Three things worth knowing this week if you are a school middle leader.

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* The DfE expects all secondary schools to have ‘inclusion bases’ in a statement which has ignited much debate, the DfE has announced that all secondary schools should have an inclusion base. This is an aspiration rather than a policy but the idea is that there will be a “dedicated safe space away from busy classrooms where pupils can access targeted support that bridges the gap between mainstream and specialist provision”.

We have talked several times about inclusion and this is another example of what the DfE are talking about. Instead of students with special educational or behavioural needs being moved to alternative schools, the vision is that provision is available in the school they are in. There are many advantages to this, not least that it is far easier to move a student between provisions internally than from school to school and that it maintains consistency for the student. However, there are concerns about the resources required not only to create such spaces but to populate them with trained staff who can ensure that the provision makes the intended difference to those students.

* February’s behaviour was the most disruptive since 2019. Whatever you may think of this particular solution, if Teacher Tapp is right then behaviour is something that needs our attention. They reported this week that their behaviour survey returned the worst results since they began in 2019. Teacher Tapp regularly ask the question, '‘In the last lesson you taught, was there any time when you felt teaching and learning largely stopped because of poor behaviour?’ The result this time was 54% in primary and 43% in secondary, compared to a low of 34% in 2019.

This reflects an upward trend since 2021 and is disappointing as things seemed to be improving in 2024/5. The worrying part is that the growth is greater in primary schools suggesting that this problem may be growing as younger children move through the school system. However, it is also worth considering that primary schools are currently educating students who were born and began their education during the pandemic. Perhaps this is the new normal or maybe just part of a post pandemic phase.

* AI has moved from being a toy to a tool. One thing often blamed for the increase in poor behaviour is technology. Dan Fitzgerald, educational AI guru, continues the debate about the opportunities and threats of AI in education.

He reports that over Christmas there was a transformation in the way that people were using AI. Prior to that it was conversational now it has become agentic. In case that makes no sense to you, he explains, we have become used to asking AI questions to work through problems but now we are learning that AI can just do things for us. His examples include the ability to write programmes in 10 minutes which would track student progress across several data sets and email a member of staff to flag up concerns. Imagine a programme which could review your MIS, Seneca, Maths Watch etc. and tell you when a student is falling behind. Another example is AI identifying and differentiating teaching resources. As an AI enthusiast Dan can see AI, ‘handling all the logistics that currently chew through a teacher’s evening’ meaning that, ‘The teacher gets to do the thing they actually got into teaching for. The conversations. The relationships. Those weird, messy, beautiful moments of connection that are what actually move the needle on learning.’ Ivana Brnovic Ogbu sounds a note of caution around AI reminding us that ‘innovation…grows out of tension, not knowing, and the willingness to stay present’ all things that technology can work against if used in the wrong way. If our concern though, is to find ways to make education sustainable for staff and students this might represent a powerful opportunity open to anyone with access to a computer.

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