Welcome to Insights and Reflections, where we delve into the complexities of education, equity, and systemic change. Through thoughtful articles and bold discussions, we challenge the status quo, explore new possibilities. Reflecting on how we can collectively place equity at the heart of education.
What’s on your mind?
Is there a challenge you’re facing, a question that’s been sitting with you, or a scenario that doesn’t quite sit right? Share it with us. We might just turn it into a blog—because if you’re wrestling with it, chances are others are too. Let’s reflect, challenge, and push for change together.
Insight and reflection categories:
Released on the 13th of every month, this series explores the uncomfortable truths behind what appears “unlucky” for some to expose the deeper systemic inequities in education. Inspired by the idea that a “negative peace” — the absence of tension — is often valued over true justice, we challenge the complacency that allows these inequities to persist. We invite educators to rethink what fairness really looks like, knowing that without reflection and action, we risk perpetuating harm and maintaining the status quo.
If you are trying to make sense of a child who argues, refuses, pushes back, or explodes around adults, it is easy to locate the problem inside the child. That...
Nearly nine in ten headteachers support exploring strike action over Ofsted’s new report card system. They understand something crucial: grading based on a two-day snapshot is unfair, reductive, and harmful....
This Isn’t Soft — It’s How You Raise the Bar Let’s be honest. In education, equity and high standards are too often treated as opposites; one soft, one rigorous. The...
A London flags debate in schools piece from Pimlico Academy to today. Student: “Why are there flags everywhere?” Teacher: “We are not getting into that.” If that question lands in...
Shared ground, not division Across classrooms, staffrooms, and living rooms, the people who care for and work with children are more alike than we sometimes admit. Teachers, youth workers, governors,...
Those who know me know I was a big Arsenal fan—until two years ago, when I stopped. This wasn’t about the lack of trophies, or an overpriced winger (see Pépé)....
Let’s mute the constraints of the “status quo” and embrace the potential for true transformation. Here we explore the future we want to create, inviting readers to step beyond binary thinking and consider new possibilities. Instead of being limited by thinking “But what about”, we encourage you to ask, “But what if?” We pose reflective questions that spark conversation and illuminate hopeful insights, showing that equity in education is not just an ideal but a real and achievable goal.
I’ve been thinking about a conversation I had with a colleague last year. They were reflecting on a group of 18-year-olds and felt disconnected. Why weren’t these young people more...
By January, lots of teachers have made it through. The timetable’s back to something like normal after the shredded chaos of December. Trips done. Mocks marked. Christmas plays a memory....
I like to arrive early to school, to set up for the day. It’s Monday morning after a short holiday and the usual quiet atmosphere presents itself. Quiet in terms...
Education is not supposed to hurt When the Mossbourne safeguarding review – the Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review into Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy landed, the first feeling in our office...
For meaningful transformation, we need to embrace the power of critical thinking. As educators and practitioners, our main tool is conversation—posing questions, exploring ideas, and reflecting deeply. Here, we pause and reflect on our role in creating change. By exploring the complexities of oppression and inequity, we leave you with questions, not solutions, to prompt thoughtful action.
Most schools and organisations will tell you they want equity.They say it with conviction. They put it on a slide. They pin it to a strategy. And I/we believe them....
There is a phrase you have no doubt heard someone say. Maybe you’ve said it about yourself or someone else: “They’re just a natural.” It’s used as a quick way...
![Crumpled paper background with scribbled maths-style symbols and equations. At the bottom, handwritten text reads “A [GOOD] TEACHER”, with “GOOD” boxed in red brackets.](https://www.class13.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Showing-your-workings-out-1024x1024.png)
The Education Policy Institute’s 2025 Annual Report confirms what every previous edition has shown: the attainment gap remains “stubbornly persistent”. For decades, the UK has seen the same data with...
“Look at me when I’m talking to you” You’ve probably heard it. You might have said it. “Look at me when I’m talking to you.” In the #WomenEd research report...
We want to inspire bold actions that transform the systems within schools and create lasting, equitable change. This section challenges educators to examine how they unknowingly perpetuate inequity in their daily practices. Rather than focusing on simple strategies, we encourage a deeper understanding of how inequity operates and what it takes to actively disrupt it. By rejecting surface-level fixes, we’ll become a true threat to inequity within the spaces we shape and lead.
When the world feels too big to hold When we’re faced with a global landscape that seems doomed, with a gloomy view of impossible, systemic change, it’s hard to know...
Another classroom intervention is being critiqued. Again. LinkedIn is filling up with think pieces about Zones of Regulation. Teachers are questioning whether we’re teaching children to regulate or just to...
“Go to the calming table.” “Take some time in the reflection area.” “You need to regulate in the support space.” These phrases sound caring. Therapeutic. Indeed, exactly the kind of...
Attendance rates improved last year. A 0.3 percentage point decrease in absence. Persistent absence fell by 140,000. The government calls it the biggest improvement in a decade. So naturally, the...
Our goal is to replace deficit thinking with an equity-centered approach that values and fosters more inclusive educational environments for all. These posts are for educators to deepen their understanding of how deficit ideology permeates education and beyond. We unpack how limiting beliefs shape policies, practices, and mindsets. Through this lens, we challenge harmful narratives and offer pathways toward more equitable outcomes.
You have probably heard that recent surveys report teachers reshaping lessons around what they describe as “very short attention spans“. Concerns about attention spans in schools dominate staffroom conversations, blaming...
In 2024, young people disadvantaged by the system were more likely to get lower GCSE grades, be excluded from school, and struggle to find employment. Yet, despite the many government...
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