Today’s Education in the Media blog includes an op-ed from the Education Secretary, and good news of a teacher from Birmingham making the Top 10 shortlist for the Global Teacher Prize.
SATs Stress
Today, Thursday 21 February, the Education Secretary Damian Hinds wrote an opinion piece for the I newspaper. The focus was on primary school SATs stress and reducing unnecessary pressure on pupils. The I also ran a separate article on this.
The Education Secretary used this opportunity to emphasise that SATs tests should not be treated with the same rigorous preparation as GCSE or A Level exams, and that is important for children not to sacrifice social time unnecessarily for SATs preparation.
Global Teacher Prize
The Top 10 shortlist for the Global Teacher Prize was announced earlier today. The Varkey Foundation runs the awards, selecting the most inspiring teachers across the world to be shortlisted for a $1 million prize. This year, Andrew Moffat, assistant headteacher at Parkfield Community School, Birmingham, is one of the 10 nominees. This story has been covered by the Guardian, I News, BBC Online, the Sun and the Star.
Education Secretary Damian Hinds said:
The Global Teacher Prize celebrates the difference that teachers make in schools in England and around the world. Following last year’s UK win, I’m proud that another three talented teachers from schools in England made the 2019 top 50 finalists, and that Andrew Moffat has made the 2019 top 10 finalists; I wish him the best of luck for the final. This is also another appropriate moment to thank all our teachers for their dedication and exceptional work, day after day, for our children and our society, in their unique role.
Follow us on Twitter and don’t forget to sign up for email alerts.