects, and informing parents about the actions taking place), and attempts to build an expectation of…

Recent announcements by the government makes one thing very clear. The third year of the National Tutoring Programme will look very different to the first and second. But the real question is how different should tutoring in schools look like after the National Tutoring Programme (NTP)? Our latest research sets out to answer this question….

Today I’m moving on from the Centre for Education and Youth. Reassured by all the research I’ve done over the years on how people formulate and pursue their occupational aspirations, and how it’s normal for our plans for the future to sometimes be loosely defined or unclear, I’m embracing the fact that I don’t currently…

It’s Wednesday morning, 9 am. No students are in yet. Staff wait around, prepping the classroom and sorting through materials. At 9:45, two or three pupils trickle in and the lesson starts. Outside in the corridor, there’s shouting and banging. The radio goes off: someone outside needs support. We offer the pupils in the room…