ASCL Policy Snapshots Podcast

Tom Middlehurst, ASCL Deputy Director of Policy, is joined by Claire Green, ASCL Post-16 and Skills Specialist, to explore the grading for this summer's results, the implications of this for the forgotten third, and our proposal for a possible solution to this issue which affects thousands of young people. 

 

 

Julia Harnden, ASCL Deputy Director of Policy, is joined by Melanie Moffatt, ASCL Conditions of Employment Specialist: Pensions, to unpack the gender pension gap within the Teachers' Pension Scheme and Local Government Pension Scheme, exploring the rules around abatement and why the disparity between men and women's pension outcomes continues to widen.

For those interested in learning more about how abatement works, visit the TPS page here. 

 

 

With significant reform ahead across SEND and inclusion, curriculum, accountability and the workforce, this discussion explores the critical role of professional development in helping schools and trusts navigate change well. 
Kathryn Morgan, ASCL Leadership and Workforce Specialist is joined by Tracy Goodyear, Director of teacher development at The Mercian Trust and Sam Gibbs, Trust Curriculum and Development Lead at Greater Manchester Education Trust to consider how leaders can build on the expertise already within their organisations, protect professional dignity and create the conditions for meaningful, sustainable change.
 

Louise Hatswell, ASCL Pay and Conditions Specialist, gives members an overview of the STRB 36th Report and recommendations, and the Government's response.

 

ASCL Pensions Specialist, Melanie Moffatt, provides an update on changes to the Teachers' Pension Scheme following the announcement on teachers' pay on 1 July 2026. 

 

ASCL Leadership and Workforce Specialist, Kathryn Morgan is joined by Loic Menzies, education researcher and policy specialist, where they explore the bigger story behind the current wave of education reform, the changing purpose of schools and trusts, the implications of Andy Burnham's emerging agenda around employment, devolution and flexibility, and what recent political changes might mean for the direction of travel in education policy.

 

Also available on Soundcloud. 

ASCL Independent Sector Specialist Neil Smith considers how viable and desirable formalising relationships between independent schools and MATs might be. 

ASCL Inspection and Accountability Specialist, Andy Jordan, provides a brief overview of the latest Ofsted updates on the renewed inspection framework and which will come into force on 1 September 2026.

 

ASCL Inspection and Accountability Specialist, Andy Jordan, provides a brief update on the Ofsted attendance and behaviour grades following comments made by Lee Owston, National Director, Ofsted, at The Schools & Academies Show on 7 May and ahead of the updates of the current operating guide and toolkits expected in June. 

 

ASCL SEND and Inclusion Specialist, Margaret Mulholland, speaks with ASCL Deputy Director of Policy, 
Tom Middlehurst, about the upcoming SEND reforms and their impact on schools and SENCOs in this short video. 

ASCL Pensions Specialist, Melanie Moffatt provides a brief update on the gender pension gap and following publication of Prospect's most recent report. 

 

ASCL Deputy Director of Policy, Julia Harnden, chairs a panel on the Employment Rights Act with ASCL Pay and Conditions specialists, Louise Hatswell and Chris Ingate, ASCL Head of Industrial Relations, Carl Parker, and ASCL Senior Solicitor, Faisal Sameja.

They explore developments in the legislation, why they matter, and how they will support you as an employee and as a leader in managing your own staff, supporting wellbeing, and ensuring that your contracts, polices and day-to-day decision making meets the expectations set out in the act.

 

ASCL Leadership and Workforce Specialist Kathryn Morgan speaks with Jack Worth, Lead Economist at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) about the School Teacher Labour Market in England Annual Report 2026.
 

ASCL Leadership and Workforce Specialist Kathryn Morgan speaks with Professor Toby Greany, Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham, about one of the biggest challenges facing education: sustainable school leadership.
 

In this edition, Julie McCulloch, ASCL Senior Director of Strategy, Policy & Professional Development, focuses on the interim report from the Curriculum and Assessment Review.