Improving attendance: It’s everyone’s business

This article was written exclusively for this blog by Matt Bromley. Matt offers various training courses on attendance, as well as school improvement advisory services. Find out more about him here. Why attendance is everyone’s responsibility – and what that means in practice Improving attendance cannot be delegated to an attendance officer, pastoral team, orContinue reading “Improving attendance: It’s everyone’s business”

We are becoming enslaved to AI

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 7 April 2026 in which Matt Bromley cautions against becoming enslaved to AI… I long ago left Twitter – partly to protest Elon Musk’s attempts to derail UK democracy and partly to protect my ears from the echo chamber of right-wing cultureContinue reading “We are becoming enslaved to AI”

It’s not EDI that’s pernicious, it’s the culture war-mongering

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 27 March 2026 in which Matt Bromley argues that equality, diversity, and inclusion are the cornerstones of a fair and thriving society… Whenever I pop to one of my local pubs, I doff my cap at the house opposite whose provenance isContinue reading “It’s not EDI that’s pernicious, it’s the culture war-mongering”

Improving attendance: Be curious not furious

This article was written exclusively for this blog by Matt Bromley. Matt offers various training courses on attendance, as well as school improvement advisory services. Find out more about him here. The phrase “be curious not furious” captures a deceptively simple shift in professional attitudes: from reacting to absence as defiance to investigating it asContinue reading “Improving attendance: Be curious not furious”

Bogeymen from the billionaire’s playbook

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 24 February 2026 in which Matt Bromley argues that billionaires need to find new bogeymen… Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who this month claimed that “Britain has been colonised by immigrants”, is the latest in a line of wealthy elites stoking division while shieldedContinue reading “Bogeymen from the billionaire’s playbook”

What Seamus Heaney taught me whilst in Dublin recently

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 11 February 2026 in which Matt Bromley recounts a recent visit to Dublin… I’ve just returned from Dublin where I visited a Seamus Heaney exhibition (and drank a lot of Guinness, but that’s another story). I have long been an admirer ofContinue reading “What Seamus Heaney taught me whilst in Dublin recently”

It’s Brexit’s birthday… with not so many happy returns

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 27 January 2026 in which Matt Bromley argues that it’s time to strengthen ties with Europe once more… It’s my birthday today and it’s got me thinking about milestones: For example, this summer Brexit turns ten, albeit with not so many happyContinue reading “It’s Brexit’s birthday… with not so many happy returns”

Beware the culture war myths

This is an edited version of an article that appeared in The Yorkshire Post on 13 January 2026 in which Matt Bromley argues that there’s a right-wing bias shaping Britain… We like to pretend Britain is a country of straight-talking common sense. But for years we’ve been fed a fairy tale: that the real enemies of workingContinue reading “Beware the culture war myths”

Thomas and Tommy Revisited – Part Two

This is an edited extract from Making the Classroom Work for Every Child, the second book in the Equity in Education series published by Routledge, which is available now. Click here for more details. This is part two. Catch up with part one. In part one, I explained that Thomas and Tommy, who went toContinue reading “Thomas and Tommy Revisited – Part Two”