The half-term break beckons, though with exam season well underway, many teachers and heads may be distracted by thoughts of how their pupils are faring - and how this will play out on results day.
Adding to the pressure is the fact that so many pupils this summer are sitting reformed GCSEs and A levels - a gift from former education secretary Michael Gove.
Despite the huge overhaul caused by these reforms, a joint poll by Tes and the Association of School and College Leaders revealed that many school leaders feel that the reforms have made “no difference” to pupils’ understanding and knowledge.
The burden that recent government reforms have placed on teachers was acknowledged by school standards minister Nick Gibb when he faced the Commons Education Select Committee this week and promised a period of stability.
Yet a fellow Conservative is keen to get the ball rolling on yet another exam reform. Lord Baker, the former education secretary who served under Margaret Thatcher, has laid out the case for splitting the maths GCSE in two, just like English.
Inspectors ‘drowning under workload’
What became evident this week is that, whether pupils study in a grammar school or in a non-selective school, it doesn’t seem to make much difference to their attainment or aspirations, according to a study by UCL Institute for Education.
Another thing that unites many schools is a fear of the Ofsted inspection. So many teachers and heads will have been interested to note the headlines this week after a probe by the National Audit Office revealed that the inspectorate has failed to hit statutory and internal targets for how often schools should be inspected.
Ofsted’s budget has reportedly been hit hard in recent years - not that this will rouse much sympathy from teachers at hard-pressed schools.
The public spending watchdog also highlighted staff retention issues within the inspectorate. Given that accountability is a key source of excessive workload cited by teachers, the irony that many inspectors cited workload as one of the main reasons for quitting will not be lost on many.
Just in case teachers didn’t feel sufficiently over-burdened, Theresa May this week said they have a key role to play in tackling society’s “burning injustices”. Perhaps one to mull over this bank holiday weekend.
